Motiv8

Aristaios watched her carefully, noting the sharpness in her gaze, the way she seemed to size him up even now. He admired that kind of vigilance. It kept people alive.

“Take your time,” He said softly, allowing her the space she needed to gather herself. As she spat out more blood and steadied her breath, he busied himself with tearing into the bear's hide, a knife producing from somewhere to slice up some good meat while giving her a semblance of privacy but remaining within reach.

Her words pulled a chuckle from him. “I can see why you’d need to fight like that,” He acknowledged, glancing up at the darkening sky. The weather was turning, and fast. He needed to get moving soon, or find better shelter. That included her right now, since he owed her for the assist.

“Monster hunter?” The brute echoed, a wry smile tugging at his lips. “Something like that. It’s a living, someone always needs the viscera.” He leaned back, watching her reaction carefully. “You could say I’ve made a habit of dealing with threats. Makes it easier to handle whatever comes my way.”

The wind picked up, tugging at his own fur and sending a shiver through his massive frame. “We should find better cover before the storm hits,” He suggested, nodding towards the thicker part of the forest. “There’s a cave not far from here. We can take shelter there, wait out the worst of it.” He’d clocked it before his hunt began, but didn’t know if would come in handy like this.


He paused, meeting her gaze again. “I’m not a threat to you. Not unless you give me a reason to be. For now, we’re on the same side.” Fair warning, right? With that, he stood, offering a shoulder to help her up, he could come back for the meat after. “Let’s move before the weather turns us into popsicles.” A storm in winter was a terrible thing, even if the south was nothing compared to the north.



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