Aneira slipped out of her tent as soon as the first light of the day brightened the sky. She took a long breath and sat by the still-smoldering fire pit, warming the frozen tips of her fingers around the dying coals. Her mind was still running over Devyn's words from the previous night. Am I really the one stretching this whole thing into something it's not? She thought to herself, fixing her stare upon the glowing embers. It seems like she's the one blowing things out of proportion here.

She tucked her legs up against her chest and rested her chin on top of her knees. Aneira had always prided herself in being a somewhat positive person. Carys had always been the negative one, and it had been their seemingly opposite personalities that had made them a perfect duo. It was the first time Aneira's optimism and friendliness had ever been criticized, and there was something inside her that shriveled at the words.

Aneira remained sitting by the dying fire for at least half an hour, listening to the rush of the two dragons breathing from where they lay a little ways from the camp. She chuckled softly to herself upon seeing that the creatures had curled up against each other to conserve body heat. That's something different about this place, Aneira noted as she watched the dragons' chests rise and fall with each whooshing breath. It gets much colder here overnight than it ever does at home in Ledah. At least, this time of year. But even in the winter, it could be argued that Ledah remained fairly mild. That was what made it such a perfect climate for agriculture.

She lifted her head from her knees upon hearing the rustle of fabric. Devyn had emerged from her tent at last. There were deep circles under her eyes and her dark hair was a tangled mess; she looked like she hadn't slept a wink. Aneira frowned slightly as she observed her. Even if the girl was mean, Aneira still felt a twinge of pity as she considered how horrible she must have been feeling.

"You look... great," Aneira muttered sarcastically, eyeing Devyn carefully. After last night, she was afraid of overstepping and causing the captain to snap at her again. "Did you get sat on by a dragon?"

Devyn wasn't amused. She sank into a crouch on the other side of the dying fire, putting her face in her hands and letting out a long, shaky breath. Aneira watched her, partly curious and partly concerned for whatever she was about to lecture her about.

Instead, Devyn's lips mouthed a few words, as if to try them out on her tongue, and she let out a soft sigh. "I'm sorry." She was so quiet that Aneira almost thought she had imagined the words. But then the girl's dark-eyed gaze raised to meet hers, and Devyn nodded and repeated the words. This time, her voice held a little more conviction. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to... to do what I did last night. I didn't mean those words."

Aneira raised an eyebrow, still staring at her in bewilderment. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"What? Stars, of course not! I'm trying to apologize!"

"Right..." Aneira continued to watch Devyn, until she held out her hands in a position of surrender. Then the blonde shrugged and nodded. "Okay. Well, I think I forgive you. I know you've got a lot of... baggage."

Devyn's expression shuttered, and her gaze suddenly grew distant. She stood abruptly and began to kick dirt into the smoldering coals to douse the fire once and for all. "C'mon. If we want to get to the peak before nightfall, we need to get going." She walked over to the dragons, who were beginning to awaken at last. Aneira expected her to prepare them for the day's journey, but instead the captain walked right past them. The blonde's eyebrows furrowed as she burst into a light jog to catch up.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" She asked wondrously as they walked.

"Oh, you mean the dragons? We're completing the rest of this on foot. It's too dangerous to get too close to the mountain from the air; it's much better to walk. Besides, it's only a little ways until we reach the foot of the mountain, and then it's just a little climbing from then on." Devyn glanced back at her and lifted an eyebrow. Aneira sensed the challenge in her look, and she controlled the urge to stick out her tongue at her.

I'm not going to let her intimidate me. I could do a hike this with my eyes closed. Although, they still had what seemed to be at least a mile before they even reached the initial incline, and the peak seemed to grow taller and taller the closer they got to the mountain. But Aneira refused to complain as they traveled, even as her feet began to ache from walking on the compacted dirt.

The pair remained silent as they trekked across the broad, empty stretch that proceeded Mount Nyswell. Aneira itched to start up a conversation; she had never been accustomed to doing things on her own without someone to talk to, which she supposed was a serious flaw of hers. But she managed to keep her mouth shut, just the way that she knew Devyn liked it. When they finally reached the foot of the mountain, Devyn slowed to examine the rock face. She clearly seemed to be searching for something.

"There," the dark-haired captain said at last, pointing out a small etching in the rock. A feather had been scratched across its surface, somehow colored with a vivid black ink. "We follow the feathers up to the monument. It's probably not at the very top; Nyswell wasn't a fan of the sky."

"That was because Sera claimed it from him, and it reminded him too much of her," Aneira murmured, as if reciting the fact. Devyn sent her a surprised look, but she only shrugged bashfully. "I was a total nerd for mythology. All the old tales of the gods... I just found them so interesting. I spent all my free time studying them at one point."

Devyn hummed thoughtfully in response, and Aneira felt herself swell with pride. Have I finally managed to impress her? Whether Devyn was actually interested or not, she waited for Aneira to catch up to her before she started the ascent up the mountain. A narrow hiking trail had been carved up the mountain's side, curving this way and that and occasionally doubling back on itself completely to avoid a large outcrop. The terrain wasn't as difficult to traverse as Aneira may have expected, and they made good time in hiking. Devyn kept an eye out for the feather etchings, which seemed to be drawn an even distance apart from each other, and always let out a pleased "ah ha!" upon finding one.

Aneira was content to travel in silence for a while, until she could see a ravine beginning to split the rock on their left side, and Devyn finally broke the silence herself. "So... Are you an outdoors person? Or are you only interested in bookish things?"

The question took Aneira aback; she hadn't expected the young woman to take any interest in her personal life, certainly not enough to actually ask about her hobbies. "Um," she sputtered, considering the questions. "That's honestly kind of hard, because I like both rather evenly. I love storytelling and reading, especially about historical things, but I like doing things outdoors as well. I used to love swimming, but the old swimming hole in Ledah was changed into a drinking well, so... that's no longer of use." She chuckled softly.

"You like swimming too?" Devyn blurted, and Aneira watched in shock as the girl's cheeks actually flushed a light red. "I mean, me too. My friend and I used to go to the lake on the outskirts of Dreg all the time. We passed the river that feeds into it on the way here yesterday."

"Really?" Aneira breathed, unable to stop a smile from leaping across her face. Who knew the two of us would have so many common interests? We seem like total opposites of each other. Although, I guess that's how it is with Carys and I as well. "That's great. Maybe we can even—"

She was cut off by a loud rattling sound. Her heartbeat quickened in fear, and she shared a look with Devyn. The dark-haired captain's eyes were wide, and all she could do was offer Aneira a helpless shrug. Neither of them knew what they were up against here.

The rattling grew louder, and all Aneira could think of to describe the sound was that of dry bones being shaken and clacked against each other. She froze on the spot as the sound of footsteps joined the sound.

"Two legs or four?" She hissed to Devyn, and the young woman hesitated, listening to the sound carefully, before holding up four fingers. A chill trickled down Aneira's spine. They had finally come across one of the many terrible creatures that the horror stories had warned them about.

There was nowhere to run — nor would the pair be quick enough to escape whatever was coming for them down the mountain — so they stayed stock still and simply waited for an agonizingly tense few moments. Then sound suddenly erupted from several feet away, and Aneira was able to see the monster for what it was.

The creature was similar in shape to dragon, with a long, slender neck. Its body, having an almost feline frame, was covered in a mix of oily black feathers and short dark fur. The beast crept forward on long legs, muscles visible as it strutted towards them, its curled black talons crumbling the dirt beneath. A pair of wings like that of a bat's were tucked against its sides; those too were lined with the same black feathers. Its tail, stiff and thick, swung eagerly from side to side as it paced steadily towards the pair. The beast had a pair of sharp yellow eyes with whip-thin pupils, and, horrifyingly, below those sat a curved black beak. As the strange creature raised its head and opened its mouth to let out a cry of triumph at discovering its prey, Aneira caught a flash of white teeth, sharp as daggers.

But, Aneira realized, even more strange was not the bird-mammal hybrid features that the creature displayed, but the half skull that rested on top of its head, fitting perfectly over its facial features. A fragment near its left eye had been taken out completely, leaving a gaping hole on that side, while the rest of the skull covered the beast from the crown of its head to where its beak was fixed to its face.

"Devyn..." Aneira hissed, her eyes growing wide as she realized what she was seeing.

"I know," the other captain replied in a voice that was strangely hollow. Aneira glanced over at her to see that she had gone pale — more so than her usual complexion — and had backed herself further against the stone slate of the mountain. "It's him. It... It has to be Nyswell's pet. Cigis, the original shadow raven. He never died; taking a part of his skull... I thought it had killed him, but, of course, the skull is on the outside of his head. It didn't affect him at all."

Aneira barely had time to let the thought sink in as the birdlike creature suddenly lunged at them. She stumbled to the side, dodging the beast's initial strike and barely staying on her feet as the ground rumbled with its weight. The beast didn't seem to enjoy the fact that Aneira had successfully avoided him, because he let out a sharp sound that was half yelp and half hiss before leaping for Aneira again. The blonde captain shot a glance to Devyn, noting that she was safely tucked against the mountain, and she realized the difference in their positions in that moment. Aneira was standing with her back to the ravine.

She had no time to think, no time to try to avoid the attack this time. And so the shadow beast's weight hit her fully in the shoulders and she tumbled backwards into the infinite void behind her.