Corba Is Safe

     A while passed until Yuka was shaken awake.

     "Hey, we're here", Hrafen said, stepping away and getting off the wagon.

     Yuka looked around and saw that it was stopped next to a tree, which Hrafen was securing it to.  Her eyes had to adjust for a moment as many huge trees were covering up the sky, not even a glimpse of sunlight shone through.  Off in the distance was a decently sized log cabin, standing gloomy and dull.

     "Where are we?"  She asked.

     "This is the Unlit Forest.  Spooky huh?"  He smirked at her.

     "I guess, but also boring.  Why is it called that?"

     "Nobody knows, but light doesn't exist here.  It is impossible.  If you try to make any, it doesn't work."

     "Yet you live here?"  Yuka gave him a humored glance.

     "Well, it is empty, that's a bonus.  Most normal people think it's cursed, so they avoid it.  Though they weren't far off."

      "Why would you need to be alone?"

     Hrafen coughed.  "No reason. Let's go, that's my place over there."  He indicated the cabin.

     Then he approached her and offered a hand.  "Come on, you're injured.  Let me help."

     "Thanks."  Yuka took his hand, and he helped her stand with a few groans and yelps.  He helped her off the wagon and they moved towards the cabin while Corba soared around.

     "By the way, I never even asked your name,"  he said then chuckled.

     "Oh, I am Yuka."

     "Lovely name, you already know mine.  It's a pleasure to meet you", he said with a smile.

     "He's acting somewhat different", she thought, "what happened while I was out?  Well, may as well enjoy it.  He is a good kid anyhow."

     "Well, it sure is interesting to meet someone like you.  You live in a place like this, dress like you can't pick a color, and your best friend is a bird," she said then laughed a little.

     "Hey! What's wrong with my clothes?  I like them, that's all that matters.  And Corba has been through everything with me!"

     "Yeah, yeah."

     They kept trudging along, jokingly bantering, until they finally reached the cabin.

     "Alright, we will be staying here for a while, please settle in.  I have some stuff to do now that I am back."  He led her to a bed in a room, then he left the cabin.

     "Okay", she thought.  Her head turned, eyes taking in the room she was brought to.  There was a plain table next to her bed, as well as one at one of the corners with things on it.  But what really caught her attention were the carvings of symbols in the center of each wall.  "Probably runes, but what are they for?"  She thought about it for a moment, before deciding to ask Hrafen later.

     Since she wasn't in any shape to stand up without support, she just stayed on the bed and waited for Hrafen to return.  Ten minutes later he did, carrying a multitude of fabric.  "Miss me?"

     "Your place is boring," she said.

     "What did you expect? This whole forest is boring."

     "By the way, what are those times for?"  She pointed at the walls.

     "Well, most people add runes to their homes to improve foundations, insulation, and whatever issues you may have.  There are a few things that they can't cover, but they are very useful either way."  He placed the blankets on her bed, as well as some clothes on the table next to it.

     "I had no clue what would fit you, or what would be too tight, so I picked out some extra baggy clothes."

     "Thanks."

     "No problem, anyhow it is better if we eat and get to sleep as soon as possible, I wanna do something when that time comes.  And while I was gone I had an idea that may help your memory, so tomorrow there's a village I want to take you to.  I have a friend there who knows a lot about souls, so maybe she'll know something."

     She was just about to respond but a deafening screech tore through the air.  Her sight flickered, and her head began to spin.

      "Curses!  Why are they early?  Quick, we need to do this now!"  Hrafen stumbled towards the table in the corner, retrieving some ink and a quill before stumbling back.  He soaked the quill and grabbed her arm.  He began hastily drawing a rune.  His hand trembled, but he managed to finish it right before another screech sounded.  Hrafen collapsed to the floor.

     Yuka came back to her senses after a minute and looked around.  "Hrafen?"  Her eyes widened when she didn't hear her voice, but this wasn't a good time to ponder on it.  She finally noticed him on the ground and gasped.  She quickly got off the bed but immediately fell to the floor due to her leg.  She screamed out loud but crawled over to the boy.  She shook him, a panicked expression on her face.  Then she noticed the rune on her arm.  "A rune?"  She looked around and found a bottle of half-spilled ink and a quill.

     She snatched them up, dabbed in the ink, and looked at her arm.  It was a half-circle with an 'X over it.  She quickly drew it, then returned to shaking him.

     It took a few seconds, but Hrafen woke and saw.  Yuka sighed.  "Are you okay?"

     He gave her a questioning look before he stood up, grabbed the quill and ink from the floor, and went to the table in the corner, coming back with a paper.  He began writing. A few seconds later, he showed her it. "I'm fine.  Thank you.  Write everything you wanna say."  He put it all on the floor and gestured to it.

      "Why?"  She wrote.

     "The rune we made bound our hearing.  We can't hear anything right now. The only way to be safe."

     "What even was that?"

     "Those are the beings of this forest.  I have no idea what they are, but they come out every evening.  I never expected them to show up at noon."

      "Why didn't you mention them to me before?  This seems very important."

     He shrugged. "You have enough stressing you as is. Usually, nothing actually happens, this is the first time they've shown up this early."

     At that moment Yuka noticed something.  "Where is Corba?"

     Hrafen thought for a few moments.  Finally, he wrote, "Corba is safe.  He is outside, but he can't be harmed by them."

     "What?  Why?"

     Another pause.  "I put up some barrier runes outside surrounding the cabin.  There's also some on the walls."

     Yuka narrowed her eyes at him.  "You're hiding things.  First, you decided to pick me, a stranger, up.  Then you knew about the rune on my stomach.  You've been very kind to me since I woke up earlier.  And now this?  What are you hiding?"

     He shrugged with a smirk.  "Who knows?"

     Yuka rolled her eyes.  "Even if we've just met, I have no other choice but to follow him", she thought, "he knows a lot of stuff.  He also has the only lead to maybe fixing my soul and getting my memories back.  And it isn't like he is bad, he is just hiding things."

     She yawned then took the quill.  "I'm tired already?  But I've slept twice in the past 9 hours.  Could it be my broken spirit?"

     "Maybe.  Are you hungry?"

     "Not really."

     "Okay.  Get some rest then, I'll have a meal prepared for when you wake."

     "Okay."

     Hrafen stood and helped her get into bed, where Yuka immediately started to doze off.

     "Sleep well", he wrote, then left the room.

     Yuka's eyes drooped, closed, and darkness took her in.