The creature never showed himself again.

Not to Maka at least, and she made sure to search for him. His presence had unnerved her, leaving her rest less than restful. The few times she had tried to push the Hell Child on the topic, he had pushed her away. If something were feeding on me, think I'd notice his snarl had more than made her aware of his feeling on that topic.

She didn't address it again, at least not with the other members of her party. If they didn't wish to believe in what they couldn't see, she would be unable to make them.

Until that which was invisible became visible, she would have no one's ear. Maka closed her eyes, resting against the bark of a large tree. The trees were changing as they travelled in deeper. The wall of trees at the entrance had been tall, with needle like leaves, bark ridged and sharp. The tree that supported her now was almost grey in color, it's bark smooth to the touch. The leaves were a brilliant red, and fell as they walked around them. They astounded Maka, as she was nearly positive it wasn't harvest time. It should only be late spring, as the journey they had started those three months ago had begun when frost still covered the grasses in the morning, but was gone by midday.

The stream ran silently behind her, only ever disrupted by her horse's gentle drinks. She watched idly as Blake made his way up one of the trees. They all resembled torches, pushed together to create a wall of fire. As though a warning to stay away.

"You're incredibly sour this morning." Soul's voice drew her gaze above her. The Hell Child was in the trees, eyes lowered to look at her. He was crouched in the shadows, an arrow nocked already. She turned back to look at Blake, giving him a grunt. He didn't push her farther, eyes on the fat squirrel Blake was carefully creeping towards. When the Star Warrior was a respectable distance away from the prey, Soul released his arrow.

The bolt struck the animal, and Blake jumped back in shock, falling down a few branches as a result. Blake's swears were directed at the Hell Child, his mother, his mother's mother and whatever damned creature had opened the Gates of Hell to allow Demons into this world in the first place. Soul's grin was smug as he returned to a relaxed position, his eyes on Maka again. "So, why the face?"

"I have a heavy mind."

"Aye, but I'd bet my good bow you're always carrying that around. Yet you still find time to harass us. What's different about today?"

"Today tastes bitter in my mouth. Something is wrong about today." Maka answered, looking up at him again. The Hell Child merely shrugged her words off, nocking another arrow. "Gods of your Hell, does nothing break your stoic face?"

"I have a luxury most mortals don't." He answered, scanning the trees for more wayward animals. Blake finally dropped to the ground again, squirrel and arrow in his hands, though he looked less than pleased about it.

"And what is that?"

He glanced down at her again, eyes narrowing as he moved his bow downwards, releasing an arrow before she could even jump away. A hiss came from the snake she had nearly stepped on as the arrow pierced it's head. Soul made a noise in his throat, reaching for another arrow. "Never much liked snakes." Maka shuddered, pulling the arrow from the snake's head. The arrowhead had broken off, the creature twitching at her feet.

Pulling himself off the ground, Blake frowned. "Rather eat squirrel than snake. But I'm hungry."

"Then you can call me God of Feasts."

"This Kingdom doesn't have a God of Feasts."

"They do now." Soul grinned at the two of them, putting the bow behind his back and releasing the arrow. A soft thump and a loud swear from where Kid had been hunting a goose broke the silence and Maka rolled her eyes.

"God of Pride more like."

"That settles that." Soul dropped from the tree, throwing his hood back over his head. "Dweller eats snake tonight."

She dreamt of wolves, giant black eyed creature that circled around her slowly. Their snarls drowned out the noises of the Forest, separating her from her sanity. They whimpered and advanced slowly, her own commands to leave her be left unheeded. Their lips curled up, showing them to have no teeth.

They advanced on her at once, their snarls jointing together as their invisible teeth bit into Maka's flesh. She tried to scream and break free, but there were too many of them. Their howling drowned out her cries, their words becoming familiar in her pain.

We're here to bring you home.

Her eyes snapped open, and she vaguely became aware of her own feet snapping against leaves as she ran from the faint glow of their fire into the darkness. When she was a greater distance away, she dropped on all fours, vomit spilling from her mouth. She breathed through the heaving, trying to calm her heart rate.

Leaves shuffled behind her, and she cursed herself for running off weaponless. Maka looked over her shoulder to meet the blood gaze of the Hell Child, eyebrow raised as he took her in. "Didn't think the snake was that bad."

"Wasn't the snake." Maka answered, wiping her mouth. "Had a bad dream."

"Clearly, it was more than that."

"That isn't much of your concern, if you ask me."

"You wound me Dweller, especially since I wandered off into the dark after you."

Maka scoffed, falling back so she was sitting, head between her knees. "That makes you a fool, actually."

"...you didn't...see that thing again did you?"

"Oh?" She eyed him from under her bangs. "That thing that doesn't exist?"

"It was just a question." He grumbled, pulling off his hood. He sat down next to her, eyes watching the red leaves in the dark. When he exhaled, she realized his breath made a cloud.

"You think I'm seeing things."

"I don't think you're seeing the right thing." He answered, rubbing his eye. She had to strain to see in the darkness, but she was near positive that his eyes were were ringed with darkness.

"Why don't you sleep?"

"...None of us really sleep." He answered. "The Prince wakes constantly, Blake hardly sleeps more than two hours at a time, you are always half awake-"

"And you're awake. Every time I open my eyes you're awake. First to rise, last to sleep-...oi, do demons not sleep?"

"They do. Well, Hell Children do." He answered. "Maybe not often. Sleep isn't exactly...relaxing for us. We see things sometimes."

"You see things."

"Aye. We….we. We can watch Hell. The Demon in our blood is more active at night. It's makes it harder to rest."

"So it's nightmares?"

"Technically, I would say no. It's…different then that. I don't know how to describe it." Soul shrugged, pulling his cloak around him tighter. Maka rubbed her eye, looking up at the bright red leaves of the trees. She and Soul sat in silence, minds wandering as they started above them. She wondered what the sky looked like, they hadn't seen stars in what felt like a week. It was becoming disorienting.

A single white flake of snow feel on her cheek.

"Call me mad, but last I saw, we weren't near winter."

Blake's tone was joking, but the mirth didn't reach his eyes. He had spoken what the rest were wondering themselves. When they had crossed the trees, spring had been crawling from her rest, waking the rest of the world with her. As far as the group had thought, they'd only spent a handful of days in the Forest. Though, it was hard to tell exactly how long they had been there when the trees blocked the sun and the stars.

They all felt they were going a little mad, but none had wanted to be the first to mention it.

Maka sighed, standing more over the pile of dry wood to block the flakes from falling over them. Chariot stood next to her, his breath coming out in puffs in the cold air. Soul and Kid worked quickly to push their small flame into a roaring fire. "We have to use the blankets to build a shelter."

"Shelter is no good if we just freeze to death inside it." Blake argued, looking around. "I don't know what else to do, though. These trees don't offer any shelter."

"Hell Child-"

"/Soul/."

"-Soul. Sorry. Can you see a cave or anything around? I'd fight a beast to remain warm." Kid asked, blowing air on the fire. Soul glanced around, eyes narrowed as he tried to look through the snow. "Not for a long while. We'd have to risk a full day's walk to reach anything."

"Does that beat dying out here?" Kid posed, and the rest looked at each other. Maka wrapped her hand in the horse's reigns and looked towards the darkness.

"We walk. We have to." She told them, throwing a blanket over Chariot. "If we stay here, we'll freeze. If we walk…maybe we'll out walk this...trick."

"You think it's a trick?" Kid asked. Maka nodded, looking up.

"It doesn't taste like snow, or not like snow should. I think it's another trap." She hoped it was. If it were actually snowing, they would've been in the Forest much too long to escape, and they would have to accept their death. She wasn't ready to do that just yet. Kid nodded, looking at the rest.

"Get Maka and Blake on the beast-"

"Chariot."

"- fine right now, they're our most valuable. Keep them together. Soul, I want you on point. I'll take the rear and we'll walk our way through this mess. Be wary and be ready, there's something that must be watching us. What good is a trap if you catch nothing in it?"

It was nearly four hours before Soul called out for them to scatter.

Blake wrapped an arm around Maka, throwing them both off the horse as the sound of a spear broke the air near her ear. The snow felt more like ice when they connected with it, and Blake let out a choked gasp when she landed on top of him.

They both scrambled to their feet, back to back and swords drawn. Soul howled into the darkness before them, bow drawn. "I see your damned faces! Show yourselves or I pick you all off! One by fucking one!" Their damned faces must've angered him, his arrow released and was replaced within a matter a seconds, outraged cries carried on the wind.

Kid came and stood next to Soul, waiting for retaliation. Maka could hear the crunching of snow beneath boots, and Soul released two more arrows. "They're coming!"

A party of six broke through the snow, swords drawn as they descended upon them. Maka held her sword in front of her as a creature brought its down on her. Their giant eyes were mostly black, a cold blue marked down their face. Their teeth were clenched, pushing down harder on their sword.

Elves.

Maka threw the elf off her, glancing around. They were all at least three heads taller than Soul, and they moved differently. Their gracefulness in battle was unnerving, and it nearly distracted her from the spear coming towards her face. Maka ducked, the spear getting stabbed into the snow behind her. While the elf tried to pull back, Maka ran her sword through them. Their blood was warm, and she looked into their black eyes. "Traitor." They whispered, as their eyes fluttered closed. She pushed them off her blade as Blake came next to her, eyes wild. "I'm not apologizing to them."

Soul grunted, using his bow to hold off a sword. Kid dove up between them, skewering the elf. Their body fell, and Maka's party joined rank again, flanking Soul and Kid on either side. The three elves that remained returned to their own formation, grips tight on their weapons. "Stand down." Kid ordered, and they scoffed at him.

"Why would we listen to you, Prince of Scum."

"You're out numbered, and clearly outmatched. Our archer will drop two of you before you get to us." Soul's face was blank. But his grip on his bow was tight, eyes on fire.

"You're the ones who crossed into our territory, and there's no reason to let your dirty blood any farther into our home! You drove us from one! You won't do it again!"

"We only want to pass!"

"It will not happen." The elf in the middle responded, their eyes falling on Maka. "And you will release your captive Dweller."

"I am no captive, I'm a guide." Maka answered, lowering her sword. "Can we just speak-" a spear was pulled back, only to have the spear hunter blink as Soul's arrow shot through his throat. The other two elves cried out, Soul nocked another arrow, mouth set in a grim line.

"They don't wanna speak, Maka." He told her, eyes on the remaining two. "Stop the snowfall. Now."

"You think we would waste magic on you? We'd rather kill you. The Forest is the one trying to freeze you to death." The elf in silver robes spat at them, their teeth bared in a grin. "She wants you dead more than us."

"We did nothing to you."

"His bloodline is the latest in a long line of slaughtering monsters who drive good people from their homes! And you! Traitorous Dweller! What can these humans give you that we can't?! Freedom? If you came home sister…you would already be free. Yet you suffer with these murderers. I don't understand."

Maka froze, her eyes on the Elves. They stared at her with hatred, and she realized what she was to her fellow dwellers. She was a traitor to them, to the trees and to the Forest. She was a pawn for the very Queen she so despised.

"Freedom is choosing where you die." Soul spoke clearly, though his body was so tense Maka feared he would snap alongside his bow. "Not being dragged into a magical cesspool against one's will. I see what the trees do, the things attracted to the light. The Forest hunts her down like prey. I'd rather die in a mansion as well."

She tore her gaze from the elves to look at him, clarity following from the crown of her head. The nightmares she had suffered from the first step into the hallowed woods were just another trap, the Trees influencing her to release her humanity, become just another victim of The Forest.

How long had he made a throne out of that one Maka grumbled to herself, annoyed she had bothered so hard to not being attention to it. The Hell Child's knuckles turned whiter still against the wood of his bow, the cold air making his breath billow from his mouth. The Elves glared at the four of them, black eyes bright. "The Forest will claim you all, this journey you've made will only end in death."

"Think we've made it this far." Kid responded, his own golden eyes were strangely bright, as though alive with the anger he was trying to contain inside of him. "I don't think this Forest is going to kill us, I think we will complete this damned quest and return home. I don't fear your threats, or your war parties. You will let us pass."

The two Elves meet each other's gaze, a conversation passing in the silence. The tallest Elf finally stood, dropping their sword into the snow, body relaxed but eyes hard. "Pass if you so desire, but know that any death you meet past us will hold much more pain, and much less dignity."

"We will soldier on."

The snow ceased a mile from where they had left the Elves.

Blake plopped down in a fallen tree, stretching out his shoulders. He had to break the habit of Maka falling on him every time they fell off a horse. He would also try to keep them from falling off that damn horse if he could. His shoulders ached as he moved his arms, trying to warm himself back up. The damned snow had stopped, but the cold still weighed heavily on them, muscles tight from cold and the aftermath of battle.

The Prince sat next to him, rubbing his hands together. He didn't say anything, just sat there a moment. His eyes weren't as bright now, Blake noticed, they had gone back to that darker brown, as though a truck of the light. After a moment had passed, Kid grabbed a handful of snow and went about cleaning his blade off.

"You did well back there." Blake found himself breaking the silence. "Very kingly."

Kid snorted, his shoulders slumping into a more relaxed stance. "A king wouldn't have let the last two live."

"A violent king maybe, but we've seen enough violence in our lives don't you agree? Sometimes it's nice to see mercy."

Kid was quiet, considering the Star Survivor's words. He had only watched the King his father was, and of late his father had been more concerned with maintaining lands, rather than taking more. Kid knew that made more sense, their Kingdom, while prosperous, was small. They had a well trained army, and a powerful guild of bounty hunters, the same that employed Soul. Yet his father made no attempt to further anything. He had been much more concerned with his nobles and his Mistress as of late.

His brother wouldn't rule that way. When Asura finally took the throne, their Kingdom would try and take. His brother had always been ambitious, and his mother's constant whispering in his ear surely pushed that ambition farther. Asura may bring in more prosperity but their Kingdom would suffer for it first. Blake was right, mercy would be a nice change, but mercy never survived long on a throne.

Should he ever get the chance to sit upon the throne, he would make an effort to let mercy lead. Kid brought his hand up, letting it rest on Blake's shoulder, a small smile on his lips. "Thank you, you're right. A little mercy may go a long way."

"I've known it to be true."

Maka worked methodically, stacking up her firewood into a pyramid, trying to bring life to the sparks at the base. Kid and Blake sat farther away, their voices muffled by the Hell Child. He worked quick, winding twine around arrowheads, filling his quiver again. She pushed harder, blowing air into the sparks until flame caught, and the wood began to crackle. The heat was a welcome salve for her sore muscles, and she wrapped her cloak aground her tighter. "Thank you, for what you said."

"When?"

"You've said maybe ten sentences total, what do you mean when?" She rolled her eyes. "When you stood up for me to the elves. Thank you."

He stopped his work, and looked at her. She gave him a small smile, holding her hand out to the fire. He sighed, going back to his work. "We do have a lot in common, Little Light. As the Forest calls you home, Hell calls me."

"Do you get to outrun it?"

"I don't know. But I'm gonna try as hard as I can. Suppose I want what you want, to die where I wish. And I will."

"Your famous humility returns."

He grinned at his arrows, hands moving faster. "I have a luxury most mortals don't."

"So you've said. Though you offered no explanation." She reminded, moving closer to the fire. He was quiet again, then set his arrows down. He moved closer to her, his voice low.

"I know how I'm going to die."

"Oh?" She shot him a look. It was much too cold for games, and she was much too sore to play.

"My sister, she had great sight too, but her vision is of things that will come, and the consequences of actions yet taken."

"...A prophet?"

"Doubt she would respond to that title. Hell gives her this sight, not a holy gift. But when we were young, she told me how I was going to die. She wasn't supposed to, you can't live knowing the end, and as she will remind anyone that listens, nothing she sees is set in stone. Actions are known to change, and with it, so does the future."

"So how do you die?" Maka whispered. Soul smiled again, leaning back into a tree.

"Not saying. Like I said, could be subject to change at any time. And I'd rather have you come rescue me if I'm in danger, rather than assume I'll make it out."

"Oh aye, if I feel like saving you." She snickered, wrapping her cloak around herself more. Soul pulled his off, and tossed it over her shoulders. She shook her head, protests already rolling off her tongue. He reached out and grabbed her chin with his hand. His skin was nearly on fire, and she raised an eyebrow.

"Demons run hot. I really don't need it."

"But…"

"Really, I'm fine. Little cold never hurt a Hell Child." He shrugged, reaching for his arrows again. Maka decided to let it drop, he had made it clear he wouldn't be humoring anymore thought on the subject. She wrapped his cloak around her, the material was heavy but very fine. It seemed to be lined with wax, moisture rolling off its fine surface. The excitement from the battle was leaving her system, and the blood on her hands was gone. Sleep danced at the edge of her vision and she chose not to fight it. She slumped deeper into her warmth, body going limp as rest finally claimed her.

She had missed being warm.

The Hell Child couldn't breathe.

He cracked open one of his eyes, grogginess fighting against the pressure on his chest. A trickle of fear slid down his spine, wondering if the creature Little Light was hunting had returned. When he glanced down at his chest, a messy braid was in his way. He was propped up by a grey barked tree, Maka curled into him between his legs. On either side, the Prince and Blake were curled into his sides, snoring softly.

Fucking heat thieving bastards. He groaned, to tired to deal with having been reduced to a human fire. He couldn't escape either, they had him pinned down at all sides. He was surprised he hasn't woken up to them getting so close. As he thought about it, he was surprised he had slept at all. Battles like they had faced with the Elves usually left him wired, the demon in his blood to excited to sleep. Last night should've had him up for the next week, not in a deep enough sleep he hasn't noticed three different people move into his space. Maka mumbled something about roses than grew silent once more.

Not that he could claim it wasn't comfortable, nor that it wasn't slightly humorous to see three humans try and hide from the cold using him as a shield.

Soul had grown up hiding from most people, playing in his mother's garden and the tall grasses around their small cottage. He had been raised to stay hidden, the Queen's threat of death hanging over his head since before he breathed his first. He and Wes were lucky, they had each other to talk to, they didn't have to be alone. He hadn't known other Hell Children, the ones that lived were never seen, and the ones that died were executed in the Queen's garden. He knew how lucky he was that his sister had gained the favor of the King, her gift of sight always warning her before she a mistake.

Soul loved his sister, he loved her more than anything, but he absolutely hated that she let the King touch her. He was privy to a lot of information, his sister's sight and access to the gossip of the court had made him a well informed man. He knew though word of the affair had openly began to spread, Wes had been seeing the King for a few years now. In that time, their lives still remained illegal. The King would tell his sister that he loved her, yet his venomous wife's decree still remained intact. Four Hell Children had been hung in the last year, he and his sister front row for the hangings. It had clearly been a powerplay, Arachne's own sick revenge for Wes' blatant disrespect for her marriage.

Soul wasn't completely guiltless in this situation either. His sister had bartered his freedom early on, but he still benefitted from her arrangement. When Soul had first met the King he had been fifteen, years before his sister had started her affair. He had been with her in a massive courtyard, the royal families had somehow managing to own their own glen. His sister had been so happy he was there, her move to the castle had been difficult, if the bags under her eyes were any indication.

She had found a bow for him, a few arrows in his hands. "Come show me what you can do now."

"You've only been gone a few months, I'm pretty much the same."

"Impossible, I'm sure you've gotten better." Wes grinned at him, gesturing out into the expansive courtyard. "Can you see my targets out there?"

"Aye."

"Then shoot, Little Brother." She grinned, a clear weight lifting from her shoulders as she smiled at him. She was guilty, he realized as he nocked his arrow. She had been away from him a long time and she just wanted to know how he had grown. Wes had bloomed before he had, her powers making themselves known as soon as nine, terrible nightmares that had the strangest habit of coming true. Soul had been there for her, waking to her suffering long before their parents. She would sniffle and cry, whispering what would come to pass.

It was one of those nights that she told him how he would die. They hadn't thought anything of it then, and the heaviness of her whispered prediction didn't hit him until years later. Wes had shown him the end, his mortality had become so real yet suddenly worthless. Though she had made sure to tell him nothing was permanent, he had a pretty clear idea of when it would be over. She blamed herself for her brothers heavy frown, and she just wanted to help him through his own sight.

He released his arrows quick, the satisfying sound of connection reverberating against his ears. Wes let out a low whistle, smile breaking across her face. "That was amazing."

"I would have to agree." A deep voice joined them, Soul jumping up to defend his sister. A tall man appeared, one of Soul's targets in his hands. His face was hidden by a mask, bone white with three eyes carved into it. The sight of the King had him paralyzed with fear, but Wes smiled at him.

"I don't know why you're surprised. Me and him have always been a little special."

"Soul right?" The King asked him, and Soul nodded. "I have a thousand archers at my disposal, yet none shoot as straight as you."

"Don't blame your archers, they're only human Majesty." Wes snickered, giving the King a look.

"Tell me Soul, have you thought about Bounty Hunting."

Of course he had, there were elite positions of power in the Kingdom that could be obtained without Royal Blood. Bounty Hunters were respected above all and out ranked even the Knight Captains. And the King had offered him that, right there. He had been barely fifteen, no real hair on his chin, and he would outrank a Knight Captain. He would be a damn fool to turn that down.

Of course, taking that job is what had left him as Arachne's bitch boy. The damned reason he had been forced to go pluck Little Light from her escape. He wasn't free of bloodied hands, and Maka wasn't wrong when she lay blame on him for her life. He was a pawn, and an arguable traitor to his own kind. Accepting a position in the King's favor had been his own foolish choice. Yet, as the pathetic humans shivered and snored against his chest, he felt a little better. He couldn't change his past, but as Wes loved to tell him, nothing to come was decided, he could change anything he desired.

Maybe he would make sure they all survived. He was curious to see what these people would yield themselves. He'd never known anyone like the three of them, and it would be a damn shame if he couldn't tempt Wes into giving him a peek into their futures.

The Crown Prince stood at the crest of a flat valley, marred by a graveyard of arrows.

His aunt had never been one for subtlety. Asura had no interest in whatever game his mother was playing. The petty revenge of a wife was unbecoming, and uninteresting. Though, he was interested in finding himself on the throne all that much sooner. His father was growing weak, no longer suited for ruling. He needed his father gone for personal reasons as well, he had heard the whispers in the corridors. Several sources released what that Hell Whore had been whispering to his father after she was done letting him fuck her. Several maids had confirmed that she was pushing him to crown his brother as successor.

Behind him, a small gasp caused him to leave his own mind, returning back to his task. The Swamp witch, Eruka, had fallen to her knees. Blood leaked from her nose, eyes screwed shut. Her "protector" knelt down next to her, wiping the blood away. Asura rolled his eyes. His aunt had gifted him two of her best prisoners to help him make sure his brother completed his mission. The witch had been sentenced to death by hanging, but the man who was never far from her had saved her at every turn. The witch had escaped death several times with his help, only to have the two of them finally fall when Asura himself had captured the man.

None of them had expected to unearth a werewolf in these years, yet there he sat. War torn and body shattered, he had taken every pain that Medusa was able to deal to him. It had been amazing. He was impervious to death, even at the mercy of the most grueling offenses. Yet, not even a few days later when the witch had been dragged into his cell, he was suddenly fallible. His Aunt wasn't a fool, and not even his mother's bloodthirsty tendencies would stop her from keeping that swamp witch as her pet. And a pet that came with her own werewolf? It had been one of their more successful gains.

"She needs to rest." The wolf ordered. Asura nearly laughed at the man's audacity.

"We have to keep moving, get her up."

"We've travelled two months in two days. You're draining her magic and we still have farther to go. If she dies, you'll never make it."

Asura was rather sure that the wolf meant he was ready to kill him at his first chance. He weighed his options, after all, as long as he held Eruka on a string, the wolf obeyed. It was in his best interest to keep the little frog witch breathing. He gave a wave and the wolf lifted the witch into his arms, shielding her from Asura's gaze.

Let the witch rest, he would still reach his brother before they would make it back to the castle.

Just as planned.

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