Malia ducked under trees, squeezing her small frame between rocks as she followed her brother. She was completely unaware of the man following the pair as they made their way outside the wall, she was focused on catching up with her brother. The strider that occupied their town before the current one wasn't particularly kind. Malia and him had a mutual understanding, but he enforced harsh rules that he had insisted would keep her and the others safe. In the end, however, it clearly didn't pay off. With his arrogance came his death, and many towns people with him.<br/><br/>Eventually, she caught up to Oliver, and he jumped a bit at her presence. He rolled his eyes, turning around and halting. His lack of movement caused her to slam into his chest before looking up, crossing her arms in annoyance.<br/><br/>"Lia, you aren't coming with me. I already made that clear." He insisted sternly. Malia, however, ignored him, pushing past him and sliding between the break in the town wall, stepping out into the forest.<br/><br/>"I heard you the first time, and I'm ignoring you." She shrugged, walking ahead of him.<br/><br/>He grunted and started after her, shoving her to the side.<br/>"Why are you so stubborn? Why can't you go bother someone about what happened in the most recent chapter of<i>Romeo and Juliet</i>." He sighed heavily, his voice low as they crept through the woods.<br/><br/>Malia just cracked a smile, shaking her head as they slowly stepped through the thick brush and tree ridden space, carefully calculating her steps. There was no telling the things out here in the open, and she didn't want to chance it by making too much noise. They remained unaware of the man on their trail, but something was off in the air. There was the sound of a twig snapping, and both their conversations stopped short.<br/><br/>"Probably like, a deer." Malia shrugged, looking up to Oliver.<br/><br/>"Yeah.. stay here for a second." He gave her a look and walked off in the direction of the noise, Malia furrowing her eyebrows.<br/>She opened her mouth to protest, but he gave her a look that made her zip her lips and nod. Now, she stood in the woods alone, or at least she thought she was. She sighed and looked around, taking in the scenery before her. It was honestly quite beautiful compares to that of her small town, sunlight poking through the trees, the quiet sounds of forest birds filling the air. It all just seemed right, something was bound to go wrong.