Winterwings x Amberflaxus11

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Amberflaxus11

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Orion Fletcher gave a heavy sigh, leaning on his makeshift walking stick, as he stared at the precipitous slope ahead of him. He'd been able to get this far with his truck and enough luck to find an old gravel road, but this was, it seemed, where Lady Fortuna turned her face away. Why he hadn't been issued at least a decent communication device or, as he'd originally hoped, a plane to survey the area was entirely beyond him. Though, of course, the government was offering pretty good pay-- five hundred just to try, one grand on top of that if he found conclusive proof, and ten grand if he delivered the animal alive to the research institutions. Very well worth his time.

But for the last ten days, he'd been slowly and laboriously checking huge squares of wilderness, and he was beginning to think that this "Wood Fairy", as the press had nicknamed it, was nothing more than a rumor, just another mountain Sasquatch. No matter how rare or intelligent of an animal it was, it was still an animal; no way it would escape his notice if it existed. The traps he'd set up had been designed to catch humans, after all. If the Fairy was out there, he'd find it.

Taking a deep breath, he began to move down the slope, determined. He didn't have many supplies left with him; soon, he'd be forced to admit defeat. If he didn't find the Fairy today, he'd have to head back tonight to ensure his own safety. This area was ten different kinds of wild and dangerous.

But that wasn't the task at hand. Shaking his head, he began to angle to the west of the lake in the center of the valley. He'd set up a makeshift Burmese tiger pit, sans spikes, that should have been far too deep for any animal to escape. It was just west of the lake, near a convenient river of fresh meltwater, an excellent area for any animal to come for a drink. He'd judged that trap would have the highest probability of catching the Fairy, so that would come first.
 
Fawn had been looking for food most of the night. Unfortunately, she hadn't had that much of luck. Although she had been out all night, almost, all she had gotten was a fox. The fox had seemed injured even when she noticed it, which hadn't made it hard to take it down. Having something to make her hunger less noticable was good enough. As the sun set, she was on her way "home" - an old tree with high grass surrounding it. Her messy, blonde hair reached her to her elbows. If it was straight, that is. The hair was a total mess, but Fawn didn't mind. As long as her hair didn't disturb her, she didn't care. She was on her way to the lake, she was thirsty and hadn't had time to drink as she had been quite busy all night. She was wearing a gray, worn-out, oversized t-shirt, almost covered in dirt. Her eyes were dark blue.

As she spotted the lake, she almost began to run. Without having time to stop, or even think of what was happening, she fell down. How was that possible? She moaned quietly as she sat up and looked around. Looking up she could see the sky. The day was here. She took a deep breath and stood up, trying to get up from there. After about half an hour of failing attempts, she gave up. She sat down, anxious, glancing up now and then, to see if something was going to happen. She had never seen anything like this before. She curled up in one of the corners of the pit, listening carefully to what was going on above her. She didn't hear anything unusual - not much more than the water and some birds - but she didn't like it.
 
Orion cursed as he tripped over a tree root, scratching his leg. Some hunter I am. Shaking his head crossly, he marked the distance to the water, then carefully recalled the exact location of the pit. He'd hate to fall into his own trap, after all. That would be quite the embarrassment, and so far from civilization, he could even starve to death. No, that was far from preferable.

His eyes widened in pleasant surprise as he saw the broken foliage above the trap. He'd caught something! Breath bated, he moved forwards slowly, trying not to cause much sound-- to no avail, as he stepped on an unseen twig, snapping it. Damn. He sighed, relaxing again, and moved forwards, looking down into the pit, only to encounter yet another surprise. "A girl?" he exclaimed, surprised. "What are you doing all the way out here? It's nearly fifty miles to the nearest city." Too far to walk. And she looked like she'd been out here for a while. Was this one of the cases where a teenager runs away from home?

"Are you okay?" he asked. He'd be out of a job rather quickly if he ended up accidentally hurting someone.
 
Fawn looked up as she heard a twig snap. Someone was there, for sure. She looked at him in silence, she didn't recognize him as something she had seen in the forest before. She knew she had to be careful, so she didn't make much of a move, she just sat there, curled up, as she had when he found her. After all, maybe he had nothing to do with this - maybe he was just passing by. She glanced at him to see if he was going to do anything, and she kept an eye on him, just in case. You never knew what was going to happen.

She had decided to do it as if she was out hunting. That would be the safest way. She knew she had nowhere to run, in case he was going to have her for dinner or something like that, but she wouldn't give up without a fight. She looked at him, afraid but at the same time with some curiousity in her eyes.
 
Orion's eyebrows furrowed, and he bent down. <b>"Hey, are you okay?"</b> he said, a little louder. <b>"Wait a second, I have some rope. I'll pull you up, all right?"</b> He set his pack down, rummaging around in it. What a disaster-- not only had he not caught the Wood Fairy, but he'd probably end up in trouble because of this mess.

He pulled out a length of rope, around three meters in total. More than enough to reach the bottom of the pit. He backtracked and tied one end around the tree, then carefully lowered the other into the pit. <b>"Can you pull yourself out?"</b> he asked, looking back over the edge. She was a girl, after all-- her upper body strength might be lower, though he wouldn't want to race her. She looked like she'd been out here for a while.
 
Fawn looked at him, at what he was doing, waiting. No need to panic, she thought, although she was a bit anxious. Being trapped like this wasn't something that she had experienced before, and not recognizing the creature on the top of the pit, looking down at her, didn't make things easier. As he started lowering it into the pit, her eyes widened. Was he going to get down there? No, it seemed like he wouldn't, she thought, and relaxed a little. After looking at him and the rope for a few seconds, she slowly approached it. Falling into the pit in the first place had made her body ache here and there, and she was still tired after the night's hunt.

She touched the rope, looked at it, and then she glanced at him. She knew it was a way up, she understood that. But it would take some effort to make it, she thought, and wasn't sure if she had the strenght. She wasn't starving though, which was a good thing, since she had just been out, but it reminded her of how thirsty she was. She listened, and yes, she could still hear the water. It made her a bit more determined about getting out of the pit, and so she started struggling to make her way up.

After a while, she had reached the top. She was quite exhausted, climbing like that had been hard, especially because of already being tired and thirsty. She looked at him and carefully, but as fast as she could, made her way around him. She needed some water.
 
Orion furrowed his eyebrows as the girl began to climb. <b>"Hey, do you need any help?"</b> he called. <i>Why isn't she answering? She seems to be fine...</i> Slowly, she managed to get to the top after several minutes, and he backed up a few steps. <b>"Ah--"</b> Without saying anything, she carefully picked her way around him, then headed towards the water.

He turned, following a few steps. <b>"Hey!"</b> He reached out to grab her shoulder, then thought better of it, stopping just short. <b>"Can't you hear me? Hey! Girl! How did you get out here? We're in the middle of nowhere!"</b> Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair. <i>Is she deaf, or something?</i>
 
Fawn glanced at him now and then as she drank. She drank faster than usual - he didn't seem calm. To judge by the tone of his voice, that was. When she had drank a little, just enough for her to not be too thirsty anymore, she turned around and looked at him more closely. She looked at his mouth, as she had noticed that there had been sounds coming out from it. She opened hers, slightly. She knew she could make sounds as well. She made a sound, one or two, not any words, but trying to get a calm tone. Was this his way of communicating, she thought, looking at him, both surprised and a bit curious.

After looking at him a little more from distance, she moved closer, slowly. She followed every move he made, to see if there would be any danger in approaching him. She stopped as there was still quite some space between them, but not as much as before. She tilted her head a little.
 
Orion's eyes narrowed as she made a few sounds. She didn't sound agitated or angry, at least. His mouth opened in surprise as she said nothing more. <i>Can she not speak? Maybe she's mute?</i> Now more worried than anything-- how long had she been out here?-- he tried not to make any sudden movements. By this point, he'd almost forgotten about the Wood Fairy. He wasn't a terrible person, after all, and this girl might need some help.

As she slowly moved closer, he tried to think. <i>How can I communicate with her?</i> He extended his hands slowly, showing that he wasn't holding a weapon, then pointed to himself, speaking slowly. <b>"Orion... Fletcher,"</b> he said with a smile, then pointed to her with a quizzical look. It seemed unlikely that she could tell him her name if she didn't speak, but he didn't know where else to start.
 
Fawn watched his lips as he spoke. There it was, those sounds again. These ones didn't sound as frustrated as before, she thought, as she felt a little bit more calm. She thought of his sounds, tried to understand something out of it. She tried to re-play what he had said inside of her mind, but it didn't work too well. As he pointed towards her, she flinched slightly. Hadn't he pointed at himself as well, as his lips moved? She waited for a few seconds, to see if anything new would come out of there, but, nothing.

She swallowed, slowly starting to get a hold of what he was doing. Or at least, what she thought that he was doing. She licked her lips slightly as she looked at him. He was even bigger than her, she thought. She was used to being the biggest one out here. She pointed to herself, thoughtful. Why would he want to know something like that? She opened her mouth though, tasting the letters. It had been a long time since she had said anything really, almost as if she had forgotten what it was like. "Fawn", she said, as slow as he had said his, and then she closed her mouth. She put her hand down, looking at him, a bit suspicious.
 
Orion waited for a few seconds, then smiled hopefully as she spoke. <b>"Fawn, huh? That's a nice name."</b> He spoke slowly, still unsure whether the girl could speak or not. <i>How can I reassure her?</i> He slowly bent down, reaching into his pack to pull out a granola bar. <i>My grandmother always told me to feed wild animals, and even if she isn't exactly a wild animal, she's just as wary.</i>

He extended his hand, still moving cautiously, palm up with the bar on it. <b>"Are you hungry?"</b> he asked, smiling, trying to look as friendly as possible. <i>She looks like she hasn't had a proper meal in years, but maybe she hasn't?</i> Anyway, he'd never met anyone who actively disliked granola bars, so that seemed to be a safe place to start. With a little luck, she would know how to open the package and that it wasn't poison. <i>Maybe I should have thought to open it first... but no helping it now.</i>
 
Fawn watched him as he bent down and then picked something up from his backpack. She looked at his hand as he reached it out, instinctively taking a step back. As he did nothing else, she stepped a few steps towards him again. Not too close though. She glanced at him as she reached her hand out, and she quickly grabbed it and stepped a few steps back. She continued watching him as she licked on it. She looked at the bar a bit surprised, and then took a closer look at it. Her eyes widened and she threw it away, towards him, and then stepped back slightly.

She watched him with a suspicious and maybe even a bit frightened gaze. She growled and showed her teeth before she looked around, not spotting any obvious place to run or hide. In a matter of seconds though, she ran towards an old tree with plenty of branches to climb, and climbed it. She stopped as she felt as safe as she could feel in the, to her, threathning situation, covered by the large amount of leaves that grew there.
 
Orion stayed still as she grabbed the bar, then slowly dropped his hand again, frustrated, as she threw the bar back towards him. <i>She's just like a wild animal.</i> He waited as she looked around, then started forwards as she ran away. <b>"Hey!"</b> he shouted, then stopped, thinking better of it. She'd probably just get even more afraid. Perhaps he should try something else.

Slowly, keeping his movements small, he walked to the tree she had run up, sitting down near the trunk and relaxing. Though he couldn't see her, and he wouldn't put it past her to jump to another tree to get down, he couldn't exactly climb up after her or leave her, so this was one of the only options. He'd just wait until she came down; eventually she'd get tired, right?
 
Fawn had been listening carefully for any movements or signs of him trying to climb the tree - she wouldn't have been surprised if he started climbing it, since it was pretty easy to do. She felt a bit reliefed though, as she realized that he stayed down there. After sitting still for a few minutes, she slowly moved to be able to see him. She spotted him as he was sitting down there, realizing that maybe it hadn't been the brightest idea. Eventually he'll move, she thought. She glanced towards the lake although she wasn't that thirsty anymore. As she thought about it, she was the one trapped, not him. He could walk away whenever he felt like it - she had to wait for him to move. And what if he didn't? She didn't have anything eatable up there, and at least he had water, she thought. She was determined not to give up that easily though, thinking that maybe he would give up soon.

She made it as comfortable as she could, sitting in the tree, glancing at him now and then. What was he doing there? She was confused. Why didn't he climb the tree? She looked up to the sky, realizing that she'd have to sit in the tree for the whole day, if he waited for that long, and then move at night - if he was gone by then.

A couple of hours later, she was thirsty, but most of all, tired. She had been up for a long time during the night, and by now, she'd usually be asleep. She fought the tiredness the best she could, trying to keep her eyes open although they didn't want to. She yawned, and had yawned plenty of times the last few hours that she had been sitting in the tree. She thought of climbing higher to rest some without risking him getting to her too fast, but felt that it'd be too risky if she fell down. She didn't usually sleep in trees. She moved down a bit, still not enough for him to get to her unless he climbed some, but not as far up as she had been before. There, on a steady branch, she leaned towards the tree itself and closed her eyes. And in a couple of minutes, she was asleep.
 
Orion fought the urge to close his eyes, wishing he'd brought a book. Waiting is 99% of any hunt, he reminded himself. Just be patient. Though it didn't look as though she was planning on moving any time soon. "Damn," he mumbled, checking his watch. It had already been something like five hours, and it looked like Fawn had actually gone to sleep in the tree. He was going to be here for a long while if instincts served him.

After almost two hours of increasingly desperate attempts at self-distraction, at one point venturing to the point of playing chess in the dirt with himself, irritation began to overpower reason. He debated climbing the tree, but quickly decided it would be futile after eyeing the spindly branches. Slowly, his eyes closed, and this time he didn't attempt to stay awake, sliding into a half-sitting position. Within ten minutes, he had fallen into a stupor, aware that he'd probably regret it but unable to resist the Sandman any longer.
 
Fawn slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She remembered what had happened and glanced down to see if he was still there - yes, he was. She glanced to the sky. The sun was shining, even though it wasn't that bright, it wasn't night. She swallowed. Water. She looked down again, she was unsure whether he'd try to get her if she got down there or not. She knew she couldn't stay in the tree much longer though. If he hadn't moved in all this time, he probably wouldn't move in the coming hours either, she thought, and realized that she wouldn't be able to sit in the tree for that long.

She climbed a branch slowly and carefully, to see if he was awake. After one or two minutes of observing him, she got to the conclusion that he was sleeping. At least his eyes are closed, she thought, as she began to make her way down to the ground. As her feet touched the ground she made her way to the water being as silent as she could, glancing at him now and then. When she finally made it to the lake, she drank and drank, just wanting the thirst to go away.
 
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