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┏━━━━━ CHAPTER TWO ━━━━━┓ ★゜・。。・゜゜・surprise rescue mission ──── Mallory Thompson
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WITH HEAVY BREATHS THE GROUP OF FIVE MEANDERED THROUGH THE THICK FOREST. No words had been exchanged throughout the entirety of the beginning course of the run, the sole intent being to find food for their people.
Mallory's eyes had been trained on the dense line of trees in front of them. Her eyes danced to the sides for brief moments, her whole stance tense as to prepare for any danger that might have been lurking behind cover. Her lips were pressed in a thin line, her forehead creasing from the stoic look upon her face, her mind so focused on the task at hand she would surely snap at the faintest sound that breached the silence. Her trusty knife had been trapped by the strong grip her fingers possessed, the blade gleaming from the small gaps of light that broke through the spaces that the trees hadn't grown over.
And it was the realization that they were almost to one end of the safe zone that Mallory finally allowed herself to speak. "Listen, we'll cover more ground if we split up. We can meet back at the traps," the assertive voice she spoke those words with had sparked action in her companions, their eyes flickering around the small clearing they found themselves in as they awaited further instruction.
"So who's with who then?" Aasim wondered.
"Our numbers are uneven," Ruby pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest. "There's gonna be three in one group, and two in another. That hardly seems fair."
"It's the way it is," Mallory stated. "Time to start picking."
Despite the authoritative voice, that often outmatched her brother's, her allies remained silent, their indecisiveness played a heavy part in the current scenario. Annoyance bubbled up in the pit of Mallory's stomach, a scowl weighing down the features of her face as she impatiently tapped her fingers against her forearm. Louis, having noticed his friend's change in demeanor, swung his weapon of choice up onto his shoulder, pointing to each member and finally giving Mallory the answer she wanted.
"Ruby and Aasim. Mallory, Violet, and I. Right? Right," He decided, and when there was no sign of protest, the boy smiled approvingly. "Easy peasy."
"Fine," Violet muttered, the first spoken from the girl all day. "Let's just get going."
And with that, the two groups went their separate ways. Mallory led her two companions towards the side of the forest that possessed their hunting grounds. After years of living in one place, she had memorized the ins and outs of the surrounding forest, especially since she had participated in runs most frequently out of everyone. If it came down to it, Mallory was confident in her judgment. If something had been the slightest bit off she would hope her quick thinking would aid her in being the dictator of how she handed an unsettling moment.
