The children must be so hungry... No, certainly he taught them to hunt by this age. Akihito thought to himself. He left Bleu and Sera alone four days ago so that he could set off to find their mother- her soul, that is. He'd forgotten how long of a journey it was. What had he been thinking anyway? What did he know about the clan territories? How many clans were around here? Which clan was the girl Yuuka in?
Upon reaching a well worn trail, he knew he'd found a place of civilization. Walking along it, Aki held his hands in front of him with his fingers opened (An old gesture Apollo had been taught when visiting a clan, in order to convey that he was a harmless inquirer to whomever may find him first).
Muddied rabbit tracks led her aimlessly around the forest, circling the same trees for an uncertain amount of time. The apprentice hadn't a clue that her prey had long since deserted her, as she was gifted with another presence, instead.
Halting between tree trunks, she stared at the outsider. Was he new? Yomi did mention a new clan member, after all, but she always thought it was just her neighbor. They did look a bit similar, but it wasn't as though Ally had met her neighbor personally. So, perhaps?
"Hey, you!"
Spoken without consideration of danger, hopeless huntress paced towards the worn, abandoned trail.
"What are you doing? Expecting a bird to just drop into your hands or something?"
Aki looked round to face her, dropping his hands and bowing politely. "Ah ha, perhaps I was." He joked, straightening up with a soft smile. "My name is Akihito, I have just come to meet my friend Yuuka here. Would you tell her a message from me, that she might come to talk? It's quite urgent."
The blonde's face scrunched up, her mind rattling around different memories of the last time she had spoken or even seen the mender. Suddenly, she perked up, coming to a solid realization.
"Don't tell me! You're the one who showed up to the festival! Right? I can't believe you're still sticking around here after so long. Wish I could have been there to see it all go down."
While she contemplated on how best to assist him, she audibly sighed, deflating with the loss of energy also clear in her voice and tone.
"I don't really know Yuuka well, so everything I heard was after the fact. Haven't seen her in awhile, now that I think about it. Oh, but I can still relay a message no problem!"
As she spoke of the festival, his face hardened in concern. But when it seemed she had no intent on sending him away, he brightened. "I am he, yes. You can? Thank you!" He took a breath. "Tell her Apollo and all of his brethren are dead, but Kirai has found his children and is keeping them safe. And he has come to speak with you."
Aki had greatly intended on keeping his message masked (for this clan may be in on the massacre, after all), but knowing how Yuuki struggled against Yuuka's mentality, he knew she would not be reached by a riddle.
Alithia gasped, sinking the news in to commit to memory. Not only was the death of other clansmen shocking enough, but kids?
"Are they... This really shouldn't be something relayed by a messenger."
Eyes shifted towards their surroundings, checking and double checking no one was listening in to their conversation. After confirming they were alone, she shifted her satchel off her shoulder and leaned down to rummage through it. Eventually, she pulled out a pair of shoes, identical in design to the ones she was wearing.
"Put these on. The bottom of the shoes leave the same tracks found in the clan-- I can try and lead you to her, but there's no guarantee she'll be home. Menders have been insanely busy preparing for the battle soon."
The shoes were likely too big, though plant-based lace helped in tightening them up to size.
"Lunarisclan. We were mixed during the festival."
She spoke matter-of-factly, hoistening the lighter satchel back along her shoulder. She took to a tree, checking for vines sturdy enough to lead up to the much higher branches.
The blonde grinned and flipped her hair, foreseeing the question.
"That's why they won't. And if they do, I have a plan."
She started upwards up the vines, using her upper body strength to pull. There were little marks in the trunk for footing, but not nearly enough space to consider it a ladder.
"We're still working on replacing some of the flooring, so be careful where you step when you get up there!"
"Yes Ma'am." Aki said, climbing with ease. As he rose higher he stole a glance over his shoulder at the ground below. There was an unfamiliar feeling growing in his mind, the feeling that if he were to fall he could catch himself. Did this body have wings? For a moment he wanted to let go, just to find out. But certainly he wouldn't.
Akihito took her hand with a grateful smile. When she mentioned his name his brain stung for a moment.
"Yes, Kirai. I don't prefer it, but who can help their name?" He said, looking about. "I have never seen a clan that lives above ground, this is beautiful."
Huntress felt compelled to ask him about what was so wrong with his name, however she kept the question to herself. She hadn't any idea about the translation, but she didn't want to stir anything worse with the message he was meant to relay.
"Yeah! There's a few old records dating forever ago that there were some other clans like ours, but there's belief that it was too impractical. Something like any sort of major disaster could really ruin the whole clan, so most others took east and set up there. Really, only Lunarisclan and ourselves are left to this area. Oh, but they're cave-dwellers. So we're the only ones to keep the practice of lightness."
She explained as she walked, guiding Kirai further along wooden bridges-- some boards sturdier than others.
With a single mistep, a plank broke beneath her. Swiftly, she shifted her weight and fell forward, landing hard on a luckily more sturdy piece of wood.
"We're... in the middle of replacing a lot of these."
Without thinking, Aki grabbed the back of Ally's arms as she slipped. He didn't let go until she'd found her footing, saying to her, "That sounds like a good idea." He laughed quietly. "I can certainly see the dangers of living up here. So why is it that your leader has you stay?"
