I see a road ahead,” said Rava, her voice steady but ced with a hint of caution.

  “Ooh, is that a good thing?” Vivienne asked, arg one of her many heads, the flicker of curiosity in her eyes unmistakable uhe darkening sky.

  Rava shrugged, her expression unreadable. “Depends. If you’re out ieppes, yes. If you’re ierritory, wanted for the attempted assassination of a high priest, less so.”

  Vivienne blinked, leaning in slightly. “You were sent to murk some priest?”

  Rava’s expression hardened. “I was sent to kill a high-profile target. Someoh a personal hand in ensving three promi families across two s, and in the razing of four vilges and a town. So, yes.”

  Vivienne paused, her several heads tilting in thought. “Well, that's a lot of colteral damage for one person. Makes it sound like you were dealing with a proper piece of work.”

  “We are at war. The Snty of Aegis is still expanding into territory. They have already taken a fifth of our territory!” Rava hissed, her anger fring. “He brought armies to our doorstep and has a personal hand in killing so many of my fellow smen!

  Vivienne raised her tendrils in a gesture of calm, though a faint smirk tugged at the ers of her shadowy mouths. “Alright, o snap at me. I get it. Bad guy, bad situation. You were doing what you had to do.”

  Rava’s fur bristled slightly, her golden eyes narrowing before she exhaled and rexed her shoulders. “Sorry. It’s... hard to talk about. Kaen wasn’t just some priest waving around scripture. He was a tacti, a sver, and a zealot. He orchestrated the capture of three promi families, then razed vilges to root out resistance. Killing him wasn’t just a mission—it ersonal.”

  “Sounds like quite the charmer,” Vivienne said, her tone wry. “What went wrong?”

  Rava hesitated, her gaze hardening as she stared ahead. “Everything. He kneere ing. My team walked right into an ambush. I was captured, fitted with that abominable curse colr, and dragged into one of their dungeons. They forced me into my beast form and locked me away. I spent weeks like that, starving and... losing myself. Ohey had enough fun with my torment they ‘decided’ to take me on their expedition into the fallen ruin you found me in.”

  Vivienne fell silent, her many heads dipping slightly in thought. Rava’s story was a lot to take in, and it stirred something unfortably familiar within her. She’d been meaning to ask more about Rava’s circumstances for a while now, but the timing never felt right—or maybe she just didn’t want to admit her curiosity. Vivienne had learo tread lightly when it came to people’s pasts; asking questions often ihem to ask iurn, and she wasn’t keen on revisiting her own.

  Still, she couldn’t ighe weight behind Rava’s words, nor the scars—physical and otherwise—that she carried. Vivienne’s glowing eyes flitted toward her panion, watg the rigid set of her shoulders, the way her tail swayed slowly, betraying a restless energy. It was clear Rava had lived through more than her fair share of torment, yet here she was, surviving.

  “I don’t know how you did it,” Vivienne said at st, her tone soft. “Getting out of all that. I’ve seen people crushed by far less.”

  Rava’s ears twitched, but she didn’t look over. “You survive, or you don’t. And if you don’t, someone else writes your story.”

  Vivienne smirked faintly. “Well that’s poetic.” She paused, debating whether to say more, then added, “Most people wouldn’t have made it out.”

  Rava g her, a faint glimmer of surprise in her golden eyes. “Was that a pliment?”

  “Don’t get used to it,” Vivieeased, her tone easing into a lighter, almost pyful ce. “I have a reputation to maintain, you know.”

  Rava huffed, though the faint twitch at the er of her mouth betrayed a flicker of amusement. “You keep bringing up this reputation of yours. As far as I tell, it sists of being a monstrous warrior, earning the begrudging respect of a Titan of Loam, and terrifying about twenty vilgers.”

  “Twenty-four, actually,” Vivienne corrected with a smug grin, her many heads bobbing in mock self-importance.

  Rava shot her a deadpan look. “My point stands.”

  The pair fell into a panionable silehe rhythm of their footsteps blending with the sounds of the forest around them. The tension from their earlier versation had lifted, leaving an almost peaceful air between them. It was an unspoken truce—a mutual agreement to let their burde for now.

  Vivienne’s ears twitched, pig up the faint murmurs of voices carried by the wind. She tilted one of her heads, her glowing eyes narrowing as she peered into the dense greenery ahead. “Hear that?”

  Rava’s own ears swivelled forward, her sharp hearing fog on the faint sound. “Sounds like people. Maybe a camp. Could be hunters.”

  Vivienne’s lips curled into a grin, a dangerous gleam flickering in her gaze. “Could be food.”

  Rava shot her a sideways gnce, her golden eyes narrowing in a mix of caution and exasperation. “Could be. Though I was thinking more along the lines of supplies. I haveen in weeks, you know.”

  Vivienne blinked, her curiosity shifting. “Weeks? How are you even standing?”

  Rava gave a small shrug, her tone casual but tinged with weariness. “I sustain myself oher for a while. But I’ll need food eventually.”

  “That’s... holy impressive,” Vivienne admitted, genuine curiosity creeping into her voice. “ anyone do that?”

  “No,” Rava replied simply, her tone carrying a weight nation. Her ears drooped slightly, the golden hue of her eyes dimming. “It requires aremely powerful affinity for aether and years of training just to attempt it. And it’s not without cost.”

  Vivienne’s many heads tilted in unison, her glowing eyes narrowing as she sidered the words. “Cost?” she repeated, the curiosity in her voimistakable. “What kind of cost?”

  Rava paused for a long moment, her eyes dropping to the ground as if trying to find the words that could expin it. “I feel weaker,” she admitted finally, her voice a quiet fession. “My arms… they’re not as thick as they used to be. My strength doesn’t e as easily, and my e to the aether feels… thinner.”

  “Well… is that going to affect the iable trouble about to happen?” Vivienne asked, her tone light but her eyes sharp with anticipation.

  Rava sighed, the sound carrying a weight of both weariness and resignation. “We don’t know if it’s trouble yet.”

  Vivienne smirked, her many heads turning in the dire of the approag sounds, her voice taking on a pyful edge. “Well, I hope it’s trouble. I’m getting peckish.”

  Rava raised an eyebrow, her ears flig back slightly. “So am I. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

  Vivienne's grin widened, revealing a glimpse of sharp teeth. "Oh, I never get ahead of myself. I just prefer to get right into the middle of things."

  Rava shook her head with a soft chuckle, her golden eyes sing the treeline. "Fine, let's iigate. But let's keep our heads. We don't knoe're dealing with yet."

  "Agreed. But if it turns out to be b trouble..." Vivierailed off, her voice carrying the suggestion of something much darker. "Well, then we’ll have to make our owement, won’t we?"

  Rava gave her a sidelong gnce, her lips twitg in the fai of smiles. "Always the optimist."

  "Someone has to be," Vivienne said with a shrug, her posture rexed but her senses sharp, ready t into a at a moment's notice. "After all, we both need something to feast on."

  With that, they moved forward, quiet as shadows, closer to the source of the sound. As they crept through the underbrush, the noise grew clearer—voiow, murmuring just beyond their reach. The tensioween them alpable, the anticipation of whatever y ahead spurring them forward.

  Then, a break irees revealed the source of the disturbance: a small encampment, no more than a dozen people, camped around a fire. They didn’t look particurly armed or dangerous, just travellers, though their posture suggested they were aware of their surroundings—vigint, perhaps used to dealing with threats.

  Vivienne's many heads tilted in unison, a silent ugh in the air as she regarded Rava. “Afraid I’ll scare them off before you get a ce to ask them the tough questions?”

  Rava’s lips quirked slightly, the smallest hint of a smile pying at the er of her mouth. “Something like that. You do have a tendenake people nervous.”

  Vivienne she sound low and amused. “I’m charming. Really, it’s their fault for being so jumpy.”

  Rava gave her a dry look. “Right. You’re charming.” She shook her head, her golden eyes fshing with something that could’ve been a smirk if she weren’t trying to keep her face impassive. “I’ll take the lead. Stay hidden for now.”

  Vivienne waved a hand zily. “Fine, fine. Don’t get yourself killed, though. I’m not that bored yet.”

  Rava crouched low, moving silently through the underbrush with practised precision, her golden eyes never leaving the camp. She was nearly invisible, her form blending in with the shadows, her every movement deliberate and trolled.

  Vivieched her go, her glowing eyes sing the camp again. The travellers around the fire were still talking in hushed tohe flickering light casting strange, shifting shadows across their faces. Something about the group felt off—there was an edge to them that wasirely human.

  She let her gaze drift, just for a moment, to the trees behind the camp. In the distahe fai rustle of leaves echoed iillness, too deliberate to be the wind. A flicker of motion.

  Vivienne’s eyes narrowed, but she remaiill. She trusted Rava to hahings, but her instincts were still alert, every part of her sensing that this might not be as simple as it first appeared.

  Rava had almost reached the edge of the camp when one of the travellers—the oh the aether-fed cloak—looked up suddenly, their eyes narrowing as though they’d sensed something.

  “pany,” the cloaked figure said, their voice soft but sharp. The others immediately stiffeheir gazes sweeping the surrounding trees. It was clear they weren’t just wary of normal threats—they were prepared for something else.

  With a swift, graceful motion, Rava rose from the shadows, stepping into the firelight. She didn’t smile, but her posture was rexed, like she was just araveller in the woods.

  "Greetings," she said evenly, her voice calm and uening. "I couldn’t help but notice your camp. May I join you for a moment?"

  The cloaked figure studied her for a long moment, their eyes sing her frame, but they said nothing. A few of the others began to stir, hands reag for ons, but none made a move yet. Rava kept her hands in pin view, fingers flexing just enough to show she was unarmed.

  Vivieayed hidden in the shadows, watg with the kind of detat that came from knowing Rava was more than capable of handling herself. But her eyes, sharp and observant, were focused oravellers.

  The air betweehied, charged with a subtle tension as Rava stood motionless, waiting for the cloaked figure to make a decision. There was something about the way they moved—too fluid, too practised, as if they were all used to dealing with threats like her.

  The figure’s gaze finally flicked to the others in the camp, their hands h over their ons. A slight shake of the cloaked figure's head stopped them from drawing their bdes.

  “I’m not here to cause trouble,” Rava said, her voice steady. “I’ve been travelling for a long while. Perhaps you could share your fire?” Her words were polite, but there was a quiet undercurrent of and in them, a subtle power that seemed to make the tension dissipate, just a little.

  The figure tilted their head, evaluating her, before finally nodding once. Slowly, they stepped aside, giving Rava space to approach.

  “You’ll have tive us,” the cloaked figure spoke, their voice low and smooth, though there was a sharpness underh. “We’re cautious in these parts. It’s dangerous to trust strangers in the wilderness.”

  Rava nodded, stepping forward with careful grace. “I uand. Trust isn’t easily earned, nor freely given.” She kept her toral, not wanting to push too hard, but leaving an open door for versation if it was weled.

  Vivienne remained out of sight, though she could still feel the simmering energy of the camp in her bones. Something was off about this group—they weren’t ordinary travellers. There was a calm, calg edge to them, a practised warihat hi a far darker purpose.

  She flexed her hands, a quiet, almost inaudible hum of aether swirling around her fiips. She wouldn’t intervene uhings went sideways, but she was ready. Her eyes flicked back to the trees. The rustle earlier hadn’t been fotten.

  One of the figures in the camp, a woman with pale skin and eyes tht, tilted her head in Rava’s dire. “So, what brings you this far from the roads?” she asked, her tone sweet, but there was something too sharp beh the words. “Not many pass through this part of the woods without good reason.”

  Rava’s golden eyes didn’t waver. “We are simply passing through,” she replied smoothly. “I’m looking for a pce to rest, perhaps find some food. My panion and I haven’t had a proper meal in days.”

  The woman’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Your panion?” she asked, as if testing the word.

  Rava gnced over her shoulder, the fai flicker of aowledgment crossing her features. “She’s... a bit further back. be rather intimidating, though. More of a courtesy to you folk.”

  The woman’s eyes narrowed, a calg look passing over her face. “I see,” she said, her voice cool. “A protector, perhaps? Or a threat?”

  Rava didn’t flinch. “her. But my panion handle herself.”

  The woman didn’t respond immediately, but Rava saw the subtle shift in her posture. The others were beginning to rex just a fra, though their hands remained close to their ons.

  “Uood,” the woman said, her voice colder now. “Well, I suppose there’s no harm in allowing you to rest. We’re not so unreasonable—provided you keep your distance from us.”

  Rava nodded, but her expression remained unreadable. She knew what the woman was trying to do—testing her, poking at weaknesses. Rava wasn’t o that game.

  “You may stay for now,” the woman tinued, her toill wary. “But no more than a single night.”

  Rava ined her head. “Fair enough. We are not here to stay for long. Just o rest, eat, and move on.”

  “Our food is limited. We have little to share,” the woman stated evenly, her eyes never leaving Rava’s face.

  Rava raised an eyebrow, unfazed. “If it helps, I offer some in pensation.”

  The womaated, her gaze flig briefly to her panions. There was a moment of silent deliberation before she nodded slowly. “That would be acceptable. Eight silver for a bowl of stew.”

  Rava’s brow furrowed slightly. “That’s steep,” she muttered, but her voice was careful. The s she took had been easily gained, and though she wouldn’t admit it to Vivienne, she was no longer in the position to haggle for a meal. She ast merely starving.

  With a resigned sigh, she reached into her poud pulled out several silver s, them to the woman. “But sure,” Rava said, the words ing with an edge of relut acquiesce.

  The woman accepted the s without hesitation, her expression unreadable. “Very well,” she said, turning to one of the others in the group, a tall man with dark hair who had been watg the exge. “Prepare the stew for uest.”

  As the man moved to start gathering their meagre supplies, Rava took a seat he fire, her posture rexed but her senses keen. The air was thick with tension, and though the woman had agreed to her presence for now, Rava didn’t trust them pletely. There was something off about the group—a quiet dahat hovered just beh the surface of their casual versation.

  “Will your friend be joining us?” the woman asked, her voice edged with a subtle tension.

  Rava hesitated, the weight of the question pressing on her. She gnced over her shoulder, knowing Vivienne’s keen eyes were already watg, hidden in the shadows. Her mind raced for a moment, but she khere was no easy answer.

  “It might be best if she keeps her distance,” Rava replied, her voice calm but firm. Her gaze never left the woman. “I did say earlier that her appearance be quite intimidating.”

  The woman’s eyes narrowed slightly, but her smile remained polite, if irely warm. “We would be more reassured if she were in sight,” she said, her tone leaving little room fument.

  Rava’s hand instinctively flexed her fists, though it was only a subtle gesture, a remio herself that she was still in trol of the situation. “I uand your ,” she said slowly, “but I assure you, she means no harm. But if you insist… Just, don’t attack her on sight. She is more of an annoyahan a threat.”

  The woman studied Rava for a long moment, her sharp eyes weighing the situation. The air was thick with tension as the campfire crackled betweehe ures in the camp remained eerily still, their gazes flig between Rava and the woman as though waiting for a cue.

  After what felt like ay, the woman finally nodded, her lips tightening into a thin line. "Very well," she said, the words heavy with a grudging acceptance. "We’ll trust your word—for now."

  Rava didn’t let her guard drop pletely, but she nodded iurn. "I appreciate that." Her voice was calm, almost too calm. She could feel the weight of the situatioling in, and though she didn’t like the idea of Vivienne being anywhere hese people, there was little choice.

  She turned her head slightly to the shadows where Vivienne was waiting, her form barely visible against the dark. With a quick flick of her ear and a barely perceptible gesture of her hand, Rava silently called her panion forward.

  From the shadows, Vivienne emerged, her presence immediately anding attention, as if the darkness itself had gathered around her like a shroud. The flicker of dim light from the campfire caught her many eyes, giving them a sickly gleam as she slid forward, her form roiling like a pot of water boiling in slow motion. There was no effort to hide the unnerving quality of her appearance as she moved into the clearing and into the light.

  Rava’s muscles tensed slightly at the way the others in the camp stiffeheir gazes now fixed on Vivienne. Some of them looked wary, others ht fearful. The woman who had spoken earlier, however, maintained her posure, though her eyes darted to Vivieh suspi.

  Vivienne’s many heads turoward the group, a subtle smile creeping across her face. "Ah," she purred, her voiusually smooth for someone so uling. "I see we’re all gathered here for a delightful evening, yes?"

  Rava stood still, waiting for the tension to either break or escate. She could almost feel the unease ripple through the camp like a wave. The woman looked as though she were about to speak, but Vivien her to it.

  "Now, now," Vivienne tinued, her tone light, almost pyful. "I promise not to bite." She made a show of gng over her shoulder at Rava. "Much."

  Rava's jaw stiffened, but she refrained from making any further ent. The woman’s expression tightened, but she remained silent, as if choosing to hold her tongue for the time being. For a few moments, no one spoke, the air charged with unspokeions and tension.

  Vivienne suddenly jolted to a halt, her t form colliding with an invisible barrier. The impact seaggering back a step, her many heads blinking in unison with ical surprise. "Oh," she said, tilting one head as if studying the unseen force. "Well, that’s inve."

  Rava’s ears twitched, and she stepped forward, her gaze flickering toward the group at the fire. “A barrier?”

  The cloaked woman straightened, her lips pressing into a thin line. “A precaution. You uand.”

  Vivienne’s smile returned, sly and sharp. “Precaution? Charming. You know, it’s usually polite to mentiohings before someone walks into them. I could’ve chipped a fang.”

  The travellers shifted uneasily, their disfort palpable as Vivienne’s many eyes gleamed with amusement. The woman, however, stood her ground, her posture rigid. “The wards are for our safety. We weren’t expeg… whatever you are.”

  “Oh, don’t worry.” Vivienne’s voice dropped to a low, silky purr. “I’m entirely ued, even on my best days.”

  Rava sighed, ping the bridge of her nose. “You’re not helping.”

  Vivienne chuckled, taking a step back to give the group some space, though her smile didn’t falter. “Fine, fine. sider me appropriately warded out.” She gestured grandly to the shimmering edge of the barrier. “Very effective. I’ll just stay here, shall I?”

  “Please do,” The woman replied curtly, her grip tightening on her on.

  Rava g the group, then back at Vivienne. “Are you actually stuck, or are you just pying along?”

  Vivienne’s smile widened, revealing sharp teeth. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  Before Rava could retort, a low, distant growl echoed through the forest, drawing all attention back to the darkereelihe tension thied, and Vivienne’s expression shifted, the humour fading as her heads turned in unison toward the sound.

  “Well,” she murmured, her voice dropping into something far more predatory. “At least I won’t be lonely out here.”

  Vivienne, sensing the moment had passed, looked back at the woman with a set of mogly pleasant smiles. "Well, I trust that we’ve reached an uanding?" Her voice was sweet, but the undercurrent of danger was unmistakable.

  The woman cleared her throat, colleg herself. "Yes. I believe we have. As long as your panion is... well-behaved, you may stay for the night. But only for the night."

  Rava shot Vivienne a gnce, her eyes narrowing just slightly, before she returned her attention to the woman. "We’ll be gone by m," she replied, her voice steady.

  With a final go the campfire and a short, almost imperceptible nod to Vivienne, Rava sat down again, her posture still tense, but rexing ever so slightly now that the immediate threat had subsided. She wasn’t sure how long it would st, but she khey had to take what they could get.

  Vivienne, for her part, looked entirely unbothered by the enter. She slowly lowered herself onto the ground near Rava oher side of the barrier.. "I do hope your stew is as good as it’s priced," she said, her eyes glinting with amusement.

  The woman, still clearly on edge but unwilling to show weakness, nodded curtly. "It’s better than nothing."

  As the group settled into an uneasy silehe crag fire betweehe only sound, Rava couldn’t help but wonder just what this night would bring—and whether their tenuous truce would hold.

  SupernovaSymphony