Shreya made sure to match Ellie's slower pace as they walked, ready to catch her if she needed it. She hoped that her wolfish scent would be enough to ward off any other animals. Wolves were normally something to be feared in the forest, but she was young and alone, with a more than vulnerable human. She could run but there wouldn't be much she could do to help Ellie.

Not that she had to help her. Shreya didn't know Ellie from any other human.

"This is your last time going to the forest alone," Shreya warned her. "Don't do it again."

"You sound like my mom." She grimaced. "Ugh, I'm not looking forward to going home."

"Same. My mama's going to be angry." Angry didn't cover it. Pravaah was going to have Shreya's head for this. Crossing over into human territory was one thing. Helping and interacting with a human? That was on another level of things-not-to-do. Shreya widened the distance between them, trying to avoid getting any of Ellie's scent on her.

"Mine will kill me. It'll be like, good job surviving, Ellie, it's time to die." She mimicked a stabbing motion.

"She'll kill you?" Maybe Ellie would be safer in the woods. Shreya'd have to teach her how to survive.

"No, not really." Her grin widened. "She'll probably yell at me and make me swear to never do this again."

Shreya hoped that Ellie'd keep that promise. "Heh, I'll be lucky if Mama only yells at me. The last time my sister wandered away, things got ugly."

"Ah, you have a sister? I always wanted one. Older or younger?"

"We were born together."

"Twins!" A bounce entered Ellie's step. Shreya stared at her, puzzled at the word. Twins? There wasn't an equivalent for it in her tongue. She played it off as confusion towards her exuberance. "Do you look the same? There are twins like that in Stockbrunn."

"No, she's bigger than me." Not by much, but enough to be twice as strong as Shreya was. She hadn't bested her in a play fight since they were pups. Shreya only had her beat in speed, and even then her sister was catching up to her since she was slacking off on her training. "Be glad that she didn't find you. She's not nice."

"She's more like the stereotypical woods dweller, huh?"

"Yeah..." Shreya had no idea what Ellie said.

Ellie shook what was left in the dried gourd, the water sloshing. "Do you mind?"

"You can have it."

"Thank you," she said, before drinking the rest. "So what made you run away from home?"

Shreya figured there wasn't any harm in telling her the truth. It wasn't like they'd ever see each other again. Why not commiserate on a topic it sounded like they had in common? Venting may do her some good. "Mama was mean. I was tired. Frustrated." That was the word.

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"I hope she's not too mean to you when you get home. I don't want something ugly to happen to you, too." Ellie frowned. "Tell her you were helping someone important. I meant it when I said that the entire village would be after you if something bad happened to me. I'm very important."

"You're too young to be important."

"What?"

"Um...you're not old. You're not important."

Ellie spluttered. "W-well, okay, maybe, but my parents are. And because they are, so am I, so there."

Being an Elder's child didn't make someone special. Shreya wondered what mental somersaults Ellie had done to get to that conclusion. "Alright."

"Anyway, you can tell her that you helped me, and she shouldn't be so mad at you."

"That's not a good idea." Shreya said. "Me meeting you. That's what she's afraid of."

"Because I'm from Stockbrunn? If money would change her mind, I can bring you some. I've got money."

"We don't want your money."

"Then what? I don't want you to get in trouble for helping me. That's not fair." Ellie said.

"I'll live. You don't have to worry. I'm unknown."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ellie paused. Not knowing where they were headed, Shreya had no choice but to stop too. She listened out for any approaching animals, glad to discover that no one was tailing them.

"Unknown. A mystery."

Ellie got it. "A stranger. Okay, you might be a stranger but so am I. You helped me, so now I want to help you. You practically saved my life."

"Is your village close? We should keep moving." She tried to change the subject.

"I could write you a thank you note. Can you read Casternian?"

Shreya said, "a note's not going to help me. What will help me is you getting home safely. That's all I want."

Out of options, Ellie started walking again. Shreya followed her, not liking how her head was tilted down in thought. She was wasting her time. There was nothing that she could offer that would appease Pravaah. If anything, a gift from a human would incite her rage ten times worse.

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A/N: This is an interactive fantasy serial. Voting takes place on Thursdays through Sundays on the story's main site. The most up-to-date chapters can also be found there, but uploading will happen in parts on RRL as well.