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Surviving in Shadows [Saria & CharlotteV]

Max stuck his tongue out at his brother as Lucas left the room, running his hands over his hair like he could ever fix the mess of blonde strands. He needed a haircut something bad, the edges were starting to curl, but finding scissors were oddly difficult...and not first priority, honestly.

He shuffled through the closet for a good bit, trying to find warm clothes, but ended up with just a hoodie and a long sleeves shirt. They were both too big, but smaller than what was left. Maybe he'd find something at the next place they had the ability to rummage trough.

He shot a glance out the window as he pulled his pack onto his back, testing the new wait before heading down stairs, pausing at the doorway of the kitchen to stare at the wolf.

The creature himself seemed fine... He could have easily harmed either of them the night before and hadn't. It was his presence that worried Max. Because if Lucas' dreams could exist... Then so could his.

That wasn't something he was prepared to deal with.
 
Lucas glanced around and found some silverware that wasn't as rusted as the ones they'd had the past few months and switched them out. He looked at Max and decided they had everything this house had to offer. "You ready?" he asked, waiting for Max to say yes before slipping out of the house. He still didn't see anyone around, though he'd have been surprised if there was.

The wolf trailed behind him though he decided he was going to do his best to ignore it. If the wolf was there for a reason, then he could make it known. Until then... it was just him and his brother. Like always.

"See any gardens while you were out?"
 
Max shook his head at the question as he lifted the straps on his shoulders. "I didn't go far. Just this block."

The poor kid was always straddling a line of i'm old enough to do this by myself and please don't leave me alone. Which meant, yeah, he went out while Lucas was sleeping...but he was too scared to really go anywhere.

"I saw a park up by the school yesterday though," he mentioned. "Might be one there if you want to head North from here."

Max was pretty sure they had been going East for awhile, but he was usually too busy simply trying to stay alive to actively wonder where they were going...if they were actually going anywhere at all and not just...away.
 
Lucas glanced towards the north and debated. They'd strayed away from heading east a few times, but only when necessary or if there was a guarantee it would be worth their time. It always made him feel uneasy though, as if something terrible would happen if they strayed too far. Though if it was in town, it shouldn't hurt too much to take a look, right?

"Do you want to head over there and look before we head out?" he asked, glancing at Max. Usually he made the travel decisions himself, but... Max was getting old enough to have at least some say in where they headed. So long as they continued in the general direction of east.

Kithiel's ears flicked and he glanced at them, stifling a growl at the thought of lingering any longer. The trackers were still a few hours away at least, but they'd catch up easily enough if they caught their trail. He did his best to mask it, leaving his own scent in their wake in the hopes it would scare off the beasts.
 
Max considered the question for a moment, glancing over his shoulder at the wolf following in their path. It was him that said the trackers would be back and...well, Max was inclined to believe the animal. Which probably meant he was a little bit crazy.

"Nah," he decided, ignoring the fact that it actually felt weird to make travel decisions...sometimes Lucas considered his thoughts but never quite asked him. "We've stayed here too long anyway."

That was true. They'd never stayed in one place two days through. Too much risk involved in not moving. Especially when they'd been seen. One could only throw trackers off their trail for so long.

"Let's just keeping going East," he fixed his straps again, glanced behind him. "Maybe we'll run into one."
 
Lucas nodded and headed out of the town, sticking to one of the main roads until they reached the outskirts. It looked to be a nice day at least, though there were clouds hovering in the distance where they were headed. Once they were back in 'nature' he relaxed a bit. As much as he enjoyed a soft bed to sleep in, he didn't like the walls of the towns or cities. He liked the open sky and fresh air even if sleeping on a cold hard ground made it difficult to get rest.

"Can you hunt?" he finally asked, glancing back to the wolf trailing behind him.

Kithiel flicked his ears and eyed Lucas at the question. I hunt... He sifted through the thoughts of his anchor to get a better idea of what he meant. There were various types of hunting where he came from. Hunt what? Food for you and your kin? he asked with a slight shake of his head.

"Mostly, yeah." What other type of hunting was there? He was good with his dagger. Sometimes he could score a squirrel or rabbit if one crossed their path, but the few guns they'd found had been disposed of when they ran out of ammo.

Kithiel let out a soft howl. I can hunt you dinner...
 
Max arched an eyebrow at the conversation the wolf and his brother were having, muttered a gross under his breath. Stabbing a rabbit and prying it from a wolf's teeth were two very different things. Granted, Max had given up high maintenance a long time ago. Food was food. Sustenance was sustenance.

"What other kind of hunting is there?" Max asked as they cleared the roads to the forest. He jumped on a few trees, holding onto branches and swinging his feet until his brother got too far away that he'd have to hop down and catch up.

There was little entertainment while they were traveling. Usually if they weren't running for their lives Max busied himself with generally being an annoying little shit, but with the wolf here...well, any change in schedule threw Max off a bit.

And the wolf's appearance was much bigger than a difference of daily activities, Max was sure of that.
 
Kithiel bared his teeth in the equivalent of a grin. Many kinds. Hunting in order to live, hunting for something lost... The humans and beasts following you are hunting you. Creatures of my realm hunt those of yours for sport...

He watched Max swinging from the trees, ears twitching curiously. He'd seen the human do that before in his years of following these two, though it made as little sense to him now as it did then. What is the purpose of that?
 
Max pulled himself up over a branch completely, sitting for a moment and arching an eyebrow. The answers made sense, if one thought outside the box a little but. The one that caught his attention though...Creatures of my realm hunt those of yours for sport...

It wasn't something he didn't know already. There was a reason why things were dangerous when the sun went down. Things moved in the shadows...apparently through worlds...

"Fun," Max answered, second eyebrow lifting to join the first. "Ever heard of it?" It was in great shortage these days to be fair though.

His brother and the wolf got far enough away Max went to jump off his newest perch when he felt it. Just an uncomfortable itch raising the hairs on the back of his neck, traveling down his spine.

Max shot a look behind him, pausing before jumping down on his feet. He fixed his straps again before jogging a bit to catch up.
 
Fun? He flicked his ears and continued after Lucas. Hunting is fun.

Lucas glanced back at them, making sure Max wasn't trailing behind like he was wont to do. He couldn't help the guilt sometimes about how shitty of a life his brother had. It'd been easier to keep him... if not happy at least somewhat content, when he'd been younger, and the world wasn't quite as harsh as it was now. Now he was surly teenager who liked to bitch and complain. He didn't mind, usually.

He paused as his neck itched, turning a bit to watch his brother. "Slower than usual today," he said with a smirk.
 
“Hunting is work,” Max replied, although a bit distractedly. He had good instincts...he always had, even when he chose to ignore them because whatever it was he wanted outweighed the outcome of his actions.

So the prickling at the back of his neck...it was bothering him.

He fell behind a little again, looking after them one more time, but no one was following...no one was close...and he was sure if they were, the wolf would know before he did. Seemed smart like that.

“Shut up, Luke, I am not slow,” Max grumbled, deciding to ignore the feeling after all. They were fine. He was just...probably a little stressed.
 
Kithiel glanced between them, feeling an echo of something through the link to his anchor. His ears flicked wildly, trying to pick up any signs of something nearby, human or otherwise. You are not keeping up, he said with a wolfish grin. Whatever it was they seemed to be sensing, it was something more to do with their magic than a physical threat as far as he could tell. Then again, whatever it was could have been shielding itself against him.

Lucas eyed the wolf, torn between being amused and approving of someone else to give his brother shit, and being annoyed at someone doing what he viewed as his privilege. "Then stop looking for trouble." Every time Max started looking like that... something always seemed to happen. His fingers strayed to the large knife he kept attached to his pants, just in case.
 
Max shot the wolf a glare, but what else could he do, really? Argue? Flip off an animal? Honestly. Even Max was above some things. He gaped at his brother, shaking his head quickly. “I don't look for trouble. Trouble just...finds me.”

It was true, too, damn it! Max didn't like trouble! Max liked simple...okay, usually. Mostly. He didn't, like, want to die or anything, but...without a little action things got...boring. There was just...stretches of land and more land. And always more and more East to go.

He rolled his eyes slightly, shoved his hands in his pockets, pointedly looked forward. “Not lookin' for anything.”
 
Kithiel stepped towards Max and sniffed at him. You are, he replied, not bothering to elaborate as he turned. He smacked the boy's leg with his tail and continued walking. Witches were always looking for their source of power, until they found it and made the wrong choice. Humans were greedy, easily taken advantage of. It was part of the reason creatures from his realm had started luring so many into their clutches. Humans went willingly, and by the time they realized what was happening, it was too late.

Lucas glared after the wolf, waiting for Max to catch up and slinging an arm around his shoulders to keep him close enough to keep a constant eye on him. "Maybe not, but you're right. It always seems to find you."
 
Max shot another glare the wolf's way, kicked a little halfheartedly at the tail that got smacked into his leg, no doubt purposefully. But he wouldn't seriously aim to hurt the wolf because...the thing could bite his head off in one go, no doubt about it. Still, the cryptic little asshole could keep his tail to himself, thanks.

Lucas' arm was over his shoulder's next, a light but solid weight. Max knew why he did it. It was easier to keep an eye on him that way. Because, yeah, trouble had a tendency to find him. "Hey," he nudged his brother slightly. "How'd you sleep? Any...dreams...since they started walking...?" He shot a glance at the wolf to enunciate the last part of that statement.
 
Lucas snorted quietly. "I slept...well," he replied, sounding a bit surprised now that he'd actually thought about it. "Peacefully. No dreams... Not since I was bitten in one," he added with a soft growl. He was certain that bite was what caused this mess, though if the dreams stopped.... maybe it meant Max could get over having dreams, too?

"Did you get any sleep after you went exploring and nearly eaten by a wolf?" he asked dryly.
 
Max nodded a little, because that was good news at least...well, maybe. He didn't really know how Lucas particularly felt about his dreams but Max hated his so...Then again, was it better for dreams to only exist while you were sleeping...or to be literally walking next to you? He shot a look back at the wolf once more, wondering if Lucas remembered being bitten a second time...before the mark showed up.

He elbows his brother a bit at the question, enough to show he was 'not nearly eaten by a wolf, he was fine, thanks' but not actually hurt. "Yeah...I was exhausted...if I dreamed I don't remember it." Which probably meant he didn't. Which was also probably a good thing. Granted, he'd been worried about Lucas, so maybe the extra stress literally kept his mind occupied from dreaming.
 
"Good," Lucas said. They'd both needed the rest. He mussed Max's hair and glanced around out of habit. "Should we see if our new travel partner can catch us some rabbits for dinner?"

Kithiel glanced behind him with an offended look. Rabbits..? He caught an image of a tiny rodent-like creature and heaved a sigh. Rabbits will not feed us all. He'd sensed larger prey in the distance, deer most likely. One of those would suffice, should some be around wherever they stopped for the evening.
 
Max shoved at his brother a bit when his hair was messed with, but not enough to dislodge the older male's arm from around his shoulder. He muttered something about rabbit being fine for all of them, but not with enough bite to actually be taken serious.

He never quiet shook the odd feeling settling at the nape of his neck, but nothing was coming at them so Max continued to brush it aside. Honestly...he always felt some sort of discomfort these days.

For awhile they walked in mild silence, Max occasionally tucking his face towards Lucas' warmth when a particularly cold burst of air would kick up. Despite being a bit chilly, the weather wasn't bad except for those rare moments.

He wasn't sure how long they'd been walking when he heard it. Running water. A quiet tricking, maybe a creek or something. Large enough they could probably at least refil on drinking water. And, if it ran their direction, bathing water if nothing better showed. Plus, sometimes water meant fish, which Max was a personal fan of. "Hear that?"
 
Kithiel ignored the two as he walked, not sure how he became the leader with them following, but he continued heading east. East was where... the possibility of safety was, though it was a slim chance. He paused as he caught the scent of fresh water, glancing back at the other two before moving deeper into the forest to find the source.

The creek was easy enough to find and he took a few steps into it, lowering his head to sniff the water before drinking deep.

Lucas didn't mind the silence. There was only so much they could talk about to fill the air before it got into things they didn't want to talk about. He didn't think much either on the long walks, for the same reason. Sometimes he liked to daydream of how his life could have been if the world was still how it was back in his great-grandparents' time, but those usually turned depressing.

"Mm? Water?" He glanced to the sky and figured they could stop and rest for a bit. Sometimes it was hard not to just keep walking until they collapsed, though it wasn't like it would get them to...wherever they were going any sooner. "Hungry?"
 
Max was ecstatic once they actually found water. The creek was of decent size, wide enough that the water flowing trough it was decently clean, deep enough to maybe provide fish. The closer he got the clearer he realized it was. The only thing that could make Max happier was if the weather was warmer and they could swim.

"I could eat," the teen answered as he dropped his pack by a tree, darted over to kneel down by the creeks edge. He cupped his hands under the water, followed the wolf's lead and took a drink. It was a little grainy, but mostly just tasted like water. They could easily filter it.

"See any fish?" Max asked the wolf, planting his hands on the ground and leaning a little closer. There were a few near the bottom he could make out - splashes of color, but nothing large enough to eat.

He tossed a look back at his brother, grinned. "Think it'd kill us if we used a little magic so it'd be warm enough to swim without getting hypothermia?" He was joking, of course, even though it wasn't really funny. It was just one of those things that pointed out his age. Selfish. Uncaring of the consequences. Truth was, without Lucas, who knew who Max would be by now...with so much at his fingertips...
 
Lucas dropped the bags near the creek and set to work putting a small fire together. Even if they didn't find any fish, they could heat up a can of...questionably edible foodstuff. "It's not a bathtub."

Kithiel lifted his head and looked at Max. You'd need more than just a little, he said, wading a bit further out as he sought out the fish he sensed lurking in the water. And without a tether, you might die before it warmed. With that, he dove beneath the surface, the water darkening with shadows around him. Lucas was still a drain on his magical reserves, but at least the link was stabilizing. Come nightfall, he'd at least feel better about being in the open.

Lucas tensed and stared at the small pit he'd made. He'd always suspected, but...having it confirmed that using their magic could essentially kill them if they weren't careful...
 
Max rolled his eyes slightly, muttered something under his breath about lying to him to keep him happy. Which Lucas had never done...not really...at least not recently. They were honest with each other because they had to be. Even about trivial matters. Still, for a moment, he let himself dream that they could do it.

He was going for a much more dramatic eyeroll to aim towards the wolf when the words seemed to sink in. He settled back away from the water, gazing emptily at it as the wolf dove beneath the surface. It took him awhile before he ever said anything. "So not only do we have to worry about it changing our personalities...it could actually kill us too?"

It seemed unfair. They had this thing inside of them. This thing they were born with, like having green eyes and freckles. Something so simple and trivial. This power that could open up so many doors, fix so many problems...

And it was the most destructive thing on the planet.
 
Lucas sighed softly and moved to sit next to Max once the fire was burning. "Maybe he knows a way to help us... He is... a magical creature," he murmured. He didn't want to trust the wolf, all his experience from the past several years screamed at him not to trust him, but... he could have killed them a dozen times over.

He leaned over to elbow Max, hating seeing him weighed down by this shit. He deserved a normal life, or at least as normal as a life could be in this era. "I'm not going to let that happen you know." He glanced out at the water where a wolf head briefly appeared above the surface before diving back under again. "You think we can trust him?"
 
Max looked up slightly when Lucas sat next to him, but let his eyes stray back towards the water. Yeah, he knew that much. The wolf radiated magic...not to mention he seemed to come out of Lucas' own dream. A fact Max still wasn't ready to deal with.

He wavered slightly when his brother elbowed him, refused to go down and smiled a little at the words; hoped they were true.

"I think he could have killed us both already if he wanted to," Max chose as an answer, shifting a little closer to Lucas. "Me especially. But...I also think there are worse things in this world than death..."
 
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