Blackfoot Forest black skies only know how to bleed

After all the extra work put on her body going through the marsh, Ocra’s legs felt a little sore. It hadn’t been where she wanted to put her energy while leading a current life alone. She’d been able to clean herself up in the next stream she’d found, picking through the mud in her fur and between her toes. Coming out on the other side, a weight lifted from her body, occasionally gives her the phantom feeling of being heavier than she was. The attempt to fish hadn’t been worth it, her skills could have easily been set on something else, and she found herself still hungry.

With the moon high above them, rays beaming down through the thick overhead of trees, Ocra was able to navigate herself through. She didn’t know what she was looking for but the occasional, distance sound of a fox was enough to keep her on guard. All she wanted was somewhere to sleep for the night, safe and tucked away from the outside world, she not knowing her surroundings left her a little unsure where she could safely rest her head.

Her nose touched the ground, finding a den with marks recently dug but no scent left behind that gave it claim. Ears fell back against her head and she kept moving, far too concerned that whomever left those marks might eventually come back, no matter how long they’d been gone. Ocra began her search again, one of her paws hitting the overgrown root of a tree that caused a new sear of main as well as toppling her forward so that her face hit the dirt.

Following his conversation with Nemesis, the boy had lingered for a short while before heading off. He wanted to stay there with them—his parents and even his siblings—but he also hadn't yet felt comfortable with doing so. Of course, he'd eventually return and try again, but after their conversation had ended, he'd drifted away. His legs had carried him towards Wolfskull out of habit, but the closer he got, the harder his heart seemed to beat within his chest. At the last second, he'd changed his course, veering off to the side and following the same path he'd once led Adonis down; the male that he'd sneaked into the woods in order to learn from, but had ended up being abandoned by. Just as was the case with everyone else, the other boy had left without having given a goodbye. Though he knew he should have grown accustomed to such departures, he'd been unable to not feel hurt by it. Had Adonis remained, perhaps he could have helped him, perhaps he could have fended off Cicero.

With a shake of his head, he'd pushed his legs to move faster until he'd crossed the borders. In the open, he'd kept his head low and ears back the entire time. Xan hadn't turned towards the lake like he usually would, having instead trailed along the creek until the mountains were reached. It wasn't normal for him to venture beyond that point, but he'd done so anyways, inspired by a want to keep a great distance between himself and Blackfeather until the time to return had arrived. The Inuit was but a ghost in the night as he'd scaled the ridges and various inclines, having slipped only a few times, but his tumbles had been without any major injury. Once he'd finally reached even ground, however, he'd found himself cast back into a land of darkness, and for a moment he'd frozen in place. The scent was not that of his home, yet caution was still executed as he'd ventured deeper into the forest.

Just when he'd started to move with the same sort of step as prior to his attack, a noise had sent him back into his skittish state. Legs spread to balance himself out whilst his head was lowered, ears pulling back as his tail went limp against his thighs. What he'd seen, however, was not Cicero, or any other wolf from the woods. It was a stranger, and she'd fallen on her face. Still had he remained still, observing her for a moment before having continued forward. Already had he surely been seen, yet he'd attempted to get passed her without a confrontation anyways.

When she hit the ground, she managed to keep her jaw locked together so that upon contact, she doesn’t sever her tongue but the impact left her on the ground for a few seconds without moving. Orca’s eyes remained close, heaving a deep breath of defeat before she began the process of untangling her legs from the knot of the tree. She she pressed down against the earth to stand, legs a little shaky and tired, she caught a glimpse of white from the corner of her eyes.

Orca turns to look at another standing a few yards away from her, watching. He made no effort to see if she was okay, simply staring in her direction with an expression she wasn’t able to read. Her brows knitted between her gaze, forcing herself the rest of the way up. A pain in her shoulder reminded her of the fall and she wasn’t able to put an even amount of weight on all limbs. She leaned back a little so she can ease some of the pressure but her cheeks are warmed with embarrassment the longer the other doesn’t say anything.

“You uh, you didn’t see that, right?” she tentatively asked knowing the answer and can only hope that he might leave her with a shred of dignity and lie to her.

Xan had witnessed the fall just as well as the rise. He'd seen the contact that her face had made with the earth, but hadn't commented on it. He should have laughed, or at least said something about how she should learn to walk, but he'd been unable to offer anything more than his silence. Peculiar eyes stared ahead, his attempt at fleeing having been momentarily abandoned as he'd been asked a question. There was a stop and then consideration, but not towards the inquiry. He'd focused on trying to figure out ways in which he might get away from her, or how he could perhaps make her lose interest enough that she'd leave on her own. The only thing that came to mind was to just walk away but, without extra measures being taken ahead of time, she'd easily be able to follow. He'd gone still, legs stiff as he'd decided to linger for just as long as he might need to.

"I did," he'd eventually answered with, shifting slightly to better regard her. His eyes had remained upon her face, drifting only occasionally to watch for any shifts that might suggest that a move was to be made. Pestering outsiders or working to lure them back to the woods had been something that he'd taken a liking to once, but now all he could think about was how he might avoid everyone altogether.

I did.

“Oh.”

Ocra cringed, turning her nose away and ears fell back against her head. She wanted to laugh about it and brush it off but there’d been nothing easy or soft in the male’s tone. Perhaps he wasn’t able to note her tone or the expression she wore when pleading for a little leeway to her furthering humiliation. The warmth in her cheeks settled and remain and would shine bright red if she didn’t have the fur blocking the view.

When the male doesn’t go anywhere, Ocra lifted her head back up to look at him. He stood there awkwardly without any indication what he might want to do—especially in the dark when she’d barely been able to look at him for any length of time—so she cleared her throat and tried to brush it off.

“I didn’t uh, see the root,” she said, taking a hobbled step to the side to show the raised culprit. It didn’t help her legs had been tired already so her feet had been dragging the ground, getting caught up and tangled and sending her to the ground. “I usually have a little more grace, I think,” she added though the compulsion to keep talking lingers, she snapped her jaws together again to prevent herself from doing so.

There'd been no attempts made at reading her tone, his previous answer having been offered without much thought. She'd fallen and he had seen it. It was as simple as that. There were plenty of times in which he'd lied for any number of reasons, but, presently, he didn't have the energy to do so. He'd spoken only of what he'd observed, having little concern for how embarrassing the fall might have been for the stranger. They didn't know one another, and so he didn't feel inclined to care. There were plenty of other things that required his attention aside from the feelings of someone he'd never met prior to that day.

An explanation was given, which he didn't see the importance of. Still, though, his eyes had flickered down towards the root, looking at it briefly before returning his gaze to her. Whether the root had caused for her to fall or not didn't change what had happened, it just made it seem as if she was partially blind. Especially, so, since he was so accustomed to the dark, his eyes hardly ever having any problems with adjusting and then looking through it. So, all he'd said was, "Okay."

Xan shifted his weight, taking a moment to look around at their surroundings to assure himself that no one else had arrived. "Is that all you wanted to say?" he'd asked, having taken on a detached tone. The longer he stayed in one place, the greater the risk became that he might be found again.

She swallowed a lump in her throat as he spoke, abruptly asking a question she maybe should have expected. He’d just come across her at the wrong time and she only wanted to try and smooth over her embarrassment. If she’d kept quiet from the beginning, she might have been able to save her pride but she’d managed to make it worse and it became apparent all he wanted to do was leave. Her dark gaze hit the ground and she shrugged her good shoulder once. “I guess so,” is all she can manage before she back pedals out of the situation and disappears into the dark forest.

The female had looked away and then shrugged, having nothing more to say. Some part of his mind had probably registered that he'd been too impatient, but the more dominant section had chosen to ignore that. He'd accepted her answer without an argument, and then watched as she'd taken her leave. Xan remained there, staring after her shrinking form until he'd no longer been able to see any lingering traces of her. Only then had he continued onward, proceeding with the same uncharacteristic caution as had been demonstrated prior to his meeting of the woman.