The Tangle you better keep your head, little girl

Let me know if this isn't OK, I just really wanna post Indra again! Presuming they'd cut through the tangle on the way to Sapphique. @Avicus might notice them pretty close to RR too? Tags for reference!

It took some prompting to get Indra up and moving again.

She stopped frequently but spurred herself along equally as quick, with every sound causing her to pivot one way or the other, or lurch in to a run that she couldn't maintain. Her legs felt like lead most days. She never slept for more than a couple of hours, and would freeze up if the stranger woman came close to her for any reason; as nice as she seemed, as melodic as her voice became with her soothing, Indra could not trust @Chacal.

Every woman in her life had betrayed or hurt her so far. When Indra slept, she'd dream of @Arielle in the cave. She'd wake up kicking and crying out, and sometimes be forced awake by @Val shaking her by the shoulders, because the nightmares had gotten so bad.

It only got worse as they crossed in to a tangle of forest. The salty air was not calming for Indra; it reminded her of the taste of blood, which brought to mind images of the altar, the holy bones, or the old woman with her throat freshly torn and seeping.

At least this forest was dark enough to hide in — aside from that, Indra saw ghosts around every corner.

all good with me :)

Chacal did not pry as they travelled together. What details Valravn offered were received with deep concern, especially considering the shape that both he and the young girl were in. Her heart felt so torn, as she very much wanted to burst with joy knowing she had found her brother and would be bringing him home. 

Had they been alone, she would’ve sung the whole way, trilling like a songbird to get him up to date on all the news. But as it was, she didn’t want to overwhelm or exclude Indra, who might have thought her need to sing a bit strange. Chacal knew the looks of a wolf who did not trust, the way a simple movement could make them flinch. Any sudden movement or sound made her startle. Indra was hyper-vigilant, and it made Chacal’s heart hurt. She was exhausting herself, every time she bolted. 

Indra felt cold and distant, tolerating Chacal, but for all Chacal’s well-intended kindness, she didn’t seem to warm much. Nevertheless, she would try. She wanted to make sure Indra knew that her kindness was evergreen. She tried to move as gracefully as possible, with no sudden movements. She tried to catch Indra’s eye with a slight, gentle bob of her head and quiet clearing of her throat, as an indication that she would speak so that at least, there were no surprises coming from the gilded jackal. 

The forest was dark; she wondered if, given Indra’s nightmares, she might be a bit nervous as they travelled through. As per usual, she bobbed her head gently, and cleared her throat softly. ”I look forward to introducing you to our liddle broders an’ sisters,” She said softly. ”Dey be about your age I t’ink. An’ de two newest, dey are still just babes. Soft as moss,” she said.

No matter where she looked there was always a sense of being watched, of a presence. It came from behind her whenever Indra was looking the other way. She couldn't see everything at once. She couldn't anticipate when the anxiety spikes would pierce her heart, either. It felt like every shadow was waiting for her to miss a step, and then it would surround her, consume her.

The worst of it came when the woman, Chacal, drifted close. Her blackness was a step warmer than the shadows; her eyes more obvious, being gold, but they reminded her immediately of Merrick and that alone chilled Indra to the core.

When she spoke it was with a hushed, kind voice. Indra couldn't listen for long; her ears inevitably plastered against her head, or her pace would speed up, or she'd look wildly around for signs of Val and seek his path as if he might protect her from her thoughts.

This latest moment, as she spoke of brothers and sisters, soft as moss - the boy was hidden in the shadows. Indra couldn't see him anywhere and so she panicked, mildly, and was forced to listen. She really didn't want to get to know this girl.

What she said made Indra think of Abel, who was probably dead by now. And of a woman's face, too, covered in static.

She trembled as she moved along, but could not speak.

Chacal had to war with her own instincts not to follow Indra’s gaze or flinch at every balk. Occasionally, she slipped up and when Indra jerked her head to stare in a direction, Chacal would as well- but she tried for the most part to seem comfortable and blasé. She did not believe they were being followed, and trusted that Valravn was also keeping an eye out. She, too, listened, tasted the wind, and watched for movement-  it tried to keep her watchfulness hidden.

Indra seemed to tense up the more attention she was given. This was hard for Chacal, who wanted very much to comfort the girl. She wasn’t used to giving someone space in order to help them stay calm, nor was she used to having to try this hard to earn trust. 

Indra’s flattened ears were a sign that she did not want to be spoken to, but Chacal wondered too if that wasn’t her way of communicating that she would rather be listening for footsteps, obsessing over this fear she carried. With both Chacal and Valravn carefully escorting her, she should have felt safer. 

She kept her voice quiet, so that both she and Valravn could still listen to the forest around them. But she would not give up on trying to soothe Indra by carrying on with reassuring conversation. ”You will fin’ a home wit’ our family. We ‘ave many secret, safe places nobody but Sapphique can find. Would you like dat?” She asked quietly.

This girl liked to talk. She had a strange way about her—but Indra resisted.

A home? A family? What did this girl think was going on here? Indra had a home once, only it wasn't really a home, it was a pit. She'd had a family once—a brother at the very least—who was gone. She didn't run through these woods to seek replacements for these things.

A darkness overcame Indra in that moment. Nowhere... nowhere is safe. Her voice was a rasp, and she silenced immediately. Her eyes widened to the sound of something moving among the trees—a nondescript bird taking flight from a bough overhead—and Indra was back to sulking.

There was nothing Chacal could say to convince Indra of anything. She was another liar, another false friend trying to trick her.

She’d expected a nod. Wasn’t that what Indra wanted? So scared and wounded and paranoid…A secret place that none could find would surely have seemed like a heaven compared to what she’d been through. 

Her reply surprised Chacal, but she thought for a moment rather than trying to convince Indra otherwise. Maybe even a secret place still wouldn’t feel safe, if she continued to be haunted by her memories. It could be a prison, even. 

”Well, it be safer, at least, den anywhere else out here.” She said. ”Safer be better den not safe at all. If dere be anyt’ing dat make you feel better, or anyt’ing dat make t’ings worse, you let me know, hm? I can not read your mind.”

The woman was kind. It had to be a facade. Indra didn't want to give in to any more promises. She couldn't be certain that Chacal could be trusted; she didn't want to trust her, to like her, no matter what was said or offered. It was hard enough to be here in the dark with those damn eyes watching her every move.

There was no answer this time from Indra. She looked glassy-eyed at the dirt while she climbed the path, and in the next moment she caught sight of a dark figure ahead—Val. He'd slowed down so that they could catch up.

Indra hastened her pace, eager to be away from the woman. At least she knew Val could keep her safe; he'd saved her from the pit, he'd keep her safe now.

Indra seemed keen to finish the conversation Chacal had attempted, and quickened her pace when she caught sight of Val, who had been scouting out ahead of them. Chacal kept up the rear so that Indra could be protected with watchful eyes. 

”I would not get so close to dat end of ‘I’m,” She whispered. ”Valravn ‘ave wicked gas sometimes.” She commented with a toothy grin.

The girl tried to be funny. Indra hadn't laughed in a long time—it was just as likely she was incapable, given her current state of mind. Had she ever felt good enough to laugh? Whatever. It wasn't a funny jest that came from Chacal; it was an odd little statement that made Indra look at her with a squint, and nothing else.

Leave me alone. She murmured after a beat, and scurried on through the tangle after Val.

Indra was guarded, and fended Chacal off with a bid for distance. Knowing better than to push her further, seeing that humour had failed, she allowed Indra to go along at Valravn’s side, where she seemed most comfortable. Chacal would trail along quietly at a distance.