Dress shoes were quickly switched out for hiking boots, and weapons were loaded and slung over shoulders. Pharynx took a moment to study the other SUV. He walked around it, looked through the all the windows, kicked at the tires, even crouched down in front of and behind it, and slipped his hand under the bumper, feeling along them.
Then he brought the nozzle of the SAP Cannon up to the opening of the exhaust pipe, and pulled the trigger. As he pulled away and stood up, a small amount of the green goo leaked out of the pipe and onto the ground.
Aria crossed her arms and glared at him.
"What happened to not inciting conflict?" she asked.
Pharynx looked at her, his pale purple eyes narrowing.
"I am doing no such thing," he stated. "If their car happens to stall out shortly after they start it, can't really blame me. Especially if it ends up being fine again in a few hours."
Aria watched Pharynx as he made his way toward the trailhead. What he had just done was petty, vindictive, and against the spirit of the orders, if not the actual words. It actually made her like him a little more. It was nice to see he had a petty and vindictive side to him.
She followed after him and made her way along the trail. As she walked along the marked path, Aria let her eyes wander, taking in all the nature around her. All of the boring, boring, nature. There was a tree. There was a rock. There was a tree. There was a bush. There was a tree. There was a patch of dirt. Oh look. What a surprise. There was a tree. Just like every other forest on this damnable planet that they had to flee through: because a plan went wrong; because a plan went right; because they were accused of something they did not do; because they were accused of something they did do; because of rampant paranoia; or because they had been in one place too long, and people were starting to notice they were not aging. At least with that last one, they had time to pack up what they could take with them, sell off what they could not or did not want to, and not have to start over completely from scratch.
Two memories in particular came to mind.
In one, the three of them deep in some old forest, using a broken tree to keep them out of the rain. Aria's clothes had been laid down on the ground to give them some protection against the dirt and bugs. Adagio's was on top of them, providing them an extra layer of warmth and protection. The three of them were naked between them, huddling close for shared warmth. Sonata was in the middle, needing the heat most. Still, she shivered. Even with their accelerated healing, the wounds on her back continued to bleed, and despite Adagio's assurances, Aria swore she saw signs of infection.
It was many years before certain books would be written, so the word "sadistic" did not exist yet, but that was what the Count was, enjoying every second as he whipped Sonata's back all the way down to the bone. They could be as well. Aria especially. As they laid there, Aria swore to herself that Sonata died, she would go back to see if he was still alive, and if he was... Well... She would find out how much pain he could tolerate without blacking out, and then keep him right there. For days. Until he was begging for death.
The other was a night where there was no rain. The inferno that had once been a village was proof of that. The sounds of building crackling and and popping as they burned, and voices shouting "witch," "demon," as well as other names and variety of profanities could be heard by the sirens as they left. Although not at a very quick pace. Aria and Sonata each had one of Adagio's arms over their shoulders as they carried her unconscious body. As they went, the air quickly went from too hot to too cold, making the sweat Aria had been covered on feel like ice across her skin. The smell of cooking meat filled her nose, and normally, it was a smell that she loved, but the fact that it was coming from Adagio's burnt legs made her stomach churn instead.
As they walked, Aria called Adagio stupid over and over again. Had the lead siren been awake, Aria would have been chewing her out something fierce. Not for being accused of witchcraft, since Adagio was actually innocent of that this time, and they had been accusing normal humans as well. No, what had been stupid was that instead of simply leaving, Adagio had insisted they stay long enough to give a dramatic monologue, and then used their magic to turn the villagers against each other, leading to the place's current state. She should have saved all the energy she could, try to focus on healing, but no. Queen Bitch just had to be dramatic.
In the present, Aria was so caught up in her memories that she did not notice that Pharynx had stopped until she had bumped into him.
"We're here," he stated.
Looking around, Aria took in the current trail in the current forest she was in. There were several patches of rusty brown spots, with at least one still having a wet, red gleam to its center. A single deep breath, and she could smell -- practically taste -- the metallic scent that came with it.
"And you said he was conscious?" she asked. Aria gave a shake of her head. Considering the amount of blood, it was hard to imagine he had even survived.
Off to one side of the path, there was a line where the ground had been gouged out and scraped. Like something had dug in and kept sliding. Curious, Aria walked over and placed her foot into it. The furrow was wide enough to fit her boot into it easily, and deep enough the that sole was below the edge. Aria traced along it, making her way toward the piled up mound of dirt and debris.
The heel bumped against something. Keeping her foot against it, Aria bent down, felt around to find the edges of it, and pulled it out, holding it up to see what she had hit.
It was a piece of wood. Not a completely natural one, either. One end looked like it had been broken off, but the rest of it looked like it was intentional. The thing was longer than her middle finger, and the base twice as wide. It curved and narrowed, ending in a sharp point. It was like someone had taken a piece of wood, and tried to carve it into a claw. Although not well. Maybe with like a rock or something.
"Pharynx," she called out. As she stood and turned Aria held up the piece of wood for him to see.
His pale violet eyes narrowed as he stared at it. Slowly, he reached up and took it from her, turning it around as he studied it.
"A piece of wood," he stated.
"Found it at the end of the furrow, half-buried in the dirt."
"The forest came to life and attacked him," Pharynx repeated. He then looked at Aria. "Do you think that the creature could be made out of wood?"
Aria thought about it a moment, before giving a half-shrug.
"I guess it's possible," she answered. "There were stories of rock lobsters that were actually made of rock, and there was at least one time we found a creature made out of seaweed." There had also been a story about a living ship that ate sirens, but that was not really relevant. "As such, it wouldn't surprise me if some surface creature was made out wood."
Pharynx let out a hum as he gave a small nod. His gaze drifted from her, toward the furrowed ground, then he turned around and looked across toward the other side.
"Check on this side," he ordered, motioning behind him. "See if you can find any other signs of the creature or where it may have gone."
He walked across the trail and stepped off, looking ahead.
Aria gave a nod despite not being looked out, and moved back to the furrow. She brought a hand up to block out the sun and narrowed her eyes. Slowly, she stepped further from the path, looking for anything that might be out of place. Although, it would help if she had more an idea on what that might be. The only thing they had even close to a clue was that it was big, and may be made out of wood.
She turned to glare at a tree.
"Don't try anything," she growled out.
Once satisfied that the tree was in fact a normal tree, Aria continued to walk forward and look around. She stared at patches of grass, trying to figure out if they were bent differently from other grass patches, which were actually very few. She stared at rocks, trying to figure out if they had been moved from other spots where they may have been. At piles of leaves that may have been crushed. At sticks that could have been broken by any of a dozen different things. At mud.
Which looked like something had stepped in it.
"FOUND SOMETHING!" Aria shouted out. Moving closer to it, she crouched down to get a better look. There was a rectangular impression, somewhere between an eight by ten photograph and sheet of paper, by Aria's guess. On one of the narrower ends were to long, triangular impression: one on the left side, and one in the middle.
"What did you find?" Pharynx asked as he approached.
"Give me the piece I found," she said, holding out her hand. As soon as she felt it touch her palm, she took it and held it down against the mud, beside one of the triangular impressions.
It was a match.
She felt more than saw Pharynx move closer and crouch down beside her. One of his dark blue-green hands reached out, pressing against the rectangular portion of the print in the mud.
"Large," he muttered to himself. "Made of wood. Willing to attack people, but didn't kill or eat him..." He shifted. "Any of this remind you of anything?"
"No," Aria answered, giving a shake of her head. Her brow furrowed as something tugged at the back of her mind. Something that at least a part of her said did not make sense. Something that she could not quite figure out.
Pharynx stood back up, moved around the impression, and started walking further along.
Slipping the... toe?... into her pocket, Aria stood up and followed after him. As they walked, the ground became more sloped. There were even a few places where they were forced to slow down, even had to move at an angle to keep from slipping and falling. At one point, Aria was about to snap and yell how it could not have possibly gone this way, only to come across more of the strange prints.
The two them reached a stony shore of a river. It was wide, and the water was clear. The bottom could be seen easily, but it was difficult to tell how deep it went, or how fast it was moving if at all. Instead of crossing, they decided to follow the shore upriver.
As they walked, the terrain on either side of their rocky riverside path grew taller. There were even points where they were sheer walls, well over their heads. At one point, a tree was partially hanging off the edge on top, some of the roots sticking out in the air. It was kind of impressive it had not fallen yet.
Further along, they found what looked like the entrance to a cave. It was a small one, forcing Pharynx hunch down as he looked inside.
"Wait out here," Pharynx ordered.
"Seriously?" Aria said. Crossing her arms, she raised an eyebrow at him. "We're basically hunting a monster in the woods, and not only do you want to separate, but go into a dark, unknown cave alone?"
Pharynx turned to look at her, with an expression of bored annoyance.
"This isn't a horror movie," he stated. "Considering the size of the prints, I doubt the target is even in here. However, it should still be checked just in case." He pointed a finger at here. "So wait out here."
"Aye-aye," Aria huffed. She threw up one hand, bringing the middle to her brow in a mock-salute.
Pharynx scowled more, but said nothing. He turned back to the cave entrance, brought the SAP cannon up against his chest, and stepped further inside.
Aria let out a huff and turned away from the cave. She walked a little further up, catching sight of a pile of branches and twigs. Slipping the rifles off her shoulders, she moved to lean back against it.
Just as she had committed herself to the action, she suddenly remembered what it was they were supposed to looking for.
As soon as her butt hit the wood, she felt it start to move.
Fuck me!