The Eyes Declare a Truce of Trust

[Sasha]

This was so hard for her. She wanted anything but to leave Camelot. But she had no choice, unless she wanted to die at the hands of Uther. With her mother supposedly dead and with Arthur as witness to her magic abilities, Sasha could do no more than run. Sasha wanted to trust that the man she loved would never be the death of her, but she didn't know what to believe. She had just ran for her life and had been travelling for the past day or so. By now, she was far into Camelot's land; a route she had passed by more than once coming to Camelot all those years ago. She appreciated the time she was given to travel in thick forests and woods, for it gave her cover from most people's eyes, never sticking to the paths.

She was wounded, which made it much harder. There were cuts along her arms and through her right eyebrow, but they were healing ever so slowly. Healing but still very painful, yet she continued on the best she could. These would be one of her first battle wounds, and some of them might even scar. It wasn't leaving Camelot, it was more leaving the man she loved. Well, the Prince did not love her like she loved him but it was still hard. Thye were close, let's put it that way. If Uther could see reason when it came to magic, then he would never have her killed. She had done this all to protect him, more for Arthur but that wasn't the point. Where would she go? Sasha could not wander the lands forever, she would have to do more with her life than that. For now, she would try and find her half-brother. He had been banished by Uther; hopefully she would be able to find him, he always brought her joy. Just knowing she had a brother, someone who shared her blood and cared for her unconditionally was comforting enough to keep her travelling.

Coming to a beautiful river bank, the exiled Sasha slowly walked slowly toward it while listening very carefully for anyone nearby. She thought she heard something but quickly let it go, believing it to just be the quiet sounds of a hare or other small animal wandering around in the brush. It was noon time, the second day she had been on her own. Last night she had slept on soft grass at the edge of a clearing. Just like last time she had nothing but the clothes on her back and her Blade of Honour in her scabbard. She crouched beside the river to catch herself a quick refreshment, and also to keep her wounds clean. She didn't have Gaius to tend to them anymore, it was up to her. Many times she had wanted to go back, missing Arthur dearly. Seeing him gave her strength as it did to anyone who was in love, but that was gone. It was all gone, and over. She was a lonely traveller, with no one to keep her company. . . at least until she found her brother which would take God knew how long.

Setting: Forest, far away from Camelot
Time of Day: Noon
Tmeline: Middle of Season 3
Tags: Mordred

[mordred]

Mordred had long since been separated from any single person he held dear. They had all been taken away from him by the cruel forces of life. Death seemed to follow him, or at least it had since he'd first been to Camelot. There had been the man he travelled into the marketplace with, Cerdan. The man was like a father to him, but was nothing more then his mentor. He was the man's apprentice after all. Then there was Aglain. Aglain was by far closer to him then Cerdan had been. And he too was killed. Killed by men from Camelot, despite being in Cenred's land. And eventually there was Alvarr. He knew that the man was the one closest to him and yet he knew nothing of him, other then that he had been sentenced to death.

Yet, at the same time he knew Alvarr was not dead. The fact was, that he was still alone. And for a child to be alone was one of the hardest things. As mature as the young Druid boy was, he still would rather have had some one to travel with then not. It was true enough that he generally kept quiet but at the same time he spoke in ways other then with his voice when permitted. This allowed for him to be able to communicate in a way less noticeable in the more dangerous of situations. And what probably kept him alive for the short years he'd been alive for. So, with great displeasure the young lad found himself wandering through dense forests and looking for some sort of Druid civilization.

When he found none, he'd just keep on walking. Stopping only when he needed to catch something to eat. This was another challenge for him. While having magical abilities, he was not a strong hunter. With a sigh and an irritated growl the child found his ears trained towards the low rumbling of a river. The sound was practically music to his ears. Carefully Mordred followed the distinct sound of flowing waters.

Finally reaching the riverbank the boy saw a figure crouching low by the shoreline and gazed at the figure. It was definitely a woman. With quick strides the child found himself kneeling beside the woman, not being polite enough to even give any indication of his arrival until he turned his large blue eyes towards the woman with curiosity gripping at his very soul. He wondered who the other person was, what she was doing out in the middle of no-where and why she was out without any one.

Mordred drew in a deep breath and his sharp gaze settled on the woman. “Ma'am?” He questioned, forcing his vocal cords into action.

[Sasha]

The water stung her wounds for a moment, but thankfully the feeling faded. A very little amount of blood escaped from the cuts, but she quickly washed it away and tied a thick, clean white cloth tightly around her shoulder where the deep sword marks were. The rest of the wounds were actually from thorn bushes, after running through them in order to escape from Uther's men. It had bought her enough time to get away. She in fact loved travelling, and she felt as if she had been born with wanderlust, it was just the alone part. Sasha wouldn't mind having someone to travel with every now and then; she may be a young adult, but it became lonely in as short as two days. That was exactly why she missed her brother. He was not a fool, so he would never be found in Camelot so that was how she could tell. . . she had a long trek ahead of her.

Without paying any sort of attention to her surroundings, she did not notice that a young boy had kneeled beside her until she felt his blue gaze upon her. Feeling slightly startled, a quiet sound escaped from her mouth as she turned her own gaze toward him. Forgetting to keep her eye lids half closed to hide her vivid grass green eyes, she just stared for a moment and then turned her head away as she rememered that staring was not polite. She however did not move her gaze far, only glancing across the river for a moment until he eventually spoke to her.

The question instantly made her turn back to the child. Unfortunately, Sasha did not know what to say. She had never spent much time around children to know. This would at least start out awkward. "Yes?" she responded softly. She didn't want to sound threatening, or even blank in the slightest sense. It was only then that she began to wonder why the young boy was all alone and in the middle of no where without a parent or guardian. These thoughts were what provoked her to ask, "Are you lost? I don't know this area very well, but I'd be glad to help you."

[mordred]

The child watched with curiosity as he took a good look at the female. His eyes took in every detail that he could memorise. From the small scratches that had bled, to her clothes. He pursed his lips as he figured out that she must have been running away. From what, he couldn't even imagine, but he himself had done his own fair share of running away lately, it seemed. The roads he'd taken from his last place of inhabitance had been long, and what seemed to be rarely travelled.

His gaze settled on her face, and couldn't help but be shocked by the brilliant green eyes that had stared back at him. He'd nearly forgotten that he'd spoken when she had responded. The question of if he'd been lost seemed invalid to him. He was a traveller, going where ever the wind carried him. Paying careful attention to the simple wooden amulet that was around his neck, the Druid boy shook his head once. Mordred settled his attention on the amulet, looking at the runes written on it. His expression was shaded as he turned his face from her. “I'm not lost. I'm a nomadic person, so I go where I please.” He answered truthfully, as the Druids were nomads. He let a relatively small hand trace along the runes on the amulet he wore, and then glanced back over to the woman.

“I don't know this area well, but it's always nicer to travel in groups.” The boy stated as he settled his gaze on the stony river bank. He shifted to stand and approached the water's edge, staring into the murky depths of the rushing water. “... I haven't really mastered hunting, it wasn't much my job.” He stated, as each member of the group had their own task. He had normally been one to gather, or at least help gather, supplies. He thought for a moment before crouching down at the edge and dipping a hand into the water experimentally. “Are you travelling alone? Why don't we travel together?” He asked with a calm tone.

[Sasha]

Sasha was quite surprised hen she heard that he was a traveller. He looked a little young to be wandering around the forests alone, with all those potential dangers. Even Sasha being an adult woman carrying around her father's sword stood a great chance of being killed. "I know what you mean," she smiled. A moment after responding, she noticed the child tracing his hand over an amulet, something that looked very familar. . . hadn't she seen something similar on her brother? Still, she decided not to bring it up.

It seemed like she was being the quiet one, as she made no significant comment when he said that it was always better to travel in groups. Again, it felt slightly awkward to her. . . having such a conversation with a child. However, she could not agree more. "I can agree with that," she said. Also, she remained totally quiet when he added that he hadn't really mastered hunting. That also sparked a question. . . but she would ask later, at a better time.

Sasha looked curiously at him. "I think that's a nice idea," she smiled, while becoming slightly nervous. Well then, if it turned out that way then it looked like she had someone to protect. This instinct was not because he was a child, but only because all her life she had wanted to do good for others. . . adult or child, weak or able. This instinct had become extremely strong in her when she had met the Prince, which only made sense because she had grown to truly love him. "It seems we both could use the company," she added with a smile, all traces of her prevous nervousness completely gone. Well, if they were going to travel together then they needed to know each others intentions, no? Her was to find her brother and return to Camelot. . . hopefully in time to stop her mother from getting to the King, or more importantly his heir. It would not be easy to do such a thing, but for Arthur's sake she had to. She loved him with all her strength, she couldn't just leave him to die along with his father just to protect herself. "I've actually been trying to find my brother, which is harder than you know. He was banished, and. . . I have no idea where he might be by now." Unfortunately, Uther had banished her brother quite a long time ago so the odds of meeting up with him in Camelot's territory were slim.

"Oh, I'm sorry for being so inpolite, ummm. . . my name is Sasha," she smiled, slightly embarrassed by her lack of manners. "And you are?"

[mordred]

The young Druid boy nodded once as he continued to trace along the runes of the amulet around his neck. He wouldn't normally have been doing such a thing but, it wasn't exactly an everyday task for the child to be talking to strangers, be them kindly or not. It wasn't in his nature to talk out loud in the first place. To sit there, and listen was easier for him, as he just didn't want to talk in general, with the fact that on more then one occasion he'd been confused as for being a mute.

This time remaining the quiet one, Mordred glanced over to the woman as a sort of confirmation to her agreement. He remained silent, his gaze returning to the water that he was inching closer, and closer to. The water was still murky and as he got to the edge, it was surprisingly colder then he'd imagined the river would have been. He glanced back over to the woman and studied her features again. She was homely in appearance and had a general feeling of giving off warmth.

It somehow didn't surprise him as much as it should have, that she agreed about travelling together. Despite not knowing her, not even her name Mordred found himself smiling. He was a little nervous over the simple fact she'd accepted his advice so openly and then forced himself away from the water and sat down. It was questionable to him over how she had done just this, although he didn't want to doubt her. Something about her just drew him in and allowed him to feel comfortable around her in a way. Mordred normally was shy around new people, and yet wasn't feeling that shy around the woman.

Upon her talking again the child smiled again and nodded. So, in a vague way... They had a similarity. They were alone. “I'm sorry to hear that you're separated from your kin.” He stated quietly, and crossed his arms as he turned his attention to the land across the river. He had learnt that the female's brother had been banished. For what he could only guess, but he didn't want to think on it. It seemed the girl was running away, so he had no idea where she'd be going, and neither did she, apparently.

“I am Mordred.” He stated simply and then glanced back over to her briefly. “I shouldn't even be here. I'm a Druid. I got separated from my group a while ago. So, I've been alone for... many days now.” The boy admitted.