After a day and a half of walking, sleep began to encroach on the band of travelers. Ludda found herself curled up in the back of Amyntas’ hood, and the others found themselves counting the tall trees as they walked by, eyelids drooping. Gwenyver’s glare seemed as strong as ever behind her hood, and whenever an ounce of fatigue seemed to set in her step, the gem around her neck caught the light, even though they walked engulfed in the shadow of the evening forest. 

	By a circle of thick barked trees Gwenyver stopped, her hand silently patting the walking Avery in front of her, signifying a stop. Looking around the mulch covered floor, she turned slowly towards Amyntas.

	“We can rest here,” her eyes drifted to the panting Umbra, “drink, rest, eat.” The dog’s eyes sparkled at her words, as if hearing a beautiful melody. 

	Avery turned around to examine the area. Her attention immediately turned to the many twigs at her feet. She didn’t speak but rather stopped in the middle of the small clearing before crouching. She looked around before rummaging through a small pouch. From it she pulled a piece of flint and a short, thin metal plate. Within arms reach were dry leaves, of which she gathered along with a few of the twigs. She sighed once last time before gently striking the flint and metal together over the leaves. The sparks finally ignited, which was dainty at first but with enough care, it finally burst into a steady flame.

	She turned about to face Gwenyver, “I’m going to go find some firewood. Shouldn’t be too hard with all these dry plants around.” Her attention turned to the trees then began walking.

	“Be careful,” Gwenyver called back. A moment passed and a thought crossed her mind, “on second thought, I’m coming.”

	Turning to Amyntas she whispered harshly, “Watch for Bannik, I’m unsure how safe we are.” 

	With that she began her brisk walk behind Avery, eyes peeking around every tree. 

	After a few minutes of fruitless searching, Avery turned to Gwenyver, “So, you’re going to Blackrock. What made you decide that?” she said, perfectly prepared for a frustrating answer.

	Gwenyver picked up a dried stick, gently picking up another after it, stacking them in her arms. She hummed lightly as if in thought, “hmm, well.” She answered.

	“It seems Blackrock is the only place I can find what I’m looking for.” Standing upright she snapped a dead twig off a tree and placed it in her growing pile, her eyes darting around.

	“Quite a vague answer.” Avery said before reaching for a twig of her own. After a few more she spoke plainly “Well, I guess I hope you find what you are looking for.”

	“Me too,” Gwenyver nodded, snagging another branch, “I must thank you for your consideration on not trying to pry too much, I’m much too embarrassed to reveal my destination.”

	Her pale lips rose into a smile, and her eyes bore into Avery curiously, “but why were you sleeping in the woods, so far from civilization?”

	Avery reached up for another twig before narrowing her gaze, “People there are persecuted for any reason. I so happened to not really, align with their beliefs.” 

	“So you left for the woods in search of Ethea?” Gwenyver raised a brow, “without any food or water?”

	“I had a conflict of interest and was forced to leave.” Avery replied, but her look quickly changed to that of shame, “I had a choice to stay but it would have more than likely been the end of my life.” her gaze finally turned to Gwenyver, “From what I’ve heard, certain places in this world are more tolerant of…” she paused, thinking that these people could possibly be Eleutherian. “I am an Ilinucist. A religion they despise.” 

	Gwenyver’s crimson eyes flickered like a candle’s flame for a moment, soaking in the image in front of her. After a second of silence, her smile curled, “well! I will give you a choice then, as it is only fair.”

	“You may continue to bring me to my destination, and I will be thankful,” She continued, “Or you can take my food and water, and leave, never to look back on our fateful finding of you. I will not force you to return to Blackrock.”

	“Well, to be perfectly honest, I am not sure as to where Ethea is, save a few stories about them neighboring Ascain.” Avery said, following up with a sigh, “A place that is equally, if not more unforgiving of my faith. So, I’ll take you to Blackrock. It’s far enough from the city I was just at for word to not have spread. And it’s not as if the people there know of my appearance.” She smirked, “So yeah. I’ll lead you there.”

	“Then I will be thankful,” Gwenyver nodded, “but know that you may leave whenever you wish, I do not keep those against their will.”

	Picking up a final branch Gwenyver dipped her hooded head and turned back towards the camp where they had left Amyntas. Taking one step, she waiting for Avery to follow.

	Avery gave a simple nod but not before looking up to examine the figure before her. After a dirty grin, she began walking towards camp as well.

 Having broke from the trees and entered the small area they called camp, Gwenyver dropped her small bundle of sticks and walked to stand next to Amyntas. The woman had found a log to sit on, with Umbra smiling under her left hand, and Ludda on her right shoulder. Gwenyver stared at the three for a moment, her eyes doing their usual flicker. Talking softly, the calming sound of a morning breeze returning to her tone, she said, “I think I shall stand watch again tonight.”

	Amyntas coughed as Gwenyver spoke. Sniffling she asked “Do you ever sleep?”

	“Nope!” Gwenyver said in such a manner it could have been a joke. The odd pulses of her tone always seemed to dilute her intention, or perhaps mask it, either way, it always felt right to those who heard.

	Amyntas simply grunted as she spared a glance towards Avery. She rose to her feet, a second cough escaping her lips, before sitting back down next to a tree, resting her back to it. She quietly asked “Do you think she is trustworthy?”

	Gwenyver sat down next to Amyntas in such a way it looked uncomfortable, with her legs buckled underneath as she sat on her knees, her back perfectly straight. Gwenyver let a second pass before answering softly, “she is no Bannik, and I doubt she was sent here against us. Trustworthy, I have no idea, but worthy enough to guide us to Blackrock. Besides, I have a feeling she would actually be dead had we not come along, we are doing her a favor in a sense. Let’s just keep her strictly as a guide, it’ll quicken our pace for the time being.”

	Amyntas frowned, seeming to have some kind of internal struggle. After a moment she spoke up again. “Its… concerning that she mentioned Ethea earlier.” It was unlike Amyntas to put to words her concerns, even more so to someone she barely knew. It wasn’t that she had felt compelled to speak up, so much as that she unreasonably felt that she should tell Gwenyver. Concerning. Dropping her voice lower she added “I have insured that she hasn’t seen any defining traits, but…”

	“We just have to keep our eyes out,” Gwenyver answered, “I suspect it might even be better that she be under our observation until we get… well what we are looking for. She shouldn’t bring any trouble so long as we are careful as always.”

	Amyntas grunted an affirmative. She seemed about to add something else when Ludda spoke up. “You could always seduce her with your feminine wiles.” She tittered, clearly amused by the thought. Amyntas was by no means ugly and was comely even. Even so the thought caused her to snort before shooting Ludda an icy glare.

	“I doubt she’s interested in other women.” Amyntas stated after a moment, letting her glare thaw out just a tad. Ludda decided now was the time to switch whose shoulder she was resting on.

	“Well [i]I[/i] could certainly seduce her if I wanted.” Ludda stated as she plopped down onto Gwenyver’s shoulder. She gave the woman a wide smile before adding “But I wouldn’t want you two to feel jealous.”

	“It would serve no purpose,” Gwenyver tilted her head in the way she had grown accustomed to whenever Ludda was on her shoulder. As always she studied the small creature before adding, “not a single purpose. It might even hinder our journey.”

	“Don’t worry” Ludda said. “Your position as my number two shoulder was never in danger.” She patted Gwenyver’s shoulder for affect. It wasn’t clear whether she was serious or joking. Amyntas actually rolled her eyes in what was probably the most obvious display of emotion since Gwenyver had first seen her.

	Gwenyver glanced over at Amyntas, a tiny smile on her face before looking back at Ludda, “even if I’m sick and contagious?” She attempted to joke.

	Ludda’s eyes widened slightly as she looked at Gwenyver. “Umm….. That’s why you’re number two.” She commented after a moment. She glanced at Amyntas before whispering “Your shoulders are more comfortable.”

	“Traitor.” The word was spoken so quietly that one might have believed it to have been imagined. Ludda’s eyes widened further as she looked towards Amyntas.

	“Don’t fret,” Gwenyver said to Ludda, “you’re on the winning side.”

	Amyntas seemed about to say something, but thought better of it and simply shrugged. “You have first watch then.” She stated after a moment. Within moments she had closed her eyes and fallen asleep. Ludda watched Amyntas’s still form for a moment before turning her gaze back to Gwenyver.

	“I think she’s sad.” The faery commented after a moment.

	“There will be a lot of sadness in our coming days,” Gwenyver answered, her smile long gone, “perhaps you should comfort her, you two need to be strong for what is to come.”

	“I don’t know why she’s sad though.” Ludda frowned. “She’s just been really grouchy since yesterday. And leth.. Eeerm…” She glanced at Amyntas, perhaps realizing that the woman wasn’t awake to supply the correct word she was looking for. “Lazy?” The faery supplied after a moment.

	“Lethargic?” Gwenyver concluded, “is she sad about her quest?”

	“She hasn’t said.” Ludda’s frown deepened. “But she isn’t… doing stuff that she normally does.” Ludda began to fidget. “It's not normal.”

	“You should get to the bottom of that,” Gwenyver’s voice was laced with an undying urgency, “if she cannot perform this quest, I’m afraid--”

	“Let’s just make sure she is okay, I need her,” Gwenyver bit her lip, “you understand, right?”

	“Mhm.” Ludda gave a nod that encompassed the entire upper half of her body. “Maybe she’ll feel better in the morning?”

	“I certainly hope so, we only have so much time,” Gwenyver seemed to lose her usual breezy tone when she mentioned time, instead replacing it with almost a sad choking. Looking forward she went silent, “let’s just double check in the morning, then we should get moving if everything is okay. What makes her happy?”

“Um…” Ludda looked around as if searching for clues. “Things and stuff?” She bit her lip. “She’s normally super busy! And she talks to people a lot too! A ton! She likes to talk.” She glanced towards Amyntas’s resting form. “I know that might be hard to believe…”

“Very hard,” Gwenyver answered, “are you saying we should talk to her a lot?”

“Maybe?” Ludda didn’t sound very sure. “She… doesn't like to talk to new people.”

“Then what should I do?” Gwenyver said, a slight distaste on her tongue as the words rolled off, causing her to make a face.

“Not be a new person?” Ludda answered.

Gwenyver simply stared at Ludda, “I’ll try my best.”

She sighed and her perfect posture weakened for only a moment before she stood back up, opting to go to a tree away from the sleeping Amyntas. She let silence reign as she stood cross armed in thought, her eyes darting around, keeping watch.

“She’s going to be okay,” was all she muttered, half at Ludda, half into the shadows beyond the campfire Avery had started.

	Avery was lay facing away from the group, attempting to sleep as well but her body was keeping her from it. The rocks she rested upon dug into her ribs, causing much discomfort. This was furthered by the desires that had went unquenched from the weeks before. [I]I wonder[/I] she thought, slowly rolling to face the three women. The flickering light upon Gwenyver's face caught her eye, [I]I suppose in the right light, anyone can be attractive.[/I]

 	Her mind began racing, images of women in a risqué outfits, laying before her brought some comfort but it definitely wasn't the end of her thoughts, [I]Amyntas seems like a prude, but that anger taken out on me.[/I] She let out an audible 'mmm' before closing her eyes tightly. [I]Aketa, I can only imagine the places the Faery could get to.[/I]

 	"I can't sleep." Avery said, slowly rolling onto her back. She sighed and rolled back onto her side, stretching as she did so. Her gaze shifted to Gwenyver, "I haven't been to Blackrock in quite some time. It wasn't the most pleasant of places. Had some nice taverns though."

	“Why is it called Blackrock?” Ludda asked from her perch on Gwenyver’s shoulder. “Is there a big black rock there? Oh! Are there other faeries there?”

	Avery chuckled, “It’s called Blackrock because of, well yes. A big black rock. And no, there aren’t any faeries there. Sorry.”  she said with a sad tone.

	“Oh. That’s too bad.” Ludda frowned. Soon enough, however, a smile was back on her face. “You said taverns? I liked the taverns back home. Amyntas didn’t like me going to them, but people would always give me drinks. Big drinks.” She stretched her arms to the side as far as they could go to illustrate just how big. All told she was indicating a wine glass or maybe a mug at the largest. “Um… and then Amyntas would have to take me home cause I was too drunk to fly.” Her expression turned sheepish.

	“Is that right.” Avery said with a smile. She rolled onto her back and placed the back of her hand on her forehead. “There’s plenty to do in Blackrock.” A few seconds later her smile faded, “They have nice beds there. Aketa knows I could use one right now.” She thought for a moment, knowing that it would frustrate Gwenyver, “So what do you intend to do in Blackrock? Why go there.”

	“Um…” Ludda took to the air, fluttering her wings. She circled about for a moment before touching down on Avery’s chest. “I don’t know.” She said with a big smile. “Things and stuff I guess.”

	Avery frowned “Things and stuff...” A plain look returned to her face “Hmm. So, I guess that’s the best answer I can hope for. So where are you from?”

	“E” Ludda’s eyes widened before she stretched the sound out “eeeeaaaaally far away. Um… Like really far away.” There was that sheepish expression again.

	“Hmm.” Avery added, before looking down at Ludda, “Are there more like you?”

	“Yup!” Ludda nodded. “All over the place!” She looked around, as if expecting to see another faery before commenting “I’m surprised I haven’t seen another since leaving. Amyntas seemed mildly surprised before too.”

	“Well, to be honest, you’re the first Faery I have ever seen. And I’ve been on many travels.” Avery said before raising a brow, “I guess your kind aren’t common anywhere but ‘E’” she chuckled, “eeeeaaaaally far away.” 

	“Um… Maybe?” The petite faery was no shifting from foot to foot. “Or maybe we are just good at hiding.” She shot Gwenyver a not so subtle look.

	“So in eeeeaaaaally far away, do your people live in cities? Or do you make hives like bees.” Avery asked.

	“Umm….” By this point Ludda was tugging at her blonde hair. “Some of us stay in people’s houses. They feed us and um…. Amyntas says there are some…. Feral? Faeries that live beyond the cities, but I’ve never seen them.”

	“Eely,” Gwenyver finally cut in, “it’s an eastern county of Ascain.” Her eyes glanced over Ludda and then at Avery, “history says faeries used to be everywhere, but ever since the disappearance of Ethea, they tend to be only found in the reaches of Eely and the southern border.” 

	She pointed a pale finger at Ludda, “stop leading our guide on, that’s her job.”

	“Yup!” Ludda said with a small hop. “We are everywhere over there, but I’m not surprised that a xenos wouldn’t know.” While the Ascainians did use the word ‘xenos’, Ludda’s pronunciation was off, giving it a distinctly non-Ascainian sound to it.

	Gwenyver rubbed her face, a small sigh leaking from under her hood. After a moment she said, “Ludda, isn’t it getting late?”

	The faery looked at Gwenyver, then Amyntas, then back to Gwenyver. “I’m being vex… vexatious aren’t I?”

	“No, just a little loud enough to wake our sleeping companions,” Gwenyver added.

	Ludda let out a gasp before taking flight. “Ok.” She said. “Umbra is looking suuuuuper fluffy right now anyways. Night.” She landed on the mastiff, curled into a ball and closed her eyes.

	“From the way you all act, you must have been lifelong friends. Nice to have companions like that.” Avery said before letting out a yawn of her own.

	“Indeed it is,” Gwenyver answered, “it is comforting, do you have companions?”

	“No.” Avery said simply, “Well, I did. Well. No. I don’t.”

	“What, why not?” Gwenyver turned to her.

	Avery sighed, “Well, Things change. That’s about it. People change, people move on.” She looked to Gwenyver, “I guess, sorry for asking your little friend questions.”

	“There is nothing to be sorry about,” Gwenyver looked forward, “everything is just really sensitive right now.”

	“I suppose I can understand that. And it’s only going to get worse where you’re going. But at least you won't be lost on the way.” Avery said, trying to gratify herself. “But for you? Where are fro-” She stopped, “Sorry.”

	Gwenyver smiled a little, “I’m not from Blackrock, that’s for sure.”

	Sighing her smile faded, “did you need to sleep?”

	“I suppose we all do.” She said before turning away on her side. “Whenever you’re ready to go.” she continued before trying to fall asleep once more.

	Gwenyver nodded and kept her position by the tree, eyes ever vigilant. Her eyes kept forward for a minute, and then a minute turned to five, and eventually thirty. Without blinking her eyes kept watch, waiting an hour, and then two. 

	As she watched a pit slowly formed in her stomach, and with every ticking minute she felt it bite into her, and as if on a schedule, she felt her head throb after every bite. By the first hour her body was a chorus of pains, whether physical or not they played along her body, rattling her mind. Her vision blurred, only to cut clear, just to blur again.

	From under her hood, red drips formed from her eyes, forming flowing rivulets to the forest floor. The speckled mulch caught no light, and the moon did not shine under her hood as she waited. Her mind raced, recapping every action, remembering every word spoken. Her stomach clenched tight with guilt, and stabbed with pain, whether it was deserved or not, she did not know. 

	Five hours have passed, and like clockwork her stomach turned, so tightly clenched, she wondered if pain past pain existed. She forgot what the light looked like, where the sky ways or where she sat. Her head finally dipped, her eyes falling from watch and onto the forest floor. Her body shook as more crimson tears fell to her feet, bones freezing and skin crawling. Only when the seventh hour passed, and her ears twitched at the sound of her companions change in breathing did her body retreat, and pain subside, back to waiting for the next night. But even so, the pain taunted her in the back of her mind, no matter how far she reached away.


[hider=The Sixth Hour]

Hour six…

	Gwen gripped her head, wanting to throw her hood off. Her teeth clenched as she avoided the temptation to let the cool night air touch her head. Her eyes were closed, too flooded by her reddened tears to open. Her head swam and her body convulsed. She hated herself for how she existed, for every word spoken and every action taken. Her mind reminded her how she was an abomination, how her heart was incomplete, and how her light would soon extinguish to no one’s anguish. 

	Her hands fell from her hood and gripped the ground, dirt grating under her nails as she choked on what tear couldn’t escape her body. She wanted to scream, to release it all, she wanted to tear herself open and let it spill out. It couldn’t be helped though, no matter the pain, it would wash over her any chance it got. A single memory to reenact her deepest fears, to bring her the deepest guilt and the shallowest reason to feel that way. 

	No matter how many tears fell, or how thick her head felt, or how savagely unfit her heart felt, they would keep falling, growing thicker, and ticking with each pound of pain that panged her pitiful head. 

	How she desired to split the night with a scream, to reach out, to hand a hand grasp her own and pull her out. She wanted what she already felt, but with time what was felt becomes memory, and a memory to be exploited and used against her by her own traitorous mind. How she loathed her mind, how she hated her heart, and despised her conscious. Silently her raindrops fell, echoed only by her shaking breath, and beating heart. She was sick.
[/hider]