The Forgotten Zodiac

Manny was silent for a long time, deciding to ignore her first question. He sighed a bit, shuffling his foot as he paused his chopping. "Yes. There's room. But...if you make any wrong moves, I swear, I'll hurt you." He said quietly, almost to where she couldn't hear. "Mommy is weakened. Even if only slightly...I can't let her get hurt."

"So long as we can share an understanding that niether means any harm, I believe we will get along nicely," Kendra said. "Shall I help you gather firewood for now? I can move my things later," she suggested.

Manny slowly nodded. "Mom needs a fire to cook her food." He said quietly, going back to cutting up the log he was working on.

Before long, they were trekking up the path to the cave. Manny had said nothing more; he didn't want to trust this woman. He honestly was regretting allowing her to come, and he was getting nervous as they got closer to the cave. He had to protect mother...and strangers were dangerous.

"Mommy? I'm back," Manny poked his head into the cave, smiling a little. "I brought a new...friend." He said the word hesitantly, still clearly unsure of himself.

"Did you?" Eve asked, smiling at Manny. She was cleary expecting something like a bird or a squirrel to follow her son inside, and was therefore shocked when she saw the stange girl.

"Oh. I did not realize that your mother would be the same race as I, Mannequinn," Kendra said, giving Eve an up-and-down look (which was returned). "I am Kendra," she introduced.

"Eve," came the reply. "A... pleasure, I'm sure," she said.

Manny shifted around uncomfortably, staring at Kendra with a sullen look in his eyes. "Mother is...my mom. Whether or not she looks like me," He insisted gently, tilting his head to the side as he looked at her. "Where did you come from, Kendra? The...castle?" The nervousness in his voice was obvious, though he tried to hide it.

"No. I hail from the south, near Mire Lake," Kendra replied.

"We're from the north, in the Devil's Teeth mountains," Eve offered, relaxing a bit as Kendra began to be less a stranger and more an aquaintance.

Manny was still very much uncomfortable with her presence. He got the fire going and started to cook the rabbit. He looked up at Eve, inching closer until he could hold her hand.

It looked a bit odd; Manny appeared to be about Eve's age, if not older. There was no possible way Eve could naturally be his mother, but he insisted upon calling her such. "How are you feeling? Better?" He asked Eve quietly. "We need to go home..."

Eve took Manny's hand without hesitation, watching as Kendra seated herself on the other side of the fire. She then turned to Manny, to answer his questions. "I'm fine, dear," she said. "And as soon as I can get my hands on an ether shard, we'll get out of here." She spoke in a low voice, as if she did not want to be overheard by the stranger, but Kendra looked up anyways.

"I have a shard or two," she said. "Back at my camp. I shall have to move my things here."

Manny's eyes widened a bit. "Two shards? That will be enough to keep both of you on the overworld," He smiled. "We can go back to Verolen and Bermuda, where it's safe..." He hugged Eve, then started to look a little crestfallen as he realized that Kendra might not be okay with them borrowing a shard.

Eve watched Kendra expectanly for a moment, who didn't seem to notice that she was being watched. When Eve cleared her throat, however, she looked up.

"Oh. Of course you may take one. I have no need for the second. I apologize if I insinuated otherwise," Kendra said.

Eve smiled. "That's okay. Thanks," she said.

Manny relaxed, smiling. He stood again. "I'll go with you to get your stuff. I can carry a lot; I'm stronger than most other people." He seemed excited now, a familiar happy gleam in his eyes. "Let's go, Kendra."

"As you will it, so shall it be," Kendra said with a smile, standing alongside Manny. "We will return shortly, Eve. My camp lies not too far off," she added quickly. She lifted her scythe off the ground, then headed for the mouth of the cave. "Perhaps we will catch some more game while we are out."

"Maybe." Manny hurried after her, smiling a little still. He easily trekked down the path, jumping every few steps to avoid tripping. When they reached the bottom, he looked up at Kendra and waited for her, still smiling.

Kendra seemed to have a bit more trouble getting down the slope, but joined him soon enough. "There," she said, brushing herself off. "If you will accompany me in this direction," she nodded into the woods.

"Of course." Manny smiled. He was a lot more relaxed around Kendra, but he wasn't entirely unawares. This could easily be a trap or anything of the sort. They could be jumped by enemies still, or...well, Manny didn't really want to think about it. He followed Kendra, content to silently follow along.

Soon enough, the pair came upon a large, fallen tree. As Kendra approached it, it became evident that the interior of the tree was hollow - this was where she had been staying for the past night or so. "It will take me but a moment to gather my items," she said. "If you would be so kind as to keep watch? There are bear here in the lowlands. They rarely venture up the mountain, which is another reason I would do well to move camp. Although..." she paused here, and gave a smile, "The taste of bear does not bother me."

Manny blinked. "Oh. I'm not one for eating." He shifted his weight from side to side, watching her pack up. He remembered the point of 'keeping watch', and soon turned his attention to the treeline. He wasn't really that great at sitting still, though; he wandered off before long, following a butterfly. He didn't stray far, mind you; he wasn't THAT mindless.

He returned to his post, butterfly in hand as he returned his gaze to the treeline. He was faintly aware of something different...but the flattened grass slowly standing back up, the slight shift of the leaves on a nearby bush, all that was pretty far beyond his attention span. And by the time he returned his gaze to that area, everything was still and peaceful again.

"Almost done? You sure you don't need my help?" Manny questioned, looking back at Kendra and her tree.

"Be silent!" Kendra hissed from inside her tree fortress. "Come to me! Quickly, now!" she beckoned, peering outside momentarily.

Manny clamped his mouth shut, not entirely certain what was going on. He inched forward a couple of steps, and felt his fake heart pound when there was a rustle from the tree above him. Before he could move, a thick net was thrown on top of him, and he was hoisted up into the air by a rope. A dark figure dropped down from the tree; he wore dark clothing with a signet on his shirt that obviously indicated he worked for the throne. His bloodred hair and black eyes were the only non-covered parts on him, which made him look like a classic 'ninja' of sorts; but obviously demon. He held a lantern that glowed with a light that wasn't from a flame. It shifted colors every few moments; one second it would be white, then Kendra would blink, and it would glow purple. Or green. Or red, silver, yellow, so on.

"Name and business," The man said quietly. Not trying to get innocents caught up in the king's business, then.

"Kendra, a ranger from the south," she said, eyeing this newcomer with unease. She gripped her scythe tightly in her hand, but looked as though she would not fight unless he made the first attack.