The forest is dark as Duo walks through it, dejected. His hands are stuffed in his pockets and he walks aimlessly. ‘It’s all your fault… because of you, Solo and Timothy are dead!’

    Around him the noises of the forest go silent.

    He continues to walk through the forest, listless despite his goal of reaching the other side and escaping to Aveh. ‘I’m certain no one will look for you there, Duo,’ Sally had said, ‘Cross the border through the Forest of the Dark Moon and make your way to the desert town of Dazil. From there… good luck.’

    Suddenly a large creature leaps out before Duo.

    “Get out of the way, I’m not in the mood to deal with you,” he shouts at it, his own self-anger broiling up against the distraction from his introverted self-torture.

    With a snarl the two-tailed wolf lunges for him, jaws wide.

    A simple block sends the deadly jaws veering from the target of his jugular and he lets out and angry shout as he counterattacks the beast, hitting it so soundly that it looses consciousness and collapses. “I told you, you should have just left me alone.”

    Continuing on into the forest, Duo does not notice the sun drop low to the horizon through the trees, until he comes upon the scene of a small campfire set back near some rocks and finds a gun shoved in his face.

    “Ana haas!”

    He arcs a brow and his eyes travel up the barrel of the gun to see the face of the speaker.

    The figure, seeing the look of incomprehension on Duo’s face, glares and says in a heavily accented version of his own language. “Put your hands up, or I shoot.”

    Slowly, Duo complies, mesmerized by the look of the dark blue eyes and the fading glow on the tanned skin of his apparent enemy.

    “Who are you?”

    “No questions,” the holder of the gun snaps. “Now, how do I get out of here?”

    “I don’t know.”

    The gun fires, a shot zooming dangerously close to his temple.

    “You missed.”

    “I meant to. Tell me what I want to know or the next shot lands between your eyes.”

    Annoyed at the apparent waste of his time, Duo takes a step forward. The gun, for a moment, waivers in his assailant’s hands. “Stay where you are!”

    “If you’re going to shoot me, do it properly.”

    “What are you, some crazy person? Do you want me to shoot you?”

        Why haven’t I shot him?

***

    “I don’t know the way out of here, to tell you the honest truth.” Duo takes another step forward, still not understanding his own actions. “Put the gun down and let’s find our way out together.”

    “Matte,” the figure groans out, taking a staggering step back, “Would you stay away from me!” he shouts, anger flaring into existence there.

    A howl erupts from the darkening forest around the two of them.

    “What’s that?” the young man pointing the gun at Duo asks him.

    “Wolves, most likely. This is a forest, after all.”

    As though brought out by the declaration, a wolf the size of the one Duo fought earlier, if not larger, leaps from the brush, followed by two companions. A moment later a fourth leaps out of the darkness and decks the young man with the gun.

    “Shit!” Duo exclaims, rushing forward to toss the wolf from the other young man.

    The gun fires and with a whimper the wolf dies, but in the same instant the whimper reaches Duo’s ears, the other three attack, leaping forward, fangs bared and ready to rip their jugular’s. “Your stupid gun’s attracting them!” he shouts at the young man who is kneeling and taking aim.

    Angry, Duo jumps forward and attacks the wolves on his own, throwing several punches and kicks, blocking the jaws and beating them back. “If you fire again there’ll just be more monsters to contend with. This area isn’t exactly the safest place in the world, you know!” With a toss of his braid and a scrub at his forehead, Duo turns to face the other young man.

    The plain look of disbelief on his face stops Duo in his tracks.

    “You fought those things with your bear hands,” he says quietly, not so much awe-struck as impressed by the courage required of the act.

    “Yeah, well you were bound to run out of bullets eventually, and like I said…”

    “And yet you don’t really care if I shoot you?” the voice is somewhat puzzled and inquisitive. “Whoever you are, you’re one strange Lamb.”

    “Hey, I’m no farm animal,” Duo retorts with a snort.

    “Surface dwellers are little else,” he says, folding his arms across his chest dismissively. He cringes from the wounds sustained by the wolves and from the battle the previous evening.

    “Hey, you’re bleeding,” Duo says. “Let me help.”

   Why do I want to help the person who just tried to shoot me, and almost got me killed?

***

    “Keep your distance, I’m fine.”

    Duo rolls his eyes. “Sure, buddy, you’re fine, just fine. The bullet wound through your side isn’t going to get infected and I’m sure the gnashes on your neck and face from that wolf’s fangs are going to look really pretty to your girlfriend back wherever you’re from.”

    “My… girlfriend?” he lowers the gun, arm exhausted, and sinks down next to the fire.

    Duo takes a seat as well, sighing and taking some food from the small pack Sally had given him when suggesting he head through the forest to Aveh. As he takes a bite he notices the young man’s eyes on him, watching intently.

***

    He glances over at the young man seated across the fire and takes in the look of this particular Lamb. Long auburn hair plaited down his back with bangs falling in front of… did he see correctly… violet eyes, and a slim muscular build. Obviously he’s got some hidden strength if he took down those three wolves without assistance. Now could it have been Ether or was it just brute force?

    “You’re staring at me.”

    Gaze turning into a glare, Heero growls out some terse phrases in his own language before saying finally, “I’ve rarely seen a true Lamb up close before.”

    “You keep calling me a barnyard animal and I’m going to give you a black eye, pal.”

    “You keep speaking to me like I’m your friend,” Heero responds in kind, threat obvious as he lays the gun across his knee. “You’re forgetting the situation you’re in.”

    “No, I’m not,” the young man’s voice goes distant.

    “You don’t seem to care that I intend on killing you.”

    “Yeah, well maybe I’m not.” Silence filled with the flicker of the fire between them passes for a moment. “I don’t… have any reason to,” he adds, voice low, but then looks up and offers some of his rations. “Hungry?”

    Heero glares at the outstretched hand distrustfully.

    “You can’t kill me while we’re in this forest, at least,” he points out, unless you’re going to snap my neck, and with those injuries, I don’t think you’ll be able to currently. Neither of us knows the way out, so we might as well work together.”

***

    Distrustful eyes continue to regard Duo, and he finds himself being drawn into their depths once again before shaking his head slightly.

    “Hai,” the other young man says quietly.

    “I’ll take that as a yes,” Duo says, and the other young man’s dark haired head nods once. “My name’s Duo,” he says, leaving the sentence open for the other young man to finish.

    “It really doesn’t matter.”

    “What’s yours?” Duo ignores the dismissal in the other’s words. “It’s going to be hard to get along with me if you won’t give me your name.”

    “Give my name to a…” the two of them exchange a glance and the challenge of anger in Duo’s violet eyes causes him a moment’s pause. “Heero.”

    Duo holds up the bit of jerky he held out earlier and grudgingly, Heero takes it in his gloved hand, sniffing it before taking a bite. “I’m not into poisoning people, you know,” Duo replies, sliding to the ground and leaning against the log he had just been sitting on.

    “I’m not into eating jerky,” Heero replies tartly.

    Of all the people to get stuck in the woods with, I get this guy? Duo asks himself. Heero lets out a groan of pain and slumps back against the rock.

    “Hey, are you all right?”

    “Never better,” Heero grinds out in terse, accented words that Duo listens to without putting much value to.

    “Yeah, sure. Let me look at it.”

    “What do you know about gunshot wounds?” Heero asks archly.

    “Enough to know that you haven’t washed that one yet,” Duo replies, reaching into his bag and taking out his flask, “I’ve got some water and an old blanket. Not the best things, but at least they’re something, will you let me tend to your wounds or do I have to wait until you pass out?”

    Heero continues to glare at him, but doesn’t raise the gun as he makes his way around the fire slowly. Finally at the foreigner’s side, Duo lifts his hands to unbutton his top, only to find a hand on his throat that tightens warningly. “What are you trying to do?”

    “Oh for the love of god!” Duo exclaims. “I can’t wash your wound if you’re covered in whatever uniform and armor this is.”

    Grudgingly, Heero allows him to continue, dark blue eyes watching him closely for any signs of trickery. Rolling his eyes to himself, Duo peels the armor back from his torso so to get a better vantage point at Heero’s wound.