Snippet #2438605

“Move more quietly, you’re scaring everything off,”

“Oh!” Ashyl covered her mouth quickly and whispered something.

“Good job. Now even I can’t hear you,” Maxilith responded sarcastically, keeping his eyes aimed towards the ground. He’d expected the young woman to return home when he ventured into the town to run errands, but she insisted on following him to find more bugs for Emi and Sato.

“Sorry” She whispered again after removing her hands.

“You didn’t have to come, you know. Wildlife is scarce enough close to town without someone stomping about,” He muttered, not caring whether she heard.

“Is everything really so scarce? We’ve seen plenty of bugs since we came out here…” She asked. Maxilith sighed and crouched down to inspect an area closer- part of him wondered whether it wouldn’t be better to return later when it was darker. Those bugs were easier to find, but the animals that awaken during the night have been on edge lately…

“Maxilith?”

“Oh, sorry…” Ashyl snapped him from his thoughts, “And yes, it’s hard for someone like you to notice because you don’t venture out so much. But think about the town’s economics lately,”

“What do economics have to do with animals?” Ashyl seemed confused. She acted so young sometimes, it was hard to believe their age gap was only a few years…

“Your town depends on the surrounding environment to sustain itself. Many people in your town deal in the goods of the forest- herbs, meats, wood. Now, what have you noticed about local trade in such goods lately,” Maxilith stood and began to explain.

“Well… the butcher seems to have less meats lately… and Miss Viviana’s herb prices have risen…” The dark-skinned young woman guessed.

“The butcher lacks stock because the hunters are having trouble catching anything healthy,” Maxilith answered, “The fore-“

“But how would the lack of animals affect an herb vendor?” She interrupted, clearly thinking very hard about the situation. She knew so much about how to read people and how to take care of them, but it seemed she hadn’t paid attention to much about economics and the world that didn’t involve the bread business… Maxilith let out a sigh for her small town’s schooling.

“If you’d let me finish,” He began again, “The hunters lack healthy animals to hunt because the forest lacks the health to provide for the creatures that live off of its plants. The forest is unwell, so the wildlife population has dropped. Many creatures have moved on in hopes of finding food elsewhere.”

“Okay… “ Ashyl was trying to follow, “But Miss Viviana grows most of her own herbs…”

“I think it’s not just in the plants themselves, but the soil as well,” Maxilith sat down on a large tree root and leaned back on the tree, “The forest itself is unwell, and that affects everything that grows within it. Even gardens like the herb vendor’s,”

Ashyl sat down as well, kneeling so she was sitting on her feet. She looked deep in thought over what the blonde young man had just told her and soon her eyes were exploring the flora beyond their current location.

“Wait… you called Hensma ‘your town’. You live there, too!” Her pensive look shattered into one of incredulity.

“I live more out here than in town, I thought you’d have caught that by now,” Maxilith sighed. She seemed perpetually concerned by his introverted lifestyle, and he could tell she was about to launch into another tirade about there being such a thing as ‘too independent’.

“But isn’t Hensma your home? You’ve been here for years…”

“I try not to get attached,”

“Don’t you like it here?”

“I like the forest; it’s peaceful here,”

“I meant, ‘don’t you like Hensma?’”

“Sure,” the response sounded insincere. He just wanted her to drop the idea already.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Why did she look so offended?

“What’s with the interrogation, Ashyl? It’s my own business whether I ever call that town ‘home’, got it?” He finally spoke up, his tone a little more irate than he’d originally intended. Ashyl was taken aback and her eyes fell to the ground.

“Sorry… I just get worried…”

“There’s nothing wrong with living alone, I’ve told you I’m just fine,” Maxilith responded firmly. There was a pause before the young woman spoke again.

“You just seem so lonely… no family living with you… and no home, either?” Maxilith shook his head.

“I’m not lonely. And just because I don’t consider Hensma my home doesn’t mean I don’t have one… I feel more at peace alone out here than I ever will in town. It’s just how I work,”

“Why’s that?” Why was she still prying? Maxilith sighed again; she was edging in on things he didn’t like talking about again.

“You’re prying into personal matters again, Ashyl,” The moment he said this, she got somewhat flustered.

“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry. I can stop; you don’t have to answer-“

“It’s fine,” Her speedy apology was halted and silence filled the forest again. Maxilith looked at her as she stared at her lap with a guilty look on her face. He knew her concern for him was genuine. She’d spent more than enough time with him to know something was up- like I said before, she was good with people. This wasn’t the first time she’d tried to get him to be honest with her- in fact, one time he’d gotten really angry with her for it. During the apology period, she agreed to step back if he told her she was pushing too much. And she’d been true to it.

He wasn’t sure if it was the look on her face, or the peace of being in the forest, but he finally decided to speak up.

“I don’t feel comfortable in town or cities because there are too many people,” Ashyl looked up, clearly not sure how to respond.

“The last place I lived… I was there for a long time… I met very few people who gave me pleasant experiences,”

“So… what you’re saying is… you don’t like people?” She seemed a little hurt.

“Not so much as they make me uncomfortable most of the time… Don’t worry about it, though. You seem to be okay,” She seemed to brighten up a little after the blonde said that.

“I can’t help but wonder what you were like before that…” Ashyl thought aloud.

“I wonder sometimes, too… “ Maxilith drew his knees closer to his chest so he could rest his arms on them.

“Don’t you remember?”

“Most of it, no… when I really think about it, I can push through the bad to get vague imagery of life before the city… but none of it is enough to make it worth dwelling on. I’m a different person now, and that can’t be helped,”