"Someone is coming", the voice reverberated through Ori's chest.

Despite the distinct sensations accompanying each voice, Ori had long since figured out that only she could hear the voices. These were her demons and they watched out for her. As they should. Though in the process, the boundary between them and her often blurred imperceptibly.

This voice gave her a rush, her heart hammering, her senses sharpening. The delicious feeling of water flowing over her hands while she washed them in the river became muted and faded into the background.

Yet she didn't pause or stop. She continued on, seemingly oblivious, while she observed the newcomer with her senses.

A slightly acrid smell. An unusual silence... ah, the stranger made no noise but neither did the birds around them. They were like a floating void through the forest...

She finished washing her hands in the river, careful to meticulously pick the dirt from her nails as the stranger crept closer and closer.

"Talk to them", this voice a thrill that made Ori's eyes widen involuntarily.

Is that safe?

Ori cocked her head to the side. Maybe ... if she could just reach out with ...

"Yes... there is curiosity and wariness... No violence.", a soft voice like a whispered exhale, "at least for now..."

Ori smiled, satisfied. She got up slowly, ensuring she made no sudden movements.

Maybe she would finally find someone to travel with! She missed her tribe an awful lot. She missed people. To talk to them. To touch them. To not have to do everything herself!

But this was the right path. She couldn't stay with her tribe. They didn't like questions, and Ori had so many questions. So many things to discover. So many things to feel and figure out.

It had been two weeks of trekking through the forest on her own, crossing the mountains with the help of her demons, dodging other tribes as well as dangerous animals. Every time the voices guided her down the right paths, away from danger and toward food, warmth, and fresh water.

And now toward this stranger.

She turned around as slowly as she had gotten up, still smiling, and spread her arms in welcome.

There she was. As Aisea approached the girl, a tightening tension around her chest and forehead formed a circle of focus that forced everything unnecessary out of her experience. The girl had clearly noticed her and was moving slowly, so as to not give cause for alarm.

The demon of control lived in that bodily tension. It spread its way to Aisea's hands and fingers, tightened her grip around the rifle. It did not spot the girl having any weapons, and if she had an intent to fight, she would probably not be moving so slowly and deliberately. She would have gotten into a fighting stance by now.

But? Could there be an ambush? Maybe the girl was just meant to draw Aisea's attention away?

There was a sense of spasmic ripples, an energy trying to reach for Aisea's eyes, make them dart around her, look for possible enemies in hiding. Where could they be? Was she in danger?

The tightness in Aisea's face clamped down, forced the nervousness into submission. Silence. 

The scouting drones were still delivering their reports into Aisea's retina, scanning the environment around her. If there were any enemies laying in ambush, a human frantically looking around would no better than the drones were already doing. Better to keep her focus on the girl, let her know that Aisea was not intimidated.

Aisea drew a deep breath, then stepped into sight and looked the strange girl in the eyes. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

Her eyes widened and a smile broke across her face.

"Ori! My name is Ori. Ori .... uh ... Ori ...". She hadn't thought this through. Mentioning Base Camp would be a bad idea presumably, but she didn't want to lie either.

"Is Ori enough? I'm just passing through. I'm exploring the world. Looking for answers. I want to learn. I want to learn everything!"

The black carving in her hands. It's powerful. Dangerous.

Ori's eyes slide down to the gun in the girl's hands.

"What's that? You don't need to hurt me. I don't think you want to hurt me. Can I touch it? It makes you strong. Can I be strong?"

Slow down ... She is on edge. You are not giving her a chance to speak. She might not even be able to understand what you are saying!

Questions. Questions. Ask her more questions!

Ori squeezes her eyes shut for a moment and then opens them again.

"Sorry. That happens some times. I'm ... I'm excited to finally meet someone. I've been traveling on my own for two weeks now. I'm sorry if I'm causing you concern. Do you want to sit down?" she points at a large brown bundle lying near a few rocks arranged in a circle. "I can offer you some fresh meat and berries. I even have a little salt. My tribe collects salt."

Ori pauses expectantly.

There's some confusion, as a buzzing feeling on Aisea's forehead.

She doesn't seem dangerous. Doesn't recognize a rifle. How is that? Doesn't feel like an ambush. But what does it feel like? She offers to barter, but she doesn't feel like a trader.

The tightness grips at Aisea's eye muscles, moving them around in quick controlled movements, pushes against the confusion.

After a moment, it softens a little. Aisea must be allowed to talk, to try to understand this strange girl. To understand her, more thoughts must be let inside, suggesting possibilities of what would make sense.

The circle of tension relaxes some more, allowing more demons into Aisea's heart and head.

As they start to leak in more, confusion and doubt grow stronger.

What's going on! This is very confusing! Unexpected! What should we ask? We've never been in this kind of a situation before! Was it a good idea to leave our tribe? Was it a good idea to steal all those drones? Do we have the time to stop here and delay? What if those trackers reach us?

A muffled voice, almost suppressed even by the more relaxed tightness, speaking as a pattern of fingers clenching around Aisea's heart, vibrating.

That girl is like a child. And you're scaring her.

Scaring her.

The pattern of those words seeps into the tightness, into the pattern of its eye movements, absorbs this insight and looks for confirmation. There's a slight noticing, details about Ori's facial expression, posture, manner of speaking all suddenly jump out.

Yes. There is fear there.

It's not right to scare a chi-

She can't be any younger than us. We can use fear to our advantage.

Fear means prey.

Talk to her. Make use of what we've told you.

"I don't recognize the markings of your tribe. Are you alone?"

Aisea lowers her rifle somewhat, pointing it more towards the ground, but she doesn't let go of it. She slowly steps forward, closer to the rocks Ori was pointing at, but doesn't let her eyes wander from Ori.

An unknown tribe always means danger. If they are not known, then they cannot be retaliated against. If they cannot be retaliated against, they have little reason not to kill you and take your things.

And if she does not know our tribe either, then... prey.

She is not happy! Troubled. Concerned. Maybe confused? Be careful ...

Ori smiles, her movements becoming slightly twitchy as she turns away from Aisea and starts walking to her camp a few feet away. She can feel the stranger staring at her back.

No.

Her back and neck start glowing with heat. She can feel the soft hairs on her skin standing on end, while the hairs on her head drift up as if she is immersed in water.

"Hush", she whispers gritting her teeth, refusing to cede control, and continues walking the few steps to her gear.

She crouches down and rummages in her backpack, pulling out a small spit, some dried meat, and unhitching a tiny bag filled with berries. She speaks conversationally while she works.

"My tribe is very far away. We don't use metal carvings. It's forbidden. I'd rather not name them. They like to stay hidden. I have markings. Just not on my clothing.", she pauses and bites her lip, then turns around and spreads her offerings on the ground between herself and the stranger. The heat in her body turns with her, now radiating from her chest, staying between her and the stranger. The only visible sign is her hair drifting slowly upward.

"Shall we eat? I can tell you more about my tribe and you can tell me more about yours." She smiles again.

Aisea pauses. She did not expect the stranger to be this friendly, let alone turn her back on her. Then the question catches her even more off guard.

She's asking about our tribe! What can we tell her? She won't have any reason to trust us if we tell her what we did...

We must control the conversation. Learn what this is about. Limit what we tell her.

Possible words ripple in the tightness, each being examined, scanned for what it would reveal. What would keep Aisea in control?

And then what?

Aisea suppresses a sigh. She suddenly feels very tired and overwhelmed. She knew that she had to get away from her tribe, but she didn't really have a plan for what then, other than to trust the spirits for guidance.

Could this girl... be a sign of their guidance?

She hesitates again, then slowly returns her rifle to her back.

"I'm going to put away my weapon. But I'm instructing my drones to take action in case you look like you'd be about to attack me. So don't do anything that would look like that."

Aisea looks at the meat and the berries.

"Eating would be nice", she agrees.