Noah nodded at Elann’s words. Maybe was more than nothing at all. He didn’t expect her to know, simply asking the question to gauge what she was initially listening for, if anything at all. There was the chirping of crickets, the wind in the trees in the distance, the occasional snapping of a twig. Noah didn’t feel threatened, unalarmed by anything in their surroundings. The trek through the dark hadn’t worried him. What was felt in him was a sense of growing anticipation and anxiety that peaked right before he turned to face Elann and asked her what she heard.

The clouds above sparked with lightning, though they were silent, the strike not sending thunder ripping through the area. His fair skinned face was illuminated momentarily by the flash before he spoke.

“Listen for the wind,” he told her hushedly. “Try to ignore everything else. Don’t worry about the dark or the bugs.”

He grew quietly, turning his ears to listen as well. He could tell the whispers were coming from Elann’s right side, further into the trees. While lightning wasn’t flashing while they were walking, it was flashing now in a random frequency. No thunder came though, only the guiding lightning that Zulrav produced.