Reality came rushing back in with the rain.

The exhilaration of flight disappeared when it began to pelt him, freezing and as hard as hail because of their speed. He also had not thought about things like the chafing he was already beginning to feel from Raenelir's bare, scaled back, or that the dozens of minute adjustments that the wyvern had to make every second midair would quickly begin to upset his stomach.

What was at first enjoyable more and more became uncomfortable and even downright painful, and yet they pushed on, knowing that to stop before they absolutely had to could lead to discovery by the dragon riders and, most likely, their deaths. He supposed that the most amazing thing, to him, was that despite the conditions Hera managed to get several hours of sleep during their flight, though it was broken and fitful.

It was, however, still better than no sleep at all, and Valen had not slept in nearly two days now. He was exhausted, but he also knew that even if he was able to fall asleep while they flew it might lead to him, Hera and Aevra falling from the wyvern’s back to their deaths. That was a fate that he wished to avoid.

Onwards they flew, Valen growing more and more exhausted as the hours passed, but still too terrified at the thought of being followed and killed to even think about stopping until the Highborn himself needed the break.

And that was how they pushed on until, just as the sun began to poke over the horizon in the distance and an hour or so after leaving the rainy weather behind, Raenelir finally began to descend. As the ground grew more defined beneath them, Valen was able to pick out the slowly rolling hills that indicated that they had long since left the mountains of the Divide behind them and had nearly reached the end of their foothills, as well.

As a matter of fact, if he didn’t know better, he would almost say that they were already little more than halfway to Bestor, the next closest town after Wyrha. Normally, that kind of time would be impossible.

It certainly would have been on horseback, as he knew from the few times he had made the trip with one of his parents for supplies when they needed something they couldn't get closer to home. They were not, in fact, on horseback. They had flown on the back of a wyvern and travelled more than thirty leagues over farmland, a trip that normally would have taken three or four days.

Of course, he probably would have been more excited by that if not for the circumstances behind their speed. He was also now realizing that there was nowhere in sight they could hide from airborne pursuers. A few more farmsteads passed beneath them as Raenelir continued his slow descent, his instincts making him just as aware of the need for a safe place to land as Valen.

He had not noticed it before because of the discomforts he and Hera had been dealing with themselves, but the shaky, rumbling breaths that the Highborn was releasing were a telltale sign that he was practically on the verge of collapsing as soon as they landed, possibly even falling from the sky in the worst case scenario. Desperate to avoid such a pitiful end after barely escaping death at the hands of dragon riders, Valen breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted what looked to be an abandoned barn on a rather large stretch of untended land.

It was a rarity to see something like that in these lands, he knew, but he wasn’t about to complain. It was their only chance at cover and hopefully getting some rest before they had to figure out what to do next. Bending over just a bit, feeling every muscle in his body scream at him to stop moving as he did so, he rubbed a hand shakily along Raenelir’s side.

“Th- there you g-go, boy… over th-there,” he managed to say, teeth chattering and body shivering from the cold and the pain. The wyvern complied almost immediately, turning and almost diving toward the barn. He pulled up at the very last second, wings outstretched. The jerky movement woke Hera from another rough nap, who yelped in surprise along with Aevra who was still, miraculously, curled up in Hera’s arms.

Raenelir hit the ground roughly enough that it sent fresh waves of pain through Valen's body, but thankfully no one was hurt too badly or thrown from his back. Moving as quickly as he dared in his current state, he slipped off of the Highborn’s back and nearly collapsed as his legs tried to give out when he hit the ground.

He let out a very undignified moan in response to the aching waves of pain that radiated through him, but he had to push through for now, turning to help Hera get down as well. He was able to get a grip on her hips as she began to slide down that didn't make his body scream in protest and then guided her descent, allowing her to land on both feet before Aevra leapt from her arms. The hatchling stumbled, caught herself, then stretched and plopped down in the long grass that made up the untended field around the old barn.

Despite everything, Valen couldn’t help but smile. The little wyvern had the right idea.

Of course, it was at that moment that Valen finally realized that they had no supplies with them. Everything they had brought into the cave, even their blankets, had been left behind in the panicked events leading up to their escape. His heart sank. They didn't even have food or water.

For now, even though he was sure they were all hungry, everyone was so exhausted that it honestly probably wouldn’t matter for now. But once they had rested and recovered a bit from the past few days, they would have to figure out how to fix their problem, and quickly, or they would have escaped death one way only to find it elsewhere.

“Well,” he groaned, stretching again as best he could. Despite the pain in his muscles and the aching in his bones from the incessant cold of the rain that they had only managed to escape recently, it felt very good to stretch, better than he could have ever thought something so simple could feel. “Let’s just get inside for now,” he finished, before taking a few weak steps toward the barn.

Hera followed suit after scooping Aevra up again, determined to make sure the little hatchling did not leave her sight. It was good, Valen knew, that she had something to latch onto and care for. It was a distraction that might keep her from falling apart.

Right now, however, the only care that any of them needed was a lot of sleep.

Onward they stumbled, sliding open the jammed doors of the barn with some help from Raenelir who was at least still strong enough for something that simple. They closed much more easily afterwards.

Within the old barn, though the roof had a few holes, they found a ton of old hay, somehow having managed to stay dry and avoid rot for however long it had been left. Raenelir made straight for the a lonely bale in the corner and collapsed into it, almost knocking the others over. Yet still they managed to join the wyvern in the hay, all of them huddling close together, finding silent comfort in one another’s company.

Not to mention the warmth of the Highborn’s body thankfully made up for the lack of blankets, one small problem from a list of many he had not yet solved.

Although a vague notion of someone needing to stay awake and keep watch crossed his quickly fading mind, he lacked the strength to even try and get up again, having already settled in next to Hera against Raenelir’s frame.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Despite knowing that having no one awake might lead to trouble, Valen drifted off to sleep, and his body thanked him the only way it could when one slept.

It stopped hurting, at least for a while.

----------

When Valen woke up, night had fallen and the others were already up. Hera stood by the barn doors, looking through the slit at the outside world. He wasn’t sure what she might from that, but he wasn’t about to bother her if she was deep in thought. Aevra, miraculously, seemed to be alright despite the stress from the past few days, the freezing temperatures of their flight from the Divide, and the still relatively new wound in her leg they had been dealing with before they found the dragon riders in the Great Roost, setting off this whole chain of events. She was rubbing up against Hera’s legs playfully, though his sister didn’t seem to be in the mood.

Even Raenelir was awake, although he had not moved from where he lay, as Valen had been sleeping beside him. Now, though, as he returned to his feet the wyvern shifted and pushed himself up, letting out a low rumble of relief as he stretched his own massive muscles after lying still for long.

Valen could understand that feeling; his own muscles and joints felt insanely stiff, which was natural since he had gone to sleep almost immediately after landing and putting them through so much work. He groaned as he took a couple awkward steps forward, but once he got moving the pain faded slightly and he was able to move around. Still, his raw thighs and his aching body were a sure sign that he had not done the best job taking care of himself.

He had good reason, of course, not that it mattered to his body.

“Hera,” he croaked, surprised by how weak his voice sounded as he said it. Shaking his head and trying to wet his mouth with some spit, he spoke again.

“Hera, are you alright?” he asked, heading her way. The only thing he could really do right now was attend to her needs while he tried to figure out their next move. Options were limited, they had nothing to their name, and danger was all around.

He had to think about these kinds of things now, without Aiden or Ma or Da around to…

Tears stung Valen’s eyes, but he rubbed them away as he reached Hera, who still had not torn her eyes from the crack in the barn doors. Pale moonlight fell from the holes in the roof, reminding him as well that this place was probably only a one night solution. If it rained again, they would have no real protection from the elements, not to mention that if the dragon riders came this way looking for them an old abandoned barn in the middle of nowhere would be exactly the kind of place they would check.

“Hera?” he asked again, bringing a hand to rest on her shoulder this time. The touch seemed to finally break whatever reverie had gripped her, because she turned and looked up into Valen’s eyes. Her face was wet from crying, and his heart lurched in his chest, knowing that in the end nothing he could say would be able to make things better for her.

Both of them would have to recover from what they had experienced, and who knew if they would really ever move on?

For now, he knew that at the very least he could continue to push aside the emotions threatening to overwhelm him by focusing on the task at hand. That meant figuring out where they would go next.

“Valen, what are we supposed to do?” Hera asked, her voice quiet despite how hard her words struck him. Because while the tears were even now still streaking her face, the iron in her eyes had grown to steel.

“That’s what we’re going to have to figure out,” he replied, deciding based on the strength in her gaze that being upfront was his only real option. Hera kept her eyes on him for another few moments before turning and looking back towards Aevra and Raenelir. For some reason, he knew what she was going to say before she even said it. It was the Galar blood that flowed through both of them, giving her away.

“Whatever we do, Val, we have to take care of Aevra and Raen. They’re… they might be the last thing we have from... It’s our duty to keep them alive too, now,” she declared - and it certainly was a declaration. She said it with such confidence that he could not help the pride he felt for her as his sister. When had the little girl who used to be so scared of even the smallest wyverns become someone who could push through the loss of almost her entire family, even just temporarily, for the sake of two drakes?

He found himself smiling, even in the midst of their circumstances, and without even thinking about it he plopped a hand on her head and ruffled her hair. For just a second, when she let out an indignant cry and tried to pull away, it felt as if nothing had changed at all.

They were all reminded that that wasn't the case when Raenelir suddenly let out a low growl of warning and a roar split the quiet of the night.

Valen and Hera immediately went still, and Aevra stopped her attempts to find a playmate, head cocking to the side as she looked up through one of the holes in the ceiling.

The little wyvern opened her mouth but Valen knew what was about to come, and immediately scooped her off the ground, clamping his hand firmly around her mouth so that she would not be able to make any noises that might get the attention of the dragon. And he knew it was dragons because he caught a glimpse of their silhouettes, far, far above.

His thoughts turning immediately towards discovery or death, he moved without even thinking. Motioning with his head for Hera to follow, he quickly and quietly as he could moved to the hay they had just been sleeping on. Raenelir seemed to understand the need for silence as well, because he did not roar a challenge back or really do much of anything, other than bringing his wings in to become as small as possible and ducking as far into the shadows of the structure as he could.

Valen pulled Hera and Aevra into the hay, then began to draw it back over on top as best he could. Their hope lay in the fact that, while the barn they had elected to take shelter in was obviously abandoned, in the darkness of the night it would hopefully look just like any of the other countless farm houses and barns that lay between Wyrha and Bestor.

So they hid, despite Raenelir not really having anywhere to do the same. The Highborn simply stuck to the shadows as much as possible, making sure that no one would be able to pick out his large form through the damaged roof. Even though they would have been miserable, Valen found himself wishing that it was raining again now. Instead, it was as clear a night as one could get.

It felt like an hour passed before he finally allowed himself to breathe again, though it couldn’t have been anywhere near that long. He only relaxed when Aevra began to squirm once more, trying to get free and play again. Moving the hay off his head, he saw that Raenelir had relaxed as well, his posture no longer tense of defensive.

Valen couldn’t help the hysterical laughter that bubbled up from his chest.

The Four had to be with them, to have not been found with riders so close! Hera let Aevra go, and the little hatchling shot out of the hay, shaking little pieces of straw off of her before running around in circles, chittering happily. With the tension leaving his body, the pain of sore muscles and raw thighs returned, but Valen didn’t complain as he and Hera pulled themselves got up.

Instead he simply wondered at their luck, before turning and looking at Hera and Raenelir, who was now completely leaving the barn's shadows, long neck extending as he brought his face down evenly with the two humans. Valen reached out and scratched fondly under the Highborn’s chin, eliciting a content rumble reminiscent of a purr.

Then he sighed, knowing that none of them were ready to get moving again, yet also aware that they had no choice.

“We have to go, Hera. We had had to stop and rest, or we wouldn't have made it, but we can’t survive here and we certainly can't stay hidden here,” he said, and although he could hear the sleepiness in his voice, it didn’t change the fact that it was the truth. His sister was nodding in agreement even before he finished speaking, though, which made him feel better.

“You’re right. But can Raen handle carrying all of us again? Who knows how long it will be before we find somewhere else that’s safe to hide,” Hera asked, making him smile a bit at her use of his nickname for the wyvern. She brought up a good point, though, so he turned and brought his hand up to rest on the wyvern’s crested snout as they locked eyes.

“Can you do it, Raen?” he whispered, and then he placed his head against the Highborn’s, once more he feeling that strange surge of something akin to electricity run through the wyvern’s skin. It jolted him as Raenelir let out a higher pitched growl that, if Valen didn’t know better, almost seemed to be him saying that yes, in fact, he could do it.

Despite the hunger and thirst that racked his body in concert with his other pains, Valen grinned.

His mind went back, unbidden, to that first rush of sheer joy that hit him when they had taken off for the first time, and he knew that regardless of whatever else might happen, he had discovered one of the most exhilarating things that a person could ever experience.

No one could take that from him.

They left a few minutes later, after climbing painfully onto Raenelir’s back, with nothing to pack up or prepare before they resumed their journey. Once more the wind hit them at full force as they shot into the night sky, and once more Valen was able to forget his worries for a short while.

This time, he noted with some satisfaction, he could tell that Raenelir was pleased as well.