"Hm," he murmured quietly. The forest around them was considerably brighter than before, but the rays of sun were still rare, only peeking through occasionally. Behind them, they would hear some rustling. Zerras turned immediately, his eyes sharp.
Juniper tilted her head, her arm brushing his as she squinted in the direction of the rustling. "What is it?" she asked, more curious than frightened as she stepped towards it.
Zerras looked intensely serious, and he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. His ears were rather perked, and shifted carefully as he listened. He exhaled slowly, his eyes narrow as he stared into the unknown darkness of the woods. "..We need to go."
His reaction seemed to disturb her and her gaze was darting between the rustling and her companion, her hand reaching towards her scythe gently. "Go... like, run?"
He opened his mouth to respond and at the moment a large troll trudged into view, its milky white eyes staring at them as it opened its gray maw, sharp teeth dripping with saliva. It was rather large and the skin looked to be a rough, slimy gray. His voice was quiet, as to not draw attention. "I think so."
Her eyes widened in surprise and fear and her ears swiveled back, her face paling as the blood drained from her face. “Oh...” she said, her voice small as she looked up at it.
She looked over at him in something like surprise before taking a tentative step back. She began running, moving over the terrain relatively easily as she hurried away, making sure Zerras was following.
He was right behind her. The roll gave a horrible, guttural shriek as it began to follow, its footsteps short and heavy as it used it long arms to move.
She pulled her scythe off her back as they were running, muttering an elven prayer under her breath as they ran, “Drailyet devynia alcorae sebuncyl...”
Zerras didn't seem to notice, his eyes sharp as he watched the terrain ahead of them. There was a patch of sunlight in the distance, and he directed them that way.
She followed his directions, glancing over her shoulder once as they approached the patch of sunlight.
They were nearly there when the troll reached out and swiped at them. It caught June's arm pretty decently, and got Zerras's leg, causing him to trip and fall.
She yelped in surprise and pain at the injury upon her arm. When she realized that Zerras was no longer with her, though, she glanced back. Her eyes widened and she sprinted back, muttering under her breath about the uselessness of praying as she moved the scythe in a sweeping motion up towards the troll’s mouth.
The troll stumbled back for a moment. Zerras pushed himself up and ran toward her, grabbing her good arm and passing the sunlight. He was breathing heavily. The troll recuperated and charged again, but the sunlight quickly stop it, and its entire body hardened.
She was also panting for breath, staring up at the frozen troll with wide eyes. Slowly, her whole body started to tremble, stabilized by her scythe which she was clutching with her two hands.
She didn’t say anything for a few long moments, seeming like she was in a bit of shock as she just stared at the face of the troll. She finally looked over at him. “Your leg. Are you alright?” She kneeled next to him, patting him gently as if to ensure all the parts were there.
