Dance with my shadow 'til it's gone

Entering the Nocturnal Woods felt like stepping through a visible yet intangible barrier. One moment in the sun-filled forest, the next shrouded by complete darkness. You could see the daylight beyond the border, but it did not reach past the unnatural line that started the shadow woods. None of the light beyond it seemed to have any effect on what was inside.

The necklaces Nimue had given to them now really shone, proving to be more useful than any of them could have imagined, glowing as tiny beacons revealing their locations. The only other light in this place came from the luminous fungi lining the trees and the forest floor, basking their surroundings in eerie hues of blue, green and purple.

From here on out there was no set way to go. They did not have an idea of what had driven the spiders to come from their home, nor did they know what caused the darkness to spread. They were here to find out, but the task seemed daunting now that they stood inside the forest and needed to decide on a direction. Only one thing was clear: they needed to head deeper to find any answers.

"We should stay close enough to each other that we can always see the other's necklace when they are turned toward you," Elenwë suggested before they headed out. It would not do to split up here, as they could easily get lost. She bit her lip at the thought of how that proximity would not help lighten Renfred's mood. They had not had a moment together since taking shelter from that first rainstorm, and it showed from the way he reacted at times.

Oh who decides from where up high, I couldn't say I need more time

Everything seemed to have gone back to how it had been in the beginning, as if their night sleeping together on the forest floor hadn’t done anything to change the mood he was in. His insecurity was still playing a big part, that much was pretty clear. But, when they eventually reached the Nocturnal woods, he had been able to get a little distracted. Showing at least some of the surprise on his face when he stared into the dark forest, completely shut off from the light of the sun. Not quite certain whether he actually wanted to enter that place, he shortly looked behind him, to see if he could possibly still escape all of this. After all, the elves were not forcing him to go in there. He still had a choice.

Looking back at Elenwë, however, he felt himself being reminded of why he agreed to go in the first place. Remembering what she told him about being on this journey for him, meaning that he couldn’t possibly leave now. Or well, he could, but he wouldn’t. The man’s attention shifted away towards their necklaces, now shining brightly, allowing everyone to see where the rest would be within the darkness. Looking around, he could also see some fungi, lighting up against the trees in many different colors. But besides that, his vision was mostly blinded by the night that seemed to linger inside this forest, even though it was still daytime.

His eyes moved, again, back to Elenwë when she spoke, saying something about staying close to each other. Not letting the other necklaces out of their sights, probably so no one would get lost. The others quickly agreed with her, but they all stepped into the shadows a bit too eagerly for his taste. Instead of immediately following them, he hesitated for a moment, keeping his eyes on Elenwë so he could take one last moment to see her in the daylight, before he eventually did step into the darkness.

The others did not wait long after agreeing with her, starting to walk further into the darkness. Nimue took the lead now, being able to see more than the others, she would be the first to spot anything dangerous or out of place. Elenwë knew that their chances were a lot better with her in their group.

She looked back for a moment, noticing Renfred had not moved yet. There was a second during which she felt her chest tighten, thinking he might have changed his mind about searching this forest, but then he did follow. Elenwë showed him a small smile before she turned around to keep her eyes on the surroundings in front of them for as far as she could see them.

The first part of their journey had been easy compared to this. It was daunting how quickly she started to feel disoriented, trusting Nimue that they were not walking in circles. Once again, she was reminded of how cruel it had been to ask this of Renfred. Caerwyn would have sent him here alone without thinking twice about it. Elenwë felt her heart race every time there was a sound not made by them, as the array of noises was distinctly different from the rainforest they had left behind. She did not know what to expect here, aside from huge spiders, which was not a great comfort.

Oh who decides from where up high, I couldn't say I need more time

Enemy encounter!
Great Spiders

A sickness has fallen over the forest of darkness, or so has been said. Each turn deeper into the heart of the forest is one further away from the safety of daylight. Without being able to see much, most travellers must rely on hearing. But senses may betray you in this place. Every rustle of the trees sends a shiver through shadow and bone. The predators, blesed with their sight, toy with their prey here. A cry sounds in the distance, and then another. Something is coming. Prepare if you wish, if you truly can. The ground trembles, the cries sound closeby now. With the little light you have you see the shadows move. With a deafening cry a spider identifies itself as it lunges toward you. Then from behind there hails another down the trees and onto the forest floor. Two spiders are circling around the little fellowship, eager to take their pick of the puny little elves and the human. They have come prepared to slay.

Two Great Spiders have appeared! You can choose to FLEE or FIGHT!
Tag @Ro on discord when you've made your decision!

Elenwë watched him as he hesitated to step into the dark forest. All of his instincts told him to turn around right now, that this would be yet another foolish mistake. Because what would it even matter if he could return to Wealdstone if he ended up dead here? Was he truly going to risk his own life for the elves? Only so they could find out the root of their problems? His eyes stared at the golden-haired elf, still shining brightly in the last few rays of sunshine, but he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t turn back. So eventually, they both stepped into the darkness of the Nocturnal woods.

It took some time before his eyes were able to adapt better to the darkness, but he still couldn’t see a whole lot, and it instantly made him regret the decision he made when he stepped into the forest. He knew his fate would be in the hands of his companions now, because alone, he would never be able to get out of this forest. Inside his mind, he was already looking for someone to blame - for allowing him to make this idiotic decision, knowing damn well there was only one.. Only one person he could blame. Because only Elenwë was able to pull this kind of reckless behavior out of him, to the point where he was even willing to play with his own life. And he hated it, he hated how much power she apparently had over him.

To make things even worse, he could suddenly hear the sound of rustling trees, making him slightly more nervous as he continued his pace to keep up with the group. Trying his best to stay close to them until suddenly, out of nowhere, he heard that cry again, one he recognized all too well. His hand quickly moved to the hilt of his sword as he almost stumbled over a tree root while closing the distance with the others. The ground began to tremble, but it didn’t take long before the first spider showed itself. Renfred turned himself towards the lunging spider, drawing his sword, even if he was in the back of the group. However, he quickly needed to turn himself around as he heard something behind him as well. Pointing his sword at another spider, trying to keep it from attacking him. Great, now they had two. He sure hoped the others had a plan.

The eerie feeling of this forest turned out to be a perfect foreboding of what was awaiting them. Elenwë held her breath every time there was a rustle of leaves in the shadows. Glancing back to see if Renfred was still close behind. They could not afford anyone to walk too far from the group anymore.

They all stopped in their tracks at a cry in the distance, gathering close as it was difficult to guess where it might strike. Elenwë had heard the sound before. It still sent a cold shiver down her spine even though she vowed to be prepared this time. Her bow was in her hands within a second, arrow notched, while she waited for the spider to show itself.

At the front of their group came another shriek, louder, as the spider lunged at them. Elenwë dared not to shoot at it because Lysanthir and Nimue were standing in her way, and her sight was bad enough as it was. Behind her, she heard the sound of breaking branches, and the golden-haired elf turned just in time to see another spider closing in from their back. Elenwë turned, pulling back her arrow to shoot at it, but she was not adjusted to this darkness, and the spider moved quickly, causing the projectile to only graze its side. It shrieked its ear piercing sound, enraged by the attack.

They needed to keep their backs to each other, but that would prove very difficult when those spiders started to lunge at them, and they needed to evade their attacks. She notched another arrow, waiting now for the creature to come close to see it a little clearer as she took a shot at it.

Oh who decides from where up high, I couldn't say I need more time

Renfred silently cursed himself - and Elenwë for allowing him to step into this forest, when he heard the cry from one of those giant spiders.. He remembered the sound too well, and he could still feel the scar on his chest from one of those fangs. It had only scraped his skin lightly, but that venom had almost killed him back then, he knew that. And now.. Now he found himself back into a situation where he had to fight one of those foul creatures. He didn’t like it, but when the first spider appeared, he drew his sword, ready to fight for his own life.

They were in their territory now, and they knew it. Quickly, another spider appeared from behind them, coming down from the trees, rather close to Renfred, but he took a step back as he pointed his sword at the creature. He already heard an arrow fly from his side, targeted at the giant spider, and he swiftly glanced to look at Elenwë. But the shriek from the spider told him she had only made it more angry, making him take another step backwards towards the rest of the group. On the other side he heard arrows flying as well, which was probably Lysanthir taking shots at the other spider.

But with his focus placed upon the spider he and Elenwë were facing, he had little time to check on what the others were doing. He did hear Nimue’s voice, possibly guiding the blonde man elf with his arrows. However, it seemed that their spider was certainly a lot more aggressive than the one on his side was, making him turn his head at the movement from behind him. Catching the elf man pushing Nimue against him as he tried to move her away from the lunging spider, dividing the group in two. Renfred only shortly responded by grabbing her arm with his free hand, instinctively, to keep her upright. Allowing his eyes to meet hers for a moment before he had to turn towards the other spider, now taking advantage of the division in the group. And Nimue’s voice guided him as he angrily lashed out at the spider with his sword while Lysanthir and Elenwë had to take care of the other, more aggressive one.

Nimue proved to be irreplaceable right now, shouting warnings about the spiders' movements while the others struggled to distinguish their dark bodies from the rest of the shadowy forest. None of them had properly adjusted to their new surroundings yet, and Elenwë understood why no one entered the Nocturnal Woods if it was not necessary.

It did not take them long to be divided into two groups. As Lysanthir pushed Nimue back into Renfred to keep her out of the path of the spider on their side, Elenwë turned at the wild shrieks sounding at her back. The creature launched itself at Lysanthir, who jumped back to avoid its fangs. In an attempt to aid him, now that Nimue was guiding Renfred, Elenwë loosed her arrow to divide its attention. It struck one of the spider's legs, having it screech in rage just as the other had done.

Singling out its new target, it jumped toward her. The elvish woman flung herself to the side, rolling over on the ground before getting back on her feet with a fluid movement. Last time she had been exhausted with no reserves of her magic left, now she was impaired by her vision, but she had her energy and her bow.

Elenwë notched another arrow, walking backwards as the spider turned around to face her again, getting ready for another attack. She could see how it was not using the leg with the arrow sticking out of it anymore. If she and Lysanthir could keep it going between them, they could remain at a distance while doing damage. As if on cue, an arrow hit the body of the spider from the other side as she continued to lure it after her.

Oh who decides from where up high, I couldn't say I need more time

The man felt like he had little time to watch what the rest was doing, because Nimue needed to guide him in order to hit the spider, as he could only hear its shrieks. He lashed out with his sword a couple of times before he managed to cut off one of the legs, increasing the volume of the spider’s cries. Noticing that he could partially see where the spider was due to the soft glow of the bioluminescent mushrooms, his hand tightened his grip around the hilt of his sword, feeling a bit more confident in his direction now.

In the meantime Nimue had moved to the spider’s side, avoiding the spider’s giant legs with her elven grace while Renfred tried to hold it off, keeping the sword between himself and the spider. Distracting it enough to where Nimue had been able to cut through another leg, making it screech louder again. The creature then quickly turned towards this new attacker, and Ren had not been prepared for one of her legs to push him aside. He almost got swept off his feet, but found his balance again, even though this move had certainly caused some pain from his leg, making him grunt as he felt some weakness in his step. His eyes only shortly moved back to look at the other two, seeing them fight together in what seemed like perfect harmony.

Trying his best to ignore the sharp pain, he moved in again, letting this sight fuel his frustration even more as he roared at the spider, slashing with his sword at the creature, cutting through another leg until he found an opening. Nimue, in the meantime, continued to confuse it by disappearing into the shadows, and reappearing on a different side to take down another one of her legs. Which worked to his benefit, because it kept the spider’s attention divided as they worked together to make it weaker. Then, in her last attempt to grab herself some dinner, the spider lunged at him again, but he pointed his sword forward, and the animal fell onto his sword.

Her fangs came dangerously close to his face, and out of fear for what they could do, he quickly took a step back, twisting and pulling back his sword from the spider’s exoskeleton before it fell to the ground. His eyes moved to find Nimue, panting, before he looked back at the others.

Another arrow from Lysanthir hit its mark, causing the spider to turn around and lunge at him again instead. Elenwë took a shot, the point of the projectile burying deep into the creature's dark body. It shrieked again, not knowing which of the two elves to attack as they kept shooting arrows at it.

Elenwë forced herself not to look at Renfred and Nimue when she heard loud shrieks and shouts coming from her companions. The last thing they would need was for her to be distracted and get hurt, so she fully focused on the spider in between Lysanthir and her.

After another hit, it turned to her again, finally seeming to have decided who it would go after. It crawled up to her, quick even with its multiple injuries, yet the elvish woman waited, holding her bow ready. Their shots had not downed it yet because neither of them had been able to hit a vital part due to the darkness shrouding their battlefield. Only when closer she could make out more of the spider's anatomy.

Her heart hammered in her throat as she waited until the last second to make her move, loosing the arrow in the spider's head before it could close the last bit of distance between them to sink its fangs into her flesh. Elenwë could not suppress a shudder going through her body when the creature crashed to the ground in front of her, almost touching her feet. After taking a shaky breath she looked up at Lysanthir, who looked unharmed, before turning her attention to Renfred and Nimue, a dead spider near them as well.

Oh who decides from where up high, I couldn't say I need more time

Enemy encounter!
Great Spider

There once were two spiders, hungry for some delicious meaty dinners.
The prey walked into their territory, soon to be taken out by the web spinners.
But as the two spiders lunged, so that they may indulge themselves,
They turned from hunter to hunted, as they were beaten by the human and the elves.
While the two spiders might have been defeated, the companions knew that this wasn't the end,
But what would happen next was something none of them were able to apprehend.

With not much to see they could only rely on their ear,
The trees rustled constantly and more cries announced that something else was near.
Distracted and dazed by the cries coming from all sides, they were unable to focus on the right direction,
Another predator came and had its aim on the group, moving closer without any detection.

A spider came from above, charging at the group and creating a division,
None of them had seen it coming in time, not even the elf with night vision.
The beast, larger than they had ever seen, easily singled out the tallest member so he was separated from the rest,
It kicked the man with its mighty legs as if he was a puppet, its eyes wicked with unrest.
Now the man laid on the ground, helpless and doomed to die,
Only together the group would be able to save him, so let them try.

Another Great Spider has appeared, one bigger than ever seen before. It has separated Renfred Gladstone from the rest and knocked him to the ground. There will be no saving grace for the man unless the others work together to defeat the beast in time!

As he was standing there, panting, he watched how Lysanthir and Elenwë took down the other spider.. Together. They used the same tactic as he did with Nimue, weakening the creatures by taking out the legs, creating weaknesses. But then, Elenwë finally took the final blow, walking backwards and waiting for the right moment to shoot her arrow right into its head. It all happened so fast that he would not have been able to join them in the fight, because he might have, if he had been given the chance. Though, he certainly did not mind watching. Seeing Elenwë fight and take down the giant spider on her own, letting it drop dead in front of her feet.. It did something to him.

It might have even turned him on a little bit, if he was being entirely honest, but it wasn’t like he had much time to focus on it. Because his eyes were only allowed to meet her for a couple of seconds before they all heard more rustling coming from the trees, followed by more cries, telling them this fight was far from over.. Renfred quickly took up his sword again, taking up a defensive stance while he tried to find out where the cries were coming from. But he still couldn’t see much, as everything was too dark. Somehow, it felt like they were surrounded, and he did not particularly like that feeling of being trapped.

However, then, out of nowhere, one of those spiders suddenly jumped on them from above, creating another division in the group. He could do nothing but move out of the way, but when he looked up again, he couldn’t see the other necklaces anymore, only the large spider, who seemed larger than the ones had seen before. For a moment his eyes widened as he watched those deadly pinchers move up and down in the dim light of his own necklace. And he tried to make a move when the spider seemed willing to attack him, but he had not seen her leg coming.

He managed to hit the forest floor with quite some force, making him grunt as he came down, feeling some of that pain in his leg return as he fell quite unfortunately on a tree branch. His hand had not been able to keep holding onto his sword, and for a short moment, he had not been able to see anything either. Until he looked up and saw that spider now looming over him, which made his desperately attempt to crawl back over the floor, in any hopes to avoid those venomous fangs.

Elenwë caught Renfred's gaze for a second before the rustling above them made the whole group look up again. She could not see anything against the dark canopy, with no moonlight to illuminate it from behind. If you stared long enough, the shadows started moving on their own, but the cries and the cracking of branches gave away that it had not been her imagination that there was something up there.

She pointed an arrow upward, ready to fight as soon as the creature showed itself. It did so suddenly that she did not get time to loose the arrow, now standing in their midst and singling out Renfred from the group. Elenwë moved quickly to shoot at it without having to fear hitting one of her friends, but the giant spider barely seemed to notice as the projectile pierced the tough skin of its body. Instead, it kept focussing on Renfred.

Her throat felt tight with fear when she saw him being thrown to the ground, his sword falling from his hand from the force of the blow. The spider quickly loomed over him. It was akin to that moment when they had encountered their first spider, that time when it had managed to only scratch his chest and nearly kill him anyway.

That was the moment Nimue started shouting directions at them again. Elenwë sprung into action, knowing it would be over if she let her fear cripple her. With arrows coming down on the spider from two sides now, it did lose its focus on Ren for a moment, but Elenwë also knew that it needed just one sting or bite to end this. Instead of creating more distance, she made her way to it slowly enough for it to hopefully not notice her but quick enough to save Ren when it decided it was done with this game.

Oh who decides from where up high, I couldn't say I need more time

As he was laying there, the giant spider looming over him like a large shadow with two shining pincers, slowly moving up and down as if she was ready to feast on him, he heard Nimue shouting directions again towards the rest of the group. But he had little time to focus on what the others were doing. He felt that intense fear, looking at those fangs, remembering the pain they had caused him the last time when it had only been a scratch. This spider was a lot bigger too, meaning it would be more difficult for the rest to bring it down, however, he hoped they would be able to take it down soon enough, because he did not know how much longer he would be able to keep crawling back.

He heard arrows flying through the air, and even though they managed to distract the spider a bit, they were not able to do much damage. It kept coming closer to him, and his eyes shortly moved to his sword again, but it was too far out of his reach, laying somewhere at the side of the spider. Eventually his back hit something, possibly a tree stump, and he got stuck. Not being able to crawl back anymore, the spider now fully moved over him. But then he also noticed one of the elves moving past him, to the front of the spider, quickly firing shots at her eyes. Due to the necklace, he could see that it was Lysanthir, distracting the spider so that Elenwë could move in from the side, where his sword was laying.

Nimue’s directions seemed to stop for a moment, probably because she had to focus on the other, smaller spider. But again, he had little time to focus on anything else because he was rather busy dealing with the one looming over him. Seeing those pincers get ready to bite down, he quickly grabbed them again with his hands, due to the lack of a weapon on them. Oh, and how he had promised himself he wasn’t going to let himself get in this situation again, but yet here he was. ”Elenwë.” He said, growling as it took him quite a bit of effort to keep those fangs from sinking into his skin again. Trying to urge her to hurry up, eyeing his sword for a moment, telling her to take it before he wouldn’t be able to keep his strength up any longer. There was some desperation in his eyes, a certain panic, knowing what would happen if this were to go wrong..

She could see Renfred crawling backwards to get out from underneath the spider, but as she neared the creature from the side, Elenwë noticed that he had nowhere left to go. They were running out of time. Lysanthir came up from the front to distract the spider from not biting down immediately as Renfred struggled to grip its jaw as he had done last time.

At the sound of him calling out her name, Elenwë slung her bow back over her shoulder and ran. It was hard to distinguish anyone's expression right now, but she had heard the desperation in his voice. Careful not to draw too much attention to herself, aided by Lysanthir's constant barrage of arrows, the elvish woman grabbed Renfred's sword lying at the side of the spider.

One of the legs shot out at her, but this time she was prepared. She would not make the same mistake she had last time. Elenwë quickly leapt aside before advancing again and slashing the sword at the base of the creature's leg. She cut it off clean, making it shriek in pain. The sound had her stumble for a moment, feeling her breath catching as the spider retaliated by angling its body for an attack with its stinger.

Knowing Renfred had no way to get away from it, she hurried forward, free hand outstretched. There was no guarantee, but Elenwë was past the point of carefully planning her moves. She needed to get him out from underneath that spider now. The creature was ready to strike in a second, so she touched its body and willed time to slow around it.

There was a small shudder at first. The stinger came down as it made to kill the human beneath it, slowing suddenly before reaching a standstill. Elenwë could feel it fight her—could feel her magic seep through her fingers at an alarming speed. It was one thing to slow time around a small object, another to completely still it around a giant creature. She concentrated, taking her hand off, feeling a small wave of relief when it did not start to move again immediately. But she had to be quick about this.

The golden-haired elf rushed to the spider's front to grab Renfred's arm to help him out from underneath the beast quickly. Seconds ticked on as it slowly started moving again. Just as time resumed, she plunged the sword into the spider's head, putting all the strength she had left behind her stab, sinking the blade deep into the creature and stilling its movement forever. That was when her vision began to swim, and she felt her knees buckle. Letting go of the sword, Elenwë let herself drop to the ground, fighting the spell of dizziness and exhaustion that threatened to have her lose consciousness.

Oh who decides from where up high, I couldn't say I need more time

Using his voice seemed to work, because Elenwë quickly found herself at the side of the spider, finding an opening to grab his sword. He tried to keep an eye on her while he was pushing away those pincers, keeping them from sinking into his skin. But he was clearly struggling, and they were already inching closer, until she suddenly managed to cut off one of its legs. The spider shrieked in pain, to which Renfred closed his eyes due to the sound being so close to his ear. It pulled back her fangs for a short moment, though he still kept hold of them, just in case.

However, then he noticed the giant spider was actually angling her body for something else, and even in the dim light, he could see the stinger appear when he looked down underneath her. His legs started kicking, feeling adrenaline pulsing through him as he knew he had to get away from underneath the spider, and fast, but he didn’t have enough strength, or the room to get out of his situation. Then he saw the stinger move down, towards him, and he was almost certain that this would be his end, until it actually stopped moving. As if it was being slowed by time itself, granting him a bit more time to escape his untimely death.

He had noticed something like this happen before, and he now suspected that Elenwë had something to do with it. And he was still a bit shocked, but he had little time to think about it, given that she already grabbed his arm to pull him away from underneath the spider. Quickly he moved with her, back onto his feet, before turning around and watching her drive his sword into the head of the creature. Lysanthir, in the meantime, had kept shooting arrows at the creature, weakening it. But that was not necessary anymore, for it would now drop dead to the ground.

Yet, the spider wasn’t the only one who dropped down after this, and he noticed Elenwë dropping her weapon. Remembering how she had passed out before, he had been quick enough to catch her, before her body came crashing down to the ground. Lysanthir had been quick in his response as well, ready to catch her, if only Renfred had standing closer to her. But when he heard Nimue struggling to keep off the other spider, he quickly darted off towards the other necklace, shining a couple of feet away from them. All while Renfred held Elenwë as he had sunken down to his knees, his hand softly brushed away a few strands of her blonde hair from her face.

And he watched as Lysanthir and Nimue took down the other spider. Though it was more the elf man who eventually finished it off by jumping on its back, seemingly driving three arrows at the same time through the spider's head while Nimue gave him the directions. Show-off, Renfred thought, but then he allowed his mind to return back to more serious matters as the two moon elves came rushing back. ”We’re going back, we can’t stay here.” He said, and yes, it was his own fear that did the talking, because he was not about to lose his own life over such a stupid thing like finding out why these spiders were coming down into their lands, and he did not want to lose Elenwë either.

”But we haven’t found-” Lysanthir tried to go against him, and truly, his courage was annoying him to no end. Clinging on to a hope he had long forsaken by now. Very gentilly, he laid down Elenwë on the soft moss, before standing up. ”And how do you plan to find it? We don’t even know what we are looking for, or where to find it. Who knows how many more spiders are in these woods. We might be walking straight into a trap.” He angrily shouted at the male elf, standing way too close to him. But the elf simply looked at him with determination in his eyes, not eager to abandon the mission. And for a moment, Renfred envied his boldness, his strength, and his willingness to do the right thing. He shortly looked past him, towards Elenwë, laying in the moss, his soon betrothed.

As she sunk to the ground, she was stopped by firm hands gripping her, arms coming around her to keep her from crashing to the forest floor. Elenwë could only vaguely make out that it had been Ren who caught her before her vision faded completely, and she lost consciousness. Her body needed a moment after the sudden strain. While she was not as drained as she had been on that raft, it was enough to cause a short backlash.

When the elvish woman opened her eyes again, she found that she was lying on the moss-covered forest floor in a way that suggested she had been placed there with care. Someone was shouting, and she did not need to have heard any of the words to guess what it was about.

Looking up, she could see Renfred and Lysanthir standing near each other, clearly arguing, presumably about their journey here and if it was folly to continue or not. Ren had his back to her, but she met Lysanthir's gaze for a moment, noticing the determination in his eyes. Elenwë shot him a small smile to let him know she was okay before she sat up slowly, not pushing her body too quickly to avoid going down again.

"We could find a spot to take a break before making any hasty decisions," she suggested from her spot on the floor. It would be best to be patient on this journey, seeing as they could be attacked at any moment. She rather made sure she would be able to use her magic again than run into another spider unprepared.

Oh who decides from where up high, I couldn't say I need more time

Renfred wanted to leave as quickly as possible, preferable before any of those spiders were able to come back. Because he was certain that others might have heard what was going on here, and it might only be a matter of time before more would be coming their way. Besides, he did not want to further risk his own life for the sake of the elves, definitely not since they had done nothing to deserve his help in the first place. There was only one reason why he was here, and even though he quite hated that reason, it was not enough to keep him here right now.

If it were up to him, he would take Elenwë with him as well, spare her the disappointment of this useless journey. But as she was laying there, passed out on his lap, he also felt the strong need to protect her. He did not want anything bad to happen to her, which was why he suggested going back, even if Lysanthir did not seem to agree with him. Renfred had not expected anything less, because after all, he was still an elf. And somehow elves always managed to believe that they were doing things to serve the greater good, whatever that meant.

He quickly stood up, and he could feel some of that anger resurfacing, because this all felt very unfair to him. If the elves had known what kind of dangerous place this had been, had they not been purposefully trying to send him to his grave? They had little to no direction, and they didn’t even know what they were supposed to find here. But as he explained his outrage, the elf man did not seem impressed. The only thing he did was look at Elenwë, who was laying behind him, still unconscious, or so he believed.

When she suddenly said something, Renfred also turned his head, realizing she might have heard something he said. ”Supposing there are any safe places to take a break in this forest.” He said, before looking back at the elf man, still very much discontent with the decision to stay. His eyes showed some of that anger, and it only became worse when Lysanthir ignored his words and moved past him, crouching down next to Elenwë and softly letting his fingers graze the side of her face, before placing his hand on her shoulder. Speaking something in elvish, which he could not understand. Renfred clenched his teeth, looking away as he balled his fists, before quickly moving back to grab his sword, his movements showing just how angry he was. Nimue told them she could see a place where they would be able to hide themselves, but he already had his back turned to the rest in an attempt to calm himself down.

OOC: Lysanthir vraagt of het goed gaat en of ze kan lopen.

After she spoke, Renfred turned around to look at her too, commenting about the probability of them finding somewhere safe around here. Yet it could just be that they had been unlucky to find spiders this quickly after entering the woods. Elenwë did not want to give up now, not when they had only seen so little of what was here.

"I'm sure we can find something," she answered, not wanting to forsake this quest. The part of her longing to bring Renfred back to Wealdstone to show he was not who they perceived him to be was still too insistent to have fear win out. They would get better at finding their way around here and find a way to best fight those spiders when they encountered them.

Elenwë could not hide her surprise when it was Lysanthir who moved to crouch beside her, the soft touch of his fingers on her cheek before he asked her if she was doing fine and if she could walk. She could not help but glance at Renfred for a moment, noticing his anger, which did not come as a surprise. Moving her focus back to the moon elf, Elenwë nodded. "I'm alright, and I can walk just fine," she answered in common, so Ren would know exactly what it had been he had asked.

Nimue cut in, telling them she could see a place that would suffice for them to rest. Gathering her strength, Elenwë took the hand Lysanthir offered her as he got up, using it to stand slowly, making sure she would not be caught by another spell of dizziness that would drag her down again. As soon as she knew she would be fine, she looked at Nimue. "Lead the way."

Oh who decides from where up high, I couldn't say I need more time

The man truly did not understand how the rest could be so unbothered by what had happened, but maybe that was because they had not stared at the face of death in the same way he did. It was not like this hadn’t happened to him before either, because it had, and he had barely escaped with his life the last time. But no, Elenwë was sure they could find something, and he huffed, clearly disagreeing with her. He could never feel safe inside this forest, not while he wasn’t able to see anything else except for those necklaces and a few luminous fungi.

When the blonde haired elf man crouched down beside Elenwë, gentilly touching her face with his fingers, Renfred turned himself away. Feeling some of that jealousy getting the better of him, he knew he would not have been able to hold himself from picking a fight with Lysanthir for as long as he looked. He did not know that these kinds of touches were very normal for the elves, even for platonic relationships, which made everything so much worse inside his own head. Luckily for him though, Elenwë did decide to speak back in common tongue, letting him know what kind of question Lysanthir had asked her.

Not that he responded much to anything anymore, given that he was too busy reeling in his own anger at the moment. Knowing that if he lashed out right now, it would probably spill their little secret. Though, he knew Nimue already knew about it, and he supposed it would only be a matter of time before Lysanthir found out about it as well. But he was still trying, even if his anger was extremely close to reaching that boiling point. When he noticed some movement, he did glance over his shoulder, only catching a little glimpse of the male elf helping Elenwë up from the ground with his hand. Quickly turning himself around when Elenwë told Nimue to lead the way, taking a spot directly behind her so he didn’t have to look at Lysanthir and Elenwë. And the fact that he stayed silent was not a good thing.

In the meanwhile Nimue led them towards a little shelter, not that far away, but certainly not close enough to the place where they had fought those spiders either. There were some more rocks, and a few places where they could hide, should they need it. Renfred quickly found himself in a comfortable position against a rock, but when he sat down, some pain showed on his face. Grabbing his leg for a moment as he felt like the pain had only gotten worse since his fall, but he had tried to hide it better this time during their walk. He took up his watersack, but only now noticed that he had lost the lid, meaning he had lost most of his water while he had been laying on the ground. Lowering it again, he took a deep breath, and kept it, because he still felt too angry to ask someone else for some water. Lysanthir, however, seemed to have taken notice of this, and offered him his water. But something inside his mind completely shut off as he threw his hand against the watersack, letting it fall onto the ground, water seeping away into the ground.

They were silent as they walked, following Nimue. Elenwë could see from the strained set of Renfred's shoulders that his discontent was still brewing, but there was no way for her to take him aside right now. Knowing that it would probably be futile to start a conversation about their journey with everyone present, she kept her mouth shut, following without starting a conversation.

It might have been the best choice anyway because she needed her focus not to stumble during their walk, still feeling a little drowsy from passing out after the battle. When they arrived at the place Nimue had spotted, a small clearing with a few large rocks and a good view of the forest around them because of the accumulation of luminous fungi in the spot, they all made themselves as comfortable as possible.

Elenwë knew that they all felt the weight of how real the danger had proven to be in this forest, but they did not speak about it, instead sipping their water in silence. Meanwhile, she was still figuring out how to start a conversation with Renfred because it was clear that he was still angry. Something which became blatantly obvious when Lysanthir offered him his waterskin, and the human slapped it away, out of his hand, spilling precious water.

"Stop making this more difficult than it already is," she snapped before she could think it through. They were never going to last if they kept going like this, but maybe she had been delusional to think this whole journey could have had a good end. It was not as if she had not felt the panic during that fight either, afraid to lose him, but he made it impossible to have a normal conversation about it.

Oh who decides from where up high, I couldn't say I need more time

Renfred tried very hard not to look back as they all walked in silence, mainly because he did not want to be confronted again by how close Elenwë and Lysanthir had been only a few moments ago. In his mind everything was adding up, from the way they had been fighting together - seemingly in good harmony, to the way he had touched her face and helped her up. He did not feel like sharing anything that felt like belonged to him, and certainly not Elenwë, who meant more to him than anyone had ever done. Making him so much more jealous than he was able to handle. Acting desperate, and showing much more of his insecurities then he ever intended.

The silence had certainly not calmed him down yet, for there was still a storm brewing inside his own mind. His hate for the elves had gotten mingled with those feelings of jealousy, which did not improve his mood much for the better. It only made it worse, and eventually, something snapped inside of him. Making him throw his hand against the watersack, offered to him out of kindness by Lysanthir. Spilling the precious water out over the forest floor without giving it much thought. Now they had only less water, but he did not feel in the slightest bit bad about it since everything already felt extremely unfair to him. And who knew, maybe it would finally give them a reason to turn back.

Lysanthir looked at him with surprise, because clearly, he had not even noticed the state of anger he had been in. But Elenwë did decide to snap at him, and he quickly turned his head to look at her. The stubborn expression on his face did not promise anything good. ”Oh, so now I am the one making this more difficult?” He asked her, after which he broke into a laugh. Looking back at Lysanthir for a moment, who picked up the water sack, trying to save whatever water was still left in there. ”Right.. Well, I am not the one trying to search for something that possibly doesn’t even exist, risking everything to find it.” He continued, even though he was still there, risking his life. ”Lest you have forgotten, I did not want to be here.” That was probably not an answer to her question, but it was still something he wanted to point out.

Elenwë knew her words had been a mistake as soon as she had said them. Not that she did not mean it, but she could guess what Renfred's reaction could be. She was not far off. The elvish woman tried to remain calm as he spoke and laughed, reminding her of those moments they had fought before.

He was not the one trying to search for something that possibly did not exist. He did not want to be here. "And yet here you are," she bit back, reminding him of the fact that she had given him a choice, and this had been his decision. While she could understand his hesitation, the fear that came with this place and the situations they had already found themselves in, no one was holding him captive. He made it sound as if she had brought him here safely for her own desire, but his played a part as well.

Elenwë hated the fact that they could not speak freely. That she could not remind him why he had made his decision nor affectionately tell him that she would let him leave if that was what he really wished. She would have to settle for something less personal. "No one is holding you if you want to go," she said, straining to keep her face from showing too much of her real thoughts about that.

Oh who decides from where up high, I couldn't say I need more time

The golden-haired elf had not made a wise decision by calling him out on his behavior, not while his anger was still fresh. Waiting would not have helped her either, but now she was putting their secrecy at risk. Their arguments could often become a bit too heated, and it would certainly prove to become more difficult to hide their true intentions towards the rest of the group. One mistake could easily be made, saying things without thinking, responding directly with their feelings for each other getting involved.

And yet here he was. A conclusion he already made himself, almost right after he said his own words, but hearing her say them only made the words sink in much deeper. For a moment he clenched his teeth, feeling some of that hatred return for how much power she had over him. Leading him here, to a place where he did not want to be. Was he truly only doing this because he was willing to prove to everyone that he was right for her? Knowing damn well that he was never going to get what he wanted. It was foolish, so foolish. ”And yet, here I am.” He echoed those words, much softer and while looking away from her. Feeling his breathing becoming more ragged.

The way she told him no one was holding him back from leaving, it almost felt like being shot again. But this time, the arrow went right through his heart. ”You would want me to leave? Well, fine, I’ll leave then.” He spat back at her, his anger rising again as he attempted to stand up from his position, even though this time, his leg could not support his weight so suddenly. It made him stumble, and since Lysanthir was still standing rather close to him, he managed to catch him by grabbing his arm before he could go down. ”No one is telling you to leave either.” The elf man certainly tried to be helpful, but Renfred didn’t want his help. He never asked for it, and so he swat his hand away the moment he got the chance.

Maybe a part of him did actually find it rather hilarious how he had been oblivious to all the signs that showed something more was going on between him and Elenwë, and he laughed again when he shortly looked at the golden-haired elf woman. Contemplating whether to expose their little secret, because oh, how much he actually wanted to rub it in this man’s face right now. ”I suppose that would only make it easier on you, wouldn’t it? To rid yourself of any temptation you might have towards me.” He said, knowing he was treading on thin ice here. Ignoring Lysanthir’s words and keeping the conversation between him and Elenwë.

Every word seemed like another shovel full of dirt—digging her own grave. Elenwë could see how those words hit their mark. Hurting him was not what she wanted to do, but he made it so damn easy sometimes, pushing her into positions where she could not do anything but say the wrong thing or let his anger fester and boil to an outburst some later time.

Her tender expression telling him she was here for him seemingly forgotten, Renfred spat that he would leave if she wanted him to. She could feel that same panic rising as she had felt when they had fought that last spider, close to losing him in a different way. His stumble as he stood telling her that he still avoided sharing his pain with her.

Before she could form the words, Lysanthir chipped in to say that they were not telling him to leave. Elenwë felt a pang of guilt at that statement, knowing full well that her intentions were not pure. That they were here because she could not let go of her irresponsible infatuation with this human, and she was risking all of their lives on behalf of trying to keep him at her side while he continued to lash out at any opportunity. She had not thought it possible before, but she did not think she deserved the Aerendyl.

She could feel herself grow cold at Renfred's sudden remark, not being able to keep herself from shooting a glance at Lysanthir before returning her gaze to the human, glaring at him for saying something which could easily give them away. Elenwë hated herself for being at a loss for words, knowing she could not speak freely lest she gave herself away more than he had done already. "I would grieve for the loss of my friend," she managed to bite back after a short silence, standing as well. "But he seems adamant about throwing away any connection anyway."

Oh yes, it would have been easier if she could just stop caring right there and then. Shut off her feelings, let him walk off and never see him again. Not having to lie to anyone anymore. Maybe she should give it a go, to see if she could. It was not as if she had given it a fair chance before.

Oh who decides from where up high, I couldn't say I need more time