Listening to Yiya again, Sasha wasn’t sure what to think. The plant that she had taken and was transporting was sacred to the Rue in some way; it would kill them, should it die while they were near it, but it also had an effect that made them want to be close to it? As someone who had only ever thought of the shadows and… well, she didn’t know what to think of them as; this was something of a revelation.

They were just something to watch out for in the forest while on a hunt. Something that would occasionally wander close to her, watching from between the trees but often not coming close; and if one did come too close, she would point her revolver at them and they would flee. If anything, they were akin to animals, like wolves or… no, not even like wolves. Were they even predators? Sometimes they seemed skittish, like deer. Other times they were curious, as if they didn’t know what to make of her, like a rabbit or… like a child? The ones she needed to scare away were rare and [i]those[/i] she could probably liken to wolves, but not the others.

In other words, there were different types.

What type had the one on the track been?

[color=c4df9b]“It…”[/color] A line appeared between Sasha’s brows as she pulled them down in a frown. It felt unfair to be questioned like this, like they… like she had done something wrong. [color=c4df9b]“It was in front of the train… like it was trying to stop it.”[/color] That seems silly, now that she knew the train was warded against them. But then, wasn’t the station supposed to keep out Rue entirely? Would it have been able to stop the train? What could a Rue even do to a person, if it got close? She’d never found out. She’d never asked. [color=c4df9b]“You said they would be coming after you, because of the plant.”[/color]

Sasha bowed her head then, unable to articulate anymore why firing her father’s gun at the Rue had seemed like a good idea at the time. Maybe it wasn’t necessary. Maybe it had done more harm than good. Who could tell?

[color=c4df9b]“Most of the time, they just run from me… the gun. I shot one… once. They… the ones in the forest… don’t get close… after that.”[/color]