The man looks out over a dense forest. They were lucky to have found this cave when the storm hit. Being out there during the night would have been a hell. With a sigh, he turns around and approaches the fire. Another person was sitting next to it, tending to the meals they had worked so hard for early today.

Instead of sitting down next to the fire to warm up, the man approaches two horses at the back of the cave. One of them let's out a soft neigh as he comes closer, but falls silent as the man pets the beasts nose. "There, there. It's only the rain." He reaches into one of the saddlebags and finds what he's looking for. Oats for the horses, and a bottle of liquid for himself and his companion.

Finally, after feeding the horses, the man sits down next to the fire. With out loud sound he uncorks the bottle and takes a large swig. After wiping his mouth off with the back of his hand, he hands the bottle to the other figure sitting next to the fire. "So, how is our dinner coming along?"

The woman sat next to the fire. Her legs were tucked beneath her body as she leaned forward to churn the fish that roasted on a stick. Despite the chill of the wind blowing in from the storm the cave was pleasantly warm and comfortable. The fire snapped at crackled and this little corner of this place felt like... home. The word seemed to float through her mind as she churned the blackening fish once more. Outside the noise of the rain pounded loudly and thunderous roars followed the crack of light through the sky. The woman shook with every whipping sound that vibrated the ground. She stared into the flames of the fire, favoring the known danger over the unknown. The man spoke then, startling her away from the captivating flames. "Almost read, come sit down with me. It is warmer over here." She patted the stone next to her.

It was strange, this place. She wasn't sure how long she had been there. Maybe it had been forever, maybe only a split second, but this place - not the cave but the place itself, felt strange. Familiar yet foreign, safe yet terrifying. This place was both a friend to the people and their most dire enemy. The woman pulled the fish from away from the fire and passed the skewering stick to the man. Her eyes lingered on the darkness outside. "What do you think is making this?" She murmured, a hint of the fear she felt quivering in her voice. "Some kind of.. a.. a.." She struggled to come up with the word, it toyed on the tip of her tongue as she stared into the deepening dark at the mouth of their cave. "Some kind of... beast."

The man stands up once more and sits down next to the woman. He accepts the fish and immediately takes a bite. After some chewing he let's out a loud burp. "Pardon." With a raised eyebrow he follows the gaze of the woman to the mouth of the cave. "You mean the darkness of night? Well, if the old stories hold any truth, it might actually be a beast. The old Halia, casting her cloak of dark fur over the world. But who really knows?" The man throws the skewering stick in the fire, where it lands in the sizzling flames, their only source of light this dark night.

The man holds out his hands to the fire to warm them. When he opens his mouth once more he speaks with a calm but steadfast voice. "Listen, Shan, I'm sure we'll be able to return one day. They can't hunt us forever. One day we won't have to run anymore." He looks at her with vigor in his eyes. This is what he actually believed in and nothing would sway him of that.

Shan hugs herself closer as her companion compares the darkness to the cloak of the mythical beast Halia. She shivers, mostly out of fear than cold. "And the storm? Do you think that it could be..." She trails off slightly. "Do you think it could be them." She watches as the man throws the skewering stick into the dying fire, causing it to spring brightly back to life and illuminate the cave with a mixture of dim light and shadows against the walls. Shan didn't want to appear too weak, she couldn't always rely on the man to be there when she was frightened by the weather or the darkness. She needed to remember that just because something was unknown didn't mean it was always terrifying. Some things were exciting and interesting. She remembered fondly when they had discovered the horses, a sunny and wonderful afternoon. She had thought that the majestic creatures were magically.

"Listen, Shan, I'm sure we'll be able to return one day. They can't hunt us forever. One day we won't have to run anymore."

She stared into his eyes, a determination lay inside his irises that caused a swelling of hope inside of her. Shan smiled kindly. "I know, Ailbe. And when that day comes we will celebrate. It will be wonderful, food and drinks and... dancing." She laughed and scooted slightly closer to the fire. She was not as sure as Ailbe about what their future would hold. But she wasn't about to let her cynical attitude crush his spirit. "We are running very low on firewood, we won't have light for much longer. We should get ready to tuck in for the night."

Ailbe stares into the dying fires once more and nods. "You're right. We have a long day ahead tomorrow. Maybe we can finally find a village to stock up on some supplies. I could use some fresh fruit for a chance." Taking a last quick sip from the bottle, he stands up and makes his way to the horses once more. He retrieves two bedrolls from both horses and walks back to the fire, where the fire was now actually nothing more but some smoldering cinders. One by one he rolls the two bedrolls out over the floor.

Was she right? Would they celebrate? What was there to celebrate after all? He had never the courage to tell her that the people she once trusted, were actually the ones who had caused all this mess. Maybe it was just something he told her to keep her happy... or himself. With a deep sigh, he lays down on the bedroll and stretches himself. "Goodnight Shan. Let's hope for a quiet night for once." With these last words, he closes his eyes and falls into a deep sleep.

A quiet night...

Shan snuggled into her bedroll keeping those words inside her heart as her eyes fluttered closed and she fell into a restless sleep. Like most nights, she was plagued with nightmares of shadows and monsters. A dream where creates chased her, licked at her heels and wrapped smokey tendrils around her legs. In her dream she was never quite fast enough, unable to reach the destination that she knew she was running for. Unsure even what that destination was, but sure that it would be safe. Shan twitched, kicked and moaned in her sleep. Fear paralyzed her eyes shut, despite knowing she was asleep and wanting nothing more than to be awake.

Unbeknownst to her, Shan's nightmares were the least of her concern when a long, slithering creature decided to make the cave it's own hiding spot for the evening, to wait out the unending darkness. It moved slow and calculating, jerking and slithering, among the bags and belongings of the two humans. A loud, pained cry from one of the horses jerked Shan from her sleeping nightmare to her waking one, her own cry filling the cave as she felt the weight of some part of the long creature's body over her legs. "Ailbe! Ailbe wake up! There is something on me! It's a beast, a monster!" Frantically she crawled her way out of the bedroll and away from whatever fearful thing awaited them in the darkness.

Ailbe's eyes shoot open as he hears the frantic cries of Shan. In a swift motion he crawls out of his bedroll and get's to his feet. His eyes immediately rest on the long, dark creature. The beasts red, piercing eyes look back at Ailbe, watching his moves closely. Ailbe looks over his shoulders to the horses. He needed his weapons if he was going to stand any chance against this monster.

With a quick dash he turns around and makes his way to the horses. Once there, he grabs his blade straight from the sheathe hanging from one of the saddles. But as soon as he turns around, he is greeted by the end of a tail, hitting him in his chest. With a grunt of pain, Ailbe flies through the air and hits the wall with a loud smack. The man falls to the floor, his weapon falling out of his hand. As he lays there on the floor, nearly losing consciousness, he looks at Shan and manages to force some last words out of his mouth before everything fades to black. "Use... your powers."

Fear gripped Shan as she watches the shadowy figure of Ailbe fall to the ground in the dark cave. Her senses were on high alert, the sound of the blade hitting the ground was like lightening and the hissing groan of the creature was paralyzing.

"Use... your powers."

Shan looked towards the sound of the voice shook Shan from her stricken stance and she plunged into darkness. Everything went deathly quiet, the darkness grew deeper and the world seemed to slip away from under her feet. The familiar feeling of drifting in completely nothingness filled her limbs, she went limp and numb. There was nothing and she was no one. And then the world exploded in colour, centring on Shan herself. She saw everything in the little cave, the creature a beast that looked like a snake with long fangs and piercing red eyes, come into stark view for her. It was slowly slithering towards Ailbe, it's tongue flicking sadistically as it approached.

The creature stopped the moment Shan concentrated the energy illuminating from her into the beast. It seemed to move in be frozen in mid-slither and suspended in a time-frame unknown to the two humans standing and watching the new being in awe. Before suddenly the thing exploded in a flurry of sparks and matter in the air, disappearing from within their vicinity to a reappear somewhere far away.

Shan dropped to the floor of the cave, breathing heavil. Tears formed in her eyes and her nose dribbled slightly. Fatigue made her limbs feel numb. "What the hell was that thing! She exclaimed, bursting into tears.

The surge of power in the cave was enough to get Ailbe to wake up. Some sparks still linger when he opens his eyes and he sees the crying girl on the her knees. He rushes towards her and wraps his arms around her. "It's fine. Everything will be okay. We're safe now. You did well." He hated himself for having asked her to use her powers... But they would've been dead if she hadn't. "Come, we must move. It's not safe to stay here. They probably felt that."

Ailbe makes his way to the horses and checks all the equipment. Once he's sure all is there, he starts packing the things left in the cave. Rolling up the bedrolls and putting out the fire by kicking some dirt in it. They couldn't leave any trace of them being here. They tried so hard to make themselves untraceable... All undone by some stupid giant snake or whatever it was.

He looks at Shan, which he left sitting on one of the rocks. "It's time to go Shan. Are you ready?"