Eight Intertwined

69 - Spectrewood

With the monster of wood out of the way, the path to the Spectrewood was clear. Z'aanta had said the forest just outside of Stonegard went by that name many years before, though H'aanit never imagined that it would be an important thing for her to remember prior to now. Then again, she also hadn't expected Z'aanta to randomly disappear for months at a time, so she supposed that this was just another strange event in a long line of peculiar happenings. The fact that she had fought against four gods in the last few weeks barely even seemed to scratch the surface. 

The Spectrewood was open at first, offering dulled sunlight to filter through the clouds overhead. The Highlands always seemed to be somewhat dark thanks to the perpetual overcast skies, and H'aanit did her best to not let this bother her as the trees began to thicken around her. The sunlight grew scarce as she walked onwards, and Ophilia reached for the Lanthorn to keep the path ahead lit. H'aanit could tell that everyone else in the group was just as on edge as she was, all of them ready to reach for their weapons the instant any danger presented itself to them. 

The group had been walking for a few minutes when Therion fell into pace alongside H'aanit. His hands had been shoved roughly and loosely in his pockets, and he refused to meet her gaze. This was nothing unusual for him, but H'aanit still found herself wary given the way he had spoken previously. 

"So, you know where to go next," Therion replied simply as he kept his gaze trained on the path ahead. He wasn't attempting to make eye contact with H'aanit either, so she could only assume that he needed the time to consider what was happening the same way she did. 

H'aanit nodded. "Yes. From the moment I sawe the landslide, I knew," she answered simply. She had been hunting long enough to be able to track down a path in case an obstacle presented itself. What sort of huntress would she be if she allowed herself to be stopped by the first sign of a challenge? 

"Impressive... Though I guess a hunter's most at home in the woods, eh?" Therion questioned with a small smirk, though he still didn't exactly meet her gaze. Instead, he opted to look just off to the right of her face. 

H'aanit nodded, not bothering to return the favor of attempting to make it seem like she was looking into his eyes. "Thanks be to my training. My master hath taught me well," she told him casually. 

For a long moment, Therion was silent as he stared down at the ground. "I hear there's no fiend out there he couldn't slay," he said when he finally managed to find the courage to speak once again. 

If H'aanit had to guess, he had heard of this from his time spent in taverns across Orsterra, and she found herself unsurprised that Z'aanta had made a name for himself there. "As a hunter, he is without peer, but..." 

Therion waited for her to continue, but when she held back, he prompted her onwards. "But?"

"When he ventureth into town, he is too easily tempted by the alehouse and games of chance," H'aanit explained. "He lacketh anything resembling discipline. Many times have comen and gone where I have been given no choice but to repayen his debts when he gets carried awaye by luck and ideals of fortune."

Therion thought about her words for a long moment before looking up to meet her gaze for the first time since the conversation started. "I'm sure he's glad to have someone like you with him," he said, the words oddly tender and soft given his regularly prickly demeanor. 

It caught H'aanit off guard for a moment, but if there was one thing she had learned to do over her years of hunting, it was controlling her emotions. She didn't let her shock flicker across her features, instead simply nodding with a small yet cautious smile. "I doe what I can," she told him simply. 

Therion didn't say anything after that, but H'aanit could tell what was on his mind, at least to some degree. He had a few other kind words for Z'aanta and H'aanit, but he wasn't sure about how to phrase them, so he chose to fall silent instead. Even if he didn't express himself to the huntress, he remained close to her side, and H'aanit couldn't help smiling at his presence. Despite his previous harshness in Bolderfall, he was starting to open up to the rest of the group in small but certain ways. She was glad to be able to see him make so much progress even if he was hesitant to show it to the rest of the world. Even small steps were important, after all. That was how true change was made.