I'm not about to give thanks or apologize.

[Talitha de le Poer]

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3+

Their time outside of Inferni in their childhood had afforded Ezekiel many opportunities that she herself had given up by choosing war over safety. Gabriel had tried to teach her. She remembered that much. Anselm had met her at the border, and Gabriel had been so unhappy to see her. The imprinted memory of her father's 'attack' still left her ill. She could never hope to be Gabriel, or Hybrid, or even Halo, but she could try to be like her brother. Tristan taught him how to use the bow, after their godmother had left the two males. Ezekiel seemed to believe she could learn to use one.

"I don't know. It seems difficult. How do you know it's easier than using nothing?" In all of her hunts during more recent times, few and far between though they were, she hadn't used weapons. She hunted on four legs, able to catch the odd rabbit or squirrel to sate a gnawing stomach. Though she trusted his judgment, she wonder how smart he really was to just use something else. Of course, she had never seen Gabriel use one.

He motioned for her to follow and she quickly made her way along the same path he took, trying to stay close enough to pay attention. Her eyes scanned the field, ears alert to all of Ezekiel's comments, and a laugh broke free. "I'm not jumping in a lake after them right now." She turned her face toward him, eyes half-lidded in an expression commonly seen when she tried to wheedle something out of any other man. "Not even for me, Zekie? I don't think the lakes are that cold right now. It's almost springtime." Of course, it was simply a joke; she would never have let him subject himself to the torture of sub-zero water.

Geese seemed to be the target. With a nod of acceptance, she glanced across the field again. She didn't see any geese. 'Nearby' didn't leave many options for geese. "Are you sure we'll find geese? It has to be better than a chipmunk, right?" Her last remembered meal. A raw, slightly demolished chipmunk. And with that, she realized just how lost she would be without someone else.

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