Another torturous day of hiking was upon them, the sun now high in the sky. To Will, this meant they had been walking for hours. That is far too long to exercise. The redhead was in the front, Senka behind. Occasionally she checked up on the two, looking back to make sure they hadn't collapsed onto the trail. They didn't make much small talk until William sped up, approaching the gingers side.
She glanced at him for a moment, but continued hiking.
"So..." William began, the awkwardness of his voice shining through more than he would have preferred. "I don't think I ever caught your name."
She looked at him again, an amused smile on her face. "Are you realizing this now or did you just not care before?"
"I thought it wasnt really relevent when we were running for our lives, yaknow?"
She chuckled dryly before answering. "Aeron."
"Well, nice to meet you, I guess."
Her laugh was slightly more sincere this time. "You too."
The silence between them settled into one more comfortable as he lagged back into their single file line. His legs were starting to hurt.
Senka had started slow, but eventually got so tired that will had to basically hold her up while Aeron searched for a place to camp.
"We could have covered more ground, but I guess this will do today. No way in hell am I carrying anyone again." Aeron remarked, searching the surrounding hills for shelter.
She eventually came upon a small shed, looking as though no humans had been near it for years. "Good enough." She muttered, sitting down and removing her winter coat. Night had not quite fallen and it was rather unusually warm.
"So, Senka," Aeron began hesitantly. "How you feeling?"
"Horrible." Senka glared at Aeron, understandable due to their history.
"So better." Aeron scoffed. "Look, about what I did-"
"Stop." Senka cut her off before she could finish. "I'm going out tonight."
"'Out'? Where?" Aeron looked genuinely confused as she looked the fairy up and down.
"Out. I wont go too far, don't worry." Senkas voice was laced with a sarcasm William hadn't heard from her before, feigning care for Aeron's concerns.
"Please dont," William chimed in. "You're probably still pretty weak. Besides, it would be dangerous for any of us to go out at night now that we're in the middle of the freaking woods. We dont know what animals would think you're tasty."
Senka narrowed her eyes at William. "I'm literally a forest fairy. Im made for nighttime." Her eyes and hair shifted back into their blackened state quickly, startling the boy and girl before her.
"Noted." Aeron stated simply, eyebrows raised and eyes wide.
YOU ARE READING
Winter's Burn
General Fiction"Her amber eyes turned almost black as the shadows overtook her thin frame. Tree branches became spindly hands wrapping their serpentine fingers around his body, vines twisting and knotting to pin him to the ground. He could have sworn he saw her le...
