Rappelling down a steep cliffside wasn't something Marika had ever done when she was human. Luckily, the enhanced werewolf senses took care of everything for her. It was as if her body took over, and she was just a passenger in its skillful hands. The feeling was the strangest she had felt in a while, but she found it enjoyable to feel so skillful and powerful.

"How are you doing?" Tate yelled out from underneath her, having insisted on going first for safety's sake.

How it made sense for the tracking dog to follow its owner instead of the other way around was beyond Marika, but she decided to let him be. It clearly meant a lot to him, that crazy idea of protecting a strong werewolf such as herself. The danger was bound to lurk everywhere, and there was no way she could predict what the safer option was. If it was necessary, she was ready to fly down the rope and help him out. She had some tricks up her sleeve, after all.

"Much better than expected," Marika admitted, surprised that any physical activity was not a big issue for any of the werewolves.

Strangely enough, even though not all of them looked as buff as Tate, including herself, they all had almost equal strength, with one sense slightly heightened among different werewolves. It was so odd for her when she first turned and saw some tiny female werewolves lifting her male partners as if they weighed nothing.

"In a few meters, there is a nice undercliff where we can rest. I'm waiting for you there," Tate said, his voice somewhat muffled.

Marika's hands squeezed at the rope so intensely that she could feel it cutting into her skin, drawing blood without her even noticing.

WE? We both know that you don't need any rest, but it's for the poor fragile female to rest her weak body that you are doing this!

Her thoughts were so loud in her head that she felt as if someone was screaming into her head, making it vibrate with the intensity of the voice. It was frustrating, to say the least, but not something she could control. That was until Flufflala flew right next to her hand, allowing her to pet her soft fur, diverting all the attention to the feeling of comfort that spread through her whole body, forgetting all about the annoying werewolf macho man whom mere moments ago she wanted to claw to death, to prove her point that women were strong too.

"Better?" Flufflala asked when Marika resumed her downward climb.

"Yes, thank you," Marika said, looking anywhere but into the soft and caring eyes that looked at her with intensity. "I just lost control of my anger for a second. I'll try to do better."

Flufflala nodded, her ears twitching as she circled around Marika a few times. Then, continued her downward flight, her colorful wings making Marika gasp in wonder.

"Tate?" Marika asked the moment she put her feet on the undercliff, not seeing the irritating guy anywhere.

There was quite a bit more space than Marika expected and a winding path that seemed to lead into the cliffside. Clearly, that path was used before, and she couldn't help but wonder if any lives were lost on its innocent-looking path.

"Tate, where are you?" Marika said, looking around as a strange feeling spread through her body.

It was like someone was squeezing at her heart, and there wasn't enough air to breathe. Her breath came shorter and more labored until the point where she was standing there hyperventilating.

"Tate!" she screamed desperately, her hands shaking like crazy.

"I'm over here," Tate finally said, pulling himself out of a nearby wall like someone pulled themselves out of a pool.

"You stupid, irresponsible idiot!" Marika yelled at him, her voice almost hoarse from how loudly she was busy scolding him.

In the next second, she ran to him, hugging him tightly, only to proceed to hit him weakly in his chest with him standing there frozen, failing to understand where any of that was coming from. What was even more confusing for him were the tears that started wetting his shirt because, since the day he met her, he had never seen Marika cry, not even after the hell that transitioning was for those who were not born werewolves.

"What?" Tate tried to ask, but his voice was drowned out by her hiccup-dispersed sobbing that overtook her completely.

"She got scared something happened to you," Flufflala said, landing next to them but keeping her distance for the moment. "When she didn't see you standing there, waiting for her as you promised, she thought you stepped into one of the traps, that she lost you."

"You talk too much," Marika said, quickly stepping away from Tate while violently wiping away her tears. "You got it wrong. I did get scared something happened to him, but only because I thought it would mean I was left alone in this dangerous place. Anyone would have been scared of that!"

"I'm here, so there was no reason to be so scared," Flufflala said in a subtle attempt to allow Marika to say what she truly meant; what she needed to say sooner or later.

"That's not the same. Tate is stronger," Marika continued stubbornly.

Flufflala wisely decided it was clearly not the right time. She realized she should allow Marika to open up naturally. However, Flufflala worried when that would be because if Marika didn't accept herself and who she had become, there was a chance none of Tate's plans would work. A possibility that all three of them would be stuck in the abyss for all eternity.

"What were you even doing?" Marika asked, addressing Tate, fury dancing in her eyes. "Didn't you say you would wait right here? Why did you even bring me along if you aren't going to let me help?"

Tate looked at her for a moment, trying to decipher her feelings because the truth was that there were times he understood her perfectly; no words were necessary for him to know what she needed or wanted. Yet, there were situations such as this one when he was caught off guard. He couldn't tell if she was angry or if her reaction came from having some deeper feelings for him. The not knowing made him feel more frustrated than ever before.

"I'm sorry, "Tate said, choosing the safest option even though he wasn't completely sure what he was apologizing for. If it was just one thing or multiple offenses. "I just sensed something unusual about this wall and decided to check it out while waiting for you. It turned out to be a secret entrance inside the cliff."

"Next time you find something off, wait for your sniffing dog!" Marika snapped at him, feeling beyond frustrated.

"You're no-," he started to say.

"Oh, stop being so darn polite. You know what I mean," Marika said, her face turning bright red, and she was no longer sure if it was from anger or utter embarrassment at a fool she made of herself. "Why would we even go that way? It's clearly full of traps. Why don't we climb all the way down to the bottom? That was going quite well until you decided to take a detour."

"I tried, but it's like there is a barrier not allowing anything to go through it," Tate said, looking around, trying to judge the best course of action. "Not even a potion I threw at it managed to break the shield. It didn't even make a dent, not even a scratch."

"Shouldn't we use something stronger? Why are you giving up so quickly? That doesn't sound like you," Marika said, still thinking like a human, remembering all those silly fantasy characters who followed the rules when there were easier ways to deal with some of the obstacles they had.

"It would take up too much of your time and resources. Finishing everything tonight is your only way of coming out unscathed because of the full moon's protection," Flufflala said, her wings tucked away safely, where Marika couldn't tell and guessed it was simply magic. "Also, the Abyss of Sorrow was never meant to be this awful hell you seem to see it as. It was meant to be a place where you see your true self. A place where you get to face your sorrows and pain and come out of it stronger. However, instead of seeing it for what it is, most people saw it as a danger to be overcome. That was why they never got out. They were too busy fighting their own inner demons to find the exit when all they should have done was deal with their pain and doubts."

Marika wasn't sure how correct their assessment was, both Flufflala's and Tate's. However, after thinking about it, she realized she was acting stupid. You don't come to someone else's country and tell them how life is lived in that country or what dangers there are. Only the people who have lived there their whole lives know that. So, she needed to find a way to trust that they knew what they were doing, or at least they knew slightly better than she did.

"Alright, let's go in," I finally said, not ready in the least to face my demons but ready to help Tate accomplish the grand, selfless dream he always carried with him.

Cold. Tingling. An overflowing of energy that I can't describe or understand. Like stepping into a tomb that has been asleep for far too long. And we are waking it up.