I collapsed in a heap in the underbrush, almost senseless, nearly pulling Nari atop me. "Westley," she hissed. "We have no time for this. You must rise. We are hunted and must not be discovered by the Queen's Guard."
I rolled over, not realizing I was rolling toward Nari as I mumbled into the dark, "Five more minutes. It's Saturday, no school for two more days." Her slap snapped me awake, but also allowed all the aches, pains, and fatigue flood through me in a wave almost deep enough to make me pass out. I opened my eyes to find myself incredibly close to the girl's lips and leaned back, clearing my throat. It took a moment for me to remember where we were and what was going on and I got serious fast. I listened hard to our surroundings, closing my eyes to focus my attention on the sounds around me. I didn't realize I was speaking out loud until I opened my eyes. "There's mild movement in the underbrush, now sound or smell of metal so that's the common fauna of the local area. They're not running or panicking so, other than us, there's nothing close enough for them to feel any threat."
I found Nari staring intently at me. "What? It's not sorcery, it's knowledge of nature. Considering the way we passed through the farmlands back there, they're gonna have a hell of a time trying to track us, especially once they reach the tree line. We changed direction and, unless they've been trained to track like I have, and I doubt it, we have a few hours before we are in any danger."
She considered my words carefully and responded, "We still need to flee from here, Westley. Once they understand we are on the road they will come on horseback and we dare not remain in the forest in the dark like this." She grabbed my arm and tugged hard. "We must leave, Westley. Now!"
I closed my eyes again and inhaled deeply, picturing the area around me and reaching out with the rest of my senses, once again getting the strange sensation of knowing everything around me in an expanding circle. "There's no threat to us for hours yet and we need the rest or we won't make it far." I sagged back to the ground, the effort of checking around us enough to drain my strength to the point of nearly blacking out. My voice was nearly a whisper as I said, "I've spoken to the guardians of the forest when I was on my way here. They won't hurt us. I just need a little time to regain some energy. Give me just, like, three hours or so." Darkness enveloped me like lukewarm water.