Amazons ᶳᵉᵐᶤ⁻ᴬᵈᵛᵃᶰᶜᵉᵈ ᴿᴾ discussion

The scientists have set up camp in the mountains. They've figured out its a neutral area, and it's centralized between the two tribes. It's out of the way, so they're less likely to be attacked here.

It was perfectly logical for Cade's tent to be set a bit apart from the others. After all, they were studying the people. And she was working with the wild animals that were there. So she completely understood how the others didn't really want their tents right by her. Especially given that at the moment she had a wolf pup, and it's pack was not happy with it. The howls and snarls echoed in her ears, but Cade was entirely focused on her task. It was her job to study the animals here, and she'd been studying them when she discovered thinks one with the completely shattered leg. And she could fix that. It was literally in her job description back home. But since this was a wild animal, she wouldn't have another chance to get to it to remove a cast or anything, so this had to be a quick permanent fix.

The ones were so shattered she had to find pieces and put them back together like a puzzle. Once she had the tibia together, she slid in a piece of metal to brace it and hold it together. She did the same with the other bones, quickly and efficiently fixing the bone. Of course, the bone would have to knit together naturally over time, but her surgery would get it to stay for now. She stitched it back up neatly, using specialized stitches that would naturally dissolve over time. Then she carefully picked up the pup and cautiously walked out toward the woods. She really didn't want to go in too deep to the trees and get attacked by a protective full grown wolf, so she just set the pup on the edge and backed away.

Returning to the metal operating table, Cade kept her eye on the currently sleeping wolf as she started to clean the blood off the table. She dumped some water over the table to wash off the blood, then slipped off her bloody plastic gloves and tossed them into a small garbage can. There was still blood splattered up to her elbows, but honestly it didn't bother her. It was more important to clean off her tools. So she perched on a small stool with a bucked of water and started to clean off the tools as best as she could, then set them into a second bucket that held alcohol to sterilize them.

Memphis didn't know how long he'd been in the forest exactly, he knew he had been surviving on his own for many many moons and now the days just passed on by with a blur. He couldn't seem to find anything familiar anymore, the further he went the more lost he became. He hated this situation, the only things that made him keep going was the fact he knew how to, but also because he had to get back to his mom, sure the tribe didn't give too much shits about whether he lived or died besides a few but he wouldn't leave his mother wondering like this. He was stronger than this, he would find his way and even if it would take a few more years until he did, as long as the result was returning he didn't care.

He was sitting in his recently made camp, just a simple cover made of leaves and vines and tied to trees to stop any rain. He had his fire pit set up already but it was too soon to be in use of that, besides he still had to hunt down their next meal. Speaking of their, Memphis, or as his mother named and calls him, Kratos, looked over at his sleeping Ocelot Felis his companion since he was but a youngling that had happened to find him a few days of being abandoned and lost. He shook his head in amusement, Felis was the last thing that was keeping him going, the little guy always managed to get a smile on his face and keep him hoping.

Kratos got up then, stretching, his shirt and pants both worn and ripped, he didn't have much to actually mend it at the moment so he just made due with what he had. He took off his shirt though and put it under the shelter, not wanting to dirty it as he went over to Felis and gently poked him. "Come on, let's go hunting," he spoke to the feline who jumped onto its feet after being poked. It gave Memphis a look before stretched and yawned but by the time Kratos had grabbed his bow and arrows and was already walking away from the camp, leaving the feline to catch up.

Eventually, he didn't come across much but he stopped when Felis had, sniffing and let out a soft yowl before he was up in a tree. He knew what that meant, wolf, the thing was just terrified of the things, he was nipped in the tail by one once when he was little so it probably scarred his tiny mind. Memphis continued carefully, keeping his eyes open for the wolf, his arrow locked in place and bow at his side, ready to be used. He stopped upon seeing a wolf pup just entering the forest from what seemed like a... clearing? This far? His brows furrowed and he moved forward a bit to see tents, what he assumed at least but they were strange. He could hear noises, most strange an unfamiliar to him but others like voices was something he knew but caused him to tense. That's when he noticed someone walking away from the forest and to one of the tent structure, wearing the most bizarre of clothing with... blood? He couched down, releasing one of his hands from the bow and called the pup over. The curious thing trotted cautiously over and Kratos then proceeded to examine it without touching it of course. He noticed stitching on the pup and patted it to let it continue on home. He looked back and whistled softly for Felis who cautiously made his way down and over, hiding from the wolf pup which caused him to roll his eyes. He was going to investigate this, it was obvious they weren't Amazons, nor Gargareans so what were they?

Looking back up, Cade frowned slightly as she heard a faint call from the forest. "Hello?" She called in return, simply assuming it was another of the scientists. She smiled slightly as she saw the wolf pup trot off into the woods, watching its gait for as long as she could to check how she'd done. It appeared that her surgery had gone well and the little wolf would be ok. As she finished rinsing off her tools, she put a lid on the sterilization bucket and walked toward her tent with it. There was a separate, small tent attached to her sleeping one that she used to store all her stuff, and that's where she headed.

Opening the flap, she set the bucket just inside and to the side, easy to get to. And easy to remember where it was. Walking out, she folded up the table legs and carried it into the small tent, right against the side near the bucket of tools. Stepping into the tent, she bit her lip slightly. It was kind of a mess and she knew she needed to fix it. So she spent a few minutes rearranging stuff, shifting and shoving things around until they made more sense. In her mind, at least. To anyone else it probably looked like an absolute mess, but it was her stuff. No one else really went in there, so why would it matter how much sense she made to anyone else?

As she moved something back into place, she felt a tug at the back of her neck and winced, feeling it dig into her skin and pull at her hair. Looking down, she very, very carefully untangled her necklace from the thing she was moving. Placing the thing to the side (in its proper place, in her opinion) she paused to examine her necklace. It was always there so she'd seen in hundreds of times, but she still loved it. It was a little metal wolf's fang with a wolf head carved into the top. It always made her smile, and every time she looked at it she could hear Colten's words echoing in her ear. "You're brave enough to work with all these different wild creatures. This is to remind you to be brave enough to deal with the everyday ones."

That was one of the bad things about this place. She had no way to contact her older brother. He was her protector and her best friend, and now she was miles and miles away from him with no way to communicate. She missed him immensely, especially with the other scientists here. Unlike high school none of them were exactly mean, but... Cade was a genius, but she was a vet, not a scientist. And they always found ways to subtly remind her of that. She wasn't one of them, and she knew it, despite the almost over the top civilty and politeness they always treated her with.

Then there was the second bad thing about here. The natives. She knew that they weren't really savages... Sort of. She'd never met one, and of course the others never bothered to tell her anything. For all she knew they were vicious cannibals. Ok, they probably weren't. But in a place like this with animals like these, she knew that the people would have to be pretty tough to be able to survive. But was tough aggressive? Judging by the soldiers that had come along with the other scientists, Cade was pretty sure that yes, they were aggressive. She couldn't even deal with high schoolers, and now she was expected to deal with ferocious warriors? Not happening!

Shaking her head sharply, Cade wandered back to her own sleeping and living tent. She debated changing her jeans and plain grey tshirt, but ultimately decided against it. Instead she just grabbed an Agatha Christie mystery book from under her pillow and started back outside. She perched on the same stool once again and opened up to her bookmark, soon absorbed in finding out who done it.

Memphis, having decided to postpone trying to figure out his way home, yes it was importantly, hell it had been his priority until this point but he didn't trust these.. people, he didn't know why they were here nor what would happen if they were to discover or interfere with his people. He wasn't going to chance it, he needed to know why they were here, what they were capable of and if their intent was to harm, then to execute them with little effort as possible. He moved slowly away from where he positioned himself, making sure none could see him or at least notice the moment before he was deeper in the forest but still in distance where the camp was in sight.

Kratos found it odd that one tent seemed to be distanced from the others, it only caused more questions in his mind and none with answers. He needed answers and he needed the quickly. He rounded his way towards the more populated area of the camp, crouching down low and watching them, Felis soon trotting to his side and looked at him as if expecting him to give him a duty to preform. Memphis though currently didn't have a plan yet he had to gain more knowledge of these people before he could think of a strategy.

He knew this might take some time unfortunately, time that could be used searching for his tribe, well, his mother's tribe. He missed her a lot, their sparring, the way they knew what the other was thinking. He used to get annoyed by that, how she seemed to know that, catching him before he could do something, but now it was something that he desperately missed. He'd just got to know his mother, be able to learn from her, to be a family only to gave that ripped from his grasps just as he had gotten settled into the new way of things.

Kratos sighed, shaking his head of those thoughts, he couldn't let the plague him down at the moment, this was about his survival and his people's survival if these foreigns mean them harm. He shifted his mind to focus on the task, the mission laid before him like many times before. He paused, realizing that if he picked off at the weakest, like in hunting, he'd probably have greater success than going at the strongest. He looked at Felis, already having a plan formulate in his mind he just needed to learn more about the lone woman. He got up and with Felis but instead of heading over, he decided he'd begin later after they'd eaten. So he walked away, making sure to note land marks before he was off to find their next meal.


An hour or two later, he'd hunted down a doe and the two had eaten at their camp. Once they finished and burned the remains, not wanting to attract any other animals, Kratos grabbed his shirt, put it on, grabbed his weapon and headed back to that strange camp with Felis darting ahead of him.

Kratos slowed and crouched behind a bush when he approached, keeping his gaze carefully on the pair of tents alone from the others while Felis, the stupid idiot continued forward with a glance at him, stating he was doing this on purpose. Felis trotted out of the forest into a sun patch and began bathing himself.

Finally, after chipping away at it for a few days with her free time, Cade finished her book. With her literal genius she had solved the murder mystery, but it was always so satisfying to finish it and prove herself correct. It was something that she and Colten had done with their parents. Their mother would read aloud a case and they'd try and solve it. As they grew older, it was a hobby they'd do together. Each would read all but the last two chapters of the same book, and write down their answers and set it aside. Then they'd talk it out together and write a third answer. Finally, they'd read the last chapters to see if they had been right. Usually they were.

Slowly she stretched, rising from her stool with her book in her hand. She headed back into her tent and set the book onto the small bookshelf, neatly in line with the other mysteries. For a few moments she debated, running her fingers along the spines of the rest of them as she tried to decide what to read next. Eventually she pulled out a larger book. It was a collection of scientific studies on different wild animals that she had been working on reading for a while. It was kind of perfect for this now too, as she was in the middle of nowhere with a menagerie of wild animals. So she picked up that one and headed back out to her stool.

She had just started reading when she heard a faint rustle of leaves and looked up. Cade studied the ocelot that walked out of the woods, smiling as it laid down. Of course, Cade being Cade, she just couldn't resist going over to see it. "What are you doing way out here?" She spoke to it, keeping her voice lower and steady, knowing from experience that it would help keep the wild animal from freaking. Slowly she set her book down and started over towards the ocelot, continuing her low, calming speaking. "Oh, aren't you pretty? But what are you doing way out here? Ocelots are jungle cats." She mused, stopping about a yard away.

She kneeled down, then slid down, crossing her legs. Cautiously she held out her hand toward the cat. "Oh, you won't hurt me, will you? If you haven't run away from me by now, you must be used to people. And obviously not scared of them, right?" She smiled slightly, shifting her weight to get a bit more comfortable as she waited patiently for the cat to make the first move. At least this gave a little bit of insight of the people here. By its lack of fear, obviously the ocelot had been around people before. And obviously it hadn't been abused or anything by the people here.

Kratos after mentally scolding and telling Felis off for being the little daredevil he was, wondering what overtook that mind of his to prance over there and lay his ass down. So after all that he'd taken it upon himself to scour the area around his pet since the last thing he'd do was allow him into danger, Felis had been his companion since he was a boy, he wouldn't give him up now even if he decided to be an idiot.

Looking about he noticed the everyone else seemed to be doing their own thing a bit away from these tents, and when he returned his gaze to Felis, he'd caught the glimpse of the woman from earlier, wearing the strange garments on a wooden stump.. chair, kinda.. he was unsure but no matter. She looked to have been reading when she noticed Felis and Memphis tensed immediately, preparing himself to defend his friend, getting his arrow into place as she put the book down but he heard her speak to Felis and the corner of his lip twitched but he shook it off and was still armed and at the ready, just in case. He watched the woman approach Felis cautiously, keeping her tone low as well as her body, meaning she was no threat but by looking at how she moved and her in general, he wasn't sure if she could put up much of a fight unlike many women he knew. A vulnerable woman, something the Amazons don't put out, they show their strength every time they did something.

Felis continued to groom himself, basically ignoring the woman, well as it seemed. He was though watching her the whole time, knowing Memphis would save him if she dared harm him so he wasn't afraid, wolves were the things that truly freaked him out and he could smell them faintly on her. He stopped licking once she sat down near him, reaching out to touch him. He tilted his head, ears twitched, gaze cautious. He didn't immediately react instead, he turned his head to glance into the forest, at Kratos which made him mentally curse. He might as well say someone's in here, besides she already knew Felis was used to people. This was going to shit.

Felis looked back at her then, and after a moment longer he touched his head to her hand. He could smell the wolf stronger than before but it wasn't the strength if one was right there. He knew it was near though which kept the Ocelot tense where he was, ready to bolt if he saw it.

A vibrant smile lit Cade's face as Felis put his head against her hand. Curiously, she followed the cat's gaze into the woods. With a distinct lack of warrior training, she wasn't the most observant about stuff like this. Unlike the others, she didn't see enemies around every corner. Even in a place like this, she didn't really pause to think about the natives. Despite her fear, people were definitely not the first thing on her mind when she was with a creatures. But she expected Felis to be looking at another animal, and really didn't even consider the possibility of a human. So she completely passed over Memphis, looking back down at the cat. Carefully she scratched its head where it had pushed against her, still smiling faintly. Lightly she scratched behind his ear, her gaze now focussed on him completely.

When it didn't attack her she carefully ran her hand along its back, paying attention for any injuries as she petted it. She didn't find any, on this side at least. But then again, it wasn't exactly a thorough examination. To do that she'd probably need the cat unconscious, and there was no obvious reason to do that now. It had walked out on its own and seemed just fine, so there was no reason for her to do a really in depth kind of thing right now. She kept talking to it, her voice steady and soft.

"There, see? I'm not going to hurt you. You're alright, don't worry. See, this is why I came here. The others are here for the people, but you are my goal." She smiled, scratching behind his ears gently. "There are so many different types of animals here, including ones like you. That's what I kept trying to tell my brother. But Colten always worries, and always tells me it's his job as an older brother, you know?" She explained to the cat. She had no one else to talk to, so it wasn't really odd for her to be talking to an ocelot. Even though Felis couldn't understand or respond, it helped her a bit to actually say what she wanted to. "I know none of the others here like me. But I couldn't resist coming. I mean, I study and take care of wild animals like you for a living. No way I'm missing this." She smiled.

With a slight sigh, the veterinarian refocused her attention from her thoughts to the animal. "What are you doing way out here though? Ocelots are typically jungle cats. I'm not sure why you're up here in the mountains, even with the trees around this area." She mused thoughtfully, still gently petting around the cat's head and behind the ears. "I wonder if the animals here behave any differently than the ones back home. Thinking about it, it'd be foolish of me to think they didn't. So I'll get to write a paper on my studies of here. My parents will be proud." She smiled slightly. But still, it wasn't really what she wanted. She wanted to help animals, but her parents wanted the fame and fortune a genius like her could bring. They didn't like her career choice, and despised Colten's.

Felis was content with her petting, something he didn't get too much of unless it was night time and he decided to lay on Kratos' chest while he was on the verge of sleeping, sure he got strokes here and there but this was a more gentle touch. After a bit he closed his eyes, a behavior that felines showed when they like and trust the person enough to close their eyes and take away on of their senses. Felis didn't understand most of what she was saying but her tone was nice and soothing, he'd decided he liked this woman and if possible would try and visit more often.

Memphis had tensed, bow at the ready when she looked over at the trees after Felis had, easing himself more behind the bush, tense as he waited to be noticed but when he gaze passed over him before turning back to Felis he was shocked, anyone else he knew would have known something was up and investigated. She, he confirmed, would die if she was left as she is. He relaxed, she wasn't a threat, the others on the other hand were so he settled himself on his ass, bow and arrow at his side while he rested his head on his knee, watching the girl as she talked to Felis taking in the information she was giving away. Smart feline, guess he couldn't scold the thing for being such a reckless idiot. So they were here for his people, but it confused him, he didn't know exactly what for, she didn't say they were there to execute them but who knew. She wasn't going to kill Felis by the looks of it so maybe there was more to this. He overheard the bit about her brother and a small smile formed on his lips, wondering what it would be like to have a sibling.

He learned of her purpose though, which he noted and made sure to keep, she wasn't the least bit of a threat then, it was the others he had to be concerned about, plus she seemed good with animals which at least made him respect her. He saw her pride in her work which made him smile, wondering, sure it seemed like occupations were different for these people, much different but it made him wonder how different were they.

Memphis tensed once again upon hearing her accusation once again, hoping for sure she didn't clue into the fact he could be a companion of someone's but from what he'd seen, none of them had pets like he knew many of his people did. He was cautious though he wanted to see what would happen if he were to show himself now, he doubted it would end well of course, she might even pass out seeing how dainty she was. It was different to see a female dainty like her, all the ones he knew were strong, prideful, they were warrior women but this girl... she wasn't it was almost refreshing and it formed curiosity that would definitely, well most probably kill the cat.
Memphis sighed, wondering how long he'll be out here watching, he didn't think too long but who knew. He shifted his weight and to his horror the sound of the twig he was apparently sitting on, snapping echoed in his mind very loudly. He stiffened, refusing to move, knowing it would only draw attention to himself, but his hand slowly reached for his bow just in case.

Felis' ear twitched when he'd heard the snap, knowing it was from his master and opened his eyes, looking over at him, judging by the emotions he sensed off him that he hadn't meant to and was ready to defend him and Felis at any moment. The Ocelot then looked at the woman, wondering what her reaction would be.

Looking over at the sound of the snapping twig, Cade raised a single eyebrow. Now she was curious. Especially when she looked down at Felis, who was watching her... expectantly. Well. This was weird. She gave him a last scratch behind the ears before slowly rising to her feet. Still, she assumed it was another animal. "Well, little kitty. Is that a friend of yours out there? Don't worry, I would never hurt another animal. I just want to see what it is and if it needs any help, alright?" She promised sweetly before peering into the woods again.

Cautiously she took a step forward, looking down to make sure she didn't step on a poor critter. She got completely distracted from the search of the Creature Who Snapped A Twig when she saw movement on the ground. She kneeled down and carefully picked up the tarantula, looking thrilled. "Well aren't you pretty?" She smiled, gently holding it in her hand. Knowing that they preferred the high ground, she tilted her arm and held her hand up, allowing it to crawl out onto the now highest point of her body to feel more comfortable. For a few long moments she just kneeled, studying it. Then at last she lowered her hand back down to the ground and it scurried off.

Straightening, she brushed her hands off on her pants, ready to resume her search. She took quite a few more steps in before she stopped and actually looked around. Then she froze. Absolutely and completely. You could have knocked her over with a feather. All the color drained from her face and she opened her mouth as if to say something, but no sound came out so she closed it again.

So this was how she was going to die. A shirtless guy crouched outside of her camp with a goddamned bow and arrow. They'd find her body tomorrow. Colten would be devastated, and her parents would be so pissed at her. She could hear them at her funeral now. "I mean, she should have known better than to go into the woods! And ALONE? Was she trying to get killed?" of course that would all be said through tears. Sincere ones too. Adria knew her parents did love her, it just didn't always feel like it. And the only thing she could feel now was fear. No, make that terror.

With an almost whimpering sound she backed up, jumping and flinching when her back hit a large tree. She kept staring at him, too afraid to do anything. But that genius brain of hers churned out information to her. This was why the ocelot was out here so far, he was accompanying a big scary warrior guy (who was probably going to kill her). It explained a lot. Now that she thought back, there had been that odd, itchy feeling of just offness throughout the day. Now she could put her finger on it as that feeling that you were being watched.

Staring at him, she slowly slid down the tree until she was huddled behind her folded up legs, shaking. "Please." She said finally, her voice soft and trembling. "None of us are here to hurt you. Least of all me. Please, please don't hurt me." She really didn't care how undignified begging was. If begging kept her from dying, then so be it. Beg and plead she would.

Kratos tensed, waiting for the woman's reaction, knowing Felis wasn't helping the situation at all. He was kinda hoping that she'd become scared, something he hadn't yet seen from a women, and dart back into that unusual looking tent. But instead she surprised him, assuming him to be an animal which would make more sense in actuality but not in this circumstance. He was tense, staying where he was, trying to keep hidden and praying she did not come close enough to see him. He didn't want to end her life he seemed to discover, he was curious and wanted to learn more of the woman unlike many he'd been around.

Memphis wanted to laugh though, Felis did have a friend out here but he was certain it wasn't the friend she was expecting. Once seeing her get up, leaving Felis there watching, the fricken sly thing knew this was going to happen and look at him not trying anything to prevent it. He swore if the thing was human it would be smirking evilly.

He knew he had to move, get out of there quickly before she caught him, he knew how to as well, it would be easy and all she would see is a faint blur easily mistaken for a creature. But when she stopped, crouching down to pick up a tarantula he found himself unable to move, watching her with fascination as she held it up, examining it. He knew many who wouldn't bother picking one up, not of fear usually but there was no point. But the look in her gaze was what drew him in, freezing his body and causing him to forget his escape plan until it was too late.

Suddenly the woman had put the beast down and continued forward until she looked around and finally saw him. He knew he was in shit then, he wasn't sure for a moment what to do. His first instinct was to kill her, the second one was to quiet her before she alerted the others, and the last just wanted to run. A cowardly thing to do yes but he didn't want to be discovered, not until he knew what her people wanted from them.

Kratos watched as her eyes widened and her expression mesh into a look of pure horror, no terror. He saw many emotions flash past her eyes, in which he knew thoughts were related to and found himself yearning to know what they were. He shook that out quickly, he was in a situated and he couldn't be thinking of such silly things. This was about survival, just as it always was.

Felis finally trotted over, ears twitching at the noise of the whimper, looking at the girl.

Memphis on the other hand felt slight guilt and watched as she backed up until she hit a trunk which looked to frightened the woman even more. He knew he couldn't move, she'd probably scream of fright and he couldn't allow that to happen. He blamed Felis for this situated, completely. He continued to watch her as she slid down the tree until she was sitting, leaning against it, looking even more terrified than before if it were possible. Was he that scary looking? He didn't think so, he knew he was often one might call attractive, he'd been told a few times as such anyway.

His gaze never drifted from, her though her voice made him tense he realized it wasn't loud which assured him that he didn't need to end her life, which made him feel almost pleasantly happy about. He was curious to learn this though, wondering if it was truth or a lie to save herself, but staring into her eyes he knew it was the truth, which meant he didn't need to kill them immediately.

His gaze finally left her, glancing towards the others, seeing them notice nothing amiss before he looked back at the girl and he put his bow and arrows down, slowly, not wanting to startle and scare the terrified creature more.
"If I wished to hurt you," he spoke finally, his voice low, husky.. masculine, "I would have already."

When she saw his gaze go to the others, Cade looked over there too. "No! You don't need to hurt them." She pleaded. "They won't notice that I'm gone. Or care. They won't look for me. There's no need to kill them." Her scared gaze went back to him, blinking. Even though she knew that they despised her presence around here, she didn't want them to die. That was just a bit to drastic for her tastes. That and she wasn't a crazy person! Who wanted people to die just because they didn't like you? That was insane and violent and not who she was.

"Maybe wanting to hurt doesn't have anything to do with it. Just because you don't want to hurt me doesn't mean you won't. Also, even that statement requires you to be telling the truth." She shifted back slightly, then remembered that she couldn't move with the tree right there. "There's no guarantee that you are. To you I'm an enemy. Why would you tell the truth to me?" She said logically. The volume of her voice stayed the same throughout it, but the tone rose in pitch to almost hysteria.

Then she stopped herself. Closing her eyes, Cade forced herself to take in a slow, deep breath. She was still trembling slightly, but she didn't make a sound. One of her hands went to her necklace and she absently started rubbing it, struggling to remain calm and not freak the fuck out.

But this awkward silence was killing Cade, and she could no longer handle it. And in her typical crash and burn type way, she just started babbling her nerves. "Cade. My name? It's Cade. Well, my real name's Adria, but my last name is Cadence so I'm called Caden or Cade since it's short for Cadence. I mean, Cadence is a music thing so you'd think I could get a pretty and unique nickname but it just got shortened. But I'm used to it now so it's not a big deal anymore." She blurted out quickly, all in one long breath.

But poor Cade's mock bravery and babbling could only carry her so far. She gripped her necklace tightly, cringing away as she cracked and began to cry softly. Well, silently, tears just dripping down her cheeks. "Please. Please, I've never hurt anyone. I don't want to die. I'm sure I've made mistakes in my life but none of them were big enough for me to deserve to die! I won't tell anyone about seeing you here. I'm just a lowly veterinarian in their eyes anyway, they wouldn't believe me. I'll tell you any information you want? Just... Please don't kill me. And if you do, get it over with quickly." She pleaded.

Kratos stared at her, his expression void of anything really, emotion, to any clue to what he was thinking at the moment. He watched her babble even then she was giving him information and insight. It was sad really, he wasn't too used to a society that outcasted others like that, sure Amazons out casted him and other slaves but still they were very tight knit community.. Was she a slave then? Is that why they despised her so much? She didn't look like slave, looking all proper and none of her actions really expressed it, besides the overall being pretty weak thing.

He never did like people assumed things though, mentally rolling his eyes when she had thought he'd looked over preparing to murder them or something. She really didn't have any insight on who his people were, or maybe she did, they were all pretty vicious but not without reason usually. He didn't bother denying her statement, she may not be a threat but whatever she came here to do could end up being just that. He wasn't going to risk it just yet and have her think he was the softy. True he could be rather soft but he was still a Gargarean.. technically, he was still vicious. He killed his own father if that showed anything.

He listened to her logical words, wondering if she ever just did anything, said anything just because she could, she seemed like a rambler though so maybe she did. He couldn't stop the twitch in his lip though since to her words, she was very dead on. Smart little thing, not strong in brawn but definitely in mind. Though that wouldn't get her anywhere since she still showed fear and she needed some strength to survive in his world. Wait, why would he care about that.. he was just being observant he convinced himself.

He did respond to her about this though, mostly because he couldn't help it. "You're right," he spoke, low and quietly as before, "but I never liked lying, and I would have killed you if I saw you as a threat. You're not dead yet though," he pointed out simply, "I never did believe in wasting time." Though sitting here wasting time was contradicting but in the context he meant it made sense. If he was going to kill he would, especially since she's weak, right here before him, he could easily do it now, but he hadn't.

He fell silent after that though, not saying a word as he watched her, wondering what she'll do, if she'll try to run or just stay there. He also wondered if she'd run if he moved, or scream, cry out, or just freeze in fear. He had many thoughts on what she might do but none would test until he tried it. He watched her fiddle with the necklace she wore, thinking to his own necklace he wore given to him from his mom, something that he'd luckily had kept for this long.

He noticed that she was becoming fidgety, making him wonder if the silence, though not really due to the soft voices from her people and the noises of the creatures inhabiting the area kept it relatively not silent but in a different way. He watched and listened, faintly amused by her ramble about her name, thinking about her name after that. She was called Cade, a very boyish name and she didn't seem to mind when she had a lovely first name. Well he shouldn't be talking, most referred to him as Memphis while his mother called him by his first given name Kratos.

He knew she was terrified the whole time, but he had to give her credit about keeping her wits but she seemed to have just broken and tears weren't something Memphis handled well nor liked. He wanted to reassure her, to make her soft softly crying, but he stopped upon hearing the offer of information, the reason he'd stuck around this long. He felt guilty for this but he'd have to get over it, it was about the protection of his people.

Memphis moved then, suddenly crouched in front of her, bow and arrow back by the bush he'd originally been crouched at. His head was tilted down to look at her, knowing the decreased distance may frighten her further but he took a risk.
"I will not kill you or your people if you give me the information I seek, Adria Cadence," he whispered lowly, looking her in the eyes, "but no one must know of my existence here, understood?" he demanded, knowing he was being a little harsh, guilt and remorse eating at him but she offered and assumed he'd kill her. Sure he had been thinking of it but he hadn't once knowing she wasn't a threat. Plus Felis liked her, so he kinda had to tolerate her since he doubted the feline would leave her alone now.

"I have no proof that you're not lying about not liking lying." Cade pointed out with her occasionally infuriating but almost always infallible logic. Talking out loud so analytically like this helped, and slowly her crying stopped. "I mean, you could say you love lying and that'd be an interesting paradox. If you do love lying then it would stand to reason you'd be lying when you say that, so that'd mean you wouldn't. But if you actually hate lying then you're lying when you say that and again, another probl-"

Before she could even finish her word she yelped and flinched sharply backwards, hitting her head painfully on the tree, when he was suddenly right in front of her, any color left in her face vanishing completely. None of it was good, the suddenness of it, the terrifying closeness, but it was the last word that destroyed her. Understood? Being as smart as she was, she'd always hated that word. She always understood, and it just felt like tedious taunting. But then in high school it got used in a different capacity. When Adria was bullied around, whenever they said anything to her it's always end in that. Understood? and understand? in these horrible cruel voices that mocked her all through the hallway and in her nightmares. She despised that word, but she'd come to almost fear it as well.

Her terrified response was almost instantaneous and deeply ingrained, once again from the bullies all through high school. "Yes sir." She squeaked in a tiny voice, then let out all the relevant information she could think of off the top of her head. "Your camp is over that way-" Assuming since he was male he was Gargarean, she pointing toward the Gargarean camp. "The Amazon camp is miles that way and there's some twists and turns and it's a pain." She gestured in the other direction, her scared gaze looking anywhere but at him. "The scientists are here to study your people. You're from ancient times to us, and they want to know how you've advanced and changed, and what life was like back then. Humans are lucky if they live a hundred years, but you can live to thousands! That is new and shocking and fascinating to scientists. I'm here because I'm a zoologist vet. I work with and know how to care for and heal wild and exotic animals." She let out in a rush, then paused and took in a breath, readying herself for another round of information. Then...

"Duck, now!" Cade suddenly said sharply, pushing him aside in case he didn't do what she advised. She stood slowly, shakily, her gaze on the tree branch above them. Carefully she reached up into it and lowered her hands. Held very carefully in her hands was a snake. It was rather beautiful, with different copper and cream colors decorating it. For its length it was a rather fat snake, with a proportionally large head. Looking back at Memphis, she cringed slightly and took a few steps backward. "I'm so sorry! I didn't do it to hurt you. Please, please don't hurt me." She pleaded, biting her lip.

"But this snake... It's called a Gaboon Viper. Damn, they're usually only in zoos and Africa. It amazing the variety you have here! But this snake is very, very poisonous. Easily kill a person. It holds the most venom of any snake, and the longest fangs. Not just proportionally, but overall completely. The fangs can be two inches long." She explained. Now that she was back with something she knew, the fear was gone. Ok, definitely not gone. But she just wasn't thinking about it anymore. Animals were something she knew really well. It was her comfort zone. "It's doubtful it will bite me right now because they're generally not aggressive at all. Rather lazy. Usually you can walk right up to them and they won't do a thing. Half the time they bite you, they don't inject venom. But your sudden movement forward scared it and it was eyeing you pretty close, and they have one of the fastest strikes in the world."

The entire time she spoke she was examining the snake, letting it wrap around on of her arms. She frowned slightly, tilting her arm to study a specific spot as she felt something against her skin. As she thought, along its underside was a fairly substantial bite mark, a little bit of blood trickling slowly down her arm. "And it's hurt, so it's likely going to be more paranoid at the moment." She added absently, carefully running a hand down the rest of its body to check for any more injuries. Fortunately, she didn't find anymore. "Oh, not too bad." She noted with relief. "I can fix that up without too big of a hassle. But this one I should probably keep an eye on for a while... Stitches could rip out if it eats something too big..." At this point she didn't even seem to notice who she was talking to. The fact that it was someone who could (and probably would) kill her had slipped her mind the instant she'd seen the snake. She didn't even pause to think about what she had just done. He had threatened her, and still. When there was danger to him she moved him out of harm's way and possibly put herself into it(both with going to the snake and with risking his angry retaliation).

Kratos sighed though it was more of a mental one, sure he'd thought of that already, her not believing him because of all that shit. She didn't give him anything to trust her either so who knew if she was lying her ass off to cover her butt. Looking at her he already knew that answer, she was a easy thing to read, very expressive. She did rather ramble a lot when she was nervously explaining something, he wondered if this was one of the factors that kept her from the people she came with but it was no matter to him.

He heard the yelp which only fueled his guilt, something he shouldn't bother feeling but did anyway cause it didn't sit right with him threatening her like that. He was just going off by what she'd ramble on about, he didn't feel it to be necessary to explain himself to someone who frankly wouldn't believe a word that came out of his mouth unless it was a threat. The whole thing was repetitive and he wondered how someone could be so afraid of life constantly, living in fear. Sure he felt fear but not of silly things like other people, surely not animals either. He watched though, gazing into her eyes as he noticed the slight daze as she grew lost in her.. thoughts maybe? Something like that, watching and deciphering the emotions that flashed in her eyes. He found himself once again wondering what she was thinking of and didn't realize that he'd moved slightly closer, his one arm resting beside her head against the tree.

Once hearing her squeak her reply, Memphis nodded, leaning away slightly then, giving her some space for her peace of mind but he doubted until he was completely gone and a few days after that she would be able to finally relax. It was strange seeing this much fear in someone, he'd only seen hate, love, respect and rage before directed at him, not this. Sure he was an intimidating guy at times but so was everyone he knew, well now besides this woman cowering before him.

Kratos' eyes widened when she pointed in the direction of one of the camps, his heart leaping in his throat, she knew where it was, she could help him?! For the first time really since she encountered him, the impassive expression, the mask slipped and his eyes lit with relief and un-containable happiness when she gestured to where the Amazon camp was, realizing that he could get there if he was directed enough of the way until things were once again familiar. There was a smile, small, but a genuine smile on the man's lips. He stayed silent as she continued spewing everything she was aware of, nodding. So they came to study them like some plant, his nose crinkled in disgust at this, kinda rather them have planned to come and hunt them down. It wouldn't be as demeaning as that. What were they hoping to gain from this? Who were these people anyway, why did they think themselves above history from us? There were so many questions burning in his mind, ones he wanted answers to but doubted he'd get from her.

He stiffened immediately when she cut herself off, Felis a bit on edge and when she pushed him, it really didn't do anything, like trying to move a brick wall. He though did move with her hands as her words, though was about to grab her and instinctively shield her from whatever it was but she was already on her feet. Memphis didn't hesitate to slowly stand up, watching her cautiously as she picked up the snake, recognizing it. Everyone had to know the species on this island, what the looked like and what would happen with them. It was common knowledge, in order to survive they had to know. He did have to say it was a gorgeous one, he hadn't seen many of them often around, Felis had a good habit of eating snakes that were small enough for him to eat so Kratos never really had the problem with most. But judging from the size of this one, Felis was going to stay well enough away, which he was.

He sighed out loud this time when she begged him not to hurt her, "you didn't hurt me, you wouldn't have been able to move me if I had no wished it," he stated, his voice low as usually, making sure it was quiet more so the others of her tribe could not hear them.

Memphis looked at her, tilting his head a bit to the side, seemingly unfazed that she was holding such a venomous creature, especially near him. In comparison to battle though, it happened. He knew many who liked to use the venom of such beasts on their blades so kill their victims with only a small cut. He listened to her list facts that he for sure was unaware of, only having ever lived on this island. He was intrigued, having not known too much of the behavior of such a snake since his experience around one wasn't frequent. "Thank you, then," he stated, looking at her closely, wondering why she would have bothered to even save his life if she was so afraid of him.

Once hearing that the snake was injured Kratos tensed, being on to enjoy and admire animals himself he grew worried which instead of being hidden was made clear on his expression. He was about to ask if she could and would help it when she continued to ramble on, though he knew she should be able to from the previous ramble about her job and the work he'd seen on the wolf pup earlier which he was positive had been her doing. Memphis looked at Felis, nodding at him which had the feline dash out and towards Adria's tent before looking back at the girl. "Then go help it," he finally voiced, moving away from her and the snake finally, his hands now held up behind his head, showing that he wouldn't do anything, knowing her focus was completely off him which had made him smirk a bit in amusement.

Cade was not stupid. That much was as obvious as her fear. So when he lit up when she mentioned the Amazon camp, she noticed. Originally she'd only told him because she assumed that he would use the information to attack what she assumed would be the enemy for him. But how happy he got and how much he lit up when she mentioned it was the thing that did it for her. She realized instantly it was something more than wanting to attack. Maybe he knew someone there? She wondered briefly, then realized that there was no way she'd be able to accurately guess. And she wasn't about to ask him.

When he said thank you, she had to pause. What was he thanking her for...? Oh yeah. She'd kinda possibly saved his life. She hadn't even thought about it, just acted. It was what she did. She was a kind person in general, and didn't want anyone hurt, especially when she could prevent it. Besides, now that she considered, he hadn't actually done anything to her. Had he threatened her? Yes. Was she still afraid of him? Yes. But now she didn't hold it against him anymore.

It was how worried he looked when she mentioned the snake was hurt that made her want to help him. Ok, she didn't truly want to. But it made the decision. He probably wasn't actually a horrible person. She knew she tended to be paranoid.

With a small nod, she backed from the woods and darted toward her tent, vanishing inside. She started getting the stuff together to stitch up the snake, but she was distracted. She couldn't get the man's hopeful, excited expression out of her mind. Finally she shuffled through some of her paperwork, the snake still calmly around her arm. She dug out one and stared at it. It was a map of the area, with key points like the camps of the Amazons, Gargareans, and the Scientists themselves marked out on it. Various paths were drawn in, snaking from one camp to another. Finally she made her decision. Taking a deep breath, she headed out of the tent. She headed towards the woods, hesitating a long moment before stepping back in. Walking over she nervously held out the map to him.

"Here's a map to the Amazon camp. Or..." She swallowed hard. "I could go with you if you need." Wait, what'd she just say? No, no, that was not okay. She really didn't want to be stuck with him. But she'd seen glimpses of the real him under that scary facade he put up. And dammit, despite herself she was curious and intrigued. And hey, she'd be away from the scientists. Not to mention she'd get to study more wildlife along the way. "I'd just need some of my things. And I'd want to patch up my new friend here-" she nodded to the snake. "-Before I leave. And he'd be coming with." She announced, trembling slightly. Oh she was so afraid of this. But she was always a person to give second chances, and the expression of how worried he'd looked when he found out the snake was injured floated to the center of her mind, strengthening her resolve. He wasn't a bad person, and was actually probably just like any other native here. Of course, all of this was just her guessing. She was petrified of going with him, but even though Cade may not have been brave, she was very determined.

Kratos knew he should have kept his more hidden from her then he had, knowing that it had been a show of weakness, one that he knew one of his people would have eagerly taken advantage of. He knew she was intelligent enough to see it and inquire about it mentally of course since she was the shy type for the most part and frankly scared of him. Sometimes though it was hard to keep up a front when he really did generally care or want to help in some way, being with the Amazons had made him so guarded though.

He did notice her pause as well, which he wasn't too sure as to why. Well he knew if he thanked anyone else back at home they'd give him a fucked up look since it wasn't something common especially from a male to a female in a situation like that. He did kinda hope that she clued into the fact that he wasn't really a bad guy but he wasn't sure if keeping the front of threatening her or whatever would hold true. He brushed it off, she will probably always think of him as a savage and there wasn't much he could do to change that.

Memphis was glad she complied but he knew that she would have helped the snake either way but he knew of her fear and she might have just been too hesitant to do it which wasn't a risk he planned on taking. He watched her quickly dart off to her tent with the snake, knowing Felis was already in there. He sighed, that thing would be the death of him. He lowered his arms, shaking his head before he went over to his bow and arrow, sliding the bow over his shoulder and tucked the arrow into his waist since he hadn't bothered to make something to hold them. He wasn't sure what to do just then, he doubted she'd return unless it was to return the snake to it's habitat once she finished but he couldn't just leave since Felis was in there. He huffed and leaned against a tree, waiting for his mischievous companion. Who in turn had been watching the girl as she collected something instead of tending to the snake. Felis tilted his head curiously, sitting up in the tent, heights and stuff.

Kratos closed his eyes, waiting for Felis, knowing he couldn't call him without drawing the attention of the other people in her camp. He then heard footsteps, frowning since he knew it wasn't Felis. He tensed and snapped his eyes open to see her returning with something in her hand. He frowned in confusion, staring at it then her. His eyes widened when she informed him what it was but he knew he wouldn't be able to read it, it was drawn strangely, differently than what he was used to, trying to follow it would probably get himself more lost, though the question of why she would even give him this arose. Wasn't she terrified of him and now she was giving him something that if he figured out, he could return... He stiffened at her second comment, looking at her intensely, trying to see if there was any alternative motive but saw she was kinda as surprised as him.

Memphis thought over her offer, knowing that he wouldn't really actually reject because he needed to get back home after all these moons, he personally didn't mind if the snake came though he knew Silouanos wasn't overly fond of snakes.. He shoved that thought aside, knowing that was only if he actually got back home. He had suspected that the woman blacksmith he'd befriended had been looking after his horse, well hoped. Eventually his eyes narrowed on her, knowing she was terrified. "Why are you offering to help me?" he asked, knowing that was what he needed to know first before he could accept this deal, knowing that he'd be protecting her basically the whole time but he oddly didn't find the a con.

"I may not be a scientist like the others, but I'm still curious. I wouldn't say no to learning more about you and your people, but studying you like you're some wild animal. You are people, not creatures. Trust me, I know the difference. I study one and get bullied by the other" Cade smiled slightly, shifting awkwardly. She looked down nervously, absently lightly petting the snake's head. "Besides, I'm a veterinarian. You can't honestly tell me there are never any injured animals at your camp. Also, I've already found more critter variety in the small section around my camp than there is anywhere else. I'll get to learn more about the animals here."

She looked down as the snake finally decided to move, slowly moving its way up her arm. She lifted her chin slightly as it loosely coiled around her neck, obviously just wanting to be higher off the ground. As she knew it wasn't a constrictor, Cade was completely unconcerned, showing (and feeling) no fear. If it really wanted to it could kill her no problem with those wicked fangs and venom, but she knew enough about that species to know that generally they wouldn't, and this individual wasn't any more aggressive than the average.

Before he could even say anything, she backed toward her tent. "I'm going to get some stuff ready and bring it out here. Then I'll go back and stitch up my new friend." Turning, she emerged from the woods and made her way back to her tent. Well hell. What did she pack for this? How long was it going to take? She grabbed a messenger bag and threw it into her cot, then darted around the tent. Two pairs of jeans, two shorts, a sweatshirt, and four tshirt sand two tank tops later, she decided it was enough clothing, since she already wore good, comfortable hiking boots. She grabbed another bag for her equipment and started putting stuff in. This was a harder one to pack, so it took some time.She grabbed the first bag and started out, calling a "hello!" To Felis before she exited.

She returned to Memphis and set down the bag near him, studying him. "I mean, I'm not going to lie, you definitely do scare me. A lot. But you haven't actually done anything to me. As long as that streak of not actually hurting me continues, you don't have to threaten me. If you have a question or anything, I'm going to answer it if I can. There's no need to get in my face and threaten me." She said flatly, the cringed back slightly in case he wasn't too pleased with her for what she'd just said.

Swallowing hard, she shifted her weight backwards. "But. Ummm. I'm going to go stitch up the snake. You can come into my tent if you want, it might take a few minutes." She offered, biting her lip awkwardly. She looked down, then suddenly came to a realization. "Umm... Is there something I can call you? You know my name, both real and nickname. But I don't have anything for you." She asked curiously as she started back to the tent yet again.

Kratos was confused when she called the others scientists, not really knowing what that entailed, he didn't have people like that back home, or were referred to that so her reasoning didn't do too much for him though he did agree that many times they had to kill their animals since they were wounded and no one was able to properly treat them. He didn't like knowing that she was bullied though, the term familiar to him and he knew that it was something that happened although he disliked it. So Kratos just nodded, accepting her reasoning, knowing her intent wasn't to harm and frankly she didn't seem like one to be able to do anything to them anyway. "Very well."

Memphis did glance at the snake when it moved, tensing in the slightest when it wrapped around her throat, he knew it wouldn't choke her but it didn't mean it could accidentally do it so the risk made him tense. His gaze then focused on her when she spoke and nodded with a grunt, watching her head back to her tent, wondering if this was actually a smart idea to bring her along, he could just get her to explain how the map worked and be on his way. Less risk for the both of them since he was unsure how the Amazons would take to his return as well as her appearance. He waited for her to return, gaze flicking on her tent and to the other group frequently.

Felis' tail flicked as he watched her pack and jumped down onto the first bag she packed while she was packing the second, then off, waiting for her by the entrance and once she left he trotted out after her, stopping beside Memphis.

Memphis looked over at her when she returned noticing the bags and then flicked his gaze up to her once he felt her stare on him. His lip twitched with her comment about him scaring her, since it was quite obvious that he did. He did cringe in the slightest, not too noticeable though and murmured, "I do recall that it was you begging me not to hurt you," he pointed out, still just a whisper, "I just played off of that fear to get the information I needed," he stated honestly with a shrug.
He did chuckle under his breath, lip curling up on one side since she seemed to keep forgetting to do that. He tensed at her offer, gaze snapping to her before at the group in the not too far distance. He wasn't sure if risking exposure was too smart, he didn't know the consequences of being discovered by the rest of her people which was likely if he followed her to the tent. Despite all that he found himself nodding in agreement and silently cursing himself. "You may refer to me as Memphis," he replied and began to follow her though stopped at the tree line, glanced over at the others before making the rash decision. A few seconds later he'd passed her and was waiting for her by the tent out of eyesight of the others in case they looked over.

"You didn't exactly try to do anything to stop that fear. You just encouraged it." Even as she spoke Cade slipped past him into the tent, reaching up and very carefully unwinding the snake from around her neck. She passed into her supply tent and put on a pair of very clean latex gloves, then got a small metal table along with a small bag. Carefully she set the snake on the table, where it curled up and just basically didn't seem to really care about anything. She opened the bag and fished around, pulling out a small glass bottle and a needle, which she set to the side. She gently turned the snake over onto its back and wiped off the blood from the bite, shaking her head.

This was what she was used to. It was what she was best at, and she relaxed quickly in her natural environment. She spoke aloud as she slid the needle through the rubbery top of the bottle, tipping it upside down. It was something she almost always did, as she found the low and steady tone of voice she used helped keep the animals calmer. But now it was as much so that Memphis would know what she was doing as it was for calming the snake. "This is a tranquilizer. Since a snake is a smaller mass animal I won't need too much, especially since it won't take long at all to stitch it up. But snake scales are hard to go through so it's hurt the poor thing too much if it was awake. So even just this tiny bit will be worth it, because it'll keep him from feeling the pain."

She measured out a small amount into the needle and carefully slid it at a slight angle into the snake's side. It hissed, but she had the tranquilizer injected and the needle out just as quickly as it had gone in, so it stopped. It moved around the table, seeming a bit agitated, and Cade explained the obvious, "It's just because it felt the pain. It didn't know where it was from and it wants to know to protect itself." Quickly though, the snake's movements grew slower. At last it coiled up and grew still. Cade carefully picked up the snake and positioned it onto its back. It didn't move, so she knew it was completely asleep, the tranquilizer having taken effect.

Pulling out more stuff from her bag, the veterinarian quickly threaded the needle and drew it through the skin around the bite marks. She tied it firmly, then repeated the process until she had it all sewn up. She checked all the stitches, then put all her things back into bag number two. She slipped off the gloves and tossed them into the trash can next to where she had positioned the table. "We should be all good to go." She decided firmly, giving the snake a last look over. Crossing the room she pulled the pillowcase off her pillow, then made her way back to the still sleeping snake. She carefully lowered him into it and loosely tied the top. "I'll let him out as soon as he wakes up, but I need to know where he is. So he can stay in here until he's awake." She explained, grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. The pillowcase with the snake she held more carefully, using both arms. Looking around one last time, she lightly bit her lower lip before looking back over at him. "Well. I'm done." She shrugged, heading back out. She pulled the first bag over her shoulder like the other one and waited patiently, ready to follow him.

Kratos shrugged, "you already at the illusion that I am a savage," he stated, watching her as she passed him, sliding into the tent behind, her, "the manifestation of an image put with a person is hard to erase," he stated simply, "encouraging it just meant I could achieve what I needed quicker." He already had too much time wasted trying to find his way back home to be delayed for a lengthy amount of time to make sure these people weren't here to endanger them all though by their numbers and from the looks of it, they could easily just crush them so it wasn't too much of a worry but it would have still been a lost of some lives of his people which he didn't wish.

Memphis was her by the side of the tent, staying out of the way and hidden but watching nonetheless, intrigued. She seemed to at home when she did this, comfortable and confident unlike how he'd first met her. It was quite, well, astonishing and enjoyable. This woman just continued to surprise him. He listened to her explaining what she was doing and why, wondering if it was more for his benefit or the snake's, he had a feeling it was the latter. Either way he took in the information he received though he did wonder what the tranq was, but seeing the snake's reaction he had a feeling it was something causing unconsciousness to befall. He did tense during this, wondering if it had died since he had not seen this type of thing before, nor well anything with the contents of this tent. He was relieved since he saw that snake was still breathing and being taken care of. It did take quite some time but Memphis didn't mind, watching her with interest and have found that he'd inched closer during.

Kratos nodded with her words, glad and well excited to be going back home after all these years. He still didn't hold much resentment though, maybe the first few days he had but he knew that it had happened because him being there defied everything they believed in. "Understandable," he muttered, glancing at Felis who'd followed them in, but didn't say anything else since it hadn't really been directed at him too much, well seemed as so at least. He frowned seeing her getting all this on, wanting to offer his assistance but she was already exiting the tent. He sighed and after a few moments followed and darted back into the cover of the trees with Felis by his side. Once in, he waited for her then asked, "I can offer my aid," he informed her.

If she was completely honest with herself, Cade was surprised at his first words. She never expected these people to be dumb, but they were less scientifically and technologically advanced. It intrigued her that he was so insightful and almost formal sounding with his observation of her. And dammit, he was right. She didn't reply though, keeping those thoughts to herself as she patched up the snake. She also didn't comment on his closeness, though it drew a pleasantly surprised smile to her face. She knew he liked animals from the concern he showed when he first found out the animal was injured, but she hadn't expected him to be so curious about the fixing process itself. 

when he went into the woods after her she decided to make him an offer. "if you'd like I can teach you how to do stuff like this." she offered. "It'd be harder, since I'd have to find a naturally growing substitute for the string, and hopefully one for the tranquilizer, but it could probably be done. Tranquilizer is fairly important, it holds the animal in a controlled unconscious state for a certain amount of time, based on calculations for amount of tranquilizer made from the animals size and how long you want it asleep. But there are other basics I could show you that wouldn't need that. How to better set a broken leg for one, or figure out where an internal injury is. Granted internal ones are hard to find without the right equipment, but with skill sometimes it can be done." Hopefully this would help him trust her a bit more, and simultaneously force her to realize just how far from a savage he was. She knew he wasn't a feral animal, but she wanted to know more. 

Her clear blue gaze looked up at him, surprised by his offer of help. Apparently he was a gentleman too. She gave a slight, hesitant smile and nodded, handing him the equipment bag, which was a big heavier. "....Thank you. Oh wait!" she darted back to her tent and pulled out a piece of paper. On it she scribbled a note about how she was going exploring for a bit to see what other species she could discover. She signed it and placed it neatly on her bed, returning to Memphis soon after. "Anyway. Help is appreciated, thank you. I just had to leave a note explaining that I'd be gone and not to worry." she said simply, pulling out the map. "We go this way first." she decided, starting off. 

Kratos noticed her surprise after he'd spoken, as he said was very true and he knew they both knew that, hell the surprised reaction to her words just confirmed it. He doubted she, or even her people knew much about the Amazons and the Gargareans, speech as well as the ability to fight (usually) were both skills needed, especially an heir like himself, well technically speaking but he knew he would never replace his mother due to the distrust and hatred most Amazons held for him.

When she first made the offer Memphis had been confused to what she was referring to at first but when she continued on with her ramble which he did note seemed to happen when she was nervous as well as when she knew a lot about something. It was quite enduring... no not enduring he didn't know what he was thinking. He shoved those thoughts off and listened to her as she spoke, taking the information in case he did ever need it. He'd been lucky thus far that Felis hadn't been injured or else he would have lost a very close and dear friend, and probably wouldn't even be here today. When she finished Memphis nodded, "I'd like to learn," he stated, knowing that there were only pros to this offer in the long run, specifically building their trust since this venture would take a while and travelling with someone you feared wasn't the best experience.

Memphis waited for her reply, noting the surprised glint in her gaze and the hesitant smile but was pleased when she handed over a bag. He took it, holding it like it was simply feathers and put the strap over his shoulder that wasn't already being used to carry his bow. He nodded at her thank you, saying nothing of it and watched her dart back towards the tent, just hoping that it didn't draw attention. Once she returned he nodded in response, "it is not a problem," he stated. He understood what she did and why after speaking, made sense and well set his mind at rest of being followed though the possibility still stood. When she began in a directions he reached out and stopped her by gently wrapping his hand around her upper arm, not using any force mainly because he was scared of breaking her. "We need to visit my camp first," he stated, having things there they would need for the journey.
Without her reply though he released her arm, glanced once at her camp before he began in the direction of his own camp, Felis darting off ahead of them. He of course expected her to follow, but kept a slow easy pace so she could keep up and not get herself hurt trying to keep up.

When he first touched her, Cade jumped and flinched, but shook it off quickly and had the grace to blush. He'd startled her was all, but she didn't want him thinking that she thought he was a feral animal or something. She followed after him, biting her lip softly. Then the quiet started to make her feel awkward and she burst into cheerful chatter again. "I mean, some basic things aren't hard. Like setting the legs. Just two sturdy branches to hold the broken bone in place, and then tightly tie it on." She explained. "Even using something as simple as vines will work well enough to get it done."

"My brother, Colten, he was never very good at it though." She smiled slightly, her free hand absently going to rub the metal wolf claw necklace. "I mean, he's always been my best friend and I love him to pieces, but he's not very good about the gentle touch." She chuckled lightly, shaking her head. She remembered one time in high school where an essay she'd been working on for weeks had gotten destroyed, and she'd come home crying. And as always, Colten never knew what to do with her tears. Looking back it was almost funny how awkward he was. Basically he'd just handed her every happy thing he could think of. She'd ended up sitting on the couch surrounded by ice cream, a teddy bear, blankets, pillows, and dozens of other things he'd kind of frantically dumped there. He was one of the types who'd rather beat up whoever did the damage than deal with the damage.

For the moment she carefully set the pillow case with the sleeping snake into the bag she held, freeing up her hands. She reached back and pulled her long blonde hair back, wrapping a hair band around it to keep it back. Once she was done she decided to keep the snake in the bag, but she slid one hand in to rest on top of it so she'd know when the reptile woke up. "I just have an older brother named Colten. Do you have any siblings? Or maybe like, I don't know, a cousin you were raised with or something?" She chuckled slightly, a bit helpless. She wasn't exactly sure how to make conversation with him. She didn't know how their family systems worked. All she really knew was that there was a male tribe and a female tribe, and both were rather hostile, and when it came to each other flat out aggressive. But then, he had seemed really eager to get to the Amazons and the women.... Ooh.... Now she had a guess. If she had to bet money on it, she'd guess he had a girlfriend in the Amazons. Was that disappointment she felt in response? Yeah, of course it was. A girlfriend would mean that he didn't have Amazon family, so she'd learn less. That was it for sure.

Kratos stiffened when she flinched but since his grip was loose it didn't hurt her and frankly it would have been easy to get out of if she wanted to. He walked the distance, he didn't really glance behind him at her though, but he knew she was there with her footsteps. He sensed that she was awkward with the silence, something of the sort though he was used to it. He nodded at her words though, he knew about that, he'd done it enough times during battle but other reasons as well. He didn't say anything though, just glanced back at her at the mention of her brother again. He could tell she cared and loved him deeply, it reminded him of his relationship with his mother. He chuckled a bit when she said he wasn't one with a gentle touch. Not many men he'd known do, which weren't many but he knew his Uncle was the affectionate type either though he did try.

Soon they reached his camp, again a small area in between about five trees, three of them being used to keep his leaf cover up. He went under that, grabbing some of his things which were packed in a bag for convenience though unlike her bags, his was obviously handmade from animal skins. He slung that one over his shoulder as well alongside with his bow, tucked in the rest of his arrows into his bag and then went over to scatter the remains of the fire pit around so it wouldn't look as if someone had been there and finally took the cover down, rolling it up and tucked it into his bag as well. Felis watched on a rock, having been there before they arrived. Once Memphis finished he walked over to her and nodded, giving her permission to begin to lead them to the Amazons.

"I am not aware of having any siblings," Memphis stated in response, having seen the change of her hair and where she'd put the snake but he'd been busy gathering his stuff to have seen her do it. "Nor aware of any cousins," he added with a shrug, "I do have an Uncle who raised me, his name is Akakos," he informed her, seeing how she indulged with her brother's name. "He was the one who'd given me Felis," he said, nodding at his Ocelot. "But I have been with my mother for many years now.." he drifted off, frowning a bit, "her name is Lykopis."

"I thought Amazons were all female and Gargareans were male? How could you spend time with her? Obviously you're male, and your mother is female. I... I don't understand how you could spend time with her, let alone years?" Cade wondered aloud, frowning slightly as she looked over at him. She knew of slaves and stuff, but it just didn't track. They were going to the Amazons, so that's where his mother was, but the only males were slaves. And that just didn't click. Memphis was not the slave type, she knew that already. So she was rather confused.

"I don't know what I'd do without my brother." She mused as she started walking forward, glancing down at the map. She turned a couple times before she was sure she was facing the right direction, then nodded firmly, walking forward again. She folded the map up nearly and slid it into the side pocket of her bag. There wasn't exactly a trail, so she had to forge a new path, silently thanking herself for remembering her hiking boots. At least she wasn't some preppy girl who only brought heels, which one of the scientists had done. It was really funny, especially since the woman was an absolute bitch to everyone, not just Cade. So when the bitch's pink high heels broke everyone kind of giggled.

When her bag moved she jumped a mile, then blushed and chuckled slightly at her own awkwardness. She pulled out the pillowcase and untied it, carefully pulling the snake out. It wrapped around her arm, and she tucked the pillowcase into the bag. The snake carefully wound its way up to loop loosely around her neck, and she giggled at the tickling scales. She scratched Felis behind the ears, dodging around a tree.

Kratos nodded, "they are, but all Gargareans are born from Amazons and all Amazons were reproduced by the assistance of a Gargarean," he replied, "it's the only way we haven't all died out yet," he muttered and looked at her. He wasn't sure if he should tell her but he found himself saying it anyway, mainly because.. well he wasn't even too sure, it was more of a rash decision. "I'm not a slave," he stated, "but my mother is the Queen of the Amazons," he found himself admitting to her, "in any technicality, I am her heir," he shrugged and looked away.

Memphis smiled a bit at that, since he felt the same about his mother and well frankly Felis as well. Sure he knew he'd be able to survive and all but he wouldn't be the same if his mother passed, something he definitely wouldn't be ready for. He knew she was a strong woman though, even with his disappearance wouldn't stop her but he knew he had to return. He watched her, following her a bit and making sure she knew where she was going before walking up beside her, glancing around and being hyper aware of their surroundings since it was very important especially in here. He had no problems walking though he kept an eye on her, making sure she didn't stumble and hurt herself or the snake... Felis trotted by his side, though occasionally darted ahead or disappeared from sight only to return moments later.

Kratos tensed up, his hand on his bow when she jumped, senses on end but seeing her blush he relaxed realizing it wasn't a big deal and watched her silently as she took the snake out of her bag and let it wrap around her neck, which he hoped she'd be cautious of because if the snake wanted to go to a passing branch and she didn't realize she could snap her own neck. He internally groaned, rubbing his face. When did he get so paranoid? He followed her, well kinda, he was sorta going on his own path but she was close and in sight. Felis though when he returned and got petted did a slight smug flick of his tail and trotted by her side causing Memphis to roll his eyes.

"If you're a male and her only living child.... How does you being heir work? I mean, all female society. As a male you could never rule a tribe like that." Cade noted, instantly cutting right to the heart of the issue. She wasn't a genius for nothing. At this point it wasn't a real question when she said that, it was a simple statement. There was no doubt that he couldn't be the heir. The other thing she didn't get was how they could reproduce. It made sense that they would, but weren't the two tribes doing their best to kill each other?

She smiled down at Felis, doing her best to let him when she wasn't distracted by trying to not trip and kill herself over a log or something. She dodged around the trees, grinning slightly as she balanced on a log and walked down along it. "So what's your home life like?" She asked curiously, wandering over to him to walk along beside him. "I mean, mine's ok. My parents are both really smart, but they kind of push hard. I love them both to pieces, but I always feel really pressured. My brother and I have adjoining apartments, so that's nice. He's going to become a police officer, which is, I guess.... They're kind of like the Warriors to protect the general public. The average person isn't a fighter."

She knew his society was way different than hers, so as she learned about his, she wanted to return the favor. "Everyone has a separate house, and men and women get along well. People have relationships with people of the opposite gender, wanting to stay with them." She explained as best as she could, pausing and biting her lip. She knew that she probably wasn't doing the best at this. But she was going to try. Suddenly, she reached a horrifying realization. He probably couldn't care less about her world. Most likely she was just annoying him. "Sorry. I know I can... carry on about random, useless things." She blushed.

Kratos said nothing at first, just continued to walk but eventually he spoke, "it won't work, as soon as my mother dies it would be most likely I'd be executed and they'd put someone else to rule them," he stated. He knew the Amazons wouldn't ever accept him, something he had lived with, hell he was dumped in the forest to die due to their dislike of him. He also didn't like thinking of his mother dying, it didn't sit right though he knew it was inevitable. "It isn't something many talk about," he concluded with a shrug, glancing around.

Memphis looked back at her, coming around to the log she was walking across, there by her side in case she lost balance and fell. He was surprised she wished to know how his home life was. He didn't say anything at first of course, listened to her tell him about her own life a home which he definitely enjoyed hearing as much as he won't admit it. He understood pressure, he experienced it as well a many he knew have as well. He was confused when she said police officer but describing it to him he hummed. It seemed odd that so many didn't know how to fight. "It is tense," he said, "not many Amazons like my presence there, but I spend most of my time with my mother, most often training or I'm along side her as we prepare for another battle," he informed her, his gaze focused on her not wanting to miss any movement that may suggest her tipping. "Otherwise I often spend time at the blacksmiths, I have a friend there," he informed her. "Despite what you may believe, there are some that don't fight, the Amazons priestess and healer for example... my friend doesn't partake in battles either, nor was she too good with wielding the weapons she makes before...."

He fell silent after that, thinking about his home life, finding that despite the tension and hatred, he missed it, he didn't care if he was supposed to hate the Amazons because he didn't, he respected those who deemed worthy and that was that. Memphis listened to her talk about her world, finding it strange but in a way he found himself longing to experience it. The separate houses sounded strange, close quarters tended to make him feel slightly connected with those around him. The explanation of relationships intrigued him far more than the silly things she'd said before. He shook his head, "I find it interesting," he stated, looking her in the eye, "are you in one of those... relationships?" he asked curiously, not knowing why he asked or the gut twisting feeling he felt as well as slight rage at the thought of another man entertaining her.

It made sense, but Cade still frowned. "I know that they wouldn't really respect or like you... But would they really try and kill you? You're all fighters, yes. But murder, just because you're a guy?" She said, shaking her head and just seeming generally appalled. She didn't click onto this one either. She already got that the men and women kind of hated each other, but was it really this extreme? "Is it really just that they don't like you, or is it something against your mother?" She asked curiously. Hopefully he didn't take it as an offense. She didn't mean it as one, she just wondered if it was another option.

She laughed softly, shaking her head. "Oh no. I've never been in a relationship." She didn't even question him asking. It was logical that he would be curious, and he didn't know the social acceptables of her world. It made a lot of sense to her that he would ask. "What about you? I mean, I know you don't have relationships like we do, but do you have any kids, or have you tried?" She asked curiously, wanting to try and get to know him better at this point. She didn't know how long this trip would take, but she didn't want to spend it in awkward, fearful silence.

Balancing on the log, Adria walked along beside him, a bit surprised by how hovering he was. She smiled slightly, tilting her head to study him. This protectiveness he seemed to show intrigued her. Maybe he was just curious about her. Maybe he was bringing her into a trap to torture her for information. Maybe it was just because she was the only one here with him that read the map, and anyone else in her camp was probably likely to not help and instead just study him like a weird new fungus. And she was (obviously) not likely to do anything to him. Out of her whole camp, she was probably the least likely to do anything physical to him. And it was pretty obvious. Of course, watching him brought her attention from where she was going and what she was doing, and with Cade that was bound to end poorly. She wasn't the most graceful of people ever. So it wasn't really a huge surprise when yelped slightly and wavered, slipping off the log toward him. But how embarrassing would it be to land on top of him? She wavered for a split second before she managed to shift her weight. It wasn't enough to save herself, but it was enough that instead of landing on top of the Gargarean, she landed on her backside just behind him. She blushed, knowing it was her own foolishness of walking on the log that had gotten her here in the first place. With a slight sigh and a wince she started to push herself back up to her feet.

Kratos nodded, they didn't well most didn't, but very few held neutral feelings towards him and even less liked him let alone respected him. The only faint respect he would receive most likely is a respect of his fighting ability but that was a stretch since more were prideful people. From her words though, her confusion, he knew that like him, she didn't under his society too well like him with her's. "Not all," he corrected, looking at her, "but yes, murder," he stated, "this war isn't just for show, each side has a passion of hatred against the other gender, it isn't going to change because of who my mother is," he informed her with a shrug. He shook his head, he knew his mother was highly respected, "I highly doubt it had anything to do with my mother, my mother is the only reason that I had not been killed earlier or forced into becoming a slave," he said simply. He didn't take offense though, he knew she was just curious and questioning other variables instead of just the obvious ones.

Memphis frowned when she told him this, still cautiously walking beside her, kinda just wanting to lift her up and take her off, then put her down on the forest floor where she wasn't at more risk of falling. He didn't know why she laughed nor why she had not been in a relationship. "Why?" he ended up asking, she was attractive and smart, sure she was not strong but considering what she did possess she would be a good mate. He paused for a moment when she asked if he was in one, which was definitely a no but clarifying he chuckled and shook his head. "I do not have a child nor have tried," he answered her.

Memphis kept in step with her, keeping his gaze on her, knowing he was being a bit too obvious with his protective instincts but that was shoved to the back of his mind. He wasn't really usually this protective, sure he killed his father for bitching about his mother but Adria, her softness, her naivety despite her intelligence, her lack of physical strength and violence just drew him in and urged those instincts out. Unfortunately, by the time she began wobbling, Felis distracted him by brushing against his leg, basically cowering and he looked down at him then away, around since Felis tended to only cower when he scented wolves. He stiffened when he heard the yelp, whipping his head in her direction and frankly everything slowed. He watched as she fell off the log towards him, but he was just a turn too late since she pitched to the area behind him and by the time he was facing her she'd already fallen. Luckily it wasn't too big of a fall but he cringed either way, "are you well?" he demanded, grasping her upper arm, his grip more firm than before put only because he pulled her to her feet, checking over her to see if she had any other injures as well as checked to see if the fall had caused the snake to react violently or get hurt as well.

((I'm super sorry about this one I'm just major writer block I'll make up to you in the next one don't hate me))

"Yes, I am well." Blushing fiercely, Cade used his help to regain her feet, avoiding looking over at him. She held onto it to help balance her for a moment, looking down at her feet. But even once she was set back up and standing neatly, she didn't let go. She kind of pretended to it or it, not quite acknowledging that they still had any physical contact between the two of them. "Sorry about that." She sighed. "I'm not the most graceful of people." An awkwardly embarrassed laugh escaped, and she finally looked up at him. "Thank you, though." She said softly, biting on her lower lip. She used her free hand to carefully readjust the snake, which had tightened its grip when she fell.

"My people... Well, my people value looks or physical ability over anything else. I'm more in the brains department than anything else, so people don't think of me as relationship material. And personality wise, I'm a target. I'm too nice to stand up for myself, and my people take advantage of that." The veterinarian explained, lightly biting her lip as she looked over at him. To be completely honest, it didn't bother her anymore. Obviously she didn't exactly like being bullied, but it had been going on for a long time. She knew and accepted it as a fact. Kind of sad, really, but it was easier to just convince herself it was perfectly normal than to agonize over it constantly.

((It's totally fine, thanks for explaining :) ))

Kratos wasn't too convinced but since he'd checked her over an everything he knew she might have a few bruising in some areas she was otherwise unharmed. While her gaze was nonexistent on him for the most part, his own gaze was down on her almost intensely. He kept a grip on her as she got her balance finding that he actually enjoyed the experience of holding her, the women he knew were usually strong, firm, on their own and rarely needed assistance. Adria, she wasn't like that, she was soft, delicate almost breakable to him, it made fierce protectiveness wash over him, for a moment his mind blanking and only wishing to hide her and protect her from the rest of the world crossed his mind before he composed himself, shocked by his thoughts but couldn't find it in himself to feel the slightest of guilt.
He also did notice that it took her a while to release him, stirring something in him that he quickly diminished without a second thought. "Be more careful," he said, unable to stop the concern expression on his features though he acknowledged the fact his words could be taken rudely he was just worried, if she knew she was clumsy why risk herself like that? He nodded though, "it wasn't a problem, I just wish I reacted sooner," he admitted watching her readjust the snake and relaxed momentarily.

Once knowing she was alright and ready to continue traveling, he motioned for her to continue on, following a step behind her, watching her but the surroundings as well as they walked, listening to her tell him of her people while Felis darted about but occasionally fell in line with them. He grunted, nodding, he knew both values were highly regraded, more physical ability more than anything but otherwise it was all about reproduction with them. He frowned at her words though, intelligence was what allowed people to survive, why would they not find this a grand quality? Besides, she may lack physical ability from the seems of it, but she had looks and brains, which in his mind made up for all that. He did understand why she was a target, hell even he had that in mind, using her since she seemed to be the weak link, like a sickly deer in a herd. It made him feel angry though at the thoughts of her being injured or hurt in any way because of how kind she was, it was a rare trait in his mind, he knew many women who were unkind, especially to the likes of him or any other men. "I am sorry," he finally voiced, meeting her gaze, "I am sure your brother helped protect you, correct?" he said, remembering how she explained how close they were. He vowed right then that he'd take over her brother's job of protecting her while she was here, something that he didn't think too much on which was lucky cause he would have been shocked with himself if he had.

Eventually, after a mile or so of walking, he stopped them, knowing they'd previously already wasted the day and it would become nightfall soon. "We will camp here for tonight," he instructed her, "clear an area for a fire, collect some fire wood as well, I'll go hunt for something for us to eat," he informed her, putting his and her bag carefully down while taking out his arrows and tucking it with his first one.

Slightly stung, Adria looked over at him sharply at his almost patronizing tone of his warning. But then she saw his face, and she stopped and bit her lip. He looked honestly worried, so she couldn't fault him. She closed her mouth, studying him. It was odd to have someone besides her brother so honestly worried about her. Especially someone that was still essentially a stranger. And it was actually... Well, it was flattering that he cared enough to actively want to avoid her getting hurt. How lame was that? She thought that someone actually being nice to her in return was unusual. She blushed faintly, looking down at her feet as she walked along beside him. "It's alright. It's not your fault. You can't be expected to be able to tell the future and know exactly when and where I was going to fall." She reassured him as best as she could, looking over at him with a faint smile.
"You don't have to be sorry for anything. You didn't do it." She shrugged simply, looking down at the ground to watch where she walked. Another horribly embarrassing falling incident was definitely not what she needed here. One was way more than enough. The fact that even one had happened at all was humiliating to her. She nodded, smiling slightly. "Yeah, Colten helped a lot. But I didn't tell him everything that happened, and there was only so much he could do. He got in major trouble once for helping me, if I told him he'd just do it again and get in even more trouble. I know he would without even thinking about the consequences, so I couldn't let him do that to himself. It wasn't worth it. Especially since after a while he didn't even got to school with me anymore. Then it would just be me being a drama queen of I asked for his help with it." She explained as she trudged along beside him.

By the time they reached the little clearing, Cade was struggling. As she had said, physical things were not her strong suit. You needed someone to calm down a bear and give it stitches? She could do that, no problem. You needed someone to go out and find a bear? Then there was the struggle. Tracking and stuff she was okay with, it was all just animal things. But the whole moving around effort that would be required to find the signs and animal itself, well... That's where the problem came up. If you needed physical things done, Cade was definitely not your girl. It was something she knew and had always acknowledged about herself. PE was her absolute worst class in high school. But still, she didn't want to make him do all the work. She set her bag down by a tree and paused for a minute, taking a deep breath. Then she went into the middle of the clearing and started actually clearing it. Little twigs, leaves, small logs, all of them were shoved to just outside of the clearing. Then she started gathering twigs and logs. This she did know how to do. She arranged them in a neat pyramid of wood in the very center, with a small pile of back up logs a little bit away from the fire location. Digging into her pocket, she pulled out a cigarette lighter. She didn't smoke, but in a place like this where you could get lost and have to make a fire, she had quite a few with her. She carefully lit a leaf on fire, then lowered it in. The smaller twigs lit and it grew to a nice, smallish sized blaze that she sat beside, looking for Felis.

"Oh yeah, and Memphis? If you can catch a mouse or squirrel or something small like that, I'm sure our friend would appreciate it." She called, pointing to the snake. "And since I need something specific to call him besides just 'friend,' I'm naming him Vampire. Disgustingly cheesy, I know. But, I don't know if you have this myth, but vampires are fantasy creatures that look human but they have really long fangs and survive on drinking human blood. I thought it fitting with the fangs and then on the other hand really ironic with how relaxed our own Vampire is." She chuckled slightly, though she was actually kind of anxious. She always hated being judged for things, even if it was someone she didn't know that well, like Memphis.

Looking at her face after he'd spoken those words he knew he'd approached them wrong but he couldn't take it back and he'd probably say something even more worse. His people weren't technically the comforting kind, sure they did do it, but their strong suit was usually fighting. He sure wasn't good at reassurance, too much at least, he was more direct and sometimes harsh but coming from his past and ancestor it was understandable. He was glad she seemed to get that he was concerned for her well being, maybe she thought it was because she was the only one that could read the map and he needed it or something of the sort but he knew he was generally just worried about this fragile girl.
Once they returned to walking, his gaze almost always on her, something he could do easily knowing how to walk in these woods with ease unlike her he noticed but didn't judge her on it. He shrugged in response to her words, "we travel together, your safety is important," he stated, looking at her, "failure to do so is on me," he stated simply.
He nodded as he listened to her tell him about her brother, someone he wasn't sure he'd ever be comfortable meeting since he seemed the type to go all alpha male on him if he saw something he didn't like about Kratos and frankly, he was guessing that would be everything about him. He did enjoy hearing this though, knowing that she had someone who wanted to protect her but getting in trouble where the guilty party was those he done the trouble to seemed too out fetched for him, something he didn't like. He didn't say much of anything as she told him, just contently walked and listened as he glanced around.


The main reason to the stop was Memphis knew she couldn't handle any more of walking where he could continue far into the night and only need to rest a few hours before venturing on. He left once he informed her of his plan and went off immediately to fetch them some food. So while she gather and began the fire, Memphis and Felis were off hunting down some rabbits since he frankly didn't feel like tracking and hunting down a deer and rabbits were just more convenient, tasty and can be used variously. He was able to catch two good sized rabbits before he began heading back, having his arrows cleaned and back in his waist band while he carried the bunnies back by their hind legs while Felis trotted by his side, eager for food but once close enough to the just made camp he darted off to find Cade. Once finding her he laid himself down by her, laying his head on his paws and closing his eyes.

So when he arrived he heard Cade beginning to talk to him and he paused, listening to what she had to say and knew Felis would have a better time and easier time catching a mouse or something small than he would. He entered the area bringing in the rabbits hoping she didn't have a thing about eating dead animals or something of the like because then she'd been starving herself before they could even begin. He heard her ramble of the snakes new found name which made him faintly amused though just as much as confused due to the knowledge of the species he lacked. He nodded, "vampire is fine," he assured the rambling woman and whistled for Felis to get up which he did immediately. "Track down small food," he instructed the cat that after hesitating and looking between them both it darted off to return with food. He sat down near the fire after that and looked at her, "he will come back with food for Vampire," he informed her while he reach over to his bag, tugging out his knife that he used to skin his hunted food and proceeded to do the grueling chore to begin cooking it over the heat once finished. This of course took him some time, having to skin two rabbits but soon he had them prepared but knew he couldn't begin yet. He stood and looked at her, "think you can look after them for a moment?" he asked, referring to the skinless corpses in his hand.

"It's still not your fault. It's impossible to protect someone all the time. No matter who the protector and protected are. And as I'm not the most graceful person ever, it's definitely impossible to protect me all the time. Even for a big, tough Gargarean such as yourself." Adria smiled over at him, "You've already done way more than anyone else besides Colten ever has for me. And you've only known me for a little while. Please, take it easy on yourself." She implored, biting her lip. That was another thing about Memphis that made her think of her brother. That odd over protectiveness that she had never understood. A lot of things about Memphis reminded her of Colten. It was odd though, because it was in a very different way. She liked them both, obviously. Just in very, very different ways. She loved her brother as a brother. She liked Memphis.... How did she like him? It took her a minute to register that she actually did like him. But she couldn't put her finger on exactly how she liked him.

Cade's brother had always liked to hunt, so this was nothing new to her. And Colten always ended up coming home with whole ducks and things, and a bunch. So she'd end up helping him clean them. With her medical expertise on animals, she was good at it. She knew where all the innards and everything were, so she could locate it easily. And blood and guts didn't bother her. Digging into her back she pulled out a hunting knife. She couldn't use it to defend herself or anything, but it was another gift from Colten that she knew would probably have some sort of use here. And here was that use. She really had no problems with hunters or anything. As long as they were good about it. Trophy hunters she hated more than almost anything. Or the ones that just wanted the animal down. As long as it was a quick, clean kill and they actually used the animal for food and important things and not just wasted, she was okay with it.

Carefully she sliced up the stomach of the first rabbit, opening it up. She pulled out the guts and set them to the side, then did the same thing with the next one. "Felis can have the guts and stuff, unless you want them. Most wild cats will eat whatever they can get, so unless yours is all picky this should be a nice snack." She smiled slightly, getting to her feet. "I'll be right back." She stepped out into the woods, searching around. Soon she returned with a few large wet leaves. She wrapped the rabbits up in the leaves and set them in the fire, on the edge. Then she sat back down, crossing her legs.

Kratos looked at her with a slight scowl, "it's improbable," he stated, "but it does not change my view on it," he stated. "The fact your are less from graceful and untrained is exactly why you are in need of protection, especially here," he stated firmly and shrugged a bit. It felt odd being called a Gargarean after these long years away from his home, it was strangely familiar leaving a slight longing within him. He looked back at her when she spoke again, stunning for a moment because her words held strong truth. It made no sense why he was like this with her after such little time, but he found he was unable to not think this way, of wanting to make sure and protect her. It could be because she was so defenseless and feminine in a delicate sense, especially from what he was used to. "I do not think I can 'take it easy on myself'," he said, voicing the strange way she'd referred to it and raised an eyebrow. He knew for sure that his feelings, whatever they were for her were strong enough for him to feel overbearing for her safety. He exhaled sharply through his nose, wondering what it meant but he didn't bother delving too deep into it and shoved it from the forefront of his mind, thinking surely it was due to the lack of human interaction for so many years.

The action of hunting was something Memphis was good at, having developed a lot of the skills during his long years away from home though he already had the basics down and more so. He'd perfected it though, and even after he took no joy in ending an animals life, it was purely the circle of life in his mind and one day his body would be returned just as he'd taken many others. So when he'd skinned the creatures, he made sure to do it quickly but effectively so that the skin and fur remained mostly in tacked knowing he could use them for something else later. He was one to collect what he could knowing he could use it for something else instead of wasting what he'd been given. So while she sliced the corpses open and rid them of their organs, an act that he did have to admit he didn't entirely enjoy though did nonetheless. It wasn't that he was disgusted, he'd done and seen far worse but it just wasn't the most fun thing to do. Anyway, while she did that, he proceeded to clean the skins he'd gotten, this of course meant he'd spread them onto some rocks in the area and scraped as much flesh off as he could, being careful not to make holes of course. After a bit he had it wrapped, rolled and tucked into his bag for a later use.

He sat back down near the fire, glad to have someone assisting him with cooking. He nodded, "he will, but get rid of the stomach and intestines," he murmured, Felis refused eating those and frankly Memphis knew he'd give him some of his cooked meat if he didn't eat on his hunting trip. Memphis watched Adria walk off and return with the wet leaves, a style of cooking he was familiar with but didn't do too often. He got up then, "I'll return," was all he said, being fairly vague and went to his bag, grabbing something before he walked off.

Felis returned first, slinking silently into the area and seemed to appear beside her, dropping the dead, pretty large toad from his mouth beside her, padded a bit away before he sat down and began to groom himself.
Memphis returned a bit later after Felis did, carrying a fairly large water pouch, made from skins and went returned to the fire, sitting down. He'd found a creek not too too far away, fresh water luckily.

With a sigh, Cade smiled slightly at her self-appointed protector. "Alright. I won't try and stop you. Thank you, as a matter of fact. It's sweet of you." When he sat down beside her she lightly kissed his cheek in gratitude. "And thank you Felis." She smiled over at the cat, reaching around over to him and gently scratching him behind the ears. After handing the frog to the snake (who started in on it quickly) she set the stomach and intestines off to the side as requested and moved the rest over to Felis. "Have a treat in return." She checked on the rabbit, and as expected it had a lot more left to go. She turned it over on the fire, wanting to make sure everything was all evenly cooked. She sat quietly for a moment, then sighed and rose to her feet. "I'll be back. I want to get the blood off my hands." She explained, plunging into the trees before he could stop her.

Carefully Cade made her way in the direction Memphis had come from, soon finding the creek. Kneeling down, she washed her hands in the water, watching the red of blood stream away from her skin. She looked around curiously as she rinsed off her hands, hoping to find some other wildlife. Luckily for her, or unluckily depending on how you looked at it, she did. It was easy to miss, even for her, who was looking for animals. Cade was odd. Around just simply people she was always scared. But now, watching a jaguar lay in her tree and stare at Cade, the veterinarian didn't even feel nervous. She understood animals, how they worked and their habits. She knew it was unlikely to attack her unless she did something drastic or it was starving. And judging by the dead deer carcass up there in the tree with it, it wasn't starving. For a few long moments, she just sat there in awe watching the big cat. She had worked with them before, but this was different. It was the cat's home turf, and it was wild. For those moments Cade watched, the cat didn't do anything different. Both studied each other curiously, Cade with excitement and curious it's and the cat with a vague, almost royal seeming disinterest. Then, slowly and carefully, the woman backed away, ducking her head slightly so it wouldn't seem like she was challenging the cat.

Once she was out of direct sight she took off back toward the camp, excited and frankly thrilled. But she was smart about it, so as she stepped into the cleaning the first thing she said was logical concern for the others. "We might want Felis to stay close. There's a big jaguar that seems to have claimed the creek area. Usually they won't do anything, especially this one as she already has a kill, but still. I think we should be cautious." She was smiling happily though, absolutely fascinated by all the variety here. And as a veterinarian, she was ecstatic at the thought of Jaguars running around. She tilted her head to listen as a harsh, coughing roar rolled through, smiling wider. "That's her. Good news. That was basically a claim thing, saying that this camp area was hers. And she had ample opportunity to attack me, so. Basically she's curious and wants to keep this to herself. So that just scared all the other big predators and everything else away. But she won't attack us herself."

Kratos held back a snort when she said she wouldn't try and stop him because he knew that frankly she wouldn't be able to anyhow. He shook his head in his amusement at the thought before turning his attention to Cade, assessing her with an unreadable expression. His lip switched when she said it was sweet of him to do that, he was assuming it meant it was nice of him to do. His eyes widened though when she kissed his cheek, staring at her as she turned her attention to Felis. His hand rose to his cheek, touching it, blinking after bit. He didn't know what it meant, but he found he liked it, and with a small smile he put his hand down. Felis looked over at her when his name was spoken, his leg in the air since he'd been grooming it. He put his leg down when she scratched his ear, causing him to lean into the touch and close his eyes. He opened them when she stopped, watched as she moved the other organs for him to eat and he got to his feet to do just that.
Kratos watched her the whole time though, noting that she did have a lot of survival skills that he hadn't thought someone so clean would have. He liked the company though, found that not having to cook and having his mind off his predicament to be exhilarating. He tensed when she said she'd be back, his protective instincts not liking that she was leaving his field of vision but he kept his mouth shut, watching her leave before looking at the fire and keeping an eye on the food while she was gone.

While she was gone, since they were going to camp here, he got up, avoiding the eating Felis and got out the sheet of leaves he had out of his bag and unrolled it. Once he'd done this, he moved away, looking around the area for a good spot and once he'd found it he tied the cover up by the trees, making sure it was secure before he tended to the earth below it, grabbing the large buck skin he'd been using as a blanket for a while now. He didn't lay it down right away of course, just slung it over his shoulders for now to keep the cold off his back and sat back down near the fire.

He was beginning to worry when she hadn't returned yet, tense and gaze flicking to the trees she'd disappeared though, seconds from tracking her down but when he heard her coming back he relaxed, though she wasn't the most silent walking but in this case it helped him. He watched as she bounded into camp with a smile on her lips, wondering what she'd seen when he clued in after her words. He nodded, knowing Felis heard the words 'stay' and 'Felis' from her so he knew that he had to stay in the area. He nodded though, "I understand," he said, though he wasn't too worried since if it decided that it's kill wasn't enough Memphis could easily handle it but if they could avoid it he would make sure to. He paused upon hearing the roar and the corner of his lips curled a bit. He nodded in response to her words, looking towards the direction the noise came from. He didn't know too much about animal behavior besides the obvious, he didn't think too much on it so learning all this was interesting and enjoyable. He nodded and looked at her with a small smile, "I take it that you enjoyed your encounter," he mused and looked at their cooking dinner. Too bad his people weren't like animals otherwise he had a feeling she'd be just fine, unfortunately they were unpredictable at times, sorta like some creatures but for the most part they gave away what they were planning.

She was excited enough about her encounter that she really didn't even think twice about where she sat, and she ended up sitting directly next to him. They'd seemed to have worked out an arrangement that didn't involve him intimidating and threatening her, so she wasn't as scared anymore. Well, alright, yes she was. But now fear wasn't the first thing on her mind when she considered Memphis. Especially when her mind was filled with thoughts of the big cat she had seen.

"Around where I'm from Jaguars are super rare. Well, there's none naturally found in my immediate area. But there used to be more in the Americas, unfortunately they're a lot rarer now. Their body including their head is usually like 4-6 feet long, but adding the tail it's 6-8. Since they spend a lot of time in the trees they use the big tail for balance. Cubs stay with their mother for up to two years, so we should probably keep an eye out for younger, curious ones that are still learning. Look up too. They're one of the cats that hunt from the trees. Most felines bite the back of the neck to kill their prey, but Jaguars just go right for the back of the head. They have super powerful jaws so they can just crush right through the skull."

As she explained all this in a light hearted, almost cheerful manner, Adria used a sturdy stick in arms reach to pull one of the rabbits from the fire. Then she unwrapped the leaves, her nose twitching as a delicious smell came up from it. She offered it over to Memphis, looking thoughtful. "What do you think, is it done?" She asked, looking up at him and awaiting his opinion.

Mephis was surprised at her choice of seating, but he said nothing about it nor did he made a move just in case it caused her to realize and began to become fearful of him once more. He wasn't used to such fear from a woman, he was used to hatred, at times respect but fear wasn't something that was there unless they were about to be killed and feared death but he hasn't needed to kill an Amazon for many many years now. As he looked looked at Cade, his a corner of his lips curled up into a crooked smile seeing the sheer excitement in her eyes amused him but made him feel something that he hadn't for a while.

Kratos put his elbow on the top of his knee and rested his head on his hand, this position automatically tilting his upper body to face her. He silently listened to her as she rambled on about the specie she'd encountered. He listened and noted all the facts she told him, finding them interesting but more so from her than having heard it from someone else, that he knew for sure. He enjoyed how much her eyes simply glowed with excitement and fascination as she talked about the Jaguars. She knew a lot, were all of her people this filled with facts. They sure learned a lot, his people weren't exactly focused on any sort of thing like that. He did know their killing habits though, it was needed to know especially since he was living with them for years now. Either way he did not voice his thoughts since he was really just content in listening.

Memphis' lifted his head up and looked at her, watching her as she did this, he looked at it and shrugged, "one way to find out," he stated since the outside looked cooked enough but the inside was the question. He grabbed his knife and slit a section of it open slightly, just enough. He nodded, "it's done," he stated, seeing its meat on the inside wasn't raw still but cooked as well.

"We should be careful when we finish, so that our new friend doesn't come over to investigate the food smell." Cade advised simply. She knew she was stating the obvious, but it couldn't hurt to remind him. Uh oh. What if he thought that she thought he was stupid or something? She hastened to change her wording, adding almost frantically, "I mean, I know you know that. But a lot of the people back at my camp aren't really used to big wild animals and stuff so I always have to warn them and I know I shouldn't have to tell you I'm just used to it." She blushed.

Looking down, she fell silent for the moment as she reached forward into the fire to pull out the other rabbit. She was so flustered she forgot to use the stick, instead just pulling it straight out. Dropping the rabbit by her feet she yanked her hand back to study, finding it only slightly pink because of how short the contact had been. It stung for now, but she knew the feeling would fade in a bit and the worst she would get from this would be equivalent to a mild sunburn.

She carefully opened up the leaves from around her own rabbit now, too embarrassed to really look at him now. She reached down for the rabbit and started to tear a piece off with her fingers, but flinched back from the heat. Yet again she'd been too absorbed with how stupid she had looked that she forgot to avoid looking stupid now. Looking over she saw her own knife and without thinking, reached across Memphis to get to it. When she started to pull back it brought her face to face with him, mere inches away. Her blush darkened and she bit her lip, starting to resume pulling back and away.

Memphis raised a brow when she told him that, it didn't look as she was really thinking as she said it though, because if she was she would have realized he would have known that since it was pretty obvious he'd know what do, especially knowing the little fact was definitely a key to survival, one of many tips for living in the wilderness. He wasn't offended or mad though, so when she quickly explained herself and why she said it only caused him to nod and then give her a small reassuring smile, "it's fine, habits are hard to beat," he stated with a simply shrug and left the topic.

He was going to offer for her to have the rabbit she'd already picked out but she was already going for the other once, he put the rabbit onto his lap when he noticed her reaching her hand into to grab the leaf wrapped rabbit. He jerked forward to stop her but it was already too late, she's grabbed it and gave herself a superficial burn. He stared at her, wondering what was up with her, she seemed very out of it now, was it because she was still in a jaguar daze? It was seriously concerning. He tried to think if he had anything for burns, he knew he'd gotten a small burn a while ago, a long while ago but accidents happen. He'd made a cream from herbs and bark, well was on a piece of bark. He was sure he'd used it but if it was still painful he could easily make some.

Kratos went to voice his thoughts, wanting to question her and how her hand were feeling especially after seeing her flinch but he fell immediately silent when she suddenly leaned across him causing him to lean back a bit, eyes wide and frozen, not even breathing at this point because he wasn't sure what he'd do if he breathed. Kratos' breath seemed to hitch when she pulled back a bit making their faces inches from each other. Memphis met her gaze with his own widened eyes actually holding mixed emotions. His gaze broke from her's, flicking down when she bit her lip, feeling something more primitive urge. He wanted to stop her from pulling away and to replace her teeth with his own... Kratos jerked back upon the realization of his thoughts, shocked by them and covered up his expression, looking away from her.

Though she was absolutely determined to not be some cliche, Cade was not blind. She had noticed his attractiveness, but her fear had overwhelmed it. So she hadn't really taken the time to notice and register it before. Now that she wasn't as scared of him, however, she did notice. In the blink of an eye she took in their closeness and his looks, and suddenly made a decision. Young adult cliche be damned. She wasn't heroine material, so no matter what happened she wouldn't be a stereotype. Right? Right. Well, that's what she thought.

And until he'd basically rejected her unintentional Move. And then she found herself crushing on him hardcore. As she stared back at him, her eyes were wide with her pupils dilated, and her breathing a bit quicker, but she didn't say a word. When he turned away she blinked, her teeth's grip on her lip tightening as she pulled the rest of the way back. Great. Just when she realized that she knew he wouldn't kill her and started her crush... He turned her down ice-cold. Didn't even acknowledge it. Didn't take the opportunity she'd unwittingly given him. All the almost over the top politeness he'd given her since her scare fled in the blink of an eye.

"S-s-sorry..." She stammered, mortified. It made her mad at herself how hurt she was as she pulled away, not looking at him again. She shifted in her place slightly, away from him a little bit. Not a lot at all, maybe half an inch if that, but noticeable. Of course it didn't look like she hated him or anything, but her discomfort was blatantly obvious. Determinedly she stared down at her rabbit, and it was a full half minute before she realized she hadn't moved in a bit. She shook her head sharply to loosen herself up and nearly cut off a piece of the rabbit with her knife. It was kind of sad she was so embarrassed and wrapped up in her mortified thoughts that she didn't register how delicious it was as she took a bite and swallowed, almost mechanically reaching to cut off another piece.

Memphis, well he was oblivious in many ways, his people they didn't do romance, it wasn't really ever heard of because everyone hated each other for the most part. So recognizing lust or liking of someone wasn't something that came to him. He knew she was uneasy and feared him, that's all he knew, sure she was okay around him for the most part which he was okay with but he couldn't realize she would feel something. He worried about her reaction if he had succumbed to his urge and claimed those soft looking lips of hers. He feared her reaction, she'd be appalled, that's for sure and with that fear leading him on it wasn't too hard to turn away. He wouldn't be able to handle another look of fear, but that mixed with disgust would just... he couldn't handle it.

Once she pulled away he finally released his breath in relief..? He didn't view it too much as relief but it kept that urge from being over whelming. He couldn't prove to her that they were animals, instinctive animals that did whatever they wanted, give her a reason to be fearful. Unfortunately since the topic of romance was unknown to him, he couldn't begin to contemplate what his actions would make her feel, hell he didn't even notice she could have been feeling the exact same effects but he was unsure how her people worked, they could be much different from his people.

Kratos finally looked at her, running a hand through his blonde locks, "don't it's fine," he assured, honestly, hell he wanted her closer, so much closer but he didn't want to risk her reaction, they still had quite the distance before he got back home. He looked away seeing as she wasn't looking at him, maybe she'd realized he'd desired her, she was probably disgusted her or something, she could be embarrassed. Kratos realized he should be embarrassed as well but he didn't find it in himself to be. He picked his rabbit up off his lap and stuck his blade into the ground before he began to silently eat, often looking at the fire while he chewed. After a while of silence he swallowed and glanced at her, gaze flicking at her lips before quickly away, "it's good, thanks," he finally said and continued eating.

((The tension in this is so damn frustrating honestly. Like I want Cade to go for it just to get rid of this suspense but I don't think she'd be one to make a move goddammit))

((I think, that we should keep the tension, it'll make them head to bed quicker and in the morning something could happen. Since they'd be laying together right??))

More than she had yet in this trip, Adria suddenly wanted to go home. She wanted to sit in her fluffy, squishy chair with a book and look up as the door connecting their rooms opened. Having shared rooms with her brother and been best friends with him for forever, it was almost expected that one would go to the other's too sometime during the evening. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they just sat quietly with a book or homework and enjoyed each other's company, sometimes they helped each other out with homework.

She wanted to be sitting on a couch explaining her unrequited crush to her brother. He had always had good advice when she was going to school and liked a classmate, usually somewhere along the lines of "screw him, you're too good for him anyways." But telling herself that just wasn't the same. Home was the land of simplicity for her. Work at the zoo with the animals, come home, hang with Colten... And never have to worry about guys. There weren't any that she worked with that she had to worry about. Granted, she didn't really work with anyone, they all had different jobs.

Closing her eyes, Cade was so absorbed in her thoughts of home that she hardly realized that she had finished her rabbit. She set the bones aside in a nice neat pile, hesitating. "Um. Well. I'm going to turn in early tonight..." She trailed off, heading to her stuff. The snake was carefully set into the pillowcase so he would stick around and A) not get eaten B) she could check his stitches. The case was gently set inside her bag (padded with clothes so there were no pointy things sticking out), a dark cool place she knew would be nice. Carefully she unfolded both of the two large blankets, setting one on the ground and the other on top. Two pillows went in, one on each side. She slid in between the blankets without worrying about pajamas (it was never a good time to have a first clothes change in front of someone, but right now would probably be the absolute worst time), deliberately only on less than half. If he wanted to be could just slid into the other half no problem. Not that she expected him to after that hardcore rejection.

Memphis said nothing else after this, hoping to the gods that she hadn't actually noticed his reaction to her closeness. This was all so confusing for him, he'd never felt anything for other woman, not a hint of attraction, hell he'd never been to the Styrs once in his long life so even reproducing was something he was naive about. Back in the Gargarean's camp, he wasn't every mingling with any of the men there besides his uncle, until the battle with his father where he slaughtered him. He'd heard no talk of such from his uncle and obviously not anything about it of the men occupying the camp. War was something they cared about and it wasn't much different than with the Amazons. There he saw more woman who were pregnant meaning it happened but besides stating obvious tradition there wasn't much enthusiasm for it, especially by his mother. He doubted she'd ever partake in it though a few times he'd wished for a younger sibling to care for, it would have been nice but his mother was already risking letting him live with the Amazons that he couldn't bother wishing for much else but being by her side.

Memphis exhaled, staring into the fire as he thought about all this, questioning the reason for his urges while thinking of his life back home as he ate. He did see the Amazon camp as his home even if he wasn't too welcomed there, it was where he'd rather be than anywhere else in the world. Though he was beginning to realize, the more time he spent with this foreign woman, the more he wanted her by his side, and not just for short term, but definitely longer, much longer if his body wasn't just craving primitive practices since it's been deprived since maturity where such desires manifested.

Kratos soon realized he'd eaten all but the bone of his rabbit and clued into the fact Cade had left her spot beside him, making him realize why his side felt suddenly cold. He inhaled, he couldn't let these thoughts stop him from reaching home, he refused. Getting back to his mother meant so much more to him though, he feared that spending more time learning about this woman and being around her would cause him to wish to be by her side as well. He shook his head at such thoughts and tossed the bones into the fire to burn off the rest of the fat and meat so it wouldn't draw animals to their camp. He sat watching the fire for a little longer before he stood up and glanced over at her seeing she'd laid out a place of rest underneath the cover already and was curled up on one side of it. He glanced over the other side carefully, wondering if she expected him to lay beside her. He swallowed hard, closing his eyes for a moment before he made his decision. The night would definitely be cool, very cool in fact so sleeping under the same blanket would be beneficial to them. At least that is what he convinced himself was the only reason he was doing this. He moved over to his bag to pull out his own fur blanket which would increase the warmth provided already, stripped off his shirt and headed over. He wasn't sure if she was asleep or not, though by her heart beat he was safe to say she probably wasn't just yet. Either way he silently slid in beside her, laying the fur blanket to cover them both but he was propped up, staring at the pillow, brows furrowed in confusion. He didn't want to bother her so he just laid his head down on the odd shaped things and closed his eyes, feeling the drowsiness begin to wash over him as he murmured a soft goodnight, unsure she'd hear but said it anyway before he slipped off into unconsciousness, not too worried about the still burning fire, it would ward most animals away anyway.

Felis after cleaning himself after his own meal trotted over to the two of them, walking right up onto the blankets and curled himself into a ball by Kratos' head, the opposite side Cade's head was placed, but it did cause Memphis to unconsciously move away from Felis and closer to Cade.

Cade was very, very aware that he was next to her. She was tense, but she didn't move. She very carefully didn't move. But the blanket was warm and she was cold, and despite his tense and nervous she was, she felt herself drifting off to sleep. But she didn't want to anymore. What happened if she talked in her sleep or something? God that'd be so embarrassing. But there was nothing she could do about it, unfortunately. And she knew that. So she forced herself to close her eyes, and rather quickly gave into sleep.

It was cold and her body automatically moved toward the warmth. Which was in the form of Memphis. Just what she was afraid of, but since she was, you know, asleep, of course she didn't think about it. She sighed slightly, shifting a bit and nestling deeper underneath the blankets. It was logical she'd have nightmares. Recounting high school, which was easily the worst years of her life, getting the day lights scared out of her... It had been a stressful day for her and of course that manifested as bad dreams. She wasn't s very mobile or loud sleeper so it was only a twitch here and a wince there, but she ended up shifting even closer to him

So when the warmth of the sun hit, she still didn't wake up. So she still didn't realize how, sometime over the night, she'd moved to face Memphis and was curled up against him.