Introduction to the Beast

She awoke to the quiet fall of snow on the already covered mountain. Her eyes slowly opened to reveal multiple pairs staring straight into her own. Tentatively sitting up, she asked him what everyone was staring at and he responded "You were dreaming out loud. Its something we never do and have never seen done before. You spoke of a world of heat and sand, great large animals moving across an enormous stretch of land. Where are you from?" The question itself instilled fear within her heart and a great sadness overcame her features, "I have no idea where I am from. That must have been my imagination, because I don't even know what sand looks like and I cannot remember for the life of me the feeling of heat on my skin." This made the group pause and shift at the same time. A tremor of curiosity accelerated through them and unspoken questions were flitting through their minds as they pondered the girl they had rescued. A few moments later, the assumed leader pulled her up and stared straight into her eyes, as if trying to read her soul. Fortunately, what he saw was appeasing and he released her and started to clean up the camp from the night before. They had been walking up the mountains for eight days now and she had no idea where they were headed. Her friend kept by her side and at any turn of trouble, he pushed her behind him and continued on. Their friendship had evolved to the point of comfortable silence and peace with each other. Although only a short time had passed and only one name was known between the two of them, their souls had been entwined from the beginning of time and had finally been merged. He called her "his little lontala" which he never explained the meaning.
The further they pressed into the mountains, the more her mind fogged over. Starting over from the age she supposed was 20 was more difficult than she had thought. Her whole life had been erased either on purpose or accident and she had no idea the occurance but she did remember one thing, piercing blue eyes filled with tears and a great unyeilding saddness. Those eyes haunted her and when she went to sleep, she tried to remember but nothing ever made sense within her dreams. There was always something trailing behind her, a great beast that never made it known that it was with her but was always there. Even during the day, she felt its prescense. Always following her, the great beast was the one constant in her life; a shadow that wasn't necissarily dark or ominous but at the same time a haunting reminder of her indistinct dreams. Where was the path she was following? Turning to her friend, she moved closer to his side and grasped his hand, the one place she felt safe and assured. The beast was still there, always watching and in a strange show, protecting her. They trugdged on through the mountains to the place of unknown qualities and small wings of hope began to flutter within her.