A Road With No Destination [p]

Denzyl opened his eyes forcebly as he lay in his bed at the Tola inn. He had to do so because it was high time to wake up for the day, though all he wanted to do was lay down even longer. This was because he had recieved little to no sleep from the previous night, which was something he was very unaccustomed to. It was about the middle of the night when he returned to the inn with Lucy, only to wake up what seemed like moments later to take another trip to the water. He had been out and about for at least another two hours, and the sunrise seemed only moments away when he returned to his room for the final time. As he imagined, he had been given very little time to actually lay down to sleep. However he was not one to be late, which explained why he now forced himself out of bed when he would rather sleep for another 12 hours at least.

His tiredness was obvious as he rubbed his eyes, feet on the floor by the side of his bed. He had crashed so easily all of his clothes were still on, so all he would have to do was open the door and walk out and he was ready to go. He looked out his window first though. It seemed early dawn, as the light shining through was grayish, like it normally is in the early morning. He honestly didnt know what time Lucy wanted to go, so he figured he should get himself up and ready as early as possible, so he was ready when she was. He shook his head, trying to shake the weary off of him, and stood up, heading towards the door. He exited the room and went down the stairs to the lobby of the inn and placed his room keys on the counter of the front desk, signaling that he was done with the inn and wouldnt need it for another night. No one was out yet, though he doubt the inn staff was asleep, but more like doing something else somewhere else. He didnt have a problem with this though.

He spotted a sitting couch to the left of the middle of the room, so crossed over to it, ready to sit down and rest as soon as he did. As mentioned before, there was no one about, so he figured he had some time to wait before anything would happen, so he layed out on the couch, though kept his back propped up on the arm of the couch, his legs spanning the length of it. From there he closed his eyes a bit quicker than he meant to, and began a wait for someone, hopefully Lucy, to show up. He only hoped he wouldnt have fallen back asleep entirely by the time they had.

As expected, he was out on the couch in a matter of moments, fully asleep in his little spot, but the kind of sleep that leaves you dreamless, surrounded by blackness. The kind of sleep that leaves you to believe you never even fell asleep in the first place, but rather just kept on sitting with your eyes closed. He really didnt know how long he had been just sitting there on the couch, for the passing of time was the least of his worries. He had the intention of keeping an ear out at all times, to pick up any sounds of someone approaching or entering the room. He would have accomplished this...in the first 5 minutes of it anyway. After that, he was too far gone to accomplish this goal no matter how loudly someone might have stumbled down the stairs. So what was he to do now? He'd probably be snoring if he was the kind of person who did that, but thankfully he wasnt. Instead all he could do was sit in his slumber.

Until Lucy came down the stairs anyway. She didnt wake him up just by being in the room, he was too drowsed for that to happen, but when she sat down...it did cause a reaction. His eyes suddenly snapped open and he looked directly at her. She had given him a bit of a jolt, which obviously woke him up. Of course, he didnt think he had fallen asleep, so her sudden appearance surprised him a bit, though he only blinked once in confusion before he looked at her normally. Then he noticed her different look. He was sent into confusion again, for he wasnt used to things chaging the way they look. The change of clothes wasnt so bad, so much as the new ponytail thing she had. He tilted his head slightly, still blinking through his weariness a little bit, but eventually got passed it. He took a stretch, and sat up straight, putting his legs on the ground.

"Ready to get moving?" he asked casually. He really didnt know what he should say, so just spoke using their current plans as a topic. He waited patiently for her answer, just looking at her generally to let her know he would listen...though some sleepiness could be seen in his eyes, but only a little. While he felt as though there would be nothing better than sleep at the moment, he would be willing to get moving right away. Afterall, walking around usually woke up him, and he wasnt one to just fall asleep on his feet either. He looked at her expectantly.

He didnt notice it, but her laugh at his reaction to his appearance caused his cheeks to glow the slightest bit red, though he only grinned back at her to hide what he figured could have been embarrasement. The laugh was obviously of good heart; a friendly laugh, but he still couldnt help feeling a little sheepish from having fallen asleep, after all he had really intended not to. The smile at the end confirmed this, and he was put to ease a little more and held his grin, which she appeared to return, only in a more sly kind of way. Her next statement caused him to chuckle a little, but he was also able to respond to it. "No I'll be fine, I just need to stretch my legs thats all. he said reassuringly. She didnt seem altogether convinced, but appeared to drop the subject anyway. She looked away, and he took that time to stretch once more, waking himself up as he got into a more comfortable position, yawning clearly. He was a little drowsy even now, but he knew all he had to do was walk to get rid of that feeling. The question was, how long would he be sitting there, because if he didnt GET to walking anytime soon he'd probably be out yet again. He blinked, his eyes watering a small amount from the drowsiness, and noticed how she was looking around, as if searching for something. He tilted his head but didnt say anything, and instead let her continue.

Then she spoke again, and he could tell from its nature that she didnt intend for it to be answered, so he just smiled and shook his head, even as she turned. When her back was to him, he could picture himself passing out right then and there, not a second after she had turned around. No indication; just sitting up with a smile one second, the next laying down with his mouth wide open. For a second there it felt like thats exactly what happened, but this proved itself to the contrary as he blinked yet again, finding himself still sitting up. He yawned again, and decided it was high time he at least stood up, so did just that. He stood beside the couch and cracked his back by twisting at the waist, and looked back to where Lucy had gone. He noticed the somewhat large man behind the counter, and cocked an eyebrow, a little more aware now. He noticed the small amount of intimidation to Lucy from him, and he didnt blame her. The man's sudden and rather random appearance would have surprised anybody just about. Then she asked for a map, and he yawned YET again. Did they need a map? Thinking about it probably would have been helpful...though he had expected her to know most of what was around, but oh well, it didnt really matter that much.

He stretched in yet another way, bending backwards at the waist, hoping this might wake him up some more, and held himself there for a moment, enjoying the feeling. He came back up with a sigh, and there was Lucy right in front of him again. He saw her just as she was dropping her arms, a rather bright and cheery look in her eyes, which he was really able to notice for the first time now. He smiled again, though this time it was a little more genuine. She seemed happier today, which made him happy as well. He couldnt exactly place why, but for some reason he felt the need to keep her happy. Perhaps some form of bond? He really couldnt place it, yet continued to smile past his thoughtfullness. He nodded in return to her statement, speaking again. "I guess so. But thats okay, I bet we're used to it, right?" He spoke rather honestly, as he had been 'winging it' ever since he left the forest. He walked over to the door, holding it open, already feeling more awake now that he had moved around a little. "After you." he said.

She didn’t exit the inn that quickly, in fact, appeared to be somewhat thoughtful as she stood. It made no difference to him though, he could only fall asleep standing up at the door, which would most certainly be more her problem than his. He let his smile hold, no matter how small at the moment, because he was enjoying himself, no matter how sleepy. He was alive and well, he had company that he enjoyed and that would continue to remain, which was more than he had ever asked for. He thought about her last statement, about basically being blind out here because they couldn’t find a map or any form of direction really. If only they could have an eye in the sky, he thought, that would make things much easier. At least then they could more easily determine what was in which direction. Otherwise they were left with signs pointing towards the directions of towns and their own intuition. Then again, did it really matter? Wasn’t like they had any destination set in mind. But at the same time…He thought about his own mission, the thing he had set out from the forest intially to do, he had to think about that. He looked at Lucy as he thought about it, realizing that he hadnt even told her about it yet. He would have to do that soon. He felt as though he could trust her enough to tell her everything. But for now, he had to think on his mission’s behalf. What would be the best course of action to at least…gather information on this guy, whos name he didn’t even know to begin with?

He wasn’t so good at this, but thankfully for him Lucy did the thinking for him, albiet unintentionally as she was just asking an innocent question that indirectly answered his own. Well, at least it provided an answer where he could not. She had inquired about whether or not they should go by sea or land, walking or taking a ship. Frankly he had done enough walking for awhile he thought, but then going across the sea, even for adventure’s sake, wouldn’t be getting him any closer to his intentions, perhaps even taking him further from them. He didn’t answer her at first, but instead walked outside once she had passed him, letting the door swing closed behind him. He looked thoughtful, maybe even distant, which he hoped would let her know, should she look upon him, that he hadn't ignored her question and was thinking. And that was the case too, for the most part, his mind just wasn’t entirely on what she had asked, though he was considering it too. So perhaps he was wrong, her question hadnt provided an answer, but rather provided a direction for his thoughts, which was better than nothing. He actually felt the urge to reach into his pocket and retrieve that journal he had woken up with, and re-read those first few entries from the mysterious yet murderous man, for a hint. But of course he couldn’t do that with Lucy standing right beside him, at least not yet. Instead he fulfilled the urge to move his arms by scratching his head and letting out a sigh, one that showed that he was unsatisfied with the thoughts that flew through his mind.

He wasnt so good at making up his mind, and indecision was one of the things he truly hated the most. Land or Sea, which would it be? He looked a little frustrated, but in a kind of "This is annoying..." sort of way, but was still thinking. He felt like drumming his fingers across something as he thought, that sometimes helped, but he was standing so could not. He came to a decision to make a decision later, deciding to do something to stall for time. He looked at her and began to speak. "I'm honestly not sure. Why dont we just stay on the road for now until we find a place that has a map, then we can better make up our minds?" he had answered her question by returning with one of his own, meaning she was now in the spotlight. It was honestly all he could think of, for he didnt really want to make a decision like this without collecting some kind of information. He could at least feel comfort in knowing which way not to go, which was the way he arrived in. He already knew what was in that direction, and therefor knew that there was nothing helpful there. Now that he didnt have to think about where to go, his mind subtly drifted off to other subjects. He trusted Lucy, even after being with her for only so long. Maybe that was nieve of him, but he honestly did. He was sure that, as far as she might know, he was just some random guy wandering around because he didnt have a house or something. He thought about informing her of what he was really after, and even asking her for help, as well as how he would even do such a thing. It caused him to sigh through his nose, for he was feeling the anticipation to just do it now, but he knew it was not the right time. He would just have to wait, as for now all he could do is wait for her response and finally make an actual plan of action.

He could see that she was thinking like he was just by looking at her, so while he was reserved to his own thoughts as well, he leaned his head back and put both palms behind his head, linking them together to form a kind of pillow with them, to rest it in mid air more or less. He bent back in doing this, of course, so was now staring up at the morning sky. It was still dawn, so the sky wasnt exactly a bright blue just yet, and its current color made it seem more mysterious. He stared up at it as his thoughts returned back to the small town he had spent most of his traveling life in. It was unintentional, but his mind just sort of drifted towards it without him really even realizing it. He felt almost sad at the moment, missing the place quite well. It felt pretty close to a family there, and he truly felt more comfortable there than he had almost anywhere else. The residents were so very kind, he was almost shocked at how aggressive the people here were, as he noticed after saving Lucy from those men in the bar. He thought about after his journey to find this man was complete, he would possibly return there with hopes of having his own family. He closed his eyes and sighed through his nose again at the thought. As simple and uneducated as he might be, the thought of a calm life with those he loved was something even he could feel comforted in. He felt as though the forest, too, which had raised him, urged him to do so as well.

But that would no doubt have to wait, for he had things to do now. He opened his eyes again and looked at Lucy, who might have looked somewhat aggrivated at...something. He wondered if she had a family to miss as well. As independant as she might be, she looked as though she might have only just recently decided to venture out on her own. Then again, maybe she was somewhat like himself, and was forced to live by herself for almost her entire life. He didnt know hardly anything about her own backstory, but neither did she his. He hummed silently at the thought, then looked forward again. There was no need for thoughts like that, her past was her business, and the last thing he needed to be was nosy about it. He wouldnt mind doing such a thing, however, but that was mostly because he felt as though he basically needed to if he ever wanted them to stick together longer than to the next town. The situation felt awkward to him, but there was nothing he could do about that.

It was about that time that she looked at him and spoke quickly, then looked back the other way just as quickly, as though she were embarrased for some reason. His eyebrows rose, but more in curiosity than anything. He didnt say anything questionative, for her own sake, and instead looked ahead in the direction they should get moving. She seemed to be inferring that he should choose which direction exactly they should go, so he did just that. It was rather simple really. One road led to where he had come in from, so he would pick another. There were only three roads to choose from, including the one he came in through and excluding the one that led to the actual ports. He picked the one that appeared to lead them directly into the middle of the continent. In actual response to her, he nodded his head and spoke softly, "Sure, this way." he said, somewhat directly and began moving towards that exit. He moved slowly at first, waiting for her to realize which way they were going, and then began to move slightly faster at a more suitable, constant moving pace. He wouldnt say anything extra for now, not until they made it out of the port town. When they were alone on the road, conversation was hoped to ensue.

He took the first few steps out of the actual borders of the town, and felt a feeling wash over him. He closed his eyes and let the wind blow on his face, recognizing that feeling quite well. It was the feeling of being free, a free spirit. He was on open road, with anything possible, anything capable. He breathed deep, his eyes still closed, and savored the moment, while still walking. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes again, and looked straight forward with an iron determination, complimented by a confident grin on his face. The future looked bright, and he could take on anything, thats what it felt like anyway. The town, which served as an anchor of sorts, was behind him now, and he was now able to soar wherever he desired. Better yet, he had a companion to take along with him, to show the fruits of this freedom to. It reawakened him, both literally and figuratively. He felt capable now, and natural, despite the weight of the bow and quiver on his back. Thinking about them specifically, he found the urge to remove the bow from his back, and so he did. He held it in front of him, and checked the string on his faithful weapon. Still tight and full of tension, perfect. He wouldnt have to worry about it in quite awhile. He nodded happily and placed it back on his back, walking steadily even still. The grin still on his face, he took a look up at the cloudless, blue sky. A perfect day, they couldnt have picked a better one to start this journey. To him, it didnt matter where they were going anymore, just that they were to begin with. The forest spirit would guide him wherever it was he needed to go.

He felt better so good now that, despite the fact he wasnt giving her alot of attention, he was able to respond to her without missing a beat. Really, she had just commented on the very thing he was thinking himself, which helped in itself. The grin shifted into a smile in that moment, and he spoke back. I agree. Nature knows what its doing more than any human being, knows what the world needs. I believe we've found ourselves in its good graces." he said, his words having more meaning, or at least insight, than Lucy was able to realize at the moment. He said this from experience, as his last few years were spent with nature itself, practically becoming one with it. Needless to say, he knew what he was talking about. He was walking in front of her by just a few feet, so they were relatively close together, almost next to eachother, and for that reason neither of them really needed to bend their head one way or another in order to be heard. This feeling he felt inspired him to begin his own conversation, risking awkwardness, in attempts to perhaps open up one way or another. "Tell me Lucy," he started, looking over his shoulder even though he really didnt have to. "Whats your story? Even a clueless buffoon like me could tell Tolas not your kinda place." while the nature of his words were somewhat penetrating, it could be told by his tone that he spoke with pure, friendly curiosity. It could even be implied that he was planning on returning the favor if she answered, maybe if she didnt too.

He looked over his shoulder to question her, and kept that look while she responded, or at least until she responded. She took a few moments to answer back, so he could tell she was choosing her answer carefully. It made him half wonder if she was contemplating some kind of fake story she could use to satisfy him, keeping the actual answer to himself. But it was just that really, a thought. He could tell just by the way she spoke about it that wasnt the case. Her deep breath did cause one of his eyebrows to raise though, but he entirely sure why, but it did. It wasnt much, and at the mention of the forest, it went away and was replaced by a faint smile. Thaes Forest...was that the same forest he was raised in? He never did learn its name, so he that was unknown to him. It was doubted he could point it out from the outside either. Other than that though, her story was interesting. Trained to be a Ninja? He honestly had no idea what that was, but it sounded like something impressive. He wasnt surprised either, despite the scene from the night before, she naturally looked like the type that could handle themselves anyway. It also warmed his heart to know that she would care to learn such things anyway, most likely for defensive purposes. It reminded him of days not that far behind him.

Even though he wasnt looking at her directly anyway, he could tell that, when she finished her last statement, she was worried about whether or not she had perhaps said too much, revealed to much. It caused his body to heave slightly at the chest, a silent yet small chuckle only he would know he made. He did this because he found that information as...just information really, nothing he'd hold against her. It was interesting, actually, to know that. She was one her own journey as well, so he began to wonder what that happened to be. But that wasnt part of his initial question, so that was something he would have to learn a little later.

She didnt say anything for a little while, so he figured she was done speaking. He was about to say something, in response, perhaps his own story, when she spoke again anyway. She asked him what his story was, and his gaze drifted. He smiled an absent minded smile full of obvious memories as his eyes drifted upwards, to look at the sky, though his head was still turned, so he was actually looking to his left rather than straight up. It took him a few seconds of thought, but he eventually responded. "Thaes Forest, huh?" he said. Despite the fact that it probably sounded like he was just commenting on what she had said rather than answering her question, it was actually the way he decided to begin his own description. "Would you believe me if I said I'm only about...seven years old?" He was silent for a few moments, and then laughed lightly, going on. "Neither would I. But the truth is, I can only remember the last seven years of my life. It's as if I was born into a body already past its teenage years. I'm assuming its just some kind of amnesia, but it seems deeper than that.

He smiled, and his body heaved again, only this time the chuckle was audible. He did this before speaking more. "Anyway. From what I can remember at least, I was raised in a forest too. I never learned the name, so I'm not sure if its the same Thaes Forest you did. Only I wasnt raised in a village, I lived within the forest itself. No buildings, just the trees and everything around it. It might sound crazy, but I wasnt alone for the first two remembered years of my life. I was raised, trained, and taught as if by the forest itself. It taught me how to act, gave me life lessons, and taught me how to fight. Though I already knew how to use the bow and arrow without its help, which was strange. I was "Born" with them in my hands. So for two years I lived in the forest, then ventured out. Since then I've been...well, wandering I guess, on my own journey as well. He finished with his little monologue, and looked back at her directly, half expecting her to break out laughing or just look at him strangely. She had been the first human being he had told that to anyway. Common sense told him his story others wouldnt quite be able to grasp.

Luckily for her, he didnt see her stop moving in the beginning of his story, for it was then that he was most distracted, still somewhat thinking about what to say as he was saying it. He didnt realize it, but she also had the same problem, but he was not likely to know that considering she had said no such thing herself during her own description. So he went on as if nothing had happened, his neck still turned in her direction but his eyes up in the sky. Honestly, it felt good to tell someone else his life story, at least that he could remember. Sort of like he was sharing a weight with someone, a kind of relief so to speak. It was refreshing in a way he had not yet experienced, which only made him feel better. But he ended eventually, and finally looked actually AT her for a response. In all honesty, she expected her to call him crazy in one way or another, and her response had him down for a few seconds. The reply of someone who thought they were crazy by was too polite to just come out and say it. He felt some disappointment wash over him, until she followed up to say she actually believed him. He still wasnt completely sure if she was telling the truth and not just trying to make him feel good, but he decided to take her word for it, at least for now. At the very least, he had gotten it out there, and that was good.

In response he smiled and nodded, looking forward again for the first time in awhile, so it could easily be expected that his neck hurt when he did so, though he made no indication. He was silent for a few moments, but then spoke again without turning his head. "I've never told someone that before. Despite it being what I remember, it sounds strange to me even. But nonetheless I feel like the forest never truly left, like its spirit has been following me since I left, guiding me in a way or at least warming me when times are grim. It's an interesting concept at least." he said this in a way that sort of felt like he was just thinking aloud to himself. But either way, thats what he said, still walking forward at an even and steady pace. He smiled though as he actually thought about something to himself, and then voiced it. "Either way, it seems to me like meeting you was a kind of gift I think. I'm glad to have got to know you.

He took in a deep breath, and let it all flit out through his mouth, though mostly silently. He looked up at the sky, but specifically towards the sun. It was high in the sky now, considerably more so than it had been earlier, when they left the inn for the first time. "I'm glad.." he said in response to her words, though still looking upwards. For now he had directed his attention at the sun, drawing information from the position he was seeing. It had been...hours since they left the inn, he determined. Strange, it felt as though they had only been going for a few minutes, but no, the sun said otherwise. He supposed that made sense, he was feeling much more awake now than he had before, which was a good sign. Still...hours? It was still surprising for him, but it was so. He looked over his shoulder again to find that Lucy was remaining silent for the time being, then looked back forward before she noticed he was looking at her. She didnt look tired, probably not even realizing it had been so long either. That made him grin, it did. Realization of the time made him wonder how much ground they had covered. Maybe another town wasnt for off now, or maybe it was still many days ahead of them, he didnt know.

They continued to walk still in moderate silence, until up ahead he saw a rather large tree, covering the left side of the road in a large shadow. He looked at it with some thought, and looked back up in the sky. Definitely mid day, and thinking about it, he could certainly feel some heat. Considering they had been out walking for so long, despite the fact that he felt unhampered at all, he looked over his shoulder again. "Wanna take a break? Nice shady spot up ahead." he said to her, and waited for a response.

As he was looking over his shoulder, he honestly expected a somewhat slow response. He wasnt all to sure about how she was doing back there, whether or not she was off in her own world as they walked while enjoying the comfortable silence, or what. It caused a bit of a delayed reaction for him, how quickly she did. Not two seconds after the words left his mouth, was she nodding at him with a smile, and dashing forward with challange for a race. He continued to move forward at a walking pace as he followed her with his head, watching her pass him up before he really realized what was happening. He grinned competitively, and was about to say "Your on!" when something happened. He took one step, and felt something throb. It was an internal feeling...but he could feel it come from an outside source, like something had pulsed from a great distance, and the sheer force of that pulse had assaulted his body. It stopped him dead in his tracks as his eyes went wide. He couldnt place what the feeling was, but he knew it wasnt good. A kind of...dread, like something bad was going to happen.

Suddenly, he felt insecure in a way he hadnt before. Like there was something near him...something behind him. He spun around in an instant, Lucy still running forward behind him towards the tree, for she apparently hadnt felt it. In an instant, he had his bow out and an arrow drawn, pointing in the direction that just a few seconds ago was his back. Nothing...there was nobody there, not even a shadow in the middle of the day. He didnt realize it at first, but he was breathing heavily, some kind of intense suspense taking hold of him. He lowered his arm, but didnt withdraw the arrow in the bow completely. He was still looking in that direction, and was about to ask Lucy if she had felt anything, when she asked the exact same thing. He breathed out, still looking intently in the direction he felt the...pulse came from. "I did..." he said to her in a rather serious tone of voice. This unnerved him greatly, and disturbed him. He'd never felt such a thing before, but he knew it couldnt mean anything good. At any rate...he got the impression that...whatever it was, was somewhere far away. That didnt explain that feeling he got of someone behind him though...

He withdrew the arrow, put in in his quiver, and placed the bow back on his back, then turned to face Lucy, a thoughtful expression on his face. "We should keep moving." he said, looking her straight in the eyes. "Whatever that was, it wasnt good. It came from the direction we were just moving away from...So we should keep moving..." he turned to look behind him again, and then suddenly something changed. He felt an attachement to what he had felt earlier, a connection. It was as though he needed to figure out what it was, that it was important. Without turning back to face her, he added, "Unless your interested in it... While he was interested in it now for some reason, he was not about to hold that above Lucy's desires. If she wanted to get as far away as possible from it, then he would respect that and they would continue forward. It was up to her. At any rate, their break had come to an unfortunate close.

He kept his head turned to look back in the direction they had come, saying nothing and moving nothing even after she responded to him. He was thinking both about what he had felt, and what she had said, but mostly about that feeling. In a way, it seemed familiar, but not in a way that meant he was related to it, but more like it was something he remembered feeling before perhaps, but about something else entirely. Like a universal feeling of dread from something evil, maybe. He breathed in and out slowly, calming himself down after realizing how tense he was despite the fact he had even sheathed his weapons. It looked like they were heading back in that direction, which meant they had to get moving five minutes ago if they wanted to find whatever it was before it could do harm to anyone, as they were both surely imagining would happen.

He nodded his head first, looking out still, almost like trying to latch onto the feeling again for some reason, but then looked back at her. His eyes were determined, serious, like that of a hawk. He was a warrior down deep, and that was beginning to show in him. "Alright. he said, looking at her straight again, "I wont tell you its going to be dangerous, because that much is obvious. But, if you have any weapons on you, keep them at the ready. We could be attacked at any minute." He continued to look her straight in the eyes until she gave recognition to his words, a nod or maybe an "OK", and then turned around, redrawing his bow and keeping at the ready. He also reloaded a single arrow into it, and held onto the loaded weapon with both hands, pointing it at the ground in front of him. He began walking forward at a pace faster than the one they had taken leaving Tola...

As they walked forward, he was able to slow his breathing back down to a normal place, after noticing it was a little racy in the first place. He honestly didnt know why his body was reacting to it all the way it was at the moment, like it was acting on its own accord as though it had been in the same situation before, while he couldnt remember such. It made him think, but only for a moment because he knew there were more pressing matters at hand. He felt as though the two of them were extremely vulnerable at the moment, but despite he felt compelled to protect Lucy rather than himself. Whatever the case was, he had to focus, couldnt think about that for now. He strained his senses more to become more vigilant, becoming completely aware of all their surroundings so that he could anticipate an attack from any direction. This was his way of looking out for Lucy while still not necessarily doing anything differently.

He was calmer now, and a little less frightened. Almost like a hardened resolve of combat though, like he was ready for anything in a sort of murderous way. He actually attempted to focus his energy a little more directly, by attempting to activate his "hawkeye" ability in order to scope forward, to see Tola even from this distance. That was an ability that could only be used while standing still, however, which is why he was focusing so hard now, in hopes of activating it despite moving. In fact, he was focusing so hard, while at the same time keeping all of his senses open, that Lucy's sudden voice startled him slightly. Guiltily, it was the last thing he was expecting. His body jerked noticeably to express this, though he realized what was going on quickly and was paying attention to her as though nothing had happened, though he missed the first few words she said. Luckily, he was able to determine what he missed by what came after.

Without looking behind him, he thought about what she said for a moment. The answer was both yes and no. The feeling felt so incredibly familiar, but he couldnt remember for the life of him when or what it was, and it really stumped him. He continued to look forward, and replied. "Vaguely...it seems familiar but I cant seem to place why." He told her the truth in a nutshell, but said nothing more. He looked forward and saw Tola come up in the distance. They were almost there, and he was ready to shoot anything that moved. He wasnt sure of Lucy's capabilities, but he was very sure of his own. He felt confident in that he could take out anything that jumped at them, and he was more than ready to do so without mercy.

Step step step...Scan to the left, then right, quickly look in the air...Listen for any abnormal sounds...He had done all this before. So trained was he in remaining completely aware in vigilant. Even though it wasnt his intention, he took in every detail around him, could tell you how many animals were underneath their feet by simple observation. Some of this he learned in his first days within the forest, but others...were seemingly instinctive. He had done it all before, familiar with the process of tapping into the impassable killer inside of him. If he wasnt so focused, he would be a little scared. Aside from the bow skills, he thought that when he awoke in the forest that day, he knew nothing of combat, that everything else was learned over time. Why did he know so much that he wasnt taught? It could only mean a life before what he could remember. Thankfully, he wasnt focusing on that right now, but rather not dying. The sun had already peaked and was starting to sink again; not much longer until it was nighttime again. Strange, it didnt feel like they had been walking quite that long. No, it wasnt the sun's position that made the area seem darker, it was something about Tola's atmosphere itself, as though that feeling of dread they felt had manifested into a kind of...climate.

He steadied his breathing once more as he realized this, and heard Lucy speak. Something about picking up the pace. He looked over his shoulder again to look at her, but all he saw was a blur go past him. She had zipped ahead of him with some formidable speed, and he assumed that she had suggested he do the same. Her method of doing so seemed...different, in a way, something he hadnt known before. It wasnt natural speed, like that of a cheetah, but something unnatural. He sheathed his drawn arrow back into his quiver and focused for half a second. He called on what he remembered in the forest, the lessons he was taught. In a way, he called on the forest itself to aid him here. With such things about him, he blasted forward as well, matching her speed. Or so it seemed at first. As it turned out, the presence of the forest spirit wasnt very large in the area, which was understandable, so he received minimal help from it. True, he ran faster now than he would have without it, but it still wasnt much. He was still lagging behind her, but he noticed that she slowed down a bit so they were at the same speed. He grinned in spite of himself. She was full of surprises.

They ran together for awhile, no more than a few minutes, as they were pretty close to the port town when they started their sprint anyway. They came to a halt a few yards away from the gate to see a barricade of sorts around it. There were imperial soldiers everywhere, talking amongst themselves and others that approached. They were harsh and assertive, probably just jerks in nature. Apparently, whatever it was they felt was felt by others too. Somehow, the imperials had gotten there before them, which was something he didnt quite understand. Nevertheless, there they were. He looked at Lucy for a moment, and started walking forward at a regular pace again with the intentions of asking a few questions, to find out what was going on. It looked like they werent getting in, but he could at least put rest to his curiosity and dread...somewhat. As he approached, he heard a scream from inside the barricade from a female and some kind of inhuman roar. The guards nearest the gate scrambled, and one went in. Just after, he heard what could only be interpreted as the sounds of someone eating a large animal. Shortly thereafter, it stopped with a sharp piercing sound, like a spear impaling a man's chest. All was silent for a moment, and then the guard who went in first returned with some splattered blood on his breastplate. When he did, he was yelled at. Dan could only partially make out what was said. From what he gathered, one guard called the one that went in an idiot, and something about "playing hero".

Meanwhile, he continued to move forward, his bow now sheathed behind his back. His face was mostly blank, trying not to show much emotion at the moment. When he was little more than half way there, one of the guards spotted him and shouted. "Hey!" he said angrily, and began to walk over. Dan slowed his movement slightly until they were both standing face to face. "What in the blue hell do you think your doing here scumbag? Your supposed to be DEAD!" he began. Needless to say, Dan had no idea what he was talking about, and opened his mouth to say something. Instead, he was interrupted by another screech from the guard. "No, I dont want to hear what you have to say. I wouldnt be surprised if your responsible for this mess! We all know what your capable of, dont we Mr. Denzyl Archer? Now, get your arse outta here before we kick it out!"

To put it lightly, Dan was unhappy. He honestly didnt know what he was thinking in approaching that guard. He was from the city, and everyone from the city seemed to recognize him as this "Denzyl Archer" character. He was actually accustomed to such accusations, though he most certainly did not understand why. But now, he realized to his horror, his "secret" was out to Lucy. She had undoubtedly witnessed what the guard had to say, and was probably ready to ask a bunch of questions of her own. Before she got a chance, he ducked his head and said to her, "Lets go." in a low voice, putting a hand behind her back and sort of herding her along with him. He moved them quickly until they were both a decent distance away from the barricade, heading in who knows what direction. He continued walking even after taking his arm away from Lucy at a normal pace. He wasnt sure what he was more afraid of, her asking the obvious question and brining his supposed crimes into the open, or not asking the obvious question and letting her suspicions silently grow. For the moment, he just walked and walked...