A cold silence fell over the cave as he stared into the warm puddle of blood below, the purple reflection of his eyes grimaced back at him as they pierced the darkness of the cave. An ominous air came about, as blood dripped from his feathers, not just Nephilim’s, but his own. His right wing had quite the missing chunk, that he inspected with a ‘tsk’ before furling it into his back with the other. Wincing as he did.

“Well that was quick...” A voice called out from the opening’s entrance, it was Pounnem, who stood proud - arms crossed, and a gaze filled with surprise… labeled oh so evidently onto her visage.

“...I don’t like to fight.” Hexlith was quick to reply, before turning to the two corpses which lay at his feet.

Blinking a few times to snap himself out of the bloody trance he entered, he turned back to Pounnem with a soft smile, closed eyes and all, before he made his way over to, and past her. Leaving Pounnem alone for a few moments to look at the cut up bodies of her brethren. The helmless er- now headless one, who held an obvious bloodlust, and the other… whom they used as their fake.

“Was afraid for a second that I’d be seen, but you were right… The opening closed as soon as I landed.” She spouted before he could walk out, as she crouched down to take hold of one of their necklaces. The family sigil, an eagle holding a spear in its talons, which far surpassed it in size! She looked at it with a certain level of disgust, before turning her attention to Hexlith, who was quick to respond.

“Confidence, and impatience: The two glaring weaknesses of the Thasclea. No way in hereek they’d waste time to reroute, so long as it meant cornering you.”

With a solemn glance, he moved his eyes from where he stood, down to the corridor near the larger opening, which had a fair share of other split-offs. The Nephilim that went to tell the others of Pounnem’s death would likely seal off their exit, a gamble Hexlith was willing to take, considering what they’d gone through. As such, once Pounnem arose from her position, necklace in hand… He rose as well.

Setting her gaze upon him, a look of sorrow grew, not for those who lay dead at her feet, nor even herself… but instead? The Magkin who just took his first life. She had already told him that he needn’t go so far, yet here she stood… free at the hands of a plan that revolved entirely around him crossing that line. Or at least that’s what she thought. Hexlith saw it in a different light though; What set her free wasn’t killing the Thasclean, nor even her ambushing their decoy- no. It was the Nephilim who’d live to tell the tale of this day, the one who’d fly back home to tell… … …

“All of Noor…” Hexlith choked mid-step, causing him to fumble forth a bit as his eyes went wide with a sudden, and grave realization… “Uthwix.”

He hadn’t even thought of the consequences he faced in protecting this woman. Not for a second had he thought to cover his face or features, nor even… wear a hood… Which only made Hexlith think of his dad. A flush of memories cascaded down his throat, as he faced the realization that he may never return home again - so long as he wished for his family’s safe- Before another second passed, a stream of vomit left the Magkin, which brought him to his knees just outside of the corridor!

His finger-talons scraped the damp rock beneath, as he attempted to hold himself together. His very name taunted him, and the blade he had at his hip only supported the claim. Sitting back on his knees, he wiped his beak, and looked at the stalactites that hung high above him… “I can’t go home…” overrode any and all thoughts the Magkin held.

Two days in a row, Hexlith found himself donned in blood, and on the second? Banished from all which he strayed from. He was unable to see his family, which he had ‘so reluctantly’ stuck with, yet now? He wanted nothing more than to see the smug look on his mothers face, the deep one of his fathers… and the bright gleam in his sister's eyes whenever he returned home. All of that… was gone now, done and dusted to fleet off into the violent winds of Esgraile! In freeing Pounnem, Hexlith inadvertently unshackled himself. Yet, after yearning for so long? And obtaining it so abruptly? Hexlith couldn’t help but quake at the consequences of freedom.

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His shaking only subsided once a hand was placed on his shoulder, Pounnem, crouched beside him with a worried look in her eyes. He somewhat jolted to the initial touch, but in recognizing who it was, he found himself quickly coming back to. No matter what consequences he faced, the Scarlet Nephilim at his side was his top priority. Getting her to safety was his one and only goal right now, any extras that came after? He could deal with on his own. For now though? They had to get out of this cave.

“I’m okay-” he murmured, before sliding her hand off of his shoulder as he stood… “We need to leave.”

“-Hey!” Pounnem called out, as he started to walk off, “Thank you.”

Turning to look at the Nephilim as she called out to him, Hexlith’s face was initially filled with utter contempt, before - all of that? Melted away in the wake of her thanks. It made him smile, albeit briefly as his gaze moved down… and before he entered yet another train of thought? Pounnem placed her hand on his chest, walking beside, and then past him. “Let’s go...”

Making their egress after what felt like only a short period of walking, the two, after closing off the exit? Wasted little time in flying up to the trees, where the canopy served as an optimal trail out of Noor. Silence befell the two in their journey, not only as a safety precaution, but also from what they had gone through.

Thoughts of their actions weighed heavily, some more than others, yet that didn’t slow them on their way westward, towards the land of Tulok! A vast, rolling land of dunes, far off plains, and deep valleys alike, which starkly contrasted the land of Noor, a mountainous region filled corner to corner with the high reaching trees of Esgraile! Trees that seemed to shift in and out of Hexliths mind as the two slipped through their canopy!

Great trees that once stood strong in these lands- were said to have died off with the age of magic, yet to him? The ones he walked on now seemed more like the saplings of what’s to come. Something which brought both an air of eeriness to his surroundings, and a sort of beauty to it, which could only really exist in the mystic forests of Noor. Forests he’d soon have to leave behind, as thoughts of his future encroach further and further. Only stopping once Pounnem had!

Hexlith turned around to see what the issue was, and in looking her over? it set in fairly quick, even for himself, that they had been traveling for hours! Moving through the canopy was likely much more work for the larger Nephilim, than for him- who was able to weave through the branches fairly effortlessly. Adrenaline was also a factor, not to mention the fact Pounnem had been on the run for a while now, unable to properly rest for days, if not weeks.

Once she stopped, Hexlith promptly spread his wings to cease his momentum, wincing as he parachuted himself and turned back to his companion. “We should stop here and rest for the night. I have a tincture from my sister that should keep us warm.”

As Hexlith gracefully hopped from branch to branch over to where Pounnem was crouched, he felt a shiver run down his spine, the majority of his feathers began to stick up in fear as he slowed. Not because he heard something in the distance, forgot a part of their plan- no… nothing like that. It was because of the red gaze that rose to meet him. Pounnem’s eyes flared with anger, as she slowly stood, her chin raising to look even further down upon Hexlith

“Your wing… what happened.”

Unfurling from his back, both of the iridescent appendages were revealed, showing how many feathers he had sliced off. The entire top of it was fine, and smooth as could be, but it got rougher as it went down, until finally? There was a clean line carved through the midst of the larger feathers, little red stubbles all too apparent at the bottom. He had cut a bit into his actual wing closer to the end, but all in all, the feathers would regrow in time.

That didn’t quite quench the fury of Pounnem though, as she took a firm step towards the Magkin. The entirety of the tree shook as she moved, until they were face to face, and Hexlith looked up at her gleaming red eyes. She asked him a question, yet now? He felt petrified by the piercing gaze that peered through him like a window.

“I… uh-” He couldn’t help but stumble to find the words, fumbling over his own thoughts as he tried to understand what was going on and- before he thought for a second longer? A set of arms wrapped around him, their fingertips tracing to the shoulders of his wings, as Pounnem gently embraced Hexlith.

“-I told you Hexlith; Your wings are beautiful…”