Jyleth led them from the camp the next morning under the glow of false dawn. After she had joined him at camp, neither had said a word, but neither had gone to sleep either. They had sat apart, not saying anything, not acknowledging the other's presence. Jyleth had felt Sephiroth's gaze fall to her more than once when she was not looking. She had astutely ignored it, for she had stolen a few glances at him when he was looking another glance, still unsettled that such incredible perfection that he embodied could be so... cold and unfeeling. When the sky had lightened noticeably, Jyleth had picked up her pack and set off, knowing Sephiroth was no more than a few steps behind her.

By mid-morning, a bank of heavy, dark clouds had moved from the horizon to cover nearly a quarter of the sky. Jyleth had been watching the clouds all morning worrying over the impending weather conditions and the lack a significant cover. The shelter materia would not withstand a snowstorm such as the one that was building now.

"We have to find cover soon," she said, raising her voice so she could be heard over the rising wind.

"Cover?"

"Yes, this storm will overwhelm the shelter materia. We have find something more substantial." She cast another glance at the approaching clouds, then added, "soon."

"What do you suggest?" Sephiroth moved to stand beside as she stopped, surveying the surrounding landscape.

"There," she said, pointing at a clumping of rocks a few miles in the direction of the storm.

"Toward the storm?"

"I don't see any other choice. I've taken shelter in that area before." She started toward the rocks, not waiting to hear any other protest that he might make.

The snow began to fall a few minutes later, obscuring the landscape. The rocks that signified shelter quickly disappeared from view as the snowfall increased and the wind blew harder. Jyleth stopped, pausing to catch her breath and to regain her bearings. She was knocked to the ground a moment later as Sephiroth failed to realized she had stopped. Cursing inwardly, she pulled herself out of the snow and turned on Sephiroth.

"Watch what I do," she said fiercely, biting her lip to keep herself from saying what she truly wanted to say. Damn SOLDIER and he can't see three feet… She ended the train of thought, as it served no purpose other than to make her angrier. She had to focus on shelter, not on the idiocy of her charge.

"It is very difficult to see you when you are dressed in such pale clothing," Sephiroth said, leaning close so that he could be heard without having to shout. Jyleth stumbled back a few steps, unsettled by his proximity. Why does he have this affect on me? The answer was obvious, but she didn't want to face it. That being around a man nearly her age, an attractive one at that, one who had power…there wasn't a woman born who could completely resist the temptation. I have a job to do, she told herself, gritting her teeth, mooning over him isn't part of it.

The blizzard now blew stronger, making Sephiroth hard to see even though he was only a few feet away. She removed her pack, pulling a thin, sturdy rope from it. Uncoiling the rope, she tested its strength with a stiff pull. Satisfied, she tossed one end to Sephiroth. He caught it deftly.

"Walk when it's taunt," she said, stepping only close enough to be heard, "and stop when it's slack." She shouldered her pack, turning back to the rocks as she wrapped the rope around her wrist a few times. It went taunt a few moments later, indicating that Sephiroth would do as he was told. Thanking the higher powers for his compliance, she concentrated on plowing through the snow and keeping herself oriented toward the rocks.

Jyleth had begun to wonder if she had gotten turned around when nearly walked into one of the stones. She brought both hands up immediately to stop herself from hitting the rock, forgetting that Sephiroth was holding other end of the rope as she jerked it forward. He careened into her for the second time, slamming her against the rockface. She shoved him back fiercely, her small store of patience with him having been depleted by the exertion and the chill.

"This is your idea of shelter?" Sephiroth's breath momentarily warmed her ear as he leaned close to speak. She ignored him and started to walk again, feeling her way around the rock. After a moment, she recognized where she was in the formation and quickly began to thread her way through the massive stones to the shelter she required.

Once among the rocks, the wind died down somewhat, although it still howled through the narrow spaces between the boulders. They still had to contend with drifts, which had been piled waist high in some places. Jyleth finally found the spot she was looking for; a small recess created by three rocks closely bunched together. Time and erosion had worn away a small hollow, big enough for a few people to crawl into and be protected from the elements from all but one direction. She motioned Sephiroth to go into the recess. He did so, dropping to his hands and knees and scooping some of the snow out of his way in order to squeeze through the opening. She followed him, then turned and kicked the outside edge of the overhanging rock. After a few kicks, an avalanche of snow fell from the rock, effectively blocking most of the entrance. The wind and snow died down within the space they occupied, along with a good portion of the light.

"You have trapped us," Sephiroth exclaimed, shoving her aside as he started digging at the snow.

"No," she said, grabbing his arm and roughly pulling him back. "We'll dig our way out later. All we need is a small portion open for air. The rest will protect us from the wind." He looked at her skeptically, his hands twitching slightly as if he could make the snow move by will alone. Remembering the snow he had blasted away earlier, she quickly added, "I've done this before. If the entrance is not covered, we will freeze to death. Even with the shelter materia." His jaw tightened, but the snow remained covering the entrance. She sighed deeply with relief.

They spent the rest of the afternoon in silence, listening to the howling of the snow as they brushed the snow off their clothes, arranged and re-arranged their packs. Occasionally, Jyleth would move to the one open space in the drift covering the entrance and clear away some snow. Finally, she settled down enough to remember she needed to eat. She was allowing some travel bread dissolve in her mouth when she was startled by Sephiroth's voice.

"Tell me of the predators that inhabit this land," he said. Jyleth paused a moment, looking at him strangely. There was an odd tone in his voice that she couldn't quite identify. The light was really too dim for her to get a good look at his face, so she couldn't guess whether he was truly interested in hearing her or if he was being facetious. She took her time chewing the bread in her mouth while she considered what to tell him.

"There are many, but they can be divided thrice," she said when she had finally swallowed the last of the bread. For now, she would assume he was seriously interested in knowing. For whatever reason that he asked, at least it was a way to pass the time. "Beneath the surface of the snow, on the surface, and in the sky above."

"Beneath the surface are those that are the most dangerous for the ignorant. They burrow under during snowfall, so that an unwary traveler might mistake them for a drift or covered rock. They can sense footfalls, so even if you know how to spot them, they still know you are coming. The trick to avoiding burrowers is to know how to look for them, for although they know you are there, if you far enough away they will not attack, for they are slow-moving creatures. Their strongest asset is surprise. They are mostly teeth and claws, both of which are poisonous. Their flesh, when eaten, will any creature in a slow, lingering death. They are not something to be worried about as long as you stay with me and don't wander around on your own." Jyleth paused meaningfully, but he did not show any trace of emotion at her implied reprimand. She sighed and moved on the next class of creatures.

"At the surface there are a variety of creatures. Wolves, although they will only be a problem for the first part of our travels, for they cannot survive in the extreme cold. There are some snow imps and goblins, but they rarely attack a healthy person. They tend to be scavengers."

"These I know about," Sephiroth said, interrupting her.

"Do you want to know about the predators or not?" she asked curtly. His mouth was set in a firm line, but he did say anymore. "I had guessed you knew about them, what I am sure you probably are not aware of are the munkies."

"Munkies?"

"They are strange creatures, smaller than a man, but they walk on two legs, some of the time anyway. They are very primitive, but very territorial. Usually, they stay away from humans, marking their territories far away from our towns. However, there have been some errant colonies lately that have come too close for comfort. The local villages have gone hunting and killed the colony or colonies each time. It's a messy task, and at least half the people usually are wounded, but munkies have been known to prey on children, so the villagers won't take a chance."

"Are we crossing munkie territory?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yes," she said, bemused, "worried?"

"Why should I be? You have implied they are relatively harmless and easily dispatched." His voice suggested that he thought she might be hiding something from him. She met his gaze in the pale light for a few moments, stealing herself against the hypnotism of his eyes and revealing nothing. In truth, she wasn't holding back any information from him; spiting him in this small way, however, made her feel a little better for his earlier irritating actions.

"Giant eagles and griffins are the only creatures of air to worry about," she finally continued. "Usually only dangerous when they hunt in packs, which is rare. A full-grown human is too heavy for them to take. Watch the land for moving shadows and you will be safe. At night, you have to listen carefully to the wind, for they will come upon the wind down onto you. If you know what to listen for, you can be prepared. They don't like to attack those who are aware of their presence."

"You listen to the wind?" Sephiroth asked. "You can here the difference when something travels on it?"

"Yes," Jyleth replied, now wanting to tell Sephiroth all of her skills . But he was unwilling to let the subject drop.

"Can all people who live here do this?"

"Most of them can."

"Why not all?"

"Look, you come from Midgar, and that's a pretty big city right?" Jyleth was irritated by his pestering questions. Still, questions were better than ignorance.

"Yes, you might say Midgar is a big city," he said, not really seeing where she was going.

"Well, in Midgar, you must hear a lot of noises, some that perhaps portent danger, and some that are not a threat at all. You probably automatically interpret these sounds for the meanings they have. To me, they would mean nothing. Here, the sounds that mean danger are not what you are attuned to. Because I have lived here all my life, and served as a guide for a good length of time, I do know what they mean. I can't really describe how I do it."

"I understand," Sephiroth said, surprising her by not persisting anymore into the subject. "Where does the munkie territory start?"

She considered a moment, reckoning for time lost from the blizzard and slightly off-course shelter they were now in. "Perhaps a day," she said, "though we might be here for a few more days, depending on the weather."

"You intend to stop here for a few days?" Sephiroth demanded, clearly not happy.

"Yes," she answered, "I have no intention of wandering around in a blizzard and stumbling across a nyrith pack. It was very dangerous to get here during the beginning of the storm - had we been any furthur away, I might not have been able to find it." She winced a little, not liking to have to admit how close they had been to dying, but the only way she could convince Sephiroth of the danger was by impressing upon him the mortality of their bodies against the cold.

"The blizzard may not last that long," she added. "A few days is really the worst it could be. If we are lucky, it will be clear enough to leave in the morning." Sephiroth nodded, a movement she could barely detect in the fading light. He wasn't happy about having to wait, but he would accept her decision. His acceptance was all she needed, not his happiness.

They were lucky, as it turned out, for the next morning the blizzard had indeed cleared enough to satisfy Jyleth. Gray clouds still hung low in the sky, hiding the sun, but Jyleth felt secure enough about the weather to leave the shelter.

That night, they camped well into the forest, beneath trees heavy with snow. Occasionally, they would hear a tremendous cracking noise, followed by a solid thump. The first time the noise occurred, Sephiroth had pulled his sword free and was ready to attack before the thump could be heard. Jyleth had barely managed not to laugh, explaining to him that it was simply tree branches breaking and falling under the weight of snow and ice.

"How do you know one of those falling branches won't fall on you when you sleep?" Sephiroth asked. Jyleth had just finished her rations and washed them down with several swallows from her canteen.

"Well, I don't, but I did choose this place carefully," she said, indicating to the tree above them, "this tree is still young, and has thin branches that don't collect a lot of snow." Sephiroth did not look convinced. "I have not had one fall on me yet," she said, trying to convince him further. He finally just shrugged kept silent.

Jyleth rummaged about her pack, seeking her comb. After two days, her braid was falling loose and needed to be redone. Unbound, her hair fell easily past her waist, even as curly as it was. The comb had wide set teeth; otherwise, she would never get it through an inch of her hair. As she worked the tangles out of her hair, she noticed Sephiroth was stealing glances in her direction as he ate his rations. She tried not to pay attention, but his constant looks were unnerving her a great deal. Finally, she just closed her eyes and finished the job without having to see what Sephiroth was doing. When her hair was firmly tied back again, she opened her eyes to find Sephiroth busy polishing his Masamune. He had the blade laying across his knees as he knelt in the snow. Jyleth could not help but be impressed by the sheer beauty of it's craftsmanship, as well as a grudging admiration for the one who could wield such a weapon. She quietly chided herself, remind her errant mind that the man she was guiding was the most skillful and fiercest warrior all the known lands have ever seen.

"First or second watch?" She asked, remembering she had not yet asked him why he had not woken her for her watch last night. For that matter, she had not ask why he had wandered away from the camp either. Jyleth decided to let both questions rest one more night to see if he did the same thing again.

"First," Sephiroth replied, not taking his eyes off his sword.

"All right then, wake me when the third moon sets," Jyleth said, even though she was fully capable of waking herself at that time. Sephiroth nodded acknowledgment, never looking in her direction. Jyleth had a vague feeling that Sephiroth was uncomfortable with something, but she dismissed it quickly. The most powerful warrior on the planet could hardly be made uncomfortable by a simple guide, could he? She went to sleep, trying to focus on the day ahead rather than what had caught Sephiroth's attention when she was combing her hair.

Jyleth awoke later on her own, annoyed but not much surprised to find that the third moon had already set. She sat up and was somewhat relieved to find that Sephiroth had decided to stay in the camp this time. Deactivating the shelter materia, Jyleth stood up and walked to him. He was sitting against a tree, the Masamune resting unsheathed next to him on the snow. His eyes rested on something behind Jyleth, not moving from that object even as she walked to him.

"What part of waking me up when the third moon sets do you not understand?" Jyleth demanded. Sephiroth said nothing, not even looking at her, only serving to make Jyleth more annoyed. "Whether or not you think you don't need sleep, I am the guide here, therefore, when I say you need sleep, you need sleep. Understand?"

Sephiroth finally looked at her, as if he had just realized that she was there. "Of course," he said. He closed his eyes, activating the shelter materia. Jyleth sighed heavily, knowing that she could not force the issue.

Continue to Chapter Five