The night kept growing colder as they continued to climb steep paths up the mountain. They tried to avoid making noise, or leave any trail behind them that the wingmen from Dard'h might follow, but walking in the dark did not prove easy. The deeper they entered into the woods and the higher they climbed up the mountain, the denser and thicker the clouds above them grew. There was now not a single patch of clear sky, and the moon was completely hidden from view.
They dared not light any torches for fear of giving away their position, so they had to rely on Nathaniel's sharp eyes for guidance. Very soon they began stepping on snow covered ground, which luckily for them made their surroundings more visible. The downside of that, of course was that their feet got cold and wet, and their progress much slower. But they did not stop. By daybreak, they had gained enough distance from Dard'h to be confident that they were out of immediate danger. Before leaving, however, Heli advised them to stay hidden during the day and rest. Travelling only during the night would be much safer for all of them; the wingmen’s eyes were sharp, but they were still more likely to be found at daylight. So they found a small cave, well hidden from view, and set up camp there for the day. Hëna would join them soon thereafter.
The cave was located halfway up the highest peak, in the endless series of the snow-covered mountains that made up the northern borders of Endërland. The village of Dard'h was built on the foothills of a second peak to their left, low enough for it to be free of snow for the most part of the year. Why they had chosen to live that far from the rest of their peers, Daniel could not say. He just knew from the Chronicles that they were only a small colony when they first settled there, and now had grown to a few thousands.
As he looked out of the cave at the mountainside they inhabited, he was amazed that he could not tell where their village was. The wingmen had become masters at blending with their surroundings, though it did make one wonder why they would ever need to hide, if there was never any danger to begin with.
The cave turned out to be an ideal place for them to hide and rest. Not long after daybreak and all throughout the day, they saw groups of wingmen flying in pairs above them. They had obviously discovered the empty shack and were looking for them. To be safe, they decided to stay put until evening fell again, though Daniel hated this. He was cutting it real close; who knew how many days had passed since he had fallen asleep, and how much time he had left, if any at all? For all he knew, he might have already died; it’s not like he would be able to sense anything from inside his dreamworld. Or would he?
As if sharing his concerns, Lightning appeared restless all day long and Daniel had to calm him down more than once. He wouldn’t put it past the stallion to leave the cave and resume the journey, with or without them. Struggling, he managed to get the black beauty to sit down at some point, and then sat beside him, resting his head on the stallion’s muscular body.
Hëna sat with them, her shoulder casually touching his every now and again. Nemo and Nathaniel lay down against the wall opposite them, already asleep. The wounded wingman needed all the rest he could get in order to heal; as for Nemo, he just seemed to really love sleeping.
They spent most of the day talking to each other like two old friends, Daniel no longer feeling so nervous around her. They had been through a lot together ever since they’d left Arba, and no longer felt like strangers. And yet, his heart would never fail to skip a beat, whenever he looked into those beautiful black eyes, and wondered what it would feel like. He could reach out with his hand and touch her face, her hair; he could lean over and kiss those lips, and somehow knew that she would not push him away. But he didn’t. Instead, he chose to keep on fantasizing about it and the day when he would actually get the courage to do it. Hopefully, someday soon.