<em>In her eyes, deeper, deeper, what was that, a voice?</em>Shaking off the sensation and regaining his balance, his own eyes clearly showed a pensive look, as if he’d been struck by a rock head on. Clinging to a thick branch, he swung his legs back down, jumping and coming to rest back on the dirt floor. John was driven, it was hard to explain why he was now walking toward the child, only that he was compelled to, walking with a purpose greater than merely a need to check on her well being.<br/><br/>The younger ones plea resonated the thoughts of his own child’s terrible fate, and for a moment he ignored any risk posed to the town, led by his own motivations. It was an instinctive drive that fueled his steps. John walked through the crowds, pushing his way close to the front, most actually stepped aside when they saw the rifle in his hands, and even more so his determination to get there. Some whispers were apparent, as the lone wanderer often inspired rumor in the townsfolk. A few stared at his approach silently distracted from the boats arrival, to see him in a crowd was almost as rare as to see strangers arriving from over the river.<br/><br/>Eventually getting to the front of the gathering mass, the hunter reached to his belt and handed a water flask to Kayla without a word. "Give her this, it is from a pure, untainted spring."<br/><br/>He didn’t immediately look to the child, his eyes were fixed on the older, hooded girl. “All is not as it seems.” He said bluntly to the officer in charge, then turning the crowds around him he spoke again, “the child needs to be protected.” He didn’t know why, it was instinctual, the resounding call from her had put his natural senses on a high alert. John also didn’t know if they would listen, but even if they would not, he would watch and wait nearby,<em>she would come to no harm.</em><br/><br/>"You should ask the crowds to step back," he said while scanning the horizon with his amber eyes intently. The uneasy sensation the hunter had might come far or right in front of them, but he had the feeling it was getting closer with every breath. The grip on his rifle tightened in his hands.