Everest jolted awake, a massive headache attacking her as she did. Her hands immediately clutched her head right as an arm caught her across her chest, and Everest was almost immediately thrown back into the bed. A pair of soft pink eyes met hers when the Husky looked up. Skye smiled softly at her. 'You know, usually jolting up like that causes the headache to get worse. I should know.'

Another pain spike ripped through Everest's head, and she groaned in pain. Skye sighed, and grabbed something off of the bedside table. She spoke wearily as she handed the Husky a vial of something. 'Drink this. It helps a lot.' The cockapoo stood up as Everest opened up the vial.

The liquid smelled sweet and went down smooth, but the smell and taste did not match the other. The closest taste Everest could relate to it was a piece of rancid steak. It did cause the headache to subside, however. Reduced to only a throb here and there, Everest found herself almost completely re-energized, though the bad taste still lingered. She threw the covers off of herself, and winced as she saw the blood stains still present in the sheets. There was a lot, a lot more than Everest had first thought when that wolf had been on the bed earlier. Gods, how did a person survive losing that much blood?

Skye threw some clothes at the Husky, cutting off her thoughts. 'Put those on. We can't have you walking around dirty, can we?' Everest looked down at her own shirt and trousers, and realized that she was absolutely caked with mud and blood, and there was probably no hope of getting the stains out. 'Damn, I rather liked these.' She looked up to say her thanks, but Skye had already disappeared back down the stairs. Everest hadn't even heard her leave, and she had only taken her eyes off of the other female for a second. Odd.

The Husky quickly changed, and other than the pants being slightly too tight, the outfit fit perfectly. She also noticed that Skye had left her pair of boots and socks by the door, freshly cleaned and polished. Everest chuckled slightly. She wondered if Chase was being shown the same amount of hospitality as she was being given.

When she was done, she looked in the mirror and admired herself. The outfit was simple; the wool shirt was dyed a soft lavender, which matched her fur perfectly. The pants were a simple black pair, nothing too special, but it fit with the other articles marvelously.

'You done looking at yourself?' Everest jumped slightly when Skye walked back into the room, holding a mug in her hands. Everest exhaled exasperatedly. 'How do you do that?' Skye smiled and shrugged. She turned around, gesturing for Everest to follow her and proceeding back down the stairs. Everest hurried behind her, almost tripping down them. Luckily for her, Skye caught the much larger canine before that could happen.

'You know, you remind me of Marshall in a way.' Skye chuckled to herself. 'You're both clumsy.' She laughed again, grabbing an empty basket and a cloak from the back of a chair. Skye also grabbed a belt with a knife in its sheath, strapping it to her waist before she threw the cloak around her shoulders. 'Come on then, husky.' The cockapoo made her way toward the door.

'Where are we going?' Everest asked.

Skye smiled at her new companion. 'Given the fact that you were trampled by everyone when Ethan got here, I think it's time for you to meet the townsfolk.' She laughed. 'They're certainly not like Fenririan people, that's for sure.'

'Well, that's the first thing anyone would realize. I mean, they're all of different species.'

Skye laughed again. 'You people really take everything at face value, don't you?' She shook her head. 'Just stay close, alright? Even the friendliest of faces here hide some demons that you don't want to bring out.'

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Rubble panted heavily, the warmth of the sun and the humidity assaulting him relentlessly. Zuma seemed unaffected, and he seemed more comfortable in this environment than he did in the cold of Fenrir. The bulldog looked at his friend, bewildered. 'How is this heat not killing you?'

Zuma laughed. 'I grew up by the sea, Wubble. This is just like going back home, minus the salty sea breeze.' Zuma seemed wistful, his eyes glazing over as he spoke. 'I'm more surprised that you pwefer cold weathew. I always thought bulldog's were made for warmer weather.'

Rubble shrugged. 'I was born on the Isles. Chilly there a lot, and plenty of rain. Fenrir's just a colder, snowier version of that.' Rubble looked across the horizon and deep into the forest. He spoke but didn't turn to Zuma. 'So, where was that town at?'

'We just keep following the road, then take a right where it splits. Past that, we keep going until we come across civilization.' Zuma smiled maliciously. 'Then we start asking questions. If we feel like the people are holding back,' the Lab chuckled to himself, 'Sweetie gave us full permission to slaughter them.'

Rubble seemed uncomfortable with that idea, but he shoved it aside. 'We only resort to that if, and only if, we both feel like they're hiding something. Got it?' Rubble turned toward his friend, his face as cold and steely as the battle hammer on his back. Zuma laughed again. 'Sure thing, Rubble. Sure thing.'

The pair continued on, both alone in their thoughts for a while. Rubble thought about their mission, mulling over the best way to defeat an ice sorcerer. "Sure I'm a good fighter," he thought, "But I'm built more toward large group fights, not a one on one duel. Even with Zuma helping me, this man will have a myriad of tricks up his sleeves. Gods, how will we pull this off?"

Zuma thought of his home on the coast, the salty air still fresh in his mind. He remembered his family and the long days he and his siblings would spend on the docks while their mother and father were out at sea, often for days at a time. His older brother, whose name had been long lost to Zuma now, would often take care of them when their parents were away. He had two younger sisters, who were twins and both loved their older brothers to death. Zuma had forgotten their names too, and he hated himself for it. Why had he forgotten? Why did he…

'Zuma, I'm talking to you.' The lab snapped out of his thoughts, looking at his companion. 'I asked, do you have a plan once we arrive at our destination?' Rubble looked concerned, his eyes going over Zuma a few times for any indicators of… a breakdown. Zuma shook his head. 'Sowwy. Just thinking.' Zuma admired the forest that they were in for a second, noting the many different types of trees.

Rubble broke the silence again. 'Zuma, a plan?'

Zuma groaned. 'I heawd you the first time.' He turned toward his friend. 'You have that drawing of our man?' Rubble nodded and patted one of the pouches on his horse. Zuma nodded. 'Good. We'll walk around and start asking questions. We are on queen's business, awe we not?'

Rubble shrugged. 'All that would do is put them on edge. Two strangers, walking in and asking questions out of the blue? I know that I'd be suspicious of them.'

Zuma nodded. 'What other choice do we have, though? Not like we know exactly whewe he is, yeah? Best thing we can do at this point.'