Frauner adjusted his grip on his sword. "I will."
And together, they watched the dark.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
The fire behind them crackled softly, its glow reaching only so far before surrendering to the endless black between the trees. The mist drifted in thin, silent currents, curling around roots and vanishing into nothing.
Leah turned her head.
She looked at him.
The orange light traced the lines of his face, softer than she had ever seen them. Without the armor. Without the discipline. Without the distance he always kept between himself and the world.
Frauner felt her gaze.
He turned.
Their eyes met.
And held.
The forest faded.
The fire faded.
The fear faded.
There was only the space between them.
Leah's breath caught faintly in her chest.
She didn't know when she had leaned closer.
She only realized it when she felt his breath, warm and unsteady, against her lips.
Her lips moved towards him slowly.
Not with certainty.
Not with boldness.
With vulnerability.
With trust.
Frauner didn't move.
Not forward.
Not away.
His fingers tightened slightly on the sword resting across his knees; not in resistance, but in restraint. As if he were holding himself still against a moment he had imagined but never allowed himself to reach.
Her eyes flickered down to his lips.
Then back to his eyes.
Searching.
Asking.
His voice, when it came, was barely a whisper.
"Leah…"
Her name sounded different in that moment.
Not like a princess.
Not like a duty.
Like something fragile.
Something his.
She hesitated.
Just for a heartbeat.
Then;
A branch cracked somewhere deep in the forest.
Both of them froze.
The moment shattered.
Frauner's head snapped toward the sound instantly, every instinct returning like a blade drawn from its sheath.
Leah pulled back, her heart pounding; not from fear of the forest, but from how close she had come to something she didn't yet understand.
Frauner rose to his feet in one smooth motion, sword already in his hand.
The darkness beyond the firelight seemed thicker now.
Watching.
Waiting.
He stepped slightly in front of her without thinking.
Protecting her.
Always protecting her.
Leah stood behind him, her fingers brushing her lips unconsciously.
They were still warm.
Neither of them spoke of it.
Neither of them needed to.
"What do you think it is?" Leah whispered.
Frauner did not answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the dark, his body unmoving, every line of him drawn tight like a bowstring ready to release.
Behind them, the quiet shift of fabric broke the silence.
Henry stirred first.
He blinked against the firelight, disoriented, his gaze drifting lazily; until he saw Frauner standing with his sword drawn.
Henry froze.
Sleep vanished instantly.
He pushed himself up on his elbows.
"Frauner…?" he whispered, his voice dry. "What's wrong?"
Frauner lifted one hand slightly without looking back.
A warning. Stay quiet.
Henry's mouth closed.
His heart began to pound.
He reached for the dagger beside him, his fingers clumsy at first before closing around the familiar grip. He hated how small it felt in his hand.
Mauris woke next.
Not with panic.
With awareness.
His eyes opened, sharp and clear, already searching.
He saw Frauner standing.
Saw Leah behind him.
Saw Henry afraid.
Mauris said nothing.
He simply sat up slowly and reached for his weapon, the movement smooth and controlled.
He rose to his feet without a sound, stepping slightly to the side, his eyes scanning the treeline.
Thalia stirred at the edge of the firelight.
At first, it was only instinct.
A shift in the air.
A wrongness in the silence.
Her eyes opened slowly, unfocused, the last fragments of sleep clinging to her—until she saw them.
Frauner standing.
Sword drawn.
Mauris on his feet.
Henry sitting upright, afraid.
And Leah…
Leah standing behind Frauner.
Thalia's body went cold.
She did not ask what was happening.
She already knew something was.
Her hand moved quietly across the ground beside her.
Searching.
Her fingers found the smooth curve of her bow.
She wrapped her hand around it and pulled it close, the familiar weight steadying her racing heart.
She sat up slowly, careful not to make a sound.
Her other hand reached for an arrow.
The feathered end brushed her fingertips.
She drew it gently, her movements practiced, precise.
No wasted motion.
No noise.
She rose into a crouch, bringing the bow up.
The string rested against her fingers.
Not drawn.
Not yet.
Her eyes scanned the darkness past Frauner's shoulder.
The mist moved.
The trees stood like silent witnesses.
Her breathing remained steady.
But inside, her pulse hammered.
She leaned slightly toward Henry without taking her eyes off the forest.
"Stay behind me," she whispered.
Henry nodded quickly, gripping his dagger tighter.
Thalia lifted the bow higher.
Ready.
Waiting.
Whatever was out there…
She would see it first.
The fire cracked behind them.
The mist drifted.
The forest waited.
Leah could hear all of it.
Henry's uneven breathing.
The soft leather shift of Mauris' grip.
Frauner's silence.
Her own heartbeat, loud in her chest.
Frauner took one slow step forward.
The darkness did not move.
But it felt closer.
Watching.
Measuring.
His jaw tightened.
Whatever had made that sound…
It was still there.
Henry swallowed.
"Was it an animal?" he whispered.
No one answered.
Because none of them believed that.
Leah's fingers rose unconsciously, brushing her lips.
Still warm.
She lowered her hand quickly, hoping no one noticed.
Frauner did not turn.
But he had noticed.
He noticed everything.
Another sound came.
Softer this time.
Not a crack.
A step.
Somewhere beyond the firelight.
Henry inhaled sharply.
Mauris' stance shifted.
Frauner raised his sword slightly.
And the forest…
Did not breathe.
The sound came again.
A faint, broken roar.
Not loud.
Not whole.
It dragged through the trees like something with no lungs left to breathe.
And beneath it;
A constant, unnatural tweaking.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Like dry bones rubbing together.
Henry's fingers tightened around the dagger.
"W-what is that?" he whispered, panic breaking through his voice.
No one answered.
They were already moving.
Frauner stepped back toward the fire.
Mauris mirrored him on the opposite side.
Thalia moved to Henry's left, bow rising.
Leah stepped to the final opening.
They formed a circle.
Backs angled toward one another.
Facing the dark.
"Keep your eyes open," Frauner said quietly.
They listened.
Watched.
The mist shifted between the trees.
Nothing.
Then;
Creeeaaaaaak.
Above them.
Every head lifted slowly.
The branches overhead trembled.
Wood bent.
And then;
Thud.
Another.
Thud.
Footsteps.
Not on the ground.
On the trees.
Moving.
Circling them.
Faster.
Closer.
Henry's breath hitched. "It's… above us…"
Silence.
Then;
RAAAAAAAAAAR!
It dropped.
It fell through the mist like a corpse thrown from the sky.
The skeleton landed in the firelight with a violent crash, scattering ash and sparks into the air.
Its body was tall, unnaturally tall, its bones yellowed and cracked with age. Jagged fractures ran along its ribs, and through those cracks a faint, sickly grey light pulsed like a dying heartbeat.
Its skull tilted.
Its jaw hung open far wider than any human's ever could, unhinged, stretched, as if something inside had forced it open.
Empty eye sockets burned with dim, ghost-like embers.
Its fingers were too long.
Too thin.
Ending in sharpened, splintered tips.
Its spine twitched.
Its head snapped toward them;
And it screamed again.