Rasha and Talo had been so engulfed in the conversation they hadn't realized how far they'd traveled.
The terrain around them shifted steadily, morphing from twisted root paths to patches of shimmering stone and low, warped vegetation.
Some of the stones shimmered faintly, damp, though untouched by dew. The mist curled low and deliberate, brushing their ankles like cool breath. A few animals crossed their path — lean shapes with quick eyes — but none lingered, as if even the creatures were holding their breath.
The sun hadn't lowered yet, but it was beginning its descent. Most of its light had already dipped behind the jagged mountain range to the west, casting a faint golden haze across the land and stretching their shadows long behind them.
"We're almost there," Sybil said, turning sharply to her right.
"It's this way. Very soon… I'll be done taking orders. And done with being beaten."
They both looked her over — this small, bright, beaming child — and neither could fathom anyone laying a hand on her.
Talo slowed, then knelt to meet her eye to eye.
"Well," he said, voice steady and firm,
"now that you're with us, no one will ever lay a hand on you again."
Rasha stepped in close, resting a hand on Sybil's shoulder.
"That's a promise."
Sybil smiled faintly… but her gaze began to drift. She turned slowly, scanning the trees — not like someone watching for danger, but like someone watching the air for a memory.
"There's a clearing coming up. We have to make camp.
Quick, quick. Let's go."
Talo gave Rasha a look and gently touched her arm, holding her back for a beat.
"Did you hear her voice?" he murmured.
Rasha nodded.
They caught up again, and Talo kept his tone level, but his eyes didn't waver.
"Sybil… are you saying we're about to walk into a fight?
Like real soon?"
Sybil froze.
Her head dropped.
"…Yes."
Her voice came low and fragile.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"It's not something we can get away from.
If it doesn't happen this way… one of us dies.
Or all of us do."
She turned toward them, tears brimming in her eyes.
"This is the only picture I see that keeps going.
All the others… they just stop."
Her voice cracked. A tear slipped down her cheek.
"I don't want to see you guys die."
More tears followed, spilling freely as she rubbed at her face with the heel of her hand.
"The pictures where we have fun —
that's what I look at when I fall asleep."
She stood there, trembling slightly.
The Dread Stalker pup pressed close, watching her with quiet intensity.
"I don't know exactly what's going to happen when we get there,"
Sybil continued, voice shaking.
"When I try to see it, the pictures change…
and then I see one of you dying.
Maybe I'm not supposed to know.
Maybe trying to know causes it to happen."
She took a breath, wiping her face again.
"But right now, right here…
I still see pictures of us. Far, far ahead.
So we have to go.
We have to get there in time."
Talo leaned down and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a firm, steady hug.
"Don't worry," he said, voice warm.
"We'll be just fine."
He said it with confidence.
But inside, he wasn't sure.
Rasha stepped beside him, placing her hand gently on his shoulder.
She lingered in silence, then squeezed once.
"Hey, Talo… come here for a second."
She motioned him to walk with her a short distance away.
Behind them, Sybil pouted.
"Hey! That's not fair — no secrets!"
Rasha shot her a playful look over her shoulder.
"No secrets, huh?
Then how about you tell me more about that creature?"
"No!" Sybil huffed, folding her arms and stomping lightly.
"You guys just hurry up."
The pup gave a grumble-like snort, which Sybil interpreted immediately.
"Yeah! What he said."
Rasha and Talo shared a quiet laugh as they stepped aside.
"This is a bit crazy, right?" Rasha said softly.
"We met her this morning…
and now we're following her toward a fight she already promised we can't avoid.
And the weirdest part?"
She glanced at Talo, more serious now.
"I haven't heard a peep from the Fire Spirit since she showed up.
It's like… she's just watching.
Relaxed. Silent."
Talo gave a thoughtful hum.
"Then maybe that's a good thing."
He smirked, trying to ease the tension.
"Maybe it means I'm not in danger —
because you know the Fire Spirit won't let that happen."
Rasha bumped her shoulder into his.
"Oh yeah? What about me?"
He shrugged with a grin.
"That's what I'm here for, isn't it?"
Just that brief exchange was enough to lighten Rasha's mood.
For a few moments, things felt normal again.
They turned back toward Sybil, who was waiting with a dramatic huff and hands on her hips.
Rasha waved her forward.
"Alright, alright — we're coming.
Lead the way, little guide."
The clearing wasn't far.
And when it appeared — a wide, open space ringed by gnarled trees — it took their breath.
It opened before them like a secret unveiled.
The trees were twisted and ancient, their roots sprawling across the clearing's edge like the fingers of something long buried.
The mist pooled around them, refusing to drift further.
The air was so still it rang.
"There it is," Sybil said simply.
"Now you guys have to go and make a camp on the left side, and just sit there.
You can talk, but just sit.
In every picture I've seen, you're just sitting.
So that's what you have to do."
They obeyed, glancing at each other with rising tension.
It wasn't the command that unnerved them —
it was the way she said it.
Like the outcome hinged on obedience.
As they unpacked and began settling near the tree line, they watched Sybil pace the clearing.
She moved a few steps.
Stopped.
Moved again.
Stopped again.
Frustration began to bloom across her features.
"I can't find it!" she finally shouted.
"I'm supposed to be standing somewhere —
but I just can't find it!"
A few more times, she moved and paused,
growing more agitated with each attempt…
until finally, she came to a stop.
And smiled.
That smile — bright, calm, resolute — said it all.
"This is it," she breathed.
"This is the right spot."
Rasha and Talo watched her in silence.
Talo's instincts began to stir.
The way she stood, the direction she faced —
it put her directly between them and the only clear opening into the forest.
He didn't like that.
His hand drifted near his weapon, but he didn't draw.
He didn't know how much his actions might affect what she saw.
So instead, he made a quiet plan in his head.
If something came from the right, he'd intercept.
If from the left, Rasha could circle wide.
If from behind… they'd have to move fast.
He leaned toward Rasha, voice low.
"She's in the worst tactical position possible," he said.
"If something charges out of that opening behind her, she's cut off."
Rasha nodded once, quietly shifting her weight.
She felt it too.
Sybil remained still, standing in the center of the wide clearing.
The golden light kissed her shoulders as the sun bled through the trees.
The Dread Stalker pup sat quietly in front of her, its gaze fixed forward.
Her posture was upright.
Calm.
Absolute.
And for a reason none of them yet understood,
it felt like she was finally home.