[i]Escape[/i] A shadow sped through the thicket, her breath coming out in haggard puffs. Beyond her, the screams and angry calls of other people sounded, growing more distant with each step she took. Around her the world flowed, but she couldn't see. No, she could only feel, smell, hear, taste. And right now, everything was a muddle of sweat, saliva, and fear, she was too distraught to 'see' in the way she normally did. The shadow was literally just running blindly into a sea of bramble, sticks and thorns cutting into her legs and clothes, but it failed to slow the frantic girl. Eventually, the screams were gone, replaced by the sound of rustling and crunching and a bubbling brook. The girl, Seda, stopped just before she slammed into another tree, hunched over to catch her breath, managing to stay standing by balancing on her walking stick. Around her the world slowed, became sounds and smells, and images flowed into her mind's eye. Though the image was blurry and some spots were missing it was still a start. She stood upon flattened grass, leaning against a peeling tree trunk (birch, perhaps?). It was cool, perhaps night had come? The smell of water, wet dirt, and animal droppings made the air dense. Seda slowly slid to the ground, sucking in a heavy breath, hands dragging over the mud thoughtfully. [i]Woods[/i] Yes, the woods. The smell of bark and trapped water and animals was abundant. The noises, the wind, it was all so forest-like, somewhat familiar. She would live... Maybe. Her gray eyes stared blindly at the earth while her hands traveled back up the trunk, pulling her body back into a standing position, and her nose was upturned to the air. If this forest was so close to the town she had spent her previous night, she would still be able to smell the smoke. But... All she could smell was wet wood and dirt. The feeling of heaviness set into her chest and she slowly lifted up her hand to her long, silvery hair, curling the long mess into a crooked ponytail with a hand-made elastic. If... she could not find her way home how would she live? This forest was unexplored by her senses, and she already felt eyes on her back and the sirens of danger rang in her head. After her hair was neatly off her shoulders and her body stopped shaking she started wandering, clicking the floor before her with the pointed stick. --- Had she been wandering for hours, days, months? It was hard to tell, the air never grew any warmer, and the sounds never grew livelier. The passing of days was uncertain. The woods felt heavy, silent, and eyes followed her wherever she went. At times she would feel hands touching her, pulling her, and at first she dispelled them as branches, but branches don't grip. Branches don't tug with the force of a giant. At times she would let them lead her, and she would either end up with her legs covered in thorns or maybe at the foot of a clean pond. They either helped or cursed her. Some sort of Fae, perhaps, leading her astray, but what did it matter where they led her now? Seda was no fool, she knew when she was lost, when she was hopeless. These woods, they were confusing, they sent her in circles and sent her nightmares and she was scared but no, these woods would not win. One time, she had even exclaimed it, her hatred for the forest. After a short period of rest her patience had snapped and she was wailing, shouting obscene phrases at the air. The forest reacted with a crashing sound, and a roaring. Something was behind her, and it smelled of blood and death, and once her rage was replaced by fear the presence vanished. And she was alone again. --- "Kill me." The phrase had been uttered after a month or so of restless sleep and barely any food. Seda had collapsed in a dry river bed, her hair curled around her face, filling her senses with a disgusting smell of sweat and mud. There was an aching in her head, and cuts covered her legs and arms from numerous encounters with thorns. In a moment of desperation she whispered the two words and awaited. There was a brisk wind, and a thin presence. Her ears picked up the sound of crunching wood and she smelled something sweet, like flowers. And then the person, or whatever it was, was gone. Seda lifted her head slowly and inhaled, and the scent of flowers filled her mind again, making her feel content. She slowly sat up, her hands drifted towards the smell and delicate circles toppled. Berries. Seda felt a smile part her dirtied face. She had managed to stay alive with water and edible tree bark, but here before her were berries, and they smelled familiar and nonlethal. With a silent thank you to the woods she ate until full and then slept for what felt like days. --- On the day of her escape, she bathed. Luckily, the water was clean, seeming to bubble up from an underground spring. It was frigid, but the heaviness of mud and sweat and blood on her body was making her sick and weak. And so, she stripped and slipped into the water, shivering for a moment before she ducked her head under. It wasn't deep, her chin just barely touched the water when she stood, so the fear of drowning faded as she floated and bathed. The heaviness faded as she scrubbed her shoulders and legs and arms and face with her knuckles. Thinking as she scrubbed, Seda realized she had no way of figuring out how long she had been lost. Months, most likely, a year maybe. Did they think she was dead? Those who cared to know (Those who wanted her for the money?)? Seda felt a sigh build in her throat and it escaped in bubbles, floating up to the surface of the water. She did as well, gasping in air. [i]'Well, time to go.'[/i] In the next moment she was jumping towards her clothes, slipping them on with ease. Her hair clung to her face and shoulder damply, and to save herself from catching her death she pulled the hood of her cloak over her head. Her hair, turned gray by the wetness, hung tightly out either side of her hood, hiding her youth. She would appear to be an old woman from afar, her mind joked, painting an image of herself within her head. The face was blotted out, as usual, but the posture and the hair was all she needed to make herself see how sill she must appear. And then she walked, calm, at ease with everything. This day didn't seem bad. No, it was in fact a great day, for she felt a breeze, unfamiliar, new. Different. A sudden swell of emotion, happiness or fear she did not know, but it was that swell that made her break into a run, until she felt her legs break through the thick bushes and into a flat land that smelled like fire. People. Seda felt a smile, and perhaps tears. Before her was civilization, something small but close. And she followed the smell of smoke, staggering almost, walking stick outstretched as she looked for the home. Her body was too tense and happy to see again, and her mind was almost begging for a person to find her and help her for once. There were presences, people, she could hear them in the silent clearing. One smelled rather strange, but no matter. They were people and they could probably see, and that was all that mattered. "H-hello!" She called, voice tight, "C-could someone lead me inside?"