He staggered back slightly, hand to his jaw. "Wow, did not see that coming."
Skyler glared and stomped off in the direction of the stream. David followed after her, dazed. He caught up to her and poked her shoulder. She ignored him. He poked her again, and she walked faster.
"Seriously! What did I do?"
Skyler stopped dead in her tracks. "Honestly David? Honestly?" She waited for him to catch up, then pushed him against a tree, pining his chest with her forearm. "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm wanted. Dead or alive. I thought I was about to die, that's what you did wrong. Now, I suggest you get lost - permanently this time - before I lose my temper, and someone gets hurt."
David stared back sternly. They had a silent staring contest until David spoke, "Your eyes are scary when you're mad. Never noticed before. Also... work on your threats babe." He pushed her arm off him and walked off. Then he stopped, "maybe you should lead Skye."
Grumbling, she walked past him in the right direction again. Falling into stride beside her, David studied her face out of the corner of his eye. She looked terrible, definitely like a criminal on the run. The cut under her eye looked slightly infected, that would need medical attention as soon as possible. Her hair looked disgusting, tangled and knotted all throughout. Dirt everywhere; somehow it all gave her an ethereal beauty that only she could posses.
'No! Not right! She's boring and too uptight, and how could I forget, a wanted fugitive! Not... That other stuff!'
His head snapped back up, so he was looking intently ahead of them through the trees. There was a faint gurgle of the water up ahead. Called by the water, David lengthened his strides, his mouth dry. At the edge of the creek he bent so he was on his knees and cupped the clear, cold water to his mouth. He sighed in content and sat back, closing his eyes, soaking in the sunlight that cascaded through an opening in the thick roof of branches overhead and fell on his face.
Skyler broke into the peaceful silence with a snort. “Now look who’s not thanking who. Hah! Men.” Skyler had been sitting on a rock slightly down the bank and was watching him. She snapped herself out of it to point accusingly at the dark haired man. He blinked open one eye and stretched, shrugging his shoulders. “After all the work I went through to find this.” she mumbled lowly under her breath, hopping of the rock and dancing on her tiptoes across the creek on the other stones that poked out of the river.
Both eyes open now, David called after her, “Skye, where are you going? Skye?”
“I’m hungry, I’m going to go get food.”
“And you’re just going to leave me here?”
Spinning around, hand on hips with her head cocked to one side Skyler glared menacingly at him. “I never said you couldn’t follow after me. That is what you’re best at after all.” then she turned and continued on swiftly the way she had been going.
David chuckled to himself and smiled knowingly, leaping to his feet and crossing the creek the same way his companion had. “Skye, can you at least wait up?”
“As soon as you stop calling me Skye.” She was ducking through the woods gracefully, without a sound, like a predator that knows it’s hunting grounds better than the land itself might. David was jogging awkwardly, trying desperately to avoid thorny brambles.
“Can’t help it.” Just then Skyler let a branch go and it snapped back and whacked David in the chest. “Ouch! Skye!”
She appeared in front of him with a cattish smile. “Can’t help it.”
Later that evening they sat around a small fire Skyler had finally agreed to light. There was a wild chicken on a makeshift spit. Skyler had also been the one to pluck and clean the small bird. She had, however, put David in charge of the cooking, and it hadn’t burned yet, it was progress at least.
