"Miserable, miserable, miserable," Vell said as he trudged through the deep mud.
His boots and the lower legs of his trousers were caked in mud. Not to mention that both he and Sonder were wet to the bone.
Sonder looked out at the road.
The rain had turned the earth dark and muddy, and streams of water ran along the edges of the path. They had not seen many people since leaving the tower, and there was no shelter in sight.
"We should keep moving," she said. "We might find somewhere to stay farther ahead."
"That would be lovely."
They took shelter beneath trees whenever the opportunity arose. When he judged the time was right, Vell stepped out from beneath one, only to be met by another gust of wind.
His long black hair, tipped with white, blew across his face. He pushed it aside with one hand and looked thoroughly unimpressed.
"I don't suppose the weather will improve if I ask it nicely."
"Maybe you should try?" Sonder said with a half-joking smile. She knew that a little kindness could sometimes work wonders, even with the elements.
"I have lived a very long time, Sonder. I assure you, the elements don't like me. Nature always sticks its leg out to trip me whenever I cross its path," Vell said, his tone only half-sarcastic.
Sonder giggled.
It was a small thing, and the sound was nearly lost beneath the wind, but Vell looked pleased to have heard it.
They continued along the road, hoping to find a village or an inn before nightfall.
The rain showed no sign of stopping, and there was still no sign of civilization.
"I think," Vell said after a while, "that I have had quite enough traveling for today."
"We have only been walking for a few hours," Sonder argued.
"An unfortunate number of hours, given the circumstances."
"We could keep going a little longer."
"We could."
He looked ahead, where the road disappeared into the rain.
"But I should very much like to get under a roof and dry off. Or at least get a little less wet. Give me a house, a cave, even just a nice tree, and let me rest."
Sonder could hardly disagree with him.
So they walked on, looking for somewhere to take shelter while the weather continued to worsen around them.
The road wound through a stretch of woodland, though the trees were not dense enough to offer much shelter. Most of their leaves had already fallen, leaving bare branches that swayed whenever the wind grew stronger.
Eventually, Vell stopped beneath a larger tree.
It was the biggest they had seen in some time, with a thick trunk and wide branches spreading over the road. Unfortunately, most of its leaves were gone, too. The branches caught some of the rain, but not nearly enough to make much difference.
Vell stood beneath it and looked up.
Sonder did the same.
A few drops fell from the branches and landed on her face.
"This is hardly better," Vell said.
"It is a little better."
Vell sighed and brushed the water from his face.
For a while, they remained there anyway. It was not as though they had anywhere else to go, and even poor shelter was better than none at all. But the wind still found its way between the branches, and the cold rain continued to fall around them.