[center][color=tan][h1][b]Chapter 001[/b][/h1][/color][/center][center][sub][i]Scene 005[/i][/sub][/center][hr]        Stepping outside into the town's street Luca looked around. It was an hour or so before noon. A lot of time to make headway to that hideout the mayor was talking about. He looked over to Tasha, [color=deepskyblue]"Are you ready to do battle? I'm sure we won't be able to retrieve that metal without a fight."[/color] He was a little hesitant in asking the question. She probably hadn't seen much battle, or if any.

        [color=lime]"Yes. Can we try to keep it peaceful for as long as possible?"[/color] She asked looking down, fidgeting with the dirt with her shoe. Luca nodded in agreement. She had never killed anybody and the thought of it made her uneasy. She realized that the whole continent had been at war. Battle was just another thing to most people. Families accepted that fact and moved on when someone in their family had died. [i]'It was just the Will of the Gods'[/i] most people thought.

	[color=deepskyblue]"Okay, we don't have much business in this town right now. Let's go back to the woods."[/color] Luca said motioning for Tasha followed. Tasha nodded her head and hopped over to the left side of Luca as they walked out of the town. As they exited the town, they realized that there was forest everywhere. The mayor had said it was in a cave. Luca thought that it'd be best to head eastward towards the more mountainous area. Figuring it'd be a better shot than finding a cave in a more plains type environment. He didn't want to be selfish by being the only one to decide where to go. He turned his head to Tasha, [color=deepskyblue]"So where do you want to start? I figured it'd be better to head towards the east, it'd be easier to find caves, I'd assume."[/color]

	Tasha put her hand on her chin. She thought for a second, looking around, making a [i]'hmm'[/i] sound. [color=lime]"I don't see why not. Sounds like it'd be the best option to me."[/color] His logic was well placed. She hadn't seen any caves on the way here. It was also pretty flat, but caves weren't always in the mountains. If they had setup a base inside a cave it'd have to be rather big, so maybe the mountains weren't such a bad idea. 

	[color=deepskyblue]"Okay."[/color] Luca started walking towards the east, Tasha followed. After an hour or so the mountains began to get bigger. They were far into the forest now. After another hour or so they stopped, taking a break. Tasha was really hungry by now, so Luca had pulled out his food that he had made yesterday. There was still some more left over for a couple more meals. After about an hour of rest and a meal they resumed their journey towards the mountains. They had passed some animals and Tasha seemingly innocent, always seemed to enjoy the comfort of other animals. Enjoying their company and trying to interact with them. Luca could careless about such creatures. They were walking steaks.

	Stopping for a break, they had decided it was a good spot to make a home-base camp. They were on the base of the mountains. Hills and cliffs every which way. Tasha looked over to Luca who had been putting his stuff down, setting things up and getting ready to explore the area. She still didn't know how she felt about this man. He didn't say much and kept to himself. He seemed friendly, like he cared for her well being. Yet he was such a hard man to read. She didn't really know how to get a conversation going. He looked to be around the age of 23-25. Appearances could always be deceiving though. If he were to have taken advantage of her in some way, he'd probably had have already done it by now. Men like that always seemed to be impatient with their urges, or so she thought. She didn't have any kind of personal experience with the matter. Thankfully.

	She sat her stuff on the ground, getting out her bed roll and some pots. [color=lime]"Hey Luca, I'm gonna go find some wood to gather."[/color] He nodded as he was on the ground sharpening his blade. [i][color=lime]'Did he think that we were going to battle sometime soon? He had mentioned it earlier, I guess he was serious.'[/color][/i] She thought heading out into the woods. Earlier he had agreed to try to avoid conflict. He was definitely more experienced in this department than Tasha was. [i][color=lime]'I guess preparation is never a bad thing. Keeping your blade sharp and un-rusted should be a priority.'[/color][/i] She thought as she gathered up some logs and sticks. A few more minutes of gathering kindle for the fire she came across something that looked like a trail. She hadn't ever tracked animals before, but she lived on the land long enough to see a disturbance in the flora. She didn't know which way it had led, but there was something that had definitely been here before. [i][color=lime]'I'd better return to Luca.'[/color][/i] She thought, trotting back towards the camp they began to make.

	When she returned to the camp she saw that Luca had started a small fire. He was cooking some venison stew it seemed. He was stirring the stew as Tasha approached. He looked up to her for a second and gave a brief smile, [color=deepskyblue]"It's almost done, I hoped it'd be done before you had returned back."[/color] He said looking a little disappointed. He'd almost never show emotion till he talked. That's probably why it was so hard for Tasha to read him. Maybe she just had to learn and grow with him more before she could understand him.

	[color=lime]"That's okay, thanks for cooking regardless!"[/color] She was enthusiastic and ready to eat. She sat down the wood she had gathered and moved towards Luca sitting beside him. [color=lime]"I'm ready to rest for the remainder of the day. I'm tired as hell."[/color] She said exhaling with relief and closing her eyes for a second. Luca rose an eyebrow and continued to stir the stew. After a few more minutes it had finished. He gave a portion to Tasha who eagerly awaited the food. He gave himself another portion, then put the rest in a container. Luca believed in having accessible rations to eat. He normally had more stockpiled but he wasn't used to having another mouth to feed. Luca was alright with it, he actually enjoyed the company. Being alone was always easier for him to survive, but not emotionally. Even having another man journey with him made it easier. Words and thoughts to share with someone was better than nothing. Sadly, if you grew to that person it was also hard losing them, it was a catch 22.

	Luca continued to think and eat as he looked into the fire, and occasionally around into the woods. Tasha would occasionally watch him. He always seemed to be in deep thought about something. She would wonder what he'd think about. He was in his own little world most of the time, until she'd talk to him or if he was just in the mood to talk. Or so it had seemed. She finished up her bowl of stew, Luca following shortly after. [color=lime]"I'm going to bed!"[/color] She gave a quick smile and wandered off into her bedroll.

	[color=deepskyblue]"Me too."[/color] He nodded and crawled into his bedroll as well. [color=deepskyblue]"Goodnight Tasha. Don't be afraid to wake me for any reason."[/color] He said as he laid his head down and looking at Tasha from across the fire. 

	[color=lime]"I won't and same to you!"[/color] She said and paused for a moment remembering something, [color=lime]"Hey Luca, I think I found a trail or something while I was gathering wood. We should go look at it tomorrow morning, if you're okay with that."[/color] She was pretty sure it was a trail, but she didn't have enough experience to track yet. Her father wasn't very good at tracking so she didn't have someone to teach her.

	[color=deepskyblue]"That sounds fine to me."[/color] Luca gave a smile and closed his eyes. Tasha following his actions, adding in a yawn.