Naevius' wounds had finally healed; it was a painful and slow process, but he couldn't complain; after all, he was alive! He survived!
Then his idiotic smile disappeared when he saw Auva patting the — now — dead wolf. "Why?" was what filled his mind, over and over again. They had already died a horrible death by that beast, and yet, why would she show empathy for him?
Walking in her direction, the boy opened his mouth to ask, then closed it. He couldn't bring himself to do it. If she felt remorse for killing it, if she had empathized, he wouldn't be the one to say if it was fair or not.
But Auva beat him in asking something.
"About befor…" Before finishing, Naevius cut her, swinging his hands in the air
"Don't worry about it. Just… why?" Auva rolled her eyes.
"I was going to explain it before you cut me!"
"Oh, I… Well, go on." She laughed, then sat on the grass.
"You see, my Divine Blessing let me borrow a little of someone's capacity… if I bite them, or eat their flesh." Naevius didn't say anything while looking at her, and even if he said something, it wasn't unexpected for her; after all, her entire life had been about what others thought about her
"And that includes part of their personality?" For a moment, she widened her eyes, then came back to her senses and started talking right after him.
"Kinda, I don't borrow their personalities, but their 'instincts'. The more I bit and ate those wolves, the more I wanted to become the strongest, the more I wanted to hunt. That's why I screamed at you, I wanted to see if my instincts to live were still mine."
"That's why you didn't say a word?" Auva nodded, agreeing with him.
"I couldn't, I was lost within myself." She took a deep breath and got up. "Lost on what they wanted to do with their lives."
Naevius didn't say a word, just a smile of comfort, the best he could do for her. She returned a smile to him. The girl pointed to the forest. It was dangerous, but she knew they could do it! And if they couldn't do it, they would try one more time, and if defeat greeted them again, one more time.
"There's probably a river somewhere there? What do you say?"
"What do you take me for? A coward? Let's go!"
Entering the forest, Naevius felt a chill down his spine, but he washed that feeling away. Now, he wasn't alone anymore. It hadn't changed a bit; the trees and their sticks still swirled more and more as they got inside its grasp. The sun and moon didn't have much force deep in the forest, but they had enough strength to guide them through
Eventually, as they walked deep into the forest, the footprints Naevius had seen earlier started to reappear.
"What if we follow it this time?" Auva stopped for a second
"Actually, I think we can."
Now they weren't just randomly walking in the forest; they had something guiding them, a dim yet existent hope. Following those footprints was a torture in the sense that the path was becoming more difficult with more obstacles to stop them. But it didn't stop them.
As they reached the end of the trail, Naevius scratched the back of his head. It was strange. It suddenly stopped in a random place, as if something had gotten the person walking.
"You sure it isn't your footprints, right?"
"Yeah, I wouldn't be in the clearing if it was." Auva nodded, satisfied by the response
"So… what is the reason it's end?" Naevius shrugged
Silence came, both of them lost in their own minds, trying to find a justifiable reason for the trail's sudden end.
"Wait! The trees!" As Naevius looked up, he saw some trees with broken branches, as if someone had tried to step on top of branches, failing and breaking them.
As Naevius stopped talking, Auva was already climbing the trees. The boy remained still for her arrival; eventually, she jumped from the top with a not-so-happy smile.
"Nothing too. It was as if the person disappeared."
As silence arose again, Naevius smiled, hearing the calm and cozy sounds of the environment; the plants moving, the birds singing, the water flowing… wait, water?
"No fucking way! Auva!" The girl quickly looked at him, and fear struck when she saw the boy quickly running deeper into the forest.
Of course, she didn't let herself get lost from the boy, quickly following him behind. Finally, Naevius reached his goal, the origin of the water sounds. A lake! Auva appeared from the bushes, her expression carrying anger, as she raised her eyes to scold Naevius. She saw the beautiful lake, and any type of anger left her face.
"How did you…?"
"I heard it."
"Heard? This… well, it doesn't matter; we found somewhere to rest." She sighed, then gave the back of Naevius' neck a strong slap
"OUCH!"
"You fucking never run away from me that way again, understood?" A quick tear of pain left Naevius' eyes.
"Sorry, Mom." Naevius chuckled as Auva's face became red.
"I was just… well, worried I would stay alone in that forest."
"My bad, I won't do it again." She smiled, then scanned the place one more time.
Auva walked by the lake's edge, and the place was perfect for a rest. Even though it was already night, they still had some time to sleep and replenish their energy. She waved her hands at Naevius, calling him. As he walked up to her, Auva gave him some instructions. She asked if he could search nearby for some materials to make a temporary shelter for both of them.
He didn't complain, after all, it was a good plan, and a way to say sorry for earlier.
They spent a lot of time building their rest place; they were exhausted, but it was rewarding when they finally could lie on the ground without a wolf trying to bite their neck off.