forum The Dark Soul And Her Horse // romance // oxo // very much closed

Started December 24, 2019 by @saor_illust school

tune

Eira's home wasn't terribly big, of course. After all, it was just her living there. Or at least… it was just her and her cat. She'd only recently gotten back from her ride, already exhausted by the five seconds of social interaction she'd had on the way back. Since it was snowing, Eira was getting ready to put Snow back in his stall, not wanting him to get too cold. Actually, it was just the other day she'd had someone come put in a heater in the stall, so Snow wouldn't get too cold.
~timeskip to a couple days later~
It was a special day. Eira didn't usually go anywhere without her horse. But she needed some stuff, and she couldn't get them without going into town. She couldn't take Snow with her, so she'd be walking to town. Ugh, she hated going into town, though. She hated everything about it. The friendliness, the people, and most of all, the social interaction. Especially the social interaction.

Catrin had been hiding out in a small cabin she'd found. Abandoned, recently abandoned it seemed since there was still good food left, but not a lot. She headed out into the snow, Illiad already soaring off into the distance. She flipped her hood up, intending on keep a low profile, as always. Hopefully she'd get i and out of town as quick as possible.

Eira took a deep breath as she officially entered the town. There was even a wooden sign that was all decorated for the winter season that told her that she was "now entering [insert town name because I have no idea what it should be]". There was even smaller text below that which informed her that the population of [insert town name] was precisely 21,346. Eira glanced over the sign, and continued on her way, telling herself, Just don't panic. Everything will be all okay.

Catrin entered the town from a different point, the crow on her shoulder. She looked very much like a witch of sorts but not that she cared. As long as de got what she wanted then that was all that mattered. She walked in to the middle of the town, keeping her head down as she went. People moved out her way and glanced at her but she didn’t care.

It was then that Eira spotted her. It wasn't hard to find her in the crowd. She was dressed like a witch, a crow on her shoulder, and the crowd parted to make way for her, as if they knew her well. The people shot her various glances, some that Eira even caught and could clearly read them. Some said, You're a witch, what are you doing here? and others said, Who the heck is this?? Like I said earlier, it was then that Eira spotted her. Catrin, I mean. "You," she hissed under her breath, not really talking to the other, though. Good thing she was wearing a hoodie. She quickly shoved it over her head and bent her head over, not wanting to be seen. She moved much more quickly than before, wanting nothing more than to get out of town. Unfortunately, she just had to bump into someone, having not been paying attention where she was going. She glanced up, and stumbled back in surprise as she took in who she had bumped into. "S-sorry," she tried to apologize, her cheeks getting red as she tried to walk past Catrin. Why was she blushing? And why had she bothered to even say sorry to the strange girl?

Sometimes Catrin wished was was actually a witch just so she could curse everyone. Even though she tried not to care, which most of the time she didn't, but sometimes the comments did actually get to her. A scowl was plastered on her face, the one she normally wore on the daily. When Eira bumped into her, she looked around at the other girl, ready to give her a piece of her mind and tell her to be more careful but as soon as she apologised, the scowl faded away. Was it coincidence that it was the same girl as the other day? Maybe, "It's… fine. No harm done."

(Awww I can just see the blooming romance XD)
Eira hadn't actually expected a response, so when she heard a reply back, she stopped, and looked up. "Oh… okay," her eyes were wider than usual, surprise filling them. She really didn't know why but she had a sudden impulse to ask Catrin if she'd made it back to wherever she'd needed to go the other day safely. Eira stood up a little straighter and pushed the hood off her head. "D-did you make it back okay? I mean, about the other day, y-you know…" Ugh this was so embarrassing. She normally never got flustered.

Catrin didn't expect a conversation out of the other, in fact she hadn't even expected her to ask her a question about her well being, considering she hadn't wanted to help her the other day, "I found an abandoned cottage. It's safety enough, for now." She replied. Catrin crossed her arms across her chest, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, "What's your name?" Catrin was curious, after all the other new her name but Catrin didn't know hers.

Oh no… Eira thought. Small talk. But… better not seem rude right now… But that thought surprised her. She would have no problem if this were anyone else, but why Catrin? "Eira," she muttered, looking away. She took advantage of the fact that Catrin couldn't see her face and let out a small sigh. Why was she acting this way? She should just shove past the girl and go back home.

Catrin nodded a little, "Eira… pretty name." It was true, it was a pretty name and Eira, herself, was very beautiful, a thought she'd keep to herself for the time being. Catrin knew she should keep moving, get out of town before anyone she knew saw her here. But she was intrigued by Eira for some reason, "How's your horse? He's very beautiful."

"He's doing good," Eira replied. This was her way, she offered short and to the point answers, and rarely asked questions. She was tempted to just shove her way past Catrin, but… there was something about Catrin that made her want to stay and keep talking.

Catrin could tell by the energy Eira was giving off, she wasn't one for small talk. In fact, she doubted she liked talking in general. Considering how their previous interaction went, and this one. Catrin nodded a little in response, uncrossing her arms and looking over her shoulder, "Well, suppose I should let you go, then."

Eira just made a noise of agreement, adding on, "I guess so." She took a step to move past Catrin, but paused, looking back at the other. "…who are you running from? You should just fight them." Eira sighed. She didn't know where this sudden burst of confidence was coming from.

A genuine fear flashed across Catrin's eyes for a brief moment, even Illiad seemed to become on edge when his mistress did, "Do you think I'd really be running if I hadn't already tried that?" She asked, tensing ever so slightly.

Eira stilled. This girl… who seemed so strong, so brave… was scared? Like genuinely scared? She supposed that all humans were like Catrin, but she didn't know. But one question kept pushing its way to the front of her mind, no matter how many times she pushed it back. Who was chasing her, that was so strong? "…who's chasing you?" she asked, her voice cautious.

Catrin opened her mouth to respond, but a loud shouting from not too far away cut through the air before she could talk. Almost immediately, Catrin was grabbing Eira’s hand and pulling her into the nearest alleyway, out of view from the street. Her cape had just enough coverage to hide them both, the two girls so, so close to each other, “Shut up and stay still.”

Eira opened her mouth to protest, but quickly shut it. She could feel her cheeks starting to colour lightly in light of the fact that they were close. Like, very close. She didn't know what to do, what to say, what to feel. All she knew was that Catrin had done something to her. But she didn't know what. Eira sighed. She hated the unknown, not knowing things. What was happening? Maybe, just maybe all she needed was some more isolation. It wasn't like she didn't like being isolated anyways. It would be nice to just hang out with Snow and Mirella. To not do anything, and just sit and listen to the crackling and popping of the fireplace, and Mirella's purring.

A group of large men cane round the corner, glancing around the small town center. They had metal masks over their faces, dressed head to toe in black just like Catrin only they seemed much more menacing. They were armed, too threatening people with them. Eventually, after a few minutes of Catrin holding her breath and stressing, they left, only just missing Eira and her.

"The feck was that?" Eira finally let out, glancing around and darting out from under Catrin's cloak. "I… should probably go now…" she managed to add. "But not before I get an answer, though," she continued.

Catrin swallowed, "We'll have to go somewhere more private. Somewhere that's not out in the open…" You could never be too careful, someone could be listening in right now.

"Why are you acting so paranoid?" Eira couldn't understand. There was nothing to be paranoid about. And even if there was, she'd probably just kill or murder whatever it was. Brutally, most likely.

Catrin whipped her head around to Eira, face stony but her eyes still held some level of fear, "Because if any of those men find out where I am I'm dead. And I can't have anyone listening in and reporting my whereabouts back to them, hence, why we have to talk in private."

"Fine," Eira sighed. "Let's go then…" A long time ago, she was capable of feeling fear. But no longer. Fear limited her ability to think clearly. It prevented her from making rational choices. She had long learned to wipe herself devoid of emotions. Now she only had happy, neutral, and slightly annoyed. Or, actually she still had all of them. She just suppressed them. She'd been without fear for so long that she didn't feel the need to panic, but she wanted answers, and if this was the only way to get them, so be it.

Catrin nodded, pulling her cloak tighter around herself. Her cabin wasn’t too far away from the town so they’d go there, she knew it was safe and no one would listen in. She knew she was being paranoid, more so then sh should be but… she’d never felt this way before, not for a very long time. Leading Eira out of the small street, she headed for the outskirts of town, the same way she came in.

"Where are we going?" Eira inquired, curious about where Catrin was taking her. She liked to know where she was being led, even though she was constantly suppressing feelings of fear and anger.

“Back to my cabin.” She said simply. Catrin didn’t want Eira to feel like she was kidnapping her, that wasn’t the intention. But she didn’t know if she could trust Eira. It was probably a mistake telling her what was going on and yet she couldn’t help but want to tell someone.

"Okay…" Eira resumed looking around, taking in the landscape. She still couldn't understand why Catrin was so paranoid, but then again, it probably had something to do with her not feeling fear and the like.

Eventually, after a few minutes of walking, the two made it to a small wooden cabin, tucked away behind a small, dense group of trees. Catrin pushed the door open, snow falling off the door frame as she held it open for Eira.