Salem had seperated from Malcolm to hunt and explore in the forests along the way. He made sure not to go too far and that he could still see the caravan. His hood was down revealing his large feline ears and his purple choker/collar. He saw a rabbit and chased it. He managed to catch it and it's limp form dangled in his mouth. He looked up to see Elise. He quickly spat out the rodent and straightened.
Elise had moved away from both Thainar and Vladimir to let the friends catch up with each other. She wasn't particularly good with people anyway. She walked into the nearby forest, fully expecting to be alone, when she caught sight of Salem with a rabbit in his mouth. Her eyes followed the limp body of the rabbit as he spatted it to the ground.
"Don't let my presence stop you from hunting. I will make sure to stay out of your way," she said in a quiet voice.
Salem dipped and scooped up the now dead rabbit and stuck it in his pouch. He shook his head.
"It's alright. I'm a bit far from the others so..." his ears folded as he couldn't think of a way to end that sentence. They then flicked as he shrugged.
"anyway.....how are you today?" his personality wasn't as large as Malcolm's. And he was somewhat awkward having to work his way into being more himself around people. Pretending to be mute for so long took a toll on him.
For a brief second, Elise's blue eyes flickered with confusion.
How are you today? It was a question she rarely heard. No one in the citadel cared about how she was doing. No one bothered to ask. She was a mage and although she held a higher rank than most of her kind in the Citadel, she was still treated no better than them. Except maybe for Vladimir. But even coming from him, it still surprised her. Now faced with the question, she found herself at a loss for words.
"I...suppose... I'm doing...well?" she replied with uncertainty.
Salem saw her uncertainty. This caused his head to tilt. He then straightened his head and gave a small feline smile.
"that's good." he then walked closer to her. He felt like he was excessively far away and he hoped that now he wasn't too close.
"Earlier....something made you smile. Would it be too rash of me to ask what?" curiosity danced in his green eyes.
"It was my first time to encounter someone like you. I... found you interesting," Elise said. There was no reason to hide the fact and so she spoke straightforwardly.
Salem blinked then smiled once more. He wasn't used to someone thinking positively of him.
"Thank you." his midnight black tail flicked somewhat.
"I'm not used to positivity." he then tilted his head. He spoke a bit softer.
"You know...it's okay to open up" as in he could sense a wall there...and he honestly felt the need to break down her walls. After all the only real friend he had made so far was Malcolm and with a group this large that meant a lot of wall breaking. He was determined to make friends before he died.
"Open up," Elise echoed. More words that were unfamiliar to her. She felt both wary and at the same time curious as to why someone would want to befriend her. She felt hesitant but she nodded her head.
"This is...something I am not used to. I'm afraid I will not be very good at it," she admitted.