Lora sat down abruptly on a mossy log, and rubbed her aching feet resentfully. They ate and drank in silence, as high above them the forest roof became a many-layered darkness. She was very hungry, and the meal of hard bread, dried meat and shrivelled fruit was not satisfying. She could feel the man's eyes on her while she ate, and she became uneasy. Finally she burst out, "Can't we have a fire?", and immediately felt weak.
"It is better not to draw attention to ourselves at night", he said, picking himself off the ground like a cat. He pulled off his cloak, and threw it to her as he walked into the trees. He muttered, "Try to sleep. I'll be back soon", and disappeared into the shadows. Lora watched the spot for a while, but he did not reappear. His cloak was light - surprisingly so, in fact - and very warm. It smelt good, like smoke and green earth, and rain. Reassured that he would return, Lora wrapped herself in it, and closed her eyes.
The ranger made his way through the watchful forest, the lack of light not slowing him. Now he was alone, as he preferred to be, he could think. He was much more bothered by the girl than he should be… there was something strange about her unexplained presence here, something wrong, quite apart from the perplexing circumstances. How she had managed to just appear in the centre of the forest with no tracks, traces or signs to reveal her, not triggering any of the snares that he himself had left only days before. Dressed as a ranger, if female rangers had ever existed, but with no pack. And then for her to be caught so easily! And so young... she could not be so skilled, even if she had proved to be hardier than he expected over the day.
He shook his head to clear it of thoughts, and coming to a huge old oak tree, turned left, ducking under a low branch. So was she telling the truth, then? Her story seemed implausable, to say the least, but she seemed... honest. If his instincts were correct, then the only possibilities involved magic. That ruled out orcs, at least, and she was no mage.
He came to a slight clearing inhabited by a huge dark bush, prickly and dense, and knelt, listening carefully to the night. Finally he ducked and rolled through a low, practically invisible opening in the thorny branches, disappearing from view. The forest was still for a few moments, a shape separated itself from the shadow of a thin tree trunk, and moved effortlessly and noiselessly through the air to an overhanging branch, and for an instant twin points of red gleamed in the dark from where it settled.