The True Meaning of A Warrior

Chapter Four: Explorations (ZARA)

"Are you ready?" I whispered into the pending dark, my breath catching. My fingers curled around the arrow slung over my shoulder, feeling the cold, ice-like substance for comfort.

"Just...a see...second," came her muffled tone. There was a groaning creak, and then a magnificent crash.

"Gosh, you need to seriously tone it down!" I whisper-shouted.

"Sorry," Eve's disembodied voice apologized. "Just finding my backpack that I haven't used for years-found it!" she finished triumphantly. Click! She flashed her nightlight open.

"Why didn't you do that earlier?" I countered, crossing my arms with a smile. In my quiver of arrows, I had also crammed in a water bottle, an extra jacket, a map ripped out of one of our very boring textbooks, and some dried food to last a long time in the arrow-pack.

"Give me a second..."

"I already did."

"Okay, no need to be so curt. I'm done." Eve's silhouette popped out of her dusty wooden closet, and it was revealed that she had a pretty small backpack slung over her back. "I have a water bottle, some dried and preserved eats, some bandages and other medical tools, and a change of clothes. Oh, and a few matches."

"Oh, that was thoughtful, I forgot about the matches," I remarked generously.

"Thanks," she said, restyling her very messy braid. When she was finished, she took a step towards me. "We have two days, at most. Two days, you got this? And then we go back and explain...everything to our parents. Which won't be easy. Okay?"

"Okay," I rolled my eyes, shifting the sack of arrows and resources on my back. "Ready to go?"

"Yup." She brushed her fingers on the sheath in which her sword was carried in, zipping up her jacket. "Let's go."

We were going out to explore the tribe, try to find more clues about "The Dark" before we came back and would have to explain a whole lot to our possibly-infuriated family then. But, it was worth it-this may have happened hundreds of years ago, but something told me that this "dark" wasn't just a thing that would go and leave. Literally, this Hail D. Starcatcher dude left his entire old life behind to start this new life for his family-this "dark" thing must be seriously horrible.

I snapped out of my thoughts. "Okay, come on." Then, I trailed out of the door that led to Eve's bedroom. Meanwhile, she clicked her nightlight closed and followed.

We headed silently out of her family's cave, avoiding the creaky parts, and slipped out of the door, closing it gently behind and wincing when it groaned loudly.

Instantly, the cool night air flooded my lungs, cooling my swamped mind. It was light, fresh, and perfect-I stood to take a few deep breaths before continuing with Eve at my side.

Our journey had finally begun.

"Oh, my feet!" I groaned, flopping down on a nearby border surrounded by a thick thicket of ferns. There, I kicked off my shoes, revealing raw blisters, about three, covering each foot.

"Ouch!" grimaced Eve. "Even my feet aren't that bad...yet. Here." She took off her backpack and dug out a few bandages, handing them to me. "Put these on."

"Thanks," I said gratefully, sticking on the bandages to the soles of my feet and then slipping my blue combat-boots back on. We'd been trekking all day, only pausing to have a flimsy lunch, and now it was the beginning of dusk, as we walked against the darkening sky. By now we were only near the edges of the dark forests and I think...the winter tribe? I mean, it's quite frigid over here.