Winter's Burn

• XXV •

Aeron opened her eyes to a light beaming onto her face from a nearby hole in the wall. She closed them again for a moment, the warmth feeling nice on her cheek.

William was sitting with Senka on the bed in the corner. They had been up for a while, making conversation when she looked over to them.

"Good morning" Senka gently called to Aeron. William immediately got up and walked to the spot where Aeron was on the couch.

"Thats the first time I've actually seen you sleep." He spoke softly.

"Thats the first time I remember sleeping in a while." Aeron replied. "Usually I can just...convince myself that I've slept. It's actually pretty convenient."

There was a small stretch of silence between the two, neither knowing quite how to interact with each other anymore.

"Well," William finally spoke, desperate to break the silence. "Where are we gonna go today?"

They were still on the run from the comp, even if Aeron had killed Ivan. They didn't know when their next move would be, how long it would take the comp to get reorganized, but they needed to move.

"South," Aeron answered, "As far south as we can get. We know the comp is north, near Haymock Lake. So, we get as far away from there as we can."

"Sounds like a plan." He agreed. Sure, not the most detailed plan, but it would work. He looked to Senka, who nodded.

"Then let's go." She added, standing from her spot on the bed. She slightly shivered as her hair turned back to black, but her eyes stayed the same brown.

------

It had been months.

Exactly how long, Will didn't know, but it was a while. From the last calculation, Aeron had confirmed that it had been at least half a year of them running together. Walking was a slow go, but they had all gotten stronger along the way. Aeron and Will grew closer as siblings, sharing stories of their lives with one another, the listener completely enthralled with the speaker's life.

William and Senka had also gotten closer, it became routine for them to share whatever bed they found to sleep on. Aeron didn't need to sleep unless she was drained of her energy, so usually she sat by the fire or kept lookout as the two slept. She often caught them cuddling, finding amusement in how occasionally one of Senka's horns would brush Will's face, causing him to flinch backward and huff in his sleep. She had to stop herself from laughing, not wanting to wake them up.

They had formed the bond of an unlikely trio, blood family and found family all in one. But, no matter how good the bond was, their facing of reality every day was enough to keep them on guard constantly.

There had not been another encounter with the comp, which was both relieving and terrifying. Relieving, because they hadn't had to fight. Terrifying, because there was no way to know if they were planning something, or what it was. The calm was eerie, and they were running from nothing, but they had to keep going. They had to.

Right?