Dull Colours [EDITED EDITION]

Twelve | Night One

Hera stretched her sore shoulders and shifted her bag from one shoulder to the other, not wanting to grumble and complain. Like always. Her parents had always told her to tell them when she hurt, but she had her magic. Letting it flow through her hands to get some warmth into them, she jumped and nearly socked Matthew in the nose when he gently slipped the bag off her shoulders. "Yours looks heavier - " he grunted. " - which it is." Hera smiled at him, surprised. "Gentleman, aren't ya?" She joked, and as he went to stand beside Issy, she called over her shoulder, "Princess!" at which she got a smirk in return. Smiling, she saw Issy slip her hand into Matthew's she turned to feel Jacob grab hers. She squeezed back gently.

"Okay," Hera said eventually. "I think we'll stop here for the night." Seating herself under a tree with plenty of cover in case it rains, Hera caught the bag Matthew had thrown her way and yanked out her sleeping bag, throwing it under her in a desperate need for sleep. Steeling herself so she didn't shiver, she curled up in a little ball to conserve heat. "Goodnight," she managed to say without her voice breaking or chattering. A chorus of "G'night" followed, and Hera let herself drift into a dreamless and thankfully voice-less sleep.

~~~~~

Hera Giala woke to warmth surrounding her, and realised her face was pressed to Jacob's chest. Inhaling his familiar smell, Hera snuggled closer. Stiffening when he stirred, Hera couldn't help but laugh at his tiny yawn. "Morning," she brushed a lock of hair out of his face and sat up, stretching her back.

Morning sunshine - or should I say, darkness.

Hera groaned inwardly. "She's back?" Jacob guessed, so maybe Hera had really groaned aloud. Tugging at her locket, Hera looked at the sun and guessed it was about six in the morning. "Three hours," she rolled her eyes and reached to pull her bag to her chest so she could rummage through it, finding and tearing open a little package of bread and trying but failing to eat it slowly and instead ate it all pretty much at once. Taking a swig of water, Hera glanced around, and everyone was awake, eating their own food. She again smiled at how close Matt and Issy were sitting and gave Issy 'The Look' with the eyebrows and all, to show she shipped it. She did. "Does Mizzy sound about right to you? Or we can cute-ify it and make it Mizzle." Hera thought out loud to Jacob, who laughed. "I like Mizzle," he intertwined their fingers. "But what's cute-ify?" He giggled childishly. "You know, make it cute." Hera explained. "Right," Jacob replied.

Hera walked over to Issy and watched Matthew hold out a hand to pull her up, which she took. "Alright guys. We should probably keep going if we want to make it to the caves in time." Pushing her glasses up - again - Hera walked up behind Jacob and hugged him, her glasses squishing into his shoulder, then came up beside him. She nudged him playfully. He took her hand again, and they set off to the caves where Hera would find the first ingredient - Amadel dust. Amadels, a stunning gemstone only documented and thought of by some as a myth, was meant to be in these caves. So Hera did what she had been doing a lot of lately.

Hera hoped.

She hoped so hard it hurt.