(... damn. Okay then >,>)

○°•Lukas Rin•°○

Lukas slipped into the forest, his booths soft against the padded forest floor. He stepped quietly, walking slowly as his eyes scoured the area. His eyes locked onto a figure in the distance. Not human, thankfully. As it was on all four legs. And was a brown-ish color... deer. Hm. Good enough. He slowly unhooked his bow from his back, pulling it out and placing it in his hand. He then grabbed an arrow from his quiver, placing it against the bow. He pulled the string back, glancing down the angle of the arrow. The deer perked it's head up, chewing listlessly. That was about to change. He let the string go, letting the arrow fly toward the deers hide and piercing it's neck successfully. It made a noise of surprise, before dropping. He quickly made his way through the brush, toward the deer.

Lukas knew he'd have to get to the deer before anything else decided to fight him for it. He grabbed his arrow, ripping it out and placing it back into his quiver, hooking the bow behind him as well. He grabbed the deers horns. Hm. It seemed to be a bit on the younger side. Not like he cared much. The hunters or soldiers killed anything edible. Sometimes humans, if they were desperate enough. He grabbed it, heaving it over his shoulder and turning, beginning back the way he came. That he marked with arrows.

He arrived back to Tom, throwing the deer down and sighing.

"You got lucky, pretty princess."

He muttered, sitting next to the male and looking over the fire. Halfway impressed with the fire. He rolled his shoulders, rubbing at the sore muscles. His shoulders were sore pretty often. It wasn't a surprise anymore.

Lukas glanced over at the horses, looking them over. Iris was practically glaring at Nox, her black ears pinned back. Nox seemed... like Nox. All was well apparently.

"Keep telling yourself that, princess."

He said, shaking his head before dragging the deer over to him. He tugged out his dagger, resting it's sharpness before nodding slightly. Right then- they needed to ear so, sorry deer.

After the skinning process (I'm tired and my head hurts, sue me, I'll probably come back and fill this in later or when I'm bored.)

He sat back next to Tom, glancing over his bloody hands. That would take a bit to get off. And would be a nuisance to do so. Annoying. Like Tom. Speaking of which, he glanced over at the other male, watching him. The fire crackled in the background, roasting at the venison nicely. He wondered what Tom wanted. Why he was running away. He had heard his reasoning, but it just seemed different. He wasn't exactly one to run away from his issues. Usually. He shifted, planting his palms against the grass below him and leaning back on them, glancing up at the sky. It was slowly turning to night, the orange hues dying out of the sky. The vast black beginning to sink in.

(I AM SO SO SORRY. WE DO *NOT* HAVE TO CONTINUE THIS IF YOU DONT WANT TO. I SINCERELY APOLOGIZE FOR JUST UP AND VANISHING 🙏🙏 WE DO NOY AT ALL HAVE TO CONTINUE IT'S TOTALLY UP TO YOURSELF AND I REALLY AM SORRY FOR VANISHING)

•Lukas Rin•

Timeskip

Lukas stretched his arms above his head, tilting his neck to the side and receiving a satisfying crack. He sighed, sitting up. Tom lay curled up next to him, fast asleep by now. The sun had long set, both falling asleep after a while. The fire before them soldered gently, the flames flickered out but the coals still orange and hot. Glancing to the trees where they had tied Iris and Nox up, both horses were standing and asleep. Their tack sat tucked close to the trees, giving them a break.

Lukas closed his eyes, pushing his sleeves up. The cold night air soaked into his skin, shivering gently. It felt nice. He often found sleeping in the barracks with so many other people got so stuffy sometimes. He stretched to the side, grabbing his knife. He sighed quietly, running his fingers along the blade in silence. It was a cold night. A cold, quiet night. There were few crickets chirping, no birds he could hear, even the wind seemed silent. He looked up at the tree-line, eyebrows furrowed. Really quiet.

Lukas looked down at Tom, the prince curled into a small ball and sleeping soundlessly. He slept like his horse. Like a rock. At least he seemed to have liked the venison. That was comforting at least... Not that anything about this adventure was comforting. He looked back at the knife, gazing at the silver blade. He did get to spend more time with the prince. More time then he had. Okay maybe it wouldn't be too bad.

Lukas set the knife aside and turned on his side, eyes drifting closed with his knife tucked close.

Timeskip again (im really sorry)

Lukas woke again, this time to the sound of chirping and the light of the sun. He blinked groggily, peeling an eye open to look around. He still lay in the grass, the sky was shades of pinks and oranges, and Tom still laid next to him. He sat up, running a hand down his face. Early mornings weren't new, yet they were never pleasant. He picked up the knife lying in the grass and placed it by his bag. Then he stood up, pressing his palms into his lower back to stretch. A soft crack sounded and he let his hands fall to his side. They had enough venison to have for breakfast, so he didn't need to go hunting this morning.

Pawing and a sharp whinny pulled him from his thoughts. Lukas turned around to find Iris and Nox awake. Iris was staring Nox down, ears pinned back and Nox was pawing at the ground, ears perked up. Oh amazing. They couldnt just- get along? He sighed, walking over to Iris and patting her gently on her shoulder.

"Calm down, girl."

He murmured, rubbing a hand down her shoulder. She twisted her head as far as she could, pressing her nose into Lukas' shoulder. He raised an eyebrow. They could probably live off of grass and snacks until they got to the next town. Stepping away from Iris, he turned around. He flexed his fingers, curling them then uncurling them. The next town was small, he had been there before. Oranr. Small town, small population, mostly just a town travelers pass through. But they have a barn. He and Iris have been there before, she stayed a few nights in the barn there. Hopefully they'll have space.

Lukas sighed, stretching his arms above his head and pressing his elbows into his ears. He also had to find some way to disguise Tom. Because the pretty princess has apparently not noticed he's obviously a royal. He'd be killed the second he stepped foot in Peklonstan. (The residents aren't known for being nice by any means.) Ugh. Long days ahead. Maybe he could tack up the horses before Tom woke up. Then they could just go. He took in a deep breath through his nose, crisp air stinging all the way down his throat. He dropped his arms and shook out his hair. Yeah. He'll get the horses ready.

•Lukas Rin•

Lucas hummed in resonse to Tom's bright greeting. Was it really a good morning? He finally gave up on saddling Nox, setting his saddle against a tree.

"You do that. He's yours."

Lucas said, rolling his eyes. He walked back to Iris, patting her on the neck gently.

"How did you sleep, pretty princess?"

He asked Tom, turning to look at him. He didn't look half bad. Considering he had just woken up from sleeping on the groud. He looked much better then Lucas felt. His back was killing him. That make's him sound so old, doesn't it? He sighs, pushing a hand into her black mane, brushing his fingers along the coarse hair.

(Sorry it's not long. But I was determined to gt something out despite my brain. <3)

"He is, isn't he? My big idiot," Tom half sighed, half snorted with dry amusement. Nox may be a big idiot, but he was Tom's, and he was still useful sometimes. Like, 30 percent of the time, but that was okay.

"Oh just delightful, I think the ground quite suits me. I may have the servants put one in my room when we get back," he sniffed haughtily, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. He was admittedly rather stiff, partly from sleeping on the ground, and partly from riding all day yesterday, but it was bearable, at least. With any luck, it'd be better in a bit.

(no worries! and ditto lol, mine's shorter >.<)

•Lukas Rin•

The corners of his lips quirked up in amusement.

"You do that. We should probably get going though. We have a long way to go."

Lucas said, removing his fingers from Iris' hair. He walked back over to the fire and bedrolls, packing his up into the small roll and bag. He placed them steadily on his saddle and patted Iris' black coat. He reached up, grabbing a hold of Iris' saddlehorn and pulling himself up, settling into the seat. He adjusted his sword against his hip, resting it to his side and looking back to Tom.

"You sure you still want to do this?"

Lucas asked, weary. He'd stick with Tom if he was sure, but he'd also turn back if needed. Peklonstan was a really unpleasant place.