Chase The Morning || Jaden

[REINA]

How is one to alleviate their fear in a place like this? The romance in nature was becoming less and less predominant as the day turned to night, but she had only noticed in the light's last moments. These woods were... Unusual. The trees loomed and the creatures hid. Her question was; from what are they hiding? For the past few hours, she walked along no particular path, trying to find a path so she may leave this blighted forest before sundown. In taste of the wicked, this was a promising home. It offered disdainful silence and troubling shadows. One might know from the very first glance Reina was not wicked. She did not want to fabricate a monster that was not there. It was ridiculous!

Then again, she could be wrong.

Reina held herself together with tight eyes and a tightened breath. If something were following her, she would be dead and no one would know. Closed in her arms was a book nearly the size of her torso. Earlier that day, she came into the forest only a short while to read but became enchanted with its mysteries during the day. She hardly opened the poor book. Now, it played as the only comfort she had for miles. Just as she began to walk again, she imagined the appearance of her predator. The image she conjured sickened her.

Out of fear, she ran.

To where, she wasn’t quite so positive, but anywhere from her imagination would be safe. Reina kept running and running until her legs fumbled together. She came crashing down into the leaves. The adrenaline wore off when she realized how poorly she reacted in a time of desperation. She pushed herself up and tried brushing the mud off her clothes and face. She skidded her knees during her fall, but that was the last of her problems. Her heart's belligerent beating exhausted her beyond measure. If she could only find a place to lay her body down and rest!

Eventually, Reina made herself over to a tree where a ream of light from the sky shined down. She sat with her back against the tree and reached into her rucksack. With a tinderbox and a candle, she made her own artificial light and opened her book. This was her only escape, her only safety. Starting at the first line, she read aloud in a whisper, “Somewhere I have never traveled, gladly beyond…”

{ Reserved for Jaden Kaziel }

[Jaden Kaziel]

Loud, obvious, crunching noise permeated the air coming from the bottom of a pair of legs walking through the woods. It was neither a fast pace nor a casual stroll - merely one foot in front of the other. The carrier of these set of legs traveled carefully at his own pace, with his sword strapped onto his back, and narrow eyes looking no where but right in front of him. What a load of crap~ The young male was obviously not at all pleased that he had to find his way out of the dense forest. He grumbled softly as he shoved his hands in his pockets aggravated by losing so much time trying to find his way out of it.

He didn't intend for his visit in the woods to take as long as it did. Alas, everything doesn't always go according to plans as one such as Jaden intended. His expedition in the woods were only for the sake of collecting material for weaponry. While he didn't have anything in mind - muse was such a fickle little thing when you needed it most - it was always good to have material at your disposal so when that idea came up, he wouldn't have to go chasing down the same places to pick up what he needed. For the most part, it would seem that he had plenty for his journey, and needed to find his way back out.

Easier said than done.

An eyebrow arched up suddenly noticing something out of the corner of his eye. A light. Where did that come from? Artificial light didn't come from any natural sources in the woods, so with that in mind, he decided to take a look. His brows furrowed slightly when the sunlight escaping from the veil of leaves upon the forest as he approached a girl, barely making out murmurings. He tilted his head slightly to the side trying to listen to what she was trying to say~ Was she reading out of the book? It was quite difficult to tell, but it seemed so.

[REINA]

Now far into her reading, Reina had managed to tie down her heart to a normal pace. She felt the sting of cold air on the cuts in her knees but it was hardly enough to prove a bother. She continued to read aloud, deciding her safest bet was to stay awake until sunrise. The only way that was going to happen was to be occupied in everyway possible. What she read was no story at all, it was poetry. Beautiful poetry, at that! Reina only dreamed of ever calling herself such a thing like poet. She hadn’t the talent nor the patience to fumble.

After all, Reina was always fumbling.

As she turned the next page into her candlelight, she heard something directly from the front of her. Sudden silence fell between her breaths. Closing the large book, she stood, frantically searching on all sides to find the source of noise. What was it…? Reina trembled violently with the fire close to her heart. It was likely her imagination playing yet another trick. In the back-shadow of her fire, there was a figure she barely made out. Reina, frozen, stared with the blinded expression of a doe. Was she to run? Could she run?

Reina scrambled to the opposite side of the tree, still with a lit candle, and leaned for a peek of evidence. “Hello?” she timidly called. Her voice was neglected and to her, sounded strange at such a volume. Squinting further into the figure, she found a shape that seemed to be of a person, but it hadn’t meant she was safe. The next phrase was her worst choice of words, possibly her last. She extended her arm with the candle.

“Please come into the light.”

[Jaden Kaziel]

This was a peculiar predicament. What in the world was a girl doing out here all by herself? Faron Woods could be considered one of the most dangerous places to be venturing out in if you weren't armed. Especially in the middle of the evening when monsters of the forest come out to lurk, and find unsuspecting victims such as herself. Still, a dark thought danced in his head~

It was always amusing to find out the reasons behind what people could come up with for going into dangerous places probably perfectly aware of the perils they put themselves in. His eyes focused a little - narrowing in the process - making out phrases, and syllables the girl was reading out loud to herself. Poetry. Very classy~

When she finally realized that someone was right in front of her Jaden found himself amused. A small grin formed upon his mouth entertained by the poor girl's reaction. What a fraidy cat~ He had to bite back his laughter from escaping on her actions trying to hide on the opposite end of the tree. That was awesome! He couldn't have picked a better time to approach the girl.

"Yo," was all that came out. The little lady asked so he might as well oblige to her wish. Jaden calmly walked up, and disclosed himself within the light she provided by an extension of her hand. He looked down upon her and quirked an eyebrow up. It took all of his willpower not to start snickering in front of her~ She would probably feel bad. "Don't worry. I don't bite... hard," he snapped his teeth together. "Kidding~"

[REINA]

There was a reply to her first call of desperation and that in itself, sent her spiraling. It was a voice of a young man but Reina wasn’t sure if this were good or bad. She imagined the sort of man no one wanted to meet; the murdering sort. With every step he took, Reina assumed it would be the last thing she heard. She tried savoring those noises, the smell of the air and the feeling of the warm candle between her fingers. Nothing would ever compare to this. If only it had been the ocean where fate chose to end her life. It might’ve been more romantic to die at peace than to die in fear.

He was so close now. Reina mentally apologized to all the family who would never get her visits. She attempted to apologize for everything bad that she ever did, but being put on the spot made this difficult. Suddenly, she was looking at a young gentleman who captured her attention. Before he spoke, Reina wondered if he was the figment her mind created. He was too captivating to be the only other one in the forest with her. Her, of all people!

She jumped at the snapping of his teeth and averted her eyes. Reina’s heart struggled now in an entirely different way. She looked up from under her lashes, trying to discard the blush and hold her dignity. This wasn’t possible for she still trembled quite visibly. The light even flickered from lack of steadiness in her hands. “P-please,” she begged, hoping he would understand a silent request on her behalf. After all, she had yet to regain herself. She looked up only for a moment to ask, “Are you going to do me harm?” Reina shook her head at the nonsense of her question.

“I am sorry. I don't mean to be so rude.”

[Jaden Kaziel]

Was this girl serious? Jaden couldn't hold it in. A roaring laughter escaped from his lips, a hearty full of glee type of laugh, amused to death with the girl's reaction. The raven haired young lady was scared out of her wits. Her expression was absolutely priceless! His sides began to ache from how silly the girl got for freaking out~ He suppose though that he should probably stop playing around, and be a bit serious with her. To him, she appeared harmless, and she was practically begging for peace to be with him.

"Calm down, spazz. I come in peace," he calmed himself from his fit of laughter. "Don't apologize when you haven't done anything wrong." He raised a gloved finger up to his goggles, adjusting them, before doing the same little fiddling with his night black hair as well~ His eyes flickered slightly noticing her hands trembling whilst holding the candle in her hand. He quickly grabbed her hand, and tried to keep it steady for her. When her nervousness died down, he would release her wrist, before straightening the candle up for her. "If you keep shaking like that, you'll burn yourself from the wax~"

He snickered softly. For some odd reason, he wasn't really angry anymore. This strange girl wandering in the forest was hilarious, and watching her freak out was cute. Was that sadistic of him? Nah~ It was all in good fun, and besides, life's no fun without a good scare.

[REINA]

Reina had even jumped at the turn of laughter. She didn’t understand what exactly he was laughing at, but she knew it was enough to embarrass her, so she turned vibrant red. From when he started until he was done, she imagined how difficult it would be to speak with him now. He thought badly of her, but could she honestly blame him? Reina nodded when he told her not to apologize. She knew it was an ugly habit of hers that has never been adjusted. Of all the time she could’ve spent adjusting herself, she never bothered to touch the subject of how to talk to someone handsome. She never thought they’d ever talk to her!

Suddenly, his hand was touching hers. Reina compulsively looked down at the contact between them and again, blushed. Her eyes fluttered as if surprised but this time, in the most innocent way. “Uh, uh…” she gulped. “I was frightened, that’s all…” It took all the courage in her, but Reina managed to look up into his eyes while he snickered off about something she couldn’t understand. She was so small in comparison; saying or doing anything would just make him laugh more. None of that seemed as important because he was indeed touching her hand.

“Who are you?” she asked in almost a whisper, trying to read his face before looking off to the side. It was only so easy to look for a long time. Reina began to feel safer and safer with this gentleman, though it might only be because he was calm in such a frightening world. “It’s so late to be here. Aren’t you scared?”

[Jaden Kaziel]

Oh wow. Was she actually blushing? Jaden was quite surprised with how mousy the girl was. Hell, he was starting to become appalled as to why she would even think about being in a place such as this. Alas, they lived in a world where people did foolish things such as helpless little girls walking into dark scary forests, filled with monsters or any other creature who wouldn't mind making a meal of out her. In a sense, it was quite masochistic, if he thought so himself~ Well, he couldn't control the ways of the world - no matter how much it pissed him off, but in the mean time, he could sport a bit of fun figuring out what this girl was up to.

"I'd be frightened too if I was a girl, unarmed, walking in this forest," he narrowed his eyes, "How did you end up here? Lost?" Jaden decided he might as well get to the point, and keep the fluff to the side for another time. He supposed that being blunt, and forward would help provide some assurance for the girl so she wouldn't be taken by confusion for any comments held some ambiguity. The young male didn't really have to worry much about being helpless or worrying about whether or not some random beast would pop out of nowhere to devour him. His apathy for the world's food-chain left him missing a few elements of fear in his life.

"Jaden," he pointed his thumb at himself. An eyebrow quirked up at her shifting eyes that attempted to stay on him for a moment or two before diverting elsewhere. What was her problem? He really didn't understand the concept of being an introvert. Jaden smirked at her question before rubbing his nose arrogantly. "Nah~ I'm out late most of the time, but that's not important. Who are you, little missy?" he tilted his head slightly to the side.

[REINA]

She wondered mostly on how he could stay out late without getting tired. Reina was the morning persons’ mascot. Maybe he never slept; it was hard to see that, though. He looked more awake than she did. Was it because the series of events were so dreamlike? He inarguably stated she was unarmed and in fact, a girl. It was strange how she became distracted enough just to wander into a forest on her own. To answer his question on being lost, she said, “Exceedingly so. I came in to read but I wandered off the path. Have you any idea how to get out?”

She was on the thought of following him until they were out, or until daylight. "What brings you to the woods this evening?" she returned the question. Reina was more satisfied with taking discomfort from a handsome boy than discomfort from fear. She surely disliked meeting people and though she felt small in comparison to this boy, she also felt quite the opposite of displeasure. If the fates were correct, she hoped she was safe for the time being.

Pausing to hear his name, Reina nodded it into memory. Jaden was a fitting name. She tried combing her hair back, failed, and ignored it. All this conversation made her terribly nervous! However, it was beginning to look like she could control herself. Again, distracted by enchantment, she forgot her fears only for a moment. Possibly, it was the comfort of just another being that came naturally. Reina’s hands quit their shaking. “I am Reina,” she responded with half a curtsey. “How do you do?”

[Jaden Kaziel]

It was... quite difficult for Jaden to stay on a consistent sleeping schedule. When he got tired, he passed out somewhere peaceful, and slept for as long as his body needed the hours of rest. It really didn't matter if it was in the middle of the day or some odd hours in the night to him~ It only came natural that if he was tired then he'll sleep, if not then he'll be up trying to make productive use of his time with a conscious thought process.

However it would seem that the better part of him wanted to be sympathetic for the girl. She probably didn't know any better, and lost her way. Now that he was with her, there was no way he was going to be able to leave her alone, especially in this place. Might as well play escort for the time being~

"I've got a pretty good idea of where I'm going," he nodded his head, "Come on. Let's not stay here any longer." Shoving his hands back into his pockets, he turned his back towards the girl, and began walking out of the light of her candle. He trusted that if she had enough sense to think over what he said then she'd follow. Jaden was pretty sure that she didn't want to be left behind as well~ A grin formed upon his face. He listened to her question intently before starting off with his answer. "I was collecting materials that could only be found in these words. Minerals, iron ores, and special types of barks from the native trees," he explained. "I'm a blacksmith apprentice so I've got to learn the works on my own in order to create my own types of weapons."

Reina, huh? Pretty name for a girl like her. She may be a little timid, but he couldn't help but amuse myself on how much guts she had or there in lack of brains, to get lost out here, and managed to keep herself alive. Then again, it took a fool in order to do something cool~ It didn't always come out with positive results, but Reina managed to get lucky tonight. "Meh. Could be better, but I'm managing."

After all, not everything turned out for the worst, but Jaden wasn't going to be overly optimistic about it~