The Ordinary Dead

The Rogue

When Kyran returned, Anastasia had fallen asleep in the back seat. Ciara was still awake, sitting in the left seat in the back of the crashed Land Rover. A bird was perched on the roof, and was staring straight at Kyran. Or - more to the point - not Kyran directly, but the berries in his hands. It pointed it's beak towards the berries, and then back up to Kyran's face as if it were trying to ask for some to eat.

Even though Kyran had three hungry people (Anastasia, Ciara and himself) and one small cat to feed, he still held his soft spot for animals. Taking a few small blackberries out of his hands, he placed them on the roof of the Land Rover. The bird moved away cautiously away from Kyran's hand, but then hopped back to its original place, and ate two of the berries. With the third, the bird held it in its beak, and then took off, gliding above Kyran's head.

Ciara stared out of the window of the Land Rover, not seeing Kyran come up from behind her. He smiled upon seeing her, and then glanced over to Anastasia sleeping beside her, much like the cat in Ciara's lap, and his expression turned neutral.

He stepped closer towards the car, and Ciara turned her head at the sound of a stick snapping. Her eyes flew wide with panic, the sound clearly making her jump.

"Oh, thank god," She sighed, and relaxed again. "It's just you."

Kyran lifted a corner of his mouth, and shifted his glance down to the berries in his hands. "I know it's not much, but... it's all I could find."

"It's no problem," She also moved her gaze down to his hands, looking over the berries. "I used to eat wild blackberries when I was little. I used to pick them with my mother," She smiled, pausing for a moment. "Back when I was young and sweet."

Kyran smiled back, and looked down to Anastasia, who had fallen asleep with her head against the side of the car. The way her lips were slightly parted made her seem innocent and child-like, but there was still something stern about her sharp, cold features.

"You might wanna wake her up," He sighed, and flicked his eyes back up to Ciara. "She's probably hungry too, you know."

"Yeah, but there's more for me if I don't."

"Don't be so selfish," Kyran winked.

"Fine," Ciara nudged Anastasia's shoulder, and began to whisper to her softly. "Anastasia," she said, her voice soft, as if she were waking a toddler from a nap. "Time to wake up. Kyran's back."

She opened her eyes, and it was as if all her former innocence drained from her face, leaving a cold, hard shell. Her lips became tightened, and the softness of her eyes became more harsh once again. She looked from Ciara to Kyran, who smiled awkwardly. Her gaze then fell to the berries, and she closed her eyes briefly, lifting the corners of her mouth.

"Food," she groaned. "I'm starving."

"There isn't much to go around." He sighed.

Anastasia moved over towards Ciara so that Kyran could fit in beside her. He slid into the back seat, and the leather cooled his skin. It was cold outside in the forest, especially when dark. Placing the blackberries on his lap, he dished them out between Ciara, Anastasia and himself. Although Muffin was still asleep, she was more than capable of catching a small rat or mouse for herself, so he didn't spare any for Muffin.

Ciara and Anastasia both took their shares of blackberries and placed one into their mouths. Ciara smiled, and reminisced about the times when she used to pick the blackberries with her mother and then eat them, just for fun. However, Anastasia's expression was much less blissful. She scowled, swallowing hard.

"What the hell was that?" she shouted, turning straight on Kyran.

"Blackberries," He grinned, holding one up between her thumb and finger.