Arc 1: Taking a Break

"Actually, where are we going to go?" Theil questioned, "It's starting to get dark now," pointing at the sunset.

Gyles looked around at the wooden cabins and said, Well, if all the cabins are not full of corpses, we can probably sleep in one." Her face then had a look of uncertainty "I mean, we could camp outside, but I don't think it would be ideal. With the roar we heard earlier, our safest bet is to sleep in a cabin."

"So you want to just see if the cabins have suitable living arrangements?" They asked, pointing towards the cabins.

"Yep, preferably one with no corpses, not a lot of black ink, and probably some food," Gyles replied.

That was when Theli looked towards a cabin that was closer to the woods She sniffed, then pointed towards that one, saying, "That one doesn't smell so bad."

"Oh yeah, I forgot you are basically an animal and human hybrid." Gyles then started to walk toward the cabin that Theli pointed at, with Theli following.

As they continued to walk, they made it to the front of the cabin door.

"Ready to check?" Gyles then asked Theli, who nodded.

Gyles then opened the door and to her surprise, it looked relatively clean, 'we could sleep in the living room but I want to be further away from the ground floor, Just in case the monster does come through, we should check upstairs.'

"This house looks good." Theli commented, looking around and noticing the large couch and how it was spotless. There were stairs leading up to the upper floor; the walls were painted a nice cream color, and there was a door leading to what Theli believed led to the kitchen.

"Now we just have to check upstairs," Gyles said, her voice tired.

Theli then turned towards Gyles and said, "You're tired too."

"Yeah, we have been walking all day checking out houses and seeing if anybody else was alive," Gyles replied, already moving up the stairs. "If this house is fine, then we can sleep here."

Theil then began following Gyles up the stairs.

As Gyles continued to walk up the stairs, she looked to the right, seeing nothing but a door covered in black ink.

She then saw another door adjacent to that one, and she moved to that one to open it.

Theli then followed after Gyles, who had opened the door to look inside. "What's in there?"

"Nothing, just more black ink and children's toys," Gyles replied, her voice annoyed.

The room looked average, with a single bed in the corner, and stray dolls and toy trains littering the floor.

Gyles then signed, her body already moving towards the door at the end of the left hall.

"What's got you all annoyed?" Theil questioned her, following behind her.

Gyles signed again, turning toward Theli. " It's just... We've been checking houses all day, and it's all the same, I guess I'm just exhausted. I might have been saying the same thing when we were on the stairs." She then faced the door again.

Gyles then opened the door, her eyes taking in the sight of black ink. She then tapped Theli on the shoulder to get her attention. She then pointed, and stuck in the black ink was a shiny silver sword; it was an enormous Broadsword stuck in the blood. It is about 6 feet (182.88 cm) tall and as wide as 1.25 inches (3.18 cm)

"Woah," Gyles said, her voice surprised, eyes wide in wonder.

"Woah, indeed," Theli said, her eyes also wide in surprise.

Gyles tapped Theli on the shoulder, saying, "That sword can be yours."

"Wouldn't it make more sense for you to have it since you have the shield?" Theil replied, her voice questioning.

"Yeah, but you still need something to protect you; I've got the shield, and I'm pretty sure I can't take it off." Gyles then turned to take it off but was unsuccessful See, it's melted onto my skin, and I don't want to try to pull it off."

Theil nodded and then began moving toward the sword. She leaned down and picked it up; surprisingly, it was easy to pick up as she put both of her hands on the handle and lifted it. Woah!" Theli gaped.

"How is it?" Asked Gyles.

"It's unexpectedly light," Theli said, holding the sword up to the ceiling.

"Alright, then where are we going to sleep?" Gyles questioned.

Theli had a look of confusion on her face. "Aren't we just going to sleep downstairs?"

"Well, I kind of don't want to sleep downstairs since the monster is still around. What if the monster comes through the door while we are sleeping?" Gyles then clenched her fist "We would be dead before we knew it."

Theli had a hand on her chin and thought, "Then can't we just sleep in the kid's bedroom?"

"The bed is too small," Gyles said, "and one of us would have to sleep on the floor with no cover or pillow."

"I'm fine with sleeping downstairs on the couch. You can sleep in the kid's room," Theli suggested.

Okay," Gyles said simply.

Theli had a shocked look on her face. "Okay? Just like that."

"Hey, if the monster comes through, you're going to die first. At least I have time to run." Gyles shrugged. "Well, I'm hungry. I'm going to the kitchen to see if there is anything to eat." She then walked out of the room, presumably to the kitchen.

'What a pessimist' Theli thought, following after Gyles, who had walked down the stairs into the kitchen and started to open up the cabinets, checking for food.

"Heads up," Gyles said, throwing Theli a granola bar towards her, who caught it "It looks like most of these cabinets have been emptied, probably by the people who lived here before."

Theli then sat down on the couch and opened up her granola bar, taking a bit out of it. 'It's a bit stale' she thought.

Gyles then joined her and started to eat hers. "So what was your life before? You came here."

"Oh, I was just living with my adoptive mother. There's nothing more to it; what about you?" Theli said, looking towards Gyles.

Gyles then simply stated, as if it were commonplace, "I am homeless, you know, just trying to survive on the streets."

Theli has a surprised expression on her face. "My condolences," she said, her voice full of sympathy.

"Do not worry about it, because right now I am the happiest I have ever been," Gyles said.

Both Theli and Gyles smiled at each other.

Theli then stretched and yawned, "Well, I'm going to lie down now I'm so tired."

Gyles then took off her cloak and gave it to Theli, saying, "Here since you don't have a cover. I'm going upstairs."

Theli smiled and said, "Thanks."

Gyles then went upstairs, and Theli reclined on the couch, covering her body with the cloak and placing her hands behind her head as she dozed off.