[Redd]

Against the white and toned-down color of the landscape the bright Nebula Evren was certainly not hard to miss, as it swiftly ploughed it's way through the slowly rising snow. On it's back, sat a woman who wore a mask of sterness and she didn't look like one to be messed with at all.
Up ahead, hopefully was Basantha Shrine. The duo had trekked for days through the Fe'gan Mountains seeking out the shrine.

In all honesty, Kohana was at the end of her strength. The temple had to be coming up soon. They'd only need  an hour or two to catch their breath, before they could continue their trek through the mountains. They just needed a few minutes in a safe haven to catch their breath and perhaps find some food.
The woman's hand crept forward to pat the neck of the Evren, encouraging him to move on. With a snort and a weary nod of his head, the Nebula Evren pressed on, too tired for words.

Personally Kohana felt sorry for bringing Caure out. He'd whined for ages, trying to convince her he was ready to go out, and taking pity on the Evren, she had taken him. Now, he was at the end of his strength, searching deep down within him for the endurance only Evrens possessed. But that was quickly running out too.

Raising her weary eyes, Kohana spotted a hint of stone amongst the snow and pine needles. Could it be... the Shrine?
Guiding Caure with the reigns, she led the Evren in the direction she had seen the Shrine. Within a few minutes the sturdy stone walls of the Shrine were visible and both Evren and Kuhna-Woman gave a huge visible sigh of relief.
Once they had both reached the shrine, Kohana dismounted Caure with some difficulty and pain, and numbly hobbled towards the door. With some effort she pulled it open and only got a few steps inside, before she painfully fell down on the ground. Somewhere behind her, she heard Caure cry out, but she was too tired to care... she just wanted to sleep...

[Kyrit]

Basantha was generally a quiet, reserved place. That happened to be the reason he liked the place so much. Most people that came through were travelers, often looking for a bite to eat or simply a place to rest so they could get moving once again. Then there were those coming here to pray and those coming in search of something more. A few came to find inner peace, some to completely figure out what they were looking for in life, and some to find a companion. Within these walls many creatures roamed. Some of them wished to be freed of the curse upon them, which they needed the help of those seeking them out in order to do, and others wished for things more devious.

As a long term resident of Basantha Shrine, Serilvor had come to know those seeking freedom quite well and wished to help them. It would mean nothing for him to break the curse for any of them though, as it would still mean a daily life roaming around the same place they wished to escape. Though he was wary of many travelers, just as the Hunters, he often tried to help those he found were there with truly good intentions. It took a lot of trust to be willing to forever bind yourself to one person though, which was one of the many reasons it was hard to get a Hunter to come out of hiding. They also often felt as though they would only burden those wishing to save them, since one had to give up something of great importance in order for them to walk free from here.

Lately, no one he would have trusted enough to help had come through. Honestly, not many people had been coming through at all. With winter about, the Fe'gan mountains were even more treacherous to pass through, making it hard for anyone to come to the shrine or even leave it.

He had already pulled his hood up as he walked out in to the main hall. Dinner was ending for most of the monks currently, and he had been the first one to return to watching over the place. The sight presented to him upon walking in to the room was not one that he would have liked to see. He usually wasn't one to greet visitors, actually hiding almost as well as the Hunters when it came to meeting anyone. With no one else around though, it seemed as though he would have to be the one to help the fallen woman.

Briskly walking over to her, he bent down and checked her wrist for a pulse. She was still alive at least. From their place hidden under his hood, oddly bright blue eyes(they had no white to them and where the pupil should have been was only an even lighter blue) looked over at the Evren. "Can you help me move her to another room? As cold as she is she shouldn't even be sleeping. We need to move her to a warmer room and try to get her to wake up." He could tell that the Evren as well was tired, but he wouldn't be able to move her on his own. Once he had them both in another room he could get them something to eat as well, making sure that they built back up strength.

[Redd]

As Kohana fell, Caure started to panic. He jittered back and forth, tossing his head tiredly like a nervous horse. He didn't know what to do, whether this place was safe enough to run for help, or even if this place was safe at all. Kohana didn't tell him much, and so to him this was one enigmatic place.
Was... she dead?
That thought sent the Evren's heart pumping even faster with worry. If she were, it would be all his fault. He wasn't quick enough to get here, and now she was dieing.

Suddenly, a figure moved into the Evren's vision and before he had time to react the figure had bent over the Heiv Kuhna's fallen body. The Evren was preparing himself to drive forward and protect his companion, mustering every last ounce of whatever strength still lay within him, when the monk's voice cut through his tired rage.
With a sigh he lowered his head, jangling his harness and bridle. "I can carry her... far enough." He said in a gravelly voice. "Just... can you somehow get her onto the saddle on my back? It'll be easier that way."

Caure was glad to have someone in authority step in again and lead him. He was essentially just a mount and a pack animal and having no one to lead him around made him nervous.
That was how he had met Kohana. It was in a Marketplace in Aldrect. His previous master had become broke, and had to sell him off to afford to live. Kohana had noticed the Nebula Evren and decided to take the creature in.
Upon a further study of their 'savior', Caure had deduced that the man was a Temple being of some sort.
'Wow... this man is a long way from home.' Caure wondered to himself. 'Just like us... I guess.'

Caure carefully lowered himself down so he was lying on the floor beside Kohana.
"Thank you for you're assistance sir..." The Evren managed to say. "We won't bother you for long. We... just need to stay maybe... an hour? We'll make it quick. Don't want to be hanging around for too long."

[Kyrit]

Running to the fallen woman as quickly as he did did seem like quite the stupid move. Had the Evren not been tired and not realized in time that he was there to help, Serilvor could have been injured rather easily. One simple headbutt could have knocked the wind out of him or even cracked a rib, or one smack of the beast's claws could tear in to his flesh with ease. Still, this situation had called for haste. Had he had time he would have simply gone and got a few of the other monks to help her out instead.

Giving a small nod to the Evren, the monk did his best to move Kohana about gently. He seemed to have a hard time picking her up, obviously because he wasn't very strong instead of her actually being all that heavy, but he managed to get her on to Caure's back. She was now in a sitting position and he was standing next to them, letting her body lean against him slightly so she wouldn't fall off. Possibly leaning against him would also give her a hint of warmth while they transported her to a room.

Starting to walk with one arm around Kohana's shoulders to give her more support, Serilvor shook his head. "It would probably be best for the two of you if you spent the entire night here. You can either roam the shrine or relax in the room that I am taking you to. Either way, you won't be bothering us in any way. It is part of our job to make sure that any visitors to the shrine are taken care of."

Really, he spoke the truth. It wouldn't be safe for them to leave once again after only a mere hour of rest. The woman was out cold and the Evren seemed so tired. They both needed to eat as well, and by the time all of that was done it would probably be dark outside which meant it would be even more dangerous for the two of them to be traveling. So long as they stayed until at least morning he wouldn't feel too bad for letting them back out in to the mountains.

"Ah. Here we are." The door to the room he led them in to was already open. It was obviously a room that was used for groups of travelers instead of one room made for just one or two people, but none the less there was currently no one else there. "Let's get her bundled up on one of the beds. Then you can rest as well." Once they were close enough to one of the beds he gently removed her from Caure's back once again, pulling the covers aside to put her under them. There were two blankets put on top of her, both filled made with celestial wool and filled with Gyrraptor down, so hopefully they would warm her back up quickly. "Feel free to cover up as well. I'll light the fireplace for you in just a moment so it won't be so chilly in here."

[Redd]

As the Monk laid the girl upon his back, and led the weary pair across the hall, it was almost too hard for the Evren to stop his legs giving way, and consequently crash to the ground. But the only thing that stopped him from doing so was his pride and his concern from his boss. If Nebula Evrens were said to be vain and proud, that held true for this Evren.

Kohana was dimly aware of the movement as she was moved from one location to another, but she thought little of it. She could feel the beating of the larger creatures heart, which was comforting enough for her.
As the warmth from the new room seeped into her bones, it began to rouse her from her exhausted, sleep-like state. As awareness began to sink in again, she began to take in her surroundings. She was swathed in blankets, and Caure was swaying unsteadily on his feet, saying to a monk who was present in the room, “Only if that is alright with you... We thank you for the hospitality you’ve shown us. I don’t think we would have survived another night out there.”

Not wanting to feel like an invalid, Kohana struggled to raise her head up off the bed to look up at the monk too. Looking at him... well he certainly looked different.
“This is... Basantha, isn’t it?” She asked, struggling to get the words out.
(Guh.. . short post is short)

[Kyrit]

Serilvor gave a few waves of his hand to the Evren as he turned to walk toward the fireplace. "As I said, this is a resting place for visitors of the shrine. During the other seasons when the weather is slightly better, we get many visitors. For those seeking refuge, who would we be to turn them away, no matter why they are here? Guests are always welcome to stay as long as needed."

By the time he was done talking, the monk had already knelt down by the fireplace, starting to work on starting up the flames. It would have been nice if they had a heating system like most buildings now days did, but it was a shrine after all. Being built out of stone and the like many years ago, there had been no way to do such other than a few fireplaces where they were needed the most.

Hearing a woman's voice, his attention was pulled away from making the fire for a moment. Ah.. so the lady was awake? Well, it was good to see that they didn't have to make too great of efforts to wake her. Seemed as though they had managed to get her in to a warm bed before she could fall in to too deep of a sleep.

"Ah, yes. You're right, this is Basantha Shrine." He wasn't quite sure where else she thought she could possibly be, but he wouldn't pick on her for the question. She had just woken up after all and still seemed very weak. With the question replied to, he finished setting up the fire and stood up once it was blazing. Turning back toward her, he spoke once again, "Do you believe you can eat? Even if it is just soup, you need to get something down."

[Redd]

The Evren didn't really hear what the monk had to say, but the words kept the Evren from collapsing where he stood, and helped guide the Evren to the warmth of the fire. As the fire slowly crept up, the Evren eased into a sitting position, his head hung low.

At the sound of his masters voice Caure’s head perked up and swivelled towards the source of the noise, but he made no move to go to her. Not yet anyway. He had given way to exhaustion and as the heat slowly crept into his bones; he became more and more drawn in by the concept of sleep.
He trusted the monk not to harm Kohana or himself while he rested up.

Kohana attempted to wriggle up into a sitting position but with the combined exhaustion and the sleep that seemed to be trying to seduce her, it was an almost impossible task.
Oh right, she had to answer Serilvor’s question. She almost forgot to listen, and reply.

“... I... believe I can?” She mumbled, sighing deeply. “Oh! Caure... where?”
“Boss? I’m fine... I’m right here.” Was the Evren’s reply.

Kohana slowly blinked, trying to fight off the sleep. She knew about the dangers of sleeping when one was exhausted- they might never wake up- but it was just so hard.
So they had made it to Basantha, at last. This was their last stop before they reached their destination, further north. But... now that they were here, Kohana was pretty interested in exploring the deeper parts of the Shrine.
She had been here once before, but the circumstances then were highly unpleasant... boy that Calamikuhna got quite a scolding once she had caught him.
... Maybe once she had rested a bit... they could explore the shrine.

[Kyrit]

Good. So she wasn't so exhausted that she wouldn't be able to get anything down. She'd be a lot safer after she actually had some sort of a meal to help build her strength back up. Until then sleeping would possibly be fine, so long as someone kept watch over her from time to time. It was a bit worrisome to think that she might not wake if she fell asleep, but they wouldn't have to worry too much about that now that she was in the warmth.

"I'll be back shortly. Until then, please make yourselves comfortable. I wouldn't advise roaming around though. Not yet at least. That can be saved for later after the two of you have rested some. I'll make sure to bring servings for the both of you, as well as plenty of water." Water... nothing warm like say.. hot chocolate? Well, by the time he got the meal to the room from where it would be made, the drinks would have gotten cold anyways, making it rather pointless. The shrine probably didn't even have something like hot chocolate anyways. Just the bare basics since for the most part it was only the monks there.

Giving a small bow of his head to the two of them, Serilvor headed out the door to go ahead and get them something to eat. The monks must have been rather trusting, leaving two strangers in a room to simply relax. Their exhaustion could always have been merely a play put on to earn the kindness of those dwelling in the shrine.

[Redd]

As the monk left the room, Kohana shifted so she was facing the Evren and the fire. She was a little muddled up about the whole thing. She had collapsed in the saddle outside, and had suddenly found her way into a bed in a shrine. That was enough to muck with the Heiv Kuhna for a little bit, but she still found it necessary to do the normal, routine things.
"Caure? Can you move a tad closer?" She asked, her finger fumbling with her belt buckle, trying to get the belt and it's sheaths off.
The Evren nodded his head and slowly made his way over to the bed. By the time he got there, Kohana had successfully pulled the belt off and had laid it down on the ground beside the bed.
The Kuhna-woman reached out and fumbled around with various buckles, until she was able to pull off the saddle, reins and bridle and toss them on the floor beside her belt.
Normally, she would have taken better care of the equipment, but in her current condition she was too tired to care- she just had to fulfill the routine.

After the last piece of leather fell off the Evren, Kohana rolled on her back again, content enough to slip back into a deep slumber, but she just had to hold out for a few more minutes... that was all.
Then she could sleep... That would be just great~

[Kyrit]

When he arrived in the kitchen it was already deserted. Those that hadn't already turned in for the night had gone to watch over different areas of the shrine or even clean. Honestly, he preferred it this way. The only bad thing was that it meant the food would need to be warmed back up, which would take a while. After all, it wasn't like they had an of those fancy microwave things. No electricity meant they didn't have anything even slightly similar to that.

On the up side, the two visitors were allowed to rest while he worked on getting the meal ready for the two of them. As he slipped back in to the room, Serilvor was quite surprised that Kohana seemed to still be awake, even if she seemed to be barely hanging on to consciousness. Setting the tray he had been carrying down on a night stand, the monk walked over to the bed's edge.

"You could have slept while it was being cooked. I could have woken you up so you could rest." Well, she had been resting by merely laying there, but he would have preferred if she had slept a little as well. Both of them really. Turning back to get the tray, he let out a small sigh and continued, "Oh well. Pointless in telling you to sleep now. The food already cooled a good bit on the way here. It should still be warm enough, but not so hot that you'll have to wait to eat it."

The tray was placed next to her on the bed, that way she would be able to sit up without knocking it over. He also took a second bowl of soup from the tray and placed it down on the floor for Caure. "Sorry it's nothing more, but we don't get a lot of choice what we eat here."

[Redd]

Kohana shrugged a little at the Temple Lucain's remark. It had taken the entire time he was gone to try and wrestle both her sword belt and Caure's harness and saddle off, and she wouldn't have allowed herself to sleep until she had done so. She was a fighter, hardened by habit and as stubborn as a bull.

"Thank you...?" She paused, trying to recall if she had caught the monk's name or not. She wasn't quite sure if he had and she had forgotten, or he had just never told her.
In the end, she just sighed and started to dig into her soup. Compared to what the pair had been surviving on for the last few days, the soup seemed like a feast to her.

"No, it's fine." Kohana replied, dipping his head in gratitude as she finished devouring the contents of the bowl. "But yeah... we might... sleep now...thank you."
As she spoke the words, her head drifted slowly down and she struggled to keep her eyes open. She didn't want to fall asleep right in front of the stranger, but that was so hard to do and by the looks of Caure, he didn't have the same issues.
Sighing she allowed her body to relax and to fall into a deep slumber.

[Kyrit]

Serilvor didn't give his name when her slight pause came up. It's possible he was going to say it on his way out and was cut off by the fact she fell asleep. Honestly though, he probably wouldn't have told her anyways. Honestly though, he just didn't care to give out his name. It wasn't that he hated her or anything. In fact, most of the other monks in the shrine probably didn't know his name since he just didn't give it out often. The temple Lucain had always preferred to stay out of the spotlight, talking to very few people.

Once she was asleep though he saw no reason in staying there any longer. If she woke and needed help of some sort, some other monk would likely be in the area and be able to help her out. He gave a small bow of his head before slipping out the door, even though she couldn't see it.

Unknown to the new visitors and even Serilvor, someone else had been watching them the whole time. She had done her best to stay quiet, hoping that the Lucain wouldn't notice her and try to keep the others from spotting her for sure. Of course, she didn't want them seeing her right away either. She just figured that since they were so tired they were far less likely to notice her than the monk caring for them. Having followed them to the room they were being housed in, she had to make a quick run for it to keep the monk from seeing her each time he went in and left. Quite the hassle really.

When he left for the final time though, she decided to be a bit more brave and check in on the two of them herself. She waited for him to exit the hall before slipping past him and in to the room with the two sleeping beings. There was a soft clicking sound against the ground as the beast walked around the room, peering up on the bed to look at Kohana and then around the corner to Caure. She spent a good while in there, though eventually she finally left since she knew they would wake at some time. She'd much rather watch them from afar for a bit before meeting them.

[Redd]

(Skipping forward a few hours, because it's kinda hard to RP sleep 8D)

Within the depths of her mind, Kohana dreamed. Nightmares once from another time in her life, crept forward flickering on the edges of her vision. Once or twice she caught the flash of steel, snatches of cruel laughter or murderous glances. The shadowy forms occasionally strayed into view, and there, Kohana struck out against them with her dual-blades but most clung to the shadows, taunting her.
Last but not least, she saw the broken body of a Calamikuhna, riddled with bullet-holes. Upon seeing that, she gasped and jack-knifed out of bed.

It was a memory from another time, but it occurred here, in the shrine. Not in these halls-perhaps lower, in a more hidden area. There had been no monks, so that must have been it.
Kohana propped herself up against the wall and played with the sheets idly. The dream was disturbing and she hadn't experienced anything like it, but she forced it to the back of her mind quickly, for Caure was stirring, either too troubled by visions or roused by her sudden movement.

"Y'right boss?" The Evren managed to mumble out. "Heard.. noise.."
Kohana quietly slipped out of bed and moved over to the Evren, laying a hand on his head.
"Shh... Rest." She whispered quietly. Caure needed no further instructions.

Quietly she slipped her sword sheath over her back and did up the buckles. Although she believed that she could handle anything, her dream had warned her that some parts of this shrine were not safe. Once she believed that she was ready, she quietly slipped out the door into the main hall of the shrine.
Kohana wasn't quite sure where she was headed but she was curious to explore this place under the cover of night.