Kathryn had no complaints -- or didn't, anyway, until there was another sharp crack nearby that seemed to make the whole world tremble with its force. With some effort, she pulled away from him long enough to stand.
The rain and mud dripped from her slender figure, and her hair had uncoiled from its braids to fall around her shoulders. She peered upwards at the storm a moment, then looked to the King of Thieves. They would have to find shelter soon or die in this storm. The winds pulled and pushed heavily at the trees around them, as though trying to uproot them, and she could hear the dull crashes of limbs or, perhaps, entire trees, falling in the forest around them.
"Dekka, we need to find somewhere to wait out the storm!" she shouted, unsure he heard her words even though he was right in front of her. She wondered if her little shack would still be standing come tomorrow -- but that was too far anyway. "There is a cave!" she decided, then turned from him to get her bearings.
Choosing her direction with the care of a woman accustomed to the woods, she grabbed his hand and pulled insistently. "Come on!"
They reached the cave in one piece -- if just barely. It was a muddy hike of nearly ten minutes, fraught with the dangers of falling branches, high winds, and lightning -- but they made it. From the outside, it really didn't look like very much -- just a yawning chasm in the ground protected from the elements and sight by some large rocks. For Kathryn in her furs, the opening was a bit tight, but she slid through easily.
"Give me some light," she murmured. There were no torches nor lanterns down here -- only Dekka. Already, the storm seemed a world away! "This goes back some way," she said, pointing towards the back of the cavern. Once beyond the mouth, it opened up into something that was almost roomy. "There's a small pond in the back, and the water is color of an emerald. It's warm throughout the year."
