Tenebris

I turned in my bed to find that the woman, whom I'm now calling Fesha, had already left her bed. I heard the sound of shuffling from downstairs, so I leaped out of bed to investigate. Walking down into the first floor, I had come to find Fesha preparing a light breakfast with a smile of whimsy on her face. I fire of the stove lit the room with a warm glow.

"Morning." I said while still half asleep.

"Ah, good morning." She smiled back.

She had already prepared all the food and utensils on the dining table. I sat down and Fesha sat down across from me. We ate quietly for a bit until I decided to speak up.

"Hey, what were you smile about earlier?" I asked.

She chuckled a bit. "I just love the task of cooking is all, eases the mind after a long journey... or a waking nightmare." She said.

"You had a nightmare last night?" I asked.

"Hmm, something of the sorts." She said with restraint. "And you? Didst thou dreameth?" She asked as if she was trying to change the subject.

I smiled. "Just about my old home." I said trying not to get into too much detail.

I was curious about her nightmare, but I decided not to pry any further so as to not sully our breakfast. We continued with our small talk until both our meals were finished. I helped Fesha clean the utensils as she put them back in her pack. We put out the stove and organized all our stuff. Once everything was secured, we headed out and didn't look back.

We continued along the same path following the edge of the floor we stood on. The rustling of loose leaves beneath my feet scratched my ears. The smell of early morning brought a coziness to the cold air. I took it in for a while, allowing the soft morning dew to wash my face. We walked for hours until it was midday. As we continued on, something had stopped Fesha in her tracks. She quickly got low to the ground and hid behind a large stone brick. I thought she was acting strange, nevertheless I followed in her steps.

"What's going on?" I asked from behind her.

"Shhhhh, I'm on the hunt." She said.

I looked over the stone brick, only allowing my forehead to be exposed. There I saw a small, docile looking animal drinking from a stream. The animal was something I've never seen before. Its fur was white and thick. It had a similar build to a rabbit besides its face which had a longer and more narrow snout. Along its back were four white appendages neatly tuck into themselves. I was unsure what it could've been from the distance we were watching at. I stayed silent until Fesha suddenly spoke.

"Truth be told, I was beginning to run low on food now that there are two mouths to feed." She whispered.

"Oh, I apologize." I said with regret.

"No needeth my friend, this is what I chose to do." She reassured me.

Then, Fesha quietly set her pack down and took out a small pouch. She dipped her finger in it quickly and pulled it out. The tip of her finger was now blackened by some powder. She rubbed the powder between her thumb and pointer and kept her hand in a pinching position. Slowly, she straightened her legs until she could rest her arm on the stone we hid behind. I couldn't see her eyes but I could tell she was trying to line up a shot. I heard her inhale deeply, taking in all the air she could in order to hold her breath. Then a small spark and a flash of light followed. I thin and straight thread of bright yellow quickly burst out of Fesha's finger and pierced the air toward the small animal. As soon as the tip of the thread hit, a massive explosion expanded, creating a large, tan cloud of dust and debris. We watched as the dust slowly settled, waiting in silents. Then, from the top of the smoke cloud, something small and white zipped out, leaving a trail of dust behind it. The small animal was now in flight, flapping the four wings on its back that it had now untucked. It flutttered frantically around the now semi-transparent dust cloud. Fesha cursed under her breath as she lifted her arm up to line up another shot. Her arm moved sporadically, attempting to follow the animal's flight path. In the blink of an eye, the animal began to fall from the air, back into the dust, and hit the ground with an audible thud. One thing was strange though; I did not see a flash of light from Fesha's fingers like I had previously.

"My that was quite the show." I mans voice shouted. 

Peering above the stone, the dust had almost completely settled. In the midst of it, a man walked humbly through it with the small white animal draped over his shoulder. He was tall and wore a dark gray coat that reached all the way to his ankles. Down the center of his chest, the coat had a black embroidery of some intricate pattern. The collar of his coat was held together by a gold brooch with a crest on it. His skin was pale and his hair was combed back, short, and thick with gray and black strands. The strangest detail of his out fit was the tattered black blindfold that covered the top half of his face down to the center of his nose. He continued toward us until he neared the stone brick we had been hiding behind.

"Did you do that?" I asked.

"Well, thou did miss didn't thou?" He responded slyly.

I almost laughed, but I held it in for Fesha as she looked very frustrated by the whole ordeal.

"Haha, no need to looketh so disappointed, we all have our days." He said attempting to cheer Fesha up. "I apologize, I am Father Tenebris, head of a settlement just up ahead."

The man had a strange atmosphere to him, but seemed harmless to us for the most part. I looked over at Fesha, but I couldn't make out what she might've been thinking.

I looked back up at the man. "Well I'm currently suffering from memory loss, so I don't have a name to give you, but this is Fesha." I said to him.

She immediately snapped out of her trance. "Ah yes, apologies for my rudeness."

"Don't bother. It seemeth you two are desperate for food, hunting wild animals like that. If thou liketh, I can offer food for thine travels and a place to resteth for the night." He stated in a kind manner.

I looked at Fesha, who still stayed quiet. Eventually, she looked back at me and gave me a reluctant nod of confirmation.

"Sure, we'll take your offer." I said.

"Excellent, well follow me, I shall taketh thee." He said with a smile.

As we followed behind him for a couple of paces, I couldn't help keeping an eye on Fesha. Her face was a bit stern, yet there was a hint of doubt. I turned forward to look at Tenebris's back and as we followed behind, I didn't take my eyes off of him, not even for one second.