She gazed down past her feet at the river far below, watching it's calm waters solemnly. A breeze swept through her black hair, and she spread her arms to it. The song of a forest full of birds flowed past her ears. Closing her eyes, she let herself tip forwards with every intention of falling to her death. Before she could begin her descent, a pair of arms gripped her around her waist, tearing her from her suicide. She let out a terrible wail, trying feebly to get away from her savior. Her blue cloak ruffled about her as she threw her arms against the person violently. "Go away!"

"Saraneth..." His voice was calm as he spoke her name, and he gathered her in his strong arms. "...stop. You're scaring the birds." She stopped her thrashing and hung her head like a scolded child, her hood shadowing her pale face from the sun. The chirping of birds started up again, this time farther away than before.

Mordecai carried her to a shaded spot a few feet away, his footsteps silent in the soft grass beneath his feet. He set her down for her to stand on her own, but she collapsed against his chest and began to sob.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, burying her head against him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, silently accepting her apology. Her sobs slowed, and she lifted her head with a sniffle. Gazing up at him with teary, green eyes, she asked "Why did you come back?" He wiped a tear from her cheek with a finger, but didn't answer. After staring down at her for a moment with an expressionless face, he turned and sat in the grass a few feet away. Saraneth watched him inquisitively.

His strength was obvious due to many nicely toned muscles, but he still retained a sleek and cat-like physique. His shoulder length hair flared out around his head in thin, golden tufts. Protruding from either side of his head were lightly furred, pointed ears that were also very feline like. There were three earrings on his left ear, while the right was missing a few small portions due to an old bite wound. Around his neck and both wrists were thick metal bands; each was well worn and brandished a metal ring. Also adding to the evidence of his history of violence, a long scar ran down his bare back, having been received years before, but his skin was flawless elsewhere. He was suddenly aware of her watching him, and he glanced back over his shoulder to meet her gaze. Almost no white was visible against his large, ice blue irises, and his pupils were more slits than they were circular.

She paced over to where he was and sat behind him, tracing her fingers up his scarred back. His skin twitched when she first touched him, and she noticed the muscles in his shoulders tense up. This was his normal reaction to her touch, though he would tolerate no one else's hand upon his flesh. "There must be a reason why you came back. But then of course, you never told me why you left, either." she said softly.

His ears twitched as a breeze blew through the treetops above them, and still he remained silent. When she crawled more to his front, he quickly shifted his gaze to avoid her eyes. "Stop your prying, Saraneth." he replied, his voice a little more harsh than he'd meant it to be. She looked slightly hurt, then laid down with her back to him.

His face softened slightly, and her reached down to take her hand in his. She lay there quietly and brought one of his fingers to her lips. She kissed his fingertip, bringing a small purr from Mordecai, but when he felt her tongue flick against his skin, his purr turned into a growl. His nails quickly lengthened into claws, and he accidentally scratched her lip. She gave a little gasp and let go of his hand.

"I'm sorry!" he yelped, reaching his arms out to her in apology. Catching sight of some blood on her lip, his eyes widened and he grabbed at her slightly. She recoiled with a fearful look upon her face, holding her arms tight to her chest. Time seemed to freeze for a short time, and Saraneth could hear her heart pounding loudly in her terror. Mordecai heard it as well, possibly better than she did. They looked each other deeply in the eyes for a long time, and Saraneth dared not move until Mordecai withdrew. He turned his back to her again, resting his head in his hands. "Please...leave me be." he mumbled.

Saraneth wiped the dribble of blood from her lip prior to comforting him, not wanting to drive him into another fit. "It's alright, Mordecai. I know you'd never hurt me." She draped herself over his shoulders, folding her slender, pale arms across his chest. This wasn't the first time he'd reacted to her in such a violent way...in fact, it was quite a common occurrence, so she didn't retain any fear of him for long.

He snorted in disagreement. "I already have."

"Don't be silly." She snuggled against him, refusing to leave him alone in his misery. "It's my fault anyways, I should know better by now."

Mordecai stubbornly refused to return her affection, and spat "It's not acceptable for such caution to be necessary around one's lover."

She scowled. "Oh, don't be so ridiculous!" He turned on her, gripping her wrists firmly and staring her strait in the face. "I could kill you, Saraneth. I don't think you realize that." His strength took her somewhat off guard, and she stared up at him with blinking eyes. "You are so fragile, it scares me how easy it would be." he continued. "That's why I left."Saraneth shifted uncomfortably under his grip, trying to find something to say.

"I have to leave this place." he said, letting her loose. He stood up and brushed some golden hair out of his face, but avoided looking down at her. He paced back into the sun stood where he could look down into the river. She quickly followed him, gripping one of his hands desperately when she reached his side. "Please, don't go." Her voice sounded rather pathetic as she tried pleading with him. He turned to her and wrapped his arms around her again. "I must." She clung to him, refusing to let go. "I'll kill myself if you leave." she choked out, tears again welling up in her eyes. "But you'll die if I stay."he replied simply. He laid his ears back sadly, earrings clicking together, and he pulled away from her. At that, he darted towards the river...

Saraneth dropped to her knees as she saw his figure disappear over the precipice, suffocating in her sorrow. She lay in the grass and wept, hiding her face in her cloak. She was entirely unaware of the man approaching her, and was thus startled when she heard his voice.

"That savage isn't worth the tears that you shed for it." his voice was deep and spiteful with a hint of jealousy lurking in each word. She sat up and wiped her eyes on her sleeve, her brows knotted in irritation at her visitor's presence. "Go away, Mosrael." She got to her feet and began slowly walking in the direction of a little dirt path that was shaded by the foliage. Mosrael followed, watching her with his eyes wandering up and down her shapely figure. "That's not very nice."

"Neither are you." she replied curtly. Mosrael laughed slightly. "I'm not nice? Love, I think I'm much more kind than your pet. I don't just pick up and run away from my problems...I'm here for you." He had caught up to her as he'd spoken, seeing as how his pace was faster than hers, and he put his hand on her shoulder. She stopped, turned, and glared at him with eyes overflowing with rage. "He didn't run away!" she shouted, clenching her fists and stomping her foot. "He'll come back to me, just you wait and see! I'll wake up tomorrow morning and see his face, just like I always do." Her outburst left Mosrael blinking down at her in astonishment. He sighed, realizing he'd gone too far with his comment, as he'd never known her to raise her voice. She stared down at her feet, turning her back to him. He put a hand on her shoulder, only to have it shrugged off. Saraneth continued down the path to the little village below the forest's edge in complete silence, with Mosrael mere footsteps behind her.