It had only been a few months since they had come, since the Order had descended upon their pack and ripped them apart. He had gone to the site of the massacre a few days after, to bury the bodies of those who had died. There were a few missing still, his brother among them, but who knew if they had been taken by the Order or if they had scattered to the winds. Part of him wanted to search for them, but he knew he couldn’t leave Lucia. He was pained to leave her even to hunt, never mind for the amount of time that it would take to search these mountains. But when he had left the den this morning to hunt he couldn’t help but veer towards an area that he hadn’t been in a while in attempts to spread his scent as far as possible. If any of their pack was still alive maybe they would smell his trail and find them. It was the best he could do right now…

He couldn’t stop thinking about everything that had happened, of his brother and that woman, how could he bring her here? He had been so stupid, so naïve, to think that she was different. How could he fall for one of the Order, she had brought them down upon them and everyone was dead because of her, because of him. He had gone through the same training as Cruxer, had almost been in Cruxers position, how could he have done something so idiotic. Yet Cruxer couldn’t help but hope that he was still alive out there, somewhere safe, maybe with the others who had escaped. At the worst he hoped he was alive, even if he was captured by the Order.

His breath rushed from his breast, pausing for a moment in his trek to stand and close his eyes. He needed to hunt, it had been a few days since they had eaten a good meal, but his heart wasn’t in it. Every cell in his body screamed at him to lie down and give up, he felt like he may have if not for Lucia. But then again, he may have died in that battle if not for Lucia, if he hadn’t followed her after they had seen his brother with that woman. He wanted to say that it was his duty, that he had followed her because it was his job, but that was a lie. If he had done his duty he would have killed the woman from the Order and imprisoned his brother. But he had seen the hurt in Lucia’s eyes, he had heard the pain in her voice and he had followed her instead.

Legs pushed forward again, lowering his head and heading to the lower reaches of the mountains where he had had the most success hunting in the past few days. He found a rabbit run and settled in nearby, with just him hunting and how irregularly he could go he didn’t have the energy to hunt larger game any other way. This way left him lying in the underbrush motionless for upwards of 8 hours sometimes for a single rabbit. Today at least the rabbits were moving, the first coming across his path within 2 hours. It was a quick kill; he picked it up and moved onto the next rabbit run. Within 6 hours he had gotten 3 rabbits, enough to feed both of them, at least until he could get more.

Rabbits hanging by their feet from his jaws the massive beast headed back up the mountain, moving a bit quicker than before with the prospect of a warm meal to be shared. Dusk was falling by the time he reached the den they had taken residence in, looking up to see Kip in the trees above. ’Quiet day?' He asked, causing the tamarin to transfer his gaze back down to Cruxer. ’Nothing to report.’ The words floated into Cruxer’s mind and he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief before dropping the rabbits at the cave mouth. ”My Oracle…?” His words were a soft rumble, drifting forward into the depths of the cave in hopes of drawing Lucia out.

ooc;; tag @Lucia

Only a few months had passed since their world fell apart. Her heart had been broken and her entire pack annihilated all in one swoop. All because of him. He had held her heart in his hands only to crush it and toss it aside in favor of a member of the Order. What happened next had been catastrophic. He thought she'd be different, that she'd turn her back on the Order just for him. How wrong he had been. The Order had invaded and slaughtered their pack. Those that managed to escape were still missing and she had no idea whether she'd see them again, whether they wandered the mountains looking for survivors or if they were within the grasp of the Order.

Each time she closed her eyes, she could still hear the shrill cries of her pack mates being murdered, begging for their lives against the Order. She could still smell their spilled blood as it filled the air and suffocated her. How her and Cruxer managed to escape was nothing short of a miracle. Now it was just the two of them, surviving, if thats what you could call it. Cruxer provided for the both of them, not that he gave her much of a choice. He was still vigilant, the carefully reserved guard she'd grown accustom to.

Cruxer is back. My Oracle...? Ears would rotate forward, deep baritones following the whimsical voice of Cara, shaking her from her thoughts. The smell of rabbit would touch her nose, reminding her that she was in fact hungry. It had been days since they had eaten. Slipping from the den, she'd step into the fading sunlight, eyes seeking Cara out, a habit, before venturing towards Cruxer. A smile curled her lips, warm and inviting. You've been busy. She mused, moving towards him.

@Cruxer

He heard her before he saw her, the faint rustle of her body as she roused herself and moved to the mouth of the den. He had to admit that he was unsure of how to act around her or how to handle himself as of late. Their whole world had been ripped away from them and while there was some comfort in old habits he had to admit that he didn’t know how long he could keep this up. She emerged, stating that he had been busy even as he stepped back from the rabbits to give her space to eat. He would eat after her, which was how he had always operated, so with that he sat down and regarded her with strange eyes. He had never been good at small talk and even if he had been what did he say? He didn’t want to ask her about the past for fear of bringing up past trauma and it honestly felt as if they had no future anymore. Was this a future? Hiding in the mountains simply surviving?

Eyes closed for a moment and he blew out a breath slowly to regain his spiralling thoughts. ”If we could speak over dinner…” How did he address her? She was still his Oracle, nothing in the world could change that for him, she could still speak to the gods. Just because there weren’t others still worshiping her didn’t mean he had any intention of stopping. But he had never been trained for this, have never trained to deal with their whole pack disappearing and any semblance they had of a life slipping away. So what was he supposed to say? Thoughts overlapped others, wrestling for dominance as he stared at the ground in front of the rabbits he had dropped.

He cleared his throat, seeming to finally settle before lifting his massive skull so that he was looking at her. He needed to gauge her expression as he spoke. If he saw any hint of rage or displeasure with his words then he would stop immediately he already swore to himself. ”I think we need a plan. We’ve searched for survivors, if there are any they are well hidden or…” He cleared his throat again, not wanting to think about his brother in the hands of the Order. ”But staying here will do us no good.” He restated, hoping to drive home that point. He didn’t know anything beyond these mountains; all of his training had revolved around caring for her. But he didn’t know what she had learned, maybe she might have a plan or an idea…

@Lucia

As usual, he was stiff and formal. He stepped away, giving her space to eat first, he never ate before she had finished. Now it was something she was accustomed to and didn't bother arguing over it. So she'd settle in, grabbing a rabbit and eating in silence. But she could feel his eyes on her. Before she had a chance to ask him what was bothering him, he asked if they could speak over dinner. She tried poorly to conceal the exasperated look on her face. "You don't have to ask." She would remind him, settling back to regard him closely.

She waited patiently while he gathered his thoughts, putting his words together before he gave them life. When he did speak, she listened, ears tipping forward. He wanted a plan. She would nod in agreement. They couldn't sit here waiting forever. He spoke of the survivors and she couldn't help the sorrow that touched her ears. Their lives had been destroyed. Those they cared about brutally murdered and chased from their home. She had no clue if there were any survivors or if it was just the two of them now. "I agree." Her voice was soft, almost deafened in its quietness. But there was resolve there. If they stayed here any longer, they ran the risk of being found by the Order.

"Where should we go?" She had no doubts that he already had a few ideas in mind. Her gaze would wander, looking around them. It wasn't so different from home. But now they had no home and everything was changing. Was she even the Oracle anymore? Without realizing it, she sighed. They couldn't go back, no matter how much they wanted to. Now all she had left was Cara and Cruxer.

If he noticed her exasperation, he didn't show it. Years of training kept his body still despite the anxiety that mounted inside of him with all this indecision. She spoke easily, telling him that he didn't have to ask even though they both knew that wouldn't stop him. She nodded along with him as he spoke though he stared more over her shoulder then at her, only catching the movement in his peripheral. She murmured her agreement, so soft he could barely hear it with his ears slightly pinned to his skull. And then she asked the question... Where should they go... He opened his jaw, looking to speak with decisiveness, he wanted a plan and yet, he had absolutely nothing. All that came forth was a sigh as he slowly closed his mouth and sighed, looking around.

He had been born here, had lived his whole life here. Their pack had been in hiding even if they had never openly discussed it. They had been nomadic but their travels had been a chaotic rotation to keep the order off their trail. But they had never left these mountains. This place had always been there home. His eyes were glassy, unfocused as his shoulders finally felt the weight of it all and sagged. "I... I don't know..." His voice mirrored her defeat. They had barely spoken since it all, had settled into a strange pattern of survival, each mourning in their own way.

She sighed and finally he looked at her, really looked at her for once. He had always been taught to be guard, watching all around so he had never spent time to look at her. "We can't go to the city, I don't know if they know what we look like. Maybe there is another land? Maybe we can start a new life elsewhere? It wouldn't be easy, it would be a long journey... But its the only idea I have." His voice was soft as he spoke, for once seeming to speak to her as more of an equal rather then in his usual subservient tone. He was out of options, he didn't know anything beyond these mountains, maybe there was something or maybe they would die searching for it...

@Lucia

You have found some loot!