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Nox had risen long before her siblings had, leaving them both to sleep where they had settled the previous night. It wasn't like the timid girl to leave them and go off on her own, but it was the extreme rumbling of her stomach that forced her away from them. Besides, she'd be careful not to stray to far from where they were. Nox also wasn't the type to try and go hunting on her own, be it for large prey or simply just field mice. No, she had excelled in the skill of foraging, something that was often a problem during the times of cold weather.
It would have been simple to just wake Zadi and tell him that she was hungry, she was certain he would happily get her something to eat, but the young girl also didn't want to be such a bother to him. He already did everything for her as it was. So off she went, thin arms hanging idly at her sides and gold green eyes opened wide with paranoia. Even while she could still just turn her head and see them, she was frightened. Now though, now that she'd gone out of their range of sight, she was scared to death. The girl hunched over, creeping along through the barren trees and across the open grounds. It was only when she got a good ways into the foreign lands that she decided that the whole thing was a bad idea for certain.
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indent The bird had settled on the low branch of a tree, something that was due in part to the fact it had slept there the night before. It was a wild turkey, still waking from the daze of a cold nights slumber. Birds—that is, non-predatory birds—are stupid by nature. It did not sense the predator nearby, though this was due in part to the fact Ahren’s distance from the tree was several yards. The weapon he had hoisted was silent and foreign since the fall of man. His eyes remained focused, unblinking. The bird lifted its head and rose to descend to earth. An ounce of pressure sent the arrow shooting through the air, the crossbow’s string barely making a twang in the silent morning.
indent Like a stone the turkey tumbled to earth, landing in a heap of feathers and bone. Ahren slung the crossbow over his shoulder, pulled the rifle strap and felt it settle against his back. He grabbed the bird by the feet, lifting it with one hand and judging the weight. It would keep him full for the day, despite the work he’d have to do to clean it. A faint noise caused the blonde’s ears to swivel, and his head followed motion. It was still dark enough that he could not make out the stranger, and he remained still, silent. If someone was there, they’d expose themselves eventually.
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Not being accustom to this place only made the paranoia of the young girl stronger than ever. Gold-green eyes darted around her at a frantic pace and hardly resting at all, despite the fact that there was nothing but silence and thus nothing to make her think that something was there. She scented at the air softly, though all seemed still and there was little for her to pick up on. Deciding it best to return to her brothers, Nox turned and began to creep back the way that she had come. It was far to dark for foraging just yet and perhaps by the time the sun came up one of them would be awake enough to help her get something to eat. Heck, even Roo could fish.
It was about the moment that she began to make her way back to where she had come from that the sound of the thud hit her ears, causing soft, surprised sort of yelp to leave her as she jumped at the sound. Instead of inspecting the sound of continuing on her way, Nox made a mad dash for the nearest tree, grasping hold of it as tightly as she could when she finally reached it. She positioned herself behind it, despite the fact that the tree was thin and dead, doing very little to hide her from sight. The ink colored female pressed against the tree, holding it tightly and slamming her eyes closed as she stood there. "Z--za-za-zadi?" She practically squeaked, her voice quiet and trembling.
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indent The pre-dawn light was just enough to give his eyes a faint glow, as the pupils dilated to take in as much light as possible. Ahren’s fur had not yet begun to give off the false halo, as it so often did in brighter conditions. A sudden burst of noise had his hand near his hip, positioned for both the knife and a sudden defense. It wasn’t a deer he had startled, judging from the size and sound. Soon enough, he caught the high-pitched wail of a feminine voice. Puzzled, the blonde frowned and made his way forward.
indent After only a few seconds, he spotted the culprit. The girl was behind (sort of) a tree, and looked as though hell was after her. The confusion did not fade, and in fact, his upper lip pulled up slightly as the confusion grew. With one hand still carrying the dead bird and the other now at his side, Ahren approached cautiously, calling out. “Hey, are you okay?”
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Maybe it was her brother. Maybe he had woken up to find that she was gone and had come looking for her. Every time they lost track of one another he always came to find her. She tried to convince herself that was what was happening, repeating it over and over in her head as she plastered herself up against the tree. She could hear the steps, though faint and not rushed, they pounded like drums in her ears. Nox knew right then that it wasn't her brother. He would've called out to her, let her know that it was alright and that he was there for her now. All she could do was hold tighter to the base of the tree and hope that whatever it was wouldn't notice her and would go away.
Unfortunately, a voice came suddenly, and the girl froze stiff as a board, eyes shut so tight that she thought they might get stuck like that forever. "I..I.." She stuttered in a soft, frightened voice, forcing herself closer to the tree to the point that the bark scratched at her flesh. Nox breathed sharply, holding in the breath for a short moment before expelling it in a shaky fashion into the air. "N-n-no." She finally managed, just as soft as before. Her stutter was always much worse in moments of high stress.
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indent Tilting his head to a near comic stance, Ahren stopped moving and listened. The stutter was an oddity he had not heard since Europe, and then it had been something that was peculiar. Here, it was unheard of. Still, her response triggered the dull instinct to investigate that was partially concern and mostly curiosity. She smelled familiar, though the smell was like flowers after a rain—indistinct and strange. Keeping his stance neutral, and moving forward another step, his head returned to its normal position. “What’s wrong?”
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"L-l-lo-lost." She managed to answer him, though extremely hesitant about speaking to him at all. Was she really lost though? Nox could find her way back to her siblings if she really tried, she wasn't lost in that aspect. Instead, she was lost in her head, unsure how to face the situation at hand. Confused. The inky girl was never good in situations with strangers. When put into a position that she didn't want to be in her first instinct was to hide, if such an action was applicable. With eyes still shut tight, still crouching, she slunk back farther behind the tree. As she did so her right leg twisted outward, the greenish colored triskel tattoo on her hip finally showing itself.
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indent He opened his mouth to ask if she wanted his help when he saw the symbol. That malachite brand that he had not seen since Misery, since Chimera, since he had handed everything over to someone he had trusted. Now, though, Revlis was dead and Chimera was nothing but a memory. Still, it was a terrible thing that he went through in that moment; reliving in an instant the thousand things that had driven him away from this place initially. Ahren had left home only once, and that had been for over a year. The ghosts hadn’t gone, but they had changed, and they had waited. They had always been waiting.
indent His eyes shot up to her face, studying the structure, and in that instant he knew who she was. He had seen them only once, and only for a moment, but he knew. “You’re a D’Angelo,” he said firmly, keeping his eyes on her face. “I know your mother.” All too well, it seemed.
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