Valla waved farewell to the gentle Lyon, only to soon become increasingly disturbed by Tommy's absence. "Don't wander the forest at night" had been one of the standing rules since the first days, and now Tommy was nowhere to be seen.<br/><br/>She searched the camp again, trying not to let on to the others what she was doing. It wouldn't take long, though, for the others to ask about him; their camp was small enough that any absence would be noted. As she searched, guilt began to gnaw at her; while she had been having a good time, perhaps an accident had befallen Tommy. Maybe he was laying in the forest dying this very moment. Worse still, it was Valla's fault because this all started with Tommy taking her to the camp for a decent meal.<br/><br/>If she consulted Saul, Valla would have to admit that she had been at the other camp, and she didn't necessarily want to do that, especially when she was considering defecting.<br/><br/>Bastion was sitting on Valla's shoulder, and she looked at him with a grave expression. "We should find him ourselves, Bastion," she said, more to perk up her courage than to actually solicit the raven's opinion. As usual, Bastion had no input anyway.<br/><br/>Valla discreetly slipped back into the woods, feeling her heart race. She'd never wandered off alone, especially at night, but her guilt wouldn't quit. When she could no longer hear the sound of camp, she picked a stick off the forest floor. Reaching for the pouch at her side, she extracted a piece of green moss that she had found a week before. It glowed faintly in the night. Holding the moss in one hand, the stick in the other, she said,<em>"Illuminatus."</em><br/><br/>The end of the stick came to life with a deep, bright glow, as though it were a torch. She tucked the moss away and looked at Bastion. "Okay, Bastion, your turn. I need you to fly up there and look for him. If you find him, come back to me," she said, then quickly added. "But don't go too far, otherwise I won't be able to find my way back."<br/><br/>Bastion let out a loud "caw!" and fluttered up into the dark, his black feathers blotting out a few stars until he disappeared, leaving Valla utterly alone. Taking a deep breath, she ventured deeper into the forest, holding her torch aloft, looking for Tommy.