She didn't know when they agreed on staying silent, but after they left the city well behind them, she saw no need for that anymore.

"Do you know what that was?" She asked. It was good to hear something else than the silence and the wind that blow around them. He shook his head.

"No clue, but it was good of you to wake me up." He said and sighed. "I only do not know if we get another chance to rest like that. I already told you that the north, or Frozen Hell as I like to call it, is not a very save place to be in. That is why every sane person stays away from there."

"What kind of dangers will we face?" She asked. She desperately wanted to keep the conversation going. They were again on open ground, no trees no bushes. Only snow and them.

"The cold, there are a lot of people who have died from that alone." He said and looked up. "Then are there the Bigfoot's and the unwanted. People who didn't fit in one of the cities. They live in tribes, up there. They are the most deadly thing you will face up there." She nodded.

"Why didn't you move up north?" She asked, he also didn't fit in one of the cities. Which made him an unwanted.

"I do not like the cold, and besides that I had my shack. So there was no reason for me to move up there." He replied, and it sounded reasonable in her ears. "I also want you to know that the unwanted are all men. No women would even survive in their midst." Something that she really needed to keep in mind. All women were viewed as property, if they didn't take the power for themselves, like Marrisa had done. "I also made the impression inside Chris's city that you were already spoken for." She knew he had done that to keep her safe from the men inside the city. But that would not apply everywhere.

"Thank you for doing that." She said, hoping that those men spread the news. He frowned, was he thinking that she was going to be mad about it. She was not stupid, but before she could say anything she spotted a Paracidic Dazzler. This one looked strange do, the body and veins were light blue instead of green. She pointed at it, and he nodded.

"It changes color when winter arrives. So that it will blend in, only the red flower stays the same fucking color." He explained. The Paracidic Dazzler didn't notice them, and started to growl the other way.

"They are pretty quick, for a plant." She said and he started to giggle softly.

"Alright, we need to keep on moving. We are almost at the Dreadful Channel." He said.

"The what?" She replied. And he motioned with his head. Great the silence was back again, but after seeing the Paracidic Dazzler she didn't mind. It was clearly that those plants couldn't hear them, but the same can not be said about the other animals and humans.

******

They entered an area with trees and bushes, something she didn't like seeing. That meant they needed to be extra on guard, and she was already tired as fuck. A half night of sleep was not enough, although she had gotten more sleep than Orisino. Still it was not enough, she also started to hear the sound of rushing water. She suspected that the sound belonged to the Dreadful Channel. All her senses were at high alert, she almost could feel that there was something about to happen. It was wishful thinking that this trip would be without fighting, but still she had wished for it. A tiger jumped from the bushes, on the path in front of them and one behind them. They didn't have the orange coat like the ones inside the forest, these had white coats with black stripes. They were so beautiful and dangerous at the same time. The tiger behind them started to attack and Orisino cut the animal off with his machete. The animal in front of them on the other hand did nothing. It was staring her down, and then she heard something in the bushes.

"Orisino, do not kill him." She said.

"Are you kidding me?" He replied, clearly out of breath. No she was not kidding. She stepped forward to the tiger in front of her. Placing her weapon on her back, so that she didn't seem treating.

"No I am not. They didn't attack use because they are programmed to do so." She said moving towards the bushes. A loud noise came from there. "They attacked use, because one of their young is in sneered in a trap." She saw the little white tiger, its little paw stuck in a rabbit trap. "Are there rabbits in this prison?" She asked.

"Not so far as I know. But in the beginning we hoped that there were. It can be one of the old traps, that people placed back then." He said, between breaths. He was still fending off the father. She nodded and took one of her daggers.

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"Don't be scared little one, I am not here to hurt you." She said with a soft voice, it was no use. The little one tried to run away. She grabbed it in his neck and cut the robe, the little one was free. But there was a wound, small but still it was there. She inspected it and sighed, it would heal in time. The little one could still use its leg. It even used it to swap at her. "Alright, alright I got the hint." She said, before she put the little one down. The little tiger ran to his mother, giving her head bumps and small strokes with his tongue. The father stopped attacking, as soon as he saw his son. The tiger ran past Orisino and joind his family.

"How did you know?" Orisino asked, she started to point to the mother.

"She didn't attack us." She explained and he nodded.

"So you gambled?" He asked and she shook her head. No she didn't gamble, she hated gambling.

"No, after she didn't attack use. I heard some noise coming from the bushes, that was when I knew." She said, and she smiled when she saw the family. "I didn't know it was possible in here."

"I didn't either. We always assumed that they spanned overnight. But that they are being born, well that is something else. It those not change much, if they keep attacking people." He said. She nodded.

"Lets continue. These are happy to be together, to notice use leaving." She said and she was right about that. The family did nothing as they walked past them.

"You really have the hearing of a bat." He said, after they left the forest area. "You heard Marrisa and her men, where I heard nothing. You heard something outside the house, before I did and now again with the tiger cub." She shrugged.

"I think I am just lucky, that is all." She said and he snorted. But he said nothing more as they continued towards the Dreadful Channel.

********

The Dreadful channel was not much more than a small creek of rushing water. She couldn't see anything dreadful on it. But she knew that the river didn't get the name for nothing. Maybe there was something inside the water, a creature of some kind that made it dreadful. Or maybe it was so deep and the current so strong that it was really difficult to cross. Or all the above, she didn't know. Orisino seemed tense, and when he was tense it was not without reason. Slowly they moved towards the river, nothing happened when they reached the shore. Which was a bit of a let-down, still she was alert and didn't lose focus. She was ready for anything, except...

"We are going to camp here for the night. Please gather some firewood, then I will get some water from the river." He said, and she looked at him with wide eyes. "What?"

"We are going to stay next to the river, you called the Dreadful Channel?" She asked and he nodded. "Why in Hell's name is it called the Dreadful Channel?" He started to laugh.

"Well that is a nice campfire story, so let use first do our chores, and then I will tell you." He said. She looked at him with narrowed eyes, but still went to work. Now she really wants to know. She shrunk down to grab a branch, when she heard something. Her gaze snapped towards it, it was not anything she has seen before. The monster was huge, ran on his behinds and had white fur. Probably one of those Bigfoot creatures. She grabbed her gliave and swung it towards the creature. But he was not faced by it, he still kept on coming.

"Orisino, we have company!" She screamed on the top of her lungs. Making sure that he had heard her. And everybody else in that area, for that matter. But she didn't care about that at the moment. She was facing something she never faced before. But then again, she never faced tigers, bears and plants before. She swung her gliave towards the creature again. This time the sword and of the weapon broke skin and a streak of black blood poor out of the wound. The creature screamed out and swung his trunk thick fist towards her. Nobody needed to tell her that she didn't want to get hit by it. It probably hurt as hell, if it didn't kill her right away. She dove out of the fist's way, and rolled over the ground. Jumping up on her feet ready to attack again. But when she turned around she was faced by the other fist. She jumped back, and just in time too. The ground where the fist made contact had now a dent into it. "Alright, do not get hit. Good to know." She said to nobody in particular. She again swung her gliave towards the creature. This time hitting him in his arm pit. Blood spate like a waterfall out of the wound. But that didn't slow him down. "Orisino!" She called him again, before she needed to jump out of the way.

"What the hell." Orisino said, when he finally arrived at the scene. He probably wanted to trow in a remark about the creature.

"No time for that." She said, he nodded and circled around it. She could see his machete cutting in the creature's thick neck. But that made not any divergence, except that the creature now focused on him instead of her. Something she used in her advertise. She swung her gliave towards the same spot as Orisino hit it earlier. She did not know if she used more force than he did, or that the spot was bigger than it seemed. But she cut off the creature's head, with one swift swoop. The creature collapsed, and the fight was over. She sat down heavily panting for breath. "That was fun, but let's not do that again." She said between breaths.

"Uhmm, you will incounter more of them when we getting up north." He said and she glowered at him.

"Alright, but not before then." She said. He wanted to nod but then looked at the creature.

"I wished I could promise you that. But I can't." He said and she could see that it pained him. She was the only person in this hell-hole that he cared for and he wanted to do everything to keep her save. Which was sweet of him, she stood up and walked to him.

"Alright, then promise me this. The next time I call, get your ash in sooner." She said, but before he could say anything. She kissed him.