take off your skin

The thick fog was eerie, and she felt a sinking feeling in her chest as her gaze swept across her surroundings. There were few plants here at all, let alone ones familiar to her; and though she was convinced the thick moss that seemed abundant here might have some kind of benefit, she couldn't be sure what it might be useful for.

But her attention had been arrested from her task at hand. Slowly and carefully she would lay eyes upon the ebony brute. Though he was quite intimidating, much larger than her and certainly stronger, she did not retract from where she stood. Even as he tilted his head, revealing a grotesque scar, she did not flinch -- perhaps surprising for a child so young and meek. Instead, she felt a tugging desire to tend to his scar, a need to heal and nurse his deformed face back to perfection; but she knew such a scar could never be fixed. It was not an open wound that she could tend to. Brows would furrow slightly, and she felt her heart lurch as she thought of her father. No frown adorned her features, but her nose wrinkled as she tested his scent.

"I.. I'm sorry, but I don't understand," she would offer quietly, her voice hardly more than a whisper. The silence of the forest was thick, and she found no need to raise her voice. His lyrics were strange to her, but not altogether unpleasant. "It is different," she noted unsurely. "But yes, peaceful." A gentle smile painted her youthful features, before she opened her jaws to speak once again. "My name is Ara."