The horses marched across the vast plains at a steady, carefree gallop. The forest was already far away, and the sun sank slowly over the horizon, losing itself in some distant hills. The ride was silent, which was expected because since leaving the forest, both hadn't spoken a word.

After the marked girl's words, it wasn't surprising that the boy didn't wish to crosswords with him. All that was heard was her ordering the horse he was riding where it should go. Instinctively he tried to answer her, and when she turned, he realized that it was the equine he wished to speak to.

The boy was clearly still grieving over leaving that woman behind; In the end, Idda tried to help them, even against her husband and most likely her society.

"Why do they hate us?" was the question he asked himself repeatedly along the course. At the same time, recalling the words of his new traveling companion, who, if possible, wished to tear off that mark her hand carried.

The kid also observed the girl's hand out of the corner of his eye.

Her mark was similar to his but much more visible; if he compared his mark with hers, his was barely perceptible, but hers seemed to be more vast. Moreover, she seemed to have a smaller one underneath the triangle, which seemed to be spreading out.

He watched the girl in confusion and tried to draw his own guesses, as he wasn't going to be able to ask her questions yet.

"What are you looking at?" she asked roughly.

Still annoyed, he replied, "Nothing."

"Whatever," she replied.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance, while all he could do was let himself be swayed by that constant movement of the galloping horses.

Still, after so many hours of riding, he wanted to try a little talk with her.

As much pain as he was now, he had to be realistic; thanks to her, he came out of that fight almost unscathed. Thanks to her, they could handle those horses and get away from danger for a while.

He hated to admit it, but they had to stick together even though he was angry with her.

Now he had to approach her again with words. He was to try to break down that wall that now divided them; if they were going to have to be together on that, well, he should talk to her.

"What did you save in these bags?" he asked.

The girl kept her eyes on the horizon in front of her.

"Stuff I stole from the stable," she answered dryly.

"Like what?" he asked.

She listed the things, "Food for them, utensils, food for us."

"Food for us?" he asked.

She watched him out of the corner of her eye for a moment. Then, heavily, she took a breath before speaking.

"In the attic, there was meat hanging from a rope. So I thought I'd take it so we could eat it."

"You did well. Well, even though that's stealing," the boy replied, inwardly denying himself a little at that.

Nervously, he tried to excuse himself once again.

"I mean, it's wrong to steal, maybe they'll get mad about it, but you did well. So we can eat..."

"You talk too much," she said, leaning back in the saddle chair. She then spoke to the horse, "Slow down..."

Both equines began to go slower as that land was much wider; sparse farm buildings stood; huts, barns, and corrals. The girl watched them and knew they should stay away.

"How do you do that?" he asked.

Confused, she answered the teen with a confused look as she turned to him.

"The horse thing, how do you get them to follow your orders?" he asked, incredulous.

She seemed to think about his words, "I don't know. How do you move like that when you fight?"

He watched her and shrugged.

"I don't know; I just do it," He replied. "I was inside the cabin, and Idda's husband attacked me; I dodged every one of his attacks until he could reach me. Then, I heard Something in my head telling me how to move. It seemed as if I could expect it."

"Did you do the same against them?" she asked, alluding to the last encounter.

He nodded.

"I was very focused both times, but also, when Idda spoke, I lost that ability and got caught both times."

"If you don't concentrate, you can't do it..." She leaned heavily on the horse.

"Are you okay?" the teen asked, concerned.

She lifted her looked to him and looked at the wounds on his arms, "And you?"

He smiled, "I'll be fine, don't worry..."

He rested his hand on the wound, then lifted his rags. Looking closely at the first wound, the boy noticed that not only had the injury stopped bleeding, but he would even swear it had gotten slightly smaller.

Petting the horse's side, she spoke to him again, "Something happens to me with them or when I use the bow. Something told me I could talk to the horses and other creatures in my head. It also told me how I should aim with the bow. Sounds similar to what happened to you."

"Will the mark has to do with all this?" the kid asked.

The girl swallowed saliva and soon caught her breath.

"Maybe, it would make sense. People hate us for Something, and if we're good at things like fighting and having weird abilities, it makes sense."

"Seriously, are you feeling okay?" he asked again.

She sighed again as she pulled herself back upright in the saddle, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You look a little pale," the boy replied.

"I'm just tired, that's all," she insisted.

The teen watched her out of his eye, mistrusting her words.

Sometime later, when they were silent again.

He asked her again, "How long have you been here?"

She was slow to answer, but she did, "Five days."

"How did you manage to survive all this time?" asked again.

She watched him out of her eye and after breathing heavily once more.

Then, she said, "I ate whatever I could find in the forest. Berries, mostly."

The kid pointed to her weapon, "And the bow...?"

The girl answered, "I got it from one of those woodsmen's house two days ago."

"Your cloak, too?" he asked.

She nodded. The marked boy watched as a faint smile formed on her pale, sickly-looking face.

Now, the silence minutes didn't seem as bad as before.

Then, after another while in silence, the teen saw a farmhouse in the distance. Then, he, too, noticed how the night was falling, and it would be impossible for them to go on.

The kid thought, "Maybe..."

"No," she replied swiftly. She was leaning on her horse and saw that farm, "We won't ask for shelter, help, or anything."

"You look terrible, and the horses need rest," argued the boy.

"We're not going to ask for help," she said, annoyed, "we don't know if they're worse than those lumberjacks."

"Do you want to ride in the dark in the middle of the night and with tired horses?" he expressed, annoyed and appealing for sanity.

She remained in silence, without a word.

"If that's what you want, let me ask them for a light," he said as he took from between the pockets of the saddlebags one of the torches she had stolen.

She was clearly not well, but she was very stubborn despite feeling terrible.

She resigned and said, "If they get to see our mark, they'll want us executed. I'm sure of it."

"Let me do the talking," He argued. "Idda let me into their house just by talking. I think I could speak to them to ask for a light."

She was still hesitant, "I don't know..."

"Lend me your cloak," he asked. "I'll cover the mark that way."

She watched him, her eyes were heavy, but she was still able to roll them. Finally, she untied it and handed it to him. She remained seated and hid the mark and the dried blood on her hand in the horse's mane. Then, she ordered the horses to gallop to the farm.

The farm was large, with several buildings of wood and mud. The crops were tall, and from there, they saw some farmers working on the site.

In the distance, they could also see some women feeding the animals and a couple of children playing. It was a large family's home with workers trying to live daily.

A couple of men stood up from the crops; they were tall, and their faces were tanned from so many hours in the sun. The pair watched these visitors arrive at the front of the cabin and did not hesitate to approach them.

The marked boy got down from his horse and subtly covered his hand with his cloak. He knew his colleague was right, so he should be cautious. However, if he kept his hand hidden, he could make a wrong impression on these people.

Suddenly, a woman came out of the hut, and next to her, a small kid clutching at her dress.

"G-Good afternoon, ma'am," greeted the teen nervously and unlit torch in hand.

The stout woman watched him suspiciously, trying to discern what they were doing there.

"Greetings, travelers," she greets with a firm voice. "What can I do for you?"

Hesitantly, he held the torch in both hands.

"W-Well, we wanted to know if you could give us some fire, please," the boy said, smiling softly. "I-If you help us, we can continue our journey to Sunhold."

"Sunhold?" the woman asked, curious, "It will be a long journey, kid. You still have several days of travel."

The local mother watched the dark-skinned boy warily. Then she saw the girl still on the horse. The girl looked at her glumly as she almost leaned back on the horse.

Then, she noticed her pricked ears, "Your friend, is she an Akajsi?"

"A w-what?" asked the teen, uncomprehending.

The woman eyed the pair suspiciously with suspicion and a very steady gaze.

"The girl is an akajsi. What is an elf doing so far from the border?"

The pointy-eared girl didn't help the situation either, as she eyed the woman menacingly and with distrust.

"Erna," a man's call was soon heard.

Behind them, a burly man and his son were approaching them; the kid came with his hoe in hand while his father carried a sickle.

"What's the matter?" asked the man. What do they want?"

"The girl is an akajsi," remarked the woman. "It is strange to see her so far from the border."

The man sighed and proceeded to wipe his hands on his shirt.

"Well, I'd be forced to flee from there too," said the man. "With all the battle there..."

The boy turned to observe the man. His voice was more serene, so he thought maybe he could convince him better.

"We don't want to disturb you," indicated the boy. "W-We came all this way just to ask for some fire. Then we can be on our way,"

The man watched him from above, kneading the words he was about to say in his mouth. There was distrust in his eyes, and the marked boy clutched his cloak gently in fear.

"Where did you kids come from?" he asked curiously and serenely.

"We?" instinctively replied the teen.

"Yes, you two," said the man, letting a slight laugh, "You must not have planned your journey well if you are here, asking for a fire."

"N-No, I don't think so..." expressed the boy, who soon began to feel afraid.

The stout woman added, "The kid said they're going to Sunhold..."

The man nodded with a serene look. He soon formed a gentle smile on his face, "Sunhold is far away, boy. It's not worth enough to go out in the dark. If you want, you can stay here."

"Oh, they can?" the wife asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Erna, please," the man insisted, "it'll just be tonight, do you think?"

The woman watched her husband and remained silent. Then, she took her son in her arms and entered the cabin, slamming the door.

"Mom is furious," the teen said to his father.

The man sighed and looked at the boy with a smirk, "Don't ever get married and have six kids with the love of your life."

"Oh, wow..." the boy smiled nervously.

The man laughed and extended his hand to the boy, "My name is Samson, and this is my son Ruelle. You're welcome here."

Then the man started with joviality in his voice.

"You can stay for the night," he assured. "I'm sure there's more than enough space in the barn for you,"

"Really, that's unnecessary," said the teen, smiling and nervous, "my friend doesn't want to stay in one place; we're keeping a very tight pace and..."

Suddenly, the whine of a horse was heard, and after that, a collapse.

The elf had fallen off her horse.

"No!" shouted the boy, running towards her.

"For Lithal!" shouted the man.

He and his son soon made their way to where the girl was. At times, the girl looked incredibly pale and suffered from out-of-her-mind spasms.

"We must take her inside!" exclaimed the farmer's eldest son. So the three approached the girl, and the marked boy and Samson lifted her off the ground.

"Are you out of your mind? Your mother will kill me if I do that," said the man, "let's take her into the barn."