*Sarratina P.O.V*
I looked down kindly on the girl currently gripping me tightly, even in her sleep. I gently straightened out her short tuffs of brown hair, cleaning away the leaves and twigs stuck in them. Her occasional snore resounded quietly in my ear as I brushed the back of my hand along her face, wiping away the last vestiges of her drying tears. I had been in this position for an hour or more already and I could feel the tingling sensation that came with numbness and stiffness of inactivity. My legs burnt from kneeling for so long and shot me repeated signals of pain, but I endured them and remained immobile. I didn’t want to disturb the girl sleeping in my arms. Not now that she could finally truly rest. She had carried us far and she deserved a break for all her hard work, one that I intended to give to the best of my abilities. So until we really needed her again, we should let her sleep.
I looked up as I heard the approaching footsteps of Shiara. She had decided to, and against my warnings, explore the local region, scout out the area for any obvious dangers and go looking for heat rocks and toukou chocolate. I had warned her that the real dangers would be hard to realise without Vixen and suggested she stay with us and act as a lookout, but she just said replied that Vixen would also want us to get a grip of our bearings and that she wouldn’t go far. The only other promise I could illicit out of her was that she would not approach anything she had not seen before.
“Notice anything unusual?”
“Plenty of things, but nothing that was openly moving towards us. We should be fine.” She proceeded to go lie down next to me.
Over this period of days spending time with the two, I felt I had already become a lot closer with two. Shiara was a simple loveable fool, stubborn and open and Vixen was a courageous and sly girl, an equal if not greater intellectual compared to me. True there was greater distance between us, but I was not worried. She seemed the type to be more wary and harder to befriend, but she was also gradually opening up on this journey. Otherwise, even in her distraught state, she would never have entered such a deep sleep. I also had this inexplicable feeling that she would be a great friend to have; someone who was extremely loyal to those she considered deserved it. Why I thought that, I had no idea, but maybe it was due to her being so similar to me in some ways. Something just resonated within me when I first saw her, and continues to do so when I look at her; almost as if our destinies were somehow interlinked…Lot’s had happened within the short timespan of our meeting, dangerous and memorable, and I couldn’t help feel an illusion that a month had passes since our meeting, not days.
Ah, and about Vixen, these recent events really cleared up my image of her, and I was beginning to see her with new clarity. From my observations, she should be a native inhabitant of this jungle, however disbelieving this may seem. They could of moved in to evade tax, but more likely than not, they were just a reclusive ancient clan living here for centuries even before our nation was founded. There were many ancient heritages on this continent, some thousands if not millions of years old, so it was never wise to blindly challenge these tribe; if they had survived for so long, then surely they had the means to survive longer, whether through trickery and cunning or raw power. It was normally much more valuable to use or ally with them than rather to fight them. Whether you could successfully convince them was another problem entirely. Her ancestry might also explain her grit- or she could just be a tough girl who survived a tough life.
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That would also explain her familiarity with the jungle and considering her past…she must have been here before. She had likely buried something on top of this hill that was unfortunately dug out by some strange monster. But why were the souls…Zielin she called them here? Was it due to crossing the river? And then that begs the bigger question…. what killed them? If each cloud of vapour before was a soul…then did they all die suddenly from the same cause assuming that something like a soul should only linger for a relative short period? What could kill such a tribe that had been living in this jungle for so long and how did Vixen escape? Were there more children like her somewhere? I stopped my line of thought. There were too many questions, and not enough answers. It was best to clarify it with her when she woke up.
I looked down again at her, and I couldn’t help but smile. I could almost see the dark clouds that seemed to have been clinging and shrouding her part, as her mysterious background gradually revealed itself to be a tragic one. Finally I felt her calloused hands relax, as her grip on me loosened. Stumbling a bit from the numbness, I managed to shift my legs out and slowly lower her to a clean patch of grass, letting her head rest on my outstretched legs. Lying down myself I looked up at the darkening sky. The blue tinge through the overhanging canopy seemed to put me at peace. I felt myself relax. Here I was, in the middle of the most dangerous place in the kingdom, hunted by an evil organisation, trying to resolve a conspiracy, stuck with two orphans who I felt strangely close with, hanging on with an empty stomach and no guards around to protect me, or maids to serve me. Free. Yet hunted. Did that still make me free then? One year ago, I would never have imagined something like this happening to me…I mean I was a very, very important person in this country, how did it come to being chased down in my own country… I missed Father, and Mother, and brother too. I missed Claire and Timothy as well. I hope they were doing well. But seeing as how homesick I am right now, I can’t even begin to imagine how Vixen must feel. Well she has made her peace, so I should just let it be.
I couldn’t help but admire Vixen again for her strength. I really admired her, her forward mentality, her fortitude and her courage. Though her personality left something to be desired, but with her upbringing, there wasn’t much more that could be expected from her. Somehow the way she talked to me and carried herself reminded me of a good negotiator I listened to once. Though I felt ever grateful to both Shiara and Vixen who had saved my life, and both seemed brilliant to me, it always seemed as if Vixen was in control, and had that something special, as if – right, she had the charisma of a natural leader. I couldn’t exactly point out what made me feel like that, but she gave off that aura.
During my thought’s Suticat had snuck up on and curled up next to me, gently flapping my arm with his tail. He was small, and his presence was often thin, but he was always there when it counted. I was envious that Vixen had such a nice pet, but happy for her as well. Shiara shifted over a bit and whispered something to me.
“Sorry, I didn’t hear that.”
“Do you mind if I snuggle up as well. It’s kind of cold and…”
“Go for it.”
And so Shiara joined us, as we all snuggled up together. I couldn’t help but feel warmer inside and out, as my legs seemed to heat up. Out in the forest bunched up together, me, Vixen, Shiara, a fox, with nothing else to keep us company but the night sky and-
“AH! SHIARA, WHAT’S THAT?!”
“Huh?...AHHHHHH!! Get it off me!”