PP permission given!
Somehow, some
way, the boy had been talked into accompanying his brother for a scouting trip.
@Tegan was a little rough around the edges but what he was lacking in bulk he made up for in...charm
[citation needed]. Not that Lucca was all that hard to convince, really, but any sort of physical exertion required of him meant a little bit of extra effort was needed. The promise of help with chasing down the Plateau's grouse later on gave him the push he needed and, with that, the two Blackthorns were off, heading eastwards towards the great, towering mountains beyond.
Dusk was beginning to set in as they reached the outskirts of the Hinterlands and, where he could, Lucca rolled back onto his haunches to catch his breath. How did his brother
do this scouting thing? His lungs hurt, his feet hurt, and all they had found was this dull, dreary mountain. He scaled it alongside his leaner sibling, though quickly lagged behind while hiding his laboured breathing by pretending to be completely intrigued by the sparse greenery that grew here. Lifting his head from an admittedly uninteresting patch of grass springing up from a rock, Lucca sighed at the path that led higher up the mountain. Did it ever end?
Slowly, he made his way up, up, until reached the top, letting out an exhausted,
"Tegannn...where the heck did yo—" But his complaint was stopped short as, instead of his brother, he saw a man standing before the view over their homeland; a dark spidery form that caused a shiver to race down his spine. A pit of dread formed in his stomach as fear suddenly rooted him in place. He had seen this man before.
Tegan was quick to reappear, but he too slowed when he saw the dark stranger. The two Blackthorns froze as they stared, Lucca unable to tear his eyes away from the greedy, knowing gaze of the man. He scarcely remembered the exact details of his last encounter, but Lucca could vividly recall the absolute terror he felt, the pain he had inflicted. He didn't even realise how lucky he had been to escape being so young, that Lagan and the others had been close enough that only some scratches on his face had been the worst of the damage this stranger had dealt.
But the boy was naive and sheltered, and even that had been enough to sear a lasting memory into his mind.
Tegan suggested they should go in an uncharacteristically hushed tone, and while he felt his brother's nudge, he scarcely reacted, all senses trained upon the stranger in a state of shock. The tips of his ears — which were pushed as far forward as they could go — quivered, and his tail was wrapped nervously around a hind leg. "T-Teg...he-he..." he stammered, although he wasn't sure what he was even trying to say. He never had told his siblings about the incident, nor the eerie man who now stood before them...watching and waiting.
Despite his overwhelming fear, Lucca just couldn't break his gaze away from the ghoulish creature and his unrelenting stare that seemed to pin him in place. His bottom lip quivered after his attempt to warn Tegan, mouth partially hanging open as barely audible whimpers escaped from it. He had never felt fear as acute as this before, and the shock had left him nearly defenceless.
Thankfully, Tegan still had his wits about him. His brother's second, rougher shove finally snapped him out of his stupor, and Lucca gave a sharp yelp as he stumbled sideways from the sheer force. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the man step off his perch with the fluidity of a snake. There was a lack of urgency to his movements, but instead of relief, Lucca's blood ran ice cold. They had to get back to the Plateau.
With his muscles working again, the boy finally managed to lumber after his brother back down the path they had come from, ears flat against his skull in sheer terror.