The sun hasn't fully risen-mist clings to the ozbark, and cold dew dots the grass.
Sirus slowly opened his eyes, his arm resting across the back of his neck. He lay still for a moment, taking in the soft crackle of dying embers and the faint chirping of early birds.
Tilting his head to the side, his gaze fell on Selvynee-sound asleep, her breaths slow and steady. She clutched his trench coat tightly around her small frame, face half-buried in the warmth of it.
He studied her quietly. The way her ears twitched now and then. The rise and fall of her chest. Peaceful. Vulnerable
With a low grunt, Sirus sat up and began his morning ritual-stretching the stiffness from his limbs. Brushing his long-silver hair to smooth it down.
"Selvynee." He said gently, crouching beside her.
She stirred a little, but didn't wake.
He narrowed his eyes and sighed.
"Be nice if I could have my jacket back." He said a bit louder. A cold breeze brushed against his bare skin-he had gone shirtless through the night, after all.
He moved over to the remains of their cooked deer, tearing off a small portion for a simple breakfast. The smoky flavour lingered from the night before.
Still no movement atlas.
His patience wearing thin, Sirus stood and walked back to her side. Without a word. He tugged the coat free from her arms.
Selvynee's eyes snapped open.
"Wha-!?" She blinked rapidly, sitting up in a mess of hair and fur. "Hey!"
"You were out cold." Sirus said flatly, slipping his trench coat over his shoulders. "I thought for a demihuman who was about to be sold somewhere off. Would be more wary around her surroundings."
"I was warm." She grumbled, rubbing her eyes with her paw-like hands. "And dreaming about… not waking up to someone stealing my blanket.
He questioned her choice of words-with raised brows.
"You mean. MY. Jacket. Tch. You're welcome for the blanket." He replied, dry as ever.
Selvynee tugged her snow-white hair out of face, ears flicking irritably. "You're not very gentle in the morning, you know."
"And you're not very fast." Sirus replied, adjusting his coat and glancing at the misty trees beyond the cave. "We've got a red ogre to deal with, remember?"
Her sears perked at that, and she stretched, tail swaying behind her. "Right… I didn't forget."
She stood, brushing off the bits of moss and dirt from her legs. The morning chill bit at her arms, and for a second, she looked longingly at the trench coat now back on his shoulders.
Sirus noticed, then sighed. With a flick, he unclasped the coat and dropped it onto her head.
"Just don't get used to it."
She blinked in surprise, pulling it around herself again with a small smile. "I won't,"
Their eyes met briefly-hers still a little sleepy, his calm but unreadable. Then he turned away, picking up the skewers from last night.
"Eat. Then we move."
Selvynee sat beside the warm embers, holding the meat in her clawed hands as she glanced after him. She didn't quite understand what he was yet-but she knew, without question, he wasn't like the demons she'd been warned about.
Not at all.
"I'm leaving now-with or without you!" He shouted from the entrance of the cave, the wind bashing against his bare chest.
'I really would like my coat back.' He silently sulks at the unfair situation.
"H-hey! Wait up!" Selvynee scrambled to her feet, still chewing on the last of the skewered deer.
…
They walked side by side, though an awkward distance kept them apart. Sirus led with steady, silent steps-purposeful and alert.
Selvynee trailed behind, bundled in the oversize trench coat like a lost kitten. The silence between them stretched long and heavy.
"Do you always walk like you're about to kill something?" She finally blurted, trying to cut through the tension with a teasing tone.
Sirus turns his head, glanced at her, then down at his own stride. He sighed and faced forward again, ignoring the comment as the mountain loomed closer ahead.
The silence settled in once more, thicker than before.
Selvynee ears drooped slightly. Her curiosity, however, only grew. Her tail swayed with restless energy.
"Where were you born?"
Still no answers from the demon
"Have you ever been hurt… like, not with claws or blades-but inside?"
That made Sirus falter. He grew quieter, not out of anger, but restraint.
Without turning this time, he tilted his head slightly, his eyes scanning the mist laced trees around them-trees that towered like a cage.
He paused, his gaze hardening with memories.
"Where I grew up… It was the best. But now." He pauses a moment, recalling his dreadful memories.
"But now, I wake up with pain, you learn to live through the eye of the storm. And look towards the future."
His words hung in the air, echoing a life far older than his years.
Selvynee's ears sank. She hadn't meant to bring the mood down. Her mouth opened to apologise–but Sirus suddenly halted.
His long ears twitched.
Selvynee froze, instantly on alert. The air shifted, carrying a strange tension.
Around them, the forest had changed.
Trees were splintered and thrown aside like twigs. Deep gouges marked the trunks, and carcasses of deer lay mangled, blood soaked into the ozbark.
"This happened recently," Sirus muttered, more to himself than her. "Last night, maybe."
Selvynee took a sharp breath. "Is… is this the red ogre you're hunting?"
Her tail bristled in alarm. The raw smell of blood made her fur stand on end.
Sirus glanced at her, as if only now remembering she was there.
"I don't know. I've never hunted an ogre before," He said quietly, scanning the devastation, "Let alone a red one."
He knelt briefly, claws brushing the broken bark and torn ozbark.
"Judging by the path of destruction… It's headed that way."
He stood, and without another word, continued walking in the ogre's possible wake.
"You're still going to hunt that thing? Even after seeing… all of this?" Selvynee asked, stunned by his eerie calm.
"If you're too scared to follow," Sirus said without looking back. "No one's forcing you."
He pressed onward-towards the mountain that now seemed far more ominous than it had before.
Selvynee's tail flared in protest. She slapped her cheeks lightly, steeling herself.
"I-i'm not some scared kitten!" She shouted, though her voice trembled.
Ahead of her, Sirus grinned wide, a wild glint in his glowing red eyes.
"If this is the red ogre…" He muttered under his breath, "Then I'll be looking forward to this battle."
Selvynee jolted at the excitement in his voice. It wasn't bloodlust-just a raw, unshakable fire.
And somewhere deep inside, that frightened her even more than the red ogre.