Ravensblood Forest On the road again.

It had taken longer than anticipated for Reyes to get this far, and from @Meerkat's suggestion he would soon be within earshot of Sapphique; the new (to him) home of his mothers. 

Most of his journey had been lackluster. He had gone from the Bramblepoint northeast with the river and followed it through another patch of woodland, around where it bordered some natural hot springs, and eventually to the Ravensblood.

Something about these woods - the slant of shadow, the incongruent calls of the ravens through the morning mist perhaps - made the hairs on the boy's spine raise. He felt as if he had been here before.

major dork alert lol

just for a moment, evermore feels small in this forest full of giants. she had yet to explore this part of the wilds, but was glad she finally had the opportunity to. her trek back home to lightning ridge was quite along haul, she forgets the fact that her parents live quite the distance away from her. besides, it's not like she has made a name out for herself here in the wilds. at least, not yet that is.

the agouti feels the cool morning mist wrap around her as she treks through the bird filled forest. every now and then her eye catches speckles of black; she normally assumes someone is following her, but considering her location, she only hopes it is simply the birds from above and nothing else.

while evermore has grown up a tad whilst being on her own, that certainly doesn't stop her from making silly mistakes. a tree root, the most formidable and humbling opponent, snags her paw as she's walking. face covered in fear, evermore gasps as she flies forward, downhill from the higher ground she was once upon a few mere seconds ago. a few yips and whines later, her tumbles stop and she stays on the ground, dizzy and embarrassed.

"well, at least no one saw me" she thinks to herself, only to find that she was in fact NOT alone. she sees a boy made of crimson and gold and can't help but try and scramble to her feet so she doesn't look like a fool to him.

Many forests of the Teekon held a similar composition. The difference here lay in the peeling bark he could see, the red sap he could smell. If Reyes had thought to look up at these massive old growths he would have spotted tendrils of dried white and yellow clusters of sap, dried in the humidity of summer. 

The sound of something hard hitting the dirt caught in his ears instead, along with a strangled cry. He turned towards the sound and lunged a few steps to investigate, feeling a spike in his adrenaline. The red shock of his scruff began to spike.

He saw a plush silhouette in the dirt. Then, a set of eyes. Reyes breathed and tried to ease his own nerves before he approached, but he hadn't the intention to help her up.

evermore quite frankly as the fantastic skill of being able to embarrass herself in the worst of situations. she trips over her scrambling palls, falling flat on her stomach with legs sprawled out from underneath her. at this point, she gives up on trying to get up quickly and accepts her fate of getting laughed at.

yet, she hears no chorus of amusement. instead, she hears silence besides the birds that croak. the boy before her seems worried, concerned -- no that isn't it. he looks cautious, as if she's about to do something bad to him.

"i'm not that scary, promise," she calls out to him, hoping her voice would at least smooth out his ruffled feather and hackles, "i don't bite, either." while she would have made a quip about his lack of concern for her safety, this boy does not come off as stupidly friendly like evermore can be. he seems more reserved; evermore wonders if she can get him to say something back.

slowly, she begins to stand, but she keeps her eye on the male. the last thing she needs is for things to go south between the two of them. for a rare moment, evermore is cautious with how she acts. the silent ones always scared her the most.

The stranger looked pitiful as they claimed to be harmless, looking at Reyes sheepishly. That didn't really matter to him though. If she had been dangerous he would have abandoned her too — faster, or maybe driven her back with his own teeth and posturing — but what it came down to was the fact this was a stranger.

They didn't carry any known scents upon them. They were in good health otherwise, aside from a potential inner ear condition if they were prone to falling on their face like that. If he had been kinder maybe he would have offered to help; he had made great strides towards such a shift in his personality of late.

Reyes snorted softly. Watch where you're going, the young man advised, and began to stride away from where they had fallen. It wasn't his job to help wayward souls; he wanted to get a move on, not linger here with some stranger who might have been setting a trap for him. No, he wouldn't stay long - not unless she forced the issue.

his words did not simply roll of her back, while his advice is most likely meant to be taken into consideration for her own safety, evermore feels a twinge of annoyance spring inside of her. this boy was a few years younger than her, and here he is insinuating that HE is smarter and wiser? nuh uh, that doesn't fly with evermore that well; consider her rubbed the wrong way. she isn't in the mood to fight, but she often cannot control what her mouth says before her brain catches up.

she scoffs as he begins to walk away, this time straightening up to her full, average height. "i don't walk around with my eyes closed, man. a tree root snagged me. there's a shit ton of 'em out here." she calls out, shaking loose the dirt that was lodged into her coat from the fall. though, evermore has to admit, something did whack her on the head on the way down as she feels a stinging pain against the left side of her head. 

"don't you think it's rude to run off when you see someone get hurt... and NOT offer help? i even told you i don't bite, isn't that a good enough invitation?" granted, evermore can be rude at times, but she at least can understand what manners are, especially if you see someone take a tumble or two. a grimace and wince escape her as she reaches up to rub the spot that aches. an exasperated sigh leaves her, she wonders if the boy will shape up or just get pissed off at her. either way, she can figure out a way to handle both.

Sorry about the delay on this, and likely the length. Been busy!

And, of course, she forced the issue. The last thing Reyes needed in his life was some clumsy harpy woman berating him for yet another choice in his life; she wasn't anyone special, so he didn't give much of a response beyond the initial surprise of her commentary which led him to pause mid-stride.

Reyes didn't care how she'd fallen, or why, or that she wasn't agile enough to avoid obstacles. What he cared for least was the way she harped on about him, judging him on the spot for wanting to get home to his kids. She didn't know his motivations but that didn't mean he'd cut her any slack.

Ain't rude at all; I don't know you, I don't owe you my time or my attention. It was as simple as that. The man scoffed and turned again to leave, but called back at her: I don't take criticisms from people I don't know, so worry 'bout yourself.

no worries! evermore's feelings are hurt so the little baby is stalking off :o feel free to try and keep her or just let her go off, whatever you prefer!

evermore could feel her tongue bleed as she bites into it deeply. her mother always cautioned her from saying mean things, but obviously that didn't stop the girl before -- yet suddenly it does now? it is because she feels embarrassed, flustered, the butt of the joke. evermore hates the feeling, though she intends to swallow it with anger. her lip pulls up for just a moment, though she saves the boy any more conversation.

she thought she could handle it. but in reality, evermore holds no concept of how to handle rejection from others. so with a low snarl, she turns to stalk off the other way. heat burns in her cheeks and her chest, eyebrows knit together in a form of annoyance. if he does not wish to worry about her, then she does not wish to try and talk to him anymore.