It has been days since Maze had brought them here. Days in which Vital had huddled close to his twin, living in terror that the beast might find them here. That it might have followed them from the clearing to the safety of this lake in the mountains. But as the days pass and no threat emerges, Vital slowly begins to relax. Slowly begins to return to the boy he had been before that terrifying day in the forest.
Zephys is quiet, as he so often is, but Vital begins to grow restless. The part of him that had longed for adventure not so long ago still lays dormant, he finds himself itching to do something. Children are not meant to spend their time cowering in fear, and as the fear distances itself from him, Vital finds himself more and more fidgety.
So he begins to wander.
Not far (never far - not when Zephys is his anchor), but curiosity about this place overwhelms him. Though he does not stray beyond shouting distance of his twin, he begins to explore the confines of the small patch of woods and the lakeshore they had sequestered themselves in. As he meanders slowly forward, he reaches out idly to taste one of the purple flowers hanging low on a nearby vine.
When he finds it slightly sweet, a hint of bitterness to cut the edge, he nibbles a few more. And a few more, until he begins to feel slightly ill with the number he had inadvertently eaten. Suddenly regretting his impulsiveness, he drops the vine that had been in his mouth with a huff. Turning to return to his twin, Vital is taking a step forward when he pauses, eye catching on movement not too far away. He freezes, going still as a statue, suddenly terrified that the beast had come back.
@Malik