Seren watched the male's calculated gaze as he processed her story. She could only assume he believed her, since he had yet to unsheathe his sword.

She laughed at his question, folding her hands in front of her. "I've yet to decide if you should live or die, but I'd say you being alive still is a good sign for you. No human comes to these woods without the intention to slay something; I expected nothing less."

Her smile faded as she processed her own emotions; she had not killed the male, but why? Curiousity? Attraction? She hadn't quite figured it out yet.

Sighing, she turned away from the male, shaking her head slightly. "You should return home, boy. The fact that you are still alive is miracle enough, do you truly need to slay the beast you seek? What do you stand to gain from it? Something of value, I would assume."

She began to trek deeper into the forest, wanting nothing more than to return to her home and forget this human had ever crossed her path. She couldn't kill him, not when her heart sang to keep him with her, but to allow him to see her for what she was would surely end with her demise - he was only human, after all. What would he seek in this forest, if not the very beast that writhed beneath her skin?

Seren listened mournfully to the birds as they woke with the sun, now glowing through the forest with a raging passion; her mother had once said she looked like the sun. The legends that people told of her said similar, but with fear instead of admiration.

Her heart ached as she continued to put distance between herself and the male, struggling to part ways with a human she didn't even know. Was this heartbreak? How could it be so strong, for something so unfamiliar?

With a last glance behind her, she took a deep breath before saying, "Go home, friend. Leave the forest in peace, and nothing shall harm you as you leave."

He blinked, taking a few moments for her words to sink in: her voice resonant with the same allure as her appearance, for there was no mention of a woman in the records he read. Everything he was told of the forest was the same: vicious creatures borne of pure malice. There were no mentions of her in the hushed whispers he was given by fellow hunters who were already expecting his demise.

He figured it was the same for the royal guard who was meant to accompany him on his journey: the same bumbling fool who had proceeded to go off about an ailment with a name that was unheard of. But, to Aleron, it was not a loss if it meant he would have his sanity intact, and in his eagerness he had departed the kingdom a day earlier as the anticipation had made him impatient. So restless that he could not even find comfort in summoning a weak, blue flame away from prying eyes.

But, here he was now. In the midst of a conversation with a stranger who he never heard of, and although her presence was ever so unfamiliar to him, his instincts did not warn him of any immediate danger. Thus, he continued to follow her, his steps falling perfectly in suit with hers as he kept his distance.

Her familiarity with those who came to the forest before him said it all; she was no stranger to hunters with ill intentions, and he was fortunate enough to have not stained his sword with the blood of its inhabitants.

"Perhaps I am, by no means, obligated to slay it," he mused, "even though a considerable sum was promised to me in exchange for its head."

He watched as rays of sunlight slipped through the canopy above, settling upon her hair, and for a moment it looked as though she wore a crown of gold: a halo of nature's making. He acknowledged it: her beauty, but he said nothing.

Anticipation was beginning to play along the strings of his heart: a steady beat beginning to thrum within his chest, spurred by the thrill of a mystery that unveiled itself before him.

"I shall, at your behest as a stranger who was kind enough to warn me once more instead of leaving me for dead," his voice was lighthearted, almost jesting, but his sincerity was true. "But, would I be so bold as to ask for your name? I'm afraid the circumstances left no room for introduction."

He knew little of the words he was saying, even more so by the intentions behind them and whether he was only enraptured by the grace of her countenance or simply intrigued. Regardless of her answer, he would leave, unharmed, his curiosity fulfilled.

His pursuit of mystery, however, would either succeed itself or remain incomplete.

She felt his presence more than she heard him; truly a trained huter, the male's steps were nearly silent, even to her enhanced hearing. To herself, she mused about his seeming desire to stay - did he feel the connection, too? She knew humans were too simple to feel the complexity of her possession, but perhaps there was a reason her mother had warned her of feeling this. Was it possible that it was more than a one-sided desire?

The sun warmed her skin, and she tilted her head back as she bathed in its heat. She didn't need to see - the forest was as familiar as her own skin. Eyes closed, she continued to step through the wood, her toes sinking into soft moss and leaf litter as her hands gently caressed the foliage around her.

"My name? Nobody has asked me that in a very long time," she murmured, enraptured by the silken drip of his voice. She slowed, toying with a passing fern leaf as she quelled her own growing curiosity towards the stange human behind her. "My mother called me Seren long ago, before her life was stolen. Most just call me odd now, I suppose."

She refused to turn, refused to face the male behind her; she could feel his very essence, and even her soul craved his heat. Picking her pace up once again, she shoved at the breeching thoughts of companionship, of acceptance. It was all wishful thinking.

He had come to kill.

Blinking, she felt the innate, insatiable need to feel him begin to lose its war, as her sanity, her primal survival instinct, and her indifference towards the humans once again rose. This was good. She needn't be in a haze, obscured by thoughts that weren't even of her own volition.

As she neared her place in the forest, the heart of the round seemed to grow stronger, and she could feel a near-imperceptible vibration in the ground when it beat. Her own heart steadied, matching the rhythm in familiarity - this was home.

A clearing opened up before them, and she couldn't hide her prideful grin as she brought a visitor - the first - to her sanctuary. The rising sun cast a golden glow upon the clearing, and the evaporating dew created a haze. Bugs flew past in reflective gold light, looking for all the world like Faeire lights. The birds sang in harmony, and even the chittering of the squirrels matched the tune set by the very earth beneath them.

Walking into the center of the clearing, Seren finally dared to face the male, terrified of what she would see - what she would feel - when he was encapsulated by the morning sun. She stood, facing him, and finally asked the question that had been gnawing on her. "I've told you my name. But who are you?"

He was almost mesmerized by the way she moved with effortless poise through the dense foliage of the forest with a familiarity that was unlike the caution he withheld with each silent stride. He could see how the forest opened up her, revealing paths that only she could tread, whereas it refused to acknowledge him, leaving him behind to be swathed by the unforgiving flora. But, even so, he did his best to keep up with her: a stranger, who's name he did not know until now.

"Seren?" He echoed, a wistful quality in his voice as though he was attempting to grasp the very essence of her name as he could only imagine the kind of person he belonged to.

Although, even with his persisting intrigue only continued to grow, the mention of her mother having been the one to call her by such a name made him feel sorry for asking. Furthermore, he failed to fathom it: how others could consider her odd, when all he saw was not odd, but─

"Lovely."

The word has slipped from his mouth, initially a passing thought, but it was already too late for him to take it back without making it as though he was insulting her character. So, he fell silent, the heat of embarassment prickling upon the back of his neck until they approached a clearing ahead.

The anticipation strumming along to the strings of his heart had ceased, and as did his breath as he revelled in the sight of it all: the sun hanging overhead in the distant sky, resonant bird song that flitted about in the canopy of the trees that loomed over them as watchful guardians. However, it was for a few moments that his gaze has left her, returning only when she, to his surprise, turned around to face him with a question of her own.

He had remained in the coolness of the shade, comfortable to hide in the midst of the shadows where he could make himself out to be a predator, instead of prey. But, the night had drawn onto his weariness, and so he stepped out into the sunlight that enveloped him in the warmth of its embrace.

"Aleron would do just fine."

The sound of his own name upon his lips was strange. Perhaps it was only because he had never gone out of his way to introduce himself to his fellow peers back at the kingdom, for they already knew his name: the name of an orphan who was fortunate enough to scale the ranks. Fortunate enough to become a part of the distinguished royal guard. But, even so, there was no need for him to weave it, uselessly, into his introduction when the insignia of his cloak's clasp had said it all.

Not to mention, he found little merit in parading around with a title that did not fit him well: rags bewitched to appear as the attire of a king.

Her breath caught in her throat when he finally emerged from the shadows of the forest. Seren wished she had learned to paint, for she was sure the image in front of her would fetch millions; she would title it "Hunter in the Light."

The sunlight danced across his skin, gleaming on the silken fabric of his cloak; even the insignia displayed over his breast seems to bask in the revelry of the sun. His hair, formerly white and ashen, glowed with renewed vigor. The sun seemed to light each strand on fire, encapsulating his tanned face with golden light. He reminded her of an angel - if there was such thing, it was surely in front of her.

"Aleron," she mused, matching the previous tone he had used when saying her name - it had sounded lovelier than any ballad. She smiled at him, a genuine smile that crinkled her eyes so much it hurt. "Absolutely lovely."

Seren hadn't felt joy like this in decades; the last she could compare it to would be discovering the phoenix within her forest, who perched above her head from time to time and flew with a vigor that ingnited carnal desire to take flight herself. They had flown together, fire meeting fire, dancing through the sky to a song unheard. And Seren had felt joy - not because she had been in the sky, but because there had been a creature that not only accepted her flame, but bathed in it, clung to it like it was home. They had been the same; until the humans had come and shot her phoenix out of the sky.

Her friend had fallen, a dying star in the day, twisting and flailing until the forest took her back. Seren had made sure the humans did not return home.

She had been so, so lonely since then.

She fell backwards into the grass, reveling in the scent of home. The dirt beneath her was soft and warm, and if Seren hadn't had company, she would have curled up in her natural form and dozed for the entirety of the day. Instead, she ran her hands through the grass, grabbing individual, feathery strands between her fingers until she could no longer reach.

"You're quite a strange human; who follows a woman they've never met into the forest that holds monster from Hell?" Her chuckle was strained, and she sat up to stare at the male again, curiosity and fear mingling in her mind. "Why, exactly did you follow me? Are you planning to slay me, since your beast was nowhere to be found? Or have you come to stay and keep me company? You'll be finding dinner if you're here much longer, I'm afraid I never learned to cook well enough for company."

She frowned, remembering her last meal; the creature had come from Hell, she was sure of it. As it ravaged the forest, she had set herself alight and tracked it from far above. When it neared a riverbed, she had drowned it, and then cooked it simply by the proximity. It had tasted charred and sour. Her thoughts subsided, and she looked to the male, curious as to what his plan was; he had days worth of travel until he would return to his home, and she would follow him until he left the forest before she could hunt again.

Hearing her reciprocate his tone of voice upon saying his name enthralled him, and he could not help but offer her a small smile of his own in return. He'd never heard such praise sung for the sake of his name before, but nonetheless his heart only surged with a sense of pride in knowing that it was a name that was truly his and no one else's.

He even wanted to believe that it was a name that was given to him out of sincere love; a name given to him by parents who treasured him dearly until, for whatever reason, they were forced to let him go. He once considered it a ticket out of the orphanage until he had stayed there for so long that he had fallen into the habit of calling it home.

Such passing sentimental thoughts made his heart ache, but even so he wanted to continue savoring the delight of his encounter. Knowing that once he returned to the kingdom, it would be difficult to come across, with a constant reminder of dreams that had been shattered once he had come to realize that the world around him was far crueler than he could have ever imagined. Ascending the ranks and finding himself in the presence of royalty only worsened the wounds, and it was right then and there that he knew that change was inevitable: even for people who upheld a strong-will to fight against its ruthless tides.

It was only the unforgiving heat of the sun that had drawn him from the woes of his reverie as the fabric of his cloak was beginning to cling to his skin, much to his ire in regards to the discomfort. Although, seeing someone be so carefree, almost without a single worry in the world was a refreshing sight to see.

It was difficult to find such serenity within the walls of the kingdom with its suffocating formalities and ceaseless rumors: one of which spurred the kind of hideous jealousy that he wanted to bury deep within his soul until it faded away and the wounds of his broken heart had no longer festered.

"Strange?" He repeated, a hearty laugh escaping his lips. "I suppose I am. You could say that my interest was piqued upon encountering a maiden of the wood, who was never once mentioned in the records I read."

Hearing her ask if he had the intent to kill, chipped away at the walls of his pride, and so he raised a quizzical brow at such a barbaric suggestion, "No, I have no intentions of slaying you. It would be callous of me to displace the blame of a failed hunt onto someone who had been kind enough to warn me twice, no?"

He was unsure whether to admit the truth, regarding the compelling force that had driven him to seek out the forest in the first place, but thus far he was willing to trust Seren. For now.

"I followed you out of curiosity," he spoke a half-truth at first, but the fact that it was not a lie was enough for his conscience to handle, "and although it may be difficult to believe, it is not the money I was after when I, out of my own volition, chose to pursue a mission that might as well have lead to my demise."

He paused for a few moments, to consider and weigh his options as he saw fit, and although the idea of staying in the presence of company was almost enticing, it was not enough to convince him.

"And as much as I appreciate the offer, I find that it would be best for me to return, before my fellow hunters begin to reap the rewards of the bets they placed upon my death."

Disappointment shadowed her mind before she could shoo it away; he would be leaving her soon, then.

"Very well," she said, standing from the grass. "Let's begin our journey out, then. You weren't attacked on your way in, but you'd be a fool to not allow me to escort you to the border."

She began to creep towards him, delaying the inevitable, jarring sadness she knew she would feel upon his departure. Her steps were slow, unhurried, and she savored the slight breeze that floated through her hair. As she neared the male, she savored the scent that wafted off of him, the very earth seeming to agree that he should stay.

With her, she added silently.

Passing Aleron, she motioned with her fingers for him to follow, noting the underlying scent of ash that clung to his person; probably the remnants of that fire magic she had seen earlier. She wondered if he knew his scent would identify him as a magic wielder.

Without turning, she called behind her, "How do you have magic, if you're from the royal palace? Didn't the humans lose magic centuries ago?"

Her eyes widened, and she hoped the male wouldn't distinguish her slip-up. For all he knew, she was human as well. Hoping to distract him, she carried on. "I've never seen any from the guard who use it, and I've been in... unfortunate enough situations to see them in peril danger. I'm not even a part of the kingdom, and I have nothing."

Lie, lie, lie.

Her fingers twitched anxiously at her side, and Seren found herself holding her breath slightly as she waited for him to realize she was something Other. Given their brief conversation, she had a firm belief he was sent to hunt her. If he knew what she was, would he slay her, despite his claims to innocence on this trip?

{eek sorry this is short im in a hammock currently, makes me dizzy xD}

He felt it, an ever tightening tether, as she drew near. Perhaps it was the same unknown force that had drawn him to the forest in the first place, but upon the second of his departure he would never know as much as he wanted to. He blinked, awe sparkling in his eyes for how she moved with such ease, as if she could mold the forest into a path of her own making.

He followed, his steps falling in stride with her's. A gentle smile had graced his lips now and when he spoke, relief was evident in the almost mischievous lilt of his voice, "I had no intention of denying your company."

Although, upon her question, the corners of his lips had fallen: confusion had etched itself into his features now, and even though his first thought was to ignore it, it was already too late. He couldn't even lie, not when she already knew, and so he sighed, defeated without any inclination to resort to deception.

"I've had it since I was a child," he answered, his gaze distracted as it drifted over to the foliage that surrounded them out of sheepishness. "I wasn't originally from the royal palace, but I suppose it was what brought me there in the first place. I don't think I would have ever found my way there without it. As for the matter of its disappearance, I wouldn't know of it given the lack of records..."

He regarded her manner of speech as peculiar for a moment, however, he brushed it off as the product of his wariness and took her solitude into consideration.

It must've been terribly lonely for her.

"As far as I'm aware, I'm the only one in the royal guard who is able to use it," he continued solemnly, "the others swore an oath to say nothing about it when I joined their ranks."

Ordered by the king, he wanted to add, although he figured that what he said would be enough. He was unsure of the extent of information he was willing to divulge, of course, but even so it would become meaningless drivel once they would exchange their goodbyes.

He could feel his heart almost sink a little at the thought, but it couldn't be helped, for he was a hunter of the very inhabitants of the forest, and she was someone who was akin to them: living under the very canopy of its trees as the beasts he swore to slay.

(no worries! That sounds fun, minus the dizziness XD)

Sighing deeply, Seren felt the wave of relief that crashed through her body. He hadn't commented on her choice of words.

Continuing on her path, she worked towards the outskirts of the forest; before they knew it, it would be nightfall, and she would allow the human her safety to rest; he hadn't gotten much sleep on the way in, presumably too occupied with the lack of forest inhabitants.

She pondered his words for a moment, curious as to how he could have possibly had magic. Even on the outskirts of the kingdom, very few were blessed with even a kernel of power, let alone enough to create a physical response. Taking a deep breath, she made a decision to trust the human. If worse came to worse, she would slay him.

Turning to walk backwards, she looked at the male before saying, "I lied to you, a moment ago. I apologize, but you'll understand my lack of trust for a stranger in my wood. Since you've been so honest, though, I feel I should retract my former statement."

She didn't elaborate more with her words, instead opting to open her hand. A golden flame shot up, twisting with a previously nonexistent breeze. She ensured her magic was novel, appearing untrained and weak, but enough to allow the male insight into her power.

"Like I said, I wasn't originally from this part of the land. Far away, magic still survives. I suppose my proximity to the palace may gutter the power, since I remember those from my village having a much stronger source. Perhaps I was just born with less, though." Lies, twisted into a decent truth. Her magic had been stemmed when she moved to inhabit this territory; whatever force stifled the magic in the kingdom extended far past the borders.

Even with dimmed ability, however, she outshone any creature on this planet. Sometimes, she would dream of her near-forgotten home, of the surge she knew she would feel should she ever be able to return.

Dragons were known to work in tandem with the elements - they could control them to an extent, never given too much; that was the funny way the worlds worked. There was always a limit to ensure balance.

Closing her palm, she quickly snuffed the flame, breathing in the scent of smoke that wafter from her hand.

She turned back around, not waiting to see the reaction of the male. She would know if he pulled his weapon out. Ducking under a low hanging branch, she warred with her thoughts, arguing between leaving the male to fend for himself and whisking him back to her home. The tether that bound them grew stronger by the minute, and she felt the ache in her very soul as she continued to disregard it.

He was not surprised by her lie, and although it almost hurt to know of it, he understood the reasoning behind it. He was only an unwanted guest after all: a hunter who brought with him the aims to kill an inhabitant of the forest she made a home for herself in. He could assume that it was her only safe haven, a sanctuary of some kind, after her mother died, and here he was setting foot upon a place so dear, so sacred, with the intent to kill.

Her sincerity was already beginning to pull upon the strums of his sympathies, yet he was also curious as to how she could be so willing to trust his honesty.

"I appreciate your integrity," he spoke softly, "but how can you be so sure of my honesty? For all you know, my honesty could be an insignificant price to pay in exchange for success..."

He fell silent, almost immediately, his words falling into the rustling of the foliage as he stopped dead in his tracks. His crimson eyes settling upon the golden glow of the flame that hovered above the woman's palm: it was almost akin to his with enough power to supply light within a small area, and the only difference being its hue.

It reminded him of the sunlight mornings, the days he would spend hiding among fields of wheat: his only escape from the misery of his life at the orphanage. He could still recall the warmth of the sun as it kissed his skin, the sound of laughter as he and one of the other children would run together hand-in-hand. Although, by now, his recollection of it was no longer as fond as it used to be, and the look in his eyes was wistful now as if it were something he wanted to relive again if he had the chance to.

"I envy you for knowing other people with magic," he could feel his heart sinking again, back into the pits of despair that he struggled to hold back, even now. "With like-minded people, I suppose it wouldn't have been considered a grave sin, as it is in the kingdom? I remember the matron was incredibly livid when she found out."

He spoke of the memory as if in jest, but he almost looked wounded, likely by the memory of the woman's face. It was still fresh in his mind: her features twisted with pure horror. Fear.

Although, he was already sure of the answer, he found a strange sense of comfort in knowing that it was different beyond the walls of the kingdom. It was free.

"I wasn't born with an abundance of it either," he summoned a small, blue flame for a moment before smothering it with his gloved hand; there was longing in his voice, a desire that was seldom shown when he was behind the kingdom's walls, "but I can only imagine how freeing it must've been to wield magic without fear."