huntersmark

Senua remembered what it was like to not be able to speak to others. When she was held captive in her home. Before she met someone that treated her like a normal person. Before she had ran into the wilds. She still struggled speaking herself, but she made her attempt to keep the conversation light. "I am not good at it either, so do not worry." She almost seemed to smile with the lightest of jests, though it was quickly, subconsciously hidden. She watched his eyes drift to the nearby creatures of the forest. She felt a flicker of joy seeing the animals go about their lives herself. A calmness she had experienced in a while.  "The path... It is across some water too. I rowed a boat for a while..." She attempted to recount her journey, measuring just how much time had passed since she left the gates. "Maybe half a day of rowing. Borgarvirki is on an island. Should just travel toward the smoke stack inland. Travel to it could take a few days too, but there are other settlements along the way. If you tell them I sent you, they will help you on your path." She ripped off another small chunk of the salty flesh, coming to realize how hungry she had been herself. After processing it, she continued. "The journey might be... hard. But I think you are capable."
            
            She listened to him, her blue gaze drifting off to seemingly nothing behind him at the mention of a hunt, though they were quickly brought back. As if whatever she saw behind the other. "A hunt? What are you hunting?" She asked out of pure curiosity. She had hunted before, but it was not for food. She was hunting for something much more deeply personal. She wondered if it could be the same for this stranger. "I might be able to help, if you do not mind me joining you." She suggested sheepishly, her voice just above a whisper. 

@FuryLed 
            
            it is but dried meat, carried about for the saints know how long, but upon his tongue it is one of the most savory meal he recalls eating. his mouth waters and he must force himself to chew slowly, to not down it all in one bite. 
            
            senua. the name as is its origins are unfamiliar to him and he simply nods, uncertain as to what is said after this point. a pleasure to meet you? he's heard people in the settlements use that one before but is it a pleasure to come across a stranger out in the wilds? from experience he would say no, but she did give him food so... "i'm not worried," the words roll off his tongue far too quickly and he winces, has himself speak slower. "i am not accustomed to being around people. talking is... it isn't something i am good at."
            
            he looks away at the admittance, busies himself with the meal and pretends that something across the way has caught his attention. there is nothing of note, of course. the flittering of a bird, a squirrel bounding across the branches. her words brought him back, his brow furrowing as disbelief writ clear across his pale features. "that's .. generous of you," he commented. she did not seem the type, yet the again looks could be deceiving. "maybe when my hunt is done. i'll finish my job, then i can rest .. how do i get to the settlement? do i simply follow the path?" 

There was the tiniest hint of a smile when her offering was accepted. She tore off a small piece of her own, but before tasting it, she nodded and answered. "I... I am Senua." She was a little hesitant herself. She could feel the unease between them. An unease she knew all too well. It did seem like they walked similar path, though clearly for different reasons. As an attempt to ease the tension, she chewed he piece as she chewed on her own thoughts. "You don't have to worry, I won't hurt you." She attempted to offer words of ease, though they might have landed as a little awkward.
            
            Her eyes drifted for a moment to her peripheral before she shook her head slightly as if discarding a thought, or perhaps, s a memory. Then her large, piercing blue eyes met his again. "I came from a settlement a few days from here... I-" She cut herself off. Then brought the dried meat close again for another bite. 
            
            [ᴰᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵗᵉˡˡ ʰⁱᵐ. ᴰᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵗᵉˡˡ ʰⁱᵐ ᵃᵇᵒᵘᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ᴺᵒʳᵗʰᵐᵉⁿ. ᴴᵉ ᵐⁱᵍʰᵗ ʳᵘⁿ.] (ᵂᵉ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ʷʰʸ ʰᵉ ⁱˢ ᵒᵘᵗ ʰᵉʳᵉ. ᴰᵒⁿ'ᵗ ˢᶜᵃʳᵉ ʰⁱᵐ ᵃʷᵃʸ ⁿᵒʷ.)
            
            After a moment, she spoke again. "I am trying to help them rebuild. I am sure they would open their doors if you needed a place to rest. It is a few days, maybe a week from here though..." Her gaze drifted back to the natural path she followed. It still had not changed, which was a calming sight, despite how absent minded she was following it. 

@lykhaos ,
            
            there is a pause that spans several seconds when a breath is drawn, words perched upon the young man's tongue before he bites them back. "not that long," he murmurs. "an hour and a half, at most."  but is matters not in the end. he is well and truly lost and going in circles. and it would seem his mishap has not gone unnoticed. he turns to face the woman with heat rising to his cheeks and a gaze unwilling to completely meet her's. "maybe .. alright, maybe i am a /little/ lost. if you could—-" a sharp breath and he shakes his head. "if you could help me out of here, i would .. appreciate..  it." 

@endlight  
            
            i’m sure you are. after all, you have been walking in circles for what? a few hours now? 
            
            [the witch hummed, seeing through his lie. so much pride and for what? getting lost in this forest that frida knew like the palm of her hand.]
            
            i’m here because i live here and i know the way to the closest village. but since you know the way, i supposed you don’t need me to show you. 

@lykhaos , 
            
            "i'm not lost."  the words come muttered under breath as he trudges to the bend in the forest then stops, swallows hard and grips the yew bow tight in his hand. he isn't lost, he tells himself. and yet he knows he's been here before. passed through and the cursed forest turned him back around. the knots in the wood like eyes staring back at him. he exhales, blows a loose strand of hair from his face, then turns. "i meant to go this way," he lies, poorly. "why are you here?" 

@espinasin ,   
             
            ..the first thought is pain. the second thought is that the head of an arrow can pierce skin as cleanly as a knife and his quiver is within arms reach. the arrows spill onto the ground as he seizes one from the bundle, a messy and uncoordinated display but there is still power beneath each movement, in the way he holds himself. an animal caught in a snare, an arrowhead mere inches from parting the skin. then the other speaks, and only then he relents. "i don't.." he shakes his head, confusion knitting his brow. indeed, there is a void where time should be. he does not recall where he is, how he came to this place, and if the one before him be friend or foe. he does not drop the arrow. "i don't .. know you. do i?"