Cipher Code {complete}

Chapter Twenty: Fur And Fangs •EDITED•

Midnight
October, Year 483
Town of Lacau
State of Nicia
North

When Edythe skipped over a massive gnarly root that stuck out of the forest floor in a low arc then went down again, burying itself deep into the earth in search of water it would probably never find, she wondered why it had grown out of the soil in the first place, and where the tree it belonged to was—if it was still alive, that is.

"Esau, when you grow up what do you want to be?" she asked with a quiet voice even though she couldn't see him or hear the gentle steps of his shuffling feet. She felt inspired all of a sudden; trees grew and so will they if they survived long enough.

There was no reply, the air around her like a vacuum of perfect silence.

Edythe tried not to worry about it.

The fog was thick, thicker than it had been in town. Vision was a haze of blinding white and walking was like swimming in a pool of curdled milk.

It made the air heavy and wet, breaths dragged down by the weight of the turbid fog, but Edythe took it in stride—she knew Esau did too. More than a month of being drenched in the deadly mist made her movements quick and nimble, previous memories of the forest grounds guided her feet as her mind traced the routes she used since she had learnt to walk.

She relished the fog-laced air as she stopped by a tree and pressed her body solidly against it, stealing a long breath through her veil.

It had been a while since Edythe had worn anything on her face. She didn't need masks to make her feel safe anymore.

"I don't know what I want to be," an almost silent voice whispered by her ear and she nearly jumped when a hand brushed hers.

A scowl formed on her lips. "Don't scare me like that!"

"But you weren't scared," turning her head to the right she saw Esau vague image leaning next to her. He was smirking, she knew without needing to see his face, "and besides, weren't you expecting an answer? I thought you'd be scared if I said nothing."

Edythe paused, her smile hidden behind the black veil she wore. "That's true, I guess."

"What do you want to be?" he asked back, squatting next to the tree and picking up the mushrooms that grew by it.

"This fog is really good for growing poison." Esau waved the fungi around, much to Edythe's displeasure.

"I have never thought about it." She rolled her eyes and took the mushrooms away from him. She threw them far away from where they stood. "Keep playing with poison and you'll kill yourself."

"I'm not stupid, Eddy."

"Could have fooled me."

"You know," he looked down at his gloved hands then at his sister's veiled face, "something about wearing black brings out a certain snarkiness in you."

"Snarkiness?" she laughed. "Is that even a word?"

"See what I'm saying?"

"Maybe I was born snarky."

"Trust me," he assured her, "I was there when you were born and you were nothing like this."

Edythe tried not to make too much noise as she choked down her laughter. "Funny. Maybe you are the snarky one."

"Not true, Ma always said—"

She took a step towards him and grabbed his arm, pressing him flush with the bark of the tree. "Something is heading our way."