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For some reason, that struck a chord with Farah, causing her to stop midstep and pause completely. She noted Aiki's stance also changed to outwardly express his fear. She slowed her steps even more, but she didn't stop advancing in his direction. "Are you alright?" she asked, trying to "change the topic," not that they were on a topic.
"D-Don't come any closer…" Aiki insisted, turning his gaze to Farah. They were trying to appear as confident as possible, but their eyes betrayed their fear and weakness. "I'm… I'm fine. I just need… food…" His eyelids fluttered and he faltered a bit, his knees sliding as he slowly fell closer to the ground. "I'm… lost. I-I don't know… I don't know where I am…"
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Farah continued her approach. Normally, she would be more wary of a strange creature like this, but as she continued to reach out and connect with Aiki's emotions all she could feel was the hunger and fear radiating off him in waves. "I can help you," she promised. "Just… let me…" She trailed off her sentence as she approached him, extending her hand towards him.
Aiki was clearly wary of Farah, and shied away when she reached out. His little flames flickered and soon went out, simply because he couldn't afford to drain his own energy anymore. They didn't have enough to drain at this point. He examined Farah up and down, trying to determine whether or not she was a threat. It seems like… she just wants to help? I dunno… it's not like I have much to lose at this point anyway. He started to reach out his own trembling hand, but faltered and hesitated, his hand pausing in the air. After a few more seconds of consideration, they tentatively allowed Farah to take their hand.
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Not used to showing emotions well, Farah tried a comforting smile. Her eyes turned from their normal brown back to silver, showing her powers were in use. She called on her pain manipulation abilities as a mind fairy and took on the weight of Aiki's pain of hunger herself so the foxboy didn't feel it any more. This was an especially reckless move since it left Farah in pain and vulnerable, but she managed in a way where she still remained in control and dispersed some of the pain as it reached her.
Aiki relaxed a bit as his hunger pangs began to dissipate, but his weariness didn't fade. Even without the pain of hunger, they still didn't have the nutrients they needed at the moment. Normally his brother, healer that he was, carried around bits of food for when Aiki needed it, but… Eiji wasn't here right now. Aiki didn't find himself missing his brother often, but now was definitely a time he wished Eiji was around. "What… what are you doing to me…?" They asked weakly.
(How tall is Farah?)
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Farah winced as her stomach felt the pain of hunger. She withdrew her hand and looked Aiki in the eye. "I was using pain manipulation to bring in your pain instead of pushing it away, as I would normally do," she answered. Her eyes remained silver as she used her magic to boost her hearing. Just like earlier, she heard the squirrels and the birds. This time, she tracked the nearest squirrel until she could see it. Her eyes narrowed, and she pointed her finger at it. From the tip of her finger, a bolt of electricity formed and shot at the squirrel. It struck the animal and electrocuted it on the spot.
(Probs like, 5'7". She tall. Also, she has an English accent)
(Aight, Aiki's just a bit taller than her then since he's 5'9 aha)
"Oh… uh… alright." Aiki replied awkwardly, watching as Farah tracked the local wildlife. He jumped when she electrocuted a squirrel, clearly not expecting it. I guess she has magic, then… good to know, I guess. "I just have the fire thing… probably shouldn't use it right now though since it feeds off of my energy and I… uh… don't have a whole lot of energy at the moment. I'm actually hypoglycemic or whatever, so… that's kinda why the whole 'no food' thing is taking a toll on me. Mmnnh…." They leaned against the tree again, feeling pretty woozy. "Sorry… I'd be fine if my brother was here."
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"You don't have to apologize," Farah replied as she walked a few feet away to where the squirrel lay. She picked it up by the tail and brought it back over to where Aiki lay. "Where is your brother now?" she asked as she began to slowly prepare the squirrel.
"Hm? Oh, I suspect he's back at home. I don't exactly know where I am." Aiki laughed weakly. "I'm probably pretty far from home at this point. I really pissed that guy off, so…" He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Eiji carries stuff for me for when I need it. He's got a healing sort of power too, like our mom."
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Healing powers… Interesting. Farah remained quiet for a few more moments before handing Aiki the squirrel. "There," she stated, keeping up her tough exterior as best she could. "That should give you some strength."
"Ah?" Aiki held the squirrel gingerly between his fingers, clearly put off by it. "How do you mean?" They asked, confused. "Um…" Am I… supposed to eat this? Just raw like this? What if it has rabies or something and I get rabies and die??
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Farah smirked in amusement. "You posses fire magic, don't you? You could cook it."
(Btw, this is the image I was trying to find for my template of Farah, but I couldn't find it, and I just came across it finally)
(Aight)
"Um… y-yeah, I suppose so. Aren't I supposed to take out the… uhm… innards first, though? I don't exactly know how to gut a squirrel…" Aiki tentatively looked at the squirrel, now held only by its tail. How am I supposed to cook this thing? I haven't practiced using my power for that…
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Farah opened her lips and was about to reply, but suddenly, something snapped in the distance. Instantly she was on her feet. Her eyes narrowed and scanned the area as her mind whipped through dozens of possibilities, some more real than others, of what could be out there.
Aiki looked up at the noise, confused. He was still holding the squirrel by the tail between two fingers, not entirely sure what to do with it. "What was that?" They asked worriedly. "Are we gonna die? Oh God, I'm too young to die…!"
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"Shhh," she hissed. "We're not going to die. Drop the squirrel and cover it up." Her eyes turned silver as she held her palm up and created a small barrier around the two of them.
(Is it okay if I introduce another character from Farah's storyline? It's up to you, but if not, I can make the noise a somewhat threatening wild animal, like a bear or something idk)
(Yeah, that's fine! I don't mind ^^)
Aiki nodded and glanced around before hiding the squirrel in a hole in the tree next to him. He shoved some leaves over top of it and dusted off his hands with a small grimace of disgust. He stayed where he was kneeling on the ground, too drained to do much at the moment.
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Farah glanced back at him. "Sorry about that. I should've-" Again, the noise like a snapping twig cut her off. It was closer this time. She dropped the barrier and took a step in the direction the sound came from. Her eyes darted around, narrow and cautious.
Just then, a figure emerged from the tree in front of her. Caught of guard, Farah used her telekinesis to shove the person back into another tree. This proved successful in stunning them, and they hit the tree and fell to the ground.
"Wait here," Farah murmured to Aiki before striding towards the person.
As she grew closer to him, she recognized the armor he wore and the sword on his back. With a sigh, she was about to address him, but just as she reached him, she felt him sweep her legs out from under her and she hit the forest floor with a painful grunt. The man was on top of her in an instant to pin her against the ground with a small dagger at her throat.
Their eyes locked, and the man's mouth dropped open. "Farah?" he asked in a whisper.
Aiki got to their feet, seeming uneasy. Despite his fatigue, his little flames flickered up around him for defense. They stayed where they were as Farah had instructed, but they were trying to see what was going on and if they needed to assist.
At the sound of a thud, he winced and took a few steps closer to get a better grip on the situation. They spotted an unfamiliar man pinning Farah down and their heart jolted, halting before beginning to race. He pushed through the foliage, looking on the brink of passing out again, but still determined to try and help. "Get… get off of her…" He growled, turning his ears back as his blue eyes glowed. His eyelids fluttered and he staggered, but he kept up his flames nonetheless.
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The man sheathed the small blade, jumped up and reached up for the sword strapped to his back. His fingers wrapped around the hilt, but as he moved to draw the blade out to defend himself and Farah, Farah recovered from her shock and pushed herself up. "Saul, no! Don't!" she insisted, placing herself between him and Aiki. She gripped his arm which caused him to release the sword's hilt.
She then turned to the fox boy, who might have looked terrifying if she didn't feel the waves of weakness radiating off of him. "Aiki, it's okay. This is Saul."
Aiki looked up at the two of them weakly, leaning against the tree beside him. His flames flickered and then vanished, and he slid down the tree trunk to the ground. Their gaze was hazy and they looked exhausted; using their power had only drained them more. They were definitely running on empty now.
He lifted his head to try and get a better look at the man now that he had seemingly been identified to not be a threat. "Mmmnhh… n-nice to meet you, Saul… I guess…" They mumbled tiredly. "Preferably… uh… don't kill me…? Nngh… my head's killing me…"
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Farah's eyes widened, and she turned quickly back to Saul. "Do you have any food?" she asked urgently.
"Yeah, I have granola, but-"
"No buts," Farah interrupted. "Hand it over." She clutched her stomach and winced, still feeling the hunger pain manipulation. "It's killing him, so it's killing me."
Saul's expression grew worried. He quickly searched through his pack for the granola. "Farah, I've told you before to stop creating pain bonds. You can't take away everyone's hurt," he added the last part under his breath.
She winced and fell against him, but he caught her and steadied her quickly. Farah took the granola from his fingers and shook her head. "I needed to this time."
Saul sighed as Farah turned and knelt in front of Aiki worriedly. "Why on earth would you do that when I told you to stay put?" she murmured, opening the granola pack and handing it to Aiki.
Aiki didn't seem to be especially paying attention to Saul and Farah's conversation. He had closed his eyes, and only opened them again when Farah addressed him directly. Their hands were trembling lightly as they accepted the granola from Farah, managing a soft 'thank you' before they started to eat some of it.
"Mmmnh… I was gonna… but then I heard a noise and voices and… I dunno…" He mumbled in reply, his head still resting against the tree. "I-I guess I wanted to help… didn't just wanna stand there if something was hurting you. I guess I'm weaker than I thought… stupid…"
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She chuckled quietly, but the smile quickly dropped off her face. "While I appreciate that, I can handle my own. That being said, you're not weak, and you're not stupid. Actually, you're quite brave." She gave them a reassuring smile. "Make sure you eat up and get some of your energy back. Then it'll be much easier to find your brother."
"Yeah, yeah… whatever you say…" Aiki flushed a bit in embarrassment and kept eating, shifting his positioning now that he was a little more alert so he wouldn't be so uncomfortable. "Since I have no clue where I am, it might be kind of hard to find Eiji, though. Odds are, he's nowhere near here…" He sighed softly, curling up a bit. "Might be stuck here for a while, I dunno… I'm sure people will be out looking for me. Although, the guy who sent me here probably doesn't know exactly where he sent me either."
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(So are they on, like, normal Earth? Or an "otherworld"/fantasy kind of Earth?)
"I'm sure we'll find him," Farah replied gently. "But what do you mean people will be looking for you? Who sent you here?"
"Farah," Saul called her name.
She glanced up at him with arched eyebrows that wordlessly asked her question. Saul replied in kind by darting his eyes over to a clearing in the trees and nodding his head subtly that way as well. Farah understood, but she shook her head. The two of them were immensely close - so close that they had learned how to read each other's body language so they could communicate without words, which was especially helpful in more dangerous situations than this.
(Uhhh whichever lol)
(I was thinking a generally normal earth + magic but I'm flexible 🤷♂️)
(Doesn't have to be specific real places)
"Uhh… some annoying guy I know. He's got a teleporting sort of power and I pissed him off, so he decided to send me… uh… somewhere, I guess. Wherever this place is." Aiki shrugged and coughed weakly. "And I have family and friends and stuff. I'm sure they'll notice I'm missing and go looking."
He watched the interaction between Farah and Saul curiously, unable to make much sense out of it. They just shrugged again and kept eating the granola, hoping it would be enough to give them some energy.
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(Okay, that sounds good! That's what I was thinking too :))
"Oh," Farah murmured. "Well, we'll have to figure it out then. You'll have to excuse us though, Saul and I have little knowledge of the First World, but we will help you get back to your family."
"Farah," Saul repeated her name and the gesture.
Farah pressed her lips together and gave him a warning look.
"Alright… thanks." Aiki sighed and closed his eyes, sliding down the tree trunk a bit more. They were feeling a little better, but their body hadn't really processed the food yet, and it still wasn't a ton. He could only hope it would be enough to make him functional, at least. He could make a proper meal later if he could find something to make it with.
