[ open + closed ] In the presence of nature, a wild delight runs through the man

[warfares]

Who: kylo ren + you
When: the entirety of august
Where: around various places, including the coven, smugha cave and the wilde
What: monthly catch-all.
Warnings: TO BE UPDATED. his quest with rey does involve giant spiders and the possibility of violence. otherwise, violence is a given. magical shenanigans, potentially. kylo being kylo.

Notes: starters will be in the comments. if you'd like anything specific, either pm this journal or message me at resurrectionist.

Comments

[warfares]

( the steel in her tone stymies any argument. she's right, of course, in that he finds suspicion far easier than trust — and perhaps he is still a little bitter at their previous forays into the wilde, for all that he is glad for the opportunity to expand his knowledge, given that both had ended in injury and near failure.

it's something that he'll have to work on.

but, he dips his head. not quite an apology but a concession to her point. more than he would give anyone else, because as far as he's concerned there is no one here that he owes quite as much as he does her. so for her sake he will try to contain the worst of his wariness. )

It really is like the cave. ( said of the sticky mess of web glued to her fingers. not as large as the tunnel spider's had been but large enough to be concerning. )

[purpose]

[ A chill crawls along the ladder of her spine. Forgetting the gruesome treasure trove of scattered bone, human and monster alike, isn't an image easily washed from her mind. Rey widens her fingers, shaking her hand to dispel the sticky strands, and continues onward.

The gut-twisting sense that something is amiss only grows. ]

I don't like it.

[ The branches close in on one another as though constructing a cage. Luring them — another attribute it shares in common with the cave. It very well could be; whatever creatures lurk ahead, they've clearly survived long enough to claim this territory for themselves. The familiarity of the land already grants whatever they're searching for an advantage. ]

It feels like we're walking into a trap.

[warfares]

( as tempting as it is to go "i told you so", it doesn't help them much in the immediate. he offers her a scrap of cloth for her fingers before they continue on. )

Then at least let us do so with our eyes open.

( he conjures a witch light. pale and shining and no larger than her palm, it darts between them like a firefly, casting light against the shifting shadows.

stepping cautiously, he scans the ground, the trees, trying to pick out any signs of movement. fingers itching at his side, wishing for a weapon. )

[purpose]

[ Temporarily stunned by the blurring light, she blinks once, twice — trying to clear the overwhelming sparks from her too-sharp vision. Eventually, it evens out a handful of seconds later, pupils narrowing to slits to better adapt.

It almost makes it worse. The glare of it bounces off of every branch, every trunk, every hanging web — allowing the shadows to play tricks. Rey's gaze darts side to side, cautious as she examines their surroundings. ]

When did you learn —

[ Her breath stutters in her chest, seizing in her lungs, at the creak of cracking branches overhead — groaning beneath the what of what scurries across them. ]

[warfares]

( belatedly, he’d realized his error but it was too late to correct it now. the witchlight continues to perform its purpose while rey recovers, her pupils large enough that they practically swallow her irises whole.

when her head snaps to the side, eyes narrowing, he’s quick to follow, squinting into the shadows. )

What is it?

( though this time, if he listens hard enough, he can make out the chitter-chitter of chitinous legs rubbing together. that unsettling, prickly noise of insects scuttling across the earth.

instinctively, his hand falls to the weapon at his side — not his lightsaber, which was little more than a glorified night-light now, but the light blade he’d “borrowed” during their preliminary training.

he’d return it … eventually. )

[purpose]

[ A dry crackle is the only warning they have before the branch snaps, skittering legs following its momentum to the ground. It lands with a heavy, thudding quake that rocks the ground just as Rey knocks her shoulder into Ben's chest, deliberately sending them both out of range of its long, spindly legs.

Another of those creatures, Rey realizes, bigger than she would have estimated with its lumbering body — towering above them with a hiss that sends a putrid spray of saliva outward. It clings to her cheek, sticking.

But it's gone just as quickly. It skates away with a screech that rings shrilly through her ears, skittering back into the dense foliage. ]

It's gone. [ She says, carefully, skeptically. It can't have been that easy. Rey amends, warily, ] For now. We need to find somewhere to hide before it comes back for us.

[ Somewhere above ground, with a better vantage point. Somewhere they have the element of a surprise in an ambush. It's the only use of her talents she can take without much more than her staff and her strength, and both require the risk of close range. Range she can't get, if it sees her coming. ]

[warfares]

( when it happens, it happens quickly. so quickly, in fact, that were it not for rey's timely intervention he would have likely been caught gawking at the spider as it lands. it's not even the size that's the issue — though it's certainly among the larger he's seen — as it is how quiet it had been, darting away from them and the light almost as quickly as it had appeared. )

The tree.

( he jerks his chin toward one of the nearby ones: it has a thick trunk with large, sturdy branches that could probably carry her weight. )

I can give you a boost.

[purpose]

[ It isn't the worst idea. Elevating herself will allow her to survey above the treeline and spare them another unwelcome surprise. Rey nearly gives a nod before it clicks into place, examining the thin, willowy line of each branch. Sturdy enough to support her, but Ben — ]

What about you?

[ He's bulkier, yes. Less adept at knowing where to step than a seasoned climber like Rey, used to enclosed spaces, wobbling heights, and the potential for a fall. The scrapes from childhood, transforming into silvery, barely-there scars as mementos of her first attempts at scavenging, speak to experience. But it also divides them, leaves them too far from one another. ]

I won't leave you behind.

[warfares]

( a gesture extinguishes the hovering light and darkness crashes over them like a wave. )

I'll think of something. ( he's already pulling up the hood of his cloak. the fabric is thick, dark and it seems to blend into the shadows that surround them. enchanted, then.

so they weren't entirely exposed.

his hand goes to his side again, and he curses softly beneath his breath. )

Quickly, now.

[purpose]

Fine.

[ The concession isn't hard won — they've no choice but to enact on his plan — but the begrudging quality to it highlights how reluctant she is to agree to his terms. Any other protests would be a waste of their precious time, already ticking down.

The rustle of the trees reminds her of it, muddling her senses as she listens sharply for the sound of movement. Finally, with a huff, she gestures for him to get into a crouch in order to boost her upward, expectant. ]

Don't do anything reckless.

[warfares]

I'll contain the urge.

( settling onto the ground, his fingers lace together, forming a basket for rey to step into. it shouldn't pose a challenge, lifting her. she's not quite as undernourished as she'd been when they'd first met but the early weeks spent here had stripped some of the softness from her body — they would have to fix that, later. )

If it comes to it, you need to run. Get help.

( she's faster than him. perhaps she'll be able to catch up to the wilders that had brought them here. )

[purpose]

No. [ Forgetting their predicament, it bursts out of her, vehement and firm. She won't let him take advantage of their urgency to try to impress that upon her when she has no intentions of following that order. ] I won't leave without you.

[ He's human. More fragile, whether he'd like to admit it or not. Leaving him to these creatures seem as though it would be a death sentence. She shakes her head, unnerved and disgruntled as her expression twists, and steps up into his hands. Her arms raise skyward, waiting for a branch to come within her reach. ]

Asking me to do that counts as reckless, Ben.

[warfares]

( there's something like relief; the fear, buried deep, that she will take the opportunity to turn from him given the chance. they've come a long way, all thing considered, but some wounds are still raw enough to twinge. this is one of them.

but that's beside the point. )

Rey. ( exasperation is pushed into the word. she's justified in her fear, of course, in the fact that even someone as capable as he is would struggle if too many swarmed him at once, but they are dealing in possibilities not certainties. not yet. )

I'm not as fast as you are.

[purpose]

And weaker. You're only human.

[ Delicate. Mortal, rather than monstrous. Pushed to acknowledge it, she has no choice but to draw attention to the fact. Much as she has rejected what she is, it works to her advantage to announce it. ]

You won't survive alone.

[ It isn't a kind reminder, but she isn't interested in sympathy when he is asking her to leave him for dead. It's a gamble, in truth, that risks him doubling down to prove his strength, but Rey isn't having an of it. ]

I'm staying.

[ Without allowing him room for argument, Rey latches onto the next branch, hoisting herself up higher toward the treeline. ]

[warfares]

( air rushes over his teeth in a frustrated exhale.

her refusal to yield means that they can either stand and argue until the suspected threat become very real or he can capitulate, and while there's still a chance of at least one of them dying, there's an equal chance of her surviving, perhaps to intervene. )

Fine.

Now hurry, before they return. You'll have a better view of the area from up there.