Eirin and Shade looked at each other, their gazes meeting with a shared understanding that needed no words. Hesitation was not in their minds; the sudden understanding of the cause of the landslide and the town's destruction motivated them.
Without a second thought, they turned and rushed back towards the Slumbering Slopes. The once effortless climb, which Shade had performed with such ease just yesterday, not took every ounce of his remaining energy.
Eirin found herself getting ahead of him, her worry for him warring with the urgent need to move quickly.
'This is humiliating,' Shade thought, frustrated anger simmering beneath his fever-addled mind. His small legs ached, his lungs burned with each ragged breath, but the thought of Eirin seeing him struggle, of her getting ahead, spurred him on. He climbed faster, pushing through the pain and the weakness, refusing to be outdone by the teenage girl.
