Two months passed almost before Aurora realized how quickly the seasons had changed.
The warmth that had accompanied the final weeks of summer had gradually disappeared, replaced by crisp mornings and increasingly cold winds as the rainy season transitioned into early winter. The forests they traveled through were no longer as humid as before, and thin layers of frost had begun appearing on the leaves at dawn.
Aurora noticed the change most clearly whenever they traveled through the mountains. The higher they climbed, the colder the air became, and on this particular morning, she had given up pretending she wasn't cold.
