One
Hikari fought to keep her eyes closed, they were wrestling against the beam of light that was pressing aggressively against her lids. Reluctantly she opened them to blurry vision. In front of her was someone, crouching on their knees, flashlight in their pale right hand, green eyes narrowed, lips drawn apart in wonder.
Hikari used the muscles in her arms and her elbows to prop herself up in a seating position. She pulled herself back, hands edging in sticky, thick mud as she struggled to get her legs out of the hot warmth of her sleeping bag. She glanced up at the person in front of her as she fumbled with the zipper. "Who are you?"
This someone was a girl. One with pale skin that had a sickly green glow cast to it, as if the life was slowly draining out of her. She had small green eyes, smaller than crescents, with their shape obscured by long thick lashes that curled at the sides. Her lips were thin and pouting as she stared at Hikari with mixed curiosity and discomfort. She wasn't the prettiest face Hikari had ever scene, not really at all, in fact, she was pretty homely, with a sizable nose, and ratty greenish-blonde hair, but she did not look like she was dangerous, and because of that, Hikari was happy.
"I'm Samara."
Hikari felt Samara's words when she spoke. The girl had a voice that although was as thin and quiet as the whirl of wind, it cracked, and rose high in a way that would make any listener wince.
Samara edged closer to Hikari, she rose up from her knees as she did so, but she kept in a crouch, her gaze fluttering about as if she was trying to spot something hidden in the shadows of the forest, and under the black, grey and dark blue of the night sky. "Miss, I do suggest you scoop up whatever belongings you've brought with you, and exit the area immediately. It's not safe in these woods."
Hikari stared at the girl's hard face. She wasn't sure exactly how she would come across to this person, but she did know that she was unhappy with the suggestion. She glanced about the area, while pulling herself to her feet, by use of a tree trunk. She saw her sleeping bag on the floor, but her tent, map, and various changes of clothes were rising under the strong gusts of wind that suddenly cast themselves upon herself and Samara.
"No!" She shouted in exasperation as her map to her village went away with the wind, along with her other belongings. Her sleeping bag was on its way to a high rise, but Hikari snagged it between her forefinger and thumb, desperate to safe at least something she'd brought along with her.
Samara rose to a proper stance and ran towards Hikari with a dash of speed that certainly surprised her. She looked determined for an escape, and it was clear she wouldn't try to leave without at least trying to snag Hikari before taking her leave.
Hikari's mouth fell open in surprise as Samara's hand cupped firmly around her wrist. The girl started into a lightning fast sprint, her hair whirling around as she fought to keep up a wicked fast run. Hikari had no trouble matching the speed, but as someone who wasn't very good with her feet in the dark, she was having trouble skipping over the various rocks, and twigs that were scattered upon the grassy and muddy terrain of the forest she'd set herself up in for a day of rest.
Both of their legs were aching in such a strong way, that both of the girls could feel their feet burning as they pushed to keep going. Their skin was on fire from the cuts and bruises they'd both acquired from smashing into many of the trees up in the forest. Hikari's knee was a bloody, throbbing mess, and her heart burned violently inside her chest as she neared the end of the woods. The opening of a grassy field that looked too promising to be true shone under the glow of starlight.
Samara was still leading the duo, her hand still gripping Hikari's, but she was clearly struggling to navigate, and to match Hikari's speed. She fell back, wheezing, as she stopped momentarily. Her feet continued to tap the ground, her arms swinging back and forth. "Can you lead us to the field? You're too fast for me."
Hikari glanced at Samara's hand and frowned. With a yank she attempted to free her wrist, but it stayed wrenched in the girl's iron grip. "Can't you let go!?"
Samara looked at Hikari, her green eyes widening momentarily as she considered what she was saying. Instantly Samara shook her head, her stubbornness proceeded to mask her face and cast an even more negative look to her features. She looked serious, and decided. "We have to stay together! Just go!"
Hikari set off, surprisingly untroubled by the weight of Samara as she darted under low branches and over fallen logs. Her heart was set on the field. That's where they would go.