Rayadell returned his smile with a stiff nod. With one hand clutching her staff, when the elk bounded forward, she draped her free arm around Calanon’s waist to help keep her in place, the bulges of her wings twitching with the instinctive effort to help keep her balance. The creature was of a swifter foot than she had imagined possible, and with an endurance to match.
	She inhaled through her nose when the wind pulled at the hood of her cloak and swept the hair from the marked side of her face. She bent her head and looked to the side, hoping that, should her new companion bother to glance back again, the shimmering lines would remain hidden to him.
	She remained silent, not bothering to request a stop for food, her gaze watching trees and streams pass by at a speed that could pose as a great rival in a race between the elk and an elagon in flight.
	By the time the sun had begun to sink behind the mountains, casting the skies in the reds and oranges of the eternal bloody battle between day and night, they had already neared the mouth of the mountain pass. 
	Rayadell finally looked up as the elk trotted to a stop within a valley at the base of their mountainous destination. The remains of rock slides littered the ground, some larger formations embedded into the ground and covered with layers of grime and vines. She quickly followed Calanon’s lead, hopping to the ground in what looked like the clearest grassy space in the immediate area. 
	A heavy chill hung in the air, a warning to any brave enough to venture onward to expect a colder climate. Even the air itself carried a fresher crispness here. The encroaching night made the trees cast growing shadows over the ground as the sun set quicker for the base of the mountain.
	“Collect some stones to make a fire pit,” Rayadell instructed, adjusting the sides of her cloak as she turned on her heels to scan the spaced trees. “I’ll gather some wood. Something tells me we’re in for a cold night.”
	Without leaving Calanon room for debate, she headed off toward the thicker part of the woods, keeping her eyes open for any fallen branches.