[Saahs]

Snowflakes fluttered down from the sky above, the moonlight glistening in many of them as they were caught on the trees or flitted further down to rest on the ground softly. There was no breeze, no sign of life amongst the frozen, perfect flowers. No birds sung amongst the full pine trees, and no foxes chased after rabbits betwixt the foliage down below the trees' reach. All was silent. It was as if this were how the world was meant to be; beautiful, quiet, and lifeless. And yet, this lifeless silence was almost a song in itself-- distant though it would be to listen to-- that sang of beginnings, ends, and eternity.

High above it all, the moon was nestled between thick patches of silver clouds, drifting across the deep blue night sky. Even when fully obscured, the moon was bright enough to light up the frozen world far below, an attempt to show this land's beauty despite there being no one to show it to.

And the beautiful land went on and on. A labyrinth with no walls, but hills and trees and felled logs. No sure path one could choose to walk, but perhaps an endless choice of wrong turns. Perhaps that was why there was no one to wander through the forest, any more.

And perhaps, that was about to change.

A pair walked close to one another, the smaller clinging to the second's arm for dear life. The forest welcomed them quickly, the sound of their footfalls muffled by its natural silence as the fluttering snow encircled them. It had been perfect before their arrival, and it was perfect still. But even enveloped in this endless perfection, an air of fear followed after the pair; most especially, strangely enough, the taller one. Oh the poor little things.

For they were both small in stature, with one even more so. Short, pallid, and malnourished. Yet the smaller one-- a young boy-- was the more bold one, and regarded his new surroundings not with frightened eyes but with sparkling wonder. His gaze was a pale teal, arched with raised, curious brows. Framing his face was long tresses of deep blood red hair peppered with black, part of which fastened in a haphazard ponytail while the rest went where it so pleased. His form, tiny as it was, was covered completely in layers and layers beneath a thick kimono, which itself was beneath a hooded and fur lined robe. Yet despite this heavy attire, his confident, upright posture could not be missed; this one didn't let his fear stay him.

The same, could not be said for his travelling companion. Though many inches taller, and though a good two decades the boy's senior, he wilted under a heavy weight that he'd carried with him from wherever the two had come from, and had only grown heavier since their arrival. His shoulders were slouched and shrugged forward, head bowed as if being harshly reprimanded by someone imagined, and white, green-tinted eyes cast down to the snow they walked through. He twitched constantly and shuddered almost just as much, though he was dressed similarly to his younger companion. And there was a strange similarity between the two; their facial structure was the same, strong-jawed but with hollow cheeks, and with thin but defined lips and down turned eyes. But the man's face was far more scarred and discoloured than the boy's. And his hair was only similar to his in length. Instead of bearing the colour of fresh carnage, his hair was a dulled grey that could be mistaken for brown if one were looking at him from a distance. It retained the same peppering of black, however.

And the fear. The man was so frightened, that even the slightest of brushes against the gentle and harmless pine trees' nettles was enough to make him jump. To which the younger boy would lay a hand on his shoulder, and offer him a few murmured words of comfort. It seemed to work, if only a little.

[ The Frozen Forest, post 1, 674 words ]

[Saahs]

"Hey," the boy started, shifting his gaze up to the man he was with. "Where do you think we are, right now?" As he asked his question, the boy looked up and around at the treetops far up above his little head.

But the words, no, the voice, that came out of the lad's mouth, was warped and unnatural. As if his vocal chords couldn't decide if they were that of a boy's, a grown woman's, or a man's. And it was never the same boy, woman, or man, as it shifted and changed even in the middle of a single word.

It made the man wince. The process that the boy had been going under, had made it so that he could physically change his voice at will. But it was unfinished, and he knew it was painful for the poor kid-- he could tell that much even if the brave little 'un put on a tough and brave face. It was in the twitch of his upper lip, the way he swallowed awkwardly after saying something, and the tiny coughs he thought no one could hear. But he didn't tell his companion that it worried him so; he'd learned the hard way, eventually, after several instances, that expressing his concern over the bold little lad only encouraged him to hide his suffering more so. Which in turn, only made him worry even more. The best he could do was take care of him, as best as he could.

Still, it took him a long while to muster up the ability to speak. Speech was never something either of them were very good at doing save for between one another and when alone. But it was always much harder for the man, almost impossible, even when on his own or in the company of people he trusted dearly (which consisted of a single person, whom was with him right now). To manage, a few attempts at clearing his throat and some wheezing had to happen first. "I'm... not, not sure," he admitted. "Don't know where this... place is."

Truly, all he'd done was follow the signs and roads that gradually lead them closer to this place. A small flyer, inviting all to come. He'd come across it while looking for a place for the two to flee to, and it'd seemed as good an idea as any. So they'd packed as many days' worth of rations as they could stash in their pockets and satchels, and left to find this mysterious place. Truth be told... he wasn't even sure they were in the right place.

The boy frowned with a light grunt. "Think anyone followed us?" His words were mild mannered and curious, but the look he stole from over his shoulder betrayed the fear the two secretly shared.

"Dunno, Shou," said the man with a shake of his head. He didn't dare look over his shoulder; if there were people coming after them, he never wanted to look at them again.

[ The Frozen Forest, post 2, 503 words ]

[Saahs]

The boy, Shou, looked over his shoulder again, this time his eyes fixing down at the ground they'd walked over already. The corners of his mouth pulled upwards, even as he pursed them to try and hide the devious little smirk. "They'll have a hard time finding us," he observed in a fittingly venomous voice.

"Think so?" The man didn't look behind them right away, still quite frightened by the thought that someone could be trailing after them. But he steeled himself and looked any how, brows knitting low over his ghostly eyes. "What... makes yo-- makes you say... that..?"

It hit him then, that something was amiss--

The snow.

It had covered their tracks already, albeit it was not falling heavily enough to do more than make them seem a tinge more shallow than they really were. But no. Their foot tracks were completely gone, the layer of snow glistening and pristine once again. As if they had never even been there. As if they didn't exist.

A knot began to twist in his stomach. This was a bad sign, if he knew anything about cursed and places ruled by the fair folk. Or worse. The two had halted completely, himself at fault mostly as his friend stopped only thanks to his refusal to let go of the other's arm. But Shou peered up at him with a quirked brow. "Why're we stopping? Asuka? 'S something wrong?"

Yes. Something was very wrong. He just couldn't put his finger on what. Asuka's eyes flicked this way and that as his anxiety grew into a frantic panic. "... We're in the wrong place," he murmured.

"How do you know we're in the wrong plaaaa'ey!" Shou's question devolved into a cry of protest as Asuka nudged him around until they were facing the way they'd come from. "We're going back? Back??" Shou glared up at Asuka, brows now creased up. "Asuka???"

But Asuka didn't relent, and began to guide Shou back towards the edge of the forest they'd wandered into. "Just t... trust me, okay little bro?" he rasped, failing to keep his voice from trembling. "We need to go a, around, 's all."

That wasn't enough for Shou, evidently. "We're going backwards, they're still going forward!" To emphasise his point, Asuka's little brother pointed an accusing finger in the direction they were now walking. "They're going to catch up if we go backwards!"

He knew Shou didn't mean to. But amidst the myriad of voices the young lad was shifting between, one of them sounded far too strong, and too militaristic and even more familiar. More familiar than Asuka could take.

"I know, Shou!" he cried out, voice cracking as he came to a halt once more. "I kn-- I know they could catch up with us, but, but if we stay here, we're going to die!" His grip on Shou's arm tightened as his twitching and shaking grew intense, on the verge of sending him into a wracking spasm. "We need... to go around."

[ The Frozen Forest, post 3, 504 words ]

[Saahs]

Shou didn't flinch at Asuka's retort. There wasn't much to flinch away from, the loudest Asuka could really get his voice to be was barely above a typical inside voice, not to mention how his blatant panic dampened any hostility there might have been to his words. But the boy's expression did soften, his brows creasing slowly as he peered about at their surroundings a few more times over.

Yes, there was something amiss about this forest. It wasn't dead, but it wasn't alive either. Even the pine trees almost looked frozen in time, like the blooming flowers that were now like little glass sculptures frosted with snowflakes. He didn't know much about science, but Shou could take a guess that this was not how winter was supposed to happen or look. He craned his neck to look up at Asuka, lips parted for words that wouldn't leave his throat. When they did come, there was a little more anxiousness to his voice than before, amalgamated as it was. "... Okay, fine."

Asuka's chest deflated in relief when his little brother relented, and nodded his head before continuing to lead Shou back to where he... hoped was the way out. Had they turned around yet? The way they were going now didn't look familiar-- he looked over his shoulder-- ... nor did the way they were facing away from. The knot in his gut tightened again.

Oh no.

"... Shou," he breathed, "Did we already t-- turn around, or...?"

Blinking a couple times, Shou furrowed his eyebrows and looked about again, then down at their feet. "I... I can't tell." The snow that surrounded their feet looked fresh as if they hadn't moved from the very position they were in now. "Can't remember, if we did." His gaze drew back up to Asuka, face calm but eyes bright with fear. "Are we stuck here? Asuka?"

Asuka pressed his lips into a thin line, but it didn't serve to keep them or his chin from trembling. So quick to frighten, he was, but there was no one to beg forgiveness for his mistakes from. No one except for Shou. "I shouldn't have.. I shouldn't have brought us here," he started, words barely above a weak whimper, "I'm sorry, Shou."

It was obvious to Shou, that Asuka by this point was too frightened to make any sort of decision. Gently he unlatched himself from Asuka's arm, slipping his hand into the other's and lacing their fingers together to comfort him. "Let's just keep going this way, okay? We'll find something eventually." Whether that something was the way out, the centre of the woods, or Imperialists chasing after them, something would be better than not trying to find it at all.

Once Asuka agreed with a forced nod of his head, Shou smiled up to him and started guiding him forward, his free hand rested against the other's upper arm with fingers tapping out a rhythm that the two both enjoyed.

The two didn't get too far before Asuka had mellowed down, at least enough to not be on the verge of no longer being functional. As the two trekked forward, the scarred man hummed under his breath to himself; the sound was a hoarse rasp, but not so much that the tune was impossible to make out.

[ The Frozen Forest, post 4, 555 words ]