Into the Woods [open]

[reallivefiction]

Bryn's tattered shoes dug into the ground as she stopped hard to catch her breath. She'd only been running for about twenty minutes, but the stealthy climb over the District 10 wall had her heart racing like never before. 

Now what? She thought, scanning the thick forest for trodden paths or maybe a bubbling stream. There weren't any she could see. This was the farthest Bryn had ever run from home, and she'd never thought she'd be able to sneak past the District line. In this moment, she realized that she was in control of what happened next, which both empowered and terrified her. Bryn was only a 13-year-old kid, but she knew that she'd be better off wherever her feet took her than with her parents. 

Overwhelmed, the girl hesitantly decided on a direction and started walking. The moss of the forest floor gave way to her feet, helping to soften the friction of her shoes' hard soles against her feet. 

From behind her, Bryn heard the sudden snap of a branch. Startled, she stopped in her tracks. 

"H-Hello?" she called out meekly. She wasn't expecting to meet anyone out here in the forest, but maybe they could help her. If they were safe.

[kap]

Basil Horace

Sixty-two years. That's how long he'd been alive, and how long he'd been living in the woods. For fifty of those years, he'd been on his own entirely. Today, Basil wandered in the woods as he often, did, in search of some food. He had a satchel slung over his shoulder, a wooden, makeshift spear in hand and a rather ragged-looking pair of leather boots upon his feet.

For clothing, everything that the man wore was loose-fitting. His emerald green, long-sleeved, turtleneck shirt, although tattered and worn, was surprisingly still wearable without exposing Basil's skin too much to the wilderness. His jeans were one or two sizes too big, and were caked in mud and dirt. There were tears at the knees, and his bruised, rather filthy knees could be seen through the tears.

As the old man was walking through the woods on the hunt for food, he spotted a girl. She was young, perhaps twelve or thirteen years old, and she certainly didn't belong out here, from what Basil could tell, because she was running. No one who lived out here just decided they were going to run. Running made noise and attracted attention. That's how one would get themselves killed.

Basil followed behind the girl slowly and quietly, keeping his distance, but still keeping her within his vision. Although it was risky, he wanted to find out what this girl was up to and where she'd come from.

Normally, Basil was quite good at walking quietly. He didn't want to get caught out in the woods, after all. Today, however, he seemed to have been a little bit less skillful than usual, and stepped on a branch that snapped underneath the heel of his left boot.

The girl stopped in her tracks.

"H-Hello?" the girl called out. Her voice was timid. She was scared, or at least nervous, from what the man could tell. It was then that he realized that he wanted to teach her that she shouldn't be so noisy in the woods with her running. That was never a good idea.

Quietly, Basil emerged from where he'd been hiding and approached her, spear pointed in her direction.

"Young lady," he said, his voice sharp. He didn't plan to hurt her with the spear, but he wanted her to at least be intimidated and realize that she shouldn't have made her presence in the woods so obvious.

"You need to be quieter if you're going to wander about in these woods. I can tell you're not from out here. You're from a District, right? Ten, I'm guessing, given our proximity to there?" He paused a moment to make sure they weren't being stalked. He lowered his spear.

"Be more careful, please," he expressed.

[reallivefiction]

Bryn's eyes darted between the trees for the source of the sound. 

"Young lady." 

Bryn turned to find a spear pointing in her direction. Eyes wide, she slowly paced backwards with her hands open-palm in front of her to show that she meant no harm. She'd heard that there were unsavoury folks out in the forest, but if she'd known it would be this easy to come across one, she likely would never have set a foot outside the District perimeter. 

As Bryn backed slowly away from the tattered man, a stone below her broke loose, putting her momentarily off balance. She regained her footing quickly, embarrassed. 

"You need to be quieter if you're going to wander about in these woods. I can tell you're not from out here. You're from a District, right? Ten, I'm guessing, given our proximity to there?"

Bryn was frozen in a mild state of shock. This man now knew her District. Would he take her back there? That was the last thing she wanted. But he had a spear at his side and, even though it wasn't aimed at her any longer, she wasn't about to put up a fight. 

"Be more careful, please." 

Bryn was silent for a moment longer, waiting for something else to follow. For this man to grab her, or tell her to go home. But that was it.

"Wait, so you're not going to take me back to District 10?" She stepped towards him now, a little more fearlessly. 

[kap]

Basil Horace

The girl moved backwards, her hands up, palms open, likely threatened by the man's spear. As she moved backward, she stumbled at one point, but managed to regain her balance. She seemed surprised by Basil's words.

This time, she stepped toward him.

"Wait, so you're not going to take me back to District 10?" she asked him. He shook his head no.

Why would he bring her back somewhere that he didn't want to be seen? He'd never even been in the Districts, aside from one trip to Thirteen, as he was born and raised in the woods outside of them. He certainly didn't want to change that now.

"No," he told her. "I'm not. I've never been inside the Districts, and I don't plan to start now." he admitted.

His spear was still lowered to his side. That is, until he heard something behind them. He recognized the sound of it. It was an animal- not a deer, but rather something that walked more heavy-footed. It could've been a human, or perhaps something larger. He raised his spear back up and spoke to the girl.

"If you want to follow me, take this," he said, taking a knife out of his satchel and handing it to her. "If not, wait here a moment. I'll be right back. I just have to make sure no one's watching us."

He turned toward the source of the sound and slowly, carefully and quietly, began to make his way toward it.

[reallivefiction]

"No, I'm not. I've never been inside the Districts, and I don't plan to start now." 

"You've never been inside the Districts?" Bryn mumbled under her breath, but was caught off guard when the man aimed his spear—not at her, but at something else in the forest.  

"If you want to follow me, take this. If not, wait here a moment. I'll be right back. I just have to make sure no one's watching us."

She looked at the knife he offered to her. It didn't seem very special in any way, but the blade was sharp. Looking into the man's eyes, she took the knife and nodded to let him know she was ready to go. There was no way Bryn was about to miss out on the kind of action this promised. After all, she was now wielding a knife.

The man, who she only just realized she didn't know by name, crept slowly towards the source of the sound. Bryn followed suit, keeping low to the ground and doing her best not to step on anything that would give them away. 

Coming up to a clearing, they stopped before they lost the cover of the trees. Bryn peered out into the field with a watchful gaze. She was trying to stay quiet, but when she saw the shadow she couldn't help herself. 

"What is it?" she whispered.