Afraid of the Dark

Chapter 7: Stubborn

She knows that she was already pretty exhausted after walking through miles of snow and then sleeping on the cold stone floor of a cave, but the longer she follows Mog, the more she wants to just curl up into a ball and either sleep, or simply die.

Mog had said that Ceelyaer wasn't too far away, but this is starting to feel a lot like 'too far' to Reela. Her body feels weaker and her eyes droop the longer they go on. Her shoulders hang low as her arms have grown heavier and she has to drag her feet over the forest floor, and in her fatigued state she's too out of it to realize that she's making a lot of noise for someone who can't defend themself in case of attack.

At least her hands and shoulder have been slowly getting better. Reela had asked Mog at some point about why it's taking so long for the elixir to take effect, and Mog reassured her that it's just how it works. Some elixirs work faster and some work slow. She guesses this one is an elixir that people would take before going to bed so they would be healed when they wake up.

But Reela, like an idiot, is still awake.

Maybe that's why she feels so tired. Maybe it's the elixir. Like a pain reliever that also helps you sleep so you don't know the actual agony you're in through the healing process.

After a while, Reela starts nodding off. For just a moment, her eyes close and her body shuts down, but she manages to snap herself awake once her knees hit the ground and she gasps which catches Mog's attention. The orc stops walking and turns around to see Reela catching her breath on the ground.

Reela grumbles her frustration and looks up as Mog walks over and tilts her head down at her. "Are you sure we're going the right way? At this rate, it's going to be dark soon..." she mutters and Mog laughs. The sound is almost forced, but Reela is too tired to pay it much mind.

"Is it?" the orc scratches the back of her head and looks around. "Nah! It's not going to get dark! Trust me, we're almost there!"

"Then why does it feel like we've been walking in circles all day?" Reela huffs. "You don't know where we're going, do you?"

Mog chuckles awkwardly. "What? Nooo. Of course I do! It's around here somewhere, I promise!"

Very reassuring.

The orc kneels down to pat Reela on the shoulder, making her slightly wince. The pain may be healing, but it's still there. "Ow... Again, Mog, that's my bad shoulder..." she reminds her for what feels like the hundredth time.

"Is it? Whoops. My bad!" Mog clears her throat. "Sorry, I can be kinda forgetful sometimes."

Reela glares at her. "I've noticed. Seeing as it seems you've forgotten where the town is," she huffs and takes a deep breath before pushing herself to get back up. Mog stands with her and bites her lip which you'd think would be difficult for an orc, but apparently not. "But whatever. We still need to keep moving, so let's go..." she says and starts walking without waiting for Mog to catch up.

The orc hurries after her and again, catches her by her shoulder. Again, her bad shoulder. "Actually, I think I remember it being this way," she lets her go and motions what Reela thinks is North, but at this point she's lost all sense of direction. "Follow me!" she says and begins walking again.

Reela shakes her head with a sigh, but follows anyway.

She keeps following Mog for about another hour, which is when she notices the sky starting to fade to an orange hue. That's when she stops in her tracks and crosses her arms. "Alright that's it. You don't know where you're going. It's going to be dark soon and I don't want to get caught in the night. So either figure your shit out, or I'm going to try finding this place on my own," she snaps.