They hit the road a little after midmorning because Alera kept on insisting on stranger and stranger things for Cassidy to carry in her bag. Since it wasn’t near the space limit, she obliged but she saw very little use for all the dresses and jewelry. What did Alera imagine they’d get up to in the South? She did however go overboard on tea. It’s just her Alchemic experimentations had given her too many good ones to try… There were other worldly matters too but by the time midmorning hit, Cassidy refused to be waylaid any longer and pushed Alera out the door.

They stayed off the road. Cassidy didn’t trust a space where people could see more of her than she could of them, and instead ran alongside it using Ease-of-Movement and trusting in all four’s abnormally high perception to stay aware of any dangers. The sun was no longer as hot as it used to be but once you’d been traveling all day, it was nice to stay in the shade of the trees. So, they kept to familiar territory and passed through the woods.

Cassidy was looking over the plants as she went and noticed there was far less diversity here than back at home. What Bertold said about the magical influx changing the land seemed true. It would certainly help her as a selling point once she found a market. As she was cataloguing though her Preternatural Instincts screamed danger and her dogs closed in around them with their hackles up. Silent growls rumbling their chests. She held up her hand. One of the signals she taught Alera, and they all stopped. Alera waited silently as Cassidy and Sugarbear spread out to search for the source of their alarm. Koda stayed to guard Alera.

They'd only been at work a few minutes when Sugarbear froze and Cassidy converged on her location, crouching beneath the bushes, to find out what Sugarbear saw. The earth stretched out before them and became empty after a few meters. Dust replacing undergrowth as a herd of deer grazed throughout the area. Stripping away at every plant they saw. Digging at rabbit holes and snatching up voles. She saw one with snake still wriggling from its mouth. It was macbre. Worse yet, was it already the season for herds? That would make things so much more dangerous.

She lay a hand on Sugarbear and they both backed up till they met with Alera and Koda. Cassidy looked at them and back to the woods before gesturing to the road. They needed to get farther away before they spoke. She eyed Alera anxiously as they walked out of the woods. Remembering the woman did not have Silent Tread, but Alera’s steps stayed silent all the same.

Cassidy took them across the road into the plains before she spoke in a hush. “We have a whole mess of deer in those woods. It looks like they’re bunching into herds now.”

Alera was alarmed. “You think we should take the road till we’re past them?”

Cassidy looked her in the eye. “We don’t know how far they range. They could catch us by nightfall.”

“Well then what are we supposed to do?”

Cassidy turned back to the woods. “You’ve got that Song of Sleep? It’s level sounds like it should be high enough to take them out or at least enough the rest won’t be a problem.”

This was not a reassuring answer. “What! You can’t honestly expect me to get near enough for that Song to work. They’ll rush me before I even start!” She shook her head vehemently.

Cassidy wasn’t having it and grabbed her by the shoulders. “It will work. You’re not used to running through the woods, but if you follow me, I can get us close enough. Then we can cut them down and travel on without worry.”

Alera was still shaking her head so Cassidy continued. “We talked about this. We’ll face dangerous situations while we’re on the road.”

“But this is asking for trouble!”

“I’d rather face it now than have it catch me in the back later.” Cassidy stared Alera down and waited. The woman didn’t have anything else to say. She looked over to the woods with reluctance. Cassidy took it as acceptance and started pulling her. She followed.

Once they got to the forest, Cassidy made a shushing gesture like the woman didn’t already know to stay silent. Alera just held her lips in a firm line as she watched Cassidy move and tried to copy the ranger. The dogs walked like ghosts to the side, flowing in and around the undergrowth without a sound. They got to the barren edge, but that wasn’t enough for Cassidy. She examined the deers’ spread and quickly pushed Alera behind a tree that was farther in. It was big enough to hide them both if they stayed together. The dogs wisely waited in the undergrowth.

Alera peeked around. She didn’t like how close they were. What was running through Cassidy’s head? They’d never have enough time if this failed. She glanced back at the young woman. Cassidy was staring at her intently. Waiting. Those eyes, they were unnerving. Alera could never handle it when Cassidy did this. She took a small step so she could get around the tree. Her cheek rested against the rough bark as she stared at the dozen or so deer spread throughout the area. Regulating her breathing, she let out a tone that was pure magic.

It hit Cassidy and she had one thought ‘was Alera was really a forest nymph because no human could make that sound?’ Then she was sliding to the ground and everything went black.

Alera looked over to Cassidy for the next step only to realize, with alarm, she’d knocked the young girl out too. She began nudging Cassidy with her shoe but the girl was out cold. Alera tried with more and more vigor to wake Cassidy. She never realized the Song would work this well!

Cassidy woke from a kick to the face. Her arms came up to block the next blow, but she just heard a sigh of relief instead. It only took a brief moment before she remembered what was happening and scrambled to her feet. Alera was looking at her in desperation. She glanced beyond the tree and saw every last deer fallen where it stood. She didn’t so much as whisper to Alera. There was no telling if they were as knocked out as she had been. Instead she passed Alera her second dagger and gestured for her to get to work in the other direction. Cassidy headed toward the nearest deer while Alera stared in confusion at the dagger in her hand. Cassidy hadn’t told her anything beyond singing.

The dogs trotted out to flank Cassidy as she went from deer to deer, cutting their throats. None so much as twitched in their sleep.

Cassidy had covered the left side when she looked up to check on Alera. The woman hadn’t left her post by the tree. Cassidy was swearing under her breath. She had worked her way out from the center and everything near her was dead. Now it looked like she’d have to go all the way back to clear Alera’s half too. She may be earning credits with each kill but she’d expected Alera to handle at least some of the grunt work. Blood was dripping from forearm to fingertip, the arteries had sprayed up with each cut. It was not a pleasant feeling. She gripped her knife and walked through the dead to end the lives of the last six deer.

After finishing up, she glared back at Alera. “And where were you?”

Alera just gestured at herself in confusion.

Cassidy walked over and hissed out. “Don’t tell me when you said you sang and ran that’s ACTUALLY what you did? Do you even know how to kill anything?” Cassidy looked at the knife in Alera’s hand. She was still holding it by the flat of her palm. “Don’t you even know how to hold a dagger? You have the Skill Set Daggers!” She watched as hesitant fingers gripped the hilt. Alera looked down at it and gulped. Her hand shaking. Cassidy looked at her in disbelief. “How did you even get that Skill?”

“I bought it.” Alera replied in a hoarse voice. “I needed something to defend myself and it seemed the easiest…”

The air flew out of Cassidy in a sigh as she seemed to deflate. “Have you ever used it?” Alera just shook her head, long hair twirling in the air. Of course, she hadn’t. “Ok, we’re going to do this just like Ease-of Movement. Every time we knock something out, I’m going to go with you and help you kill it. Got it?” Alera just hung her head and nodded. Cassidy sighed once again before grabbing the woman by the shoulder, ignoring the bloody print she’d leave there, and pulling her back to the road. They stopped when they were a few meters out from the dusty path and headed South again. Koda and Sugarbear ranging ahead and behind.

They stopped the next evening thirsty. The stream that had been following the road split off sometime during their travel and both their flasks now ran dry. Cassidy had to leave Koda with Alera as she took Sugarbear to help her look for some water. It took them nearly an hour before she was able to fill both their flasks in a small brook. Its water burbling playfully. Cassidy took this moment to lean back and sit amongst the roots as nature grew all around her. She could feel all the stress in her body. She breathed in and felt the air fill her lungs. Imagined it seeping through her veins, running through her body to reach every point of tension and absorbing it. She held her breath as all this happened and heard the burbling slow down with the time. Her heart beat and all the stress gathered. She released it in her next breath and the sounds of the brook caught up with the moment. It took a few times but she finally relaxed. She let herself go for an instant as the water flowed on by and she enjoyed the smells and sounds of the forest.

Then Sugarbear’s ears perked up and Cassidy froze to listen. Heavy footsteps in the dirt, the leaves rustling loudly as it moved by. She had Sugarbear and herself up behind a tree in seconds as she peered around to catch a glimpse. The quiet ‘Chuffs’ already telling her what was coming through the undergrowth. A massive brown head pushed its way past the branches and came forward as its body followed too. Leaves and twigs snapped off to be caught by the rocks of its fossilized fur. Its nose went up, testing the air, but Cassidy and Sugarbear were downwind from it. The bear moved on to get a drink from the brook.

For a moment Cassidy was almost willing to test it. She was Tier 1 now. Her skills were higher, but that thing was still a Tier above her and had almost killed them all. Besides, it was much too close and she didn’t want Sugarbear facing that creature alone, even if she knew much safer tactics. A retreat was the best she could manage. She followed Sugarbear, Leave No Trace stepping up to hide her passage.

When she got back to camp, she silently handed over the second flask and Alera gulped greedily from it. They’d both been running dry for a while now. She saw her partner reach into her bag for food and nearly leapt across the fire, “Wait!” she hissed as she grabbed Alera’s arm. Alera nearly fell back at the suddenness of Cassidy’s approach.

“We ran into a bear. I don’t want to attract it with the smell of food.”

Alera looked up at her, wide-eyed. “You met a bear? And you let it live?”

Cassidy glowered. “The terrain wasn’t set up for me and I only had Sugarbear.” Still, she was liking the thought of it out there less and less. If she wasn’t so afraid, they might have had a chance. But now, if it came upon them in the night… She shook her head. This wasn’t good. She didn’t even know the thing’s territory. Were they in it?

Alera kept staring at her, worried. “What are we going to do?”

All that fear seemed to run away now that she wasn’t sharing the bear’s breathing space. Her immediate reaction to kill came back to the forefront, but it was dusk and they had only an hour or so of light. She was not afraid of getting caught out after dark. But things changed when a bear was lumbering through the woods. If they didn’t find it soon enough, she’d be stuck out there alone with it and very little eyesight. Preternatural Instincts could only take her so far.

Mouth open, she changed her mind mid-thought. “I know the direction it was headed. The dogs and I will track it down. We should be able to get the jump on it.” She refused to let the deer live, why should she let the bear pass by? She’d have to hurry. The sky wasn’t getting any brighter.

She stood back up and gestured to her dogs. They stood as one and came over. She figured Alera would be safe enough with her Song of Sleep and headed back into the forest. The farther they moved from the warm campsite with its firelight bolstering her confidence, the more her apprehension grew. There was a reason she ran away from it earlier. That reason seemed small back at camp; why hadn’t she remembered what a stupid idea this was?

She got to the brook in half the time it took earlier. Now that she wasn’t searching, she could really pick up the pace and when she found the bear’s footprints, it was easy enough for her dogs to pick up the scent. They growled at the reminder of their last battle. Good. At least they weren’t afraid like her. She needed to get over it before it affected her performance or worse, her dogs.

She urged them forward and they took off at an easy lope, her legs stretching to follow. The trail must be cold for them to move so quickly. She hoped they’d gain soon. At least the bear was following an actual trail which made things much easier as the shadows darkened.

They found it soon enough. It had stopped to munch on some berries. The bear’s furry tail occasionally swishing as it ate. It didn’t take long for her to plan. With barely a thought, she sent her dogs forward to hamstring it. They launched themselves like missiles, claws digging into dirt for grip and hitting the bear’s back legs before it processed the sounds behind it. Sugarbear had the expertise and had bitten through the rock like fur to rip away at tendons. Koda only managed to rip away at fur. As the bear spun it nearly fell, relying on its now lame leg. But it did turn and Cassidy was ready, bow up, arrow drawn. She hit its eye and it roared in pain. She had another arrow ready for the other in seconds.

Unasked, Koda turned around and leapt for its throat, successfully biting past the fur now but the wound was too shallow to bleed it out quickly. He twisted and turned as the bear’s paws came at him, remembering his last mistake and got out of there. Cassidy kept calm this time. Breathing in to steady herself. Once its head lowered, she loosed her second arrow, blinding the bear. Breathing out.

It was shaking its head now, batting at the arrows in its eyes, roaring whenever it hit one. Blood was beginning to drip down its chest. She felt her next arrow twist as she prepared a Boring Needle, finally high enough leveled to do one on purpose rather than luck. She hit it again in the eye. The arrow driving itself further, past the eye socket into the brain but the bear would not go down. It just whimpered between growls. Barely standing to swipe at its face with only three legs, lacking the coordination. The last blow had to be up close. Koda waited on the sidelines, but she wasn’t letting him near that thing. Not again.

She walked slowly toward it, trying to plan a safe path to its throat. She stopped five feet away and watched its actions. With a shaky breath she tried to calm herself. Koda came up beside her and leaned against her leg, asking to help, but she just rubbed his back and felt his heartbeat calming hers. Another breath in and things slowed. The bear's sluggish movements now wide-open swipes and she dashed in. Her dagger wasn’t strong enough to break through the fur on the first stab and she had to grind against the rocks just like the first time, jumping away to avoid its next swipe. The bear was on to her and attempting to guard its left side, but the creature was too slow now--lame and blinded. Possibly lobotomized. She breathed out and felt something trickle down her arm, but that was a problem for later. All that mattered now were the bear’s claws and the arcs they made through the air.

She danced in again. Her dagger unable to puncture through, she ground it against the fur till she felt something give. The bear's arm was closing in, but it was too late. Her dagger broke through. She punched it into the bear’s throat just as the paw hit her and she flew.

She lost the Stillness as the wind was knocked out of her but immediately rolled to her feet sucking in air that never seemed to reach her lungs. The bear was only staggering in circles as it bled out on the ground. Koda and Sugarbear watching in anticipation. It fell. They began to wag their tails joyfully and bounded back over to Cassidy, whining when they got there.

Time was catching up to her slowly and she felt the blood run across her skin before she recognized the roaring ache down her side and sting across her cheek. She gave herself a light check. The ache was from the armor. It had taken the brunt of the paw and bore deep serrations, but it still held together. That armorer Norcross took her to was no joke. It hadn’t caught everything though and the bear had managed to puncture through the shoulder from that last swipe as well as lay open her cheek in a glancing wound. Nothing that would get in her way at least. She hurried back to camp as night took over. She hoped to cover up her wounds before the blood attracted anything worse. She was still debating whether to use one of the healing potions or just a poultice. They only had so many supplies and the trip had just begun.