The End Of The World

Two

Calua and Lucus' hooves thundered across the ground of the rapidly shortening grassy plain towards the shadowy forest. Their riders looked at each other and nodded solemnly as they crossed the threshold of the forest. Calua and Lucas worked hard, moving swiftly deeper into the forest, carefully navigating their way through narrow gaps between wide trunks. Both of them were breathing heavily as Daniel and Charlotte whispered words of encouragement in their ears. The deeper they went, the thicker the forest became and soon the treetops blocked out enough light that it seemed the day had ended and they were riding through the night. They continued, the occasional gap in the trees showing a quickly darkening sky. S the last bits of light were fading, Daniel and Charlotte finally slowed their steeds. They had stopped at the edge of a small clearing, fresh green grass and brightly coloured flowers sprinkled to the trees on the other side.

Daniel and Charlotte secured Calua and Lucas to a pair of trees on the edge of the clearing. The two horses settled down easily, happily munching on grass. Charlotte gathered some firewood and began to build a fire for the two to cook over and Daniel pitched the tents.

After Charlotte returned, she set up the fire and pulled out a few pots and a few cans of food. Daniel came and sat by her and opened one of the cans while she opened her own. The two of them tipped the contents into their pots and set them on the fire.

"So much for making it Qeddeoning for the night" Daniel spoke softly, staring into the heart of the fire as it danced around in the gentle breeze.
"So what if I miscalculated. I didn't realise this patch of trees-"
"Patch of trees?" Daniel raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, okay. This forest. I didn't realise it was quite so big"
"Of course you didn't."
"Look, Daniel, I'm sorry, okay! I'll make it up to you!" Charlotte said hurriedly, "We'll stay the night in Qeddeoning tomorrow"
Daniel hummed for a few seconds, worrying Charlotte.
"Fine," He said, rather nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders ever so slightly. Charlotte smiled in relief.
"So where do you come from?"
"I-I... I don't remember, I've been on my own since I was a kid"
"Do you have any family?" Charlotte asked.
"Yes, but I haven't seen them since I told them I wa-" Daniel stopped himself.
"Since you told them you......?" Charlotte prompted
"Since I told them I was leaving," Daniel replied quickly, "Why does it matter to you?"
"I just wanted to get to know each other better." If Charlotte didn't believe Daniel, she didn't show it and Daniel quickly busied himself with the food cooking over the fire.

*

Daniel and Charlotte sat quietly, eating their meal.
"I'm sorry if I upset you before," Charlotte said, breaking the silence.
"Don't worry about it, I'm just not used to having someone to talk to"
"Must have been a lonely existence, always on your own"
"Yea, I guess, but I never focused on being alone. I always focused on my job and where I was"
"Still, you must have thought about it sometimes, I mean, there's only so much you can do to keep focus elsewhere"
"Yea, well, Let's get to know each other then, given we'll be seeing a lot of each other for the next little while"
"Okay, 20 questions. I go first. Where were you born?"
"Aubermont. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?"

"Breoterra, I have family, but I've never met them. Favorite colour?"
"Purple. Kinda like plums. Is a hotdog a sandwich?"
"Yes. Any siblings?"
"Two, twin sisters, both younger than me," A smile graced his lips "Would you rather be intelligent but poor or stupid but rich?"

"Intelligent but poor. Money isn't everything. Would you rather all your pants have broken zippers or all your shirts have missing buttons?"
"Broken zippers," He answered quickly. "If you had to be any other species, what would you be?"
"Forest Elf. If you had 100k Litas, what would you do?
"Help the poor. If you had one day left to live, how would you spend it?"
"With those I love most," Charlotte answered, a small smile gracing her lips before she broke out yawning.
"We should turn in for the night," Daniel said, standing and stretching.
"Yea, good idea. Night!"

The two stood from the fire, Charlotte pouring some water over it to put it out, and walked to their tents