He watched as Lyriia went to retrieve her herbs, keeping a watchful eye on the surroundings. His gaze flicked toward the source of the sudden snapping noise, only to see a curious deer. After a brief moment, he realized that he had instinctively drawn his bow, ready to fire an arrow at whatever approached. He relaxed, putting the arrow back into his quiver and lowering his bow. He heard the other fairy mention his backpack. To which he responded with a nod, [color=a187be]"Yes. It is very close by."[/color] He had noticed their proximity, but he just assumed that she was still afraid of being left behind. Once again, he took her hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Gently leading her through the forest. They had only flown for a few moments before he let go of her hand, landing on one of the many tree roots that protruded through the ground. Without much effort, he slung his pack over his shoulder before flying back to Lyriia. [color=a187be]"It's time we headed back to Silent Rise."[/color] He stated as he took her hand again. The journey back was quite pleasant. Ahmal made no attempts to create conversation, as he wasn't really one to start conversations. The clouds slowly parted, allowing more moonlight to trickle through the canopy. He stole a few glances at her. She was quite young, perhaps just achieving adulthood and quite.. pretty? Now that was word that Ahmal hadn't used in a long time, especially in such a dreary place like Silent Rise. She seemed more modest than most of the Fairies that he had encountered over the years, and that was seemingly attractive to him. He quickly dismissed the thoughts. She was a civilian in trouble, it was his duty to protect her until he brought her home. Nothing more. He suddenly heard something hiss. It was quiet, but discernible in the silence. He knew exactly what it was before it even struck out at him. [color=a187be]"Get back."[/color] He warned, quickly pushing Lyriia away, drawing his bow and arrow. He released it moments before a [url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/9b/a9/fb/9ba9fb55f54e27da95fdc17b68f8bbbb.jpg]spider[/url] pounced out of the darkness, tackling Ahmal out of the air despite having an arrow lodged in one of it's eyes. The spider and Ahmal thudded into the snow below. The spider attempted to bite down on Ahmal with it's fangs, but luckily he blocked it with his bow, jamming it length-wise across the spider's mouth, stopping the fangs. They dripped with venom, melting parts Ahmal's cloak as it hit the fabric.