Sturdy fingers ran their way along her stomach; fingertips ever-so-gently pressing on her bare skin as she felt a warmth take her, felt the press of his body behind her. She purred lightly, and the fingers sprung away from her, darting back to the sides of their owner.

Headr grumbled from behind her, just like he'd been grumbling the other ten times he'd done this for her. "You really make all this very... very uncomfortable."

"Well, you do have magic fingers"

"Yeah... I know I do? I'm a druid, it is y'know... the point?" And again, Headr pulled out the same response, his words weren't cold, harsh or cruel; but there was something annoying about the way he spoke. At least, that was how Aera saw it.

Her elbow dug slightly into his stomach and Headr pulled away, though his voice didn't stop "Are you feeling okay? I can see the bruises on your skin; you shouldn't be running after them, if you don't let your injuries rest they'll just get worse."

Aera span on him and smirked, "Well that's what you're for, making sure I keep together and all that." She knew that she shouldn't be considering this man as annoying, without him, she'd have keeled over from the pain a long time ago, every hour or so of travel she had to pause while he worked his magic, she wasn't sure what magic that even was, but it made her feel a hell of a lot better.

Headr's reply came off somewhat resigned, it was possible he wasn't too happy about her just using him for his magic. "I know I know... I'll take first watch" His eyes rose tentatively to the few shafts of a starry night sky that dotted the tree canopy above "If the others were here, they'd demand we kill them..." Now his eyes dropped, looking down on the trio below the two kitt. "We've been following them all day, they must be exhausted" His breath seemed to leave him as he lay back against the great trunk of the tree they were sat in. "The Nuka told us all these stories, how they were monsters, that did nothing but kill and breed, but-"

Aera cut him off with a finger; he hadn't noticed, but she had. Two of the people below them were fast asleep, but the darker one, naked and bloody seemed to be looking straight up at them, eyes staring blankly into the tree the kitt were resting in.

Headr went still, so did Aera; she felt her heart rise in her chest.

If he saw them now, he'd wake the other human and the goblin.

Her mind flashed back to what had happened only recently, the origin of the pain that roared in her stomach every so often.

What even happened.

I was standing there, looking at the humans, and then I wasn't...

The human below looked away as he shuffled awkwardly on the fallen tree he was resting his back on, eyes settling on someplace far, far away.

Aera motioned down to Headr, and the two dropped to the branch below them. For anything that wasn't kitt, the three claw marks on the bark of the tree here would mean nothing, but to a kitt-

Headr ran his finger along the trunk, his nails found grip on something.

KACHUNK

And he pulled a thin layer of bark off of the tree in a near-perfect circle; revealing a hole a half-metre in diameter that led into a hollow in the wood; the greatest of the trees in this forest could grow to five metres in width, and even though this one was one of the smaller Greatwoods, the three metre hollow would be a good place to rest.

He gestured for Aera to enter, and as she clambered through, he pushed the thick bark cover back into its place. "I'll wake you up when they start moving"

"... Thanks, Headr." Aera hit the rough wood floor beneath her, left in darkness with nothing but the sound of her own body, and the occasional chitter of a bug as it crawled beside her. The kitt's hand shot out, gripping some unknown, many-legged creature as it struggled. She felt around as it wriggled in her hands, fingers latching around its head and she pulled, the head of the bug, a centipede, popped of rather satisfyingly. Her mouth opened wide.

CRUNCH

Her fangs tore through a bitter-tasting carapace.

She had some supplies on her, so did Headr; but there was always a slight bit of thrill eating raw, especially when her food still struggled.

CRUNCH

The last of the insect sank down her throat.

She heaved herself off the floor, instead, sitting up and resting her head on the rough-carved wood walls around her.

Her eyes ever-so-slowly fluttered to a close, and she let her calling out once before she fell asleep.

"Goodnight"

"Goodnight"

He knew he saw... something above them, he heard it too, murmurs carried through the night winds. But Kor'Ak just lay there; whoever it was that had been following them was yet to attack, and if the Kitt tribe knew where they were, they would already be dead.

Perhaps they weren't out to kill him and the other two, but whilst he was being watched, followed and stalked, he wouldn't sleep. So he just lay there, eyes looking off into the night, the few shafts of moonlight that managed to pierce through the canopy illuminated the grass and woods around them dimly; though one shaft of light struck Steal's sleeping body and only now, when the adrenaline was long gone and his body screamed a little less in protest did he see it.

The mark, bright and red burned onto the goblin's green chest.

His fingers ran across his own, coarse digits rubbing against the raised red skin on the back of his neck.

He'd sold far too much for that demon's assistance.

It wasn't worth it.

It was too late to stop the little goblin, all he could do was hope the green creature's deal was far better than his own.