Heirot

Daylan leaned against the rock, eyes starting to close before he shook himself awake, moving to stand next to Joe beside the fire. He was tired himself, but he would at least stay up for a while longer, "I'll take first watch if you want me to." he said softly, sitting down beside the fire.

Ora curled up, lying on her side with her back to the rock. She had her arms crossed and her hands under her arms to keep them warm. She was a sleep with in minutes.

Joe looked up at Daylan and then down at his sister. "Wake me when you think you're about to fall a sleep. I'll take over then and until morning, okay? That way Ora can rest more. She needs it."

Daylan eyed Ora almost protectively for a moment, it was his and Joe's duty to protect her now. Protect the fragile sex he thought to himself before looking over to Joe, "All right, I'll make sure not to sleep before then." He looked tired enough as it was, but he sat beside the fire, warming his hands when he did so. Perhaps in the morning he would try healing Ora more completely, he both wanted and didn't want to carry her around the whole day tomorrow.

Joe curled up on the ground and the three of them formed a small triangle in the middle of the cluster of bolders.

Morning wouldn't come with the sun... It usually was still dark, like always. But you could look at the moon. It moved slowly, very slowly, and the bells that rang in the City of Arroes every hour.

Joe fell a sleep, and he was the type that snored rather loudly and rather annoyingly. But, Ora was so used to it that it didn't disturb her sleep.

She, however, was disturbed by something else. It was a dream. She was dreaming that she was working at Havicks again... and he was beating her because she broke a dish... again. However, it wasn't a horrible nightmare so the most it did to her was make her toss and turn, moaning softly in her sleep.

Her face was beautiful and peaceful as the firelight reflected onto it, giving it a dim glow.

Daylan sat close to the fire, it always seemed cold to him in this place. He warmed his hands as he sat, watching the two other sleep as he kept the watch. Time passed quickly enough, before long a few hours had passed, the moon sliding across the sky, accomponied by the faint ringing of bells. He scowled frequently at Joe's sleeping form, the damn man needed to quiet down. He looked over to Ora, face softening as she moaned in her sleep. He would not wake her, considering that she needed the rest more than he did. He wiped his face, yawning in tiredness before looking back up at the moon, waiting another hour before moving to Joe's side, shaking him until he woke, "Your watch..." he mumbled tiredly, before dropping a few feet away and quickly going into a deep sleep.

Joe yawned and sat up with his back against the bolders. He glanced up at the moon and looked back around at there small clearing, throwing another dry log onto the fire. He leaned back and sat, yawning over and over. He couldn't seem to wake himself up completely. His eyes grew more drupy and his face more relaxed.

Hours passed and they were long and he didn't think he could keep his eyes open much longer. But, it was almost time for them to get up and get going anywayl.

He thought he heard something in the distance though. Like, a growl... But, it could have been his imagenation. His eyes opened a little more and he looked around, peering over the bolders. He didn't see anything at first, but he thought he caught a glimpse of something red before it faded away.

He relaxed, though the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He just had the strangest feeling that they were being watched. He walked over towards Ora and sat down next to his sleeping sister... just encase something happened he could be close enough to protect her.

Then he heard another growl, closer to them. It was like it was right behind him.

"Daylan..." Joe whispered. "Daylan," he said a little louder, hopeing the wizard heard him.

Daylan lay down, eyes closed as he slept soundly. He stirred occasionally, he was close enough to the fire to stay warm in the night. He mumbled softly in his sleep, too softly to be heard clearly. He could hear the barest sound of the growl on the edges of his dreams, before hearing his name as though from a great distance. His eyes slowly opened as he heard it again, looking over to Joe and Ora, yawning and sitting up, eyes still half closed. "What is it?" he asked sleepily, quite a bit louder than Joe.

"Something is out there... growling," Joe said. "I think I might go check it out.... But, I don't want to leave Ora behind alone. You don't have to get close, just watch her..."

He stood up slowly.

"Something is out there... growling," Joe said. "I think I might go check it out.... But, I don't want to leave Ora behind alone. You don't have to get close, just watch her..."

He stood up slowly.

Daylan rubbed the sleep from his eyes, trying to shake the tiredness away, "Do what you have to do." he said, hand reaching down to his boot to pull a small knife from it. It was early, he didn't want to use his magic yet, for the headache and tiredness it would bring, "I'll keep close." he said simply, crouching down beside Ora's sleeping form.

Joe dissapeared into the darkness and after a while he hadn't come back yet and there was no noise. Ora groaned softly and opened her eyes to see Daylan crouched over her. "Hey... what's going-" Ora let out a scream and grabbed Daylan by the shoulders, jerking him out of the way just as a large wolf like creature pounced where they both had been. It turned to them and growled feircely. Ora's hands cluched Daylan's arm tightly.

It started to come towards them slowly. Suddenly another figure came from the dark, this one carrying a long sword that plunged forcefully into the back of the rather large wolf.

Joe grabbed Ora's arm and jerked her up. "I say lets get moving, there might be more." He started to pull Ora into the darkness. She reached back to grabb Daylan's hand, her eyes pleading for him to come with her.

Daylan nearly clapped his hand over Ora's mouth when she screamed, but he was pulled away along with her as the wolf... thing slammed into the ground. He held the dagger, hoping he had enough time before he heard the gratifying sound of the longsword sliding into the wolf. He looked up at Joe, leaping quickly up to his feet. He stared down into Ora's eyes, he would stay with them to the end. Even if they weren't his way out of Arroes, he would stay with them. He followed quickly, resheathing the dagger before mumbling a few words, hands raising into the air splayed out. A radiant light began to spread from it, piercing through the darkness about them. Wolves could see perfectly in the dark, he could not.

They raced across the rough grown. Hardly any grass grew because of the lack of light, but it was mostly just dead dry grass that littered the ground. A few trees were here and there. Rocks were the most common land mark.

Joe was leading Ora by the hand as he ran. Ora was having trouble keeping up. "Joe, please slow down!"

"We can't slow down, the wolves will catch our sent if we stay in one place too long," he muttered.

"But, Joe, can't we slow down just a little bit. My leg it hurts," she said, not in a whimering tone, but through gritted teeth because her brother never listened to her. "Why do you have to be so hard headed!" Ora jerked her hand from him and continued to try and keep the pace.

Daylan rused after the two, long strides keeping with the two easily. His eyes flicked about the dead grass about them, a small ball of light following by him. He followed after the two, letting them sort out there difficulties. He looked back behind them in the darkness, he thought he could see the shadows shifting about behind them. Just my imaginatio, he told himself sternly, the dead grass crunching beneath his feet as they ran on. He ran up beside Ora, chest already rising and falling rapidly as they ran on through the dark, "Do... you need... help?" he asked between breaths. He wouldn't show his own weakness if he could help it.

Ora continued to run, but a slight limp began to show. "No, I'll make it, I think. I don't want to burden you and this way we'll run faster," she said.

Ora had problems. Not mental problems as in she was very psychotic, but problems in another sense. She was always afraid she might be a burden to someone. She was always afraid that she might say the wrong things, do the wrong things and someone would hit her. Like Havick had always done. She was afraid of large men in a way because the only ones that ever seemed to hurt her were the ones who were tall and very strong. To her she felt like an ant and it made her very afraid.

Ora was a very pretty young woman with long black hair that was shinned like gloss and sparkled pale blue eyes, but there was a hint of sadness to them a whole lot.

But, what most people didn't know was that her once strong body was now very weak. She had been abused far too long and now her muscles and her bone couldn't take much. She always tried to hide things from people, afraid of being a burden.

Joe was up a head, looking around, well trying to see through the darkness. As soon as Ora looked up a head she saw a huge shadow leaping for her brother.

"Joe!!!" she screamed as the shadow tackled him to the ground and latched onto her brother's shoulder. "No! Leave him alone!" Without thinking she lept at the large wolf and began to hit at his sides.

The wolf's head jerked around and his blood red eyes bored into her blue ones. Then, before she could move away he leaped on top of her and used his paws to press her shoulders to the ground.

Joe groaned, rolling his head over for a moment, but quickly he shut his eyes. His shoulder was ripped open with teeth marks across it.

One suddenly came from above them and landed on the other side of Ora and in front of Daylan. He growled and moved closer.

Ora closed hear eyes tightly turned her head away, expecting the worst. However, the wolf didn't bite her or rip her to shreads. He just stared down at her curiously, tilting his large head back and forth.

The one in front of Daylan went to leap, but the one on top of Ora growled feircely, frightening Ora to death. She whimpered softly. Then, suddenly she felt nothing on top of anymore and the one in front of Daylan disappeared as well.

Daylan could see her limp he bit his lower lip in concern, "All right, but if you do need it." he said breathlessly, feet pounding on the ground. The ball of light followed after them quickly, at least with that he wasn't tripping over every other root. The light was pale and wan though, it didn't go beyond a few feet in front of him now. Sweat started to bead on his forehead, even in the cool night, he was not very used to running.

He skidded to a halt as the wolf leapt through the darkness, mind reaching out to the magic within him. His exhaustion flitted away as the adrelaine rushed through him. His eyes flicked to the wolf atop Ora as it simply sat, growling menacingly before turning his attentions to the wolf before him. His eyes turned suddenly cold as he slowly brought his hands out before him, palms a few inches apart. A bead of fire leapt into exsistence, but fizzled away at his surprise when the wolves suddenly disappeared. He visibly relaxed, sighing in relief before running to Joe, hand going to the wound at his shoulder.

He thought briefly that he should go to Ora first, but Joe actually had a wound upon him. He put his hand to the wound, eyes closing as he brought the rush of the magic back. His hands trembled as he slowly willed the wound shut, flesh knitting over slowly, an equal wound starting to appear on his own shoulder. He gasped in pain as it did so, but waited until the wound was almost healed before collapsing back, chest rising and falling rapidly, before scrambling over to Ora. He took her hand in his, his own hand shaking from the brief bit of healing magic, he really did have to get better at that, "Are you hurt?" He couldn't see any visible wound on her, but perhaps she was despite that.