One More Step

*pant*pant*pant*

Barely able to keep herself upright, the cloaked woman ran as fast as she could through the forest. Fog swirled around as an invisible dome kept it at bay. With branches, bushes, and rain whipping at her face she pressed on hoping....praying that someone could help her.

"Men, make sure to hold onto the mana threads so you don't get lost! I'm the only one strong enough to resist the fog's misdirection and illusions!"

The blonde knight shouted at his squad while following the tracks in the mud.

"She can't be that far ahead! We must catch her before she finds anyone or it will be your heads!"

*yawn*"Saaaaviiidjuh....."

"That's not my name Thom."

"Why did you volunteer us for guard duty.... nothing ever happens anyways."

"This is something we need to do and learn so we can show that we can be relied on in our tribes."

"Savage, we're about to become tribe leaders. My father is already talking about retiring in Lou-ran by snowfall."

"The fishing village with the stuck-up pointy ears?"

"Hey, they're not all bad, especially in Lou-ran. Plus aren't you friends with Thalin?"

"He's only a half-elf so it doesn't count..... also he's about as Elvish as I am."

The two men continued to converse while making their rounds in the pale light of the guardian stones.

"What happens when the stones go out or break?" Savage asked.

"Haha wow and you told me we needed to learn about this and you didn't even pay enough attention to know how the stones work? I'm only telling you this once so unlike the teachings pay attention. The stones are powered by the Great Tree near the elven capital. Whenever one is losing power or is broken from one thing or another Noct will bring a replacement and take the old one to the tree. Around here at least."

Savage wondered what kind of power the Great Tree had to imbue the Guardian stones with the ability to ward off the fog and creatures alike. Thom on the other hand continued to lecture Savage on the teachings he ignored previously.

"So the creatures below D-rank aren't strong enough to re-"

*snap*

Both men turned their heads in the same direction.

"Did you hear that?" Thom questioned.

"Yeah... I can also smell it... Its blood... and it's coming towards us."

Both men got ready for a fight. Thom crouched lower to the ground while Savage got ready to catch what was coming.

"Same plan as always? I'll hold it in place and you finish it if we can't handle it individually?"

"Yeah, and I have the horn to call for backup just in case."

With her legs about to give out on her, the woman continued to run, but she was at her limits with the pain. Her bare feet that were cut up by the rocks and sticks still hurt less than the wound on her arm that reopened.

I need to find shelter or someone to help me soon. These weren't the only words that raced through her mind, others like pain, heartbreak, liar, and betrayal were also there.

"I...Is that....a light?" She struggled out between her heavy breaths. "A....almost there..."

"It's a human Thom." Savage quietly said.

"Stop where you are or we wi-"

*Splat*

The woman fell into the mud, her legs finally giving out under the stress. "I was so close!" she thought. "Only twenty to thirty more meters and I could find help." The faint blue light in the distance seemed like it was mocking her. "I was deluding myself into thinking I could find help...I even thought I heard som-"

"Don't make any sudden movements and stay where you are. We will come to you. Just know if you try anything we will kill you without hesitation." Savage shouted.

"She's only about 20 meters out. She has to be strong enough to resist the fog right? She couldn't have found her way here otherwise. Unless..."

As they approached ready for anything, that's when they saw it. A ten-meter-wide sphere with no fog with the woman in the middle.

"That's insane Savage... she's actually loved by the forest. Do you know how rare that is? You can count the number of humans loved by the forest on one hand."

Thom's amazement at the person in front of them was immense. Once they got within a few meters of her they realized how bad of a condition she was in. Thom went to her and flipped her over, holding her in his arms.

"Are you alright miss? How did you get here?" Thom questioned.

When she opened her eyes the sight she saw wasn't what she expected. The muscular man in the back was covered in dark grey fur. His two ears were on the top of his head and were pointed. His mouth was full of sharp teeth but the empathy he had on his face detracted from the fear one might initially have. His companion who was holding her up was quite round and had small pointed ears. The orange fur started at his eyes and went over his head and down his back with white being in the front. In her fatigue, she didn't understand what she was seeing.

"A dog and a cat...?" She finally said.

Savage looked puzzled. "No were actu-"

He got ready to fight because of the sounds he heard coming toward them. Out of the bushes came the blonde knight with his five-man squad and upon seeing the two men shouted one word.

"Ferals!"