Phoenix Maplewood monster with two heads

@Freyja and @Hvitserk
They had fled, until the ground no longer moved beneath their paws like some living beast, and the acrid scent of smoke faded. They had seen no other thus far, and as the bot moved steadily west with Freyja and Hvit, he glanced back over his shoulder half a dozen times, expecting what, he did not know. 

His neck bled in some spots were the scabs had cracked, and his paw pads were tender from the run, but other than that, he felt no ill. Feeling as they had gone far enough, he slowed, motioning to his companions as soft snow begun to fall around them, and he stopped below the branches of tightly interwoven foliage, twisting to look at the other two. "Are you alright? What was that?" He said quickly, not entirely expecting an answer to the second, but the question was that most prevailing amongst his mind in that moment.

Safety was the only thing of Freyja’s mind and to obtain this, Freyja knew she needed to them to get as far away from Sleeping Dragon as possible. The others went unconsidered in this motion and for a while, it all seemed to be a blur to the silver-haired woman. Instead, thoughts of what would come next occupied her. Though, she could not even begin think of what awaited them beyond the mountain. Despite their plans, Freyja simply wasn’t ready for this part of the adventure. She knew there was nothing that could be done to make her more prepared, and she rationalized that nothing further could have been done that would have benefitted her mentally for this move, but, Freyja still worried. Thankfully, given the situation, she was easily able to tame these thoughts as her need to protect the others kicked in.

Eventually the air cleared, the ground no longer shook, and Freyja felt as though they had reached safer lands. Despite this, she did not slow. She kept her pace until Seff slowed and once this happened, she mirrored him. Even with the reassurance of the invulnerable territory. The forest was oddly still, especially given where they had come from. Her tail was tucked and her fur stood on edge as she looked between the others, not exactly knowing how to answer Seff’s question. She turned to him suddenly, her expression worried as she gave him a once over and noticed the blood instantly. Instinctively, she reached forwards to lap at his injuries, as if to distract herself for just a while longer before fulling having to face everything that had just happened.

After a lick or two, Freyja backed up a step and looked to the sea-eyed man. “That’s happened before,” she admitted looking to Hvitserk with a frown. “But, last time wasn’t nearly as bad,” despite her seemingly-calmed tone, her heart and mind still raced as she mulled over the situation. How had this happened? Hadn’t the Dragon been happy with them?

Apparently, it had not.

Clouds of ash had filled the air whilst the ground shook underfoot, assaulting the boy and offering him not even a second to collect himself. Every part of him had known to get away, to flee from the mountain and head for safer grounds, and so he’d done exactly that. All of those that had been within the area at the time had been forgotten during his panic, the only one he’d wanted to see reach safety having been Freyja. Always had they been there for one another, and nothing would change that. No matter how angry the mountain had become, he’d still been able to find and flee with her, and so he’d not allowed for himself to fall behind. He’d kept as close as possible whilst the trio had distanced themselves from the only home he’d ever known, unable to bear the thought of losing her. And though he’d remained just as silent as usual throughout the entirety of their search for safety, his mind had been anything but. Hvit had wanted so desperately to look his sister over and make sure that she was okay, that she hadn’t been hurt in any way, but he’d held himself back from doing so. Finding a place where they could rest without having to fear the earth swallowing them had been more important, and so he had run. He’d run and run and had never looked back.

Seff had been the first to slow, but it hadn’t been his doing so that the younger male had mirrored. Only after Freyja, too, had slowed to a stop had her brother done so as well. He’d taken a step towards her, just to then freeze in place after watching her move towards the other. Tilting his head, he’d waited, then finalized his approach the second she’d addressed him. Hvitserk had looked her up and down, then nudged her cheek as she spoke. Though her exterior had remained calm, something inside of him had insisted that he offer to her as much support and comfort as he could provide. He had not answered the questions presented by Seff, nor would he, his top priority being the girl and not what had happened back in the territory. Besides, Hvit speaking to someone he barely knew just wasn’t something that happened.