Shadewood Destination Zero

For @Morgan and @Kukutux. Occurs immediately after this thread.

Chai had made it a habit to make herself scarce as of late. She clung to the shadows as if she were a part of them, stepping lightly and quietly. Always looking over her shoulder, ever watchful. She didn't want to be found, mainly by two particular wolves. Cry and Reiner. It was nothing personal; neither male had done nothing to earn her scorn. It was just...the vibes that they gave off were unsettling. And it didn't help that one of those wolves was her alpha.

She lingered on the outermost fringes of the woods, icy eyes staring out wistfully into the free lands beyond. But she dared not move forward. Not of her own free will. Not yet. And then something happened. A blur of movement, of two forms. One pale ivory, the other earthen, sharing hushed words. Moving away from the Keep. Her heart fluttered erratically, a singe of hope clawing at her chest. Before she knew what she was doing, she was on her way to meet them.

Surprise grabbed a hold of her when she neared, recognizing the hulking image of none other than Morgan himself. One of the very wolves who had been there to so warmly welcome her to the Keep when she arrived with Atticus in tow. Atticus. He was the one who had told her of this pack, who had travelled with her here. And now he was gone, without a word...without a trace. Oh if he were around would she give him a mouthful... Clearing the sour taste in her mouth, she focused on the wolves before her. She stepped sofltly. "...Wait...please..." Came her hushed voice, a plea. As if fearful unwanted ears would hear her. Slowly, timidly she stepped out of the shadow of towering, gnarly tree to reveal herself at last.

---

Without much more that a turn of his hefty body, the brute turned with his jump from the startle becoming mighty aggressive. Whoever tha hell-

Golds stuck to the icy blues of Chai, a woman who he and Laroche had allowed to seek their piece of peace in the Family, and immediately his hackles lowered and he resheathed his quickdraw of fangs. “Chai?” He was a bit curious as to why she had wandered out of the Keep. But maybe all their reasons were the same.

”Ware’s ya boahfren at?” he asked referring to Percival. He hadn’t seen the dapper fighter kid since they’d welcomed the pair in. He might have just his out while Cry was throwing the weak out. 
Or maybe he was one of those weak bastards who Cry got his fangs into, first. 

---

kuktux hunched her shoulders beneath the weight of the pelts, wanting to be free, to be clear of this land before cry rose in some horrible fit and struck out after she and morgan. therefore, the duck too was taken off guard by the soft voice that called after them. 

moving closer to morgan, an unconscious slip that emboldened the girl somewhat, she let her springjade eyes travel over the features of the other. familiar, but only fleetingly, only as another wolf of the keep might be. they were not as tightly knit as cry would have wished, kukutux realized. he had only himself to blame for that. morgan's voice rumbled overhead, and the girl was silent, wondering what the pretty chestnut woman with the ice-storm eyes wanted of them.

She flinched, shrinking back at Morgan's initial display of aggression. It soon passed however, as recognition filled his features. She supposed if she truly knew why he and the pale female beside him were drifting further and further from Shadewood, then she would have understood his jumpiness. 

Even as his demeanor softened some, she held herself cautiously, shoulders hunched and tense. Her pale eyes darted to the sides and over her shoulders every couple of seconds, as if paranoid she was being watched. The female whose name she did not know was silent but watchful. While Morgan on the other hand, brought up a name she would rather not hear. Her ears snapped forward tightly, her lips pursing into a thin line. "Gone. Not so much of a trace or a word." She felt a pang of resentment towards Atticus. He was the one who had suggested this pack in the first place. "And he ain't my boyfriend...never was." She added stiffly, her thoughts drifting fleetingly to another man entirely. She looked between the pair then, from one set of eyes to another. "You are leaving, yes?"

---

He listened, almost feeling a sliver of regret at him jumping the gun on the woman so soon, but who could you trust when you turned your back on an ex-assassin? "oh, my 'pologies, then, miss. Misunderstood y'all bein' t'gether then." Her bitterness was a bit brow-raisin. In fact, it made him think twice bout' betrayin a girl like her. Sounded like she'd choke him out, should she get the chance. Almost like his Vetty-
He swallowed and changed the subject.

"Who's askin, and what for?" He took a slight step ahead of Kukutux, broadening his chest as though he expected Reiner's big ass to just be thrown form the shadowy world behind Chai. Hell, or even for Cry to just melt out them woods like a fuckin ghost. 
Well, Kukutux said she was into talkin ta spirits and shit- maybe she might know a hex or some shit to calm him down or a spell to hide them, or somethin.

---

morgan moved protectively forward, and kukutux glanced toward him, wondering at his intent before deciding she was being altogether too cautious. chai, he had called her. it was a pretty name, and the duck wondered at this man of whom they spoke so bitterly. yet she held her tongue, allowing the accented male to make inquiries between herself and him, and the woman who asked after them.

in truth, kukutux was nervous that they had been followed so quickly after their departure. who was to say that this woman was not one sent by cry? horrified at the thought, but emboldened, she slid from morgan's shadow and stood more plainly in view, eyes trained with a coolness upon the she-wolf. "did cry send you after us?" came her question, and though she could scarcely believe she had spoken, the words hung between them all the same.

She had stuck close to the very fringes of the Keep for a reason. She shook her head, dismissing the subject of herself and Atticus altogether. "Don't worry about it. I doubt I'll see him again...at least anytime soon." Or so she hoped. The subject changed as Morgan stepped forward, almost protectively in front of the pale she wolf with the green eyes. At this Chai stepped back, yielding easily. "...Just me and only me. I assure you." But she couldn't force them to believe her. They would have to accept her words at their discretion.

Kukutux spoke up, inching into view. It was the first she heard of her voice, one that seemed softer, yet no less cautious. Momentarily, Chai's icy eyes widened in shock that she should ask such a thing. The innocence and surprise were undeniable. She was no actress, no spy in the shadows. Pressing her ears down, she shook her head again quickly. "No, no of course not!" Her brows wrinkled in distaste, not towards them, but to the thought of Cry. "In fact, I've been deliberately avoiding him as much as possible. Him and that..." Her expression briefly went sour. "...so called mentor of his." Would they know she was referring to Reiner? She didn't care. Getting back on track, she found the champagne eyes of Morgan. "He's changed...I've seen it even in the short time I've been here. And I don't like it...or this place. It's not for me...not anymore." She took a small step closer, hoping that the distinct, faded scent of the Watcher on her fur was enough to convince them she was indeed, not league with him.

---

She sounded sincere- and really that was all they could opperate on. A little nod showed he was tossin her a pistol of her own, should she join their little posse away from the crazy man. "Yea, we've been seein' it too- we're on the run from it at tha moment." He couldn't offer much more than that for now, but it wouldn't really stop him from being social with her and trying tot get to the bottom of this mess that Cry had thrown them into. "In the last heckles 'a days, ain't seen much of that mentor 'a his, neither. Soemthin's goin on in them woods, and we stayin' tha hell 'way from it."

---

chai's answer sated kukutux' momentary brimming of fear. morgan's acceptance of the woman further bolstered her sense of rightness about her decision to leave, and she bit her a lip for a moment, waiting for the accented male to finish speaking before she addressed the she-wolf. "we are leaving to walk along the coast. i built a shelter some days' travel from here." springmint eyes settled quietly on chai. "you are welcome to come with us." they were bonded, after all, by a common theme now; she saw prudence in traveling as a trio.

As their faith in her words grew, she relaxed just a tiny wee bit. When Morgan spoke, confirming that he and Kukutux had both noticed the disturbing change in Cry, her eyes narrowed beneath pinched brows. A clear show of her thoughts on the matter. What a relief it was to know she wasn't the only one who noticed. "I'm glad it's not just me. Something about him...and that sidekick of his..." She wetted her dry lips with her tongue. "It just doesn't feel right. My instinct has been telling me to get away, and for some time now."

When Kukutux spoke again, her words were in the form of an invitation. Chai's icy eyes widened in pleading hope and she took an eager step forward, as if to embrace the female in gratitude. "Oh of course, please! Thank you, thank you so much." She bowed her head low, a quiet whine vibrating in her throat. As she looked back up, a realization set in and it showed on her face. "But...we know how Cry is with deserters, do we not? Maybe...we should try to cover our trail...just to play it safe..."

---

He nodded a bit at the logic of the girls, and he took a glance over his shoulder to their original destination. "However it is we choose ta' do it, we best get on. Night's comin in fast, and I ain't too keen to wakin' up dead from a shadow leapin' out at us." Morgan looked pointedly where a reliable river would be, hoping maybe running through it for some time would be the best of it. Or atleast the quickest way through it. 

"That river might help us on- I'm not too educated on stuff that ain't smash and grab. If yall got better ideas, pitch em on our way there."

---