[Sarah]

Marrisio offered he to go into the clump of brush first, but was waved down by Red. -You did it last time.- She said to him, pushing ahead to stand in the front of the brush. He nodded at her worry ate him in the inside. He watched her disappear into the brush while he waited for her return in the open plain. Angry with himself for not following her, but he had little choice in the matter. First off, red had wanted to go alone, secondly he had to keep watch for anyone getting close.

[Sarah]

Red ducked into the small trees, inside was not what she had expected. She had pictured it looking, neater. Never the less she looked around. It was not a very big space, mostly just tangled branches. It did make for an odd two story feeling. She cast the thought aside, trees didn’t grow that way. it did not seem like anything would live here. She scrounged around as far as her arms could reach without moving from the spot she was in. no nests where visible, and there weren’t any tunnels on the ground. She shuffled forward, considering cutting the branches out of her way.

[Sarah]

She sniffed around some more, her eyes casting into the darkest placed of the grove. Eventually she had to back out and go back to the open plain. “Will they be on the outskirts or on the inside?” she asked Marrisio. He jumped, she must have startled him. His face burned red for a moment as he said. “I would assume they would be closer to the outside, considering there is more placed to hide from predatory birds.” He grumbled still slightly embarrassed that Red had made him jump.

[Sarah]

Stepping back into the trees the two hid from the snow that had started falling softly onto the plain. The night sky was a deep purple that cloaked the sky. The moon did not show though the think blanket of clouds, only an odd illumination behind the clouds showed that there was any moon to be found. With the dark grasps of night came the cold claws of the winter chill. The snow fell at a slow tempo, its small flakes stuck to the tall grass, making it droop and flatten to the ground. Red shivered, pulling her cape around her arms.

[Sarah]

The plain was perfectly silent; a serene beauty befell the two huddling close under the thick cluster of trees. Red was the first to make a move, she was getting cold in her human form. She changed, a flash lit up the surrounding snowflakes causing them to refract the light into an odd circular rainbow thing… now that her thick fur caressed her body Red felt warm instantaneously. Marrisio was snuggled in right between her shoulder blades, having changed the same time she had.

[Sarah]

Red poked her head out of the thick tangle of foliage, staring up into the night sky trying to find the moon. Small drifting snowflakes strayed from their downward spiral to rest upon her nose. Her breath was a mist in the dark melting the frozen air. She stepped back into the trees again, they weren’t in the middle of the plains anymore luckily; but they were far enough in that it would be a good two or three miles until they reached the tree line.

[Sarah]

-It was hot all day and now it’s probably below zero!-  Marrisio exclaimed sounding annoyed. Red nodded in agreement; there was no middle ground for the plain it seemed. Of course she couldn’t make that call based on the fact that she had hardly been here for a day. –What should we do?- Red asked, her paw pads would freeze by the time they got to the tree line.  –We can’t stay here for much longer.- She added, lifting her paw to place it under her arm hoping that would warm it up some. –I didn’t prepare for cold weather before we left sorry-

[Sarah]

Marrisio shifted from his spot on her back to on top of her head. Hoping to be able to calculate how far Red would have to run until they broke away from the thick of the snow. What he saw did not brighten his hopes; the tree line was at least two miles from where they sat. Marrisio could sense Red’s growing frustration. –I doubt we could…- Marrisio stopped mid thought, he needed to say just the right thing to red to her get out from under the shelter of the trees. –the tree line is only about a mile from here- he lied, -You could run that in no time- Marrisio crossed his claws hoping she would believe him. –It looks like its father than that- she replied, doubt clouding her mind. –We could always start a fire and set up camp here- Marrisio suggested, -it would probably be a lot safer to do it here than to go numb and have to do it in that forest.- he pointed out.

[Sarah]

Red grabbed some small twigs hanging dead off of the trees. She placed them carefully in a small circle shape. Unsure whether they would light and burn the trees down, or if they would just smolder weakly. She had nothing to light the kindling with, and had no clue how to start a fire from scratch. –No worries- Marrisio said projecting his clam mood around them, hoping to get Red too relaxed. He changed into his human form once again, pulling his backpack off of his shoulder. Red changed right after him, using her cape as a type of blanket. She was used to harsh winters; the place she had come from was far in the north so they had snowfall all year round.

[Sarah]

Marrisio fumbled though his bag, unzipping many inner pockets. At last he pulled out a small pack of matches, Red sighed in relief, and her fingers had started to go numb despite her best efforts at keeping them warm. –Quit worrying!- Marrisio exclaimed flicking a match against the package. Flame exploded from the small strike he had let out, holding the match on a piece of needle and twig he breathed life into the small flame. Light caught in the trees, and reflected off of the snowflakes. Reds eyes took a moment to adjust; since the moon was hidden they had been stuck in basically total darkness.

[Sarah]

Warmth was a whole other ordeal, once the fire had started to crackle; it was a race to cut down any unneeded branches from the trees. They had to be attentive to which branches they cut, one small branch and they would have a major hole in their makeshift roof. The cutting was easy, and was beneficial to them in more than just warmth; they had more room to stretch out. Before they had to crouch awkwardly, their legs cramped and their necks kinked. Now they sat comfortably, their legs spread out.

[Sarah]

The fire crackled, but they didn’t have to worry about the trees lighting up. Wood was stacked and for the most part they were content with the situation. They had a small supply of food, at least a weeks’ worth. They had clean water, and a fire to keep them from freezing. And a shelter they draped over them like a blanket, letting the harmful smoke billow out, while the warmth stayed in and they cold stayed out.

[Sarah]

This cold seemed different to the cold Red had experienced, it seemed wetter, maybe it was because of the fire they kept, or the temperature. She didn’t care for it, Red liked to be dry. –What now?- She asked Marrisio, she had to admit sitting around a fire was boring to her, it reminded her to much of her past. “We could tell stories.” Marrisio said his eyes catching hers, holding them in place. Something like fear scorched though her veins. Her heart beat faster. She knew what he meant; maybe it was time for her to tell him. “You don’t have any stories to tell.” She scoffed, celebrating internally that her voice didn’t crack. “You do.” He replied his eyes narrowing. he poked at the fire with a thick stick they had cut. Red sighed, memories were brought forward, memories she didn’t want to have sprouted into her consciousness. She could feel Marrisio project his calm towards her, she tried to fight it, but it always had a way to infiltrate her mind.

[Sarah]

Red nodded, “ok,” her voice was a whimper. “I need to tell you, and I know that I have been neglecting the fact that you are here to help me.” She could not hold back her tears; they streamed willfully down her face. Marrisio was caught off guard, but he was quick to reassure her. “Its time to let some of your past go.” He said softly, moving over to hold her. “This could be a way to do that.” She crawled into his lap, burying her face in his sweatshirt. They weren’t together like boyfriend or girlfriend. Their love was not something that could be explained.

“I lived in a small village.” She started, her eyes wandering back to the fire. “On a place called Earth.”

[Sarah]

“I was born there, unlike other children who travelled to bigger towns. My mother and father named me Redrana, it was a unique name. I was an only child my parents found out that they could only have one child. My mother was devastated, they found out when I was about five years old… I felt so guilty; I thought it was my fault that they could have me, like I meant less to them because they had wasted their one chance at a boy. They loved me unconditionally though, and as I grew I could see the love they held for me, and for each other.  Given that I was only about ten when I finally realized they loved me, what I did for them was not shocking. I thought that since they couldn’t have another baby I would go find one for them to have.” Red paused, laughing at the thought of it all.