Ravensblood Forest ketos

Despite the strange manner of her speech the boy did understand, for the most part, and when she called him afraid he was tempted to snap back that he wasn't; but he knew that was a lie.

He watched her more earnestly when she began to move away. The fish wasn't going anywhere. The woman moved slowly and with care which only drew suspicion from the boy, as it was unusual behavior. There was no way for him to tell if she was truly alone or baiting him somehow.

Unwilling to draw too close just in case, he waited until she was quite a distance before looking to the bundle where the fish was stowed. This he went on to circle cautiously. Any movement, shift of the wind, or any such change made him freeze or withdraw a step.

The boy was, at his core, a desperate and frightened thing; but if the woman returned she would find the skin empty and the forest too. The only sign that the boy had been there at all came in the absence of fish and his vague, lingering scent.