2

Eventually they came to a clearing. The sun had started sinking below the trees by then, leaving everything dark except for the moonlight shining through the canopy above. In the middle stood the tree, tall, thin trunk reaching far high into the sky, with several roots reaching deep into the ground, all twisting together to form something new. It was beautiful and it somehow managed to hold the same eerie quality as the town itself. There was a path leading down from the tree and beyond it was a small hut. A small hut that held the girl, tied to a wooden chair. Sora stiffened as soon as the thought passed through his mind and he began to walk towards her. But the stranger stopped him before he could take more than four steps.

"Wait," he murmured warningly. Sora looked at him impatiently. "Don't touch her." Then he nodded towards the door, "We'll be waiting outside."

He waited while the strangers retreated and returned a few minutes later with a lantern. Once inside he set it by the doorway, turning to stare at them expectantly as Sora approached. "Well, what are we supposed to-" he cut off his words as soon as he saw the ropes that kept her hands bound behind her back. "She's been bound." He finished weakly, his throat tightening. He swallowed heavily, trying to ignore the lump that formed in his throat.

"Yeah, she has." The stranger agreed, crossing his arms. Sora glared at him, but he ignored it. "You're gonna have to untie her." He added. Sora blinked and looked between the rope and the girl. He wasn't sure if he could trust the stranger. But there didn't seem to be any choice, not if they were going to find the girl and rescue her sister before the morning, before the hunters would get too close. He'd promised to help her after all. She deserved that at least. He closed his eyes momentarily and took a deep breath to steady himself. Then he lifted his gun once more and leveled it between the stranger's eyes. He couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. No matter how angry he was.

"What are you waiting for?" The man asked impatiently. "Get to work or we will." His voice sounded almost... sad, which made Sora flinch and jerk the barrel towards the rope. Then the other man sighed and placed a hand on the side of the gun. He pulled it out of his grip. Sora let out an indignant squawk, glaring daggers at the stranger who held it.

"How do you know?" He demanded, pointing it accusingly at the man.

The stranger looked taken aback. For some reason his face softened, his features softening and his posture relaxed. When he spoke his voice was soft too, soothing instead of harsh, his tone light. It didn't sound like he meant anything bad by it. "Because you aren' t going to shoot me."

Sora stared at him, unsure what to say. He felt like the stranger had read his mind and suddenly it all made sense. "You've seen me shoot before, right?"

The man nodded. "Yes. I remember. You shot that boy." He pointed a thumb over his shoulder at Sora, "And you nearly killed him." Sora winced and lowered his gun slowly. The stranger continued talking. "But now that I see you are willing to do the right thing… I am willing to forgive you."

Sora blinked in confusion, "Forgive me?" He repeated confusedly. He didn't understand. It wasn't possible. The guy wasn't even supposed to see him. He wasn't supposed to recognize him at all. The stranger shook his head slightly.

"I don't believe we've met properly, yet." He informed him carefully.

Sora cocked his head slightly to one side. His confusion growing deeper by the second. "Who are you?" He asked finally. The stranger chuckled softly and shrugged. "My name's Sora." He answered simply. "And yours? I don' t think we've introduced ourselves."

Sora hesitated. He knew who he was. He didn' t need to remind himself who he was. He knew exactly who he was. He knew that this man had come with someone else. He knew who they were searching for. He knew that this man was important. Important enough to be able to sneak in and out of the barracks without anyone noticing. But… Sora couldn't put his finger on why he couldn' t make himself tell that person. Even as he watched the stranger's eyes soften a bit more with each passing second, Sora knew that he had no intention of doing so. Something about this man screamed danger and Sora wanted nothing to do with him. If he found out who this man was… then everything would be ruined. And he didn' t want that. Not after he'd already failed. Not now that he needed the guy to save the girl.

Then again... If that's what it took...

Sora paused, closing his eyes briefly before he opened them again. "I don't think we've formally introduced ourselves," he admitted. He shifted his stance slightly and narrowed his eyes slightly. He had a feeling he should keep this conversation short and sweet. Just to avoid getting too involved. He didn't want the guy's help anyway. "So, I guess my turn is probably gonna be short, huh?" He smirked slightly as the stranger frowned slightly. "My name's Sora. Nice ta meet ya."

"Nice to meet you too." The stranger replied after a moment. Sora studied his face a moment longer before nodding and turning back to the girl.

As the stranger said, he'd gotten her out of the chair and tied her up. Not that she struggled. She looked exhausted and he wondered if she ever stopped being exhausted. When he stepped back to give her room to talk, she looked up at him, a tired smile on her lips. "Thank you." She breathed quietly. He shrugged awkwardly and gave a little nod, then took another step back. She smiled slightly, more real this time, and looked down at the ground. Her gaze fell momentarily to the ground and he realized that she hadn't noticed the footprints beside the tree trunk. He tensed, worried they might draw attention and cause problems. As much trouble as she caused sometimes, he doubted she'd be very happy to be caught red handed. And he certainly wouldn' t risk making it worse if he could help it.

The stranger, however, seemed completely unaffected by the prints and he only raised an eyebrow as he turned back to look at them. Sora cleared his throat nervously. "I uh…" He trailed off and looked away for a moment, trying to decide what to say. Finally he spoke again. "I'm sorry." He murmured. Then he quickly turned away and made his way out of the clearing, not waiting to hear the other man speak again.

~/~/~/~

Once he was sure the stranger couldn't see, Sora slowed, stopping when he reached the edge of the clearing. He leaned against a tree and slid slowly to the ground, burying his head in his knees. He felt the familiar burn of tears forming at the corners of his eyes, but he pushed them away. He refused to cry. He needed to stay strong. For her sake. But still... he felt like his heart might explode at any moment. That he might crumble to dust from grief alone. After a long moment, he wiped a hand across his mouth and straightened, pulling himself to his feet. He glanced around the clearing, taking stock of the surroundings. So far it seemed as though the other people on the ship weren' t in sight, which he hoped meant that no one had found their way to the camp.

"Alright." He whispered, wiping away the remaining traces of tears from his cheeks. "Let's just hope they won' find us here first." And, with a heavy sigh, he resumed his journey home.