4/27/2025, 3:55 AM
SKILL Ranger 5/5
faust watched her go. no words passed his mouth, only the steady tracking of his eyes as the blonde woman melted back into the trees. she had been a flash of trouble from the start — sharp-toothed, restless. not worth blood today.
the cold shifted around him. faust exhaled through his nose, low and heavy, and turned his shoulder against the place she had been. he had no use for the broken things that crept after men like shadows. he chose life, not ghosts.
he found tikigâk’s gaze easily, as he always did. a tilt of his head was all it took, the unspoken call to move. they had burned enough time here. the land ahead was wide, and there were valleys that called to him for a good hunt.
without another glance back, faust started down the slope, dark against the dying light. the woman and her poison scent could rot in the thickets for all he cared. he had built his life on survival, and the only future worth anything stood walking at his side.