Elise had woken up to the deafening sound of flies droning, Elise jumped up scanning her surroundings. arranged in a circle six decapitated, skinned and gutted deer were covered in flies. there was no doubt in Elise's mind that this was a warning, though she knew that Ronan wouldn't of done the work himself, he would of sent a small team of pesky Vampires to do the work.
Elise swore under her breath, the smell of rotting flesh was unbearable and now that Ronan knew where they were and what they were up to they needed to continue moving.
"Wake up!" Elise shoved at Violet's shoulder, she was surprised that the girl hadn't woken up at the sound or the stench. Worry flooded Elise for a second, what if something had happened to her? what if they poisoning her or put her under a spell? Elise sniffed the air around Violet, there was no scent of magic residue left over from a spell and no poison either. she sighed with relief when Violet stirred and cracked open an eye.
"We have to keep moving" was all she said as Violet stood up and noticed the carcasses.
"What the hell happened?" Violet demanded, scrambling to catch up to Elise who had already shoved the blanket in her sack and was moving on. "Wait!", grabbing at Elise's shoulder to stop her, "I'm not leaving until you tell me what's going" Violet folded her arms and waited.
"You realise I could just put the manacles back on and you would then have to follow me" it was less of a question and more of a statement, Elise raised her eyebrow.
"Please, this is all I ask, just a simple answer" Violet pleaded even getting down on her knees.
"Enough with the dramatics" Elise snapped, Violet stood up eyes still pleading. she caved in because they really did have to keep moving. "He--Ronan found us, what happened today was a warning. I don't know how he found out we met or that we are going to find him but he did. so we must keep moving"
Violet nodded not sure what else to say.
They moved as fast as they could while being able to watch their surroundings and staying mostly out of sight. hidden within the shadows. Once they had stopped to recuperate Elise had drawn symbols upon their bodies in blood to act as protection, until eventually they crumbled away. This experience was new to Violet, having someone draw on her skin in blood nonetheless had her on edge. though while Elise worked on the protection spell Violet ripped at a piece of meat, keeping her mind from thinking about the sweet fresh scent of Elise's blood.
once they had both been thoroughly coated in blood, Violet trying not to stare as Elise drew whorls and strips upon her skin in bright crimson, they continued through the forest.
Their next stop would be a small town called Ravenville on the outskirts of the forest where Elise knew a high witch who could do a cloaking and location spell. Raven, with a town named after her was a powerful and well known women and who also happened to be an old friend of Elise.
Raven had come across Elise while searching for ingredients for a spell. the small child that was Elise was blacked out and bleeding from a gash in her head. Raven had instantly ran over and scooped the child up, rushing her back to her cabin. it was a few days till Elise had once again awoken, Raven had put her into a sleep coma so that the wounds could heal with out any disturbance. Raven had instantly known what Elise was when she saw the wounds heal faster then normal. Though Raven did not run from Elise like most would, instead befriending her. stating simply when Elise woke up that she needed more strange and peculiar friends. This had made Elise laugh and instantly trust the young witch who had only been in her late teens. powerful even at that age.
a week later they had parted ways but Elide never strayed far from the stranger that had offered her kindness and friendship.
since those one hundred and fifty years not much had changed between the two. though Raven had moved to the outskirts of the forest, creating a small settlement where witch and mankind worked in harmony. Elise had opted to stay to the confines of the forest that she knew well.
once they reached the town they first headed towards the small clothing store. Elise had promised to buy Violet a coat.
"I haven't been around humans since my transformation" Violet whispered as they searched the store. "I don't remember them smelling this bad" she said sniffing slightly and cringing.
Elise scoffed, grabbing a coat from the rack. "here try this one", handing it to violet she smiled, "truth be told I rather shove my snout in deer shit them be in a room full of them".
Violet barked out a laugh, quickly covering her mouth. She shook her head and made a b-line for the changing rooms.
Elise chuckled to herself as she ran a finger along the different clothing items. the wooden musky smell of the shop was somehow a comfort. Elise walked to the front counter and the cashier smiled at her warmly. He was a man in his late thirties, a man who looked as if he spent most days out in the forest hunting game.
"what can I do for you ma'am?" he asked politely.
"A strange question but...have you had an weird customers come in lately?" she smiled brightly. hoping the guy wouldn't get too suspicious.
He raised am eyebrow in question but decided to keep talking, "yesterday, late evening a group of six men came into the shop, covered head to toe in black, they wore sunglasses and on their shoulders they wore a symbol of a mouth bearing fangs dripping blood" the guy paused, to look around making sure no one was listening, "they had a strange accent and asked for the location of the lady Raven" the man's swallow was audible.
"thank you for your time" was all Elise said as she walked briskly towards the changing rooms, "Violet we got to go" she said as she made her way to the front door. If something happened to raven...no, she knew raven could handle herself. she would be fine...though dread still pooled in her stomach as violet caught up to her.
"What's wrong Elli?" there was clear concern in Violets voice.
"nothing...yet" was all Elise said as she headed towards Raven's cabin, hoping and praying to Luna that nothing had happened to Raven, her best friend.