Orrin was whistling tunelessly when Yuriko and Krystal returned to their campsite. Mikel was stirring the pot, his undivided focus honed in on every bubble that rose out of the stew. Heron was in a seated meditation pose, very clearly occupied with Recovery.
"Enjoy your bath?" Mikel asked nonchalantly.
"Yes, that was incredibly satisfying," Yuriko sighed. "I am hungry though. Is dinner ready?"
"Er, yes. I think it's ready."
Krystal marched up to the pot and grabbed the ladle off Mikel's hands, she stirred the pot a couple of times and sniffed.
"You didn't burn it. I'm surprised."
"Hey, I followed your instructions," Mikel protested.
"Sure you did. Please get the bowls."
Yuriko enjoyed the porridge, though having variations of the same dish for the past few days was getting to her. Until she bit on some meat chunks anyway, which reminded her where that particular addition came from. She pursed her lips but seeing the others enjoy the fresh food made her swallow her objections.
The afterglow of the bath didn't last long, though it wasn't their dinner that occupied Yuriko's mind for more than a fleeting instant. It had barely been a day since they encountered the Hunter and it would not have been difficult for the Wyldling to track them here. She had assumed they would have seen it by now or at least seen some sign of the swarmlings coming closer.
But there were none. She and Krystal had roamed about a longstride away from the lake and all they saw were butterflies, squirrels, the odd deer and, of course, their rabbit dinner. Well, maybe there was a snake or two pretending to be vines but then they could really have been extra thick vines. She'd kept away from those anyway just to be safe.
Orrin took care of the dishes simply because his Facet was particularly efficient for cleaning things up. Yuriko volunteered for the first watch as always; the two-hour shifts were just enough for her to settle her churning thoughts before she slept.
She climbed up the central tree. The lower branches were wide and gave easy footing but the foliage was thick enough that she had to climb above the crown to get a better view of their surroundings.
The surface of the lake sparkled. Under the water swam small, silvery fish and, among the reeds, fireflies danced, teasing the fish below. The forest edge was too close to the village ruins though, meaning any threat that came would have already crossed the threshold by the time she saw it.
Muttering to herself, she made her way back to the ground. The boys took one of the curtained-off rooms while Krystal settled on another. Orrin had put away the cleaned dishes and was about to turn in when Yuriko came back down.
"Oh, hey," Orrin said in a low voice.
Yuriko nodded at him. He seemed a bit down but, given their circumstances, who wouldn't be? She also knew that if she dwelt on their circumstances she would be paralyzed with indecision, so she shoved it to the back of her mind and focused on what she had to do right now.
The boys had cleared the path to the lake but left the path that led deeper into the forest alone. She channelled her Animus to her eyes, focusing on being able to see better in the dark. The light from the moon suddenly seemed more than enough. She couldn't see all the vibrant colours of the woods but she could easily distinguish the outline of the trees and even see the reflected light off animal eyes.
She strode towards the forest and just had a careful look. Seeing nothing of note, she went to a different vantage point to repeat the same until she covered the basic directions of north, east, south, and west. Vaguely satisfied, she returned to their dwelling's central tree and climbed up to its branches again. Half an hour later, she repeated the patrol. At the end of her watch, she walked into the boy's room.
"Mikel. Wake up." Yuriko nudged his foot through the bedroll. Mikel grunted and rolled over, then continued snoring away. Rolling her eyes, she reached for his shoulder and shook him.
"Zzrtk, huh, what?" Mikel grunted before he yawned and crawled out of the bedroll. "Goodnight," he said.
"Night." Yuriko yawned as she headed to her shared room where she snuggled into her bedroll while still in her forceweave clothes though she did kick off her socks and boots. She was asleep within seconds of her head hitting the pillows. Just past midnight, Yuriko bolted upright when she felt a tremor pass through the ground. A feeling of vertigo overtook her senses and she nearly fell on her face. The earthquake passed after a minute, leaving her a bit restless. Leaves fell from the canopy above but nothing else happened. Krystal didn't even wake up.
Yuriko got up, checking in with her team. Orrin was sitting just outside the door, eyes darting back and forth but he calmed down when he saw her.
"That was surprising," he remarked drily.
"Indeed. See anything?"
"Nothing much." Orrin seemed to hesitate for an instant. "Er, go back to sleep?"
"I guess. Good night."
Returning to her bedroll, Yuriko twisted and turned for a few minutes before sleep claimed her again. She woke up briefly when Heron walked into the room to wake Krystal for her watch.
Krystal's watch had been the last of the night which transitioned into cooking breakfast. Half of the rabbit had been saved for the next meal; combined with the assorted vegetables and fruits the two girls had gathered yesterday, it made for a rather tasty meal.
"What's the plan for today?" Krystal asked after everyone had had their first bite.
"Uhm," Orrin volunteered, "I think I'll finish jury rigging the Plasma Caster. I mean, I'd lend my Plasma Lancet to Yuri but then I'd be left with only a side-blade and spear as protection."
"Keep your weapon," Yuriko said off-handedly, "even damaged, the rifle still packs a stronger punch, especially over long distances. Heron, how are you feeling?"
"Good. Well, better than yesterday anyway. Wounds have closed but my left arm is still stiff. I'll rest it while working on our fallback options," Heron grunted.
"If you can find more wild game, I think I can smoke the meat so we can have more supplies. I'll gather more firewood and see if I can make some barrels or something. To hold water." Mikel offered.
"I guess the two of us are hunting," Krystal said.
Yuriko shook her head. "I'd like to explore our surroundings some more, I find it a bit strange that there weren't any Wyldlings around."
"I don't think you should do that alone," Heron said firmly.
"Hmm, who's going with me then?"
"I'll go." Krystal interrupted before anyone else could. "You'll likely walk in circles if I don't come with you."
"Hey! I'm not directionally challenged."
"Maybe not in the city but in the wilderness, we can't risk it."
"Fine. What about foraging and hunting though?"
"We can do both at the same time. Besides, I think our safety should come first over food. We still have enough supplies to last us a while but we need to know if we have to escape further north."
The boys nodded.
"Well, be careful please," Heron and Orrin said in unison.
"Don't worry. We'll be back before nightfall." Yuriko said confidently.
After breakfast, Yuriko readied her gear. She left her rifle with Orrin but carried everything else with her except for her bedroll. Tightening the straps of her bag, she jumped up and down, forwards and backwards in an attempt to make sure everything was secure, and gauge how her gear was balanced. After making some adjustments and repeating the jump test, she was finally satisfied and headed out.
"Well, let's head southeast?" Krystal asked.
"Fine," Yuriko said.
Krystal started humming a tune under her breath as they walked. They continued past the village proper. The cobblestone road faded away less than fifty paces into the forest. The trees weren't so close together in this part of the woods, each at least three or so paces from the others. There was barely any undergrowth, too, so the two of them had a relatively easy time walking.
Yuriko kept her Animus focused on her senses. The wider spaces between the trees meant that she could see at least a hundred paces away. Dried leaves and twigs covered the ground which sloped gently uphill.
Krystal set a snare near a rabbit warren, while Yuriko scaled a tree to pick up some eggs from a bird's nest. She only grabbed a couple from the clutch of six she found. The eggs were mottled brown and yellow and were about half the size of a hen's egg. Krystal wrapped the eggs in some cloth before placing them in her pack.
An hour later, Krystal found a patch of edible mushrooms underneath a fallen log. A brown fox cub ran off just when she reached for the fungi.
"Wha-?" Krystal yelped while Yuriko giggled. "Oh, sure, warn me, would you? Hmmph!"
"I hope you didn't break the eggs!" Yuriko grinned while she held out a hand to help her friend up.
"I didn't fall on the bag," Krystal grumbled while she harvested the mushrooms. "Find any berries?"
"Nope." Yuriko pointed south, "But I saw a patch of colour over there."
"Well, let's go."
It was indeed more berries but they were mostly green so the girls left them alone. The handful of ripe ones that Yuriko spotted, she quickly plucked. Krystal set a few more snares before they left.
The entire morning was filled with the quiet melody of the rustling leaves, bird song, and Krystal's humming. It was the same tune over and over again though.
"The Fall, right?" Yuriko asked suddenly,
"Huh, what?" Krystal glanced at her in confusion.
"The tune you're humming. It's from the Fall of Annise Delovine."
"Uh, yes. That's the chorus." Krystal frowned. "Huh, I didn't realize I was doing that."
"Well, it's hard to hear without enhanced senses," Yuriko shrugged.
"Ah." Krystal just kept walking quietly. After she set another snare she muttered, "I wonder how Faron's Crossing is holding up."
"I worry too," Yuriko said, "but we can't do anything about it right now."
"I understand that, but--" Krystal nearly shouted, clearing her throat, "I still feel we should go back. Mum and my sisters, who will protect them? My dad isn't back yet..." Her voice started cracking and her shoulders were shaking.
Yuriko stepped up beside her friend and threw an arm around her.
"I know. I know." Yuriko felt a lump form in her throat too. "We can't do anything about it now, but we can always pray to the Ancestors."
"What good would that do?" Krystal sniffed, "It's not as if they could come back from the grave and help."
Yuriko shrugged uncomfortably. "They act through us, their descendants." Yuriko repeated the oft mentioned phrase.
"And what?" Krystal scrubbed at her eyes. "We are given the gift of skill and knowledge, for what purpose? To fight the old ones' wars?"
Yuriko grabbed Krystal and turned the smaller girl to face her. "Hey, don't lose hope now. We fight to protect our homes. Nothing more, nothing less."
Yuriko met her childhood friend's green-eyed gaze, seeing doubt, anger, and fear. She tightened her grip on Krystal's shoulders until the other girl winced from the pressure.
"Don't give up."
Krystal sighed. "I won't." Yuriko nodded sharply before giving Krystal another squeeze.
They continued walking in silence. Krystal had run out of rope snares so they just checked their surroundings for danger. One moment all was well then, next, the silence reigned.
Yuriko drew her side-blades, starting the second sword dance pattern, she stepped protectively in front of Krystal. The other girl drew her pistol but held it with the barrel pointed to the ground. They were following a trail that had turned southwest, both sides of the path covered in thorny bushes and rock piles.
Yuriko slowly inched along the path, senses tuned to change the slightest change that could mean an attack, or worse. Yet it wasn't something she saw or heard that raised her hackles.
"Smell that?" Krystal murmured.
There was a slight burning smell in the air. It wasn't woodsmoke, or rather, it wasn't just woodsmoke. There was an acrid stench that grew stronger the longer they stood there.
Yuriko crept towards where the stench was strongest. Krystal grabbed her hand, and when Yuriko looked back.
"Why?" Krystal mouthed.
"We need to know," Yuriko whispered. "If only to know if we should run. If we run now, we won't know what we might face later."
Nodding, Krystal let go of Yuriko's hand.
The lack of sounds, whether of fighting or cries of the wounded, emboldened both of them. Yuriko and Krystal hurried as much as they could. Even the wind seemed to have stopped. The ever-present rustling of the winds, the cicadas' song, the bird calls, and the whuffling of beasts were all gone.
If not for the sound of their footsteps, the crunching of the dried leaves underfoot, and when Krystal of Yuriko scuffed their boots on the pebbles, absolute silence would have reigned. The stench grew stronger the closer they got and after a hundred paces or so, there was thin smoke drifting along in the air. Another hundred paces and Yuriko could hear the crackling of flames, though it was no hotter than a typical day.
The path ended abruptly into a pile of loose dirt and broken shrubbery. The acrid stench seemed to come from beyond it. The two of them pulled the shrubs and pushed past, Yuriko held Krystal's hand while they climbed past the waist-high earthen slope.
"Ahh!" Krystal shrieked when the earth gave way under her foot. Yuriko grabbed her windmilling hand and helped her regain her balance.
"What in Chaos?" Krystal muttered as they made it past the built-up dirt. A wide furrow, about five paces across and a couple deep, dug into the forest floor, extending northwest to southeast. Steam and smoke rose from the bottom where parts of the forest floor had fused into glassy black shards.
Krystal's hand tightened around Yuriko's and both of them trembled.