"Where are we?" Celina asked rubbing her shoulders against the cold night's breeze as she looked around the increasingly dense vegetation with concern.
The women had been walking for an hour and decided to travel away from the main paths to avoid detection.
"I don't know but we can't stop now" Akira replied, trying to hide her anxiety.
They looked at each other with a weak smile and reluctantly forged ahead, knowing there was no option to turn back.
"We need to find somewhere to rest soon otherwise I will faint" Celina sighed.
She took off her shoes and started to rub her sore feet before walking barefoot through the thick bushes.
"You're going to hurt yourself if you don't wear your shoes!" Akira remarked, looking back at her hobbling friend.
Celina ignored her advice and continued to stubbornly navigate her way through the rough terrain.
Sounds of animals calling out to each other and a faint sound of streaming water echoed through the trees as Akira led the way, constantly looking back for Celina.
"I've got it!" She shouted and excitedly pulled at the back of Akira's shawl.
With a small sigh at another delay, Akira turn around to see her partner smiling with a look of triumph on her face,
"We can use magic to help guide us" Celina proposed to her weary, guiding friend.
Without a second thought, she threw her hands into the air and closed her eyes,
"No, Celina!" Akira shouted, pulling her hands back down quickly,
"We cannot risk anyone seeing us!" She reminded her frustrated friend.
Dejected, Celina rolled her eyes and slowly nodded, knowing that Akira was right.
Feeling her frustration, Akira grabbed Celina and held her tight.
Thoughts of regret flooded into her mind as she thought of Celina's life if they never robbed the bank that night.
Images of a warm home with children and a husband invaded her mind as one word kept ringing through her ears,
"Safety!"
With a heavy sigh she stepped back from her friend and gazed into her eyes with remorse.
The moonlight shimmered in her doting eyes as a confused expression began to form on Celina's face,
"Are you ok?" Celina asked.
"Do you have any regrets of running away with me?" Akira asked with a pang of guilt.
Celina brushed Akira's hair from her face and held onto her hand tightly,
"No! Why would you ask me that?" She replied in bewilderment.
Akira held her head down as she questioned the beautiful future she imagined with Celina,
"If we didn't rob the bank that night, you would still be safe with your father or married with children and a husband but with both scenarios, you would be safe!" Akira guessed solemnly.
Celina shook her head in protest and lifted Akira's face to meet her own.
She gazed into her pensive friend's eyes and slowly kissed her trembling lips,
"Of course, I could have had both of those but I would never feel as happy and with purpose as I do with you" she confessed.
Akira managed a smile at her supportive partner and, with renewed hope, held her tight before looking around and continued inspecting their surroundings.
"Wait here and I'll try to find some berries. We can't eat our supplies yet" she said walking ahead with purpose.
Akira looked back to see Celina putting on her shoes before she searched around the brambles for something to give them more energy.
Thorns tore at her clothing as she examined the fruit to determine which were edible.
Just as she began to gather the crimson berries in her pouch, at the front of her dress, she lifted her head and closed her eyes,
"Burning?" She thought and quickly hid behind a tree.
Her mind raced with thoughts of the pack waking from their slumber and finding the pile of Nero's ashes in their bedroom as they set out to search for her and Celina for answers.
"Celina! Quick come here!" She whispered to her baffled friend.
She waved her over and guided her behind the tree,
"Look!" Akira whispered pointing to the stream of grey smoke drifting up to the sky from a few metres ahead.
"Do you think it's the pack?" Celina panicked, looking around for movement.
Akira lifted her head and smelt the night air again and shook her head,
"No, not wolf but -" she replied then stopped in confusion.
"What is it then? Human?" Celina anxiously probed.
Akira crept forward and gestured Celina to stay behind her as they cautiously navigated their way through the thick bushes and crouched down.
"Definitely not human!" Akira concluded and pointed to a clearing ahead.
She carefully positioned Celina in front of her to get a better look,
"What is it?" Celina gasped as she got a closer look.
They both watched on in astonishment as they studied a small cloaked figure sitting at a makeshift fire, cooking something on a stick over the smouldering flames.
It stood up and shuffled over to a small cobbled hut at the side of the campfire and took a few wooden logs that were stacked at the side of the building to keep the fire alive.
Smells of chard meat wafted into the air making the women's stomach growl with delight,
"I think we should go and see if we can get shelter for the night?" Celina proposed optimistically.
"No! What if it's dangerous? Why is it out here by itself?" Akira gasped and pulled Celina back.
"Maybe the same reason we are here! To escape someone!" Celina tried.
"Or something!" Akira quickly retorted.
As the women became consumed in quietly getting their point across to the other, they took their eyes off the hooded figure in front of them for a moment.
"We need to rest and eat" Celina argued to her cautious partner.
"We will find somewhere else. I get a bad feeling about whatever that is" Akira promised.
The women went back and forth with their debate as their whispers started to get louder.
"Show yourself!" A husky voice demanded from a distance.
The women froze in fear and stopped talking immediately.
Akira gestured Celina to stay quiet as she carefully pushed the bushes aside to get a better view again.
She continued to push the brambles aside but couldn't see the clearing anymore.
Instead she just saw darkness.
The previously rough touch of thorns had disappeared and made way for a cool, smooth feel of fabric as Akira ripped her hand back in surprise and pulled Celina closer into her.
"There you are!" The voice shouted and pushed the bushes aside to get a clear look of the watchers.
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