Fiadh's beautiful green eyes locked with Aislene's silver. Neither moving nor speaking. Antlers ever-present on her head, with a disappointed expression resting on her visage. She then slowly turned her head downcast, sad eyes and drooping arms gave a clear window to her feelings. She squinted as if about to cry but refrained, the corners of her mouth turned down, and her elk ears too hung low. A melancholy Aislene had never thought Fiadh was capable of stood eerily behind her. The dark trees shade cast a frightening glaze over the serene sadness. It brought forth emotions in Aislene that she couldn't explain. The looming shadows made her feel like prey, though Fiadh's downhearted lethargy aroused sympathy and remorse. But her sentiments were misjudged. To feel sadness for this creature was incorrect. It had been her who had threateningly interrogated her for a whole day. It had been her who led Aislene into a trap. It had been her who attempted to imprison Aislene in a cage. She had not been good to Aislene and did not deserve her kindness. "It hurts me that you think that," Fiadh responded as though she could hear her thoughts. Her expression didn't change, but her voice came out far more mature than she thought it would. All traces of impiety and joking from their first encounters were gone. "What are you?" Aislene asked cautiously. She slowly reached for the wooden stake hidden in her off-white hair. "You barely know anything, don't you," Fiadh stated, her thoughts matter-of-factly without room for disagreement. Even if Aislene chose to argue, she'd be wasting her breath on a losing conversation. When she didn't say anything after, Fiadh looked down, then left, right, and up before landing on Aislene again. "If you go back, you'll either die in the woods, or that man will hunt you down." As she attempted reasoning, Aislene slouched in discomfort. She turned her full body to face Fiadh, falling back letting her spine painfully hit the rock wall, before she slowly slid down to sit, looking up at Fiadh. "I may have approached you the wrong way, but I can make things better here. I can protect you. I can make you happy. You shouldn't leave." Fiadh's tone felt like a child desperately trying to coax a kitten into trusting them. Aislene's eyes changed. They turned cold and unfeeling. "I shouldn't leave. I should stay here rotting away in ignorant bliss. I should stay here where I can escape all my problems. Maybe you can protect me. Maybe you can make me happy. Maybe you help me forget that life." She paused for a long moment. Her eyes closed, and her face relaxed. "But that's just a dream. You wronged me. My kidnapper wronged me. That bear wronged me. The woods wronged me. I was wronged at birth. The devil wronged me." Stopping again to let her shoulders start shaking; tears welled up in her eyes, making them glisten like crystals. "I was wronged by the world." When finished, she pressed her lips together tightly and glared at Fiadh as she silently cried. Standing there without a word, Fiadh slowly began to approach Aislene. Step after step, she got closer to Aislene. Fiadh didn't speed up, nor did she lessen her pace. Eventually, she was standing above Aislene, where she waited. Aislene obliviously sobbed into her arms and knees. Kind, warm arms wrapped around her huddled figure, softly caressing her hair as a mother would do to a child. They laid there together in peace as Aislene poured her heart out. A long time went on before Aislene composed herself. "I'm not your enemy." Fiadh calmly spoke as Aislene stood up while still clutching her stake. She consciously chose to hold on to it defensively despite her best asset foiled. Without surprise, killing Fiadh was no longer possible. But after such a response to her escape, she regrettably found difficulty in feeling threatened by Fiadh. "I just can't figure you out," Aislene muttered to herself, fully expecting Fiadh to overhear. "Not too long ago, you saved my life, but right after you steal my clothes and interrogate me for an entire day, then with a facade of goodwill, you lure and entrap me in this place, all while trying to scare me into submission. And even that wasn't enough. What more do you want with me?" Fiadh remained silent. Songs of cicadas and birds reverberated around them, filling the void of sound with melodic droning. It went on until Aislene turned back to the wall. Dropping her weapon, she resumed examining the anomaly that had to be the door's secret to opening. She didn't look behind her, but she heard Fiadh stand to her feet. "You'll never open it on your own." While listening, Aislene didn't stop, partly out of spite and partly in hopes of proving her wrong. She felt a hand gently touch her shoulder, which caused her to freeze. Slowly pushed out of the way, Fiadh walked to the door and touched its oddly textured feature. Instantly, four large lines ran from the corners to each other. The door opened inwards, revealing the world outside. Aislene stared in amazement and shock at Fiadh, questions began to rise, but she forced them to recede for the moment. Fiadh looked at her sadly and stepped away from the door as if to say, 'go ahead. Aislene took one step forward but stopped abruptly. "Why?" She asked. Fiadh looked down before responding with a shrug. Everything about her posture conveyed displeasure, but she remained resigned. Aislene stepped through the opening, and her skin spasmed as the cold air engulfed her. She wrapped her arms around her waist and turned back to Fiadh. "Thank you." She murmured, avoiding eye-contact. Fiadh looked up at her. A stone mask of apathy fell over her face to hide the pain. She nodded in response and began to close the door. Just before it sealed shut, Aislene yelled, "wait!" The door stopped with a hand's width of space in between. "Will you help me? Please." No response came, though the door did slowly begin to open once again. Fiadh stood with red eyes and nose in the doorway, with relief flooding her expression. "You ask too much, you know. Missy"

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