Crisp, soothing breeze swept across Sereplain in place of scorching, oppressive heat, as dusk engulfed the plain.

  Since departing from the mushroom rock, the siblings had been marching for hours without stop. Devoid of any food or water, their feeble bodies lightly swayed with the wind.

  Mere dozens of meters ahead of them, Cinderglaze loomed. Its canopies rose hundreds of meters high, while the forest sprawled in either direction for as far as the eye could see.

  Its moss covered woods and faint mist creeping between the trees seemed archaic and ominous, as though concealing something sinister enough to give even the veteran warriors wet nightmare.

  Yet, standing before the verdant expanse of Cinderglaze were no seasoned warriors, but two little girls. Not here to test their mettle or prove their worth, but merely to pass through.

  The forest, however, would test them all the same.

  The siblings gazed at Cinderglaze with eyes full of solemn reverence. The older sister was stunned at the majestic sky-piercing trees, and also a little unsettled, though she betrayed none on her face.

  The younger sibling gulped in awe. Watching her sister's calm expression put her mind at ease.

  Yet some unease still lingered within the younger sister. She clenched her teeth as if to stop herself from voicing her thoughts. Looking down in embarrassment, she relented and hesitantly spoke, "Sis... must we leave?"

  She was never told why they had to face one tribulation after another. Or, why their mother who forebade them to roam outside after nightfall, had devised for them to escape Caldraveth.

  However, she knew. Intuitively, she always knew why they had to leave.

  Her mother's feeble constitution, the disdainful side-eyes of pedestrians and guards, and above all the palatial structures of Caldraveth. They constantly reminded her of the truth of their existence—misery without any salvation.

  Still, the enigmatic might of Cinderglaze made her question: do insignificant beings like them have any authority or hope at defying the edict of world? Would it not be better to just stay within the walls of Caldraveth?

  The older sister looked at her sister's eyes. She wanted to speak something gentle, consoling, optimistic. Yet when her mouth opened, the words were what she always told herself: "Yes, we must."

  The younger sister had expected a witty reply laden with teasing, or at least one with more syllables. Strangely though, those three words carried more weight than anything else could.

  Not willing to linger any further, the siblings primed themselves for the ingress into Cinderglaze; and moved.

  Approaching Cinderglaze, a peculiar sound echoed continuously from within. The siblings had never heard anything quite so alien, or quite so melodic.

  The younger sister hid behind her older sister, and asked meekly, "Sis, what is that sound?"

  The older sibling, just as confounded, patted her sister's head. We are going to figure that out soon, aren't we?

  They cautiously pressed forward.

  The alien sound grew more fierce and pervasive by the minute. Their surroundings had also become more crisper than before. Besides, one more thing had changed—moisture. Their clothes and skin got damp.

  The older sister noticed this quickly; she wanted to break the news to her water-starved sister, but she was too late. Her sister was already licking her own face to quench her thirst.

  The older sister closed her sister's mouth with a palm. She could understand her sister's act, however she could not bring herself to allow such an unsightly act in her presence. She was not that thirsty or taxed, at least not yet.

  "Listen Pipsqueak, there's a lot of water here we can use later, but first we have to find a shelter. Night is almost upon us, and unlike Sereplain, we can't see anything around us. We don't know what lurks behind these woods."

  She drew herself closer, and emphasized, "So, endure a while longer—and no more licking."

  The younger sister gave a reproachful look, but then nodded.

  The older sister navigated their way through the bushes and tall grasses. It was not long before she grew annoyed with the endless flora obstructing her path. In pique, she brushed aside leaves and strode brashly.

  She rashly lifted one leaf as large as her hand, and was suddenly splashed with water. Her body drenched from head to toe.

  Just as she was about to tear off the large leaf, her sister grabbed her drenched clothes and pointed ahead.

  It was the source of the alien sound the siblings had been hearing for a while; the mundane phenomenon called rain.

  Today, the siblings witnessed something so simple yet magnificent for the first time in their lives.

  They marvelled at the sight of millions of droplets pouring simultaneously—only to be replaced by newer ones a moment later.

  "Sis, is that rain?"

  "Yes... It is, 'squeak."

  They approached the precipitating landscape and allowed themselves a brief moment of respite.

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  The forest of Cinderglaze was seldom silent, perpetually echoing with the chorus of its fauna, subtle rustling of leaves and drumming of rain. Yet none of these could deter the siblings from a much-deserved slumber. Making a bed out of leaves, they took repose beneath an immense tree that gave them shade from the incessant downpour.

  The moon-suffused night sky illuminated all that lay between Sereplain and Glaswold—except for Cinderglaze. For it was veiled beneath the dense foliage of canopies, rarely giving space to the moonlight. Thus, nighttime was the hour of tenebrous shadows in Cinderglaze, where nocturnal creatures thrived and preyed.

  Yet, the siblings had slept unbothered. When the older sibling finally awoke, it was already past midday, and to her relief her sister was still sound asleep. Otherwise she might have gone out venturing into some burrow again, or kidnapped a cub to keep as a pet.

  The older sister slowly removed the leaves from her sister's face and body, which she had covered them with to repel pesky insects. Unbeknownst to her, it had also camouflaged them from the predatory eyes of numerous beasts.

  The younger sister opened her eyes and was greeted by the warm radiance of sun and the smile of her sister, almost dazzling her. "Wake up, Pipsqueak. We have lots of stuff to do."

  True to her zestful self, the younger sister jumped to her feet. "Just don't tell me we are leaving today. There's so much water here, also there's bound to be a lot of edible things here."

  The older sibling made her sister sit beside her and replied, "No, we are not. Happy?"

  The younger sister replied only with a wide grin.

  The older one continued, "We must prepare ourselves for the road, at least till we reach some settlement in Glaswold. There we can use the money uncle gave us to chart the rest of our journey. I'm going out to gather food."

  She then gave a set of mundane tasks to her sister and a final instruction, "No matter what do not leave this place. I will be back before dusk."

  The older sibling left, venturing deep into the woods to scour for food and other materials.

  She took off most of her clothes else, she risked getting them drenched. Left in only a lavender blouse and black trousers, she felt shivery. But paying it no heed she pressed ahead.

  Moving cautiously through the woods, she avoided open spaces and stayed low among the tall grasses. The forest was replete with plenty fruits.

  But she could not positively pick out the edible ones from the noxious ones. So, she was very selective in her pickings, which above all was time consuming.

  She had several sturdy and expandable pouches to store familiar fruits, like banana, avocado and some berries. She packed five pouches worth of fruits, two of which were scheduled to be devoured by tonight—courtesy of two ravenous beings.

  Tch, not sufficient. But she couldn't linger any further, lest she get lost in the dark.

  There's always a tomorrow. She did not push her luck and retreated back to her sister.

  The younger one, meanwhile, had finished her chores and was sitting idly in deep thought. Can I for just a minute? No, sis is scary when mad. But what if I just for a second...aaah!

  She scratched her head. A gnawing question pressed on her mind: should she investigate the nest on a nearby tree.

  She did her best to save herself from her own inquisitive self. The back and forth went on for quite some time, then she finally yielded.

  She rose to explore the world-staggering mystery that lay buried inside an unassuming bird's nest. But before she could unearth the allegedly arcane knowledge, a figure approached from behind.

  "Whatcha doing there 'squeak?" The older sibling had arrived.

  The younger sibling froze. "Nothing you didn't tell me to, dear beautiful sis."

  Dear? She's hiding something.

  The younger sister had spectacularly failed at hiding her unease. But the older sister, after a toiling day of climbing and running was in a dire need of amusement. So, she decided to play along for a while.

  "Nothing I didn't tell you. Is that right? So... I take it you were gathering leaves and vines, yes?"

  Confident that she had eluded her sister, the younger sibling rolled her eyes. "But of course, sis."

  In a pleasant voice, older sibling retorted, "But there already are more than enough leaves and vines for our needs. Pray tell 'squeak, were you planning to rob Cinderglaze of its lush entirely."

  The younger sister briskly pointed at her sister, and spoke in a high pitch, "Why are you drenched again... you do know we only have one set of clothes, right?"

  A bit incensed, the older sibling playfully shook her head, spraying some of the water onto her sister. "I'm wet because it's raining out there, now don't change the topic. Where were you going?"

  The younger sister was also adamant in concealing her vice, for she abided by a certain maxim: what you can't prove, didn't transpire. So she kept mum, not uttering a single word.

  So that's how we are playing, the older sibling squinted. She scanned their surroundings for a moment and noticed a nest in proximity.

  "Say 'squeak, do you know what may lie inside that enigmatic nest? I mean, it can't just be insects, twigs and perhaps an egg or two."

  "I was just about to find that out. You can come with me, sis," the younger sibling spilled the beans in her enthusiasm.

  Bullseye. the older sibling smiled.

  As the gravity of her words dawned on her, the younger sister grew paler by the minute. While the older sister wore an ominous smirk—one that heralded disaster for the young explorer.

  After the younger sister was properly punished, they enjoyed a hearty supper, and went to bed satiated with swollen bellies for the first time in a long while.

  The older sister decided to set up their bedding atop a tree. The tree was spacious enough to house the two of them, while also offering safety against creatures who prowled the ground.

  Repeating the same practice as yesterday, the older sibling carefully covered themselves with a thin layer of leaves. Additionally, she used the vines her sister gathered to fashion a functional barricade along their flanks.

  Perhaps I scolded her too harshly. The older sibling spared a glance at her sister, who was peacefully asleep.

  I suppose I can bring her some creature as a pet tomorrow, that ought to cheer her up. But I will name it.

  Having made her plans for tomorrow, she also fell asleep following her sister's lead.

  At midnight, the night sky was bereft of its lunar glow, painting the plains in shadowy black ink, while also rendering Cinderglaze murkier than yesterday.

  The younger sibling's sleep was disturbed by a scraping sound from below their tree. She glanced down but could not make out anything except an obscure silhouette. She lightly nudged her sister awake.

  Little by little the scraping sound grew more intense and shrill—followed by a low growl.

  The siblings were wary of any beast, but one they could not discern had left them unsettled. The older sibling plucked two branches from a nearby outcrop. She handed one to her sister, thinking, Every drop counts.

  The siblings grew more anxious with each passing second. They tried to make no unnecessary sound—even stifling their breaths.

  A stray firefly drifted aimlessly toward their tree, then wandered off to the source of scraping. The firefly revealed fitfully: long curved claws, thick black fur, slightly humped shoulders and feral eyes.

  A black grizzly bear! The older sister recognized the creature.

  For a moment, the older sibling's gaze met the bear's. The grizzly's eyes had no malice in them. Yet it gave off a feral glimmer, assuring her that the bear would reap their lives without reserve, not because it hated them. No, but simply because of its primal nature.

  "Sis, can Blacky climb?"

  Before the older sister could answer, an eerie noise reverberated from deep inside the forest. The bear broke off its clawing and followed the sound.

  Relieved, the older sibling spoke lightly, "I guess we won't find out tonight."

  Poor bastard. The older sibling pitied the creature that had distracted the bear, while also grateful to it, for it had perhaps saved their lives.

  The siblings remained alert for a while before again drifting back to sleep.