There was no way they could stay where they were for another second.  They had to get out of that valley of godawful things before nightfall, try to distance themselves as much as possible before they couldn't move any longer.  The idea of sleeping anywhere near such an abomination... it simply wasn't a pleasant one.  No one argued when Sandy picked up the pace.
        Only Roan glanced over his shoulder as they headed desperately for the horizon, hoping to find something much better over the next hill.  What he saw made him cringe, but he refused to react in any other way.  The others would not know he'd been affected at all.  They could not exploit a weakness he didn't have.  The old man they'd just seen--that the bitch had just spoken with and very nearly offered him to--was flat on his back in a pool of his own blood.  Even from that distance, Roan recognized the suicide.  Kerenth had slashed his own throat.  And, by the look of the object at his outstretched fingertips, he'd done so with a piece of shattered porcelain cup. 

        They made damn good time getting the hell out of there.  Just as twilight fell, they were climbing another hill large and steep enough to have been considered a small mountain.  But this time they moved quite a bit slower.  While they did obviously want to leave the valley behind, it had been a surprise.  And it was a terrifying thought to think another surprise was more than likely awaiting them on the other side of the hill they were climbing.
        Shadow somehow found herself in the lead.  She paused and looked back at her companions, slowing way down as they reached the crest.  She sure as hell didn't want to be the first one to look over, but... well, hell.  She was there.  She'd have liked to think there could be little more disturbing than what they'd just seen... but she knew better.  She may not have been able to imagine something worse at that moment in time, but she knew it certainly existed.  If there's one thing she could know for sure at that point in time, it was that it could always be worse.
        Evyn looked up to see her peek over.  His heart seized as he saw her reaction.  Her jaw nearly unhinged, and her legs almost collapsed under her-- "Shadow?"
        Roan didn't say a word.  But neither did he laugh.  Not even a condescending grin.  He just watched in rage of his continuing... concern.  Even he'd been a little thrown by what lay behind them.  If the cold bitch's reaction was like that, looking over the next peak... he shuddered to think.  So he didn't.  Just followed.
        Taerlyn darted after her brother, likewise concerned.  When Evyn had reached the top and looked over, he'd had quite a similar reaction.  When she joined them, however, she simply squeaked quietly.  All that desert, all that burning and death and destruction... and now they were overlooking a valley so gorgeously lush and green that it was just... fucking ridiculous.
        Even in the increasing darkness, they could clearly see the area beyond the valley of death was again like Eden itself.  Far ahead they saw the roaring swish of a cliffside waterfall, the ribbon of greenish blue rolling into the distance.  There were deer and giant ostrich-like birds drinking at the stream that lay at the bottom of the very hillside they were standing on.
        All of this, this paradise was just... a shock.  Animals and plants and a landscape so gloriously... unaware.  The song of night birds was cooing softly through the air while the trees were being rustled by the settling birds that were only awake during the day.  All was well in the valley that knew nothing of what was over the hill.
        Roan simply could not help the rush of breath that swept through him when he finally witnessed the dichotomy.  One side, the very essence that was murder, killing,  Death.  The other, the lush sweep of Life.  Like living entities opposing one another, back to back.  But--this?  Paradise in the land of his master?  It was... so very strange.  Even he felt a weight of fear lift.  What a joke.  He had been emotionally weakened by these... stupid creatures around him.  It was enough to make him--
        Sandy pressed her nose firmly against his back to get him walking.  This was... almost too good to be true.  And were that the case, that demon boy was going first.  The steed could not deny the scent of grass just a few yards down and grown into lush carpet by the time it reached the stream.  But, she realized, these were strange days in strange places.
        Shadow was still very much shocked as she followed.  She of all people could appreciate dichotomy; irony, especially.  But this was... a blow.  Not a bad kind of fatal blow, but... a shock just the same.  Evyn followed, with Ter close behind (she had already begun to excitedly murmur the names of some of the flowers).
        The animals at the stream darted as soon as they'd seen the travelers coming.  But they'd left in their wake far more than an illusion.  Shadow actually had to force herself to crouch and pick up a clump of grass to convince herself this was real.  Dirt and all, she raised the clump to her nose.  It smelled of fresh soil, cut grass, and--she sneezed.  "It's real."  She sniffed.
        "This is..." Evyn started in a whisper.  He promptly found he couldn't finish, not having the words.
        "Beautiful."  Taerlyn finished for him, stepping off a little ways to identify a bleeding violet.  Seeing one outside of a sketch in a book was... utterly thrilling.
        Shadow stood there on her own for a moment, looking up the hillside they'd just come from.  It was like a whole other fucking world.  Another doorway... only not really to another place.  Just another... sort of place.  Another... emotion.  It was still weird.  Very weird.  But she could go with it.
        Evyn stopped to make a water pouch refill.  They'd pretty much decided they'd keep walking for a time, then camp somewhere by the stream up ahead.  With the weapons they had, they could even hunt... if they felt like it.  If they were up to it.
        It was tempting to just say there at the edge of the valley in the clearing, but they could not forget what lay behind them.  For what anyone but Roan knew, that old cleric could turn out to be a robber or something.  That, and the very idea they were so close to all of that stench was... unpleasant.  It wasn't such a big deal walking through twilight, though.  Rather enjoyable, actually.  Not much movement, a comfortable coolness, the smell of plants rather than of death.
        They hadn't meant to set up camp so quickly, but just past the first bit of almost tropical forest was another clearing.  It was simply... perfect. They couldn't even see the hillside for the trees, and were just close enough to the stream to hear a mild trickle from time to time through the vegetation in that direction.  Surrounded by forest, but with plenty of area for a fire (they had to keep wildlife at bay) and sleep.
        Good thing it hadn't taken much more walking, though.  The events of the day were wearing them all quite thin.  Sandy most of all, though it could have been the armor.  Shadow assisted her in taking it off for the night before she stripped her own armor; but not the bracers.  No, those would stay on until she was ready to sleep.  The novelty had far from worn off.  Evyn was picking through some of the trees for firewood while Ter was actually in the process of making the fire.  Roan... was sitting.  On the edge of their camp, under a tree, keeping his thoughts completely to himself.
        The growling of Taerlyn's stomach signaled time to stop and relax.  They were hungry... but there was little option now.  Hunting at night just wasn't a practical idea.
        "Here's 'the deal'."  Shadow made quotation marks with her fingers.  "We can settle for cans tonight and hunt in the morning.  Or... we can starve."
        Evyn appeared to be thinking for a little too long for it to have been a joke.  "Well, maybe we'll try just one can."
        "Exciting."  She responded, digging in her backpack.  Some day she'd find a fridge for that Coca Cola...  Selecting a can at random, she tossed it to the expert.
        Still not so sure of this idea, Evyn shook it gently for a moment.  Swishing, alright.  Well, that was okay.  Maybe.  Hopefully.  It sounded like loosely packed something or other, so he carefully opened the top of it and revealed... "Little oranges."
        Taerlyn's eyes lit up.  "You're kidding!"
        Her brother handed the can over for her inspection.  "We're lucky this time."
        "Mandarin oranges."  Shadow corrected, needing only one whiff from a few feet away.  She wasn't crazy about them, but damn they were better than green beans or some other crap.  "We're eatin' well tonight."
        "Okay, let's divide them."  Ter sputtered excitedly.  It was too hard to be patient about matters like this.
        "Come here, donkey boy."  Shadow didn't even raise her voice.  She knew well enough that he was listening.
        Evyn gave her an entirely cold, startled look.  He could not fathom what would allow her to share their "bounty" with that little piece of--
        Fairness.  Again with the fucking fairness.  She felt like some... stupid nun or something.  "He can do tricks for them."  She couldn't put her finger on it, but she just... couldn't find it in herself to torment the demon creature as much as she thought she ought to.  A sudden thought flashed across her mind; maybe he'd been as affected by the morbid deaths as the rest were.  It was a stupid idea, she knew, but... she couldn't deny her gut feeling on the matter.  She waited for him to make eye contact, seeing if she could just get a hint of whether she was right or not.
        He would not meet her eyes, however.  He would not meet anyone's eyes.  He'd never had oranges before.  Never seen them, never smelled them.  But they... seemed good.  More good than bad.
        "Plenty of food for him just over the hill."  Evyn's voice was as hard and flat as his eyes were.
        The prisoner glared back hatefully.  Whether they'd meant to or not, they made him feel right at home already.  He didn't say anything, though.  Couldn't.  It didn't matter what he'd said anyway.  He'd have liked just one of those little orange things.  They resembled... maggots, really, but... they looked so much more appetizing.  That was a new thing, being... hungry. Wanting food.
        Taerlyn couldn't really say she thought it was unfair to deny him.  Sure he'd helped, but... it obviously wasn't out of the goodness of his heart.
        But Shadow made a very short moment of eye contact with Evyn.  It wasn't harsh at all, just questing.  Only after he was looking back at her, she spoke.  "It's citrus.  It'll make us sick on an empty stomach if we eat too much.  I don't want to waste it."  She paused but did not look away.  "And he did help.  Much as I hate to admit it."
        If he hadn't been in such tight control, Roan may well have grinned from ear to ear and thrown it back in the boy's face like a spiny rock.  But now he assumed he'd have to play the moment just right.  He was starting to really want some of those orange things.  The smell was getting to him.  The desire of the siblings to fight him for it would just make the taste that much sweeter.
        Evyn refused to regard her comments directly.  "What about Sandy?"
        The horse in question was a few feet away, grazing.  She was intent on pretending not to be listening.  This could get... messy.
        "There's plenty for her, too."  Shadow was quick to cut the threads leading away from the point.  Granted she didn't want to piss Evyn off, directly or not.  But she didn't want to give the demon boy another reason to betray them than she was certain he already had.  That, and... it just wasn't fair.  All feelings aside, they might just need the boy at some point in time.
        Evyn surrendered his position silently, but not without another harsh, questioning glance.  Shadow was forced to pretend to ignore it.  She could not reveal her line of thought in front of Roan without the possibility of more serious betrayals.  Or lots and lots of bothersome little ones.
        Taerlyn, merely sick of the whole affair, grabbed the can away and counted three for herself, out loud.  They could quarrel all they wanted, but she was going to eat.
        Evyn was next, counting three.  Then Shadow, who simply put the whole handful into her mouth.  Savoring all at once and such, you know.  To keep them all satisfied, she silently counted three more, then presented those in her other palm to Roan herself.
        He'd seen the others take and eat them whole, but he was rather... puzzled.  Concerned, maybe.  He scooped them out of the bitch's hand and stared at the jewel-like pieces, their smell easily lulling him.  He could not reveal his anticipation, however.  He was forced to swallow these whole so they wouldn't know he was enjoying them.
        "Slow down, Flash."  Shadow almost... teased.  What the fuck was making her be... well, so... civil to the little jerk?  "You could actually taste them.  Maybe even chew them."
        Well, she did suggest it.  And he had agreed to be more... well, agreeable.  As Taerlyn counted and handed the next bunch of three out, he very nearly made an unacceptable slip.  He'd gone to hold his hand out to the bitch.  He'd caught himself just in time, but... it was certainly enough to get to him.  To think they'd almost had him... trained...
        What had come over her, she'd surely never fucking know.  Shadow took his share in her other hand and presented it in her fist to the bastard boy herself.  When he just stared blankly at her, she asked, "What?  You want a hand feeding or something?"
        Had anyone been looking, the expression on Evyn's face would have most likely caused a pain in the middle of their forehead.  It was more than just pointed.  He could feel his lip curl with just the faintest hint of that suggestion.  He simply had to sit there and force a calm over himself that he knew would not come.  But he would sure as hell have to pretend.  For now.
        The look Roan gave her, however, almost seemed to communicate his thought process.  She wasn't certain what it was, or why he was acting as he was, but... she understood enough.  She presented the pieces to him in the palm of her hand instead, and he scooped them from her again.  Interesting.
        Sandy wandered over to where the pile of her own mandarin orange pieces were waiting, kindly arranged by Taerlyn.  She had the distinct feeling she needed to get in on this conversation.  Things... were going less than smoothly, it seemed.
        Roan knew he was being watched, alright.  There was no way not to have known.  But, the bitch had made that suggestion after all.  Perhaps he still had to pretend he hated it, but he could still secretly enjoy the fruit.  It was certainly like nothing he'd ever experienced before.  In the back of his mind, he could almost attribute this hunger with... lust.
        Shadow continued to pretend nothing out of the ordinary was going on.  She took the last of the oranges as they were handed out, ate her share and offered the rest to the demon boy who she'd just defended and gotten food for.  Holy hell, what was happening to her?  Must have been the continuing high from the awesome bracers.  Yeah.  That had to be it. 

        There wasn't exactly a lot of conversation before bed.  In fact, there was none at all.  Not more than a word here or there for affirmation of the placement of a bed or something of the like.  Things were... weird.  Very tense.  And no one quite understood how to break it.
        Roan himself had actually taken to just laying there by himself while the others seemed to be deciding what was safe to say to one another.  He literally felt like he could not make contact with them even if he'd wanted to.  Not visually, not in language.  He probably felt strangest of all in that situation...  And he just desperately didn't want to think about it.  Something was so... not right.
        Evyn was still pissed.  The reasons behind it were many and spread out over a period of time so that even he couldn't pinpoint them.  But he didn't want to.  He just wanted to go to sleep and pray that this nightmare would end soon.  He was quite the different sort of person when he was truly upset.
        No one knew that better than Taerlyn, certainly.  She watched her brother out of the corner of her eye, careful not to make contact.  It was a very rare occurrence, but he could lash out with sharp words when he was really angry.  She wasn't willing to see where that led.  Now was not the time for all of this tension, when they were headed to... wherever it was they were headed.  They'd given Shadow their word, and they'd keep it.  Things were just... very difficult now.
        And their leader, most of all, sure as hell knew that.  She sat on her bed, staring at the fire.  Once in a while she'd glance Ter's way, but there was nothing she could say.  No help she could offer would make things better just yet.  Maybe a good night's sleep would be all it took to ease things through.  And maybe pigs would fly and form an army...
        Sandy was vigilant.  She was laying a bit off to the side, gazing into the fire herself.  She was no stupid horse.  This tension was one thread away from tearing them apart.  They sure as hell didn't need that.  They were good as a group.  They just... didn't remember it at the moment.  Pieces were definitely falling into place... it was just taking a file, a hammer and a little angry energy to slide them together freely...
        Not even "good nights" were spoken.  Evyn knew if he said one word, he very well might wind up not being able to stop talking for a good long time.  And that would be bad, in that particular case.  Taerlyn knew that if she'd said anything, it could very well trigger the same sort of reaction, so she merely waved at Shadow.  Waving back, the freak in the GN'R tee didn't know exactly what she was thinking about.  Things had gotten real damn confusing in a hurry.  It sucked.  Roan thankfully stayed utterly silent and completely still.
        Shadow then gazed over at Sandy, who gave her a sympathizing look.  It was the only thing the steed had to offer her, so she accepted it gratefully.  With an inward sigh, she unbuckled her bracers, pulled her shoes off, and laid down to forget about all of this shit for just a few hours.  If she had to force herself to sleep, she'd find a way; but she didn't think she'd need to.  She was tired in too many ways.