They had been walking for a while, the snow was lessening and there were just enough trees to call it a forest. Humphrey slumped against a trunk, gasping for breath. He certainly was not the fittest. She shoved some things she ripped up from the ground into her bag and brought out the map. He had marked on the map where to go, and with her finger traced a route to get there, involving stops at small places for resources. She noticed something shine through the map, reflecting the fresh sunlight. She folded the map away and smiled at her find. Sliding a crystal, as big as her palm out of the loose dirt admired its shape and colour. ‘Perfect.’ She whispered to herself, ‘here,’ she forced it into Humphrey’s hand, he recognized it as a geoptic homeland gem. It was able to hold magical energy.

  ‘Try and charge this gemstone with your magic. As much as it can … take.’ Her voice trailed off as her ears picked up sound. Footsteps. ‘An animal.’ She whispered, turning around to face the noise. ‘Get down.’ She grasped his arm and pulled him down into the snow.

  Out from the trees leapt a deorg, a deer like creature with intricate horns in such a pattern its used to hypnotize the enemy into peacefulness so it can get away. Humphrey had never seen one in real life, only from pictures in books. He couldn’t help but stare; it was so elegant and seemed so peaceful. His eyes looked up at the horns; suddenly it’s all he could see. He snapped back once he realized what was happening and looked away from it. Deorg’s could hypnotize targets with their spinning horns. Blinking Humphrey looked around for Isadora.

  Very slowly she stepped between sticks and roots. Although she had never hunted wild animals before she did have to follow strangers without being detected. Slowly she went down and picked up a heavy log, ‘no! Stop!’ Humphrey yelled, getting up from the ground. Rage twisted Isadora’s’ features as the deorg bounded off and out of sight. She threw the log down, hard and stormed off, She could hear his feet as they followed her. Not bothering to look around walked faster. He basically had to run to keep up. ‘I’m sorry.’ He breathed, realizing his mistake.

  In a snap her fist was raised, but the knuckle wouldn’t move for a second so turned it into a grab by the front of his collar, toes just touching the ground. ‘Don’t do that again, Darius!’ She demanded through gritted teeth with a cold evil. It caused a harsh shiver race through him.

  ‘Darius?’ he inquired.

  ‘What?’ She spat.

  ‘You called me Darius, my names Humphrey.’

  ‘Humphrey, that’s what I said.’ Releasing him back to the dirt she mumbled as she left ‘we have a long walk ahead of us.’

  ‘I’d be more helpful with my staff.’ He admitted to the ground.

  ‘Like hell.’ He’d get it back when she was dead.

  Minutes turned to hours and Humphrey had sharp pains in both sides breathing heavily. ‘I require… a break…’ He gasped, Isadora, with a dark look on her face, began to slow down to a stop. Yet she didn’t sit down much like how Humphrey flopped onto the floor but kept looking around. She frowned and she walked away to check.    ‘There’s a river.’ She said to Humphrey, pointing behind her.

  ‘It looks frozen,’ he observed, still shocked he was out here, shaking and sniffing.

  ‘Can ya make a fire ball?’ She said, short-tempered, as if just his presence irritated her. He nodded; grabbing him by the arm dragged him to the frozen river, ‘melt it’ and shoved him to the ice.

  Taking a deep breath changed his stance and extended his right hand, ‘firorsoa” he whispered to himself and a yellow flame exploded form his hand and melted the ice. She told him to stop before he evaporated the water. Taking off her gloves cupped her hands she drank and let Humphrey have some, but he didn’t look eager to do it again. ‘I can be more effective with my staff…’ He eyes it still in her supply bag.   She ignored him, grabbed his arm again and pulled him down to the ground. Cupping his gloveless hands slurped the water and he spat out some dirt, sneezed and shivered but Isadora kept drinking like a pig. Once done ‘melt some more’ she ordered as she wiped her wet hands on her trousers and put her gloves back on. He complied.

  While in the dead brambles Humphrey’s leg was getting stiff. He glanced over to Isadora, she looked tense and her eyes were wide, her fists clenched white. His presents put her on edge. Her eyes didn’t move from the puddle now a few meters away, following her gaze saw a loseraka, a six legged animal with straggly orange fur the size of large horse. It had large; bug like eyes the size of boulders with a long head. It looked like skin and bone, having knobby legs and a bony head. ‘We can’t-.’ She automatically put her hand over his mouth and gave him a stern expression. Careful not to make noise she edged away slowly. Looking back at the creature Humphrey saw it extend its long neck into the fresh water and its tongue lolled all over the place. He moved slightly in attempt to get comfy, a twig breaking. Its neck rocketed up, and looked around. Isadora, off to the right, froze, a snarl on her lips, angry he just blew it. But once its head lowered down she relaxed slightly and exhaled. Edging closer and closer while behind the creature she threw herself up landed, hard, on its spiny back. It began to kick and twist. Isadora had to wrap her arms around its neck just to hold on, startled at how powerful it was.

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  It threw its head back, knocking the blood out of her nose. ‘Do something!’ She demanded, the animal going crazy. He tried to think but his mind froze; ‘now!’ She yelled, her grip loosening. She considered throwing him his staff but ultimately didn’t. Suddenly the animal turned, throwing Isadora to the front of it making her legs scramble at the floor. ‘Help me Humphrey!’ Her voice high but harsh, like stone grating against itself. Tossing this way and that Isadora flew off, and smashed her shoulder into a tree before falling onto the floor in a heap so forcing him to concentrate yelled ‘chirsta!’ Before throwing his arm forward and the animal slowly laid down. Looking over to Isadora saw her stumble up, dazed. He was shocked she could even stand. Geoptics, they’re strong. She went over to the unconscious creature, ‘what did you do?’ She asked, catching her breath. Humphrey had a hard time concentrating.

  ‘What did you do?’ She repeated the question.

  ‘I performed a spell,’ he said dryly, ‘sleeping.’ He asked with a frown, coughing and hoped she wouldn’t hurt it. ‘We’re going to ride it. We’re going to follow the river until you sense a village nearby.’ She was already untying her shoe laces, Humphrey tried to respond but was speechless, certain he could not cope with another ride…

  The wind was sharp against her skin as the loseraka thumped through the forest, the river close to her on her right. She fashioned the shoelaces into reins which she held tightly, Humphrey’s arms tight around her waist and buried his face in her back from fear of falling off, teeth gritted so hard he would’ve thought his teeth would crack. ‘Can you sense anything?’ She asked Humphrey who had his eyes tight shut, terrified. “Humphrey!” she yelled, trying to get him to respond, ‘nothing…’ His voice was thin. He had never gone so quickly, and sure he was on the verge of a heart attack.   ‘Turn right,’ she pulled on the reins, forcing the head to move, sprinting over the icy water and out of the forest to a large clearing, built on the slight hill. The animal got spooked by the people it threw its head back, the kids falling off. Rubbing her shoulder Isadora got up, ‘we got lucky,’ she said, seeing the sun lower in the sky. ‘You do not want to sleep in the forest over night. But I’ve only heard stories, thankfully.’ Humphrey got up clumsily. ‘We’ll stay here over night, I’m quite sure this place wasn’t on the map,’ she continued as they walked to the small village, ‘perhaps too small. We’ll regain supplies and head out tomorrow.’

  Humphrey looked wounded, ‘What… Why are we leaving so soon?’ Struggling to keep the annoyance out of his voice as he was so fatigued, ‘this place is perfect…’ Isadora ignored his voice, it was like pins spiking her ears, and continued to walk, Humphrey spoke clearer, ‘why are we leaving?’

  ‘Humphrey, I understand you want to stay, but, simply put, we can’t. Or do you want me to tell you of what happens if I’m caught, and you’re are brought along for the ride.’

  ‘… I thought you said you’d protect me?’

  She turned around, walking towards him. ‘. obviously I’m not that likely to. You’re so- PATHETIC! Just shut up and do as I SAY!’ He stumbled back, heart speeding. She grabbed his wrist and forced his legs to stumble after her but they gave out. Isadora looked back to see the boy hunched over up into a ball, quietly but rapidly breathing saying over and over how he couldn’t ‘do it anymore’.

  Isadora frowned, for the first time the fire within her, burning with seemingly endless pain from the inside out, couldn’t be felt. She crouched by him and moments pasted before she reluctantly put a hand on his back. Trying to find the words her jaw opened and closed. ‘… I’m sorry that your home is gone.’ Suddenly she felt quite deflated, unable to ignore her own loss. A tight ball suffocated her as endless tears streamed down her own cheeks. ‘It was a fantastic place where you always felt safe and it’s where you belonged. And now you’re out here in a chaotic place, scared, with a stranger. It’s a lot… but you be okay,’ she brushed away a clump of dirt from his hair ‘at the end of it all.’ Humphrey looked up at her, his big brown eyes were sore. He suddenly jumped forward and wrapped his arms around her, causing her to stumble as his weight threw her back. The ache within her lessened and lessened, before she realized, she was hugging him back just as tight.

  It was a small place, the homes looking cozy as the lights glowed inside from the candlelight, brightness strengthening as the sun set with purples and pinks. Finding a sign motionless from the windless day, the word INN hand carved into the wood but halted in her steps. Without communication he was dragged around to a window. ‘You first.’ She made a hold with her hands for his foot. He obeyed. She flung him up and almost fell off the wooden horizontal beam. She followed, looking through the pains of glass to see an empty room. She tightened her hat around her fist and broke the glass, fumbled for the latch and swung the window open with a soft squeak. Dusting off the sharp edges of glass told him to enter first and he did, clumsily. He checked himself for cuts while she locked the door and shut the curtains.

  The room was beautiful to her; dry, with no gaps in the walls and an olive green rug and soft single bed, lit candles dotted the room. However for Humphrey it was awfully basic and the some floorboards even and the ! He couldn’t help a sudden attack of sneezes, despite Isadora’s complaints, telling him to stop or they’ll get found out. Wiping his nose whispered ‘why did you sneak in, you have plenty of gold?’

  ‘I don’t want any record of me being here on paper. Even if this place seems isolated.’

  Forcing Humphrey to sleep on the floor she took the bed, throwing him some blankets and a pillow and she happily settled deep within the covers.