Liora did not run.
Okay—she wanted to run.
Every instinct in her body was screaming at her to turn around and bolt, to disappear into the safety of familiar paths and glowing trails.
But she didn't.
Because something was watching her.
And running would make it chase.
So instead, she stood there, trying to look way braver than she felt .
"Okay… not funny anymore," she muttered, her tail flickering bright behind her.
The shadow didn't move.
Didn't stretch.
Didn't fade.
It just… stayed.
Her ears flattened. "Yeah, no—bye."
She turned—
And slammed straight into something solid.
"HEY—"
A voice, low and way too calm: "You should be quieter."
Liora stumbled back, fur puffed up. "YOU should not just appear like that—what is WRONG with you?!"
There he was.
Kael.
Dark fur blending into the night like he belonged to it. Eyes glowing faintly, steady and unreadable.
Annoyingly calm.
Annoyingly close.
Annoyingly—
Her tail flared brighter.
Kael glanced past her like she wasn't even the problem. "You're going to attract it."
Her stomach dropped. "Attract what exactly?"
He didn't answer right away.
Which was WORSE.
"…Kael."
His gaze flicked back to hers. "You felt it, didn't you?"
She hesitated.
Then, quieter, "Yeah."
For a second, neither of them joked.
Neither of them argued.
The forest creaked softly around them, like it was listening.
Liora crossed her arms (not actually) "So what is it?"
Kael stepped past her, circling the place where the shadow had been.
"It's not supposed to be here," he said.
"Oh wow, that makes me feel SO much better, thank you," she snapped.
He ignored that. Rude.
"It doesn't move like the others," he continued. "It doesn't follow light."
Liora swallowed. "Then what does it follow?"
Kael looked right at her.
"…magic."
Her tail immediately dimmed a little.
"Great," she said flatly. "Love that for me."
A rustle.
Both of them froze.
The shadow—
moved.
Not across the ground.
Toward them.
Liora's heart jumped into her throat. "Kael…"
"I see it."
"It's coming closer."
"I know."
"WHY ARE YOU SO CALM—"
"Because panicking won't help."
"Well I'm gonna panic anyway—"
The darkness stretched unnaturally, like ink spilling across the forest floor.
And then—
it lunged.
"MOVE!" Kael snapped.
He shoved her aside just as the shadow struck where she had been standing. The ground beneath it seemed to wither, like the life was being drained right out of it.
Liora scrambled up, her glow flaring wildly. "OKAY THAT IS NOT NORMAL—"
"No," Kael said, stepping in front of her, shadows already curling around his paws. "It isn't."
For the first time—
he looked unsure.
The creature recoiled slightly from Liora's light, twitching like it didn't like it.
Kael noticed.
"Your glow," he said quickly. "Keep it steady."
"I am trying—??" she shot back, even as her tail flickered like a broken lantern.
The shadow hissed—an awful, hollow sound—and lunged again.
Kael vanished.
Like that.
Gone.
The shadow struck air—
And Kael reappeared behind it, slashing through the darkness with a burst of shadow-magic of his own.
For a second, the two forces collided—light and dark twisting together.
Then the creature recoiled, shrinking back, slipping into the trees—
and disappearing.
Silence.
Again.
But this time… heavier.
Liora stood there, breathing hard. "What. Was. That."
Kael didn't answer right away.
He was staring into the darkness where it vanished, jaw tight.
"…It's starting," he said quietly.
"Wow, super helpful and not cryptic at ALL," Liora snapped, even though her voice shook a little.
He finally looked at her.
And something in his expression had changed.
Less distant.
More… worried.
"For once," he said, "you should be taking this seriously."
She blinked. "I am taking it seriously—"
"Then stop running off alone."
Oh.
Oh he did NOT just—
"I do NOT need you following me around—"
"You almost got yourself drained."
"You literally shoved me—"
"You would've been worse off if I didn't."
They were close again.
Too close.
Liora's glow flickered, softer this time.
Not fear.
Something else.
"…I didn't ask you to help," she muttered.
Kael's voice dropped, quieter now.
"I know."
A pause.
Then—
"But I'm not going to let you get hurt anyway."
…
Liora looked away first. "You're still annoying."
"Yeah," he said.
But he didn't leave.
And neither did she.
Somewhere deep in the forest…
the shadows shifted again.
Watching.
Waiting.
Learning.