projectroxas | (no subject)

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[ it had been five days full of nothing but silently following robert along, knowing their path yet allowing the younger boy to take the lead due to his mood. who could blame him, though? he was already well aware of robert and annabelle having a close-knit relationship, one that nobody (not even himself) could wiggle their way into. despite being quite inept to the full extent of the bond the two siblings had, he was perceptive enough to realize that their parting had been quite different than their usual. this is why he ceased the typical banter he always initiated, whether it be with good intent or not.

when robert had finally spoken and begun to say more than a discussion of their plans, he knew that his neighboring prince had begun to settle back into place. dare he say it was a comfort of sorts, despite being the one that needed to be extra strong and encouraging. and with that hurtle behind them, the elder of the two moved to his rightful position once more: on robert's left side, striding next to him as if they're simply taking a walk and nothing more. he subtly kept his pace slower than usual as to not pass the boy, using the map robert had previously pilfered from the archives as a silent excuse to keep their position leveled and even, as they had finally reached territory that both of them weren't completely familiar with.

keeps to their comfortable silent for a while longer. stops in his tracks when a thought hits him and pauses. face is rather straight as he says: ]

I'm hungry.

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[ nods, sliding off everything that he's carrying to place it off to the side. readies his equipment swiftly, eyes not leaving the animal as it continues to graze. the process is fluent after that; with a one-hit shot (careful in his position, as to not make it suffer) the deer goes down. does not pause to do anything more than put the bow away quickly with ease.

stands after he adjusts things here and there, making his way on over to his kill. bends when he nears it, placing his hand on its neck to double-check. closes his eyes, murmurs something underneath his breath, then smiles a little at the younger prince when he's finished. ]

Dinner is served.

[ emerges from the bushes with slow golf claps. ]

I will give you this. Impressive.

[ holds his head up a little higher, just for show. ]

But of course.

[ & then he peers at the deer, staring at it in silence. after he's had a moment of thought he gets up and takes a small step back, eyes landing on robert in somewhat anticipation (and confusion). ]

[ stops next to riku & stares right back, also confused by the sudden hesitance. ]

. . . Yes? Do you need a blade?

[ crosses his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow as he wards off said hesitance to mask it with something else. ]

Have you no manners, prince? I have caught our meal. It is your duty to complete our task at hand.

[ a short blink & some thoughts later, he's bending down to draw out a short dagger from a boot. hands it by the blade so that the handle is facing riku (for him to take), doing his best to hide his own uncertainty as well. ]

Says whom? Should men not complete the ordeals that they have started?

[ pushes it back gently. ]

Perhaps. But only for women and children, unless said man is alone. [ pauses, averting his eyes elsewhere. ] Not that I am free of second guesses on the former.

[ shoves the handle back, but this time into riku's side. ]

Enough! Do you not grow tired of the same words spoken repeatedly?

[ grabs a hold of riku's wrist & plants the dagger in it firmly. ] Finish your task.

[ stares down at the blade, then back up at robert. keeps to himself for a moment as he turns back to the deer. more silence. feels his shoulders droop a little, unable to bring himself to further this facade any longer due to his growing need for something other than dried fruit. his next words are more of a statement, already knowing the answer to it despite being the first one to say it: ]

We do not know what to do to finish this, do we.

. . .

. . . . . .

. . . [ another long pause later: ]

No. We do not.

[ sighs underneath his breath, handing robert his dagger. ]

Perhaps we should have brought a woman along.

[ accepts the blade without complaint. ]

Or better yet, a chef.

[ nods sadly in agreement. ]

A chef would have been nice.

[ stares down at the deer in further silence, then heaves out an exasperated breath. ]

. . . Indeed. [ bends down, resting a hand on the animal. draws the dagger back out. ] Gather firewood. I have, at least, skinned before.

[ makes a face, unable to refuse the order, though he can't help but mutter underneath his breath as he disappears elsewhere: ]

Here's to rations of only jerky in the future.

[ gives the deer another long look, then also murmurs some words under his breath. gets to work shortly afterward, methodologically working through the steps. leans back with a soft sigh when he's finished, handling the pound of meat he's freed away from the rest of the mess. wipes the blood off the dagger on the grass next to him & continues to stare down at their supposed meal-to-be with a blank expression.

... all the while wishing he had paid a little closer attention to the survival classes his tutors had attempted to drill into him. ]

[ does his own work a little sluggishly, able to finally drag his feet a little without having to keep up appearances for the sake of his pride. when he's had his fill of both groaning childishly and gathering the firewood he turns to stroll back to robert, placing what he could find to the side in silence. ]

[ looks up at the other prince when riku returns, not moving from his crouched position. ]

We may as well camp here tonight.

[ squats down next to him, side-glancing robert after another moment to himself to repeat: ]

May as well indeed.

[ then starts to situate the firewood, careful to place it into a spot that would not result in burning down the entire forest. ]

[ while he helps himself to one of the longer & sturdier looking sticks to begin impaling the cut meat. once he's finished, he finally gets to his feet while holding onto the meat-on-a-stick with both hands. ]

If we can successfully prepare this, I will consider tonight a victory.

[ looks at robert's awkward hold on that meat, opening his mouth to say something to that. promptly shuts it as he decides that it's just not worth the time and effort (and pain) involved. just begins to light the fire instead. ]

And if we shall fail?

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