You're in pain. She didn't deny it. I can keep going. Elias removed his coat and placed it around her shoulders, adding warmth and weight she didn't know she needed. You keep going, he said.
But you don't do it alone. Aayoka met his gaze. There was no demand in his voice, only a steady promise that he wasn't going to abandon her to her own limits. They continued forward, traveling until the snow thinned into damp earth and scattered patches of ice. Elias led them to a fallen pine hollow underneath from rot.
"Rest here," he said. Aayoka lowered herself beside the trunk. Elias knelt and inspected her bandages, tightening them with gentle efficiency. She watched him work, her voice steady but quiet. "You didn't have to come this far with me.
I brought danger to your home. " Elias shook his head. You needed help. That's all that mattered. She studied him. And what do you need?
He paused. The answer wasn't easy to say aloud. To keep someone else alive, he said for once. Aayoka felt the weight of his past settle between them. Not as a burden, but as a truth that shaped everything he did.
The wind shifted, carrying faint echoes from a valley. Elias lifted his head and listened. The sounds are distant. The men were off their trail. "We have time," he said.
"Not much, but enough. " Aayoka let herself breathe more deeply. Her pulse slowed. Her fear didn't disappear, but it was no longer overwhelming. Elias stood and offered his hand. "We move when you're ready. " She looked at his hand for a moment, then took it, not out of dependence, but out of choice.
Together they continued through the wilderness, bound now by something more than shared danger. Each step forward carried the same quiet agreement. They would survive this, and neither would do it alone. By late afternoon, the forest had grown quiet again, the wind settling into a low, steady breath that threaded through the branches.
Elias studied the fading tracks behind them and determined the men had moved too far north to reclaim their trail. The logging ground had broken the pattern enough to confuse even skilled trackers. It bought them hours, maybe a day. Aoka walked beside him, her steps more stable now that the terrain had softened.
The pain in her side remained sharp but bearable. Each time the ache pulsed. She tightened her jaw and focused on the rhythm of Elias's boots guiding her forward. He checked on her without speaking, giving her the space to move on her own, but stepping closer whenever the ground turned uneven.