AN: Yup, I got nothing to say. Might have to expand on their descriptions a little more coherently, but seeing as the characters aren't 100% set in my mind quite yet, that might have to wait. Feedback on what you'd like to know about them is most appreciated.
Regards
Mea
Word Count (Chapter): 2,634Word Count (Total): 3,649
Quickly he laid back with a deathly groan and closed them, although that didn't do anything to stop the twinkle, nor the pain in his chest that grew with every breath. He wondered for a moment if he hadn't broken something though he didn't specifically remember doing anything to hurt himself. One moment he was merrily walking along minding his own business as he shuffled through the woods carefully in the darkness, as that was the only time that one could travel semi-safely; and the next minute he was on his back facing the sky and all the stars.
He lay there thinking about that for a moment before the shadow crept over him, making him moan softly as the memory of being hit in the chest with what felt like a freakin' boulder washed over him, and tentatively he opened one eye to look up on the face of his attacker. It took a moment as the stars flared back to life against the silhouette of the assailant standing over him. He blinked a few times trying to focus before realizing two things; firstly, it was female and almost six foot tall, and secondly she was raising her arms above her head. The first rays of light crested the horizon and glinted off the Axe she held up, prepared to bring it down upon his head. That quickly cleared the fog in his mind and instinctively he raises his own hands in defense and backpedaled as fast as his sluggish legs could move.
"Wait! Wait! Wait! I'm not infected! I'm human!" He exclaimed, as he realized he wasn't actually moving anywhere, and the look of confusion that crossed her face told him that his words weren't particularly making sense. Taking a deep breath he tried again, "I swear to the Goddess Vyna that I'm clean. Please don't..." he trailed off into a whimper as his vision cleared and he was able to see her clearly in the morning light. She was thinking about it carefully as his heart raced in his chest and his feet kept flailing without him having to think about it.
After a moment she lowered the axe to the ground and grunted at him, before stepping back and turning away to checking out their surroundings, as if having suddenly having lost interest in him completely. He lowered his arms as well and took a few deep breaths until his heart beat returned to something of a normal state and then carefully he sat upright again. The stars flared albeit briefly before going away completely, and he was finally able to take a deep breath though the pain in his chest had barely abated, and he reached up to idly rub his bruised muscles. "Wh-what did you hit me with? Why? What--who are you?" The questions spilled from his lips, and she turned to glare at him, though offered nothing in the way of explanation as if the answers were obvious and he should just stop his yammering.
He did, for a moment, quiet his mouth though the questions still burned in his mind. She turned away again though made no move to leave him, and he took that as a sign that she wasn't going to abandon him in a hurry. He stood, carefully, and walked a few steps towards her. One hand holding tightly to his chest as the other reached out by way of introduction. "My name's Skylaar. Skye for short. And you are..." She looked at his offered hand, and then his face, before turning back to her survey of the hillside surroundings. He lowered his hand reluctantly and followed her gaze, awed by the beauty of the virtually unscathed landscape laid out before them.
He'd come up the side of the hill through a dense forest and a steep rise, having stared at his feet the entire time to make sure he didn't trip over an errant stick or stone, ironically so he didn't end up on his ass and injured. He rubbed his chest idly as his gaze roamed, noticing everything the dawn light touched... it was almost beyond words and for a moment everything else was forgotten. The other side of the hill dipped gradually into a valley shadowed by deep green trees and bushes everywhere, not so dense as the other side he'd just left, but unspoiled by anything unnatural. Beyond the gentle grove was a sight that had to be seen to be believed, the end to his search, the whole reason he'd come this way.
Dotting the green landscape all the way to the horizon and probably beyond, what was once a thriving metropolis of buildings in various states of decay, the only residents now being various plants and the occasional animal. Everything that was once a civilization was slowly caving to the landscape and loosing what it used to be, but in doing so taking on a whole new meaning in this "New World". Skye guessed that this is what used to be suburbia of some sort, something his grandmother had told him about in one of her infamous dementia rants one lazy afternoon... back when he had a family and a home. He pushed the memory away quickly and returned his focus the post-apocalyptic landscape. That was actually the best way to describe it really... nothing but ruins over run by greenery, nature taking back the planet, leaving nothing but faint memories of what used to be behind in it's wake.
But the real gem of the whole scene was the... shadow city on the horizon, the sun slowly bringing it back to life as the dawn rays touched upon every surface as it rose. Skye was in awe of the sheer magnificence of it all, knowing that many years ago humans were able to construct anything on such a grand scale, and to actually be able to see it for himself, to lay eyes on what once used to be. To see the grandeur that humans were once capable of, it was... at least to him, breathtaking. To see skyscrapers crumbling as they gave way to trees now hundreds of years old, some formed from multiple trees on multiple levels all working together to take back what was once, and now always would be, their world.
"What a junk pile."Her voice, though so soft it was almost unheard, was still enough to startle him out of his revere and back into the real world. He looked over at her confusedly, one eyebrow raised and one lowered questioningly, but she simply turned away and walked over to one of the trees where she'd left her pack and.. weapons? Skye jumped when he saw the arsenal she'd left on the ground, everything from swords to guns, to things he'd never heard of before and his jaw fell to the floor in shock. "W--what do you mean? Who are you? What are you doing here?" The questions tumbled from his lips unchecked as he moved to follow her.
Her reply was simply to raised the still sheathed sword with one black gloved hand, the tip aimed at his neck and preventing him from coming any closer, as she slung her pack over her shoulder with a loud clank. He was surprised he hadn't heard her drop it in the first place, though now that he thought about it why hadn't her heard her coming at all with that much metal bouncing upon her back. He held up his hands innocently, and looked from the sword tip to her face, licking his lips nervously. "I... I don't mean to be rude or anything, but... you -did- hit me in the chest, right? Least you could do is apologize and tell me your name."She lowered the sword with derisive snort. "It was a kick. You deserved it." She shifted the pack on her back, and stared at him for a moment more, contemplating saying something else. Instead she simply walked away, her military style boots marching soundlessly upon the ground leaving only broken stems of grass in their wake, and again he was dumbfounded into silence for a moment. Quickly shaking his head he chased after her a few steps, before realizing he needed to bring his own pack with him and rushing back to grab it, before chasing after her already disappearing form.
"Wait up! Wait up! Are... are you going... to the city?" He found himself trotting to keep up with her regulated footsteps, running his eyes up and down her back as they moved, taking note of her worn jeans and ragged yet lovingly repaired jacket. Eying the jam-packed backpack containing much more than just weapons, but at the pace they were going he couldn't really stop to check them out. Watching her super short black hair sway with every movement, which he could tell she'd done by herself with a sharp blade of some sort and spoke volumes about the sort of person she was, he couldn't help but get even more curious about who exactly she was. "If you're going to the city, maybe... maybe I could come with you. It's... been a while since I've seen anyone, can hurt us traveling together can it?" She didn't even break stride as he spoke, not a single glance in his direction or anything.
He tried another tact. "I.. I have some... some rations... a little bit of food... I... I can share if you like." He glanced at her backpack, and could see amongst her belongings a few cans, and some animal skins that she'd obviously hunted herself. But nothing fresh or that seemed particularly delicious, and he had no idea why someone so seemingly self-sufficient as this woman would even care about someone so obviously untrained as him, but it was all he had to offer. That and... "I... I can pay."
She stopped dead in her tracks, turning to look at him over her shoulder. "Pay? With what? Money? HA! Coins have no place here. Where are you from? Last century?" She shook her head and started walking again, and for a moment he was left behind in his stunned silence, again she'd never raised her voice from above a whisper but still her words had managed to be heard clearly."N-not money. Not gold. No. But... other... things... services that I can provide." He babbled as he once again was forced to move double pace in order to keep up with her stride. He felt small and insignificant next to her, his 5'5 frame barely reaching her shoulders now that they were side by side. How could one such as him, clearly not a warrior of any sort with his lithe frame and clumsy feet, be expected to fight off the infected. Hell he could barely shoulder his own backpack which wasn't even one fifth of what she carried by the looks of it. He knew that he needed her more than she needed him, and he racked his brain trying to figure out what he could offer that she would accept.
She grunted before he could continue those thoughts. "I am in no need of a prostitute, thank you." Again that quiet voice cut so deeply he stopped in his tracks, and had to back through what he'd said to figure out why she was saying that.
"Wait! No, that's not what I meant. I'm not--... I wouldn't... I can't--" He shook his head and ran to catch up with her, realizing a moment too late that he shouldn't touch her, as he laid a hand on her arm.She whirled to face him in the same moment he retracted his hand, the blade coming up towards his throat and making him take two steps backwards quickly, realizing that it wasn't actually sheathed this time. The look on her face so calm of demeanor but hiding such anger right beneath the surface that he was waiting for it to twist into the true features of a demon. Instead he found himself looking up into her black eyes... as if her pupils were dilated so far it left no color behind, but in the few seconds his brain had to lock that image in he came to understand she did have irises, just that they too were black... layers of black... black striations of the stroma, the muscles that actually gave color to the eye. He got lost in those eyes, his own finding all the nuances of their uniqueness, like staring into a night sky and trying to find every single star despite the fact that you could spend an eternity trying to count them all and you would never do it. There was so much to see beyond what the human mind could comprehend, and right at this moment there wasn't even the time to begin.
After a moment she lowered the axe to the ground and grunted at him, before stepping back and turning away to checking out their surroundings, as if having suddenly having lost interest in him completely. He lowered his arms as well and took a few deep breaths until his heart beat returned to something of a normal state and then carefully he sat upright again. The stars flared albeit briefly before going away completely, and he was finally able to take a deep breath though the pain in his chest had barely abated, and he reached up to idly rub his bruised muscles. "Wh-what did you hit me with? Why? What--who are you?" The questions spilled from his lips, and she turned to glare at him, though offered nothing in the way of explanation as if the answers were obvious and he should just stop his yammering.
He did, for a moment, quiet his mouth though the questions still burned in his mind. She turned away again though made no move to leave him, and he took that as a sign that she wasn't going to abandon him in a hurry. He stood, carefully, and walked a few steps towards her. One hand holding tightly to his chest as the other reached out by way of introduction. "My name's Skylaar. Skye for short. And you are..." She looked at his offered hand, and then his face, before turning back to her survey of the hillside surroundings. He lowered his hand reluctantly and followed her gaze, awed by the beauty of the virtually unscathed landscape laid out before them.
He'd come up the side of the hill through a dense forest and a steep rise, having stared at his feet the entire time to make sure he didn't trip over an errant stick or stone, ironically so he didn't end up on his ass and injured. He rubbed his chest idly as his gaze roamed, noticing everything the dawn light touched... it was almost beyond words and for a moment everything else was forgotten. The other side of the hill dipped gradually into a valley shadowed by deep green trees and bushes everywhere, not so dense as the other side he'd just left, but unspoiled by anything unnatural. Beyond the gentle grove was a sight that had to be seen to be believed, the end to his search, the whole reason he'd come this way.
Dotting the green landscape all the way to the horizon and probably beyond, what was once a thriving metropolis of buildings in various states of decay, the only residents now being various plants and the occasional animal. Everything that was once a civilization was slowly caving to the landscape and loosing what it used to be, but in doing so taking on a whole new meaning in this "New World". Skye guessed that this is what used to be suburbia of some sort, something his grandmother had told him about in one of her infamous dementia rants one lazy afternoon... back when he had a family and a home. He pushed the memory away quickly and returned his focus the post-apocalyptic landscape. That was actually the best way to describe it really... nothing but ruins over run by greenery, nature taking back the planet, leaving nothing but faint memories of what used to be behind in it's wake.
But the real gem of the whole scene was the... shadow city on the horizon, the sun slowly bringing it back to life as the dawn rays touched upon every surface as it rose. Skye was in awe of the sheer magnificence of it all, knowing that many years ago humans were able to construct anything on such a grand scale, and to actually be able to see it for himself, to lay eyes on what once used to be. To see the grandeur that humans were once capable of, it was... at least to him, breathtaking. To see skyscrapers crumbling as they gave way to trees now hundreds of years old, some formed from multiple trees on multiple levels all working together to take back what was once, and now always would be, their world.
"What a junk pile."Her voice, though so soft it was almost unheard, was still enough to startle him out of his revere and back into the real world. He looked over at her confusedly, one eyebrow raised and one lowered questioningly, but she simply turned away and walked over to one of the trees where she'd left her pack and.. weapons? Skye jumped when he saw the arsenal she'd left on the ground, everything from swords to guns, to things he'd never heard of before and his jaw fell to the floor in shock. "W--what do you mean? Who are you? What are you doing here?" The questions tumbled from his lips unchecked as he moved to follow her.
Her reply was simply to raised the still sheathed sword with one black gloved hand, the tip aimed at his neck and preventing him from coming any closer, as she slung her pack over her shoulder with a loud clank. He was surprised he hadn't heard her drop it in the first place, though now that he thought about it why hadn't her heard her coming at all with that much metal bouncing upon her back. He held up his hands innocently, and looked from the sword tip to her face, licking his lips nervously. "I... I don't mean to be rude or anything, but... you -did- hit me in the chest, right? Least you could do is apologize and tell me your name."She lowered the sword with derisive snort. "It was a kick. You deserved it." She shifted the pack on her back, and stared at him for a moment more, contemplating saying something else. Instead she simply walked away, her military style boots marching soundlessly upon the ground leaving only broken stems of grass in their wake, and again he was dumbfounded into silence for a moment. Quickly shaking his head he chased after her a few steps, before realizing he needed to bring his own pack with him and rushing back to grab it, before chasing after her already disappearing form.
"Wait up! Wait up! Are... are you going... to the city?" He found himself trotting to keep up with her regulated footsteps, running his eyes up and down her back as they moved, taking note of her worn jeans and ragged yet lovingly repaired jacket. Eying the jam-packed backpack containing much more than just weapons, but at the pace they were going he couldn't really stop to check them out. Watching her super short black hair sway with every movement, which he could tell she'd done by herself with a sharp blade of some sort and spoke volumes about the sort of person she was, he couldn't help but get even more curious about who exactly she was. "If you're going to the city, maybe... maybe I could come with you. It's... been a while since I've seen anyone, can hurt us traveling together can it?" She didn't even break stride as he spoke, not a single glance in his direction or anything.
He tried another tact. "I.. I have some... some rations... a little bit of food... I... I can share if you like." He glanced at her backpack, and could see amongst her belongings a few cans, and some animal skins that she'd obviously hunted herself. But nothing fresh or that seemed particularly delicious, and he had no idea why someone so seemingly self-sufficient as this woman would even care about someone so obviously untrained as him, but it was all he had to offer. That and... "I... I can pay."
She stopped dead in her tracks, turning to look at him over her shoulder. "Pay? With what? Money? HA! Coins have no place here. Where are you from? Last century?" She shook her head and started walking again, and for a moment he was left behind in his stunned silence, again she'd never raised her voice from above a whisper but still her words had managed to be heard clearly."N-not money. Not gold. No. But... other... things... services that I can provide." He babbled as he once again was forced to move double pace in order to keep up with her stride. He felt small and insignificant next to her, his 5'5 frame barely reaching her shoulders now that they were side by side. How could one such as him, clearly not a warrior of any sort with his lithe frame and clumsy feet, be expected to fight off the infected. Hell he could barely shoulder his own backpack which wasn't even one fifth of what she carried by the looks of it. He knew that he needed her more than she needed him, and he racked his brain trying to figure out what he could offer that she would accept.
She grunted before he could continue those thoughts. "I am in no need of a prostitute, thank you." Again that quiet voice cut so deeply he stopped in his tracks, and had to back through what he'd said to figure out why she was saying that.
"Wait! No, that's not what I meant. I'm not--... I wouldn't... I can't--" He shook his head and ran to catch up with her, realizing a moment too late that he shouldn't touch her, as he laid a hand on her arm.She whirled to face him in the same moment he retracted his hand, the blade coming up towards his throat and making him take two steps backwards quickly, realizing that it wasn't actually sheathed this time. The look on her face so calm of demeanor but hiding such anger right beneath the surface that he was waiting for it to twist into the true features of a demon. Instead he found himself looking up into her black eyes... as if her pupils were dilated so far it left no color behind, but in the few seconds his brain had to lock that image in he came to understand she did have irises, just that they too were black... layers of black... black striations of the stroma, the muscles that actually gave color to the eye. He got lost in those eyes, his own finding all the nuances of their uniqueness, like staring into a night sky and trying to find every single star despite the fact that you could spend an eternity trying to count them all and you would never do it. There was so much to see beyond what the human mind could comprehend, and right at this moment there wasn't even the time to begin.
Calmly he held up his hands again in innocence, and carefully clarified his thoughts, "I didn't mean it like that. I'm... quite capable, but that's not what I'm offering." He glanced down at the point of the sword held unwaveringly against his Adam's apple, and carefully he swallowed before looking up at her again and continuing. "I mean, I just noticed that you don't have much in the way of food, and... well, I admit that I'm not very good with sword fighting whereas you..." He indicated her armory, "quite obviously are. Perhaps we can arrange, at least if we're both traveling towards the city anyway which I believe we are, a... business transaction, I guess. A temporary partnership of sorts. Travel together, protect one another... you watch my back, I'll watch yours. Or... if you... prefer..." He lowered his hands slowly, and tried to smile reassuringly. "... you can think of it as, you protect my worthless ass, and I'll cook you meals and find some fresh produce. I'm good at gathering, I know what's edible and what's not. And... if you need sew some clothes up for you, I not the best but I can do a fair decent job that will last a while."
He shrugged nonchalantly, though inside he was shaking so violently he though he was going to have a heart attack and drop dead right there, watching her eyes that didn't even flicker from their spot upon his face. The most disconcerting stare he'd ever seen even without it coming from those unusual eyes of hers. He let the subject drop and simply waited for her to respond in some way. To either lower her weapon or to... well... kill him for being an annoyance. Right at that moment he would have welcomed either option as that stare penetrated his very soul, burning into him and over him and through him.
"Fiara." She stated simply, before dropping the sword back into it's sheath now tied to her belt and hanging down her leg, and striding back towards the forest with that self-same tenacious gate. It took him a moment to realize that was obviously her name, he hoped, and that it was her way of saying she accepted his offer. He reshouldered his pack and chased after her yet again.
"Fiara." She stated simply, before dropping the sword back into it's sheath now tied to her belt and hanging down her leg, and striding back towards the forest with that self-same tenacious gate. It took him a moment to realize that was obviously her name, he hoped, and that it was her way of saying she accepted his offer. He reshouldered his pack and chased after her yet again.
