`` still night shiver

[wulfbayne]

he could see the silhouette of the moon behind a thin layer of clouds as they slowly passed over the pale face of the night goddess. a cool current of wind passed by, pressing its cold breath against his skin and tussling his hair before twirling off into the distance. the grasses rustled quietly and only the thud of fox's hooves mingling with adele's soft padding kept a rhythm in orion's mind. when they had first started out clea had had a tight grip on orion's waist - now that was relaxed and she had her body leaning against his back. he could hear her breathing gently - and wasn't sure if she was asleep or not. he really didn't want to look back - if he did, and she was asleep, they would end up face-to-face, and if she woke up she'd think him some kind of pervert. not worth it.

patting the colts neck orion murmured a few soothing words to the horse before glancing down at adele - whose ears were erect, eyes alert, and nose sniffing. "what's out there?" orion asked his dog. adele answered by breaking into a quick sprint. "adele!" orion called out, "come back here you annoying mutt!" but she was off. what in the world was she after?

just as the thought crossed his mind a strong wind struck orion and filled his nose with a strange, sweet scent. what was that? he tugged fox about to face the wind and steered him in the direction adele had gone. the dog had vanished into a grouping of trees, and upon arrival, adele was crouched and locked onto her prey. orion shifted to glance at clea and made sure she was balanced. "stay here," he said and dropped off of fox's saddle.

orion dropped to the ground beside the dog and looked through the bush towards an opening where the smell was originating. what he saw shocked him. a mizuno female - one fitting the description of who he was after. orion readied his bow and knocked an arrow. he aimed carefully and waited for the perfect shot...

-----

azusa sat beneath a tree, staring at the fire before her. she was relishing the quiet night and the warmth of the crackling fire. her nerves were still shaken from the incident at the village... had hindari not been there... had he not been there none of that would have happened. i shouldn't think like that, azusa thought, he saved me... therefore i am in his debt... once again. now they were heading somewhere - where? azusa wasn't sure. since hindari and herself had left the man hadn't said a word. all she knew to do was follow him. and now it was time for a break. they had been going non stop for hours now, and this was the first time she had been able to sit down. as she contemplated their destination she heard a slight rustle in the brush. her eyes shifted towards the bush. not two seconds later the fires light glinted off of something heading swiftly towards her face. the next moment there was a thud, followed by a soft wind as the air had been displaced. azusa's eyes shifted towards the object and came to rest upon an arrow embedded in the tree not an inch from her face. azusa released a frightened gasp and moved away from the spot she had been sitting - not a second later another arrow embedded itself into the tree, missing her by mere centimeters. what was going on?!

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[Administration]

Her eyes closed and gentle breaths emitting from her lips, Clea was in her own world of fantasy and wonder. Dancing with a mysterious being that held familiar tendencies in a field of beautiful flowers. All was much too bright in the features of the male to tell who it was. But Clea was enjoying her time with him in the dream. Surely it was her husband, no? Though the familiar tendencies didn't seem to lie in him. It seemed she caught these familiar from a different individual. But whom it was she could not place in the dreamland of glowing gold flowers and beautiful weather. No one cloud cursed the sky in this dream. It was truely a dream to remember and escape to when in stress.

An interuption to the dream was Orion's voice as he yelled for his companion, Adele. Clea's soft eyes opened and she gave a small yawn, a small, dimintuve hand covering her mouth.
"Orion...?" She whispered sleepily, feeling his presence slip off the horse and outstretching her other hand to catch herself. "What's wrong?"

Stay here. The command seemed to wake her up even more. Was there danger aloof? Senses picking up, Clea straightened herself and glanced around the area. In the tranquil night it seemed as if nothing were to be of concern. But this was to the dim human mind who thought not of danger. Danger lies in every corner in the nighttime. She watched Orion disappear, growing suddenly uncomfortable and having a feeling of loneliness. But obediently did she await his return to her side.

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