Heading Up Stream (1)

The sound came again.

Rustling. Then another snap of something dry breaking beneath careful steps.

Warren opened his eyes. The sleep he'd fallen into was deep, but not deep enough to keep out the noise of movement in the woods.

He didn't sit up. His body still ached, and his limbs were slow to respond.

Instead, he tilted his head toward the entrance of the cave.

Something—or someone—was out there.

'It's not the wolf... too quiet.'

Whatever it was, it hadn't come charging in. The footsteps were too deliberate, too slow. Not like an animal on the hunt.

Warren forced himself upright, one arm bracing against the stone wall for support. His body protested every inch of movement.

He didn't know what he expected to see.

But he hadn't expected this.

Two figures stood near the bodies. The moon was behind them, so their faces were half-swallowed by the dark. One was shorter, with hair tied back tightly and a cautious stance. The other taller, broader in the shoulders, hand resting on a sheathed weapon.

They hadn't noticed him yet.

Warren remained silent, watching. Deciding how he wanted to approach this.

The shorter one knelt beside one of the corpses.

"Still fresh. This wasn't long ago," she said.

Her voice was soft, but firm. Careful. Like someone used to speaking with control.

The taller one responded, his tone rougher, weight behind his words.

"Too clean. Whatever did this... it was strong. Stronger than a rank 7 for sure, at least not a normal one."

Warren finally stepped out from the shadow of the cave.

"I wouldn't get too close to them," he said.

The two figures flinched. Both turned in his direction. The tall one shifted his footing subtly, a hand tightening around the grip of his sword, though it stayed sheathed—for now.

Warren raised his hands slightly. Not in surrender, but enough to show them he wasn't carrying anything dangerous.

"I'm not your enemy. My name's Warren."

The two exchanged a glance.

Even in the darkness, Warren could tell it was one of those long, quiet conversations done entirely through eye contact.

A question passed between them. Then a choice.

"...Kaela," the shorter one said.

She stepped forward slightly. Warren could see her more clearly now.

Her eyes were sharp. Narrow. She looked younger than he expected, maybe around his own age, but there was nothing soft about the way she carried herself. Her armor was mismatched and worn, probably scavenged, but every strap was tight. No waste. No flash.

Much lighter than the chainmail tucked below thick leather the wolf victims were wearing. A scout, he realized. Or someone who had traversed the woods long enough to become one by force.

The other one didn't speak yet. He just stared.

Tall. Solid. His shoulders were broad, posture tense like a drawn bow. His hair was dark, short, and wild like he had cut it himself with a dull knife. His face was angular, jaw squared, and there was a scar cutting along the side of his neck, just beneath the ear.

He finally spoke.

"Vin."

He didn't offer a smile. Not even a nod. His voice sounded like broken gravel, but the way he said his name left no room for confusion.

Kaela looked back at the bodies again. Her brow creased.

"...Did you do this?"

Warren shook his head.

"No. That was the wolf."

Another glance between the two.

This one tighter.

They didn't believe him.

Not yet.

"The same wolf that tore through these people... just let you live?" Vin asked.

Warren exhaled.

"It tried. But it was already wounded when it attacked me, I fought back as best I could, and eventually... it ran. Limped off into the trees."

He gestured to his clothing. Torn. Bloodstained. Dried smears across his chest and arms. The evidence was written all over him.

Kaela's eyes narrowed, scanning him more closely.

Vin stepped forward and bent low beside one of the corpses. His expression didn't change, but Warren noticed his hand shift slightly closer to the hilt of his weapon.

"These wounds," Vin muttered. "Jaws. Claws. Something big. Too big to be human."

"They weren't killed by me," Warren said again. "Like i said a wolf did this granted is was about 3 meters in height."

Silence.

Then Kaela stood again and looked at Warren directly.

"...Where are you from?"

"Nowhere close," Warren replied. "I woke up here. No idea how. I had to crawl away from that wolf to survive."

"You're alone?" she asked.

"Yeah."

Vin didn't seem satisfied with that answer.

"You said the wolf ran off. Any reason it didn't come back?"

Warren paused.

'I should keep the stone and the alter to myself until i figure out what exactly i have gotten myself into.'

"It was hurt. It wasn't thinking clearly. It saw I was still breathing and decided I wasn't worth the energy."

That was close enough to the truth.

The two scouts looked at each other again.

This time, Kaela nodded.

"...We're scouts from a human settlement west of here," she said. "We were sent out to find a hunting party that went missing a few weeks ago."

Warren looked over the corpses once more.

Five of them. Now nameless, motionless beneath the moon.

"They came here," Warren said. "And didn't leave."

"Exactly," Vin said. "Now that we've found them, we need to return and give our report."

Kaela took a breath.

"You'll need to come with us. Your testimony will matter. If you were here when it happened, the higher-ups will want your account."

Warren nodded slowly.

'Alone or not, I'm not surviving long without help. If there's really shelter nearby... then that's my next destination.'

'So it was a shelter. That house symbol on the map.'

"I'd love to help with your report." Warren paused for a moment contemplating if he was really willing to follow two complete strangers deeper into the woods. With a toothy grin he added "Lead the way."

They departed not long after.

Vin took point, sword still sheathed but always close.

Kaela walked slightly behind Warren, watching the woods like a predator waiting for movement.

No one said much.

And yet, that silence told him everything he needed to know.

He wasn't being followed by the unassuming girl.

He was being watched.

He wasn't quite trusted.

But for now, that was fine.

He could work with that.

He had made it through the cave.

He had made it through the wolf.

Now he was headed west.

Toward shelter.

Toward answers.

And maybe—just maybe—toward something bigger.

Something worth surviving for.

***

The deeper into the forest they walked, the thicker the trees became.

Twisting roots coiled over the earth like veins. The sunlight above grew dimmer, fading into streaks of gold barely able to push through the tangled canopy. The air held that heavy, damp quiet that always came before a storm.

They traveled mostly in silence.

At some point during the march the formation shifted.

Kaela now led with casual but efficient movements, as if she had taken this route a hundred times before. Vin kept to the rear, his eyes scanning everything. Every snapped twig or fluttering bird drew a cold glare. Warren felt like the odd piece of the puzzle. Out of sync. Out of place. But alive.

That was something at least.

Eventually, they stopped near a small clearing.

Kaela stepped ahead, gaze sweeping the perimeter, and set her pack down toward the center. She crouched low, beginning to arrange gear and clear out an area to sleep. Vin lingered behind a few paces, standing with his arms crossed.

They exchanged a subtle glance.

It was quick, barely a flicker.

If Warren hadn't been watching, he might have missed it completely.

Still... he noticed.

It wasn't hostile, but it carried weight. Like they'd agreed on something without needing to speak aloud.

Vin turned to Warren.

"We'll take watch. You can get some sleep."

The words, though phrased politely enough, landed with an unmistakable chill. Not aggressive. Not even unfriendly. Just... calculated. Icy.

Warren squinted, trying to read past the surface.

'What he really means is... they don't trust me. So they'll keep an eye out for monsters—and keep an eye on me, too.'

He wasn't wrong, probably.

But he also wasn't in a position to complain.

"How generous. Thank you, Vin," Warren said, his voice touched with sarcasm, though he laced it with a smile for good measure.

It was too dark to know if Vin saw the smirk.

Maybe he did, and just didn't care.

Vin turned away without a word and moved toward Kaela. The two exchanged quiet whispers too hushed for Warren to make anything out.

But honestly, he didn't care.

His legs were heavy. His ribs ached. His body still hummed faintly from the memory of the fight with the grey-furred beast.

Sleep sounded... really, really good.

He sat down near the edge of the clearing, where the ground dipped just enough to offer a shallow cradle of dirt and moss. Kaela glanced his way.

"Good night," she said gently, brushing some leaves from a blanket she had unfurled.

Warren blinked.

Then nodded.

"You too," he said—but only after turning away.

A faint blush crept onto his cheeks.

'Maybe this isn't so bad.'

He settled into the ground, letting his body ease into the dirt and darkness.

It was still unfamiliar.

Still dangerous.

Still unknown.

But for the first time since he arrived in this world... Warren wasn't alone.

And that was something worth surviving for.