Astrid kept her hand over her shoulder all night, crying silently as she listened to Calden's sorrow and heartache. Eventually, after who knows how long, she fell asleep, her back propped against the back of the tiny crevice, cramped as far back as she could tuck herself in the shallow space. When she woke, cold and slightly damp with the dull light of the morning and extinguished her little fire, she peered out into the surrounding woods and carefully crawled out. Standing up slowly, brushing the dirt from her dress as she looked around. She had been running in such a panic last night she'd had no idea where she was going.<br/><br/>As she looked around she noticed the trees around the rock they had been hiding in and froze. "Calden....Calden can you see...this....?" she asked as she began to inch closer to the nearest tree, her fingers stretched out to tentatively touch the carving on the tree. "What.....what do you think it means.....?" Suddenly, she cried out, "July! Calden, what about July! We left her alone all night! We have to find her! What if she's....what if those...." She couldn't finish her thought.<br/><br/>When they finally found the place they had stopped with July the night before she was nowhere to be found. The only sign that she had even been there was an old, worn out pair of boots, lying haphazardly next to the place she had been sitting when they left. No other trace of the old woman was to be found. "C...Calden....You don't suppose those.....creatures....." Her mind began to work, thinking of all the possibilities, "If they HAD taken her....her staff would be here too....wouldn't it? But it's gone...." Then she thought of something else, "Do you think.....maybe.....what if it was July who left the carvings....Maybe you were right, Calden....Maybe she wasn't just an old woman....." She trailed off, embarrassed to admit that she might have been wrong and that perhaps she aught to have listened to Calden from the beginning. Then she began to wonder, "Do you think it was....July....who made those markings around us last night...I mean, whatever it was that was pretending to be July....?"<br/><br/>Even so, she was awfully hungry now, having had nothing to eat since the previous midday because she had given her dinner to July and her hunt for dinner had been cut short. She spent a while searching the surrounding area for some roots and berries to calm the gnawing hunger in her belly. Once she was less hungry she could think more clearly and she began to wonder, "Calden....Do you think....if I copied the runes on the trees....that it would keep those things away from us tonight.....?" Surely it was worth a try?<br/><br/>That night before dark fell Astrid found a large fallen log that created a sort of ledge in among some other trees. She walked around the area in a circle, marking the trees with the same symbol they had found on the trees that morning, hoping above hope that they would work. Then she set to work on creating a circle of fire around the little shelter, just in case the runes didn't work, and also for some warmth. As they settled down and darkness fell she waited tensely, expecting the sounds of those creatures to appear as always, but to her utter and complete relief, there was not a sound to be heard from them. The night remained peaceful and calm, and the lights and sounds of the other creatures of the night began to lull Astrid into a soft, deep sleep. It was the best sleep she had had since before they had entered the cave.<br/><br/>After that she carved the runes in a circle around them every night as they continued on through the thick forest until finally, one afternoon they broke out of the trees onto a glorious sight! The trees ended abruptly and before them was a beautiful valley, and perhaps best of all, a town! People! Other human beings! "Calden! Calden do you see it? Can you see that far? It's a town! We're out! We're out of the forest, Calden! We did it! We made it!"<br/><br/>Astrid was giddy with relief and excitement and practically bounded out of the line of trees and began following the narrow winding trail down the mountainside towards the dwellings below. At this rate, they would reach the town before nightfall and perhaps they would find somewhere to stay the night. As she walked along she began to hum an old children's song, feeling happier than she had in almost two weeks.<br/><br/>When they drew nearer the town however, she stopped and asked, "Calden...Do you think it's safe to go there....? I mean....I'll hide you, of course, but do you think we'll be alright? And I haven't any money....where will we stay?" Suddenly, she was filled with trepidation and insecurity.