Down below, at the base of the towering cliff, Lia and Ayra maintained a vigilant watch.
The air was thick with tension, the silence of the Dark Forest broken only by the distant, unsettling rustles of unseen things.
Lia, her B-Grade Verdant Lifespring Staff-Sword held loosely but ready, scanned the shadowy treeline, her calm grey eyes missing nothing.
Her [Lifeweave Affinity] made her sensitive to the subtle energy shifts in their surroundings, and she could feel the oppressive Yin energy of the region coiling like a patient serpent.
Ayra, on the other hand, paced like a caged tiger, her great-axe rested against a nearby obsidian boulder.
The earlier "spirited discussion" and subsequent awkward "tactical sleeping arrangement" with Daniel had left her feeling restless and on edge.
She needed to hit something. Badly!
She glanced up towards the cliff recess where Daniel was, wondering what was taking him so long with those blasted fruits.
