When Kharin and Leeteuk had headed out after having set the latter’s ankle, they had been at least moderately hopeful of their situation.  They were both alive, if injured, and were well enough to move, which was a very good thing, but as the day wore on and hunger continued to gnaw at them, that hoped seemed a fragile thing indeed.  Port Corley didn’t seem to be getting that much closer either, as the day wore on and dusk threatened.

                One highlight Kharin was moderately happy about was that she did end up finding a medium sized woodland creature to slay.  She was still distressed at her success since the shadow blade she threw had ended up decapitating the creature, which she could only presume was some sort of pig they had seen on the edge of the forest.  It was short lived though, since they had food, even if they did have to be creative about how to prepare it.

                Their survival skills were not extensive, but since the monastery had been fairly self-sufficient, most of the occupants knew at least the basics.  Starting the kitchen fire, or their own room fire for that matter, by hand had been a skill they had all acquired.  With his ability, Leeteuk was able to fashion a pair of flint stones and while Kharin was busy tackling the messy job of preparing the creature into more manageable pieces, he attempted to start a fire.  Kharin had one shirt left from this morning and he used part of it, now quite dry, with additional deadfall to get a fire going with some difficulty.  His earth ability was also useful in providing prongs to roast the meal on.

                While Kharin, disgusted by the amount of blood she had managed to get on her person, quickly went back to the river to clean up, Leeteuk started cooking.  None of them were great cooks but when all he was doing was roasting a hunk of meat over a fire, it was kind of hard to go wrong.  Erring on the side of caution, he did manage to overcook it a bit.  Even then, with it being as bland and tough as it was, they both ate hungrily.  It was the first bright spot they’d managed to create for themselves since fighting the construct.

                As night settled over the pair like an unwelcome blanket, they stared at the flickering fire, deep in thought and actually relatively physically content.  Kharin had thrown the rest of the creature they couldn’t use into the woods and Leeteuk was finishing up cooking the rest of it to take with them.  The shadow elementalist pulled her knees to her chest and rested her arms on top of them.  “Do you think they’re okay?”

                “Yes,” Leeteuk answered, almost by rote, his eyes still slightly out of focus as he listened to the ground, one hand pressed firmly to it.

                His immediate answer annoyed her.  “How can you be so sure?” she asked irritably.  It bothered her he didn’t even think about it.

                The earth elementalist blinked several times and then focused on her as he pulled himself to concentrate more on her question.  “I can’t,” he admitted after a pause, making her frown.  “But I have to believe it.”  His eyes turned thoughtful and then warm as a smile played on his lips and Kharin knew immediately who he was thinking about.

                In a way, she supposed he was right.  It only hurt more to think they weren’t okay out here.  Even if they were wrong, at least they could believe for a time.  It was a sad thought…one that prompted her to speak again, “You should just tell her how you feel.”  She focused her green eyes on the earth elementalist and waited to see how he would respond.

                Leeteuk’s smile faded as his brows pulled down in confusion briefly.  “Huh?  Tell who what?”

                Kharin had to laugh, recalling Kyuhyun’s comment towards her when they had been caught in the thunderstorm.  No…she was not as bad as Leeteuk in that regard.  “Eleanara,” she prompted.

                “She knows how I feel,” he assured her automatically.  “I care about her like I care about all of you,” he elaborated.

                Kharin smacked her face with an open hand and laughed.  “You can’t be that blind,” she laughed as she peaked through her fingers at the bewildered elementalist.  “Or maybe you can.”  Her amusement faded with a sigh.  “You should tell her you love her,” she stated, pointing a finger at him sternly.

                Even more bewildered now, Leeteuk looked at her and then looked away, the wheels in his head turning.  He loved them all.  He knew that much, but as he went back over the moments he had spent with the group in his mind, he had to admit he had a fair few that came back to her.

                With a sly smile, Kharin watched the thoughts cross through his head.  “You’re doing it again,” she laughed as the warmth returned to his face.

                Leeteuk ducked his head and smiled harder.  This time, the warm feeling didn’t quite dissipate as quickly.  Eager to get the topic off him, he looked back at her and gestured, “And Eunhyuk?”

                “I’m working on that,” she admitted, quite happy to let the slow smile show as she thought about him.  His infectious smile, the striking blonde hair, brown eyes she could look into for hours and the way he moved…  With new resolution, she nodded to herself.  “We will find them,” she spoke softly, raising her eyes to meet Leeteuk’s across the fire.

                He nodded in agreement, his expression still thoughtful and warm.  Somehow, they would.  Reluctant to let go of that moment, he glanced up to see the moon and the stars.  It was getting late…  With a heavy sigh, he wrapped the rest of the cooked meat in the remains of the shirt and swallowed the fire in the earth.  “Come on, Kharin.  Let’s get some sleep,” he suggested, waving her closer to him.  “We both need the rest so I’m going to close us in tonight,” he explained, already starting to pull a shelter up around him.

                Kharin shuddered briefly.  She was sure she wasn’t the only one that didn’t like being ‘trapped’ as it were, but to provide them safety and assure rest, it was the only way really.  “Okay…” she sighed, carefully settling herself next to him as he crafted the earth around them.

                The shelter was lower than usual but it surrounded them entirely before he poked several holes and crafted various slits to allow the air to move freely.  “It’s just a precaution,” he assured her.  “And if anything big heads our way, I should hear it.”  Namely, through the ground, but he would be aware one way or the other.

                “If you say so,” she murmured, rolling onto her side and closing her eyes.  If something did happen, she would deal with it when it got here…

~~~~~~

                Kyuhyun was able to carry Eleanara for at least a little while before his own reserves started to fail.  He had been a bit overly optimistic when he offered to carry her for any length of time and his body was reminding him of that quite forcefully.  With some grumbling at his inability to continue forward, Kyuhyun paused and looked over his shoulder at the sleeping woman there.  “Nara,” he spoke firmly, trying to avoid having to call her again.

                Startled by the sound, Eleanara flinched and returned to consciousness quickly enough.  While comfortable, riding on someone’s back wasn’t conducive to sleeping for great lengths of time.  “Kyu?” she queried, readjusting herself slightly.

                “I need to take a break,” he admitted reluctantly, already letting her legs go so she could slide off.

                Reflexively, she grabbed at his shoulders and pulled him back a step before she was able to lower herself to the ground without falling off.  “Sorry,” she murmured at his annoyed look.  It wasn’t as if she meant to throw him off balance.

                He waved at her dismissively after a moment and sighed, “Never mind.”  Promptly, he wandered off the road and threw himself down on the grass, laying out to stare up at the sky.  A handful of fluffy clouds floated by overhead, crossing in front of the sun that was nearly directly above them and casting them in shade.

                Uncertainly, Eleanara pulled the waterskin that was still slung behind her out and took a sip, wandering over to the river to refill it before moving to kneel next to Kyuhyun.  She felt steadier for the nap, but she could tell they were both starting to get worn down.  Her stomach grumbled plaintively and she frowned.  Water did nothing to make her feel less hungry and she hadn’t found anything along the riverbank that might be edible either.  Curiously, she looked over at the tree line of the forest and sighed.  There might be something there…  She couldn’t hunt anything but that did not mean she wouldn’t be able to find something to eat.  “Wait here, Kyu.  I’ll be back in a bit,” she assured him softly as she touched his nearest arm, seemingly without thought as she was still looking at the forest.

                His eyes shifted to look at her and then he shrugged.  “Don’t be gone too long,” he warned, making himself more comfortable.  Quietly, he heard her depart and then promptly lost track of time as he closed his eyes.  With a start, he came to, feeling vaguely disoriented and then blind as he looked up at the sun still directly overhead.  He shielded his eyes with his hand and then looked around.  “Eleanara?” he asked, sitting up.  When he didn’t see her on the road or by the river, he started to get concerned before he looked behind him towards the forest.  What was she doing this time…?

                Eleanara made another face as the berry she tasted proved to be as sour as the last one she had found.  She had deliberated for a while before trying anything and had finally resigned herself to attempting it with the fervent hope she could cure poison as she had been told in the monastery.  The ones she had found had been smooth and green, with pretty yellow flowers sprouting throughout the bush.  Edible or not, they were incredibly sour.  The handful of darker, more red ones were slightly less so but still hard to eat.  By now, she figured that the way her stomach was reacting was due to the disagreeable taste of the berry rather than any noxious effects.  At least they didn’t smell bad.

                She nearly dropped the bunch she had gathered in the bottom of her shirt when Kyuhyun came up behind her, “What are you doing?”

                The light elementalist stood up swiftly and whirled around, startled.  “Oh, Kyu,” she laughed nervously, taking a deep breath.  “I found some berries we could eat,” she explained with a shrug, moving closer to him to show her bounty.

                Kyuhyun frowned at her.  “Are you sure they’re safe?”

                “Mostly,” she nodded with a shrug.  “They’re very sour, but I’ve had no ill effects yet so…”

                His eyes widened and he smacked his forehead with his palm.  “You tried them without knowing what kind they were?”

                Eleanara frowned back at him and responded firmly, “We need food.  Would you rather I have had you try them first?”

                A little guiltily, he looked at her, feeling just a bit abashed in that he really wouldn’t have preferred to have been the tester as it were.  “You should have at least told me what you were doing,” he mumbled in annoyance.

                “I didn’t want to disturb you,” she admitted quietly.  He had given her a chance to rest and catch her breath.  It had been the least she could do to try and offer him the same.

                Kyuhyun groaned softly under his breath and sighed.  “So?” he asked instead, peering down at the collection of berries she was carrying.

                “Hm?” she chirped, briefly confused before she saw his focus.  “Oh.  They’re very sour,” she explained uncertainly, disappointed she hadn’t been able to find anything more appetizing.  “The darker ones are a bit sweeter though,” she offered, extending the makeshift basket out so he could see better.

                Tentatively, he tried one of the darker ones and he was glad she’d warned him.  Even considering it was supposed to be better than the green ones, it was quite startling.  Immediately, he swallowed as quickly as he could, grateful she had politely looked away and hadn’t laughed at him as he half-expected.  “Ugh…”

                “Sorry,” she murmured, waiting for him to go ahead and take some more.

                “You say that too often,” he grimaced as he reached for another handful reluctantly.

                “Sor-” she stopped short when he glared at her and swallowed the word.  Instead, she took another small handful and chewed it resolutely, cringing when the sour taste overwhelmed her taste buds.  “At least it’s something,” she gasped.

                Kyuhyun coughed as the mouthful he had went down slowly.  “Right…”

                They ate as quickly as they could and washed the potent flavor down with more fresh water before resuming their trek.  Kyuhyun took the lead again and Eleanara continued her pattern of lagging in search of more signs but she wasn’t as distracted this time.  He kept looking back to check on her but she seemed to have managed to regain a measure of her focus.

                Mildly restored by the taste of food and the small break, the pair continued on their path.  They were a bit slower than before and Eleanara continued to keep an eye out along the woods to see if she could find anything else to eat, but this far out, her sight wasn’t that great.  The sun continued to travel through the sky, reminding them as the shadows shifted that night was coming.  Both acknowledged they would not be able to walk through the evening again.

                With darkening expressions, the pair watched the sun finally sink beneath the horizon and they debated briefly on where to sleep.  Both desired a modicum of protection but the woods were not a place they wanted to sleep unguarded.  The road simply felt too open, as did the grassy strip between the forest and the path.  Finally, they decided to stay near the river, which provided at least one natural barrier for their peace of mind.

                Eventually, they settled down, foregoing both a watchlight and the fire.  There was no point.  As much as they wanted a watch, both needed the sleep too much and the lights might only draw additional unwanted attention to them.  Kyuhyun watched Eleanara for a while in the dim light.  She was impossible to hear over the sound of the river, but he knew she wasn’t sleeping yet.  “Nara.  Go to sleep,” he told her finally.

                She rolled over to look at him in the moonlight.  “I’m trying,” she stated softly, the words almost lost in the background sound.

                Kyuhyun didn’t justify that with a response.  He sighed and rolled onto his back instead, cradling his head in his hands.  Idly, he wondered how the others were.  Could they see the stars too?  Briefly, he was distracted when he heard the sound of her shifting again.  He peered over and was surprised to see her kneeling next to him, looking very uncertain.  “What’s up?” he asked bluntly.  She asked him something quietly so that he couldn’t hear her over the river.  “What?” he asked again, confused.

                Her discomfit grew as she had to repeat herself so she blurted, “Can I stay with you?”

                He eyed her blankly, her posture radiating uncertainty.  Finally, he groaned and extended an arm.  “Come on,” he gestured in resigned acceptance.  Carefully and before he could change his mind, Eleanara slid next to the fire elementalist and curled into the hollow provided by his body.  Reassured by the physical presence of another, she was able to slip into unconsciousness swiftly, to his perturbed amusement.  Somewhat awkwardly, he rested his free hand on her shoulder and took another deep breath.  To his own surprise, the contact was welcome; a gentle reminder he wasn’t alone or facing this by himself.  “Good night, Nara,” he whispered as he followed her in sleep.

(a/n:  I know we just saw these pairs the last chapter but I realized I didn't want to have Siwon seeing ahead as it were since when he scryed the last time, it was later in the day than when I had left off with the others.

Also, in case there's any confusion/curiosity, the berries Eleanara finds are early gooseberries (for all intents and purposes).  It's a very sour berry but entirely non-lethal.

Thank you to my readers who continue to take the time to follow me, both silent and otherwise, and I hope that you will continue to do so!  <3  Have a great day!)