Chapter 7: Venturing

Kayla, lifting herself slightly as she realized she ended up dozing off like a baby, had quickly realized the blanket she originally had over Gwenn was now over her. She immediately shot a look over at the fire, noticing Gwenn sitting criss crossed in front of it, an elbow on his knee and resting his head on his hand, slightly dozed off.

She noticed they must've been asleep just about the entire day, she could tell he's probably been awake only for a few hours or possibly several minutes, she wasn't sure but she could tell he was still exhausted as he was almost passing out again.

She gently removed the blanket off of her, and silently made her way to him, sitting on her knees in front of him and gently placing both hands on his cheeks to make him look at her, but also to make sure he wasn't burning up again from a sudden flu or illness, this caused him to immediately become spooked.

She resulted in his sudden action quickly, though her calm and concerned expression had immediately calmed him, realizing it was her. She knew he wasn't used to being suddenly touched as he has never had someone around him before, so she was careful.

"Are you gonna tell me what happened?" She questioned him, she came to the conclusion he was alright, just needed a bit more rest. He gently placed his hands on her wrists, removing her hands from his face showing no interest in answering her question, "It's best you don't know…" He stated in response.

She didn't bother to persist any further in forcing him to tell her, she was happy enough that they both were alright and alive, but not knowing the danger that might've happened while she was out of it kind of concerned her. She let out a small sigh, placing a single finger and pointing at his forehead in regards to the strange patterns as he still had his mask and scarf off, remembering immediately that she had meant to ask him about them as they had intrigued her since day one.

"So be it, will you at least tell me what these are? Tattoo's? She questioned, he only had a somewhat confused look on his face though he was mostly tired as he slightly had his eyes open and looked at her as she removed her finger, he had quickly returned to his previous resting position with a hand on his cheek as support.

"Markings. I was born with them, their meaning or purpose, no idea." He explained, closing his eyes. Kayla, giving a somewhat annoyed look at his persistence, had immediately wrapped her arms around him, hugging him, this had immediately surprised him obviously, which was her intention as she felt him somewhat stiffen.

"Thank you Gwenn." She said softly, she was unsure if he even remembered the short words they said to one another when he was awake for those few seconds, several hours ago, but whether he did or didn't, she thanked him again.

Kayla knew those words surprised him further, she felt him relax and gave up on the fact of her continued seemingly hugs, she heard him give a small sigh as he wrapped an arm around her in acceptance.

"It's only gonna get colder and more dangerous from here on, Kayla… Are you sure you really want to keep going?" He asked her, realizing she's been showing displeasure with all the violence and dangers so far. This made her confused but also hesitant as she wasn't going to lie, she hated seeing Gwenn always get hurt in any way for her sake, it seemed to only get worse the closer north they got.

"If you're going to keep getting hurt an-" She began, only to have him immediately stop her, "I'm fine. I never said it to you directly and that's a fault on my part…" He began, Kayla who already sat back away a bit, confused as he saw him with a serious expression as he looked at her in the eyes finally.

"I promise I'll get you home, no matter what. I know it hurts you more than anything not seeing your parents or your home, friends…" He stated, glancing away somewhat sadly. She immediately recognized this, remembering he's been alone his whole life, no one to care about him.

Kayla looked at Gwenn glancing away as she gently placed her hand on his cheek making him look at her again "It would hurt me to lose you..." She said to him with sadness in her voice, showing she was honestly growing attached to him and cared, grateful for his help and seemingly is willing to continue it and prove her and others wrong.

Gwenn looking at her, almost surprised with how much she actually cared for him, then it hit him, how she was to him every step of the way of their journey, he didn't entirely pay much attention to it until now also remembering all those thoughts and words that suddenly came to him when he was pushing himself to get her back.

After a moment of silence Kayla gently pats him on his cheek before standing up and checking outside, "I think it's safe to leave now..." she says as she glances around outside seeing all of the old tracks all over the muddy field in front of the cave, with the old remains of the motorized dragon was left bent over a boulder and looks completely wrecked beyond any sort of repair, seeing to evidence of any of its crew, and shivered at the thought of what happened to them.

She looked back at Gwenn, who seemed hesitant now, "Gwenn?" She calls out to him to get his attention who looked at her as if he was spaced out, "Huh..." he said, snapping out of his small trance. He glanced at the outside of the cave where she was standing, already knowing and seeing she was ready to head out and keep going. "You're ready?" He asked her, "Yeah, I am, but are you?" she asked in concern for him, he just replied with a small mhm.

Kayla, only walking over and looking at him worriedly, "Gwenn, are you sure you're ok..?" She asked, still concerned for his well-being. Gwenn standing up after finishing packing quickly had softly patted her head, "I'm fine, ok? Let's hurry before it gets dark again alright." He says to her as he walks out of the cave with Kayla immediately following along after quickly slipping her shoes and everything else on that were now finally nice and dry.

As they ventured onward it started to slowly get colder and more snow covered the grounds the closer they got, to the point Kayla is walking wrapped in one of Gwenns blankets, "How much longer are we going?" She asked annoyed by the cold, as they went, the sound of cheering can be faintly heard, the sound spooking Kayla causing her to get closer to Gwenn, "W...what was that.." She asked, sounding spooked.

Gwenn bringing his attention to a small shack that seemingly has a huge black bird of sorts hanging off the top of the roof, had also noticed the weather was starting to get worse and making it visibility reduced, Gwenn and Kayla hurried into the shack to find its small inside with a basement with connecting stairs.

Kayla looked around the main room of that shack seeing it has very little inside but hears muffled cheers below then with Kayla looking down at the floor and gently kneeled down and pressed her ear against the floor, she whispered to Gwenn, "There sounds to be like a party below us." Gwenn looked at her in response, "Don't go down there..." He says to her cautiously.

"Well sounds too lively to be a trap, plus... Sounds like fun!" Kayla said as she started to scamper down the stairs, Gwenn who immediately attempted to grab her wrist and stop her only to fail. When she hit the bottom she just only saw an empty basement room, becoming confused as she looked around, "What...? How is this possible? We both heard a party coming from down here?" She said confusingly.

Gwenn who looked at Kayla as he followed down quickly after had then noticed an odd looking shelf, sitting alone in the room with scratches on the ground around it, Gwenn pointed at the scratches "Maybe try that shelf?" Gwenn says as he was about to go to it himself only to see Kayla dart over and try to pull the shelf by herself "Do..you need help? Kayla?" He asked, seeing how pathetic she looked because of how weak she was, only for her to look back at him with a determined angry face.

Gwenn giving a subtle chuckle had sighed right after, walking over and helped her anyways despite the look she gave and any potential complaints she may have as he pulled the shelf with ease to reveal a long mineshaft looking corridor "If you want to go, i'll be here... I don't think these guys would take too kindly to seeing me waltz right in." Gwenn said, Kayla who still was looking at the corridor reluctant to go without him, she looked up at him "You sure?..." She asked him, trying to mimic puppy eyes, "Kayla… you know how everyone is once they lay eyes on me, if you want me to go then fine, but you can say goodbye to any information you need to get home." He replies.

Kayla looking at Gwenn sadly, knowing he will stay put either way despite what he said, and the fact he was correct had glanced down at the corridor with a hesitant and reluctant look, Gwenn who patted her head to reassure her before she started to wander through the corridor, hearing the sound of cheering and glass clanging along with the sound of various instruments.

She came across a door with the same black bird as what was on the roof outside and she peeked through the door lock to see a bar on the other side, filled with members from various clans, oddly enough, not fighting each other, but in fact it seemed more like they are partying with each other, along with throwing knives at a dart board, and shooting at moving cutouts of wulgs, seeing drinks being served, not knowing what kind they were but sure did make her feel thirsty.

She peeked inside the room and it came to a sudden silence, Kayla feeling everyone's eyes on her at the door. Kayla getting nervous tries to walk while attempting to keep calm despite feeling like a fish out of water with so many eyes on her and hears the bartender ask as she approaches the bar, "What are ya drinking?" Kayla thought for a second and replied, "Water?" She said only to hear the whole room erupt with laughter.

Kayla, feeling embarrassed from being laughed at, wished Gwenn were here, "Ignore them, what are you doing in a place like this, girly?" The bartender asked, not bothering to get her the water she asked. "Information…" She said, slightly flustered and still embarrassed, now being called a girly. "We don't trust anyone who can't hold their drink, water is for children here girly." He explained, forming a subtle smirk upon his face.

Kayla, blurting out as she became annoyed, "Just give me anything!" The bartender hearing her response, smirked widely and started to pour a drink made with various ingredients, seeing what looked like an odd liquid inside the glass cup that is now sliding down the bar to her.

Kayla in her annoyed state grabbed the cup and drank from it fast, not thinking of what it was, only to hear the bartender laugh at her, "What's so funny!?" She said in an annoyed tone, only to hear the bartender say to her "Do you even realize what you drank girly?" He said with a grin formed upon his face.

Kayla blinking for a second thinking, "Um…" She says, realizing she might have made a poor decision, "Juice?" She said only to get laughed at once more, and have one of the men in the back yell at her, "Stupid girl just chugged a tall glass of swamp tail and didn't even know what it was!" He said as the laughter continued towards her, "Just wait until it kicks in her, that's gonna be a sight to see!" another man said in response as he continued the laughter.

"What do you mean by that…?" Kayla asked, worried about what she just consumed, only to have her vision slowly start to blur and her speech starts to slightly slur, "What was in that d...drink…?" Kayla asks while trying to keep her words straight, only to hiccup after what she said, only to hear the bartender who to her sounds really distorted, "Only enough of everything to knock out a brood mother." he said with a chuckle watching in amusement as he began to see Kayla slowly start to wobble slightly.

Kayla, remembering what the bartender said about people who can't hold their drink, tried to tough it up through the dizziness, hiccupping in between her words, "Is that supposed to be something strong? Bish, thought you said water was for children and that felt like water..." Kayla said, trying to keep a straight composure, trying her best not to look drunk, the bartender looked at her with a raised eyebrow, sliding another filled glass to her.

Kayla misjudged the speed of the cup approaching, grabbed at the air slightly, completely missing the cup as the sound of it shattering echoed through the room. Kayla stared at the now shattered cup on the floor trying to process what happened, "Er...why did you miss?" She mumbled lightly, glancing at the bartender.

The bartender stared at her unamusingly, he only sighed, filling another cup and placed it in front of her this time, "Don't spill this one girly..." The bartender said slightly annoyed over the broken cup. Kayla who tried to drink from that cup, trying to toughen up through the effects of the drink.

Kayla looked more wobbly as her vision blurred increasingly more, and her speech got worse "Ish dat wat yo ca wateh…?" She questioned with a hiccup. The bartender, looking at her thinking if to serve another or not, he only shrugged, placing an entire bottle in front of her.

"Drink this and perhaps we'll talk after." The bartender smirked knowing no one has ever bested a whole bottle of the brew before, Kayla who was determined to get more information leading her home, had quickly grabbed the bottle and took a deep breath, attempting to chug the huge bottle.

As she kept chugging, the men in the background started to chant and cheer her to keep chugging. Her vision only got much worse than the previous two drinks, and everything she heard around her sounded ultra distorted, as her speech after was reduced to mumbling.

Kayla, still mumbling had pulled out her pendant, saying rather drunkenly in fact, "Find hooooommmmmeeee...", the whole room grew immediately silent having seen the pendant, causing her to glance around "What? Did I say something bad?" Kayla said, confused at the sudden silence.

The bartender broke the silence, "You know what this means for you right..?" The bartender asked in a threatening tone, Kayla drunkenly directing her attention back at him, "I get a free drink?" She hiccuped afterward, the bartender only looked at her thinking she might be stupid, "You...do know what that pendant is?" He asked Kayla only for her to reply "Hooooommmmeeee…." in a drunken slur.

The bartender still looking at her like she is dumb, "Girly... You don't seem to understand, we were left up here because of people from where you got that pendant from… we do not take too kindly to the likes of them." He said to her as sternly as possible trying to get his point across to her, while she seemed to be too hammered to care about the potential threat around her.

One of the men in the background had stomped over towards Kayla, picking her up by her scarf slightly, "Why don't we take this undergrounder outside and force feed her to a wulgs!" He shouted, almost a growl to his voice, only to immediately get dinked in the head by the bartender who is now holding a recently broken bottle "You know the rules idiot, besides... We don't even know if she is from there exactly, or if she just found that off someone or somewhere… Besides, she doesn't seem so bright in the current state she is in. Go sit back down and if you try to start anything again I'll make sure your next drink is acid." The bartender said glaring at the man who is now slightly dazed from having a bottle smashed on his head, letting Kayla go and wobbling back before toppling over.

After landing back on the box she was sitting in she threw her arms up on the air and yelled cheerfully, "Hoooommmeeeee!" Before suddenly passing out on the bar and snoring loudly, causing the bartender to sigh and let her be, going on to serve others at the bar.

Kayla who has been drunk sleeping for the past seven hours, even though for her it felt like seconds, letting out a large yawn, feeling a severe migraine and her vision stung from the candle light that lit the room she was in, "Ugh...what happened..." Kayla mumbled, almost puking after speaking, she glanced around seeing the room was not as active, for everyone else is either asleep or had left. She now remembered as she quickly realized she was in the bar still, though everything that happened was a bit of a blur.

Kayla, not feeling well, stumbled her way out of the bar, noticing the bartender was not in sight and most likely in the back doing something or had left as well, walking through the corridor to the stairs back to Gwenn, looking very disappointed at her as he was leaning against a wall and arms crossed, "I can smell what you drank." He said with a very annoyed tone at the fact she more than likely didn't get any information.

"But they said they would talk if I could hold my drink… wait… what time is it?" She asked only to be taken by surprise by Gwenns answer, "You were in there for seven whole hours, almost everyone left." he said to her annoyed, "Did you at least get anything and please… don't say no." He questioned her sternly, "Uh…" was all Kayla was able to say, for she knew she wasn't able to get any information from the bar because of her apparently passing out for a long time.

Gwenn looked at Kayla now with a squint, "Uh… what" he questioned once more, "So you're telling me all this time you were in there... You. Got. Nothing?" He said to her irritated at the fact she got no information and spent the whole time drinking, he got more irritated when he saw her reluctantly nod her head in response to her question, Gwenn throwing his arms up, resting a finger upon his forehead with a small sigh.

"Sorry...I've never drank before…" She stated shamefully, knowing full well he was most likely very upset with her as she had left him here for several hours, alone. "Go back and try to see if the bartender is still there, ok?" He said to her, trying to not sound mad, Kayla just stared at him a bit lost "Didn't they leave?" She asked him, seeing that almost no one was there before she left.

Gwenn pointed back at the corridor as he stood straight, as if to demand her to go back and get information, Kayla sighing had reluctantly walked back through the corridor, peeking back into the bar room "Can I ask about-" Kayla was speaking before getting interrupted by the bartender, "No, not now. Wait till everyone else leaves." he says as he waves his hand in a shoo gesture, not even looking at her.

Kayla shrugging, walked back to Gwenn, "They said wait..." She said to him with her head lowered slightly, still feeling miserable and ashamed. Gwenn giving a subtle sigh, "Guess it's going to be a while... Can't be helped then.'' Gwenn said as he leaned against the wall once more contemplating on where to go from here.

Kayla then sat in a corner across from Gwenn, curled up in a ball and twiddling her thumbs "This is taking a while isn't it..." She said, growing impatient and trying to break the silence, "There was only like… five other people left in there... You think they might be playing us like fools?" She asked, glancing at the door.

Kayla heard quite a few footsteps approaching fast and she snapped her fingers at Gwenn to signal him people were coming, Gwenn promptly hid away in the shadows of the room.

The last few men started to stumble through the room, leaving the bar and they looked at Kayla sternly, not saying a word or attempting anything before they stumbled up the stairs and all finally leaving, Kayla sighing softly before hurrying back into the bar.

Upon hearing the door open the bartender instinctively yelled, "Leave we are closed, last call ended thirteen minutes ago!" he said peeking out from behind the bar seeing Kayla, "Oh… it's you." he says with a sigh, "Guess you still want to talk?" He said to her as he polished a cup.

"Yes, do you know where I can find-" Kayla said before being interrupted once more, "No, stop asking, that's a place you'd never get too, trust me, you're not the only sad fool who tried multiple times to get there, chances are you might find their body up that path." The bartender said sternly.

Kayla looked surprised hearing him tell her this, "There was more who tried?" She asked, only to see him respond with a nod, "Yup, none of them ever heard from again..." The bartender said to Kayla "So if you know what's good for you, ditch the pendant, forget that… place, ok?"

Kayla who felt offended about his statement quickly defended herself and her home, "No, I won't ditch my pendant and forget about my home, whoever else was trying to find a way there clearly gave up and let this world take them, not me, not ever, I will find home. Now where did these others go!?" She said almost demanding toward the bartender, who just stared at her clearly annoyed for sounding demanding.

The bartender, still annoyed, said out to her "Fine, it's your grave little girl, keep following the trail past here, until you see snow, keep going and you'll see the remains of the others before you... Hopefully that would convince you to quit this pointless endeavor, before you end up dead." He said to her, still semi annoyed, but trying to give her a warning despite knowing she will still go.

Kayla not giving a response, marched her way out the bar, not saying a word as she started to leave the cabin, not stopping to talk to Gwenn, as if she was intently focused on finding the rest of that trail and also pretty pissed off, Gwenn quickly following behind her as they promptly left the cabin, noticing she was dead quiet as they started to venture out towards the trail towards the snowy valley ahead.

"Kayla… did something happen?" Gwenn asked hoping to break the Silence only to be responded with more silence as Kayla continued to follow the now snow covered trail, with Gwenn only growing more and more concerned "Kayla… Come on… Can't give the silent treatment forever. You should really watch your step here… not sure if you noticed, that bar is probably the only human settlement you're going to find for miles..." Gwenn said, trying to warn her and trying to get her to stop and think before she got them into serious danger, only to have it fail as he sighed giving up.

As the duo proceeded through the trail that's building up more and more with snow, Gwenn had begun to notice symbols carved into some of the trees around, symbols that seem to be unfamiliar to him. Grabbing Kayla's shoulder trying to get her attention, making her look at him after she was grabbed, "What is it?" She asked him, confused as to why he grabbed her.

"Something seems off about this area, something different but I'm not sure what." He stated to her as he pointed to the marked trees, Kayla seeing the potential danger, had suddenly stopped, now feeling like they were now being watched. She was completely intent on getting back home, lost in her own mind, blocking everything and everyone around her including Gwenn, this made her feel bad as she quickly stuck close to him, gaining awareness of herself now.

Kayla staying close to Gwenn, though still wanting to press forward, with the environment around them looking more mountainous, Gwenn seeing off in the distance that there are people standing on the ridges in the distance ahead of them, watching their every move.

The people out on the distant ridge began to grow in numbers as Kayla and Gwenn followed the snow covered trail, the two of them growing concerned at the growing amount of people watching from the nearby ridge,

"Can we hurry... I'm not liking this cold or the amount of people watching us..." Kayla questioned, pointing at the trail for him to follow it. "You're the one that rushed out without thinking." He growled annoyingly, glancing back up at the ridge, realizing all those people that were there had disappeared now.

Gwenn quickly increased his speed, following the trail with Kayla close behind, but as Kayla followed close, she tripped on a sudden rope that was hidden in the snow, with Gwenn ahead of her as she had attempted to catch up. Gwenn who was suddenly pulled up by his ankle with said rope had ascended up a very tall tree as he let out a sudden small frightened yelp, letting out sudden breaths with mist that was released from said breaths due to the cold and moisture of the air, dangling from the rope and glancing up at it.

"Gwenn!" Kayla shouted worriedly as she quickly lifted herself and worriedly looked up at him to make sure he was ok. Frantic snarling echoed around them, Gwenn hearing the sounds immediately looked down at Kayla, very annoyed as he dropped himself, letting himself dangle as he failed to reach up due to the weight of his wings, "Can you hurry and cut me down!? Or do you want to meet whoever is making that noise?!" Gwenn growled, Kayla who promptly tried to find the opposite end of the rope that was holding Gwenn off the ground.

Kayla scrambled to find the rope hearing the frantic snarling in the distance from them approaching them closer and fast, pulling out the dagger from the bag as she grabbed the rope and began to saw her dagger through the thick rope barely listening to Gwenn as she focused on cutting him down.

The rope holding Gwenn staggered as Kayla tried her best to cut through it quickly, "Hey! Ease up there, i'm not in the mood to fall like this ok?" Gwenn said to her as she cut more into the rope. He glanced over at the large group of people that were approaching them fast, letting out an annoyed growl as he glanced at his wings, 'Hate the damn cold and snow!" he angrily thought to himself as he glanced back up at the rope.

Kayla who quickly cut the rope, causing Gwenn to fall to the ground quickly, unable to prep himself for the land and landing with a large thud, his wings and back now deep in the snow. Gwenn let out a small painful breath as he realized his wings are now cold and wet, "Kayla, help me up, now!" He demanded when he heard the approaching sounds are now closing in fast as his wings were pretty much stuck in the snow and hard to get out.

Kayla trying to keep calm, runs over to him grabbing him by his hands and trying to help him up, after a bit of struggling, Kayla was able to finally help Gwenn out, a large group of humans now in clear view of them, both of them seeing that these people were almost like animals with their movements and distinctively wore animal clothing with a majority of them covered in blood, Gwenn quickly pulling Kayla along trying to run away from that pack of feral people.

The group of ferals now hot on Gwenn and Kayla's heels, noticed some of the ferals started to climb up the surrounding trees and jumped from branch to branch trying to get ahead of them, while the rest of the ferals tried to circle around where they were running.

As the chase went on, it seemed like more and more ferals were just coming out from every direction, Gwenn noticing a different symbol on the trees they quickly passed. Kayla looked behind over her shoulder after passing the new marked trees to see the group of ferals behind them had stopped chasing but snarling at them, as if they were dogs on the end of a chain.

Gwenn and Kayla stared at that group after realizing they are not going pass those trees as if it was a barrier to them, seeing all they can do is snarl and stomp angrily before they lost interest and ran back to where ever they came from, at this point both Kayla and Gwenn were exhausted from almost getting overwhelmed by ferals as they let out pants like a dog themselves.

Gwenn realized they weren't completely safe, as both of them noticed the possibility of them being surrounded by different clans that seem to be far separated from any of the normal clans they encountered, but to them something was clearly off. Kayla glanced at Gwenns wings, noticing they were soaking wet and the fact she could begin to feel him slightly trembling, he was beginning to get very cold and freeze due to his wings and they weren't just going to warm up in the cold like this without some kind of warmth provided, though she could say same thing about herself, it was freezing even for her.

Gwenn and Kayla now carefully walking through the snow covered land, trying to watch out for any more potential traps hidden in the snow and trees, Gwenn halting Kayla as he noticed what he thought were eyes staring at them from the snow mounds, but was unable to smell anything because of the moisture from the snow, "Kayla, don't move… I think something is in the snow..." Gwenn said to Kayla in a whisper, hearing what sounds like the snow shifting around them.

As Gwenn prepared himself for what was moving in the snow below them, had suddenly backed up slightly as a pack of fox-like creatures burst out from the ground, trying to tackle and drag both Gwenn and Kayla below the snow. Gwenn who was able to throw one of the creatures off from him had quickly looked over, seeing Kayla trying to move only for one of those creatures biting part of her robe and tore part of it as the creature reburied itself and the force of its biting and digging caused Kayla to fall backwards, "Get off you mutt!" she growled, quickly kicking the creature in the face as it went under.

Kayla realizing what happened after seeing her ruined robe and her having kicked that creature's face, "That was my favorite robe you just ruined! You ugly bast-" Kayla was yelling out at the snow but was interrupted when Gwenn pulled her by her hand trying to outrun these creatures they encountered.

As they ran trying to outrun these creatures that are really close on their heels, Kayla and Gwenn suddenly tumble down a large slope as they both let out a small yelp due to it being unexpected, Gwenn immediately grabbing Kayla positioned himself to use his shell like a sled as they went down the slope seemingly out running the creatures and crashing into a large snow pile at the end of the slope.

The creatures let out small loud chuckle sounds, as if laughing at them as they faded off in the distance, retreating and not bothering to chase them any further down the steep slope.

Kayla popping her tiny head out of the snow pile with a small cough only to quickly glance around and see what seemed to be various wood cabins and very old mining equipment, Gwenn also popping his head out shortly after also noticed this old town that was a short walk away from them, both of them climbed out of the snow pile and made their way towards that old town.

Kayla who tiny and able to climb out of the large snow pile, shook and patted the snow off of herself as she shivered, glancing back at Gwenn who was done with this crap of snow as he forced himself out angrily and using his wings, bursting them out, and causing snow to fly everywhere before digging his leg out.

Kayla who covered herself from the burst, only to glance up unamusingly and notice more snow on her, letting out a small sigh. "Damn snow..." Gwenn growled lowly as he shook himself slightly like a dog. Both recovering and pursuing the abandoned small town for a chance of shelter and a break from all the spontaneous previous chaos.

As they arrived they carefully searched through the old cabins, making sure there weren't any traps in any of the cabins, when Kayla opened one of the smaller cabins, the building itself fell apart causing her to shriek slightly from the sudden deconstruction of the cabin and falling back butt first into the snow.

Gwenn looking over at the sudden loud noise and her yelp, "You ok over there? What happened?" He questioned, a bit worried she might have gotten hurt. "I'm fine, just this cabin wasn't sturdy and it collapsed when I opened the door, so it scared me a bit..." Kayla said back, a bit embarrassed she got spooked so easily.

The sounds of footsteps approached her, Gwenn who was now next to her had lowered himself to help her up off the cold and wet ground. Kayla realizing how cold he was to the touch now, not his usual warm self and wings still freezing and wet, tucked in close trying to warm them up only to seemingly not be working as the temperature was beginning to drop quickly as night was falling upon them quickly once more considering she slept for apparently ages and the point of getting here took another several hours.

They were now off the trail and most likely lost, and by the looks of it and experience so far in the snow, Gwenn and the bartender were right, it was only going to get more dangerous and eventually most likely end up dead, she didn't want to give up on finding a way back home, she desperately missed her parents, patients and peers and the people who respected her, and she couldn't forget about that cat.

Kayla looked up at Gwenn who was standing next to her, staring at the cabin that had shambled to the ground, "Gwenn… Are you sure-" She began to ask, only to immediately have him interrupt, "Did you already forget what I said back at the cave?" He stated, glancing down at her slightly with a gentle look.

"Are you reconsidering and giving up already?" He asked her, "No… It's just.." Kayla began, unsure how to place it. Gwenn has done so much for her up to this point, only to get hurt and put himself at risk for her sake, she despised seeing all this violence and chaos, people killing or the intention to hurt and kill made her traumatized and despite all this she even pushed herself.

She desperately wanted to get back home, prove them bar idiots that they were wrong, Arkawa didn't abandon them, she doesn't even remember anything or the fact of being told about this apocalyptic degree happening 11 years ago, but even Gwenn said it and told her and he's been honest with her.

Kayla was having a hard time processing everything, but based on their experience so far it was hard to disapprove of what she was told. She let out a small sigh, she rested and leaned against Gwenn sadly, she wasn't going to push him away and force him to leave and go back into hiding and running for his own safety.

Gwenn glancing down at her, gave a small smile as he wrapped an arm around her, both trying to warm eachother up as they processed things for a short bit, staring at the cabins in front of them and around, seems they were going to continue after all.