The two travelers maintained a long and unbroken silence after they had returned to their journey. They had left the forested part of the trail several hours ago, and the path gave way to near endless rolling hills. Not a cloud in the sky to block the sun’s assault, and not so much as a branch to offer any shade. The sun would eventually lower and the air would begin to cool, but Emmet started to worry as the sky began to wane into twilight. They were still without any supplies that would help them last a night without a roof, and there wasn’t so much as a sign of civilization.

“What are our plans for the night?” Emmet asked, his voice being the first thing he heard that wasn’t their one of their footsteps since at least noon.

“Hmm?” Sophia replied. Emmet seemed to have dragged her out of a deep thought, taking a moment to process what he had said. “Oh! Yes, don’t worry. There should be a lodge we can stay at just down the road.” She said, taking a moment to stop, looking up and down the path. She scratched her chin before speaking up again. “We took the left path back at the fork, yes?”

Emmet thought back to the trail that lead out of the forest, a fork in the road that split two ways.

“No, we went right.” Emmet said bluntly.

“Oh…” Sophia took a sharp breath and thought for a moment, while Emmet groaned in frustration.

“Well! Don’t worry, there has to be somewhere we can stay! Keep your chin up.” She said, seemingly undisturbed by their loss of progress.

“Chin up? We took the wrong path ages ago!” He cried. “I thought you knew where we were going, what if there isn’t anyplace for miles around?”

“And what if there is somewhere just around the corner?” Sophia said with a smirk. She began walking again, leaving Emmet to stammer in place as he tried to understand just how this woman could be so unbothered by her mistake. With a reluctant groan, he eventually jogged to catch up with his companion.

Emmet had only been camping once before, when Aaron had offered to bring him along on a hunting trip. He had spent three days in a luxurious tent with two guards and a veteran hunter to escort the two of them, and even then he didn’t feel safe out in the woods at night. It was a primal kind of fear, that not even someone watching over him while he slept could quell. Every scuttling animal could have been a bear or wolf ready to make a meal out of him, and he found himself picturing all sorts of nasty creatures the other children would tell stories of to scare one another. Creatures he hadn’t even thought of since he was still a child. He didn’t want to think about how bad his night could be if he was forced to find a soft patch of grass in an open field, and just lay back.

Even in the dungeon, at least nothing could sneak up on him…

It was not long after this exchange that something poked over one of the waves of hills: a long post fence broke the color, just enough for Emmet to feel safe. Simply knowing that there are other people nearby was a massive comfort for him.

“Ah! See? What did I say?” Sophia asked, giving her young companion a smug grin. Emmet didn’t let it bother him, this was something he was glad to be wrong about.

The fence was surrounding a moderately sized farm, with rows upon rows of freshly tilled soil. Small green sprouts were rising from the earth, having a long way to go before they were ready to be harvested. At the end of this field, stood a small cluster of structures. A thatch roof home at the center, flanked by a chicken coop with hens strutting about, a well, and a shed. Passed this, still more fields of crops stretched further out.

“Shall we see if anyone is home?” Sophia asked.

Emmet felt uneasy. Sleeping in a strangers home was not something you did lightly, especially if you didn’t have much to offer in return. Now, if they knew these people or had something of value to trade them, that would different.

“Do you think they would take us?” Emmet asked. “Two strangers off the road? Just knocking on the front door and asking to stay the night? Do we even have any money left?”

“We have a bit, yes.” Sophia replied.

“A bit like some to spare? Or a bit like the last of what you brought?” Emmet scoffed.

“Well maybe they’ll have some chores you can do. We’ll never know unless we ask.” Sophia replied.

“Wait, chores that I can do?”

Emmet and Sophia stood at the front door of the cottage as the sun was beginning to shroud itself behind the horizon. Inside they could hear muffled voices of a conversation going on inside.

Sophia reached out and knocked on the door, the conversation inside coming to an abrupt close as Emmet heard the sound of a chair gently scooting across a wooden floor. Almost the second after her knuckles left the door, it creaked open. Emmet saw half the face of a man peering through to look at them, opening it slightly more after getting a good look at the two of them.

“Yes?” He asked impatiently.

“So sorry to bother you, sir.” Sophia began. Emmet noticed her tone shift ever so slightly, from the genuine calm and overconfident manner of speak to one that was as if she were acting like she was covering up a sense of worry. She would make an excellent actress. Or con woman…

“My nephew and I got a little lost trying to find out way to Lommen. I’m returning him to his mother, you see, and…” Sophia rubbed the back of her neck, chuckling nervously. “Well, my sister would kill me if anything happened to him. Do you think we might be able to spend the night on your farm? Now, we don’t have much in the way of pay, but–“

“Sorry. Can’t help ya.” He said, swiftly backing away to close the door.

“Wait!” Emmet shouted, shoving his foot into the closing door, and wincing as the top was caught in between the door and the frame. The man looked down at him, his eyes going wide as he pursed his lip. Emmet wasn’t sure what to do at this point, acting more on instinct and fear of being left out in the dark than off of any real plan.

“There’s got to be something we can do in return? This is a big place, maybe we can do some work in the morning? I’ve worked with horses my whole life, maybe I can be of assistance?” The man looked between the two of them, blowing a jet of air out of his nose before easing up on the door that was pressing against Emmet’s foot.

“Don’t have any horses. But I might have something you two can do for me.” He said, opening the door a bit wider and letting the pressure off of Emmet, the flickering light from a fire bathing the one room building with a dim light. “Come on in.”

Emmet got a better look at the man. He had tanned and leathery skin, likely from a lifetime of working in the fields, with short, sun bleached hair and simple clothes. His home consisted of a fireplace against the wall, a few cots on the opposite side, a table in the middle, and a loft above for storage. Emmet and Sophia entered the house and saw the rest of the mans family. A woman who looked about the same age as the man, and three teenage children, two girls and a boy, the boy looking to be the oldest. His wife had a darker head of hair, with their three children getting theirs from their father. All of them crowded around the table, plates half empty.

“Who are they?” The boy demanded, immediately standing up from his seat and glaring at the two. His gaze stuck firmly to Emmet, a wordless challenge, one that Emmet was not willing to accept.

“Guests. So settle down.” The boys father barked. His son looked away reluctantly, sitting back down at the table.

“I’m Flint.” The man finally said, gesturing to the rest of his family. “This is my wife, Claire. My daughters, Kai and Terra.” He stepped over to the table, rustling the hair of his irritated son, who swatted his hand away. “And this, the family guard, is Hector.” He said, smiling to himself.

Flint sat back down at the table, in front of his partially eaten dinner and gestured to his two guests.

“Go on, get something to eat.” He offered, to which Emmet was happy to oblige. Sophia sat at the table with the family, while speaking back to Emmet.

“Oh, get me some too, please?” She asked. Emmet’s eye twitched.

“Sure thing, auntie.” He replied, doing his best to mask the bitterness in his voice before taking some spare dishes from the cupboard and preparing the two of them their meal.

“So, what are the two of you doing out so late?” Hector asked, his distrust clear by the tone in his voice.

“Oh, afraid we took a wrong turn a few hours ago, and didn’t realize until we were still on the road and still hadn’t reached town! Thank you again, for having us.” Sophia replied. Emmet sat the food down in front of her, and ate at the last spare seat.

“Well, afraid I can’t let you stay for free.” Flint replied between bites of food. “And that we don’t have much in the way of spare beds. But I can loan you some blankets, and there’s room out in the shed. And while you’re out there, you can watch out for whatever tore my hens apart the other night.”

Emmet looked up from his dinner.

“I’m sorry, did you say something tore up your chickens?” He asked.

“Mhmm.” Flint replied. “Left a real mess in the coop, poor girls woke us up in their panic, and two of em were half eaten on the floor. Whatever did it ran off, but can’t be too big. The hen-hole won’t let in anything bigger than a small wolf.”

“Just a small one?” Emmet replied, Sophia smacking him on the shoulder.

Flint continued. “So just keep an ear out, take turns watching if you want. You can try to scare whatever it is away, just be sure to get a good look at it so I know how big of a trap I need to buy. Or if I need to hire a hunter.” He said, scoffing at the idea of having to spend any more money than necessary.

“I told you dad, I can take care of it!” Hector insisted. His father rolled his eyes, opening his mouth to speak before the youngest sister spoke up.

“Oh hush! Ever since Tommand joined the army, you think you need to act big and tough too!”

“Terra! Don’t talk to your brother like that!” Her mother snapped.

Emmet made himself small and ate his dinner as quickly as possible, not even bothering to taste the food as it went down. He didn’t feel much like getting in the middle of a family squabble. He would much rather finish his plate and find an excuse to go ahead and leave.

“Alright, that’s enough!” Flint bellowed. The house fell silent, only the crackling of the fire could be heard before Flint let out a sigh.

“Sorry about that, you two.” He said. “Things got a little heated, heh.”

“It’s fine.” Emmet replied as he stood from his seat with his empty plate. “So– auntie? I think I’m going to go take first watch, if that’s ok.”

“More than fine.” Sophia replied. “I’ll be there shortly.”

“Hector, go help him get settled.” Flint ordered. His son said nothing, giving Emmet a quick glare before standing from his seat.

“Yes, sir.”

Their host’s shed was a half the size of their cottage, holding many of the family’s tools and several sacs that lined along the back wall.

“You’ll stay here.” Hector said coldly, letting the bundle of blankets fall to the wooden floor of the shed. “I better not catch you trying to steal anything.” He hissed.

Emmet felt a pang of heat in his chest, but bit his tongue to keep from scorning his host. Rude as he might be…

“Don’t worry, I’m not trying to take any shovels or grain with me on the road tomorrow.” Emmet retorted. “You can even do inventory before we head off, if you like.”

Hector sucked his teeth before turning to leave, heading back into his home and leaving Emmet in the shed. The sky above was beginning to finally give way to the night, with stars peppering the heavens with bits of light, and the moon glowing up above. Crickets chirped all around as Emmet got down on the ground, and organized the blankets into makeshift sleeping spaces. One for him, one for Sophia.

As tired as he was, he said he would take first watch, and he planned to stay true to his word. Hector might have been as pleasant as a kick to the head, but his father seemed decent enough. Letting them stay on their property for keeping an eye on their hens. Although it was a place to rest, Emmet doubted he would sleep much. Closing the shed door might have helped, but he wanted to make sure he didn’t miss anything. Besides, it was probably just a fox or stray dog that was causing the issue. And if it was anything bigger, Sophia seemed more than capable of handling it. At least, he hoped.

Emmet leaned back against the wall of the shed, looking off at the chicken coop, listening to the sounds of nature. His senses seemed to be amplified at night, every little sound could be a snapping twig, or a pile of leaves kicked carelessly. Anything could be a potential threat.

Emmet let out a deep breath as he looked around, he noticed the soft light coming from the windows of the cottage. It slowly grew dim, and Emmet thought for sure that Sophia would be coming to join him. But minutes went by, and the light in the window slowly faded until there was nothing. Only the stars and moon were lift to give a dim illumination to the night.

Emmet rubbed his temples, starting to feel his stomach churn at the thought of spending the entire night outside on his own. He started to wonder if the thing he was looking for could be bigger than a wolf. He thought maybe a bear cub had gotten in, and that the mother would be close by. As little sense as it made, his nerves had gotten the better of him and his mind started to run rampant with thoughts of what he might face in the night. His thoughts soon turned to Sophia. Where was she? Had she made some deal for sleeping in the house? Tell them that he would have no trouble watching all night? He thought for a moment that she might even be in trouble, but quickly brushed these thoughts aside. Any woman who could lift boulders with her mind would probably be fine against a family of farmers.

And so the night went on. Emmet shifting in his place, watching the coop and looking at the stars, watching the fields off in the distance, and glancing back at the farm house in hope that Sophia would come join him. Maybe he could actually get some sleep if she came and took over. But she didn’t, and the moon started to slowly drift across the sky as hours went by. Until Emmet finally heard something.

Emmet knew the other sounds he heard were just amplifications of his own worries. That he was simply letting himself panic over perfectly normal sounds. But he could brush them all aside, he couldn’t think of anything he would mistake for the sound of growling that he was hearing now.

Emmet sat perfectly still, looking over at the coop as the faintest shadow crept across the yard, slowly towards the roost where it might find dinner. Flint was right, the thing wasn’t much bigger than any hound you might find in the street. But it certainly didn’t sound as friendly as one.

Ok, ok, this is good. He just wanted me to see what it was. Emmet thought to himself. Now as long as it doesn’t try to sneak in, I can–

Before Emmet could finish his thought, the figure made a dash for the coop. It snuck up the ramp and crawled through the small, hen sized threshold before he could even react.

“Damn it!” He hissed, scrambling to his feet. He hesitated about what to do. Should he try to stop the beast? He knew he should try and scare off whatever this thing was, but could he work up the nerve to actually do it. He looked back at the house, nobody seemed to be stirring inside.

“Sophia, where the hell did you go?” He muttered as he took careful steps closer and closer to the coop. The hens inside were starting to cluck as Emmet heard soft growling, only for the creature to dart out of the coop. It was being chased by a rather brazen hen, flapping it’s wings and raking it’s talons outward in a full assault as it chased the assailant directly towards Emmet.

It was official. A chicken was braver than he was.