"I'm glad you accepted it, now it seems completely stupid that I was concerned for nothing." She says with a mocking tone to herself.

“Concerned?” Ezer tries to see the expression on Lyaria's face out of the corner of his eye, though he stops seeing that it's useless since she was in his blind spot.

“Yes. You were the first human with whom I had direct contact and, added the connection to your family, it would not be strange for you to take me as your enemy if you had known.”

She had reason enough to be cautious, but this was useless since Ezer knew absolutely nothing of her existence and that was what, in part, bothered him.

“Can you only take the form of a wolf or also that of other animals?”

“Only that of a wolf, the elves called us "Adanlars " or " Adargars " and in other ways. I think it is possible that we ourselves have invented those names.”

“Adangar ... it's not a bad name, if I'm not mistaken it means something like protect or defend.” Ezer searches his memories for the books and pages he had read.

“You know a lot. How much did you read in your home?” The question brings him back to reality.

“Hours and days in a huge library that I didn't finish reading completely. I miss that a bit, I remember that I left a book halfway that contained records of one of my ancestors who wrote all his difficulties and advice in leading the family, the army and the town. He had a peculiar and captivating way of writing, he focused a lot on his own feelings as recounted what happened...” Ezer doesn't realize the smile on his face.

“It wasn't that bad, your past.”

“No, it was not. But it wasn't perfect either, there were too many bad things overshadowing the good, although at least I didn't need to fight for my life.” At some point his smile turns wistful and bitter.

“Do you miss them? Would you ever go back?” She didn't have to specify who.

“I can count the fingers of one hand the people who were good to me, the rest despised me or didn't care. But yeah, I miss that bunch of people, even if I wanted to go back... I just can't.” The conversation dies at that point. Ezer hinted that he did not wish to continue and Lyaria was too tired to do so.

Ezer continues walking absorbed in his thoughts, remember his past made him realize what he lost. He recognizes and lets it go without remorse to avoid suffering in the future. What you had and no longer have is a thing of the past, now you just have to find something better to replace it. What is lost does not come back, at least that was his case.

The day was advancing and he was determined to arrive before nightfall, he was sure that if he quickened his pace, they could make it in time. He didn't want Lyaria to sleep cold one more night.

"We're getting closer, Lyaria, not long now." Ezer moves his hands and in turn this moves her, but he gets no response other than the sound of her breathing.

“We're getting close, but why do I feel like this is bad?” There was something in the atmosphere, something that he had already felt in the past and it did not bring back good memories.

Ezer continues to advance in spite of everything on the snow that in a few weeks would accumulate and make any terrain impassable.

With each step you could feel the pressure increasing, with each step the noises of the forest faded, with each step the branches of the trees seemed to bend trying to escape. What for Ezer was at first a premonition now turns into conviction. Something was stalking him and it no longer tried to hide it.

He looks up, closing his eyes to mitigate the burning pain in his leg muscles from having walked all day without rest, carrying a dead weight on his back proved to be torturous for long stretches. When his eyes open, he can see plumes of smoke rising on the horizon.

It was the place where his memory told him that there was the village with houses crammed into each other fighting for space. A place that did not represent any feeling for Ezer, but it did for someone who cared.

The smoke occupied much of the distant horizon with a reddish color that began to illuminate more than the setting sun. Ezer was about to take a step when he stops and a nervous smile spread across his face.

“I hope you're not a brother out for revenge.” At that moment Ezer crouches down and feels how the splinters of the tree that was behind him fall on his back. He gets up without wasting time and starts to run driven by his adrenaline, but before turning completely he sees the claw marks on the crust of the tree and the white being that produced them.

His body and mind were exhausted, on edge, if it wasn't for Lyaria he wouldn't be sure to had the same willpower he possessed right now as tried to save his life as hers.

The ground shook enough that he could feel it due to the tree falling to the ground because of what was chasing him from behind. Although the trunk was not very thick, it still showed the strength of the beast.

"If you continue down this path, the trees will end... It's better if you go to the right, the land slopes down to a stream and the trees are thicker there." Lyaria suggests her idea having been woken up by the situation.

Ezer heeds her advice as runs, contorting his body through the thin but steady trees that slowed him down and the beast behind him. Although it proved to make the path more difficult for the beast due to its large size, unlike Ezer who could dodge them by passing between the trees.

“My sword is so dull that it's useless and my bow is now just a piece of wood that can't be stretched without breaking. I only have my dagger plus arrows... but to use them I have to get too close and I know their strength better than anyone. I can only escape and hope for a miracle, in the worst case...” Ezer forces his mind to search for a solution knowing that he could not face that beast without external interference, but this time he was not so lucky to meet a herd of bison.

The snow and the lack of light play tricks on Ezer by hiding a stone that causes him to lose his balance and fall to his knees, supporting one hand on the ground while holding Lyaria with the other. He could clearly avoid that painful fall, but if did, she would be the one who would suffer the most.

Ezer is unfazed by the little blood oozing from the scrape on his palm and the pain in his knees, he just gets up and continues running until he can see the crystal-clear waters of the stream running a little below.