Thicket of Secrets Brought the flood

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

"Oh.. They're... Evil... evil monsters.. I don't really know how else to explain them..." she fixated on the plants in front of her, if only to not make eye contact with him. She was already shaking. Eye contact would just break her down more. "I sure hope not.. I never want to see another one ever again.. They're awful Ashton..." He was honestly more understanding then she took him to be. "Heh I know, That's how I knew I had to leave the place.. Too many awful memories reside there now.. And I hated everyone who made it out alive so... That's why I'm here." She tried to manage out a chuckle. "I'm just pissed at myself for acting the way I did. I'm causing you a whole lot of inconvenience because I can feel again. Not how I really thought things would plan out today really. Troubling a stranger." she huffed. "I made myself look so stupid." She had wondered what loss he spoke of, but decided not to press on it. She'd done him enough damage. "And now I sound like a heaping pile of self-loathing pathetic..." Not sure how to even go about ending that sentence, she decided he'd probably just know what she was getting at.

As she inhaled, she smelled what seemed to be more meat in the near distance. "There's uhm.. More food.. nearby. So you can probably just keep what's right here.. You where the one who went and got it anyhow.. And yeah, I'm pretty terrified of water. Don't really have a reason to be though.. It's pretty dumb." she smiled, answering a question from what seemed to be forever ago even though it had only really been about 10 minutes.

There is a rabbit's nest nearby. +1 Health

He wanted to know more, be able to see these monsters first hand even, but the Hervok child knew better than to ask. Constantly being reminded of the memory would do neither of them any good. "I'm sorry." The words left his mouth before he could swallow them, filtering in the air. Comfort was not his strong suit. When Danica had cried over their lost brother, he had been too harsh, calling her stupid if only to shut her up. The memory still haunted him, forcing him to feel that maybe it had been his fault she left, but he was grieving too. At the time their father had abandoned them, leaving Ashton with only his mother, and he had to be strong for her. He had to be strong for all of them.

Saliva laced his mouth with the scent of another lucky carcass, but his stomach rolled. Thoughts of things he'd rather not think of had killed his appetite. "I'm alright, but if you want it, your free to the whole thing." A smile touched his lips, but this one she let him see. A change in topics was nice, but of course it would lead down the same path. "I don't think I'm afraid of anything?" He ended with a question, but he knew the truth. He was terrified of losing another.

An idea, stupid at first, but the more he thought on it, the better it began to sound. "Hey, are you heading somewhere?" If she was, then he told himself it didn't matter. They could part ways, and never meet again as far as he was concerned, but a little voice in the back of his head told him that company might not be such a bad idea.

"Hey, It's okay. I think things will get better from here on out." She actually wasn't sure if what she just said was true or not, but one could only hope for the best right? Maybe with time she'd be able to just forget about it all. For a brief moment today she forgot, she thought maybe she should feel bad for it.. But it was actually quite refreshing. For that brief moment she could breathe. She longed for it to always be like that..

"Actually.. I'm not to sure I'm hungry anymore.. And this time I'm telling the truth." Although it really would be in her best interest to eat. 'Maybe I'll find something later..' There was probably more meat where that came from. The young wolf would just go sniffing around this evening for something.. Maybe she'd eat a whole moose instead of just scraps!
His smile made her feel oddly warm, she even found that she herself was smiling. This was strange to her, but surely something she missed. Smiling with someone. "Really? That's pretty amazing! I'm afraid of a lot of things to be honest, Water... Snakes... It's pretty ridiculous!" She giggled. "You're a very lucky prince!" How could someone not have fears? He had to be afraid of something! Maybe spiders. Spiders were pretty spooky! Catori wasn't afraid of them though.

"Hmm... Heading somewhere?" It took her a moment of thinking to come to the conclusion that she really was just wandering aimlessly. "No... Not really.. I'm just kind of exploring I guess. There are a lot of great sights out here.." Why was he asking her? Was he trying to subtly tell her he was leaving and she should get going too? Was he saying goodbye?

"They always do" A lie, or maybe it wasn't. Had things gotten better after Tacoma died? Or after Koda left? To ask the question was difficult, but the answer was far too simple. No, a life without did not have a high point, but rather it rested within a neutral state between disasters. A strange thought neutral was. Suspended, never ending. Had that been the definition of his short time on this Earth?

An appeased snort made it's way through his nose, ending on a low note. "Really snakes? They're so small!" This pleased him more than it should have, but the prince couldn't imagine being afraid of those annoying little creatures. Not when stepping on one could crush it so easily. Now something that towered over you, that was scary. Then he remembered bright yellow eyes staring at him through the trees, haunting him each night. "Okay, okay! I thought of one! You know those big things in the trees, the really big birds with huge eyes that stare at you? Those freak me out a little bit, but you can't tell anyone. I swear I'd hunt you down." Chuckling lightly, he allowed the laugh to roll through his body. How nice this felt.

"I mean, if you're not going anywhere specifically.." How to word this without sounding desperate? "I'm on my way home, if you wanted to tag along?" But why would she want to do that? "There is a lot to see around the thicket, even a meadow filled with red berries. He said hoping to sweeten the deal.

"They may be small!! But they're dangerous!" She jokingly put on a pouty face. "I once knew a wolf, two times the size of me, he got bit by one! He said he felt really dizzy, then he started bleeding from the mouth! It was so disgusting!" She laughed. "What sucked was our medical supply after the whole fiasco. Arnica, ledum, Hypericum, it was all gone! Took days of scavenging to get it all back!" this was hilarious to her, but she wasn't quite sure he'd quite pick up on it. "Oh oh! What are those things called again! My pack had a legend about them uhm... Something about night and day.. They love the night so they tried to make it last forever.. like.. No day time ever again.. That doesn't really matter though uhh.... eels? Oeels... o.. owl? eel? MAYBE? You're afraid of them? Really? How come? They're so cute!!" Hilarious. Birds didn't make you bleed from your orifices. How could something so beautiful be scary to him? "You're secrets safe with me!" she spoke, smiling as big as she possibly could.

This was the exact opposite of saying goodbye, he was inviting her to come along with him? "Meadow filled with red berries huh? That's enough, count me in!" She jested happily, Though there where most certainly no meadows filled with red berries where she was from. It honestly sounded promising.. But most of all.. She was happy Ashton didn't hate her for being so annoying. She'd love a traveling partner, and though they didn't know each other well, she was already a little attached to the boy. "Thank you... I'd really like to come.."

He found humor in her enthusiasm, as he had seen so little of it in the past. She even began naming off things he assumed to be plants. "I didn't even know that could happen!" Intrigue laced his voice, excitement playing on his features as he leaned in a little closer. Had a snake really caused a wolf to bleed from the mouth? Insanity.

"Owl!" Booming, his voice carried deep through the forest. "I dunno, but they're always staring. Something about those wide eyes appearing in the dark" He made it a point to shudder for the effect, as images of glowing eyes prodded his mind. "They better be, or else." The jab was playful, lacking the seriousness it usually would have had. He knew she wasn't going to tell anyone, and even if she did, he'd only deny it.

Standing to his full height, and already carrying more mass than the female, he tried to pinpoint their location. "We should get going then." The words fell from his lips only to be followed by a stupid grin plastered upon his face. Each day might not drag on in an endless sea of unfamiliar places with someone at his side. Now the real problem was finding his way, and he had no intention of telling her how uncertain he was of their destination. Taking a guess, with the mountain to his right, Ashton began in the same fashion he always did, before remembering. Once again, he made sure to step a little lighter, if only for her sanity's sake.