Rowan was standing at the shore, looking down at his trembling hands. He was paler than usual and he stepped into the water, taking a deep breath.
He didn't have to go under. Before he knew it, she emerged, blue blood running down her face from a cut somewhere on her head.
She looked up at him, her eyes black, face pale, and sharp scales on her cheeks and shoulders. She slowly drew a dagger, her breaths shaky.
He looked down at the dagger and faltered before reaching to hold her wrist. "Tez... put the knife down."
She hit his wrist, grabbing it and pulling him closer, stopping only by bringing her arm to his chest. Her expression was still blank, but it looked as if tears were forming in her eyes.
He winced, his brows furrowing as he looked at her, trying to pull away. "What... what are you doing?"
She heard herself in her mind. Shouting against the actions. Like pounding against an invisible wall. She grabbed his shoulder, trying to push him to the ground.
He fell easily, his reactions weaker over the days of pushing himself to find her. Real fear crossed his eyes and he raised his hands to defend himself. "Tez, please..."
He winced, looking up at her, his violet eyes wide with fear. He raised a trembling hand and put it on hers. "Tez, please don't do this. Please."
There were now tears falling freely from from her face. She could hear herself. "No. No. Stop." She pounded against that invisible wall as hard as she could. She pressed harder, her hands shaking. It cracked. She slammed the wall over and over until it shattered. She dropped the dagger, stumbled backwards and blacked out.
He sat up, gasping for breath, his hand coming to his throat. There was a small cut on the pale skin of his neck, but nothing too deep. The blood-red line crossed over a cream scar on his throat and he shuddered, trying to reconcile in his head. He took a few raspy gulps of air before turning to look at her. He had to get her away from the shore; it was too exposed here. After taking a moment to stand up, he turned and picked her up, his tired, weak muscles instantly screaming at him in protest. Instincts that had protected him from childhood told him to stay away from her, to keep away from this woman who tried to hurt him. Stumbling into the forest, his legs finally gave out from under him and he fell to his knees, setting her under an alder tree and placing his cloak over her protectively. He took deep breaths, his sleepless, nervous nights catching up with him, and a wave of pure exhaustion enveloped him as he curled up on the ground and passed into a fitful, tense sleep.
Tez woke up, her eyes shooting open as she sat up, looking around wildly. Her eyes landed on Rowan, she choked out a small sob. "R-Row?"
He was curled up a few feet beside her, his back to her. He was terribly pale, with dark circles around his eyes, and his brows were furrowed in his sleep. He had a line of blood on his neck from her blade that went into the leaves under his body.
