Sun peeked out from behind the tree. The deer she had been pursuing for the morning had stopped to sleep. It had a broken leg that jutted out at a very peculiar angle.
Sun nocked an arrow into her carefully polished yew bow, and took aim. She moved her right foot forwards to give her better balance and,
"Sun? Is that you?"
The deer jumped up in alarm and scampered for its life.
Sun lowered her bow and turned to scowl at – Darius? Her eyes opened wide in shock – she had expected her uncle Dark, and had found her friend, Darius from seal clan, instead – and then went back to scowl at the person who had scared away the deer she had been tracking all morning.
"Darius!" she scolded. "You have just scared away the deer I've been tracking all morning, you idiot! Now what do you want?"
"Well, I had hoped for a warmer welcome from the friend I haven't seen for four moons." He said, putting his hands over his heart in a playfully hurt gesture.
Sun couldn't help smiling at his round, grinning face.
Darius had straight, blonde hair that fell to the base of his neck and oddly shaped green eyes. He had blue bead-like stones in his hair, like most of his clan, and was tall and very muscled for his age, fifteen summers.
Overcome by a sudden urge, she ran at him and locked her arms around his waist.
Darius looked bewildered for a short moment, and then wound his arms around her too.
She hadn't meant to hug him, but she had always liked him – probably too much – and couldn't help it. He hadn't seemed to mind though – thankfully.
. . . . .
Darius liked their embrace very much. He hadn't admitted it, but he liked Sun very much, and hoped one day that she might like him back.
The hug lasted slightly too long, and Sun stepped back awkwardly and looking slightly embarrassed. She refused to meet his eyes for a little while.
He hadn't planned to, but Darius was overwhelmed with the sudden urge to tell her just how much he liked her – he was sure that the hug had meant more to Sun than a simple friend-to-friend hug. He choked the urge back and smiled brightly. He hadn't always been more confident than Sun, but after her father, Torak (who had been good friends with his father, Detlan) had died, she became increasingly shy and emotional.
Darius laughed and bent down a little so he was at her eye level, – she had always been quite short and he had shot up in the last summer – held her face so she had to look at him, and smiled. "You don't need to be embarrassed, there's no one else here – and I don't mind," he said gently.
Darius straightened up and said, "Lets go back to the shelter. I'm going to be staying with you for a while, if you don't mind, that is."
Sun smiled. "I don't mind."
They walked back to the shelter slowly and talked about what they had been doing over the past four moons.