Alone And Broken

JP with Omni and Lorem

Soldiers were easy to bypass when they were drunk and playing dice and cards. Voah was maybe 8 hours ahead of the army if she was lucky… maybe… before a unit of soldiers and the Silent Flock would set out toward the the tribe. The Purger would probably send scouts faster for Voah.

After making it a decent distance from the army camp, Voah rode Litany hard at a gallop for a few miles and continued at an easier pace through the night, allowing Litany a chance to rest every so often while keeping her eye out for scouts behind and predators ahead. The next day she let the horse rest for a couple of hours during high sun before continuing any further. They started up again at a walking pace. An army would have to maintain the same pace as pushing faster would tire the horses and they would need those for battle. Being solo meant Voah could push forward whenever she felt like it.

Evening approached and both Voah and her horse were exhausted from the hot sun and no sleep. As they followed the recent traces of the Odsier, Voah, through blinking and bleary eyes, thought she spotted a singular Odsier tent standing crooked up ahead. Then a horse slowly ambling nearby. She sat up as a shot of adrenaline pumped through her veins.

Litany retorted as Voah coaxed her to a cantor and took her Odonine bow out.

As they closed the distance, Voah nocked an arrow and held it in a downward position as she slowed, looking for the occupant of the tent and to her surprise, it was the familiar yet devastated face of the man she had left behind days ago to the southwest.

He looked broken and disheveled, leaning against the twisted tent. Voah hopped down off of Litany and walked over to him slowly.

Gonyaul sat on the ground with his back against the broken Odsier tent. He had been trying to fix it back to some recognizable semblance of its former glory. He failed time and time again as the damage to it was too extensive. What he managed was the sad and bent tent instead mirroring how he felt on the inside.

He could have been inside the tent; however, it just brought the visual memories back. Instead he had been meditating on the outside, his eyes wrapped.

Amu noticed Voah and Litany well before she hopped off and started her approach by foot. The horse recognizing friendly scents remained casual.

Gonyaul was unaware of her approach. He had been in and out of grieving so often that he wasn’t quite sure if he was awake or asleep at the moment.

Gonyaul appeared to have been meditating with his eye wrap concealing his vision but his position was all wrong. She had never seen him in such a state.

She wanted to remove the piece but didn’t want to startle him.

“Gonyaul… my darling. I… I’m so sorry.” she called gently, kneeling down in front of him.