…
'She… she did die, didn't she?' asked Siel somewhat hesitantly. 'Back within the dream, when we – we – '
'She did,' responded Arin shortly.
Without going too deep into the distressing details from the bottom of that cliff – details which he was actively trying to forget – Arin was almost certain that he'd been the last of the four to, well…
…stop twitching.
He ran a hand through his hair again, Rin's curls catching on his fingertips.
'We must find Lana,' he said at last.
'But how, brother Rin?' Siel was still looking down at the sleeping girl, seeming somewhat distracted as he wrinkled his brows lightly. 'We know that miss Lana hadn't been among the eight people originally laid to sleep in the headman's estate.'
'Mm-hmm. But it is imperative that we find her,' responded Arin. 'The young lady might not have been able to leave the dream because its entire existence hinges on her. But seeing her now, I believe that might actually be a good thing.'
At Siel's look of confusion, Arin quickly continued, 'We must find a way to awaken her, yes, but right now, in the middle of the night and without any healers in our midst, it's probably for the best that she didn't wake up with us; she'd have been far too weak to actually do anything.'
Siel gasped as he realized the weight of Arin's words. 'Miss Lana, on the other hand, is probably lying awake and suffering, unable to even move her frail body as she struggles to breathe!' he cried. 'We simply must find her at once!'
The boy's frown deepened as he racked his brain. 'Hadn't lady Elara said something about her having returned to her family house, before the 'curse' had struck? That had all been within the distorted dream, of course, but what if there was some element of truth to it?'
Arin nodded. 'Let's go,' was all he said.
…
Less than a minute later, the two of them were standing outside the headman's estate, looking down at the still slumbering village. The rolling rooftops before them had had any color, and any trace of distinctiveness, cruelly drained away by the darkness of the night. It almost felt as though they had melded into one, solid entity intent on obstructing their searching gazes.
Fortunately, that wasn't going to be a problem for them.
Arin looked to his side, where Siel stood with cold, glowing eyes. After just a second longer, the boy finally blinked, then turned to look up at him.
'I have found her trace,' he said softly, even as the light faded and his eyes returned to normal. 'It's strange, brother. I-I think we should make haste. It's rather… weak – '
'Quite possibly because she is dying, Siel,' interrupted Arin. 'You're correct. We must hurry. Lead the way.'
Siel nodded, then took of half-running. His oversized clothes flapped around him, making him seem like some kind of large, winged nocturnal creature taking off in the dark.
Arin followed close after the boy, and the two of them raced down the paths, turning right, then left, then left again…
Following a series of twists and turns, Arin suddenly realized that the appearance of the buildings around them had changed. 'It looks like we've left behind the residential areas of Silvershade,' he commented, swiveling his head as he ran.
Siel nodded without turning around. 'Perhaps miss Lana's family resides nearer to the outskirts of the village,' he said. 'Given the choice, I know that's what I would prefer.'
Still, they kept running.
They'd been at it for so long, that Arin was certain his real body would've been panting for breath by now. He was just starting to wonder whether they had cut all the way across the breadth of the village, when Siel suddenly staggered to a stop in front of him. Arin stopped too, noticing that they were standing by a large, low, lone-standing stone building.
It was the last building that sat along this path. Behind it were only the hills that marked the border of the village.
…Huh. Looks like they really had run all the way to the other side of the village.
'Here?' asked Arin, quirking a brow at Siel. He then turned to take in the rather plain-looking building before him.
It didn't really seem much like a family house…
The younger boy didn't respond immediately. He wasn't even looking at Arin.
'No, brother Rin,' he said after a moment. 'The trace I'm following leads… leads to beyond this structure. There,' he pointed in the direction in which his gaze had been locked, ever since they'd come to a stop here. 'In those hills.'
Arin blinked. Then, he turned to follow Siel's finger.
Willow trees dotted the base of the hills, only visible as bent, shadowy figures, waiting frozen in the dark. Further up were more trees, denser and darker in some areas. There were no houses that he could see. No other buildings at all.
The rustling of leaves in the cold wind was almost disconcerting to him in the otherwise silent night. It sounded like loudly, desperately whispered secrets being shared with him in a language he didn't speak.
For some reason, there was a bad feeling unfurling in the pit of his stomach.
'…eccentric family?' he muttered under his breath.
'What was that?' asked Siel, finally turning to face him.
'Nothing. Let's go.' Arin nodded at the boy, and started walking again in the direction he had pointed out. After a brief pause, Siel joined him. Arin noticed that, this time, he was walking alongside him, rather than ahead of him.
'Lana might just be disoriented,' he said, in what he hoped was a soothing voice. 'She might have managed to leave her house in a rush of adrenaline, only to get lost and wander off in the dark. She'll be fine once we find her.'
At this point, Arin wasn't sure if he was comforting Siel, or himself.
The boy just nodded quietly, his large eyes worriedly scanning the hillside as they walked up it.
Arin stopped speaking, and started doing the same as the two of them continued walking deeper, and further away from the village.
Not that it helped.
There was no house in sight. No other people. No Lana.
Only trees.
After a few more minutes of walking, Siel finally came to an unsteady stop by the base of a particularly large, old tree of some kind. He let out a small huff of air.
'Careful,' said Arin, his voice unconsciously hushed. 'Did you catch your foot on something?'
'…No,' said the boy. His voice was even lower than Arin's had been. 'No, brother Rin…'
Arin waited a few more seconds for Siel to continue speaking. When the boy didn't, he asked, 'What is it, then? Speak, Siel.'
Eyes wide, and rooted to the ground at the base of the tree, Siel took in a deep breath. Then, he finally turned to look up at Arin.
'The trace I followed to - to lead us - to miss Lana; it... It ends right here.'
'...She is buried in the ground.'