Beneath a tree on a distant Hill, overlooking the village of concaves covered in a veil of mist, Veythar sat, holding a bright red apple in his small palm, while trying to ignore the annoying stare of his new stalker.
"This is ridiculous, " he muttered loud enough for Eosira to hear. "Here!" He said, tossing the Apple into the air.
Like a nimble cat, she jumped off the branch she was perched upon and caught the apple with a graceful flip.
"Thanks big brother!" With the strength that bellied her size she snapped the apple in half. "Here! " She cheerfully offered a half of the apple "Old man Jack said sharing is caring."
"You have it, " he refused, while looking at the brown smears left on the fruit from her fingers. He shook his head, resisting the urge to puke his guts out. He had gone though one hell. He wasn't willing to relive another.
From the day he came from between his mothers legs, Veythar had made it his life's mission to keep himself clean. Compelled by the ceasless nagging of his inner demons.
Eosira insisted "but you look hungry."
"No, you have it." He muttered, tired. Three days of nonstop trekking had left his legs feeling like a throbbing wound. Blistered and bruised he leaned back on the tree and let out a heavy exhale. "You look like you haven't eaten in weeks."
Eosira had the grace to blush. "I... I have," she lied. Biting into crisp bright red fruit that crunched with every bite. A faint rosy color spread across her cheeks as the sweetness of the fruit pooled in her mouth like nectar. She took another bite, then a second and a third biting through the core as if it didn't exist.
She couldn't remember the last time she had anything that wasn't nuts or insects. She had spent weeks foraging, where more often than not, she ate something poisonous only to colapse and wake up the other day and forage for more.
Life in the Eldergrove had not been kind to the young girl.
"Thank you," she said still passing the other half to Veythar. She sat beside him, stealing glances at the boy who seemed like a prestine blanket of snow. Hair of white and silver eyes over milky skin. She nearly wanted to believe he was a knight from the stories old man Jack told her about.
'All he's missing is a horse and armor ' she thought.
"You smell."
Eosira made a face, "You're mean."
"And you had a chance to bathe with me at the river and didn't, " Veythar retorted, confused on why he was giving her the time of day. He had never been one to get along with those his age, but it felt good, he enjoyed the company of another. Espcially of one who wasn't a figment of his imagination or worse.
"The animals leave me alone when I'm smelly."
Veythar looked at her, puzzled "You look strong for a mortal, why don't you hunt?"
"I am a girl." she looked at him, "Good girls don't hunt."
Veythar almost choked on his spit. He couldn't believe what he had just heard, it was the most stupid shit he had ever heard. "Then are you waiting for someone to help you?" he replied quite mockingly . "You might die before that happens."
"No, I won't! papa's coming back to get me." Eosira snapped with a belly full of fire, balling her small hands into fists. "He told me, papa said he'll come back and papa doesn't lie. Never!"
Eying her tattered clothes and the weeks old dirt covering her body, he wasn't convinced. "Really?" he snickered. "And how long ago as that?"
A week, two weeks, a month?, Eosira couldn't answer " Hic... hic, I... I don't know, he said he'd come back. He promised." the young girl said in a whisper so soft it seemed like a cry. "He said he'd come back. He promised."
"Ahh, so you've been abandoned." he gibed. Ignoring the globs of tears shrieking the six year old's face. "is that where he lives?" he asked peering down at the village down below, protected by a veil of mist.
Looking up with her teary eyes, she turned to the village. "Yes... he, mother and Anna."
He didn't say anything just listening to her cries, waiting until she stopped. "Why don't you stay with me?" He didn't want to be alone, not when he didn't have to be. "I will teach you how to hunt."
He looked up at the sky, feeling the cold kiss of the highland wind wrenching his hair. He had always loved the cold, he had never thought he would be able to experience it again.
He wanted to cry, but his tears had dried up, he felt the urge to scream, to let out a long piercing cry from his very depths in order to express the amount of anguish and horror he had experienced, but he could not.
"But you said you didn't want to be Eoira's friend." She finally responded, clearly rembering how he vomited at the river after she asked to be his friend.
A little embarrassed, he pointed at the apple beside him. "Eat."
"But..." she tried to insist but was cut off.
"Do it. I would rather die than touch that thing."
Finally she relented, picking it up and taking a bite. Chewing into the soft meat of the fruit, she felt the familiar sweetness flood her taste buds. Feeling it settle firmly in her stomach, temporarily alleviating her hunger, she let out a content hum.
Standing up with a loud groan, he asked "Have you ever used a sword?" to which she shook her head. "What about a spear or a bow?"
"No."
"Haa, alright listen carefully, when hunting we use foot techniques to minimize our presence. Animals have a very good sense of their surroundings and can get scared by even the smallest of disturbances." He demonstrated while continuing, "It's basically foot to heel." Eosira took a step mimicking his movement and by third step she had mastered the basics.
Moving deeper into the woods, she mimicked his movements until they were both gliding over the terrain. Their steps like the rustle of the wind and as soft as a whisper. Looking at her at the corner of his eye Veythar thought 'She's quite good.'
They navigated through the woods for hours while Veythar taught her how tracking was done, and like a high quality sponge she absorbed everything he said. Finding herself more often than not asking questions.
And soon, some hours latter, a small dear approached, bearing antlers of crimson red. The creature nibbled on the grass, seemingly oblivious to the two hunters to it's rear.
"Watch carefully," Veythar whispered to Eosira. "This is called spirit control." He said as he glided through the grass, as silent as a shadow. He was upon the deer, palm brushing it's soft fur. The creature looked at him, it's large beady eyes seemingly meeting nothing. Despite Veythar and it exchanging glances, it felt as if the wind caressed it's fur, not a living being. Ignoring the feeling, it went back to grazing. Slowly unsheathing his blade, he plunged it into the creatures chest, killing it instantly.
Wide eyed, Eosira approached and said, "It... it just stood there?"
Wiping the blood off his blade using the creature's fur he explained, "by masking our intent to kill underneath an indomitable will, we can make ourselves appear dead to other animals. And if you get good at it, you can force your foe to their knees or simply kill them outright."
"Wow!" The young girl sang in awe. "Will you teach Eosira?"
"Only if you agree to do all the hunting from now on, I don't mind" he bargained. The whole thing seemed too tedious. He wasn't used to being hungry much less sore. "I'll leave it to you to drag."
Circling the deer well over a hundred pounds, she grasped the antlers and pulled, finding it easier than she thought, she asked. "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere... safe," he replied already weaving through the trees.