The forest is still when Ruby wakes.

  A soft, golden light filters through the canopy above, painting dappled patterns across the clearing. The fire from the night before has burned down to faint embers, and birdsong echoes gently in the distance.

  Ruby blinks sleepily, stretching beneath her bnket. Her limbs are sore and her hands ache where the bark scraped them-but she's still alive.

  She gnces around and spots Lyari already awake, crouched nearby, sharpening his bde with slow, rhythmic strokes.

  He doesn't look over, but he speaks all the same. "You snore."

  Ruby groans flopping back onto the bnket. "Rude. I almost got eaten yesterday. I think I earned a little unconscious dignity"

  Lyari gives the faintest smirk-barely there, but real. "You ready to keep moving?"

  Ruby sits up, rubbing her eyes. "Yeah. Let's find the bath out of this forest before something else decides I look like lunch."

  Ruby stands up and gently grabs her things. She pces them back into her pack, and nods to Lyari. "I'm ready!" she says excitedly.

  ---Ruby and Lyari move through the forest again, the morning sun warming the damp air, steam rising in patches from mossy logs and dew-ced leaves. The canopy above shifts in hues of green and gold as they weave deeper into the old woods.

  Ruby, fully rested and vibrating with energy hops over roots and points at everything that catches her attention. "Is that mushroom edible? What about that one? Do you think there are tree spirits in this forest? Oh! Is that a bird's nest? Wait-have you ever seen a ghost?"

  Lyari walks ahead in silence, responding only with the occasional grunt or non-committal shrug.

  But Ruby barely notices. She skips forward until she's walking beside him again, tilting her head slightly. "So... have you ever met a white-haired Sun Elf girl named Aria Kineros?"

  Lyari's step falters. Only slightly-but enough for Ruby to notice. He doesn't look at her while he responds. "I've heard the name."

  Ruby perks up immediately. "Really?! Where? When? Was she here?"

  Lyari keeps walking, more alert now. "Not here. To the South west. Heard her name mentioned a few seasons ago. Someone said she was working with a small mercenary company."

  Ruby's tail flicks with excitement. "That's her! That's Her! She went off to be a mercenary-do you remember what they said about her? Was she okay?"

  Lyari finally gnces at her, face unreadable. "Didn't hear much. Just that she was good with a bde and had a habit of ignoring orders when she thought someone needed help."

  Ruby beams. "Yup! That's her!"

  Lyari doesn't smile back, but his town softens a touch. "You chasing someone like that, you better be ready for more than wild animals and lost trails."

  Ruby grins. "I'm going to find her. I've made it this far, haven't I?"

  Lyari just sighs. "Barely."

  As they travel, Ruby continues her one-sided conversation without losing momentum. " Have you ever seen a dragon? What's the weirdest creature you've fought? Do you think there are like, magic deer out here? What if some trees can talk but only when no one's listening?"

  Lyari walks ahead, his pace steady. "If you asked fewer questions, we'd be farther by now."

  "That's not a no," Ruby chirps.

  The trail barrows as they step over a cluster of twisted roots, and Ruby veers off the path slightly. She pauses by a patch of silvery-leafed bushes with deep violet berries nestled between thorns.

  "Ooooh, these look good," she says brightly, reaching toward them. "Hey, Lyari! Are these safe to eat?"

  Lyari turns slowly, eyes narrowing. He stares at the bush. Then at her. Then back at the bush. "You're joking."

  Ruby blinks. "What?"

  Lyari strides over and swats her hand away before it gets too close. "That's the Wraithvine. You already ate this once."

  Ruby recoils, tail puffing slightly. "Wait-that was this?!"

  "Yes. The deathberries. The 'put you in a coma and nearly killed you' berries."

  Ruby ughs nervously. "Oh. Right. They look different in the light?"

  Lyari pinches the bridge of his nose and exhales slowly, as though physically resisting the urge to throw her over his shoulder and carry her the rest of the way in silence. "I am not dragging your unconscious body through the forest again," he mutters.

  Ruby grins sheepishly. "Noted. No berry-snacking without asking."

  Lyari just walks off. "Next time, I let the bush finish the job."

  The forest begins to shift as the day drifts onwards. The trees grow further apart, and the ground becomes uneven, scattered with broken stone and warped earth-like something powerful once tore through it.

  Ruby slows her pace, her eyes wide as she takes it all in. The air here feels different-thick with old magic and silence, like the forest itself is holding its breath. "What happened here?" she whispers.

  Lyari gnces around, his voice more subdued than usual. "This was the site of a battle. Mages from two kingdoms met here during one of the old wars. Left the nd scarred."

  Ruby's gaze drifts to a nearby chunk of bckened stone half-buried in the dirt. Runes long since faded are carved into its surface, barely legible beneath moss and time. "This is... so cool," she says, spinning in a slow circle. "Creepy, but cool."

  "Don't touch anything glowing," Lyari says ftly.

  "Why not" Ruby asks, squinting at a faintly pulsing root curling out of the soil.

  "Because I don't want to expin to someone's vilge elder that their missing Beastkin exploded because she was curious," Lyari responds ftly.

  Ruby crosses her arms and huffs. "You really know how to ruin a girl's sense of adventure, you know."

  Lyari shrugs. "You're alive, aren't you?"

  As they weave through broken terrain and vine-choked ruins, Ruby spots more of the now-familiar Wraithvine bushes dotting the edges of the clearing.

  She walks quickly past them this time, wrinkling her nose. "They smell weird now that I know what they do."

  "They smelled weird before," Lyari says without missing a step.

  Ruby casts one st look over her shoulder at the gnarled bushes. "You think they grow here because of the magic stuff?"

  Lyari nods. "Wraithvine feeds on old magic. Especially magic left behind by death."

  Ruby shivers. "Okay. That's horrifying."

  "Accurate," Lyari says.

  They walk for hours, the shadows growing longer as the light filters through the shifting trees. The haunted battlefield slowly fades behind them, repced by the steady rhythm of forest paths and birdsong once more.

  Ruby, undeterred by previous close calls or near-death misadventures, falls back into her usual rhythm.

  "So like... are Wraithvine bushes born evil, or do they just grow up that way? Do you think the trees here are older than your great-grandma? Do you guys celebrate birthdays in Miramar? What's the weirdest thing you've eaten? Have you ever seen a ghost dear? I hear ghost deer exist-"

  Lyari's only response is the occasional sigh or a long blink that screams internal screaming without a single word.

  Even as the sun dips lower and the woods grow dimmer, Ruby's enthusiasm never quite dies. She hums at one point. Then whistles. Then tries to copy a bird call and scares it off.

  By the time the sky shifts to warm amber and violet, the two finally settle down in a small clearing fnked by a ring of stones and thick moss. The air is cooler here, and the trees are tall and space wide enough to let stars peak through.

  Lyari begins setting up camp without a word, and Ruby flops down on her bnket dramatically, sprawling like she's just completed a marathon.

  "That was the longest day ever," she groans.

  Lyari raises an eyebrow. "You spent most of it talking."

  "Exactly. Very tiring," she says with a zy grin.

  Lyari crouches by the small pile of dried wood and kindling he's gathered, his hands practiced and sure. A few flicks of flint and steel, a spark, and a tiny fme begins to dance beneath the twigs.

  He feeds it slowly, carefully-no magic, just patience and experience.

  Ruby watches from where she sits cross-legged on her bnket, chin resting on her palms.

  "You know," she says, "I tried starting a fire like that once. I broke the rock."

  Lyari doesn't look up. "How?"

  "I.. don't know," Ruby admits. "But it snapped in half. It was very impressive."

  The fire catches and grows, casting warm light that glows on the bark of nearby trees. Lyari sits back, satisfied and begins unpacking a bit of dried food.

  Ruby inches closer to the fire and sticks her hands out towards the warmth, sighing dramatically. "You ever think about how weird it is that fire is, like, alive? Like it breathes and eats and stuff?"

  Lyari gnces at her sideways. "You mean like you?"

  "Rude," Ruby says, grinning. "I don't eat twigs." She pauses. "Well, not on purpose."

  They sit in companionable silence for a few moments-just the crackle of firewood and the occasional rustle of leaves.

  Then Ruby leans forward slightly, voice softer this time. "Thanks for not letting me die again today."

  Lyari looks over at her, his expression unreadable. But after a beat, he nods once. "You're not entirely useless," he says ftly.

  Ruby beams. "That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me!"

  Lyari rolls his eyes. "Don't get used to it."

  The scent of warm food soon fills the clearing-simple but comforting. Lyari turns the skewered pieces of dried meat and foraged root vegetables over the fire with practiced care until they're slightly charred and steaming.

  Ruby inches closer, tail twitching zily behind her as she watches. "That smells so much better than sweet snacks. I think I burned out my entire sugar tolerance for a week."

  Lyari hands her a skewer wordlessly.

  Ruby takes it with both hands like it's the most precious thing in the world. "You really do know how to cook. Are you sure you don't secretly like me?" she teases, grinning as she bites into the meat.

  Lyari just stares at her. "I like not starving."

  "Fair," Ruby mumbles around a mouthful of food.

  They eat quietly after that. The fire crackles steadily, the stars above twinkle through the canopy, and for a rare moment, Ruby isn't bouncing or talking-just content.

  When she finishes eating, she warps her bnket around herself like a cocoon and stretches out beside the fire with a satisfied sigh. "I'm gonna sleep so good night."

  "Try not to roll into the fire," Lyari mutters as he checks the perimeter of the clearing one st time.

  "Too cozy," Ruby murmurs, already halfway asleep.

  Lyari shakes his head and settles onto his bedroll just across the fire, one hand still resting lightly on his bde.

  The forest settles around them once again. Quiet. Peaceful. And for the first time in awhile-safe.

  ---

  The next day comes with soft light and gentle winds rustling the trees.

  Ruby wakes earlier than usual, stretching with a yawn and blinking blearily at the quiet fire remnants. Lyari is already packed and ready, leaning against a nearby tree with arms crossed waiting.

  Ruby bundles her bnket with a sleepy grumble, scarfing down a quick bite of trail food before they set off again.

  The forest is kinder today. The paths are clearer, the air warmer. No strange sounds, no flickers of movement in the trees, no ominous rustling in the underbrush. Just birdsong, dappled sunlight, and the crunch of leaves beneath their feet.

  Ruby hums a tune to herself for part of the walk-soft enough to not earn a full scowl from Lyari. She still asks a few questions now and then, but they're calmer, more thoughtful.

  Lyari answers one or two.

  The day drifts by like that-uneventful, simple, and surprisingly peaceful.

  By the time the sun starts dipping toward the horizon again, they're already setting up camp. The rhythm is familiar now: fire, food, soft banter, and rest beneath the stars.

  And just like that-another day passes in the depths of Nalvathen.