x.Casian x Ivy.x wrote:Casian was completely and utterly lost.
He'd arrived at a village after waking, curled, in a forest, and the looks the citizens here were shooting him could have turned Medusa herself into solid stone.
It was not the villagers' unfriendliness, however, that worried him the most; it was the weather.
It sounded pathetic to be worried about the climate, Casian believed, his being a professional soldier and all, but he was nervous nonetheless.
It'd been July when they'd set out. But here, as he paced through the closely-bordered streets, snow was beginning to swirl down from the ominous grey skies.
"You lost?" Casian turned to see a villager staring at him, her paws bound with white string, her body carefully decorated with the patterns of her pack.
"Um..." Casian wondered about his reply. Should he answer truthfully, and risk disgracing all he stood for? Or shoud he lie, and remain lost and confused in an alien city?
"I know that look." The girl replied with a knowing grin, trotting up to his side and flicking a snake of green hair out of her emerald eyes. "You're lost, just don't want to admit it. Typical male behaviour." Casian opened his mouth, ready for a fast retort, but changed tack at the speed of light. He was already lost and in major trouble, it would do no good to go around worsening the villagers' opinions of him.
The girl was still watching him carefully. Her tail flicked as she assessed him, feathers ruffling gently. A snowflake landed on her nose and her concentration on him broke; she turned her head to the sky and smiled.
"I love snowfall." She sighed, and then laughed at his bewildered expression.
"So... have you seen the rest of my group?" Casian asked, feeling bold after her light-hearted comment. Her smile dropped a little.
"Your folks passed through here couple of months back. Burned all our crops with 'em, too. So... must've been about September time? Maybe a little later? It's December now."
Casian blinked.
"What day?" He asked wonderingly.
"19th. Only 6 days until Christmas." The girl replied, shooting him a sad smile. "You're going to miss it. Wherever you come from can't be near here, we're in the middle of nowhere."
"Oh." Casian's heart dropped. His little sister May - where was she? Did she still believe he was alive, or was he dead to her young mind? What of his parents? His best friend, Fee? Did she still idolise him, or was she round chasing another male now? Maybe she'd found another future-mate. Maybe her old crush on him had died when, in her mind, he had?
"Don't be sad." He wasn't even aware the girl was still there when she flicked a slither of green hair and bent to whisper in his ear. She paused, considering, and then she straightened and gave him a strange look. "Where did you say you wanted to get to, again? She asked after hesitating for a second.
"I didn't," Casian replied numbly. "Nanurak."
"Well then," the girl replied with a smile. "We've got 6 days to get to Nanurak. Which way, captain?"
{{ Should I continue? }}