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Alone.
They had been alone—deep inside these dangerous woods. Snow had came, it had to have been months. It became chilly at first, then the white substance started to fall on the ground until it covered it comfortably.
Vee didn't like the snow.
Well, he only didn't like it because it almost made him freeze to death while he was asleep. Covering him until El had woken up and luckily, saved his life by building a fire. He didn't know where she had learned that but—he knew they probably taught her. It was obvious that they had too, because they taught him things too. Many things.
Things like creating clothes for warmth, making water able to drink, and mostly importantly: hunting. Though, he didn't really remember the hunting part. It was more of a cooking. That's what he did. And he was really good at it. El definitely thought he was at least. He didn't remember when exactly they taught him—but all that mattered is that he had known it. That's how he saw it.
His hair was the most wild part about him. It was no longer shaved almost buzzed—it was curly now. About maybe three inches in growth, possibly more. It hasn't been longer than El's but they'd been at about the same size so it wasn't far off. Point was, it became real nappy, filthy, and unkept. He hated scratching his head only to get tiny specs of dirt falling out. He wanted everything about being dirty and alone. He hated living like this. Cooking for themselves—trying to find somewhere to stay only to sleep on the forest floor. Almost freezing to death. Living out in the wilderness turned Vee into more of an animal than a person—everything he'd learned started to go down the drain. He only knew survival now.
He only knew how to survive, what to do, and not to trust anyone. He needed to keep himself and his sister safe—that's all that mattered.
Each step they took, the leaves crushed under their soggy shoes. Worn out converses they were wearing, seemed to be breaking apart with each step. Vee's outfit—ruined. Like the rest of his clothes.
A chill ran down his spine—he suddenly stopped El with his arm. She looked at him confused but saw that his senses were tingling or going off rather. What? She thought, weary of what he was sensing. Vee didn't know what it was. No one was out here, like no one. So, it was odd that he suddenly felt an unknown emotion from afar. But what kept him from going away from it—was because it hadn't felt like a person. Almost like an . . . animal?
Animal. Near. He conducted in El's mind. She started to get a bit fearful of the animal—sense she knew they could be big. And, well, eat them. It wouldn't be their first encounter with a bear . . . nor would it probably be the last. But luckily, Vee kept his composure. His face was calm, with a slight determination mixed in. He wasn't scared of any animal. And, if it was a bear, it probably would've showed itself already. Probably was the key word here.
