"Ouch…" sliding in the pit, Ceris turned to be cushion for Ivy. The pit was narrow in the neck and below was formed a structure as a cave. A little light could only enter through the pit neck and inside was pitch black. The dark made her tremble from fear or the impression of her nightmares. Still she was safe from those beasts but who knows there weren't venomous creatures in the dark??
Taking deep breaths, Ceris closed her eyes for a while and tried to read out the environment.
Water was dripping inside, her thirst could be quenched. Carrying Ivy, she walked forward the cave by taking support of the slippery walls. Her experience before helped her somehow to overcome the difficulties. Walking slowly for more than two hours, Ceris couldn't stand. Finding a less wet place, she layed on her back and fell asleep for a long time.
When she was awake, the cave was dark as always so couldn't determine how much time had passed. Her stomach was growling from hunger. Despite her condition, grabbing Ivy, Ceris moved forward shakily. After a long long time, a small ray of light came into view. With the goal of reaching the light, moved and finally reached the end of the cave. Outside was still a forest but chirps of birds and the smell of wild flowers were overwhelming with greenery.
The end of the cave was at a heightened place, below was a stream flowing. Observing around, Ce noticed that there weren't poisonous creatures around and neither in the cave. Using the cave as a shelter and finding a dry place, Ivy was laid down. Stretching the body, Ceris took deep breaths and walked to the stream. Her anxiety had disappeared for unknown reasons. Fish could be seen in the stream, being so hungry she took off her upper cloth and used it as a net. Then, she collected some dry leaves and branches and tried to ignite a fire by rubbing stones. After a few attempts, the fire was burned. Small fishes were caught in the net, so next they were roasted in fire and consumed.
She even burped. It may have been a week or more that she was starving. Next, she cleaned herself, took care of her wounds, washed her tattered clothes and dried. Taking a comfortable place in a big boulder, she took a nap. The wood were still misty, unable to see far away.
An hour later, she cleaned Ivy. The wounds on Ivy had been infected so to treat, Ceris walked around the woods hoping to find some herbs. It was already evening when Ceris returned with some herbs and wild edible fruits.
In the same way, days went by. It had been more than two weeks since they arrived in the cave. Ceris was treating Ivy as well as learning about the surroundings. Ceris herself had healed much better. No nearby place was safer than the cave to place Ivy. Eri was also in her deep sleep.
Since arriving in the abyss, Ceris' nightmare was less scary, her patches on the back were itchy sometimes; maybe because her mind was occupied with the task of caring for someone. She wanted to leave the woodland but had to wait for Ivy to wake up. She was already acclimatised with the surroundings. Leaving Ivy alone, she could roam in the darkness. No wild beasts were found nearby.
It was a full moon night, Ceris was lying on her back in the boulder enjoying watching the moon. In search of food, Ceris had travelled a long distance and decided to stay back and enjoy the night scene.
'How long has it been since I relaxed and enjoyed the moon? Sigh…when will Eri wake up? I can't stay here in the woods forever either…not sure what I should do too…" Mumbling with herself, Ceris layed lazily.
Unknowingly, she was feeling emotional after a long time. She was on the journey to search for her foster father; the man who disappeared before she turned 15, the only family. Travelling from Phoset to Enchanted getaway forest to the fantasy land; not knowing if he could ever be found. Her motivation for living and overcoming the suffering was only to find him until now. She didn't know who her parents were or anything before she was ten. Even her foster father told not to be pressured to remember about the past. As far as she could remember Eri was already soul bound to her.
The moon light was healing her mentally, and she was in a state of meditation. A shrill but low sound of scream reached her ear. The source should be miles away but still Ceris felt overanxious hearing the scream. She didn't know why her emotions would go under extreme change since arriving in this fantasy world. Before, she was sensitive out of instinct but now the anxiousness was boiling her blood, making her troubled, tugging her heart string.
Unable to calm herself, she walked through the wood towards the source of scream. Her heart palpation was higher than usual. The scream was continuing with increasing pitch. At first she was wavering whether to look after the source but later was running in its direction.
The person screaming should be in agony. No animals were found in the way as if the forest was empty beside the woods.
Around three in the morning, she reached a thick vegetated area . Walking through it for a while, appeared a cave which was covered with vines, moss. If it were any other time, none could find the hidden cave but as the scream were echoing; no difficulty to find it. The environment inside was more chilly and covered in vegetation. Deep inside was a large lake. Small, big but no dangerous or poisonous animals were surroundings the lake as if expecting to see a miracle . Someone seemed to be in the middle of the lake as the scream were coming from the center.