"Do you even know where you're going?" Kuro asks after three hours of walking around inside the woods "You've never left the village before...You have no idea where you're going do you!?"

Martha is silent as she follows after the two until she trips on a root that was hidden amongst the brambles and hits the ground with a "Huff"

Kuro and Mooncaster looks back at her. Mooncaster comes over and offers his hand "Hey! You alright?"

She wacks his hand away "I don't need your help!" she snarls lightly as she gets up.

"Stubborn woman but she can take care of herself...or can she?" Kuro says looking away, his tail gently flicking from side to side "Anyways we can't just keep running and expecting to find our way through these woods. It's still dangerous even for us...bigger predators will be out looking for easy targets to attack."

"Well then what do you suggest we do?" Mooncaster asks a little hurt by Martha's seeming hatred of him.

Kuro rolls his eyes at his friend "First we calm down...we still have our magic so we can still fight at least but we need to remember how to find villages and things"

"How? Every village had a different way to find them? The village of the desert was by the hottest direction while the village of the skies had to do with...birds I think?" Mooncaster asks and Kuro shrugs. They all stand there unsure of which way to go as they all look around.

Martha notices a tiny slither of movement in the corner of her eye and looks in the direction but nothing is moving "Maybe...we shouldn't be standing here?" she offers.

"What do you mean?" Mooncaster asks but Martha doesn't answer. "Are you going to do this every step of the way?"

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

"Leave her alone Mooncaster" Kuro says wisely "She'll talk when she's ready to talk same as you an...." he screams which turns into a loud yip sound as he bolts up the nearest tree hissing like a cat scared.

"What are you doing?" Mooncaster asks as he looks only to have his ears flick down at the sight of a giant python staring at them "Shit..."

Martha has already hidden behind a tree instead of standing right in the path of the giant python. She gives Mooncaster a look that says she thinks he's an idiot.

Mooncaster thinks "Cowards" but when the python opens its mouth, its fangs dripping with venom and what looks suspiciously like blood, he decides it's the right time to be a coward and run. The python gives chase, slithering quickly past Martha's tree and Kuro's tree causing both of them to press themselves against the trunks of their trees until it's past them.

"......well....at least he's a wolf" Kuro says watching the python's tail disappearing into the forest after the fleeing Mooncaster.

Martha eyes Kuro with a raised eyebrow.

"What? Wolves are faster than foxes and...maybe you?" he says "Or did you want to be chased by the giant...monster?" he shivers

".....No" she answers "Are you going to help him?" it's the most she's spoken since he's known her.

"Nah, Mooncaster will be back so..." he begins only to suddenly be grabbed by his collar and Martha is thrown unceremoniously over a shoulder as Mooncaster dashes past them both.

"Let's get out of here!" he shouts as he runs, the scenery blurring past them as Mooncaster digs into his wolf sides speed. The python is soon behind them as they burst from the forest into...a swamp!? The three fall into the swampy water and Kuro panics scrambling onto a bit of solid murky ground hissing at the water.

"Well....the snake shouldn't get us here...right?" Mooncaster asks before adding "Seriously, Kuro? The water's not that deep right here. Your not going to drown"

"You never know with water" he counters before looking around on high alert "I'm hungry..."

"The swamp village should be around the swamps right? Maybe we can find it...somehow" Mooncaster says uncertainly.

Martha looks around as well before she spots a bit of purple glowing strings swirling past her but it disappears into the woods and she's left confused on where that string came from. She looks down at her hand as a red string appears and swirls lightly around her arm before vanishing as she follows after the other two deeper into the swamp.