Heart Thief

Chapter 4: Runes

After a while of being bombarded with new information, Ire felt the urge to be on her own for some time. She wandered amidst the forest, doing who knows what. There was something about jumping from tree branch to tree branch made her feel so free. Perhaps it was the wind that ran through her pitch-black hair or the fact that no one was around for miles.

On the other hand, Caleb felt overwhelming loneliness. It wasn't obvious from looking at him as his expression was more of a relaxed than a concerned one. He leaned back against the same tree he and Ire had been sleeping beside for the past few days. He felt a strange attachment to it as it was the place where he and she had become, in a way, friends.

Then again, her reaction after what he showed her wasn't exactly understanding. She was emotionless as always, refusing to show and or feel any of them, yet it seemed as though she was slightly scared. Her eyes didn't bother to make eye contact with his and they seemed to avoid him entirely.

"What was I expecting, really?" he sighed as he repeatedly banged his head against the tree's trunk.

A despairing wind blew past him, making his red hair ruffle in the currents. He ran his hand through it, closing his eyes in a relaxed manner. Yet, as he opened his eyes, they widened as they saw red on his hand. It dripped down to the ground before he blinked and it disappeared. He rubbed his eyes and began to get frustrated, ruffling his hair himself.

"Stupid blood," he growled.

As the day began to end and night rose, he began to tap his foot in anxiousness. It wasn't like Ire to be away for so long, so it began to worry him tremendously. He knew she was a big girl that could handle herself but what if she was ambushed? Or captured? He began to create "ideas" in his head that justified him looking for her. Of course, they were more excuses than anything else, not that it mattered to debate about what it really was.

He stood up, straightening his clothes and ensuring that he grabbed his cleaver, placing it on his back so he wouldn't have to carry it in his arms. The boy began to take some dirt and sprinkle it over the fire, putting it out completely. This way, the smoke wouldn't give away his position so easily. A bit of it would get through, but it wouldn't be so obvious.

As he began to walk away, he heard a crow's cry behind him and turned his chin over his shoulder, looking at where the crow was. It was perched on a branch and flew off as soon as he began to narrow his eyes at it. However, it made him look down at the roots of the tree. There, was placed the arrow Ire had carved for him.

He looked away from it, turning a blind eye to the existence of the thing, but when he tried to walk further, something kept making him think about it. Then again, he needed to find Ire. He had no time for wasting on a stupid arrow. Or so he thought since he began to run back and grab it, holding it tightly in his calloused hands.

He had traveled for a while, the moon in the highest position possible in the sky when it been barely on the horizon when he left the campsite. He didn't even know if he was going in the right direction, but something in his instincts told him that he was going the correct way.

The arrow seemed to disagree. It began to tug itself out of his grasp and began to float. When he tried to grab it back almost desperately, it shocked him, making him wince slightly. He hadn't anticipated that nor did he believe that the arrow would begin to spin around in a circle. When it had finally stopped, it pointed to the left of where he had been going and flew quickly in that direction.

Caleb gritted his teeth and growled, hating to have to lose more time because of a stupid arrow. Then again, it was Ire's arrow and perhaps it was her way of telling him where she was. So he began to sprint. The ridiculous arrow seemed to have a mischievous side because whenever he would lose track of it, it would always seem to poke him in the back, usually drawing blood before carrying on with its directional advice.