RP:A Merging of Minds
Part of the A Skull by Any Other Name Arc
The Swamp and the Plains
Senka really needs to get a hang of this punishment-reward system considering how she tends to get stuck on the punishment part of it. Skylei waits for her to open the door first, like the lower ranking member of her pack ought to, but rather than flashing her even a single (admittedly bloody) smile, Senka only opens the door with more passion and anger than such an act deserves. The albino doesn’t even look back at the other member of their unhealthy relationship before her soul is over the border and her mind crosses yet another threshold. There’s whiteness, blinding bright nothingness, and no longer is there a floor to stand on or walls to guide her way. Senka raises a hand she finds doesn’t exist and when her eyes turn to where Skylei must be she can only sense her near. Instinctively the beast does as she always does when her eyes fail: depend on her nose. The halfling’s scent is near, powerful now that there is no blood to accompany it. Instead the wolf is sure she can smell the familiar scent of the forest…Her head that does not exist turns and finds a dot of black, hovering motionless before her before expanding rapidly. It reaches around itself, swallowing the white and leaving darkness in its wake and before too long it comes terribly, dangerously close. The lycan tenses but rather than pain or even any kind of impact the albino only finds herself staring into the black inky depths. Darkness with the occasional tiny black speck that is accompanied by more familiar scents of birds and mud and pixies stretches out before her and around her as far as she can see. Wait. Pixies? Only now does Senka become aware of her body resting on hard thin slates, a body has once more taken the shape of what she considers her true nature. (Although Skylei, after their little trip, might disagree). There is something poking in her side and her maw still hurts with the searing pain of the elf’s magical fire but the dried blood of pixies on her tongue isn’t imagined and for the first time in what must’ve been hours: they’re real. She’s real and back in her body even if the feeling in her limbs is only slowly returning and her senses are still awakening to the world around her. As she gathers her wits, she becomes aware of something hard and bony poking in her side and the scent of Skylei far more dominant than she’s used to it being. That’s right, they were stuffed in a cage together the beast remembers now. A groggy snort escapes her nostrils and finally the wolf attempts to open the black lids of her eyes. They sting and itch, irritated by the full blast of the pixie dust they’ve received, and the world is a little blurry but it’s familiar and real. Real, real, real! No more touchy-two walkers, no more threat of Lottie returning to snack on her sanity, no more talking sku-wait. There’s definitely a skull on a platform, close enough for it to glare down upon them. Well, the wolf will deal with that later. For now she squirms and attempts to get her paws back beneath her heavy, groggy body. Which would be a lot easier if she didn’t have Skylei’s body insisting on getting in her way.
Skylei follows obediently after her alpha, trying not to jump at the violence with which Senka insists on opening the door. As she steps across the threshold she is greeted with the same brilliant bright flash of whiteness and an overwhelming sense of nothing and everything all at the same time. Unlike the albino, Sky has nothing to rely on; no nose, no super-sight, no touchy-feely nonsense and she simply feels as though she is falling through space. She keeps falling through this non-existent space and never comes to a stop although the sensation lessens until she feels as though she might be still. Her eyes have been open this whole time but the world slowly comes into focus, piece by piece, like a puzzle being put together. The first thing she sees is whiteness. That confuses the poor half-elf’s mind; hadn’t she just come out of the whiteness? But it’s a different kind of whiteness to the bight brilliance that had been the Labyrinths parting gift. What is she looking at? She sneezes. She can smell burning fur, pixie dust and mud. There’s fur in her mouth. Holy crap, she’s resting her head on the lycan as though she is a pillow rather than a savage killing machine. There’s very little space to move inside the vine-woven cage, but Skylei instantly jumps away from her makeshift ‘pillow’ with a squeak and attempts to drag her boy elbows away from Senka’s sides. This is less than successful Having only taken a single hit of dust, Skylei seems to have come to her senses a great deal quicker than the wolf is and her eyes are vast around furiously attempting to reassess the situation. How long had they been gone for? And what of those three pixies, the ones that Senka had sent away? Had they escaped from the hell that is the Labyrinth? Skylei can ascertain very little with a big ball of white fur in her way, but she counts her blessings. At least they’re back in reality, she hopes (if this is not reality then it is a cruel torment at the hands of the Labyrinth). At least they’re still alive… for now. The pixies surround the cage performing the same strange ritual dance they had done earlier. Sky opens her mouth to whisper to the wolf, “Are you okay…? Are you here?” Please for the love of the gods let Senka have returned to her body too.
Senka has one more two-walker to deal with but at least this one will do. Skylei proves this yet again as she has the sense to jump away from the fluffy wolf, as far as possible, the moment she realizes she’s lying on top of fangs and claws. Luckily before the albino has quite noticed, occupied with the painful itching in her nose and eyes. The halfling’s movements rock the cage that they’re in and somewhere the beast notices and stores the information away, even if most of her is fixated on opening her eyes long enough to blink at the world. For the first time the wolf is crying in Sky’s presence but it’s not with emotion. The itching has gotten to the point where her body is taking measures to remove it from her eyes and with a restless snort she runs a large paw over eyes and snout alike. “Are you okay…?” Such a two-walker thing to ask, “Are you here?” The wolf swings her head to regard the blurry form that is Skylei and far, far too easily does her mind reach, connect and respond. “I’m fine. Can you fight?” The husky ‘voice’ is annoyed and no wonder: there’s a large pot brewing over a fire that practically has their name on it. Or that of the skull, didn’t it say something about being sacrificed? The wolf has blurry eyesight but she could swear it turned to look at them expectantly…But then that could’ve been a weird movement of a pixie she, in her current state, mistook for something else. In fact, most pixies are completely caught up in the high pitched chanting that others might mistake for music. All but the three Senka took with her which, she notices with predictable satisfaction, are sitting quite still and lifeless. The Labyrinth took them ages ago but the albino might still take their hearts. In fact, if she has her way, she’ll take –all- their hearts…
Skylei looks around for her weapons at Senka’s words. Unsurprisingly her bow is not on her back and nor are her arrows. Then again, what good would bow and arrows do against a for so tiny? She might as well as well be unarmed. Which is good because she is completely unarmed. Save for the fact that she can produce fire at her fingertips, the half-elf has nothing at her disposal. After a brief moment of panic, the half-elf’s own mind seems to reach out without her even thinking about it and lock in with Senka’s “Enough to crush a couple of pixies” She ignores the fact that there are tears streaming from the wolf’s eyes. In fact she doesn’t even look at the albino after she realises that her eyes are leaking. Gods forbid Senka spotted her looking. “Then”, Skylei thinks, “She would definitely try to eat me.” This new connection between their minds is unadulterated and uncontrollable, at least at the half-breed’s end. Most of Skylei’s thoughts stay private, in her own head but there are a few, like that one which seem to slip through the net of privacy and, with very little difficulty at all are transmitted into Senka’s mind. The only way Skylei can tell that her brain has locked onto Senka’s is the feelings that seem to pass through the mind link without barriers. Senka transmits to Skylei murderous intent and Skylei sends back subjugated fear. It’s a healthy relationship, that’s for sure. She isn’t even sure the extent to which this link might go. Skylei can only hope that it will be a short-lived effect of the pixie dust and the trauma of the Labyrinth. Lifting her hands to somewhere where the wolf can see them, Skylei allows a few tiny sparks to burst forth. Her head is still hazy and it takes more effort than it should to bring forth even the tiniest bit of mana. This time she actually speaks, “Say the word and I’ll get us out of here.” The final word is thought but also inadvertently transmitted “Hopefully.” Urgh, this mind link is going to be taxing.
Senka really doesn’t see anything wrong as far as her relationship with the elf goes. But then, it’s questionable whether the psychopath has had a single healthy relationship in her life. Even Skylei’s uncontrolled thought has the wolf snorting in amusement of the sadistic kind. One that takes over quite suddenly, almost like fondness, and bubbles beneath her skin even as the wolf turns her head away to eye their cage. She doesn’t even bother to correct Skylei’s assumption which is likely close to the truth anyway. Only to the wolf, there’s nothing wrong with that. She’s bigger, fiercer, stronger and deserves a little pack pup to look up to h-…Skylei better not have caught that little pack reference, or even that strange fondness the albino has for her, or the wolf will never get rid of her. Annoyed, mostly at the parental instincts that continuously trick her into forming a pack despite everything, the albino wrinkles her maw and shakes her head with the agitation of an animal. There’s murderous intent alright, not just the hunger of an animal but the hunger of her kind. The kind of urge to rip and tear and tug what is inside out until there’s nothing left but destruction and blood. It’s making her edgy, rising to her paws even though that means that her spine firmly presses against the surprisingly sturdy cage, considering how it was knocked about before. She wants to feel pixies pop between her fangs like candy long before she’ll even consider escaping the swampy lowland that had held the promise of alligator before them as light in front of a moth. No matter, now, they’re out of their minds and in their own bodies and the lycan needs to murder. No wonder that in her excitement her own thoughts leak into the halfling’s brain although they’re only half-formed, instinctual and sharp despite the magical dust that has Senka glittering like a badly written vampire. “Him first,” Her eyes are on the pixie closest to the cage, “Take his body, twist it, drop it and use the shock to grab that one…and that…Then two more steps and I should be able to get the old ugly one that spoke to me before…” Senka doesn't exactly say the word...But her ready pose is an answer in itself.
Skylei takes hold of two of the bars of the cage. Vine woven, Skylei assumes she should be able to burn straight through them. As surreptitiously as she can, the half-elf allows her hands to burst into full blown flames. And waits. And nothing happens. Releasing the bars, the fire disappears and Skylei prods at the vine like material. Some form of pixie magic has clearly made them flame retardant. “Crap” Sky thinks before gripping the bar again for a second attempt. It is then that she notices that the warmed vines have become much more pliable to the touch, like molten plastic, bendable to the form that she wishes them to take. Peering over her shoulder to Senka she mutters, “This is going to take longer than I thought. Watch for pixies.” Her hands relight and move up and down the two bars, heating and bending, heating and bending. Quickly she has made a hold big enough for her to slide through, but Senka is so much larger in her lycanthrope form that she has to work for some time further to create a hole that she hopes is large enough for the duo. Her heart races as she completes the work, hopeing and praying that none of the pixies notice what she is doing. Fortunately they are all to busy revering the skull-sacrifice-thing that they couldn’t give less of a damn what the ‘still soundly sleeping’ captives are doing. Those that are meant to be guarding seem too caught up in watching the festivities to turn to look at the wolf and half-blood. With a final glance over her shoulder, Skylei nods to Senka before sliding out of the hole, hands first. Before half of her body has left the cage, she has hold of the first pixie. The squeak that emits from the tiny body is cut short as the half-elf crushes his tiny lungs and twists the body between deft hands, the pixie is literally broken into pieces, as tiny bones and organs shatter on the floor beside her. Pushing herself fully out of the cage so that Senka can escape behind her, Sky grabs the second pixie who, as Senka predicted is staring at her with wide eyes. Skylei grabs him and squeezes until those wide eyes literally pop out of his skull and then throws the broken body aside.
Senka is reduced to guard duty. Normally she might be a little grumpy about that but for now the wolf is willing to do anything as long as she gets out of the cage. Her heart is beating faster and faster with the promise of blood, her skin is prickly and overly sensitive and her maw is already filling with saliva. She’s hungry, eager for murder, and doesn’t quite realize how much of her thoughts have leaked into Skylei’s brain until the woman is catching the wannabe butterfly and twisting it with her hands. Honestly, the wolf had only been planning her own murder path but to see the woman, who shuddered and vomited when confronted with the psychopath’s fantasies, kill is almost as good as doing it herself. For a moment the Elder forgets herself enough to be proud. But then she’s squeezing through the bars (a tight fit, costing her precious seconds) and joining the Halfling in their killing spree. It’s a different kind of hunting. A kind of hunting that has nothing to do with two-walkers, nothing to do with animals, but everything to do with what makes lycanthropes beasts rather than animals. With their minds connected, Senka fully forgets Skylei’s elven nature as she views her only as a hunting partner. Pixies are caught in her maw, their little hands trapped in the dust pouches they reached for, and collected one after another. The beast barely pauses in her rampage, opening her maw as often as she’s closing it and paying no heed to the few little survivors still clinging to their lives as she chomps on their next clanmate. Their squeaky cries for help mix with the ringing in her ears and the panting of her adrenaline fuelled breath and it pushes the lycan further into the mindless state of her kin. There are pixies reaching for their dust but the element of surprise is gone and the albino is far, far too fast. Her eyesight is still blurry but she isn’t really using it in the first place, trusting her nose and ears to take her to the nearest pixie. Soon, there will be less pixies willing to charge and fight and once they fly high and out of her reach, the albino will be in trouble. For now, however, Senka does everything in her power to paint her white fur with the blood of the tiny critters that have made her life so difficult.
Senka’s murderous nature has well and truly leaked into Skylei’s conscious for it is without thought that the half-elf grabs at pixies crushing them, squashing them and breaking their tiny little bodies beneath her feet and fists, with naught but rage and adrenaline, and Senka’s mind, to fuel her. Blood from those tiny bodies soon covers her hands, miniature organs and even bones sliding between her fingers. One particularly unlucky pixie gets his spine ripped clean out by the half-elf’s hands, something she retains for further use. Perhaps it is the spoils of the kill that the bestial corruption of her nature demands she takes, or perhaps it is because the spine serves as a tiny sword, perfect for skewering pixies on. Either way, it becomes her primary weapon being thrust in the direction of the devilish beasts with their hands so full of dust. Pixies start now to realise the demonic nature of wolf and two-walker, some seeking refuge in the sky whilst others valiantly fight on against the onslaught of pure psychotic murder. Perhaps it is not surprising that with their minds so connected, Senka’s nature has taken dominance over Skylei’s. It’s a mere reiteration of the world in which the two of them exist; Senka the alpha and Skylei the pup. Skylei doesn’t even remember that the lycan is fighting alongside her until she catches sight of the blood splattered maw, with pixie remains dripping from her teeth. Skylei smiles. Then she squashes another flying beast between her palms.
Senka is in her element. After the torture of exploring her own mind and the uncomfortable experience of exploring Skylei’s it’s this that revives her. Blood between her teeth, limbs and guts falling freely from between her bared fangs, in her fur and an enemy that doesn’t stand a chance. A sudden sting in her right ear has her turning her head, her maw opening to crunch the pixie’s head between her front teeth before she even realizes the sting is his tiny little spear piercing right through her ear. The beast doesn’t bother to remove it, she barely feels the pain with all this adrenaline pumping through her veins. But the sting has made her look up from her cloud of pixies to realize that, although they have the upper hand now, it won’t last very long. They’re already retreating and their tiny little hands are reaching for that damned dust… “Get the skull,” Her mental ‘voice’ seems hoarser than usual, thick with the hunger still not satisfied by the blood on her tongue, “We’re leaving.” Confident the pup will heed her instructions, the beast pushes off with her front feet to instead dance on her hind legs. Here the difference between a pure wolf and Senka becomes obvious, for though she looks like one her hips are still capable of turning enough for the beast to stand comfortably. She does so rarely, but it’s undeniably convenient now that she has pixies to pluck from the sky like overly ripe apples. The stinging in her arms tells her that the pixies are fighting back, despite the ease with which she pulls them from the skies, and as she crushes them between her claws their spears worm their way between her toes uncomfortably. She’ll have plenty of resting and cleaning to do, once this murder spree is over. Best she’d enjoy it to the fullest, then…And so she does, snapping, swinging, balancing and catching pixie after pixie to deliver a certain death. If only they were a little bigger, she would’ve enjoyed looking for treasure in their chests…
Skylei receives her orders from her alpha and obeys. She stops smashing up pixies for long enough to make a break to where the skull sits forgotten, and stick her hand inside of his empty head to get a hold of him. Is he staring at her? Skylei literally bears her teeth and growls at the creature… skull… thing she holds. Dear gods, when did she become so bestial; so like Senka? Is this how quickly the animal nature can take control of a person when their sanity is fragile? It’s a terrifying image of humanity if that is the case. One can only hope that once they escape from the carnage of pixie murder that Sky will retain her sensibilities once they have escaped from the carnage they have created. Tiny bodies literally litter the ritual ground, the pot has been knocked to the ground and Skylei, skull in one hand, tiny pixie spine in the other thrusts her arms wildly beating pixies out of her face and hair and clothes. They tug at her long locks, trying to attract her attention so that they can fill her face with that dust again, to subdue her, make her fall into that unpeaceful slumber. With Senka’s mind so tightly bound to her own, Skylei would hate to imagine what that slumber might resemble for either girl or beast now. And so she shields her eyes with the skull, telling the beast, “Let’s go. It’s done.” The more pixies that she can destroy in this escape, the better. Skylei’s tasted blood and she craves more.
Senka has been accused of being a bad influence on Skylei and it has never been more true. However, the wolf sees it as an improvement and something within her settles, loses some of the distrust she still had for the Halfling, when Sky goes and fetches the skull obediently. It’s dangerous waters for a former Alpha, Senka can get used to ordering others around far too easily. But there was the responsibility and affection to deal with, too…A spear reaching for her eye forces the beast to duck and just like that she’s back to all fours. Just as well, for Skylei has the skull and they’re ready to leave. Senka snarls to show she’s heard, turning her head to catch another unfortunate soul. The pixie struggles despite her firm hold on its head and just like that the wolf pauses to set her large paw on its tiny body so that she might free it from its head. The shower of blood that comes from that discourages enough pixies for the wolf to catch up to Skylei and without a single second of doubt, the ghost of a wolf passes her. Not to flee before the other, merely to guide her out of the swamp as she has guided her in. Skylei has forgotten herelf and settled in her role as pack and so has Senka: so very ready to guide her pack to safety. She was protector, once, as well as murderer. And though she now functions as both, it cannot be denied that the latter title will always suit her better.
Skylei follows, as the albino leads the strange little pack back through the more familiar territory of the swamp. Whilst she’d had some difficulty negotiating the swampy terrain when the two had first ventured into the pixies lair, Skylei now moves with the ease and grace that might befit the wolf. Even though the carnage had been left behind, Skylei’s mind continues to soak up Senka’s influence. The half-elf is now a barely controlled bundle of feral energy, still craving blood, running high off the thrill of the hunt and following after her alpha as though it is second nature. It’s a miracle that she remains standing on only two legs rather than falling to four; the influence of the wolf has extended that far into her psyche. Perhaps the only reason that she has done so is that the skull remains in her hand. Every so often, as she jumps between grassy clumps and over boggy patches, she would look down to the skull in her hand, pull it close to her face and growl threateningly. As the retreat from the lair of the pixiefolk continues, Sky would eventually begin to take greater control over her own mind, murderous intent dissipates and she stops growling at the skull like a feral beast, rather eyeing it with a scholar’s suspicion. What does remain of Senka’s psyche is the fact that Sky feels no guilt for the destruction the pair leave behind them and the blood that stains her hands.
Senka has survived many years of hardship, seen so many different sides of nature and dealt with all of them. Her muscles are ever powerful, trained every single day simply by the wolf’s lifestyle, and toes spread readily to find footing in the damp soil only to squeeze together to make sure said soil does not hold on. The white is a ghost among the mud, ears perked and red eyes focused as they only are during a hunt. There’s adrenaline, yes, but it is fading with the knowledge that the hunt is almost over and she has no more flesh to feed on. Beside the pixie limbs still stuck between her teeth, that is. Slowly but surely there are less trees to weave around, fewer alligators lurking in the water that the beast neatly guides her packmate around, and their footholds become surer with every step. Wolves are made for long hunts, made for wearing down their prey by stamina rather than speed, and it’s because of this that the beast is barely out of breath by the time they reach the harder soils of the open plains. It’s here that the wolf slows, shaking her fur to get rid of a large cloud of glittering dust and raising red eyes to see how well Skylei has caught up. If there is concern in her usual bold and intense gaze, it’s not something that comes from within her. If anything, it’s the albino who is beginning to feel the effects of their lingering connection. “Can you continue?” The husky ‘voice’ enters Skylei’s mind far too easily, but it’s not bristly with her usual violent impatience. If anything, Senka seems genuinely concerned for her little mind companion. “Oh yeah I’m fine,” Comes the drawling voice of their not-quite-damsel in distress, “Much better now I’m not about to end in a pixie’s speciality soup.”
Skylei is a good twenty or so paces behind Senka. Whilst she might be running on elven legs with the footing of a wolf, she simply cannot compete with the speed and power of the albino. When Senka’s words enter her mind the half-elf takes a few seconds to figuratively catch her breath and literally catch up to where the wolf waits. In that time, the skull that she hold within her hand offers his sarcastic response. In the shock of hearing the skull speak outside of the labyrinth, Skylei near enough bowls him across the tufts of grass in the direction of Senka. “Watch it!” He admonishes her as he rolls to a halt next to one of Senka’s front paws, “I’m not made for some kind of strange swamp sport.” Skylei keeps moving whilst the skull speaks to the duo again, until she is standing aside the wolf. She doesn’t respond to Senka’s earlier question, her hands are pressed to her thighs and she bend over to catch a few deep breaths as her mind reaches for Senka’s, “You hear him too.” It’s not a question, more a statement to confirm the mutual insanity that is assaulting their minds. After a few gulping breaths her hands move to run through her hair. Green swamp scum from the water it had been trailed in earlier is combined with glittering dust and a variety of swamp foliage. Skylei pulls a face as she pulls her hand, stained with greenery and glitter, in front of her eyes. Disgusting.
Senka should really be less used to talking skulls. Running around with necromancers for years on end does that to a person. Nevertheless the albino stiffens as at the first few words before realizing it’s “only” talking. Not entering their minds, not tormenting their flesh, merely talking. Not even Skylei’s toss has the wolf startled, then, as she merely follows the path the bone makes before it comes to rest by her paws. “Yes, I heard him.” The wolf doesn’t seem too surprised that the woman decides to enter her mind, or perhaps she’s unaware. With a quiet huff the beast lowers her noble head, and opens her maw to clamp her teeth around the humanoid skull. Her maw seems perfectly suited to wrap around the smooth bone, to crush it between her fangs and feast on the flesh inside. But there is nothing to pick out of this skull and, anyway, it’s been a while since she’s taken on a pet. More sentimentality, but again the psychopath isn’t aware of it. “We better keep moving. We killed enough they might come after us,” There’s wisdom of experience in there, things learned the hard way about –other’s- sentimentality. Of vengeance. She’s got the scars to prove it. “We need a den. Somewhere to lay and let the buzz of the hunt run its course.” The beast has no suggestions of her own but that doesn’t stop her from turning to head on, head held determinately high as she won’t let fatigue catch up on her yet. There’s only one way to travel back to civilization but once there, they’ll have to decide where to lay low and rest. Enjoy the buzz of adrenaline and the warm sleep that comes after.
Skylei is rather glad when Senka takes the skull into her maw. The eyes point outwards and, in spite of the fact that they are naught more than empty holes, Skylei could swear that he is staring at her again. She feels a growl rise within her, though her human-elf sensibilities have taken over control of her actions and that growl is suppressed before it has a chance to leave her body. She simply nods in agreement as the wolf turns to leave the spot where they had paused to rest, or simply to allow her to rest. As they begin to travel further out of the swamp and out towards the plains, Skylei would offer a suggestion on where the pair should go, directly broadcast to the albino’s mind. She doesn’t have the breath to speak aloud given the pace that they’ve been travelling at, “Once we get onto the plains, we can head into Sage. I know a hollow just on the outskirts, quiet and secluded.” The suggestion is placed tentatively into Senka’s mind, the half-elf waiting for the approval of her alpha before offering any more details or directions. Skylei has fallen back into the timid position she occupies when running with the wolf. She no longer feels like pack or little pup and instead she feels like the scared little creature that had run heedlessly into the swamp after the albino rather than the crazed beast that had destroyed pixies without thought.
Senka doesn’t even turn her head when Skylei enters her mind, although one ear turns back as she hears the timidity. There’s no room for that in a pack, and it prickles her temper. But it doesn’t spark it, for the albino is still wallowing in the excitement and pleasure that she always feels after a kill. It’s with blood on her snout that the beast feels most alive. “Quiet and secluded is what we need,” Senka merely comments, slipping as easily into Skylei’s mind as a whisper in her ear. The skull would snort, if he could, but Hank will have to make do with a hollow clatter of its teeth hitting one another. “You need more than that after the journey your minds just took. You’ll spend weeks piecing it all together again!” Harold seems far too happy about it and in direct response to that, Senka uses her well practised punishment and reward system. A quick shake of her large head makes the world spin for the skull, eyeballs or no eyeballs, and with an impatient huff she dismisses his words. Just like that. Already the plains are opening up and the sweet scent of mice and birds and –life- enters her nose right through those sparkles. Ah…even her mind seems clearer now that there’s no rotting plant life, poking pixies and snapping alligators to distract her. She doesn’t bother with words, then, only turns her blood stained head to look expectantly at her companion. Skylei’s turn to lead the way.
Skylei does as the albino expects. With that glance Skylei takes the lead and stats to head north. Her ranger’s senses tell her that there is a well-trodden path, the path that Skylei had walked down from Cenril that morning, just to the east of them and she does her best to avoid it. This is for two reasons. The first is that Skylei doesn’t want anyone she might know to see her running with a blood smeared wolf. The half-elf already has a reputation for being somewhat… odd. She has no need to make herself more of a social pariah by being the girl that runs with wolves. The second is that she knows the look in Senka’s eyes as she comes down from the high of the hunt. Perhaps it is that strange lucidity between their two minds that grants Skylei this insight, but she worries that, if Senka and Sky come across a lone traveller on the path, Senka might not be able to control the bloodlust within her. Now that it has been ascertained that the pixies will not be following them, Skylei slows her pace to a quick jog rather than the fast-paced run she had been forced into as she followed the albino. She’d keep up this pace until, eventually the greenery of Sage begins to appear to the west and Skylei would pause briefly. She attempts to locate exactly where they are and which way to go for a few seconds before heading into the greenery. As far as Sky is concerned, there’s no need for words between the duo as they travel onwards.