Haltingly, Emily reached her hand to where she'd left on the pack and wrapped a hand around her crossbow. She'd heard the accusations and vague statements the crowd had made about the girl's 'witchcraft', but she'd written them off as lies told to justify the fearful townspeople's actions - the notion that the girl might actually be possessed of some power hadn't occured to her. 

As the pale fire rose, the light seemed to bleach from the clearing. Emily's breath caught in her throat and a cold wind prickled her face, making her break out in gooseflesh in spite of the enormous fire. The dark laughter thumped in her chest and a dull buzzing sounded in her ears. Slowly, Emily brought her hand from her face to her chest in a gesture her father had taught her - to 'ward off evil in the woods'. She took a deep breath and clutched the crossbow, bringing it to bear on the flailing child.

Time froze for a second, as Ryan carried on screaming and kicking and Emily took aim at the girl's forehead with an increasingly shaky hand. Most of the girl's rambling meant nothing to her, save a few aspects - she was guilty. She was afraid. She'd lost people, 'Casey and Mama'. "I want them back!" she screamed again. "Bring them back!" 

"I can't!" Emily replied, setting down the crossbow and walking cautiously over to the child. She pulled the girl up into a sitting position and sat down next to her, on hand awkwardly on the girl's shoulder. "Nothing can, Ryan. That's the first thing you have to realize, nothing can bring the people you love back." 

This lead to a bout of crying that caused the fire to flare up even further, but Emily stayed resolute. "Hey. Hey, Ryan. This isn't going to help."

"I didn't mean to do it!"

"I know. I know you didn't, but that doesn't matter now. All that matters is what you're going to do next." Emily turned to stare into the child's eyes. "Casey and Mama are gone, Ryan. But do you think they'd be happy if they saw you like this?" The girl sniffled, and Emily continued. "All that you can do now is be brave. Don't you think they'd want you to be brave?"

At length, the girl nodded, and gradually the green fire began to die down. Emily gave Ryan a strip of cloth to wipe her face off with and stood some distance away while she did so, staring into the woods, lost in thought. Until she started to hear the howling some distance away. 

The hunter whipped around and automatically began to throw her possessions back together and re-tie Able's saddlebags. She was halfway through loading her musket and slinging it around her shoulder when she saw Ryan staring at her in the middle of camp. "What are you doing?" the girl asked, and sniffled.

"I, um... there are people who need me. I'm the only one who can help them, so I have to go. You stay here, or... no, I guess you have to come with." Emily crouched down and put her hands on Ryan's shoulders. "This is going to be scary, Ryan. Very scary. I need you to be brave. Can you do that for me?"

Ryan nodded, and Emily smiled and mussed her red hair. "That's my girl. Stay quiet, stay low, and if you see anything scary, find me and tell me where it is." She lifted the child onto Able and then hauled herself up, immediately galloping in the direction of the howls.

"Are we looking for those wolves I heard?" Ryan asked, and Emily shook her head.

"There are no wolves in Farsil."