The Hunter's Mark

. His amber eyes scanned every shadow, every flicker of movement, as he pursued the presence he had o

ate line of scent which stoo

gh, he could not see i

to the next, taking whatever remnants of its scent with it. Its elusiven

he bid his t

ill sheathed, his calloused thumb rubbing the worn

d from the back of his throat. Amber eyes dimmed in

w tigh

nd

d as it unsheathed, the blade cutting a lethal arc as he rounded the trunk of the

ilthy

to

t unexpected, and in the veil of his blood lust he failed to see the figure pressed against t

e halted

hairsbreadth from the deli

ze lingered

rred and streaked with grime and old blood. A delicate strand of hair -- a lacklu

upward, drawn by a mix o

w from the strain of the chase. Bright eyes stared wide-eyed and innocent at hi

woman. His nostrils flared nonetheless, taking h

eal for his mind to manage. The golden in his eyes

to his periphery the delicate

o the maddening re

his was

as all t

rose and fell rapidly with e

wandered

ealize just how openly he stared, like an auctioneer at a slave market used to assessing flesh

a variety of darker shades and smelled horribly. The tunic stopped at her knobby knees, re

ng his attention back. Her gaze darted away, and a flush deepened a

rence in tone to his own, a much more smoother roll

ing at me

the side, as if recalling some semblance of decency. They stood like that for

is eyes wan

eliberate. He was aware suddenly of how he must have sounde

d in confusion "W

urve of her lips, the single cupid's bow which dippe

lips parting in dis

his chin lifting in a silent

mmovable wall, eyes snagged on hers with a pressure that could crash that little skull. His eyes flickered to her mouth still presse

in a world of darkness and depravity had left the man all bu

t they assumed mankind had walked like before their downfall. There were many subtle pointers that proved to them not being human-- the eyes one of them, v

ma

ecting shades of fear and annoyance at being so openly strippe

could mimic th

mply, his voice ha

tly, she

n ritual. He studied her mouth without bending to her height. Her teeth-- blunt, imp

as a frown creased his brown. For the first

" she mumble

tongue into his cheek in deep thought. The forest ar

neck, feeling the noonday heat pres

stared at the ground. When his eyes rose again, she was peering at him curiously

t n

human. Someone that existed other than himself in this fallen world. Her presen

?" It wasn't a quest

rug, sharp collarbones peeking beneath the l

ttle human-this scrawny, underfed woman-somehow surviving in a world ravaged by beasts far la

ed, slower this time, sharper. H

d-like frame looked like it could be blown away by a gust of wind if she didn't fill her

ook offence to the

ilence lingered for too long. Long enough for him to notice the sudden prickling of goo

long enough to glare at him, "not everyone n

r blanked

her shrinking back in slight regret. "You're telling me... th

e stiff with defiance. Then, a

er, harsher as the memories of glowing eyes and

t and sharp

h

he

as talking about hiding from rain instead of creatures that could su

hey can'

et's assume her little brain had somehow figured out hiding sp

ou eat?" h

ng against the damp earth, "... gathering." those blues flickered up to him

rem

Sitting by the warm fire. Eating. He thought about the rations he had bundled up with the ca

Otherwise he would've

ing just outside his awareness, crouched in the bushes, her blue eyes watc

his expression flat, his eyes

d, the calm in his voice m

cornered animal. "I aint' no thief... I just..." Her cheek spotted a frustrated pink, her gaze

bones? She ate the

woman half turned her face away from hi

y," she muttered under her breath, he

ared

as an afterthought, her eyes fl

Then, with a slow and deliberate movement, he sheathed his

y. He could see the shift in her face- the slow, quiet re

the cave. He rubbed a heavy, rugged palm down his face, fingers catching on the coar

wh

k. His eyes, still focused on the path, shifted to the girl with the sharpness of a blade slicing through shadow

she keep

eady in motion. There was nothing more to say. It wa

, to hide in the cracks of this fallen world.

n't his

sts to slay. A king to

ll. Too hungry to t

forward, focused on the path ahead, but he could feel her eyes prickling on his back, tracing the scar

ed for longer th

dn't

es, the scuff of small feet trailing after him. Sh

ollow