Bad things, good things, all depends on the point of view.

Vrael nodded once in acknowledgement to Ahrach before he gently pinned his sister to the ground by the shoulder, trying to keep her still while he applied a little of the ointment. The demoness flinched as he touched the wound, but otherwise kept still. Somehow, she wasn't surprised by Arias's order for Meran to do this to her. If Shadow lived, she wouldn't be as much of a threat.

Ahrach stayed near Raven, gazing at her. He put one arm on his leg. He knew that once she'll be healed, she'll probably kill him for having helped her. Ahrach sighed. Val Keshra glanced at Kaera. Kaera glanced back at Val Keshra. They stared for a long moment, thinking of the same thing.

All three demons were silent, Vrael still bent over Shadow's wound, just finishing the bandaging. Raven was still staring after the Synari army, wishing they'd come back for her, but she knew that it wasn't going to happen. All the same, she hoped it anyway, trying to convince herself that they would come back.

Ahrach stayed near Raven, thinking. A very experienced warrior. And we leave her like this. I know I lowered her honour by healing her, but death is not honourable at all.
Val Keshra sat down next to a tree, and closed his eyes. Kaera sat down near him, and did the same.

Raven slowly sat up, face creasing in a snarl. She looked around, taking in the bloodstained clearing, her sword lying, abandoned, on the ground. Shadow carefully got to her feet, picking up the sword and handing it to her sister wordlessly. Raven looked up, puzzled, but Shadow was already walking away to sit down by Merlas, leaning against the mare's shoulder. Raven nodded, not saying anything as she sheathed the sword.

Ahrach stood up, putting the cloth and ointment back into his scythe. He stuck his dagger from the ground, and sheathed it in the hidden sheath under his shirt. He arranged his scythe onto his back, and gazed at Raven.
Val keshra opened his eyes, and Kaera did the same, but they did nothing more.

Shadow stood up again, wandering into the forest for a few moments. She returned with a sturdy tree branch, about at long as she was tall. He handed it to Raven, who got to her feet, leaning heavily on it to take the weight off her injured leg. The twins gazed at each other wordlessly, seemingly communicating through their gazes.

Ahrach glanced at Shadow, his golden eyes glinting as he did so. 'Now what?' he asked. He arranged his scythe onto his back, so that it wouldn't bump against his back as he walked. Being an eagle kuijin was pretty uncomfortable, when you had a big weapon, but Ahrach was better trained in weapon skill than in melee skill.

Vrael stood up, answering in Shadow's place.
"She should not speak for a while, until her throat has healed considerably." He said quietly. "I know not what we must do now, but I suspect that Arias will not hesitate to try to capture us once more, especially since she now has her eye on Val Keshra joining her forces."

Val Keshra stood up at those words. 'I don't think I would join her army, Vrael Mercian. It would be the last thing I would do.'
Ahrach glared at Val Keshra. Hmph. Go on, join her. We're not stopping you.
Kaera stood up at her turn, her hair flowing in front of her face. She flicked the hair out of her vision. 'We need to move, then,' she said, turning around.

Shadow nodded silently in response to Kaera's idea. She looked at Raven for a moment, thinking that her sister wouldn't be able to keep up with her leg. She looked at Merlas, who was calmly munching on some grass again. She helped Raven over to the mare, and up onto her back. Raven looked down at Shadow, confused. No one was allowed to ride Merlas apart from Shadow.

'We'll need to watch out,' Ahrach said, looking around, 'few humans are around these grounds. Hunting season. Remember to keep the ecuine under control if there is a sudden gunshot. Val Keshra, try to stay quiet,' Ahrach explained. He put his hand on his arm. He looked down at it. Shadow had healed his recent wound. He didn't want it to happen again.

Shadow scowled slightly at the mention of Merlas' control. She glanced at Vrael, using sign language to tell him something. Vrael looked at Ahrach.
"Shadow wishes me to tell you that Merlas would not put a foot out of line unless Shadow told her too, and she wishes to know your concern for her sister." He translated.

'Then why, when we met, Merlas was galloping away, hm?' Ahrach answered. At the sound of the end of Vrael's sentence, Ahrach glanced at Raven. 'I try to help... That's all.'
Val Keshra's eyes glistened. There was something else behind Ahrach's words. He knew it. But he wasn't going to try and find out.

Vrael glanced at Shadow, who started using sign language. Vrael translated without taking his gaze off the signs.
"Shadow says that Merlas was running because Shadow had told her to, as the hunters were likely to fire upon her as a species of strange bird. Also, she does not believe that you are telling the whole truth aout Raven."
Raven was glaring down at Merlas' mane, trying to block out the conversation.

'Hm,' Ahrach answered, simply, 'Don't beleive me if you want, Shadow, but know this,' Ahrach continued, 'I don't like seeing wounded people in front of me, without me trying to at least do something about it. That's why I carry this medicine, even though I never thought of using it for someone else's sake, as I'm mostly alone.'
Ahrach turned round, and began walking, near Merlas. Val Keshra and Kaera did the same, but Kaera walked behind Merlas, and Val keshra near Vrael.

Shadow took up a place by Merlas' head, and the mare willingly followed her, Raven holding onto the coarse hair of her mane. Vrael walked behind Shadow, keeping an eye on the two demonesses. No one of the three spoke, walking in silence, but Shadow was hiding something.

Ahrach walked slowly by Merlas, keeping a grip on his scythe. He glanced left and right. Something was wrong here, and he was sure. There weren't any ents in this forest, he was sure, because the kuijins were allied to the ents and they frequently meeted. No, something more ominous was here.

Shadow put a hand on merlas' neck, and the mare dropped her head to look the demoness in the eye. Silently, Shadow was saying goodbye to the mare. Vrael discreetly watched them, wondering what his sister was up to.

Ahrach lifted one eyebrow at Shadow's act. Now what's she doing?
He let go of his scythe. It clung to his back by his belt. His baggy pants went over his feet, and his baggy shirt went over his hands. His golden eyes glinted.

Shadow murmured something to Merlas, which Vrael understood as teling Merlas to obey Raven's commands. She glanced back at the others before she suddenly darted off, irnoging the raw pain in her throat. She had made her choice.

Ahrach blinked several times, then lowered his head. She has other things to do, fine with me.
Ahrach kept on walking next to Merlas, golden eyes fixed on Raven. Val Keshra fastened his pace slightly, and Kaera did the same. Val keshra didn't think that Shadow had gone away for nothing, especially without the Pegasus.

Merlas walked steadily onwards, her head down. Vrael was confused, although his face didn't show it. He guessed that Shadow had her reasons for running off, but he couldn't guess them. Raven was watching Ahrach through the corner of her eye, pretending she was looking down ad Merlas' mane.

Ahrach caught a glimpse of Raven's look, and turned his look forwards. He kept his hands in a fist. Val Keshra looked forwards, eyes glinting yellow and blue. Kaera was thinking of the future that will soon be presented to them. Slaying her father is a hard thing to do, especially since her father didn't know yet that he would do such a thing.

The two demons turned their gazes to the front, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Vrael looked up at the sky. He judged it to be about five in the afternoon. Looking at the ground, he tried to remember what was important about the night to come. He just couldn't put his finger on it.