The silence was beginning to dishearten Azareth, but there was nothing she could think of to say to Jurah. She knew he was one of the youngest of the guards, if not the youngest. She wanted to get to know him, mainly because they were going to be travelling together for quite some time. They had been riding for a few hours now, the distance growing larger and larger between them and the city. The sun was high in the sky, it was about midday now. Jurah had only spoken to Azareth when he was barking orders at her. He seemed too cold and hard to get to know. Which of course was going to make this trip a lot longer.

The forest around them was shaded by the old trees towering over them. The rays of sun coming through the break in the trees every few strides. A small breeze blew past, carrying the scent of different plants from around the forest. The sounds of animals all going about their tiny lives, different birds singing and small critters running up the trees.

“We’ll stop here,” Jurah said, leading her into a clearing next to the river. Azareth followed him but was confused.

“Why? I can keep going,” She said.

“It’s not for us, it’s for the horses,” he said. “They need a break and a chance to have a drink of water.”

“So is this your plan?” Azareth asked. She watched as Jurah climbed off Foxtail. Jurah led him to the water, dropping the reins at the edge of the river. Foxtail began to drink the water, Azareth looked down at Stormlight. She climbed off of the tired horse and dropped the reins, letting her walk to the water.

“What plan?” Jurah asked. He looked back and saw Azareth was watching Stormlight carefully. Jurah took a moment to appreciate Azareth’s features. Her long dark brown hair was tied back in a braid, hanging down to her mid-back. Her golden-coloured eyes entranced him, he had never seen eyes that colour before. He tilted his head to the right, catching a glimpse of a birthmark on the back of her neck. He couldn’t make out the shape of it but stared hard trying to discover it.

“To travel alongside the river system until we reach Lake Criwar?” Azareth asked, bringing Jurah out of his trance.

“Oh,” Jurah said, shaking his head. He walked over towards the trail they had been riding on all day. “Yes, that is my plan.” Azareth followed him, wanting to know more about his plan.

“Okay, but why?” She asked him. Jurah sighed and looked at Azareth annoyed.

“Why? Because that’s the fastest way to reach the lake,” Jurah said.

“But, I’ve been looking at the maps my father gave me. You know my father, the royal mapmaker, right?”

“Yes, I am aware of who your parents are.”

“Well, he marked the maps with areas that we should avoid. If we keep going this way we are going to end up in Drog territory,” Azareth said. She could see that Jurah was growing more annoyed with her, it was written all over his face. She also knew that her father would never lead her astray.

“There’s no way to know if the Drogs will still be there,” Jurah said. He wasn’t going to listen to someone who had never been outside of the kingdom before. “They move during the different seasons.”

“Yes, but they are also extremely territorial. They never truly wander far from their home,” Azareth said. Jurah sighed, turning to look at her over his shoulder.

“Are you going to be like this the entire time?”

“Most likely.”

“We’re going to continue this way, trust me. We won’t see any Drogs,” Jurah said. He walked past her and over to Foxtail. “This is the quickest way to end our suffering.”

“Excuse me?” Azareth asked, confused. She walked over to Stormlight. “Suffering? How could you possibly know what suffering is? Are you the one who has to leave their family? Are you the one who doesn’t know if they will ever see their parents again?”

“You don’t know my past, but if you hadn’t noticed I had to leave Truffween too,” Jurah said. He climbed onto Foxtail and looked to see Azareth was staring up at him. “Hurry up.” Jurah made a click with his mouth and began to ride back onto the trail. Azareth’s jaw hung open, she quickly pulled herself up onto Stormlight and hurried to catch up to Jurah. She couldn’t help but feel guilt and dread in her chest. She could have sworn that her father had run into the pack of Drogs not long ago.

Azareth was growing tired, the sun was setting. Jurah was just continuing on not giving Azareth any answers to her questions. The forest was growing thicker and it was getting harder to see what was happening in the low light. The shadows grew and gave the forest an eerie sensation in the air. Jurah could sense the uneasy feeling coming off the girl behind him. He didn’t know what to do, his training never taught him how to comfort civilians. Azareth halted Stormlight causing Jurah to stop as well. Jurah turned back to look at her and gave her a confused expression.

“What are you doing?” Jurah asked her. Azareth looked at him, fear was clear in her expression.

“I thought I heard something, like a growl.”

“A growl? Are you sure it wasn’t just your stomach?” Jurah asked, turning to face forward. “We’ll make camp soon, keep up.”

“Jurah, I’m serious. I think there’s something out there,” Azareth said. She rode up alongside Jurah. “We are in the middle of drog territory, what if the pack is tracking us?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, your mind is just playing tricks on you.”

“I think we should go back, this way isn’t safe,” Azareth said. She was trying to keep her voice steady, but Jurah could hear the shakiness in her voice. She was growing more anxious about running into the pack. From all the stories she was told growing up, they weren't something to get involved with. Half the size of a horse, their sharp teeth were designed to kill. She remembered seeing a drawing of one and it gave her horrible nightmares. The way its eyes pierced into her being from its small head, but knowing its bent ears did give it hearing problems.

“We can’t go back, there’s a clearing a few miles ahead. We can stay there for the night,” Jurah said. He tapped his heel into Foxtail’s side. The two of them picked up speed, hoping to make it to the clearing. Azareth was still unsure of the situation, she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on edge. She knew that something was out there, watching them. She just couldn’t see it. Stormlight started to grow nervous, Azareth hushed her and looked at Jurah on her left.

“Do you believe me now?” She asked Jurah, seeing Foxtail was also growing nervous.

“Alright, something is out there,” Jurah said. He sighed and looked around them. “But we can’t turn back now, we have to keep going.”

“Are you mad? If it’s a pack of-” Azareth was cut off by a thundering roaring behind her. Jurah and Azareth looked behind themselves, seeing four large four-legged beasts. Their long tails twitching in the air, their teeth bared and glinting gently in the dull light. Azareth felt her heart begin to race and her breath grow rapid. She had never seen drogs in the flesh. Their dark yellow fur was short, with strips of light orange through it. She could see their sharp carnivorous teeth as they growled.

“Go!” Jurah yelled. He kicked Foxtail’s side in hopes he would start running. Azareth followed after Jurah, kicking Stormlight’s side getting her to run as fast as she could. The sounds of the four drogs chasing them, closing the distance every passing second.

“Don’t stop, don’t look back!” Jurah yelled. He was trying to keep Azareth focused on getting away.

“They’re too fast!” Azareth felt sick, her mind was racing through every possible scenario.

“We’re almost to the edge of their territory. Do not stop!”

“Wasn’t planning on it!” Azareth was yelling through the rushing air. She saw the largest of the drogs was now running alongside Stormlight. What was she going to do? She had to do something. The drog bared its teeth as it went to snap at Stormlight’s legs. Azareth took her foot out of the stirrup and began kicking at the drog’s head.

“Azareth,” Jurah called from ahead of her. When Azareth looked up, she saw that there was a huge log across the trail.

“Stormlight,” Azareth exclaimed. Stormlight leaped over the log easily. “Good girl.” Azareth patted Stormlight’s neck. They were nearly in the clearing, she could hear the drogs slowing down behind them. All they had to do was finish the last stretch of forest. Get out in the open of the growing grasslands. Away from the trees and out of drog territory. Neither of them knew if they were still being chased, but as soon as they broke through the tree line both of them stopped. They turned to see the drogs weren’t behind them anymore.

“Are you okay?” Jurah asked, coming to Azareth’s side. He was looking her up and down, glancing over Stormlight’s legs to make sure she was alright as well.

“Yes, I’m fine,” Azareth said. She started to get off Stormlight, but Jurah grabbed her arm.

“Not here, there’s a safer spot down by the river.”

“You and your rivers,” Azareth said. She stayed on top of Stormlight as they started in the direction of the river. The horses were panting hard underneath them, but they knew it wasn’t safe yet. Jurah was silent again, but for Azareth it didn’t bother her this time. She wasn’t in the mood to talk, not after almost being hunted down.

The two exhausted travellers stopped riding in a clearing next to the river. Once they were off the horses, they let them drink from the cold dark water. Jurah turned to see Azareth was rubbing Stormlight’s legs, confirming if the drog bit her or not. It was hard to see anything now, that sun was gone and had been for some time now. They couldn’t see two feet in front of them, Jurah looked around on the ground.

“I’ll start a fire, it’ll help us see,” Jurah said. Azareth looked behind her, she saw Jurah was picking up sticks from around the area. It wasn’t long after that a fire was going. Azareth took the chance to look at Stormlight, the tired horse was unharmed.

“Thank the gods,” Azareth said. She let out all her breath, then stood up straight and saw Jurah was sitting next to the fire. Grabbing her sleeping roll from her saddle, she went over to the fire and tossed the roll in the air. It unrolled and she let it fall to the ground. Azareth hadn't noticed how tired her body was until the warmth of the fire hit her. She dropped onto her mat and let her full body relax.

“Are you alright?” Jurah asked from across the fire.

“Yes, just tired,” Azareth said. “That was my first time seeing drogs in person.”

“And what did you think?”

“Best to keep away from them,” Azareth said. Jurah let out a soft laugh, causing Azareth to look at him wide-eyed.

“Was that a laugh?” Azareth asked. Jurah stiffened up instantly and poked the fire with a stick.

“No,” he said quickly. “Get some sleep, we’ll leave once the sun is up.”

“Oh, okay,” Azareth said. She laid down on the ground and pulled her knees up to her chest. She wasn’t used to sleeping on the ground, but she knew that it could be worse. Both of them could have been a meal for a pack of drogs. Azareth saw Jurah lay down and turn so his back was facing the fire. She stared at his back, taking in how his hair hung down towards the ground. Sighing, she rolled over and faced away from the fire. There was no way she was going to be able to get to know him. He was too wound up and didn’t want to let her know him.

“Good night,” Jurah said. Azareth smiled weakly hearing his voice. She didn’t know why, but hearing him good night gave her some comfort. Just as Azareth was drifting off, there was a crunching sound. Her eyes snapped open, but she only saw Stormlight walking back over from the edge of the water. She relaxed again, telling herself she was just on edge from the drogs.