Tell me, what does it feel like to have fallen so far? What does it feel like to look at her and realize, day after day, that you’ve done what you promised to never do again?

...

– she was in the bog, water lapping at her chest, hands pressed into the frigid mud, face hovering above the foul-smelling water as her hair and clothes soaked through, freezing her body in an instant.

The soaked collar of her tunic pulled against her throat, a reminder of what she’d lost, as Serena was pulled to her feet. A voice called behind her – far, far behind her, the words a muffled mess against the hammering in her ears. A hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her about, throwing off her balance.

Greys, browns, and whites slowly sharped as Serena regained her footing, the watery hell of the swamp becoming clear; thick tree trunks sprung out of the water here and there, bare branches scratching the ever-grey sky. Pavel stood before her, golden hair flat against his head, chiseled features wrinkled with worry, as Doriyah trudged through the murky water towards them.

“Serena?” Pavel asked, cocking his head. “You alright?”

She blinked, heart still thundering in her ears. Even pulling her hands up to sign seemed like a titanic effort, so frigid was her body.

“I’m okay.” Serena lied, voice cracking; Pavel nodded.

“Right, okay. Just make sure to watch where you’re going then, don’t want to drink this damned stuff.”

He smiled at her, and had they been anywhere else, it would have made her feel just a little bit better.

Doriyah rolled his eyes as he stomped past, Pavel shying away from the water he kicked up.

“Yes, watch your step,” He said, clothes soaked, and hair matted. “when you can’t see a thing in the water. Very good advice Pavel.”

“In general, I mean!” Pavel called after him, smile still plastered on his face; it fell when he looked back at Serena. “Uhm…ignore him. I’m sure he means well. Just, promise to be careful, alright?”

“Alright.” Serena whispered, not looking at him.

“Good. I’ll let Jo know you’re okay then. She’s been looking at me funny.”

He patted her on the shoulder, oblivious to the confused look she gave him, and splashed away. When Serena turned to watch him, the world threatened to blur back to its mess of browns and greys, the numbness, having faded during their brief conversation, slowly creeping back to its usual place.

She squeezed her eyes shut and ducked her head, holding it with both hands; her stomach lurched as the vertigo flared, the shivering of her body causing her to wobble, but it soon passed. She waited a moment longer, sucking in a few deep breaths to push back the numb, before opening her eyes and looking up.

They went wide; they were still in the bog, obviously, but when had the trees popped up? Not ten minutes ago, the only thing that stuck up out of the water were those stalky plants, but –

“Serena!”

Serena started and almost fell back into the water; Jo’s hand shot out and grabbed her shoulder, holding her still.

“Serena?” Jo asked, voice high with worry. “You good? What’s wrong?”

It took a moment for Serena to find her words, hands hovering against her chest. Further behind them, Doriyah, Pavel, and Cruck’aa all stood in a circle, seemingly oblivious to them, the trio locked in some conversation that seemed to irritate Cruck’aa. Werond stood away from them, closer to Serena and Jo, shoulders hunched, and arms wrapped about her damp body. She glanced up at Serena, only to quickly look away as she caught her eye.

“Serena?” She jerked against the sudden flare of numb. “Worrying me here. Pavel said you were alright, but you don’t seem like it at all.”

“No, I-I’m – he’s right, I’m okay.” Her voice cracked again. “Sorry Jo.”

“Nothing to apologize for.” Her eyes flicked about the bog, as though she were looking for something, before they landed back on Serena. “Not your fault. Can’t watch your step if you can’t see where you’re going.”

“I…right. I just meant…getting distracted, I guess, right after we left the little building. Didn’t mean to…” Her fingers froze; how could she even begin to describe it? “I’ll try to be more focused.”

Jo’s eyes narrowed in that searching kind of way they always did when the older woman was thinking. Despite the chill in the air, made worse by her soaked clothes, hot needles prickled their way across Serena’s skin, the small of her back sweating as she broke the older woman’s gaze.

“Alright.” The gentleness of her voice did not match her eyes. “No one expects any of us to be on top of our game right now. Something happens though…just let me know, okay?”

Serena nodded and crossed her arms; after a moment, Jo patted her on the shoulder, before splashing back towards the front of the line, where Cruck’aa stood glaring at her. He opened his beak as Jo drew near, only for her to swat it close, shoving a finger in the horrified expression that erupted across his face. It would have made Serena laugh, had she not been so overwhelmed.

Frustration coiled around the numbness that filled her chest, a welcome feeling even if it couldn’t banish the other entirely. What she would have given for that to happen, to cast off this ever consuming numb and return to her normal self. She’d been just like this, so long ago, and for the life of her now, Serena couldn’t understand how she managed to function. It was so easy to slip into the deadened state, to lose focus when everything had come crashing down, and yet, she had managed on her own. Even with her friends now, it all seemed so insurmountable.

She rubbed her face, heart beating a little faster. Up ahead, none of them had moved, Jo trying, and failing, to mediate whatever rift had formed between Cruck’aa and the others.

That was the issue though, wasn’t it? Before, she had managed in the end, despite being alone. Now, she couldn’t escape from what had inflicted the numbness in the first place. And how was she to fix anything when she couldn’t understand what had happened? Bahamut’s Teeth, how was she supposed to do anything when she could barely function? Even if the numbness wasn’t as debilitating as it was, there remained no way for her to approach Werond –

Something took up her hair – a pair of hands, Serena realized with a start, that undid the band at the bottom and divided it into two equal halves. Gentle fingers combed out her hair with ease, pulling loose a mess of tangles, and banishing the numbness within her as though it was never truly there. Two passes through each half were all it took.

Those gentle hands that she yearned so desperately for jerked back as quickly as they came, her hair falling loose against her back. Heart smashing in her chest, Serena flipped around to find Werond holding her hair band, still unable to meet her gaze.

There was something within Werond’s downcast eyes that Serena couldn’t understand – a glassiness to them that seemed so familiar yet remained unrecognizable. Without a word, without so much as a glance, Werond handed the band back to Serena, before splashing past her with hunched shoulders.

The numb flooded back within an instant, a riptide that flared through her chest, sending deadened tendrils through her limbs, weighing them down the with a familiar weight. It was all Serena could to do fight against the tide, her arms trembling as she fixed her hair.

How easy it would be to let herself collapse under that weight. How easy it would be to fall back into the bog, and let the tide pull her under. How much her body yearned for the release that the blurring world gave her.

But those tiny gestures, those miniscule sparks of concern…

She couldn’t, not when there was still something to grasp at.

Jo finally threw up her arms and waved for them to move, at the great displeasure of Cruck’aa; Serena sucked in a breath and, despite the urging of her body, forced herself forward.

Forcing herself forward, however, remained just as difficult as before. Despite Doriyah’s remarks, Serena shifted her focus entirely on watching where she stepped, somewhat proud that she found success in keeping her footing. So focused was she on her steps that the abrupt change from ankle high water to solid, soggy ground started her worse than she would have liked.

Blinking, Serena shook her head, focus shattered, numb creeping back into her chest; when she looked up, the flame cupped in her hands winked out of existence as she jumped again.

The ground before them had risen from the murky bog like a muddy bridge, flanked on both sides by dark, lapping water. The trees from before, once few and scattered, were now legion, clustered tightly together within the flooded mess on either side of the path. So dense was the canopy of naked branches that Serena could barely make out the sky, now only swathes of grey that poked through the sharp tangles above. And while the day had already been dark, with the sun so thoroughly blotted out, within the twisted, dead-looking trees, Serena would have sworn that the sun had already set.

And the sounds…

A shiver ripped up her spine, sending her heart into her throat, and eyes darting every direction.; gone was the eerie calmness of the bog, replaced now by the howling of the wind through the branches, and the creaking of trees that had not seen human life in generations. And among those trees, cloaked in their perpetual gloom, far too many things splashed about in the bog, sending echoes across the path, loud in her ears. Bahamut only knew what those things were, but her imagination did her no favors.

She sucked in a breath, body trembling from the fear that now itched at her back; gods, how in the Nine Hells had this place gotten worse? And how had she only just now noticed?

Serena tore her eyes away from the gloom-stricken forest, fighting in vain to pretend that everything was fine; a few paces in front of her, Werond seemed to fare no better, arms wrapped about her, the whites of her eyes barely visible as her head snapped from side to side. With each passing noise, with each horrible creak, Werond jerked away, almost stumbling across the path, as though she feared something would leap out at any moment.

The numbness faded, just slightly; Serena sped up, gritting her teeth as the wind howled, sending her heart into her throat. Regardless of what had happened between them, she couldn’t stand to see Werond so scared. Perhaps if they walked together, then –

Laughter shattered the gloomy forest, starting both of them; further ahead, Pavel and Doriyah strode down the path with backs straight and a confidence in their step that Serena couldn’t believe. They had separated slightly from the group, probably due to Werond slowing down, and Serena had to strain her ears to catch snippets of their conversation.

“– changed! Like in a second completely –”

“– shit.”

“–ue, he was a doppel –”

The wind blew, a shrill howl through the canopy, ripping another shiver down Serena’s back, and drowning out the rest of whatever the pair was discussing.

She bit her lip and looked back towards her feet; she hadn’t a clue as to how those two could be so…joyful, in their current circumstance. Perhaps that meant she was overreacting, and that there wasn’t really anything to fear. After all, it was just a forest, there wasn’t –

Somewhere off the path, lost in the thicket and gloom, splashed in the water, spraying droplets of the horrible stuff in front of Werond.

A strangled noise tore from her mouth as she jerked back and fell to the mud, scrambling back just as the flames ignited across Serena’s arms; with a flick of her wrist, aim thrown off from her trembling, she hurled a bolt of fire into the trees, jumping as it exploded into the water, sending a flash of light through the gloom –

Illuminating nothing.

“Serena!” Jo’s voice carried up the path, echoed by the screeches of Cruck’aa. “Calm down! Just a fish probably, you don’t need to panic!”

The flames winked out of existence, snuffed from needles that pricked her skin; Werond scrambled to her feet and brushed herself off, looking thoroughly frustrated.

The path began to curve softly through the trees, until after a minute of walking, it turned sharply to the left, Doriyah and Pavel disappearing around it for far longer than Serena was comfortable with. As they rounded the corner, Serena caught only the briefest of glimpses as the pair scrambled over a large tree that had fallen further up the path. Within a heartbeat, they were gone again.

Serena blinked as their conversation faded; the trunk itself must have been as wide as Doriyah was tall, how did they climb it that fast? And from the string of curses that Jo spat out, she must have been thinking the same.

“Cruck’aa,” Jo sighed from behind. “can you go make sure those two don’t just wander away?”

“What makes you believe I can stop stupidity in its tracks?” Cruck’aa grumbled back.

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“Because only an idiot knows how to stop stupidity like that – is that what you want me to say?”

Despite the pinpricks of fear, Serena couldn’t help but grin as Cruck’aa growled something back, before taking off into the air above them. He soared just below the canopy for a moment, then dropped down on the other side of the tree, just as the dredges of Pavel and Doriyah’s conversation faded entirely.

Werond stopped to watch him go, shivering against the ever-chilled air; she looked back for a moment, at what Serena couldn’t tell, but the moment her gaze slid over her, Werond snapped her back head again. She grimaced and covered her mouth, and it was within that pained expression did the numbness flare within Serena.

She sucked in a deep breath, fighting against the sudden burst; she pushed aside the siren call of simple surrender and racked her clouded mind for anything, anything at all to say. Perhaps if she could reassure –

A hand clapped her shoulder; Serena leapt a foot into the air, starting Werond, who almost fell back into the mud.

“Jumpy, aren’t we?” Jo asked, standing beside Serena; she smirked as Serena shot her a glare. “Place really scare you that bad?”

“Yes!” Jo snorted as Serena’s voice broke. “Jo, it’s like something out of a book, why do the trees look like that?! And why are they so thick, it’s like – like it’s night!”

“Sure Cruck’aa could explain that to you, if he the patience to.” Jo looked around, that damned smirk never leaving her face. “I kind of like it though, reminds me of where I grew up. Long time ago, though.”

“What?!”

“That was supposed to be reassuring.” Jo laughed. “Right, we’ve got a tree to clear ladies. Wished those two hadn’t run off and left us, but we should manage.” Jo broke from Serena and began marching up the path. “Get it over with then!”

Serena could only stare, shaking her head at the little spring in Jo’s step; how any of them managed to remain positive in such a place was beyond her. But from what little she knew about their lives before, perhaps it wasn’t all that far-fetched.

As she began to follow, her gaze fell onto Werond almost instinctually; her head was turned to watch Jo, for the first time since they’d woken up in this gods forsaken place, a small smile was etched across her face, one that could have burned through the fog within an instant. It fell away when Werond caught Serena staring, dropping back to the grimace that was now so common.

“Uhm…” Serena began, sucking in a breath to fight against the stinging of her eyes; how difficult it was to sign when you couldn’t feel your fingers. “Are you…alright?”

Werond nodded, eyes downcast.

“O-okay.” She swallowed. “I didn’t say it earlier but…thanks for brushing out my hair, I…didn’t realize it was that dirty.”

Werond nodded, shoulders falling just a bit.

“And…if you ever need anything from me, I…just let me know, okay? We need to…watch out…”

Her voice trailed off as Werond grimaced, eyes squeezing shut as she turned away.

Her form began to blur, shifting with the dark colors of the forest as Serena’s heart began to hammer in her ears, blood pounding against the wave of numb that flashed through her chest, urging her to –

Serena’s hand shot to her throat, fingers digging into her skin as she fought against the wave that strove to yank her to the ground. She ducked her head and sucked in a breath, holding it until her lungs threatened to burst.

Bahamut’s Teeth, she couldn’t give in. Not now.

“Ladies!”

Jo’s voice rang out through the gloom, a knife that sliced through the numb, and tore Serena back to her senses. When her head snapped up, the world remained in focus and –

Werond had stepped closer, eyes wide, hand outstretched; she leapt back as Serena started, hugging herself before turning and beginning up the path towards Jo.

“Quit standing around!” Jo’s voice yanked Serena back before she fell under. “Burning daylight, come on!”

Serena could only curse to herself as she made her way over.

Jo had already made it to the tree, standing with her hands on her hips, watching as the two of them caught up to her. It was only until Serena was closer did she realize just how difficult it would be for the three of them to climb over the fallen trunk. Despite lying on its side, the tree itself towered over them, perhaps a foot taller than Werond; most of the bark had rotted away, removing any semblance of a decent grip, the wood underneath slimy and dull. How Pavel and Doriyah had surmounted the damn thing, Serena couldn’t tell.

And from the swivel of Jo’s head as she scanned the thing, it seemed as though she was at a loss too. They’d have to wait for Cruck’aa to come back then, otherwise –

Jo laughed, pointed to something, then scrambled up the tree in an instant, pulling herself to the top and wiping her hands off on her pants. She turned around and squatted, smirking at Serena’s stunned expression.

“Put your foot there,” She pointed at nothing Serena could see. “and give me your hand. Pull you up the rest of the way.”

“How did you do that?!” Serena exclaimed; beside her, Werond looked around where Jo had pointed, eyes wide and brows furrowed.

“Practice. Experience. And general upper body strength. All of which neither of you have. Now, come on. Isn’t that easy, so the sooner we get this over with, the better.”

Serena shook her head; Jo had made it look simple, how difficult would it actually be?

It wasn’t until Serena had fallen back to the ground for a third time did she realize the truth of Jo’s words; by the time she had managed to haul her up, fighting back a laugh at the various curses that tumbled from her fingers, Serena was a shivering, sweaty mess. Though she’d been filthy before, the front of her tunic had been thoroughly stained by dirt and bits of rotting bark, much to her annoyance as she wobbled to her feet on top of the trunk. Werond fared better, and despite her diminished framed, managed to haul herself up with only a bit of assistance from Jo.

The path on the other side of the tree remained just as eerie as before; the wind picked up as the three of them turned around, feet slipping under the rotting bark. The drop back down seemed much higher than it should have been, however, and as Serena quickly looked away, she wobbled just enough for Jo to reach out and grab her.

“Don’t tumble off please. Last thing we need.” Serena grimaced and raised her hands to sign, only for Jo to shush her. “Hold up.”

Her eyes narrowed, sending Serena’s heart rocketing into her throat; her head snapped about, staring out into the watery gloom on either side of the path, but she couldn’t make anything out. On the other side of Jo, Werond did the same, though she quickly ducked down and gripped the tree at the first hint of wobbling.

“Think I can hear them.” Jo muttered. “Up the path. Sounds like they’re arguing.”

Panic burned away under the heat of irritation; Serena frowned but strained her ears, barely making out through the howling wind the shrill tones of Cruck’aa’s voice.

“Maybe.” Serena signed. “Sounds like one of Cruck’aa’s arguments again.”

“Figured. Werond?” She shook her head. “Just us them. Must be our sharp ears. Well,” Jo turned to Serena. “think you can do me a favor then?”

“Now?”

“Sure. Can you hop down and go find them? Make sure they haven’t hurt themselves somehow, because I’m sure Cruck’aa will give them an earful if they did. Sounds like they’re close, shouldn’t be an issue.”

Serena’s eyes went wide; perhaps it wouldn’t have been an issue for Jo, but the idea of wandering alone through a forest that she knew deep within her soul was extremely evil did not sit right with her.

Jo caught the expression, and as Serena began to sign her complaints, she leaned in towards Serena’s ear, sending goosebumps down her neck as her breath tickled against her skin.

“I need to talk with Werond about something, best I can.” She whispered. “Won’t be long, I promise.”

“O-oh.” Serena whispered. “I guess t-that’s fine. What do you n-need to –”

“Just some stuff.”

“Is it a-about –”

“Yeah, it is. Don’t want to lie to you. It’s nothing bad. No need to worry.”

“R-right.” She sucked in a breath, difficult when she couldn’t feel her chest. “Won’t be long, r-right?”

“Swear it on my uniform. You need me to help you get down or…”

Her voice trailed off as Serena pulled away from her and leapt off the tree, finding suddenly that she didn’t care how high up she was. She landed with a grunt, falling to her knees as her legs flared with pain; it quickly vanished as she forced herself up, however, snapping away the mud and debris that stained her skirt. Jo called out to her, but Serena waved her off as she began down the path. She didn’t want her to see the tears that now trickled down her cheeks.

Bahamut’s Teeth, why was she even crying? Because Jo wanted to talk to Werond? Because she’d seen the rift between them? Because it had gotten bad enough that she had to pull one of them aside and talk to them?

Through the sea of numb that deadened her chest, sending its tendrils through her limbs, a single spark of shame flared to life, igniting her heart as it began to pound – a burning reminder that she had failed Werond once again.

How much she hated herself for it, hated that she simply couldn’t understand what she had done, and couldn’t begin to figure out how to fix any of it. How stupid was she when Serena couldn’t help the one person she loved more than anything else? The one person that she so desperately craved to pull her tight, and promise her that everything was alright, but now, was nothing but a reminder that in her failure, she’d once again found herself alone.

The world blurred together in swathes of greys, browns, and blacks. Serena sucked in a breath, sending a sharp pain piercing through her chest as she shook out her head as though the motion could dislodge those horrid thoughts.

No, no, she couldn’t think that way, she couldn’t – Werond still needed her, she had to, none of it was permanent, it couldn’t be permanent, it couldn’t be, not after everything they did together, didn’t all that amount to everything – the hand holding, the caressing, the words whispered against her skin, so late into the night, didn’t all of that matter to her – it had to, it had to, it had to – it didn’t make any sense for it not to, it just didn’t – to throw away everything they had, everything they spent so long building up, it didn’t make any sense, it didn’t, but why then was Werond so cold, so distant – it didn’t make any sense why she shoved her away, it didn’t, and no matter what Serena tried to do, from words or just a look, she always pushed her away and she couldn’t understand why, why, why was she doing it, why had Werond changed so drastically, it didn’t make sense, it didn’t, and all she had to do was accept it, accept the numb that came with her failure, and drift upon –

“Serena!”

The world snapped back into focus all at once as Serena fell to the ground; she leapt back up in a heartbeat, wobbling as the blood rushed to her head, pounding in her ears. It cut off whatever else Jo had said, still standing on top of the tree, Werond beside her, face buried in her hands.

Jo leapt from the tree and jogged over, and in the few seconds it took her to reach Serena, the blood had begun to quiet in her ears, the world remaining blissfully in place.

“– going on!? You alright?” Jo asked, brushing off Serena’s shoulders. “What in the Nine Hells was that, you just –”

“I-I know, s-sorry,” She couldn’t keep her voice steady as she watched Werond leap off the tree and begin to trudge up the path, head bowed, arms crossed. “I-I don’t – I’ll j-just go, I, sorry Jo –”

“No point now.” Jo’s eyes remained on Serena as Werond walked past them, moving up the path and around the bend; Serena turned towards her, only for Jo to pull her back. “Hey, hold up, you look horrible. What’s wrong? What happened?”

“N-nothing, I was just –”

“Serena.” Jo leaned in. “You froze for ten minutes, you didn’t move. I had that entire conversation with Werond before I noticed, so don’t tell me nothing happened.”

“What?” Her heart plummeted. “Ten minutes? Jo, what are you on about?”

“Give or take. Felt like it. Did something spook you?”

Serena pulled her hands against her chest, shivering as what felt like ice crept down her back.

“What?” Was all she could manage.

Jo sighed and looked away, biting her lower lip.

“Right.” She muttered. “Figured that was the case. After the first time.” She stepped back and crossed her arms, meeting Serena’s worried gaze. “You aware that you’re losing time?”

“What?”

“Losing time. Zoning out. Not taking in what’s going on around you. I asked you to hop down and find the boys ten minutes ago. You stopped and just stared out into the trees. Couldn’t see your face. You just froze.” Jo rubbed her chin. “Not the first time either. Remember your comment earlier, about losing focus right after we left that building?”

Serena slowly nodded, her thoughts a whirl.

“That tipped me off that something wasn’t right. Serena, when you said that, we’d already been out here for a day. Marched through everything, found a place to camp, caught breakfast – all that happened before you fell in the water. Remember any of it?”

“What?!” Serena stepped away from Jo. “No we didn’t, we –”

“We did, I promise you.”

“But we –”

“I have no reason to lie to you Serena. That’s what happened. You’ve been zoning out for a while. Ask Werond too, she kept glancing at you the entire time we were talking, I didn’t –”

Jo snapped her mouth shut as Serena’s shoulders sagged.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean for that.” Jo said. “But you’ve been off for a while and zoning out has me worried. The fact that it’s happened twice is worse.” She chewed her lips. “Listen, I know it’s got something to do with you and Werond. And quite honestly, it’s none of my business. But I’m worried about you, Serena. You’re not yourself, and that’s especially dangerous when we’re in a place like this. I say this as a friend, you need to talk with her. Figure out what’s going on. I told her the same thing, she knows. Alright?”

Her words were like a hammer into Serena’s chest, ripping the breath from her lungs; so numb was her body that all she could manage was a feeble nod, unsure of what she could have said in the first place. It wasn’t that easy, no matter how Jo framed it, but she doubted she’d ever see it like that.

“Good. And while it’s none of my business, if you need me…just let me know, okay?” She patted her on the shoulders as she nodded. “Good. Let’s go find them then, before you and I get lost.”

And with that, Jo moved past her, walking down the path as though she were oblivious to the effect her words had. It was all Serena could do to follow along in her wake, floating down the path with a rattled mind.

The shock of Jo’s words fell away, slightly, as they rounded the corner, and caught sight of the rest of their friends. Doriyah, Pavel, and Cruck’aa all stood closer to the edge of the path, under the overhang of particularly horrid looking tree. Oblivious to the fact that barely a few paces away from falling into the bog, all three of them continued to yell and gesture at a broken tree that stuck out of the water; behind them, on the path proper, Werond stood with her shoulders hunched and arms crossed, as always. She didn’t look any worse than normal, but before Serena could feel anything, Jo nudged her with an elbow, and gestured at the broken tree.

Only the lower half of it remained, the top nothing but a mess of splinters and fragments; along the lower half, something had sliced through the bark, each claw mark as thick as perhaps three of her fingers put together. So deeply set were the marks that even Serena knew that no animal could have inflicted that much damage – which, from the sounds of it, was exactly what the group’s argument was about.

“– you are looking too far into it,” Cruck’aa growled, eyes flicking from Serena to Jo as they approached. “if you’d just stop and listen –”

“I don’t want to.” Doriyah said flatly, arms crossed. “They’re bear marks. From a bear. Know what a bear is?”

“Yes I – it’s too deep to be a bear!”

“A big bear then.”

Cruck’aa screamed and threw his hands up, oblivious to the smirk on Doriyah’s face. Pavel glanced over, then moved towards Serena and Jo.

“We’ve been, uh…” He said, standing next to them. “going back and forth for a bit. I’m just watching, honestly. Mostly.”

“Must be thrilling.” Jo remarked as Cruck’aa took up another argument, reaching out to tap the claw marks with a talon; Doriyah simply shook his head.

“Oh, it is. I don’t think he realizes that Doriyah’s messing with him.”

“Sounds like Cruck’aa.” Jo gestured at the tree. “He say what those marks were from?”

“A troll. And a big one too.” Pavel shuddered. “Gods, last time I saw one was awhile ago. Ripped a couple of our guys in half before we could stop it. Nasty fuckers.”

“He’s sure it’s a troll?” Jo asked, craning her neck to look at the marks; Doriyah had stepped up to the tree, almost in the water, and began discussing why exactly he believed the marks to not have been made by a troll, but by a bear the size of a troll. This did not sit well with Cruck’aa.

“I’d…imagine that Cruck’aa’s right.” Serena signed as he leapt at Doriyah and began tapping his chest with a talon, screeching all the while. “He’d know about this stuff.”

“I know.” Jo sighed. “I just would hate to have our first sign of life around here be a troll.”

“Well, we’ve only been out for, what, a day? Almost two?” Pavel glanced up at the canopy and squinted. “Give it time, we’ll run into something else, sooner or later.”

“Fair.”

“Actually, how long do you think we’ve been out here?” Pavel asked, looking between her and Serena. “I mean, passed out in the shack. Couple days?”

“Considering we’re still wearing our clothes from before, I’d say a week at most.”

“Right. Makes me wonder what Jarlaxle wants with us then, holding us like that.” Pavel cocked his head. “Not to mention that we got out really easily. Seems off from someone like him, but I barely know him, so…”

“Been thinking about that. I’m sure –”

Whatever Jo was going to say was cut off as Werond grabbed her shoulder and shook it, eyes wide. As they turned to face her – Serena’s heart smashing in her chest, Pavel and Jo shooting her looks – Werond leaned in and mouthed something. She grimaced as Jo shrugged, but the more she mouthed the words, the more confused everyone became.

“Werond,” Serena signed, hands trembling slightly. “I can’t – can you face me…”

Her voice trailed off as Werond began to scour the ground for something, chewing her lip. She threw up her hands and bent down, sticking a finger into a muddier section of the path.

Serena moved over and stood behind her, peering over her shoulder, hands still trembling; Pavel and Jo crowded behind her as they watched Werond write out the two words she’d been trying to communicate – two words that sent a shiver down Serena’s spine, a low whistle from Jo, and a muttered curse from Pavel.

3 months.