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Charlotte clung to her little passage like she'd never clung to anything before. It was still and quiet, with only crumbling stones to accompany her. She'd fled as the sun started to set, but by the time the sky was dark and black, she was still nestled safely in the crevice. Alone and quiet. She sidled toward the end she loosely considered "the entrance." The side closest to her ship. In her fearful state, she hardly noticed as little stones drove into her arms. She swallowed when she could see the opening. Was it worth making a run for it...? If those Dragons were still out, she'd be a nice meaty snack for them in less than a minute.

Maybe she should just... wait them out. In the morning, she could see better. It would be warmer; more productive to the whole running thing. Surely the Dragons wouldn't wait for a whole night. She'd just have to tough it out. The night was long. Every tiny little sound had Charlotte shrinking against the stones fearfully, with widened eyes and racing heart. Every gust of wind had her scrunching down as far as she possibly could into the narrow crevice. By the time the sun rose, she was hungry, dirty, scraped up and tired. She'd managed to nod off occasionally, but there was no way to get a decent sleep under these conditions.

As she crept out into the open, her muscles screamed and protested. Charlotte stumbled and then nearly jumped from her skin when a hand landed on her shoulder to steady her. She whirled around to defend herself from this attacker only to catch a glimpse of pink hair and brown eyes. She collapsed against him n the spot. Kayden hardly had the time to scoop her into his arms before she hit the ground. Forget about how he'd scared her a while ago. Forget that Char hadn't wanted anything to do with him. She knew she needed him now. To show her all those 'cool moves' and such. The little Orderite slung her arms around Kayden's neck and nuzzled her face into his shoulders. Cool moves could definitely wait until after a nap and breakfast, though.

The Dovva carried his miniature charge back to the ship. She scarfed some bread and cheese and then promptly passed out, like the sun wasn't shining high in the sky. When she woke, Char felt a little better. Still pretty sore, but she stretched it out with a yawn, arching her back and groaning as she twisted and turned to get the kinks from her young, tiny bones. Satisfied, she rose slowly to her feet. Maybe another little snack was in order... Quietly, she slunk from the cabin, up a small, narrow flight of stairs toward the kitchen. She wasn't surprised to see several of her crew-mates snacking, so she decided to join a small group of them and steal a roll and some ham.

She hardly had time to sit before Kayden joined them, smiling mischievously. Instantly, Charlotte knew it was meant for her. But something irked her in the back of her mind. That smile that usually would have made her heart flip... didn't this time. At seeing it, all she felt was friendly affection. It actually made her a bit sad, for some reason, and she stared back at Kayden unhappily. The Dovva mistook it for dissatisfaction at him coming to sit with her. "C'mon, Char." Kayden grumbled.

The blond girl's gaze wandered up from her roll to his face in confusion. "Huh?" She asked softly, blinking slowly. Oh, right. She tried to put a smile back on. "I think I'm ready to see some of those moves now." She admitted sheepishly. Kayden just grinned.

He had the decency to let her finish eating, but also added that she shouldn't be surprised if she regretted it later. The two of them left the kitchen together and headed off the ship again. With the Dovva at her side, Charlotte felt much more confident that nothing would happen to her. Even if she didn't see him through love-struck eyes, anymore. He was still strong and kind and she had no doubt he'd protect her if he had to. They walked out amongst the cliffs again, careful not to stray to far. Charlotte couldn't tell if Kayden knew where he was going and had a specific place in mind or if he was just walking for the sake of it.

They walked in silence for a while. Charlotte curiously and quietly kept pace at his side. At least until Kayden stopped, seemingly mid-step, his gaze turned up. With a smile, he turned to face her, crouching down to her level. "Charlotte. We're being watched." He whispered softly, just a small gust of breath against her cheek. "Can you see them?" Instantly Char looked around, alarmed, but all was still and quiet. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to her. Slowly, she shook her head in response.

Kayden blinked, tipping his head in surprise. He'd known she could be a little unobservant, but it seemed careless to be so much so in the face of danger. "Look harder." He encouraged. Charlotte rolled her eyes in response, but allowed her sight to cast out over her companion's shoulder. "You're not looking for big, noticeable things. Small changes, Char." Kayden told her. The blond Orderite huffed. It all looked the same out here to her! Just big, grey cliffs, and... It was suddenly like everything came into focus. Perched on a ridge were two Ayrala, still and unmoving, grey like the stones that surrounded it, but a shade darker. And on the other side, Char could see little specs of orange that she'd mistaken for sunlight.

"There are three..." She whispered.

"Four." Kayden corrected. "But you're getting there." She swallowed and whined at him. "Don't be afraid. You don't have time for fear. You have to make the conscious choice to fight or run, or you won't get anything accomplished. Today, I will choose for you. We'll fight." Charlotte gulped and nodded. At least Kayden was here to help. "For now, use this." He handed her a knife. The girl frowned at it. He always gave her a knife, and it never did her any good! Silly man!

When she looked back up, Kayden had readied his bow and shot a single arrow straight and true up to the perch where two Ayrala sat. One of the dragons instantly went down. And the two others Charlotte had seen dove to attack them. Kayden had the brief chance to tell her to be watchful and weary before he slunk out of the way of the beasts, leaving Charlie alone in the open. She wanted to scowl at him and demand some assistance, but she dared not look away from the attackers. Kayden was completely gone from her peripheral vision, anyway.

Still, she couldn't show them her fear! Screaming, she dove right back at them. Confused by the small girl's attack, the youngest Dragon hesitated. Char wasted no time in pouncing at it, driving her little blade into an eyeball as sharp teeth went to snap at her. The Dragon roared and writhed its head, tossing Char away as it crashed to the earth. Still, the momentum was enough to push her away from the second Dragon's attack. But she kicked up her heels and jumped for cover as it came at her again. And again. And again. Char was starting to get nervous. She never saw any type of opening. If she dove for it, those teeth and claws would surely tear into her! A bit more scared, she pressed her back toward the cliff. She had nowhere else to go... The hulking beast dove at her. Blocked on either side, Char took the only route she saw.

Beneath the creature's belly. As she dove, she stabbed her knife into its stomach, shredding all the way down. A waterfall of blood and ooze fell atop her, leaving her skin and clothes and the rocks beneath her slick. Her blade lodged into the thing, and Char didn't try to reclaim it. She stood a bit shakily to her feet, smiling. She'd done it! All the Dragon's she'd seen were dead! One, two, three! Just like she'd-!

Wait.

Four.

Kayden said four. Where was the last beast...? An angry huff drew Charlotte's attention up. Above her, the Dragon loomed, eyes dark and aggressive. With a howl, it shot toward the ground at her. Char squealed and tried to run, but slipped in the blood, gliding back toward the second dragon she'd slain. The heavier beast tried to follow her descent to the ground, only to crash amongst the rocks, landing in a heap. Charlotte hesitated. She took a moment to struggle with her knife, finally managing to pull it free. The last Dragon was still, but, just to be sure... Charlotte stuck her blade into its neck and ripped it as hard as she could. Still, it didn't move.

As she looked around, she saw only four shining orbs. Kayden appeared on the far side of the crags to collect them. He walked to Charlotte and handed her the three she'd killed. "That was decent enough, for today. Char felt gross and sticky and tried to smile at him as they headed back toward the ship. "I think it's time you get a weapon you can really use, Char." Kayden said. "We'll see about making port in Serenia, again."