Elsa and the tiger began to run through the forest, Elsa checking once in a while to make sure that Alex was following and then once she felt they were far enough, which happened to be a half-hours run, she stopped motioning him to come down as she found a cave having inspected it to see that nothing had lived here for at least a week which suggested that the family of wolves got bigger. "This should suffice. I am unsure if a cooked meal will be a good idea or not but I can always prepare something cold. Like a 'salad' that I heard about." She said uncertainty showing on her features. She had no idea what to do now and was confused on their next steps in what they were to do. She still had that gut feeling saying they weren't safe. And probably wouldn't be for a long while yet, so knew she would not get any sleep that night too anxious for it.
"Protect Alex for the time I am away. I will not be very long." She promised the tiger as she got out and searched for edible vegetables in the forest her eyes also searching for trouble.

Alex came down when Elsa motioned for him too. Alex walked into the cave that Elsa found. When she mentioned a salad not really knowing what it is probaby Alex chuckled a bit in his mind. Alex just picked a corner of the cave. It wasn't all that small. Around 15 feet in depth and 10 feet wide. The entrance much smaller not how if the size of the cave inside. Alex proceeded to twiddle his thumbs when Elsa left and create random things that came to mind. Alex did not feel all that safe here.
. What if the beasts continued there ravaging? You left Elsa go alone you dumbass... It'll be fine probably...
•••
The forest was filled with plenty of vegetation. Some edible some not. Easily identifiable with majority of it on the trees and ground.

Elsa went around the forest finding some edible vegetables as well as some spices she could use for a dressing on them and looked around making sure that there had been no one that had followed them there for a moment checking the wild life and listening to the conversations. So far, there were no skeleton strangers, which was good news, but she wasn't going to let down her guard so easily. She walked back to the cave and got inside the cave with a small snarl to let her forest brother know she was there and safe sitting by Alex. "I got these things, I thought they'd be good." She said showing him what she had gathered for him. "I hope this will be alright. I never before prepared a meal for a vegetarian before so I ask forgiveness if I got something wrong." She said actually asking for something.

You fool. Weak dastardly bastard. Should have gone with her what if something happened? Are you too cowardly to even attempt to protect your allies? Perhaps this is why you are tolerating the fact you can never go back. You could not help them any longer and you knew how useless you really are. Surrounded by bringers of kindness when you can't pull your fucking head out of your ass. No amount of effort to even try to be of use...
Alex observed the cave enterance and one exit and enterance seemed unsafe. Alex just nodded then replied. "Don't worry about it. Whatever it is I'm sure it'd be great." Alex stood up and walked towards the cave enterance peering outside .He could not fight the for he had not seen back there and still could not care for himself in this forest. Sitting down made him feel smaller.
Your incentive is selfish. To come back to your world where you are not wanted and the deeds you have committed worsened what you tried to better.
Alex had felt tears begin to form but he just blinked them away. "... Elsa what did the being look like?" He asked.

Elsa bit her lip as she looked up at Alex and sighs rubbing her hands. "It was tall, perhaps as tall as you are or even a few inches taller, and had a black skeleton head. I think the proper term is 'grim reaper'? 'Walking dead?' Whichever works. It seemed to be looking for something. Not that I have any idea what. It could have been after anything." She said taking a rock and smashing it hard enough to break, creating a small bowl and put the vegetables in it and mixed water with the ingredients to make a dressing for the meal she was preparing a look of concentration. "Alex? If you are beating yourself up for not coming with me do not. I have lived in these woods all my life and am used to it. I had also needed to make sure that it wasn't here by listening." She said seeming to once again tell what was bothering her companion simply by looking at him.

Alex just took in it's description. A black skull? Weird. Alex would have to make sure to cut it off and keep it. Sounds rather rare and possibly could just be used to decorate. Alex would just carry it around in his coat though. Alex looked back when she smashed the rock then looked back to the outside of the cave. Gradually getting dark.
"..." Alex didn't respond and sorta just froze.
Can she know what I'm thinking at any time? Please be no. Mind-readers can invade my privacy. Know everything. Differ my thoughts knowing what is real or not. Capable of telling me what is reality or not. Ignorance exists for a reason.
"... Wouldnt want such a beautiful maiden to be hurt." Alex barely smirked. If she could read his mind he could try and wear a mask to at least try to give the impression he didnt care about certain things he was thinking about, his comrades were important not his own insecurities. His past is something to be kept to himself, the only benefit of a new beginning would not be ruined. Distraction of a sort could help.
Alex eventually turned around.
It was going to be night soon. He was a bit cold but didn't complain. He had seen enough fire for today.

"... We should get some rest..." Alex sorta attempting to ignore his inner self telling him to not waste time and kill the man with a black skull. Alex said that but still stood at the enterance of the cave.

Elsa only smiles letting loose a bit of laughter. "Thank you, I never was complemented before." She then read how frozen he was after her observations and tilts her head. "I cannot read minds. More like moods. And yours is like an open book with bent pages so I know what to look for." She explained biting her lip softly as she handed him his meal. "You say that, but stand at the entrance. I will possibly not sleep this night neither. I still have a faint bad feeling in my gut, and besides that thing might give me nightmares. So please get some sleep. My forest brother is a great warmth provider and a soft surface to lay ones head on if you want somewhere to sleep. He wont mind." She smiles meaningfully at the tiger who just looked like it shrugged and lay down in the cave getting comfortable.

Open book... Oh well. Alex grabbed it and looked down at it. It looked good but he still felt strange eating. Someone else could be using these resources when he does not need to. Alex actually picked up a rock and covered it, put it in a coat pocket. He wouldn't need it currently. Could come in handy when starving. Even though he was starving, starving more than now. That thing might give me nightmares.. Alex still couldn't believe he just walked away from there. He won't.
Alex hated sleep. It reminded him of how much he was a slave to human things. Sleep was another thing that overpowered him eventually. It was away out of what he considered reality but ways out are running and running is cowardly. Unless nightmares occurred.
"... I can't let you stay up alone..." Alex says.

Elsa looked at Alex for a while and nods sitting down watching the entrance. "I will not stop you if that is what you wish to do. But if you do find yourself being tired, don't hesitate to tell me. I'd rather one of us have energy tomorrow. And please try the 'salad' out. I never made it before and I'm worried I got something wrong." She asked him politely as she sat there allowing herself to relax a little, taking off the arrows from her back so she could lay back against the cold rock trying to figure out what it was that thing had wanted. It wasn't gold, the village didn't have enough of it. It wasn't valuables for again this was merely a rest stop where very little people stayed long unless moving here for it was a poorer place. She then took out the glass from her pocket looking at it. She could remember seeing it as it had been in that store, just sitting there, not at all important looking. But appearances weren't always what they seemed, she knew that. So what was so important about this thing that, that thing needed it for?

Alex still stood at the entrance of the cave. He wouldnt get tired. He wouldnt allow himself to be even a bit exhausted, he hadn't the task that was set before him. Rest is for those that have achieved their goals. And he wouldnt need energy, just will. Alex somewhat doubted she could get anything wrong even is she tried. Alex just nodded in reply then took the salad out, taking a leaf and placing it in his mouth. Alex didnt care about taste but he had to admit he wanted to pig out and finish the salad but put it back in his coat pocket. "...Its great." Alex stretched and placed his palms on the roof of the cave entrance. His coat feeling a bit heavier.
________________

Alex didnt intend on sleeping. But he did anyways. Using his powers weakened him quite a bit and Morpheus had overpowered him. Asleep in the fetal position at the entrance of the cave. Snoozing. Dreaming of nothing. He never had dreams. Him being awake and finding something to not have really happened, not being reality, was more common. He breathed lightly and any sophistication of any shape or form was taken away as he slept like a child.
The forest outside was the same but brighter and more quite. No birds chirping or footsteps. The wind must have been stabbed to death because it was completely silent.

Elsa smiles softly glad that he liked what she made. "Thank you." She said having only made things for her parents and so wasn't all that used to people complementing her work beyond them really. She was glad that she had lived here all her life, knowing what was edible and what wasn't certainly saved her butt on more than one occasion.

---

Elsa didn't sleep that night, much like she thought she wouldn't listening to the night life of the forest, and when the sun rose, it was like everything just....stopped. The wind, the noises, everything. She grabbed her arrows and placed them on her back grabbing her dagger to feel some sort of weapon in her hands not liking how still the forest got. It always spelled out bad news when it got silent. She wasn't sure what to do. Alex was still sleeping and she didn't want to stir him if it was nothing, but still, having him awake just in case something went south, might be a good idea. "Alex." She said softly in his ear as she softly shook his shoulder. "Please wake up." She asks him just as softly as before.

Alex didnt want to awaken and stayed asleep until his shoulder was shook. Alex slowly awakened squinting. He had a chance of avoiding the pains of life, now taken away. Whatever coma like state he had was gone now and he had to deal with real life. Oh well. Their were much worse ways of being woken up. He placed his hands on the ground and forced himself to stand up. He realized he fell asleep. Idiot. Stupid. Pathetic. He couldnt manage to stay awake. Humans are so ridiculous.
Alex noticed that the forest was quite.
"Morning." He didnt say very pleasantly. Mornings were the worst part of the day to him. Alex peered outside the cave. The silence was welcomed by Alex. He had always had problems with noise and it seemed peaceful. "...We should probably see what is making it so quite." He loved the quietness about what caused it, it was a nirvana of a sort with the lack of noise. But it was unusual. Alex dusted himself off and picked up his hat that had fallen off of his head during sleep. He didnt really wait for anything when he placed a foot outside of the cave. There was not that much visibility but no animals noises were in the area noticeable.

Elsa ran out there placing a hand onto his shoulder hissing, "Are you nuts?! This kind of silence even in the early mornings is unnatural. You don't just go stomping about when its this quiet. I'm sorry I woke you up, but can you please think about your safety first before going headfirst into a situation?" She asked not wanting anything to happen to him. Now that she was alone, Elsa wanted someone to be around for her, and for now, the only human she knew and trusted with her life was Alex, and that wasn't easy to obtain her trust. "And besides there'd be some sort of animal life here, even a squirrel or something but there's absolutely nothing." She said looking at the forest floor. It looked as if nothing had passed by since last night and that wasn't natural.

Alex tilted his head a bit. When she asked if he was nuts a very smartass remark of maybeand walking nonetheless popped into his mind. Probably not the best call though.
".... Exactly, we must discover whats causing this...." Alex says, confident he can probably kill anything that he would come across. Alex looked around and the lack of life was strange. Strange, but something out of place would not stop him. ".... Come on we have to find out what happened, if we stay here we'll probably never know." Alex said tapping his foot repeatedly wanting to just find out, Curiosity overwhelming everything else. A peace of a sort had been made that cant be found on earth. He must go look for the cause. "What do you suggest we do?" Alex asks. The forest was all around the cave. They could not stay on the cave forever.
He could become so child like at times. He didnt like be restrained. Especially from discovering knowledge.

Elsa read how excited he was in finding out what was causing this and sighs. "We'll see what's causing this. I don't want anything bad happening to you though. So please be careful." She asked him as she stood up fluidly staring into the mist that covered the forest and strode forward seeming all the world like nothing bothered her, but she was afraid for Alex and herself. If she lost him, she'd really be alone but for her forest brother and since getting a family she didn't ever want to lose it again. She was barely holding back the grief that threatened to take a hold over her and sink her under its waves.

Alex dashed. Reflecting a bit on what she said. I don't want anything bad happening to you though. ... This made him care about dying. Alex jumped up into a tree. His obviously preferred form of transportation.
______
The forest was rather quite. But the peace was ruined by Alex's thoughts not being interrupted letting his mid wander into places it usually wasn't let into. He purposely made more noise when jumping from tree to tree.
Eventually, a stench filled the air. A familiar smell. The same smell that tainted Alex's coat too long ago. Animal blood and guts. It was disgusting and Alex created a black cloth to cover his nose and mouth holding it in place with one hand. It smelled of death. But no corpses were visible currently. They were somewhere but the large black trees served to hide them and the bodies well. A few squirrels and birds shot by what appeared to be a black arrow tipped with a sharp metal point and a single wide cut or stab wound had became visible in a few. Alex walked over to the corpses still having the cloth over his face.
Baby birds and old alike were killed. Healthy or sick. And not even in a small amount probably the whole forest.
"..." Alex was quiet. But his fists shook a bit as he looked down at the dead animals.

Elsa made sure to be close behind him as she ran looking forward as she did. She had come across the smell, much earlier than Alex had, her heart racing in fear and anger as she pushed herself to go faster. Elsa stopped looking at the dead bodies of the forest life going to each of them searching for any life she could save with her healing abilities going through all of them making sure that they were dead when one caught her attention. A fox that was barely alive. She rushed towards the creature and knelt by its side her hands glowing as she healed the wound. "Hush now, don't move too much. I'm sorry we couldn't make it here earlier. Your wound is healed but you lost a lot of blood. I'm not exactly sure if you'll make it beyond this morning. Please, can you tell me what or who did this? Quickly please." She asked of the fox hoping that it would pull through despite its blood loss. She might kill, but it was only to survive. This was a slaughter and she was starting to get pissed off as well. No one disrespected the lives of the forest without it destroying you.

A deer there. A bear here. Any creature of the forest had at least one corpse of its species visible.. The stench would never be forgotten. No amount of force Alex put in the cloth couldn't keep the smell away. No matter how hard he tried, death found its way into the different ways he perceived the situation. Inescapable.
Alex tilted his head and saw Elsa attempting to heal a fox.
Alex leaned over and actually picked up a dead bird. Examined it and than moved it from its past place into a row of birds. It was a silly effort. That would not effect anything but Alex began to slowly place animals that could have perhaps known each other in a row. It comforted him.
Alex looked upward and in a tree a murder of crowd were visible. All lined in a row lined up. Perhaps seeking to eat the carrion.
A few tears ran down his face. He would like to stop the cries but he could not defend the bodies forever. It was just nature but these crows had made Alex even more angered but he still did not truly express much except for the occasional light kick of a tree while placing the bodies in rows.
He walked over to Elsa eventually. "... Elsa..."

Elsa exploded shooting at the crows her eyes flashing that storm over the sea color but paler as she lost all control of her temper raving about everything that was bothering her. The deaths of the village, of her parents possibly being dead, how she hated that this slaughter happened. Being so close to being grief stricken it wasn't even funny. The fears she had over that unknown entity. The fact that she didn't want to lose her only human friend, Alex. Everything came out in a huge burst as she started slicing anything close by up, even herself, which coincidentally is how she got most of her scars on her body. Sometimes her raving didn't even make sense but she still went on about it for a minute. She then just sank to the floor of the forest looking a bit lost. Although she lost her temper she also let loose everything she was bottling up and it took a bit out of her, the wounds that she herself on herself healed over as she just sat there, not sure what she was supposed to do and she hated that. Feeling so out of control. She swore it was a mixture of whatever she was with her being raised in the wild.

Alex just stood and watched. His hat slanted in a way that shade captured his face. He watched as the crows actually flew off incredibly quickly screeching. Alex could see the anger in her eyes during her release of emotion. Alex stood generally close by and had taken a few cuts, slicing through his already beaten up coat. But he just stood. Not really expressing any emotion. Managing his emotions. His mind being completely different. He may have appeared as insensitive in a way.
..... Such a palatable person. So much rage and vexation. Ire displayed in such a fine manner. I'm somewhat galvanized by Elsa's actions.... Alex feeding off emotions like a dirty leech had created the moment into much more. He just didnt mind the cuts. The emotions and sleep made him feel more rejuvenated.
He watched as she sank to the floor. He slowly approached her and the put a hand on her shoulder. Somewhat wishing he knew of a better way to comfort someone.
His hand was a bit shaky. He was angry as well. But capable of controlling such things.