The Forgotten Zodiac

Looking a little unnerved as Avis looked at his feet, Karsenir nodded slowly at her question, even though she said not to answer moments after asking. Imediately started walking when she suggested they start moving again. "Alright." He sighed, then looked aroud. "What do you think of cutting through the field here? Not until nighttime though..." He sighed again, shaking his head slightly. "It's too bright out right now..." He looked over the field again, squinting. "Maybe if it gets cloudy soon we could try something."

"Yeah, I suppose we can wait. I could use a little more shuteye," Avis leaned against the tree, smiling a little bit. She stretched and yawned a bit, watching as a mouse scurried out of the tall grass, paused at the sight of them, then ran right back into the field. Her stomach growled again at that, but she said nothing; there was no point in whining about her hunger, it wouldn't make anything any better. She just had to relax and deal with it...

Karsenir nodded and stopped. "Do you want to sleep again? We can stop again." He heard her stomache growl and added " Or, I could carry you and keep walking like before. I might find some berries or something while you sleep." He offered, watching her, waiting for an answer. 

"Well, where are we going to go? You said we can't cross the plains until it's dark again. And if we're crossing this one, there isn't much for us to do but wait." Avis shrugged. "I'd rather walk on my own now that I can. For that matter...I think I need something a little more substantial than berries to hold me over..."

Karsenir shrugged again. "If you're hungry, then you should probably eat." He said, looking over at Avis. "You'll be too tired to do much if you don't rest and eat." Karsenir added, sighing. "If you want to walk okay. As for where we're going, I don't know where. I figure just to find something for you to eat."

"That's probably why I'm still tired. I haven't eaten since the scraps you gave me in the carriages." She sighed in irritation with herself. "I guess we should find something, then. I'll walk," She climbed to her feet, once again waiting for his lead. She wasn't too sure why Karsenir was so eager to help her, but she wasn't about to turn down a helping hand.

Karsenir walked on, walking mostly beside Avis as he led the way. "We'll find something soon." He said, smiling a litte. And soon enough, they found a couple bushes of blueberries. "Theses are pretty good." He said quietly as he started striping the branches of the berries. Once his hand was about half full he held them out to Avis. He knew he could go much further than she could without eating anything, and she really seemed like she wanted to walk. "I know it's not much, but we'll find some more food soon."

"I'll trust you, then." Avis took the berries, eating them slowly as they walked. She smiled at the taste, quite liking the bitter sweet flavor that rolled over her tongue as she popped one after another into her mouth. "These are awesome," She licked her lips, pleased by the flavors. "What other kind of berries are edible around here?"

Karsenir smiled as he watched Avis try the berries. '"Good. I'm glad you like them." When she asked about other berries. "I don't know their names, but I'll let you know if I see any you can eat." He said, still looking about the area for more fruity shrubs as they walked on. He glanced back at Avis a couple times, just keeping an eye on her. "If you would like to rest, just let me know." He said. "We found some berries, so there really isn't a great need to keep moving now."

"I think I'll be good for a little while," Avis shrugged. "I should probably sleep more if we want to move quickly through that field, though...maybe if we find one more edible food, then I'll sleep again. You should probably sleep too or something. And here, did you want some?" She offered him the small handful of berries she hadn't eaten yet. "They're really good."

Karsenir nodded slightly. "Okay then." He looked back at Avis as she held out the berries and shook his head. "I'll be fine for a while, thank you. If you're done with them I might have some, but I can go a while longer without anything." He said, smiling a little at Avis' thoughtful offer. "I'm sure we'll find something more soon." He said, letting out a lighthearted sigh as they continued walking along. 

"Hmm," Avis looked down at the berries, then shook her head with a small smile. "I'm still really, really hungry," She confessed, starting to eat them again. "Thanks, by the way. I know I said it before, but thanks a lot for helping me. You're very kind. I don't know why they ever thought to put you in the circus, it definitely wasn't the right place for you. Or me, for that matter, but...you know."

Chuckling lightly as Avis began to eat her berries again, Karsenir smiled and nodded. "You're welcome." He looked back at Avis and sighed. "I wouldn't have been able to help you now if I hadn't been in the circus." Karsenir said with a shrug. "Except for the torture I had to go through at the beginning, it wasn't terrible. I was simply better off in the circus than on my own again." Karsenir said.

"I wouldn't have survived..." Avis said quietly. "I'm not good with torture. I..." She trailed off. She couldn't tell him, she didn't want to revisit that part of her past. Even though she was only thinking about it, she didn't dare bring up those memories again. Never, ever again. Avis fell silent, then shoved the rest of the berries into her mouth at once. She looked around curously, spotting another bush with berries on it. "What about these? I wonder what these taste like," She pulled one off the bush, inspected it, then popped it in her mouth.

((Poisonous, perhaps?))

Karsenir watched Avis as she spoke, frowning slightly, picking up on her hesitance to say more. He just nodded. "I understand." He said, starting to walk off again. When she said something about berries, he quickly turned around, wondering how he had missed another fruit bearing plant. He looked back to see her inspecting the berry, then suddenly frowned deeply. He hardly had time to respond when he saw her putting the berry in her mouth. "Avis! Don't!" He caught her arm but the fruit had already left her fingers. "Spit it out!" He ordered, loudly, though his face showed nothing but deep concern.

Avis jumped and spat the berry out at once. The skin was split, but it didn't look as though she had swallowed any of it. "Okay, okay!" She whimpered, pulling her arm away from his hand. "What...but...why?" She stammered, backing away from him a little bit. She had been startled, of course; anyone would be. Now she was just plain confused. Karsenir hadn't hurt her, she had to remind herself. There had to be a reason for his sudden shouting...

"I didn't notice that bush because its fruit is poisonous!" Karsenir said, looking at the berry that she'd spit out, then straightened up with a loud sigh of relief. "You didn't swallow any of it, did you, Avis?" He asked seriously, his face still showing a great deal of concern. He had noticed she took a step back from him, and he frowned a little more as he thought about it. He hadn't meant to scare her at all. He was simply scared for her.

"No, I don't think so," Avis said, spitting once or twice just to be sure. She stepped a little closer, shivering a bit. "O-okay. I get it. I don't...think I want any more berries. B-but..." She swallowed hard once she was certain no parts of the berry were in her mouth. "I still need food...or just rest. Maybe just rest..." She shivered again, leaning against a tree. She didn't know what would have happened to her if Karsenir hadn't stopped her...

Karsenir sighed again, feeling a little more relieved when Avis answered him. "Okay. I don't think that a little bit would've hurt you too badly, but it would definately slow us down and we would have a harder time getting more food." He said, rambling slightly and looking away as Avis stepped closer. "We can do that, if you want to rest. I'll wake you when it starts to get dark, okay?" Karsenir said, glancing back at Avis when she leaned back against the tree.

"Right. Okay." Avis nodded, plopping down and keeping her back to the tree, thinking hard about what Karsenir had said. They definitely didn't need any slowing down...they were racing horses and an entire circus. They needed to move quickly, after all. She was quick to doze off, though her dreams were filled with the terrible berries she had almost eaten. She didn't stir, though, needing every wink of sleep that she was getting.