E'darin was soon in the saddle with Kate, and racing towards the woods to evade any further pursuit - though he desired only to stay and fight.  Doing so, however, would have landed Kate in possibly getting captured again.  He was unwilling to take such a risk.  The men under his command understood what needed to be done, and they were fulfilling their oaths both to him and Kate by covering their escape.  Of course, E'darin also know the Knight-Commander was likely in full pursuit of any foes that had escaped Tir.  One thing did occur to the young Warden as they rode away on Maiden:  his best friend and beloved had changed.  He had not seen her in a while, and it seemed to him as he held her around her waist that the girl who had befriended him had become an amazingly attractive woman.  Nor was that the only change he had noted in her.  Her training had clearly made her quite proficient at magic, or she would not have so effortlessly been able to defend him while he was helping her.  The young Half-elf admired these new changes in Kate, and wondered what else had changed.<br/><br/>He still remembered waking up after being wounded in the border wars not overly long ago with a lace kerchief containing the letters KL.  E'darin knew then she had somehow been there to help with the poisoned arrow he had taken in the leg, and knew somehow she had remained with him until just before he awoke.  Part of him wondered if her ability to change into a fox had improved so much that she could slip past her own father's guards and the other mages.  If so, she was indeed growing into her abilities.  The sounds of battle dimmed as they got further away, but he could not help wondering how his men faired against the forces arrayed against them.  The enemy had been disorganized, and that was worth something.  His people were good, and they knew how to fight as a unit.<br/><br/>Eventually, the sounds were gone, and E'darin steered Maiden towards a wayward pine he knew about.  This particular pine was rather cozy...having an opening the Wardens kept clean, fresh, and stocked with emergency supplies.  He had personally used it a time or three when out scouting alone.  Only the Wardens knew of the place, and this one was such that only a few of the Wardens even knew of it.  Here, the two of them could take refuge, and when the arrived it was none too soon.  Snow flurries started to cascade down around them from the long withheld winter storm waiting overhead.  E'darin frowned briefly up at the sky and falling snow, before pulling into the small secluded grove containing their destination.  Next to the wayward pine was a cave...one that did not have a network of paths, but a single entrance.  Here, he led Maiden in, and then dismounted before helping Kate down.<br/><br/>"She will be safe here," he told his best friend after covering the entrance to keep her safe and warm.  From there, he led Kate inside the wayward pine, and then shook off the snow from his cloak.  "Well, we are here for a bit it would seem," he noted as he faced the woman he had fallen in love with.