Walk in the Cold Forest

[Ryugexu]

It was a cold, autumn day. The trees were almost bear, only a few remaining gold, orange, and red leaves remained on them. Mostly, the leaves were on the ground, making it seem to glow like a dragon's hoard through the fog. The forest was thin, however seemed to go on for eternity in any direction.

There was a woman in this forest with shockingly midnight-blue hair that contrasted the gold and red all around herself. She was sitting against the base of a tree, her old white coat pulled closely against herself for warmth. Her tune was distant and cold, like a lost child's heart. Her eyes were closed, and her pale skin almost made one wonder if she was but a singing doll.

There, Cecilia was slowly giving up on running from everything. She'd been running for so long, that it had to have been more than a year. After all, she had set-out in snow, and here it was... almost time to snow again. It was cold, and she had nowhere to call home. She decided that if she were to freeze here, then so be it. Jani wasn't exactly happy with the decision, but Cecilia's body was weakened from the cold- she had a bit of hypothermia. Jani felt as though her armor was frozen- it hurt her to try and manipulate the armor. This also left them defenseless, Jani knew.

The song was occasionally disrupted by Cecilia's weak shivering. "If only there was a town nearby..." she muttered.

[Hawk]

The weather was definitely biting, oddly cold for fall. A few leaves fluttered to the ground as Cyanea passed. They matched his eyes, he mused absently. Though, what was a natural color for them was not so natural a color for him. What he wouldn’t give for a natural green or blue.

He had been wandering for the last couple years, and hadn’t really found an area that warranted settling in. Too many that he had been in too recently, or too many quick-to-question individuals. Added to his loneliness, but he was used to it by now. Didn’t mean that the trek from place to place became any more interesting though. Conversations with yourself only amused for so long before you ran out of things to think about.

And so, he took to observing what lay around him. The forest, while the same, was also completely different with every step, snd his stellar vision gave him an even better understanding of these differences.

But, he was also ever cautious for danger. A flash of unnatural blue in the distance put him on immediate alert.

Taking a step back to the place at which he first noticed the spot of unnatural color, Cyanea froze, eyes honing in on the object. It appeared to be hair or cloth. And it wasn’t moving. Blue was a color almost never found in nature, so it could be one of only two things: a follower who didn’t want to be seen, or someone in trouble.

After a couple more minutes of silent watching, he decided that at least it wasn’t a follower. If it was, some move would have been made to escape or attack. Deciding it wasn’t his problem if it was someone in trouble he took two steps forward. Then, he stopped again. His dragon blood was practically screaming ’Protect, protect, protect…’ at him the farther away he moved. Could he really leave a person behind if they were hurt? Had he been raised that way?

Sighing and pulling his hood up to hide his feathered hair, he half-sprinted towards the spot of blue. He heard the quiet humming that identified her as female long before he had a clear view of her. Quite the broken tune, only adding to his instinctual concern. Stopping within thirty or so feet, he observed her for a moment, unwilling to follow his blood to possible danger.

However, she seemed to be honestly in need. Her clothing wasn’t near warm enough for any regular being to survive the freezing gusts of wind, and she was shivering terribly. Even her notes wer catching as she continued to tremble. And worse, she was putting in absolutely no effort to move. Generally a sign of giving up, which was never good.

Stepping out so that he was at least partially visible, he raised his voice to call over, “...Are you alright, miss?” He wouldn’t approach her without being invited, but his heritage wouldn’t allow him to leave without at least trying to help.

[fayden]

Fayden dashed through the scantily-clad forest solemnly, his hands in a jacket the same color as the snow strangely not around. Climbing over and then jumping off a shifting mound of brown-and-red leaves, he blinked as he heard a noise sounding vaguely like human speech. Swiftly swiveling, he sprinted over to find...

... what, exactly?

There seemed to be a rather badly-attended church congregation participating itself and having a jolly good time here. A woman-person had seated herself roughly against a tree, and what seemed to be a man was somewhere in the vicinity of her. Hiding behind a plant similar to the one being used as an impromptu wall, Fay muttered, "Crap,", before looking around the thickness of it. It was very... brown. Knocking on it softly, he deduced it was some sort of oak.

Well, it was pretty obvious that about half of these trees were. One only wonders what sort of education most people have had, and how much common sense was being used at most times.

[Ryugexu]

Cecilia, though her body was fairly still, could hear a voice very close. She hadn't notice the figure's location from her weakened senses, but she knew that certainly a man had just spoken to her. "I..." she paused, she couldn't exactly lie to him and say she was fine through her shivering.

"It's very cold." she said nervously, "I'm ...lost." she spoke as though a person would if admitting to an embarrassing sin.

The golden necklace of her's was visible, and Jani had been outwardly tense, leaving some of the vine-like gold along her collarbone and shoulders. It wasn't keeping her warm at all- but it was a vain attempt. They were weak and tired, certainly unfit to head anywhere alone at this point in time.

The presence of another being was making her try to force herself to become more aware of their surroundings. After all, what if this person was sent by her former captors? She had no one to trust, and she knew it.

After all, it was painfully etched into her mind when her own lover tried to poison her early that year. If it weren't for the demonic blood in her veins she knew she would have died. Her body was still a bit pale, though... Her weakness was what left her in this current situation.

[Hawk]

Sighing quietly in response to her hesitant answer, Cyanea stepped farther out into the open. He spent so much time trying to hide what he was, he often forgot how frightening his persona could be as well. A strange man, approaching a woman when she was on her own and obviously vulnerable. How reassuring.

Raising his hands enough so that she could observe that he was unarmed for herself, he took a moment to observe her once again. The closeness let him see the paleness of her skin, the lack of appropriate clothing. Gold surrounded her neck, making her someone of status, most likely. Not generally someone he would associate with, but the need for aid was painfully obvious.

“…Do you require aid in finding your way to a nearby village?” He was hesitant to offer, but saw no other solution at the moment. Leaving her alone out here would mean her death.

Taking a couple slow steps closer, he added, “Can you even stand?”

[Ryugexu]

Somehow, Cyanea's curious eyes reminded her of being cooped up in the laboratories... she felt again like a specimen on display. It made her sick inside, remembering all the things 'for science' that had been done to her body. The gold vines on her shoulders seemed to writhe a little.

She did her best to hide that feeling, though- after all, Cyanea was not a scientist, nor her captor. But.. would he really help her? What would he want in return? And worst of all, what if it was something she couldn't give?

Cecilia was certainly suspicious of the stranger's motives, but knew that her options were limited. She didn't flinch away as he approached and asked his questions.

Thanks to Jani, Cecilia was a bit stubborn. Her eyes closed and she muttered softy, "of coarse I can stand... But I do need help finding a village."

With that, she leaned forwards a bit and got to her feet slowly. It was a bit more obvious now that she had a damaged leg, because thick, dark red ice clung to it as well as a thin rapping of those gold vines. "Wh....where is the nearest town?" she asked tiredly.

[Hawk]

The sight of her frozen and bloodied leg made Cyanea cringe inwardly. Moving anywhere with that would be nigh impossible, and they would only be able to move at a crawl. It required care, and the wait would be putting her in even more danger.

He knew he had the ability to heal her. However, that required moving into a form he hadn’t used in years and years and years. And it was a form he wasn’t about to become reacquainted with for the sake of a girl he had just met. Much too dangerous to trust her with that.

“We have a few miles to travel before we reach it.” Taking the last few steps towards her, he hesitated a minute before putting an arm around her back for support. He feared she would fall again and hurt herself if he didn’t. He also had an elevated body temperature, which would hopefully warm her some. She was so far below a healthy temperature that the fact that he was hotter than normal wouldn’t stand out, he hoped.

“I mean no offense, but do you have the strength to walk multiple miles?” he asked as he took a few steps forward, pulling her with him. If he didn’t get her moving, her condition would only worsen. If worse came to worst, he would carry her along the way.

[Ryugexu]

At the knowledge of how far away the nearest civilization was, her mouth creased into a small, discouraged frown.

"Perhaps... I wouldn't be strong enough," she admitted disdainfully.

She almost seemed to enjoy the feeling of his arm supporting her- probably because it was warm. She was calm even as she put support on her bad leg, but the golden armor almost encumbered her movement. The armor was almost like an invisible force telling her not to move it, but without the knowledge of the danger she was already in.


In fact, a creature such as Cyanea would probably be able to sense the two life forces. Certainly not that of a mother and child, but simply that of two separate people. The dormant energy's life force was within the golden armor, a parasitic yet powerful entity.

[Hawk]

As they continued to move, he could feel her beginning to slow down already between the drag of the armor she wore and the pain of the wound. Not wanting to alarm her, he mumbled quietly, "I shall be picking you up to carry you in a few moments, then. There seems to be no other options."

Warning delivered, he bent over slightly, sliding a hand carefully under her knees and lifting her up. He hoped she wouldn’t question his ability to carry her for a long distance. Tiredness wasn’t a problem for him for an activity as simple as this.

When he pulled her closer for warmth, however, something about her aura of sorts seemed…off. It was almost as if it was foggy or mirroring itself. He also couldn’t read her clearly, as he had been able to all other humans before.

This revelation caused him to tense slightly, continuing to walk at the same pace nonetheless. “…How did you end up alone out here, perchance?”

He didn’t want to go so far as to inquire about what she was, as he wouldn’t appreciate the same question aimed in his direction. But, he had to know if saving her was in some way more of a risk than he originally assumed.

[Ryugexu]

She tensed at his touch, but didn't fight to move away from him, she knew it would be foolish to try. She was honestly thankful for his warmth, but still nervous by her own weakness.

At the question, she sighed. "I.. don't remember," she said, "I was... in a trance." she seemed to be covering her true reason, perhaps from embarrassment. She glanced at his face, "what brings you to this strange location, by chance?"

[Hawk]

Though her reasoning was vague, he accepted her words at face value, not probing further. However, her response put him more on edge than less. Secrets never brought safety with them. He would know, as he'd never felt truly safe since his childhood

"My tendency to travel is what brought me to you. While the forest may be deep, a number of cities lay on either side. I cross through once every few years to see the other side."

While he absently rattled off his selective truths, he continued to gaze at the woman's aura. Such an odd thing...

He suddenly realized that her eyes had come to rest on his own face, and shook himself out of his intrigue, lifting his head to face the trail before them. He'd rather she didn't get a close look at his hair or eyes. No human had the orange shade of eye that he posessed.

Hoping to distract her from asking about odd physical features, he posed a question of his own instead. "Would it bother you if I request your name, Miss...?"

[Ryugexu]

He's different too, isn't he... Ceci? I can tell by his appearance! I wonder who, or WHAT this cutie is~? Heheh!

"M...my name is Cecilia Lionheart," She answered, "I've been traveling for a while, but too busy running to know where I was going."

She bit her lip, wondering if asking him about himself would be too rude. She knew that if anyone asked her that her hair was naturally dark blue, she felt uneasy.

However, old habits die hard. She was curious, but in a more innocent way than her previous destructive ways that Shinra pushed her towards.

"You aren't normal," she stated it blankly as the fact it was, "no human I've ever seen has had feathers growing with their hair. Are you a demon?" she wasn't frightened at all or accusing at all, speaking like someone would if asking what your favorite flavor of ice cream was. Being this close to his body, she seemed to have regained some of her energy.

[Hawk]

At her words, Cyanea froze in his place. He thought that the hood had effectively covered his hair, but lifting the girl, Miss Lionheart, must have forced it to slip back slightly. A careless mistake, and one that he now had to decide how to handle.

Deciding that half-truths were all he was willing to share, he nodded slightly at her comment about demons, beginning to walk slowly once again. “…Something of that sort. And, considering your appearance, you lack normalcy as well. I’d prefer we leave it at that, unless you feel it imperative that I share.”

Figuring that in the least she wouldn’t be surprised by abnormal behaviors, he risked raising his body temperature even higher, so as to warm her faster. Heat was nothing in comparison to feathers.

After a continuing a minute in silence, he added more softly, “My apologies, Miss Lionheart, but I am a very private person. If you question further, I may leave regardless of your state. I’d prefer that not be necessary, if you please.”

[Ryugexu]

Cecilia realised how rude she was and looked away, "ah..! I'm so sorry.... I didn't think before I said that...!"

There was an unusual and strenuous silence, "W-well.." she stuttered, "if it makes you feel any better, I'm the host for a demoness." she didn't look into his eyes, obviously embarrassed and did not want to be left in the snow.

Her personality was conflicting, like an open door in a storm swinging open and slamming shut again. Out of a chest pocket in her thin white coat she pulled an old photograph and simply stared at it. In the photograph was a nine year old girl with dark brown hair, and a boy with flaming red hair and strange birthmarks on his face. They were smiling and happy in that picture.

Cecilia closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

What? Are you glad you didn't die? You told me you left yourself out there to find out if he'd gone to heaven by now!

...That's not what I meant! You tried to ...to kill me!

Oh, Cecilia. You have so much more to learn about demons than another thirty years together will tell you. I heard that you wanted to know if he'd died or not, then you get attacked by some fiend and give up! In my culture, that means you wanted to pass on!

...Maybe this is a sign, then. A ... a sign that I shouldn't die just yet, maybe he's out there somewhere, waiting for me. Or, maybe he's not waiting.... B-but whatever happened, I guess... I can't give up now.

Are you sure that's what you're thinking?

"Am I sure....?" Cecilia muttered out loud.

[Hawk]

It was hard to hide his surprise at how straightforward the girl was about her nature. Dragons and griffins often remained hidden by choice, but they were known to do positive things for the world more than less. ‘Demon’ on the other hand carried with it a negative connotation, not something that most would react well to hearing.

Risking a glance back down at the curious girl, he realized that she’d thankfully distracted herself with something else. A piece of paper, it seemed, though Cyanea didn’t really feel it was his place to snoop.

Looking down at her, it hit him how young she must have been. He couldn't decide whether her honesty was the product of not experiencing enough of the pain the real world can bring, or too much. No matter the situation, he had a fair amount of respect for her frankness.

Her quiet mutter, combined with her distracted stare, was enough to pull him out of his rather awkward silence. “…Excuse me?”