It near went completely against his rationality to dare and peek out from behind the tree once more. The trundling shuffle of the Ixali as they crushed fallen, yet solid branches beneath their great talons had grown so close now that it had almost sounded as though they were right on top of them - a concern that would prove to not linger very far from the truth.
Though the creatures had initially been pushing in their direction, at some point while Andre wasn't looking, they seemed to have stemmed away from where they had initially been traveling and instead hugged closer to the road that lay a little uphill from their position. It wasn't much consolation considering how close danger yet loomed, but it had certainly earned them a little time at the very least. That one, tiny blessing had been just enough to help restore the hyur's slowly, rekindling nerve.
He watched for a moment as the creatures' pace slowed, their depthless eyes eagerly peering along the fallen foliage for any signs of prior disturbance. The pace at which they moved suggested impatience and so too did the hunters make little effort to conceal their own presence from any quarry that may, and in fact was, lurking nearby. Their gnarled beaks aggressively sucked at the air as they searched through it for any tell-tale scents that could lead them in the right direction. The pair grunted and snorted violently every few seconds as though they continued to find anything of interest. To Andre it was unnerving, listening to them as they mocked his concerns for having left any sort of trail for them to follow and wondering if each short exchange of indecipherable dialogue was a plot against surprising their newly, detected foes.
"They're looking for us... but they may yet think we have escaped entirely..." Andre turned back to whisper quietly to the girl once again.
"We cannot risk moving rashly" he warned her while bringing his lips even closer to her ear. His whispering allowed his voice to come with a sedated softness. If not for the context in which he spoke, then one could have almost assumed that he were merely afraid of disturbing the silence under which the two concealed themselves. The girl had likely seen his dismay already, there was no way to hide it, though at the very least he had fought off any anxious tremor that would have sough to infect his voice. He owed it to the girl to at least try and sound assured that he could bring her out of this alive and safe.
Andre tilted his head slightly until he made eye contact with the girl. Her eyes were as pure and as clear as crystals, leaving her fear absolutely nowhere to hide. The vibrant shade of green that had once imbued her irises with a purity comparable to fine emerald had now drained until all that remained was an unvarnished reflection of the carpet of grey above.
That innocence, one that radiated from a girl who knew nothing of this world that offered only death and anguish... it no longer had a place out here.
Perhaps that fear of which her widened gaze failed to conceal was only natural. Any man's logic would testify to that, any one, that is, except for Andre. No, to him it was only one thing; a reflection of his failure. Her fear existed solely because he could not hide his own. That lack of confidence, experience and hope that could potentially see her through this only stole from her the belief that things can and will turn out for the better. His sickening show of incompetence tore at his own heart. He needed to be in control. He needed to salvage this situation so that not only they, but the others could see their way to safety once again. If he couldn't do at least that much then he was only further supporting the chances of Clover and the others getting hurt. It was time to stop.
Andre blinked again, reaffirming his grip on Clover before guiding her eyes down toward the ground with his own, gently shuffling his feet to bring attention to the carpet of leaves and twigs that would quickly see to their detection were they not careful.
"We must seek cover beneath their own movements lest they hear us" he continued while gentle readjusting his feet once again so as to not make a sound from his movement.
"Do you understand me?" he asked her while meeting her gaze once again, awaiting a gentle nod of verification. His expression had grown notably more stoic now as the confidence that he wanted to display mostly for Clover's sake had finally begun to infect himself.
His eyes quickly rolled over to his left, once again leading Clover's gaze toward a fallen, moss-infested tree that lay a short distance away - though a distance that would almost feel impossibly far were they to avoid detection.
"That's where we need to be..." he continued to whisper before gently taking his arm away from Clover's abdominem to reach up and tear a metallic button away from his shirt. He rolled it between his fingers analytically, taking it's weight and density into account before presenting it before Clover's eyes.
"When the Ixal run... so do we..." he explained quietly.
Andre carefully peered around the edge of the tree again as he took a brief moment to confirm the creatures' locations once more before committing to his next move. Luckily they had moved just a little further from their location but were still far too close for any sense of comfort. Andre pulled himself back behind the tree with a soft exhale, satisfied that this was as good as it was going to get.
"Get ready......"
Positioning the button carefully between his fingers and thumb, Andre slowly raised his arm to the extent that the tree cover would reasonably allow before flicking his arm swiftly to send the object flying hastily through the air towards a large tree.
......
............
.....*klack*....
The two Ixali raised the heads unison as the tinny sound reverberated beautifully agaisnt the solid, oak tree a distance away - successfully garnering both of their attention. They paused for only a second to exchange glances with each other before hurrying off in the direction of the sound, noisily tossing up leaves, twigs and branches in the process. They Ixali had hardly even begun to run, however, before they both had nearly entirely closed the distance on the tree they sought out.
The window of opportunity had unfortunately proven to be incredibly narrow.
"..now.. hurry!"
Though the creatures had initially been pushing in their direction, at some point while Andre wasn't looking, they seemed to have stemmed away from where they had initially been traveling and instead hugged closer to the road that lay a little uphill from their position. It wasn't much consolation considering how close danger yet loomed, but it had certainly earned them a little time at the very least. That one, tiny blessing had been just enough to help restore the hyur's slowly, rekindling nerve.
He watched for a moment as the creatures' pace slowed, their depthless eyes eagerly peering along the fallen foliage for any signs of prior disturbance. The pace at which they moved suggested impatience and so too did the hunters make little effort to conceal their own presence from any quarry that may, and in fact was, lurking nearby. Their gnarled beaks aggressively sucked at the air as they searched through it for any tell-tale scents that could lead them in the right direction. The pair grunted and snorted violently every few seconds as though they continued to find anything of interest. To Andre it was unnerving, listening to them as they mocked his concerns for having left any sort of trail for them to follow and wondering if each short exchange of indecipherable dialogue was a plot against surprising their newly, detected foes.
"They're looking for us... but they may yet think we have escaped entirely..." Andre turned back to whisper quietly to the girl once again.
"We cannot risk moving rashly" he warned her while bringing his lips even closer to her ear. His whispering allowed his voice to come with a sedated softness. If not for the context in which he spoke, then one could have almost assumed that he were merely afraid of disturbing the silence under which the two concealed themselves. The girl had likely seen his dismay already, there was no way to hide it, though at the very least he had fought off any anxious tremor that would have sough to infect his voice. He owed it to the girl to at least try and sound assured that he could bring her out of this alive and safe.
Andre tilted his head slightly until he made eye contact with the girl. Her eyes were as pure and as clear as crystals, leaving her fear absolutely nowhere to hide. The vibrant shade of green that had once imbued her irises with a purity comparable to fine emerald had now drained until all that remained was an unvarnished reflection of the carpet of grey above.
That innocence, one that radiated from a girl who knew nothing of this world that offered only death and anguish... it no longer had a place out here.
Perhaps that fear of which her widened gaze failed to conceal was only natural. Any man's logic would testify to that, any one, that is, except for Andre. No, to him it was only one thing; a reflection of his failure. Her fear existed solely because he could not hide his own. That lack of confidence, experience and hope that could potentially see her through this only stole from her the belief that things can and will turn out for the better. His sickening show of incompetence tore at his own heart. He needed to be in control. He needed to salvage this situation so that not only they, but the others could see their way to safety once again. If he couldn't do at least that much then he was only further supporting the chances of Clover and the others getting hurt. It was time to stop.
Andre blinked again, reaffirming his grip on Clover before guiding her eyes down toward the ground with his own, gently shuffling his feet to bring attention to the carpet of leaves and twigs that would quickly see to their detection were they not careful.
"We must seek cover beneath their own movements lest they hear us" he continued while gentle readjusting his feet once again so as to not make a sound from his movement.
"Do you understand me?" he asked her while meeting her gaze once again, awaiting a gentle nod of verification. His expression had grown notably more stoic now as the confidence that he wanted to display mostly for Clover's sake had finally begun to infect himself.
His eyes quickly rolled over to his left, once again leading Clover's gaze toward a fallen, moss-infested tree that lay a short distance away - though a distance that would almost feel impossibly far were they to avoid detection.
"That's where we need to be..." he continued to whisper before gently taking his arm away from Clover's abdominem to reach up and tear a metallic button away from his shirt. He rolled it between his fingers analytically, taking it's weight and density into account before presenting it before Clover's eyes.
"When the Ixal run... so do we..." he explained quietly.
Andre carefully peered around the edge of the tree again as he took a brief moment to confirm the creatures' locations once more before committing to his next move. Luckily they had moved just a little further from their location but were still far too close for any sense of comfort. Andre pulled himself back behind the tree with a soft exhale, satisfied that this was as good as it was going to get.
"Get ready......"
Positioning the button carefully between his fingers and thumb, Andre slowly raised his arm to the extent that the tree cover would reasonably allow before flicking his arm swiftly to send the object flying hastily through the air towards a large tree.
......
............
.....*klack*....
The two Ixali raised the heads unison as the tinny sound reverberated beautifully agaisnt the solid, oak tree a distance away - successfully garnering both of their attention. They paused for only a second to exchange glances with each other before hurrying off in the direction of the sound, noisily tossing up leaves, twigs and branches in the process. They Ixali had hardly even begun to run, however, before they both had nearly entirely closed the distance on the tree they sought out.
The window of opportunity had unfortunately proven to be incredibly narrow.
"..now.. hurry!"
Due to a trip and it's preparations, a small hiatus may need to be taken with this scene. It will be continued as soon as possible.
I'm sorry for the further delay and inconvenience.
I'm sorry for the further delay and inconvenience.
