The Snow

Umbra led the way, Aunora trudging along behind him.

The mountain path was covered with light colored rocks and dust, and Aunora could hear Umbra muttering about the filth that now stained his once pure black dress pants. Snow piled several feet high on both sides of the path, the ice crystals shimmering brightly in the sunlight that peaked over the mountains.

The clear sky and intense sun was incredibly misleading, as the atmosphere around them was actually quite chilly. Aunora was glad she had chosen a long-sleeved shirt to wear, because otherwise, she would have been freezing.

Staring at the fae before her, Aunora felt a surge of disgust. His behavoir around the elves made her sick. Umbra went out of his way to appear like a prim, polite, and ideal man, but as Aunora had discovered, he was none of the sort.

She hated the way he put on a mask around those whom he deemed 'important', solely to save face and have a better social standing. Umbra was completely two-faced and, most of all, fake.

Behind his nice clothes, appealing eyes, and welcoming smile, Aunora knew something else was buried deep down in his soul. She saw the subtle way his expression changed when he was alone, it was like the light died in his eyes.

He looked dead.

While contemplating what exactly was wrong with her companion, a smidge of a smell hit her nose, exciting her senses.

The monster!

"Ey, Umbra," she hissed, halting in her tracks. "We gotta go this way." Aunora pointed her finger to a nearby snowdrift that stretched across a large valley, leading to the slopping, rough edge of the mountain.

Umbra looked like he had been shaken from his thoughts. "What? Why?" he demanded, eyebrows knitting.

Aunora propped her hands on her hips. "I finally got a whiff of the scent. It goes off the trail," she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I don't think we should leave the path," Umbra murmured, "It's dangerous out there, and it's easy to get lost. We have no idea what else lives in these mountains."

"Well, yeah, but if we don't follow this thing's path, we'll never find it, and if you haven't noticed, that's what we don't want. It'd be stupid to stay on this freaking road and ignore the redflags out of fear!" Aunora stomped her foot, the shockwave sending snow falling off the rocks around them.

"You're making me sound like the idiot in this situation," Umbra retorted in a patronizing voice, tilting his head upward so he could look down on at Aunora.

"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU ARE!" Aunora screamed, throwing her arms up in the air. Her voice echoed throughout the valley, making Umbra flinch.

"Let's say, somehow, you are right and we happen to subdue the monster and obtain the gem," Umbra snarled, his cat-like pupils wavering. "But what good is that going to do us if we're COMPLETELY LOST? None! No good! Yeah, we may finish the mission's objectives, but we'll have no way to get back to the village and our efforts will be all for naught!"

"We can just teleport back!"

Umbra's acidic expression faltered, shoulders slumping.

"What?" Aunora said incriminatingly, "it was on the paper, didn't you get it?"

Umbra stayed quiet, avoiding her eye contact.

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE FREAKING KIDDING ME," Aunora was fully livid, fire burning in her scarlet eyes.

"You should have remembered it!" Umbra barked, nervous sweat clinging to his brow.

"That's it!" Aunora cried, turning sharply on her heels. "I'm in charge of this freakshow now, and I say we follow the scent trail!" She stormed off into the deep snow, the powdery substance limiting her walking abilities and killing the drama she was trying to present.

"No, no, no!" Umbra followed her, back arched in wrath. "I'm the leader of this team!"

"Too bad, Pretty Boy."

Umbra grabbed her roughly by the arm, dragging Aunora around to face him. His nails, which she suddenly noticed were like needle-sharp claws, pierced through the fabric of her shirt, drawing droplets of blood to her skin. Aunora blinked in surprise at Umbra's near feral rage, watching his body heave and struggle through breath.

"Fine, Aunora," he said severely, "we'll take your stupid path. But I refuse to follow you."

Author's Notes- well, ain't that a cute little plot bunny. What's wrong with Umbra? And, also, on a related note, what's with Matthew? I mean, remember in arc 2 where Matt cut off when Umbra was saying that something may limit his ability to be a mercenary? Hmmm, interesting stuff... got any theories?