Fates Aligned: On The Run

Chapter Two: Silent Night

A few hours had passed since the trio's departure, the once tranquil blue skies now painted with lashings of fiery orange and red. The sun was lowering beneath the horizon. Douxie slowly started the airship's descent towards the ground, guiding it through the thick canopy of pine trees that stuck up through the mist. Dropping now cloud level, a dense fog populated the space around them, along with a light rain that pattered softly against the forest floor as they landed.
Nari was first to dismount. Her eyes closed, head up towards the sky, she allowed the drops of rain to lightly hit her skin. Archie, on the other hand, reacted by hissing at the weather and balling himself up inside Douxie's hoodie. Casperan held one hand out to feel the sensation of the water lightly hit his fingers and roll off. It was a moment of pure calm. Whilst he wished he could stay and revel in it for as long as possible, Merlin's former apprentice knew they had to keep moving. He waved his hand, a blue aura appearing around the ship and it shrank down until it was no bigger than a toy boat. Stuffing their mode of transport into his rucksack, Douxie beckoned Nari to follow him towards the treeline.
Through the dense population of tree trunks, they could just about spy what seemed to be a small campsite up ahead.

"Well, seems we've found our first stop," Douxie commented, indicating to the small collection of tents and caravans that littered the campsite, "Arch, can you fly up ahead and scout for any places we could sneak into? I haven't had the opportunity to access the money Zoe put to one side for us. Hopefully I can get to an ATM soon."

Archie complained a little but begrudgingly shifted to his dragon form and flew up above the clearing, lapping it a few times before returning to Douxie.

"From what I can see, most of the site is occupied but there's an older caravan near the trees to the west that seems empty. It's a little rundown however." The dragon remarked with a shrug.

The trio awkwardly sneaked across the campsite towards what looked like an old tin can on wheels.
The caravan looked like it had been abandoned for some time. One look through one of the murky windows revealed a messy yet strangely comforting interior. Douxie looked around to ensure the coast was clear and quickly flicked out a pen knife to pry the lock off the door.

The door swung open with a gentle creak, revealing the musty insides of the motorhome. Every surface was caked in a layer of dust a mile thick, a shoddy carpet on the floor and trashy retro furniture. It was an utter eyesore, yet felt familiar enough to Douxie to calm him a little. He ushered Nari and Archie inside and closed the door behind them, wedging a chair under the handle to prevent anyone from coming in. Nari sniffed the air a little, letting out a tiny sneeze from inhaling the dust particles that drifted around in the air.

"Gesundheit." Archie responded.

"Gesundheit?" The goddess asked.

"It's a way of saying 'bless you'," Douxie told her as he seated himself on the plush bench at the table, "It's German."

Nari tilted her head like a confused puppy for a split second, "Humans have a strange way of expressing themselves. But it is so magical to see!"

Douxie stifled a chuckle, sneezing himself upon breathing in the thick, murky air. It threw him forwards suddenly and he laughed.

"Oh! Gesundheit Wizard Douxie!" Nari exclaimed with excitement, "Did I use it correctly?"

"Yeah," the wizard responded in a nasal sounding voice, "Yeah, you did."

She hopped up onto the seat next to him, nuzzling into his side a little. He was about to shy away but he could feel her tiny frame trembling. Her naïve smile hid her fear. She was just as scared if not more so than he was. Douxie sighed and lifted his arm up for her to lie partially on his lap. A high pitched yawn escaped Nari's mouth, her green and gold eyes slowly falling asleep. No more than two minutes later she was spark out. Archie had found himself a discarded cardboard box on the table and nestled into it.

"She looks so peaceful." Archie remarked, "I wonder how she can be so peaceful with everything going on right now."

"She's scared."

"How do you know?"

Hisirdoux ran his hand across her vibrant forest green hair, "I can feel her shaking...she's terrified Arch. Just as scared as me."

Archie looked down at Nari. She seemed quite content, but he could now notice a slight shiver from her. She began to whimper softly in her dream state.
Douxie started to stroke her hair, using a calming tone to reassure her she was safe. He was feeling exhausted but didn't want to leave Nari like this.

"Night old friend. Sleep well." Arch purred, closing his eyes.

"G'night mate."

Douxie sat back and watched as eventually, Nari settled a bit more. She was still shaky, but much calmer. He finally allowed sleep to claim him, knowing he could fight it any longer. He'd only be fighting a losing battle with his exhaustion. He slipped into the embrace of a shallow, dreamless sleep, casting one thought back to the events of the day.

Tomorrow would be better.