Reality was filtering in like the absence of sunlight through leaves, all to a boy built from old tales and a girl shaped by unbiased truth. Dappled patterns of shadow danced underneath the shelter of the trees, light and dark trapped in their seemingly never-ending waltz.

Trees swept up and contained the words spilling from their lips, hiding it from outsiders. The dark green leaves rustled faintly as they passed, seeming to whisper about them. Forestry stretched on and on for however long they needed until the stories they told had ended, and even then, there'd be another "once upon a time" to start another trail, another hour of conversation. Only when they reached the swelling hills would they stop the spreading of lore to one another.

They were both content to waste time.

Though they walked the same path, they split in different directions, Nefyn absentmindedly telling her one of his stories, Mara half-listening as she thought over her own matters. He was nice background music, she was nice company.

Mara nodded absently, half-heartedly listening to Nefyn blabbering on about tale. She eyed the hills that towered over her in the distance, great ginormous lumps, covered in soft green grass and a blaze of evergreen trees. It was their destination, and if Nefyn liked to fill his mind with such stories and share them onto her to pass the time, so be it. It was amusing, in a way, to listen to Nefyn talk. He was a decent ally, better than some of the others that tagged along, and his stories were endearing, and passed the time quite well. The journey simply became a blur of words and thoughts, all scrambled together and mixed into a great kaleidoscope of imagination.

The story she faintly heard Nefyn talking about was something he said was told to him by a young girl, fresh into kindergarten. He never added that the girl had this wise look in her eyes when she'd told him the story. Mousy brown hair twisted up in braids did nothing to disguise what she knew of life already. It was probably some work of imagination Nefyn conjured during the conversation, but he remembered the look well.

"The girl wore a crimson cape 'round her shoulders, one fashioned over three days and nights without rest by her mother. It was to protect her from careless hunters, for no animal they knew of had a pelt so bright. Animals themselves, however, saw her as blazing meat. Only a wolf dared act on his whims." Nefyn spoke barely above a whisper, as if fearing someone else might've been listening into the story. The fact he'd chosen to tell it to his ally was a step in itself. He called it trust.

Mara saw nothing special in the words though, choosing to slip into a reverie concerning her siblings. The story reminded her of them, especially her younger siblings. They would just love a story like that, they'd probably look at her with wide, innocent eyes and beg to hear it over and over again. Fairy tales, stories wrapped in layer upon layer of myth, magic and legend. She wondered if they were listening now, eyes glued to the screen and utterly engaged in Nefyn's whimsical words. If she ever made it back to them, perhaps she should bother to learn those stories.

She didn't realize she was being pelted with words until Nefyn took to nudging her physically. Her eyes flashed up, confused, and slightly annoyed at being jolted out of her thoughts, the annoyance hidden under the veils of confusion. Nefyn sighed. "We should stop," he said, "and eat." Without her agreement, he plopped upon a boulder, slinging a pack over his shoulder and digging through the contents. With Teara (Viagra-Boy) and Hades (Actually king of the underworld? Rebellious teen? What was up with that?) having gone off on their own, they were left with an abundance of rations. Nefyn almost hummed his way through a pack of dried fruit.

Mara sat across from him, less at ease. A packet of jerky slid across her knee and she tore it open without much thought. She mentally sighed, knowing she shouldn't have let herself get distracted by her siblings. If she ever went home, there would be time enough for that. She glanced sideways at her constellation box, wondering what it would be for. It must've had some importance, otherwise the Gamemakers wouldn't have set up that crazy elderly fiasco. She felt slightly uneasy around how calm it was, as if it was the calm before the storm. Soon, once she was tricked into relaxing, the Gamemakers would fire something up at them and everything would explode. Otherwise the Capitol would get bored, and their minds would be craving blood and gore. Yes, something awful was just around the corner, she could feel it. Nothing would make her forget that, and when danger slammed into her, she would be ready.

She felt eyes on her and shifted them to Nefyn's face where, sure enough, hazel eyes intruded on her personal eating time. She swallowed food. "Hmm?"

He swished his tongue around his mouth before answering. "You're easy to spot. You'd make a good Red. I would say Jill, but she tumbled fast. Plus, if I said that, you might think I'm calling you fat but I swear-"

She held up a hand, shushing him. "Hold that thought right there, Nefyn, and don't even bother to finish it off. I'd rather not be insulted today, so I'd advise you to leave that sentence behind."

Nefyn let his words fall short of his mouth. "All right." A twitch of a smile dodged his lips. "The story...where was I? Right: and so the wolf took to the girl..."

They kept on like that for a long while, munching and listening, talking and filling the pits in their stomachs. Mara saw his flamboyance fade, Nefyn saw her facade crack.

The talking faded, the sounds of surrounding forestry cracked. A shadow of a figure encroached through the night of day, the night of night - neither could tell what it was, really. Twigs snapped, coughs sounded, a bowstring crackled as it was drawn.

Mara's palm rested on the throwing knives strapped to her side and Nefyn reached out for his trident, but the stranger's voice cut through like a mother's hand smacking the grubby fingers of her children. "Stay where you are!" The stranger coughed, shifted. "Just stay."

The allies casted a wary glance at one another before settling as they were before, hands held in the air. Mara tilted her head, let her eyes travel the shadow. "We don't want any-"

"I'll negotiate. Weapons, food, supplies, and I'll give you the arrow I've got aimed at your foreheads." The stranger shifted into the gaze of starlight, brown hair all tangled, chocolate eyes shining, and what looked like plenty of moles on his neck. Some kid from Six, Todd, was it? He sighed. "Please, just do it."

Mara's eyes flickered with disdain as she regarded Todd. His sudden appearance was highly annoying, and she had no time for inconvenience. However, he did have a bow pointed at her and Nefyn, and Mara was in no mood for dying. She studied the boy, examining Todd. He seemed quite the lanky, gangly youth, but she didn't doubt his skill with a bow. An image flickered before her eyes, of an arrow skewering her through the middle, crimson and scarlet blood dyeing her clothes. Her eyes facing the sky lifelessly. No, that was not something she wished to happen, not at this moment.

Nefyn flicked his eyes over Todd's figure, thinking, wondering, speculating. Over his ears, his nose, the teeth peeking out from under his lips. "And so, the wolf had taken over the disguise of Red's defenseless granny, and waited in her bed until she came bounding through the front door..."

Mara glanced at Nefyn, still prattling on in that endearing way of his, stories, fables and whatnot. Each to our own tastes, she supposed, but right now she was just a tad preoccupied with the situation unfolding in front of them. Though in her own mind she saw Todd as a fool for coming up against them, he still had the upper hand, to her great annoyance. Therefore, she had to relent. Give the beggar his coin.

Mara took the pack from Nefyn's lap and flung it at Todd's feet, satiating his wishes. Her stomach was wracked with expectation of two different outcomes: he could leave satisfied, or he could stay, still thirsting, and fire off the arrows at his disposal. She watched with a careful eye as he lowered the bow to take up the pack. If he was truly an intelligent boy, he would have shot them both with arrows first then stole what they had. Though, not everyone could be a genius.

As he was moving to stand again, Nefyn puckered his lips and said, "Goodness, what big ears you have!" They did look a bit like sticking out cauliflowers, Mara reflected.

Todd stood straight, the corner of his lip twitching down. His free hand subconsciously fiddled with his earlobe as he coughed away a retort. "Hey now, just 'cause I'm holding you at arrowpoint doesn't give you the right to insult me this way."

Mara, however, glanced at Nefyn, curious to whether he was just plain mad or conjuring something. The former seemed more probable. She fed the plan, shrugged. "I wouldn't say he's insulting you. Just stating the obvious. It's about time someone deigned to tell you the truth, don't you think? Or are you too lacking in the intelligence and intellectual department to understand that?"

Todd parted his lips for words but Nefyn cut him off there with, "My, what big eyes you have!"

Mara hopped in quickly, not giving the boy a second of space to speak. "What big hands you have! Honestly, they're just gargantuan! I'd really see a doctor about that, arthritis is a rising issue in this country. Along with chickens, but we won't get into that."

Nefyn stood then, quickly followed by Mara, who took cautious steps forward for a better look at the enormities of Todd Bower.

Todd coughed. "I don't think-"

Mara craned her head. "What a big mouth you have! Why, with a mouth that size, you could probably swallow us whole, no use for arrows!"

Todd went silent. Nefyn gave silent approval with the twisted corners of his lips. Mara stood in wait.

The surrounding vegetation rustled with silent chuckles and muffled giggles, dark bushes rattled as old allies of the poor boy picked up and left - a simple act of abandonment that had Todd gritting his teeth, clenching his fists. Mara picked up on this, and flashed a knowing grin Nefyn's way, one they split and shared.

Todd looked as though he wanted to speak out, but instead he simply took the pack he'd been thrown and walked off, pausing only to toss the promised arrow at the feet of the pair.

Mara bent to pick it up, tapping her chin with the sharpest point. "And the wolf runs scared, tail between his legs."

Nefyn chuckled. "Technically, the story ends with either the wolf drowning in a pot of boiled water or both Red and defenseless granny being eaten alive."

"Well," she said, slapping the arrow against his chest and moving to recollect what remained of their supplies, "Think about writing up a new ending, I like change."

Nefyn drank that in for a while, holding the trident over his shoulder as he helped her pack up. Routine had always been safe haven, and the stories were there to solidify that. Maybe Mara had struck a new chord, a nugget of gold within rock. Nothing but that gold was set in stone, and even then, with careful chipping, it'd be free of granite bindings.

They finished up, cast a glance at one another. Nefyn gestured towards the hills, the bounding, endless hills, a green canvas free of the spoken word. "Shall we go?"

Mara nodded. "Yes. But if you ask if we can link arms and skip our way though, then start braiding each other's hair with dandelions - I can see it in that look on your face - I'll send you back to Todd, and then I'll feed you to the chickens."

"I promise nothing," Nefyn added, beginning the trek downhill once again, over the river and through the bend, Mara never missing a beat to keep pace.

The hills beckoned them forward, their target destination gleaming in all its glory.