Private Tales Something You Don’t Recognize but Remember

[Aerend]

"I didn't realize elves were so haughty and self-assured," she muttered beneath her breath. When he said 'what's on his body,' she couldn't help the trail of her bright green eyes over his form. Taught lines of muscles and wiry-power hidden beneath. Blinking, she quickly looked away as if she could hide how long she'd been staring.

She thought about just returning and coming back better prepared. But how many would die with the time that would take? And the air was already growing darker around them. She'd be spending the night in these woods either way. Might as well make the best of it and keep going.

"Alright," she breathed, ignoring his question about how lucky she might be. "We're in this together?" She extended her hand between the short space between them. She was making at effort at showing some good faith and perhaps a little trust.

 

[Elida]

“Anything that lives longer than a century is going to be a cocksure bastard. The older they get, the worse they become.” Kuu replied, still grinning. Not a lie. Not quite. And if Juniper were to believe he were an elf? Why on Arethil would he ever correct her? The sounds of the forest, a rodent’s scuffle there, a flap of wings here, almost made him miss her prolonged stare. Almost. “Like what you see?” He prodded, his smile wide enough to almost reach up along the curves of his ears.

A long, solemn pause. In this together? A contract, or it would be if he shook her hand.

“You shouldn’t…” he began but then quickly shut his mouth. His pale gold eyes looked down at her hand, and then back up at her face. She was as green as her eyes. “You shouldn’t trust people so easily.” He said, quite seriously. He then pivoted on his heel. “Follow me. We need to get away from this area.” Kuu said as he swept his arm around them. A dead black shuck. A chill went down his spine. His intuition was telling him they have overstayed.

“Let’s go.” And off he went trekking through the woods, going towards the mountain. He hoped there would be some snow to lessen their scent.

Juniper Grey

 

[Aerend]

“Like what you see?”

"I wasn't, that's not what," pale cheeks pinkened. And then he didn't shake her hand. Gods, her luck to run into one of the rudest boys she'd ever met in the middle of the woods. He was so infuriating. Fists clenched at her sides as he flipped off a warning and began trudging away.

She hurried to catch up, red hair flaring behind her like an angry tempest.

"Will you just...slow down," she huffed as she tried to catch up. But he was so fast. So sure. He moved with all the grace and power of a jungle cat. Arms wrapped around herself as they went further. Gained elevation. The trees were already beginning to thin out.

It was getting darker. The sun was beginning to set. Her breath was coming out in cold, puffy plumes and her arms only tightened around her sides. "We should find a place to camp. Stop for the night and build a fire," she said quietly. Kuu confused her. One moment he was all smiles and in for an adventure. The next he was clenched jaw and solemn eyes.

She looked around the quickly fading light, spotting a small spot that was protected from the northern wind by a wall of stacked boulders and rocks that curved inward in a small semicircle. "How about there?"

 

[Elida]

The entire time they walked, Kuu didn’t speak. Didn’t look back to check on Juniper, was only focused on the road. One that was invisible and would only appear for him and his golden gaze. Yet while he didn’t speak, he listened. He listened to everything there was to listen to. Juniper’s demand (which he did comply and slowed down) but more than her voice. Wind moving through his hair. The crunch of snow beneath her boots specifically. How heavy she breathed, her when she shivered it sounded like—

“Yeah. Right. A fire.” Kuu said absently, stopping then and turning to face Juniper before looking at the perfect camp spot one could find on this god-forsaken mountain. He then looked back at her, frowning slightly. He couldn’t believe he overlooked her being cold. Or rather, he forgot how sensitive humans were to cold air. Kuu couldn’t relate.

“C’mon, I’ll start looking for wood, you just… go over there and try to stay warm.”

Juniper Grey

 

[Aerend]

"I'll help you look," she insisted and spread out in the opposite direction he did. Covering more ground that way. Hands rubbed up and down her arms, gaze trained downward along the snowy-ground. It would be hard to get this fire going. It looked like most of the wood she was seeing was wet.

She forced her thoughts away from how cold it would be tonight without a blaze and instead, bent over to tug a hefy, old log free. Cradling it against her body, she began layering smaller sticks and items for kindling above that.

The light was fading fast and she looked around realizing she could barely see the direction she'd come from. Head shook at her own carelessness as she strained to regrace her steps back to the place they'd designated as camp.

"Kuu?" She called out quietly, head swiveling to hopefully see a movement that would indicate that dark-skinned boy.

 

[Elida]

Kuu silently huffed, frowning so slightly at Juniper disobeying his grand plan. Okay, sure, she could do whatever she liked, but there was one big difference between them! First, other than the fact that she was human and he was fae, their eyesight. Kuu saw in the dark better than he did during the day most of the time. And juniper?

Well if she was like every other human Kuu had come across that meant she couldn’t see her own hand in front of her face when it was nighttime in the woods.

Looking up at the sky covered in clouds. Yep, he thought to himself rather bitterly, it was going to be a very, very dark night again. And so the cat sith stalked off, making no noise even if he felt like he was stomping through the underbrush.

He collected various fallen branches or twigs, dried leaves even if it could be found and threw it onto their ever growing pile. He made rather quick work of it all, although that didn’t meant he saw Juniper’s efforts laced in with his. He was set to go back again and to do one last search until he heard her voice.

It was whisper-soft and yet he had heard it. From his supreme hearing? Or because it was much too quiet around them?

“I’m here.” Kuu called back, finding her easily in the dark and making his way over to her rather leisurely. “Think it’s time you stop searching. Before you get lost out here.” Without thinking, a hand went to grab the crook of her elbow, to lead her back on the safest path back to camp.

Juniper Grey

 

[Aerend]

Relief painted her darkened features as she heard his voice. Even at his touch on her arm. She blinked, seeing his outline next to her in the dark. Her arms hugged her bundle of wood tightly to her chest as she let him guide her back, trying not to trip on the roots that seemed suddenly out to get her.

Another shiver from the cold.

"I would not have gotten lost," she quipped though even her tone sounded a teeny-tiny unsure. But as they made it back to camp without her falling on her face, she spotted the wood pile Kuu had made. And it was...impressive.

"Thank you," she said quietly and let the wood she gathered drop to join what he had. Then she knelt and slipped the flint from her pocket. "Can you build the fire structure? I'll work on getting a flame going." Her fingers were stiff and cold and eager to get some warmth beyond the touch she'd felt with Kuu on her elbow.

 

[Elida]

“Bossing me around now, eh?” Was Kuu’s response, ironically he passed over her thank you and her quip. Something about them both made his mind feel more numb than usual, or at least slower; harder to process. Whatever it was exactly, it was true yet untrue at the same time so he didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he knelt down to the floor, taking their wood and setting it up.

“Never learned how to build one?” He asked instead, keeping his thoughts and inwardness at bay, meticulously piece by piece together. He may have been fae, unknown to Juniper, but despite being fae, he had been born in the Ixchel Wilds. He hated that place, sweltering and hot and humid— no thanks!

But it was a ruthless place in the fae realm and survival was necessary. Of course, he was still considering a young bud to a good majority of the fae, but regardless of that, he planned to live as long as he could. Knowing how to build a fire and to stave off the cold was just one of those survival tactics one needed to know. He had yet to even think of food.

Juniper Grey

 

[Aerend]

She cracked a quick, small smile in the dark at his comment. Even as her brow puckered as sparks danced from her flint, going to ignite her pile of kindling. The instant warmth felt so good on her chilled fingers.

"Sounds like something my sister would accuse me of," she scooped up the lit kindling and carefully added it to the pile of wood Kuu had crafted for their fire. Fingers swept crimson hair away from her mouth as she tilted her head and blew into the flames, encouraging their growth.

And in truth, Daisy probably wouldn't accuse Juniper of being bossy. Maybe as a light tease but Daisy adored her and had a much more quiet and gentle personality.

Head lifted as the flames caught. Legs crossed and she held her hands close to the orange tongues. "I am no stranger to building fire," she said quietly. Eyes lifted to find Kuu's. "And it looks like you aren't either." Hand dipped into the pocket of her long skirts and she took out a small, cloth wrapped package.

"Here, this is all I brought but we can share it." Inside was a small parcel of hard cheese, nuts, and some dried fruits.

 

[Elida]

Kuu’s gold eyes would widen for a moment, curiosity flickering in them as she mentioned a sister. Had she mentioned her before? Kuu supposed he hadn’t asked, but it wouldn’t be so far fetched to think that she had siblings, right? Why, Kuu himself also had siblings. Not that he had seen them in a century. For all he knew they were dead.

“Yeah.” Kuu said, sitting down on the opposite side of Juniper, the fire inbetween them. He looked around them. “There’s little that I’m not good at.” He added, grinning as cocky as ever. He watched her as she opened her parcel of food, the smell of cheese hitting his nostrils before he even saw it. Maybe it was his feline instincts, but cheese always made his mouth water.

“I’ll be fine.” Kuu said. “I ate not too long ago. You eat instead.” There was a pause. “Do you have only a sister or do you have other siblings?” He asked, crossing his feet underneath one another.

Juniper Grey

 

[Aerend]

With a shrug, she pulled the parcel of food back and split it in half, tucking the other half back into her pocket. She didn't know how long they'd be out here and this was all she'd brought. She'd need to conserve as much as possible. And she'd gone with far less for far longer.

Eating slowly, eyes like springtime found Kuu's again, across the flickering glow of firelight. There was something about him she just couldn't describe. Almost like a pull toward him. Lips pressed tightly together before her features smoothed.

"I have an older brother. He left Stow a few years ago. Just him and my younger sister, Daisy."

Another bite of food and swallow.

"Are you close with your family?"

 

[Elida]

A brother? Kuu didn’t look surprise, or rather his face hardly indicated such a thing, although ever so slightly his ears did prick at the info ever so slightly. He didn’t remember a older brother. Ah, but then again, if he had come across him would he had even bothered to notice him much less remember him? Living as long as Kuu, and perhaps being as frivolous as a fae, meant that remembering humans only happened if they were remarkable.

“No, I’m not close with them.” Kuu said easily and shrugged, glancing up at the starry sky before looking back at Juniper. “It’s expected once you’re old enough to go out on your own that you don’t come back. If I saw any of my brothers or sisters we’d probably fight.” With a cheeky grin, he added, “they’ve always been jealous of my good looks and innate talent for being the best at everything. Poor things never learned how to deal with that sort of jealousy.”

Juniper Grey

 

[Aerend]

An arched rusty-brow. Varying emotions crossed her face: surprise, disapproval, and curiosity. And not all in that order. Taking out her canteen, she took a sip of water.

"Thirsty?" A quiet question into the surrounding darkness.

He hadn't eaten anything. Surely he was at least...thirsty? It's not like elves were immortal. She assumed they needed some sustenance and did not just survive on attractiveness.

"And if you're tired, I don't mind taking the first watch." She squared her shoulders, trying to prove to herself that she could do it. And not fall asleep, despite her growing fatigue.

 

[Elida]

Thirsty? Kuu blinked slowly. He was expecting more of a response than just asking if he was thirsty, which he was, now that he thought about it.

He reached over to where Juniper held her canteen, prompting her wordlessly to hand it over. He was thirsty, all that talking usually go one’s voice dry, after all.

“How about you sleep first and I’ll wake you up in four hours or so. I’m more… of a nocturnal sort myself. Early morning is when I sleep best.” That being said, Kuu held no intention of waking Juniper up at all. Humans were fragile and a human who was tired and sleep deprived tending to be the most fragile of them all.

Juniper Grey

 

[Aerend]

She handed it over, her fingertips briefly brushing against his own as the canteen left her possession. "A few hours then," she agreed, unknowing of his unspoken plans. For a moment, she couldn't look away as the warm firelight cast brightness to his face.

He was a mystery.

Showing up at the best of worst times.

Completely vexing.

Yet...there was a certain kindness he was showing her that didn't make sense. She quickly looked away, glad for the darkness to hide any shift in her expression. Settling down onto her side, with her head cradled by one of her arms, she quickly fell asleep.

What she didn't know was that because of the surrounding and growing cold, she'd inch closer to Kuu's form in her sleep, getting real cozy and close with him.

 

[Elida]

Gingerly, like his fingertips were as distant as the breath of stars, Kuu would trace the contours of her shoulders. The way it curved up to her neck, how the base of her head connected… it was completely different than how it was before.

---

The sun would rise, birdsong would blossom here and there but because the weather was still cold there was a deafening silence that couldn’t be beat. Kuu was walking back to their makeshift camp right as the weak sunlight brightened up along Juniper’s face.

In his hand was a skinny rabbit— and under normal circumstances he wouldn’t have hunted it— that would be quickly skinned. His fingers and hands were sure, an act that Kuu was used to it. Deftly the skin and pelt would peel from the flesh, and soon enough he would be draining the blood onto a small piece of clothing he wouldn’t need anymore.

That shuck was still around, but Kuu had yet to catch sight of it. He hoped he could redirect it from him Juniper as they would make their ascent.

Juniper Grey

 

[Aerend]

The light of morning surprised her. Eyes slid open, hands coming up to rub a pesky-stubborn sleep away. Sitting up, light green gaze found Kuu. "You never woke me for a watch," she protested. "Aren't you exhausted?"

And it looked like he found breakfast.

Kneeling next to the fire, she began to add more wood, stoking the flames. And though her muscles were still stiff from the night before, it felt good to get them moving. Get the blood pumping. Satisfied with her work and that it would be enough to easily cook the rabbit, she stood. "I'm going to find a stream and refill the water." She knew there was one that ran down the mountain. And she'd be able to find it just from her trek up this way before.

 

[Elida]

Kuu frowned, and gave Juniper a look.

“How about a ‘Thank you’ or ‘good morning” or ‘you’re the bestest ever, Kuu!’” He said pointedly, before grinning. “But I guess that’s too much to ask from a grumpy gremlin,” he said then gestured to her bed head. “You look like you slept on the floor. Oh wait. You did.”

He knew the moment the words left his lips that he was being a dick. So when she went to go get water, he didn’t say anything and instead focused on cutting up the rabbit in indignant silence, skewering it and then got to roasting them.

The head he kept in that bloody rag.

Juniper Grey

 

[Aerend]

She didn't say one word to his insults but her face was fuming as she turned her back on him and marched down to the river. Peering into the half frozen river, she checked her hair and began smoothing it behind her ears.

That asshat.

She had half a mind to leave him and continue on her own. And she fully intended to give him a piece of her mind when she got back to camp. Taking out the canteens, she began filling them with water. Even splashing some on her face to wipe away some of the soot from the night before. Standing, hands brushed down her long skirts.

There was a sudden SNAP of a dried stick between herself and camp.

Head whipped up, eyes searching the sunlit dappled mountainside. But she saw nothing. No movement. Head cocked to the side listening for a scurry of pawpads.

But nothing.

Probably just a squirrel. Hefting up the water, she trudged back to camp, the smell of smoking rabbit leading the way. There was another snap of a branch behind her. But again, she saw nothing.

"Hey Kuu," she yelled as she drew the knife from her belt.

 

[Elida]

The rabbit was cooking and while this wasn’t lamb with fig and pomengranite, Kuu still found that his mouth was watering. Then again, meat always caused him to drool. Nothing like fish though, fish always seemed to make him lose his focus and want nothing but tuna for days.

As his thoughts were consumed with food as he began making sure that the skewered rabbit meat was being cooked evenly, he heard Juniper’s voice. He lifted his head up from the fire pit, gold eyes narrowing down. There was an edge in her voice, one that caused the translucent hairs on the back of his neck and arms raise up in anticipation.

Then he smelled it. The shuck.

He took hold of the bloodied rag and began to ran down the hill to Juniper, and the moment he could see her he threw it high and far. It arched over Juniper’s head and went farther yet. The moment it hit the ground, despite the glamour it was using, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that something had pounced on the rag and was rapidly ripping it up.

Juniper Grey

 

[Aerend]

She never took her eyes off the space behind her. Knife held ready. Even as she heard Kuu's movements come from up the hill. A glance at the bloodied bundle as it landed. Then as someTHING tore into. The air rippled around it.

"What the hell is that?" An eerily calm question as she scrambled backwards. Knife pointing at the ripples in the air around the bloodied bag. Then she did turn and grabbed Kuu's arm as she tugged him up the hill and ran. Knife still held firmly in her free hand.

"Come on, time to see how fast we can run."

Was that the cat beast from earlier?

 

[Elida]

Kuu didn’t waste a single second to get a good hold on Juniper— although it seemed she had the exact same idea as he did— to begin booking it out of there.

“Just keep looking forward, don’t look back,” Kuu told her, beginning to position himself so that he was behind her and helping to push her up the mountain as much as possible. “Running away is a bad idea, normally you shouldn’t but…”

He didn’t sound a bit out of breath, and somehow it seemed the earth beneath his feet did little to trip him. It was like the shrubbery around them parted ways and rocks refused to make them slide back down. A howl could be heard, a chill going down his spine. His eyes, if Juniper turned to look back, were far less human now. His pupil dilated, the gold of his eyes lambent with a ethereal glow.

And then the worst happened: from that resounding howl, a symphony of other howls echoed all around the woods and the mountain. Like a choir of banshees, Kuu half expected the trees to shake around them.

“We’re being hunted.” Kuu cursed, in iza as no common tongue insult could quite match what he was feeling. “We’re fucked, we’re fucked.” He muttered right before he went to grab for Juniper’s knife.

Juniper Grey

 

[Aerend]

They ran and ran and ran. Even though it was unseasonably cold, sweat slicked her vibrant red hair to her pale, scared face. A layer of heat radiated from her body and seemed to shimmer the air around her as she panted. The trees were tall, scraggly and windblown from up here. And with a few more steps, the ground turned rocky and barren until she screeched to a stop at a ledge.

Below them opened into an expanse of nothingness between mountains. Far, far below looked like a raging wide river. It was hard to tell how deep it was but it was littered with many nasty looking rocks.

"Wait," she breathed and turned as she stopped, preparing to push Kuu back from the ledge if he hadn't seen it either. And then several things happened at once.

She saw his eyes.

And he went for her knife.

"What are you doing? Stop!" Her fingers closed like a vice, even tighter around the hilt she gripped. Why was he trying to take it? What was hunting them? What..."What are you?" A gasp as she grappled with him. The chorus of howls of those other creatures growing ever closer with each breath she took.

 

[Elida]

His eyes steeled at Juniper. Well, she was stronger than she looked, but he knew he could easily overpower her. If he did such a thing it would be at the price of a broken wrist for her— or even a arm.

“You wanna ask me that now, out of all times?” He hissed at her. His irritation and anxiety growing, his pupils looked far more like a cat than it did human or elven. He didn’t need to answer her, but Kuu couldn’t answer whatsoever. Unable to lie he had to redirect, and luckily they had far more important things going on.

Or perhaps not so luckily at all, the barking and howling getting louder.

“I’m trying to save you you twit!” He shouted, still fighting for the right to get that knife. “Unless you wanna be shuck food, give it to me!”

Juniper Grey