He Is NOT One Of Us

(OOC: please wait till Hitame posts if you wish to join later on that's fine)

The sound of trickling water was all that could be heard in the forgotten grove, next to the forgotten cave. High up in the mountains, lost in the a world of his own madness, a man was slowly trudging up the hill towards the cave, carrying a bucket that had a dead rabbit in it. As he drew closer, there was a shuffling sound as something moved in the mouth of the cave. What had been a gray shadow before pulled itself away from the rest of the shadows to form the shape of a giant dog.

The dog stood silent as he watched the man come up the mountain, his breathing harsh as he trekked up higher, before finally making it to the entrance. The dog lightly licked his hand, and sat down, watching as his master sat down by a small, nearly burnt out fire and started to coax it back to life. "Food tonight Hyde.." He whispered in a hoarse, unused voice. A far cry from what it once had been, which has once been so full of power and charm.

The torn clothing, beard, and rugged features hid the face of a man who would have otherwise been very handsome. His hair was long and shaggy, matted about his ears, his beard had been unwashed for some time, and the clothes looked like they hadn't been changed in years.

After the fire had been coaxed back into life, the man pulled a knife from his belt, moved away from the fire and started to skin the rabbit, tearing the soft fur away from the animal and putting it aside as he took the entrails out, leaving them to the side for later, knowing he could let nothing go to waste. He finished carving the rabbit up, and went to the fire stoking it back up again before picking up a solid metal cooking pot, hanging it up on the metal rack above the fire, before moving to the edge of the cave.

He stood for a moment by the opening of the cave, before grabbing another bucket and going to the wall, where a small trickle of cold underground spring water gushed from the wall, falling to the ground and creating a tiny stream that ran down the side of the mountain and out of sight, he stood for a moment, letting the bucket fill up with water, his eyes scanning the area around him.

He had a beautiful view from where he was, he could almost see the haze of London far to the south, but other then that it was all villages and hills around him. The cave he had found was high up on a rather large hill, that wasn't really a mountain, but a thick forest around it kept it protected from view. He smiled slightly and turned back to the fire, taking the bucket and pouring the water into the cooking pot, letting it start to heat up.

Moving further back into the cave, the man went to a small burlap sack which had a few potatoes in it, and some carrots, food he had nicked from a village nearby, they were used to a few things going missing every once and a while, and there was even a little girl there that would sometimes leave a small Tupperware full of food for the 'fairy' she had seen come to the window, looking hungry and sad. The parents let her do this, and whenever Felix went down there, he made sure to take the food and leave a tiny flower in it's place.

He usually ate those meals immediately, but he took back other things, such as the small amount of potatoes and carrots he had left from his last trip. He'd have to go down again soon to get something a bit more filling. For now though, he sat down at the edge of the cave and started to peel the potatoes with the same knife he had used to skin the rabbit, which now lay ready for him to cut up, the pelt hanging up on the edge of the cave wall, drying out to be used later to be made into something when the winter came back around.

She'd had enough.

No more waiting, no more searching from inside the castle, no more crying. If she wanted Naomi to be found, she had to stop depending on someone else to find her for her, it was obvious no one even knew where to start looking. She needed to go looking herself, but no one wanted to let her go. They all said it was too dangerous, that she would get hurt and she wouldn't be able to find Naomi if she was injured. But frankly she didn't care anymore. She did t want to let her sister be out there, in more danger than ever, all by herself.

"I'm going to look for her."

"No, you can't. It isn't safe for you to be out there."

"I don't care. I want to find my sister. I need to find her."

"We'll find her, don't worry."

"I said I need to find her. Not you. I'm going."

She'd argued with everyone she had to to get out of the castle. Once she had managed to do that, she was outside, searching aimlessly because she didn't even have any clues as to where Naomi could be. She suddenly wasn't as mad as she had originally been. But that didn't mean the anger had completely disappeared, because she knew she would be able to think of places where she could be unlike everyone else. She would have been much more useful if she had been able to help with the actual searching, but no. It was too dangerous for her.

Hitame began searching in places Naomi would normally want to visit and every time she thought she was onto something, she was basically crushed when it turned out that Naomi had not been there. Eventually her search led her to a cave in a forest on the outskirts of a small village. How she ended up looking in that forest was honestly beyond her and how she had even managed to find the cave was even more bewildering since it was protected rather well by the trees. Still, she was glad she'd found it. The search had her exhausted and she thought that cave was a good place to rest before she continued.

It would have been easier to go back to the castle, but then she wouldn't remember how she got to the cave and se couldn't lose all the progress she had made. The cave was big and somewhat deep. She peeked into it when she saw light coming from inside and hope rose in her. Maybe it was Naomi an whoever her chapter was. She smiled at the thought, hoping that she was right.

But she wasn't and the Gryffindor felt like crying when she realized that the only one in there was a man that looked distinctly familiar but she figured she couldn't know. She wanted to turn to leave, but for whatever reason her body wouldn't let her and she remains in her place, watching the man and letting her eyes dart around what she could see in the cave, which wasn't much.

Footsteps.

He had spent so long listening to just the wind and leaves rustling, that when the sound of a human footstep reached his ears, he immediately sprung into action. The potato he had been peeling rolled across the cave floor, and the man reached into his pocket, withdrawing from it a slender wooden stick, which he pointed in all directions as though it would do any good.

"Who's there?" He called out, his voice gruff and hard to understand. He reached into his pocket again and pulled out a small knife, which he pointed around again, ready to attack anyone within reach. His long hair reached well past his shoulders, and his beard muffled his mouth. It was wild and scraggly, with bits of leaves and twigs caught in it. He wore long, floor length robes that were much to dirty and holey for anyone in normal society to wear.

He was obviously a hermit of some sort, and if you were unaware of the wand in his hand, he would have looked insane, standing next to a fire that had water heating on it, It was obvious he'd been there a while too, for far back in the reaches of the cave were pelts from different animals that made their home up in the mountain. Mostly rabbits and the like, but a few other larger ones.

Sitting on those pelts was a giant Siberian Husky/Wolf. He was skinny, but his coat was clean and he sat panting as he watched his master stand up violently. "Come out wherever you are, or you'll be sorry!" He called out, before slowly bending over and putting the things he was holding down. "I mean no harm... Just come out and let me have a look at ya." He said, his eyes suddenly finding a face in the bushes and he reached towards the young girl, almost hesitantly.

That voice...

It sounded so familiar. But it sounded worn out and weak and she thought that she might just be going crazy. But it sounded like someone she knew, someone she didn't want to remember though. Her body stiffened when he demanded that she come out or she would be sorry. Half of her screamed to just run. Get away from there so he wouldn't be able to do anything to her.

A crazy looking man in a cave probably wasn't the best person to be around. But the other half wanted her to show herself to him. Maybe he really wouldn't hurt her or anything and he could maybe be helpful in her search for her sister. She needed all the help she could get with that. She just wanted to see Naomi again, to get her back. She didn't want to leave her sister out there alone with the Death Eaters doing who knows what to her.

She slowly came out of the bushes and stood to the side of the cave, looking at the man with her eyes widened. She still had half a mind to run away but that could prove a worse idea than just staying there and letting him look at her. "Sorry.. I didn't mean to bother you." she said softly, hoping he wouldn't do anything bad to her.

[OOC: Bleh, sorry it's short :c]

A young woman stepped out from the bushes and Felix narrowed his eyes, staring into hers with a look that was meant to pierce the soul. "What's a girl like you doing out here?" He asked, his voice harsh again as he took a small step towards her, and then froze.

She was familiar, very familiar. But who could she possibly be? His mind raced back through the years as he attempted to find a face that matched this young girl. "A bit young to be wandering in the woods." He said and carefully bent down, picking up the knife and wand again and putting them away in his pockets, holding up his hands afterwards to show her he wasn't holding them anymore.

His voice softened as she spoke and a small smile flickered on his bearded lips. "No harm done, lass, no harm done.. come over here, I was just making dinner if you'd like to sit and have a chat." He said lightly, gesturing towards the fire that had the water up to a boil. "Nothing fancy mind you, but it's got some flavor." He bent down and picked up the potato that had rolled away from him, glancing it over before moving to the cave wall where the water gently trickled down and washed it off. Getting the tiny stones and dirt off of it.

"What's your name?" He asked lightly, his eyes turning once again to his company and he was nearly floored with how familiar she looked. There was no way she was a muggle, otherwise he wouldn't be feeling this strongly. She had to be a student... a witch. But why would a witch be all the way up here? It made no sense.

Why did he seem so familiar to her? Ha she seen him somewhere? Did she know him?

She couldn't know him. But maybe she did, maybe he was just someone she hadn't seen in a long time. She had a tendency to forget people easily, if they weren't important to her. But he must have had some sort of importance, otherwise she wouldn't have even recognized his voice, even if she had only done so vaguely.

"I.. Um.. I'm looking for someone." She responded quickly, hesitantly. What if he'd seen her somewhere? Maybe she had come by this place and he saw her, even if it was only for a little while. But she wasn't sure if Naomi's appearance had changed dice the last time she saw her. It was probably worth a try.

She walked over to him, still maintaining her distance and she sat opposite of him. She was probably too young to be off by herself in the forest but she ha to do it. "No one else would help me. So I had to come by myself." She admitted, lowering her gaze. He asked for her name and she was half remote to give him a fake one, so he wouldn't be able to find her if he ever wanted to. But she doubted he would want to see her again, it'd be kind of strange.

"My name's Hitame." She answered, looking down at her hands. She decided to ask him if he'd seen Naomi, just because she wanted to see if she could leave quickly.

"H - Have you seen anyone around here?" She asked softly. "Like.. Around fifteen years old? And long brown hair?" She added, hoping Naomi hadn't changed her appearance too much, so that her description of her would actually be of help if he had seen her.

[OOC: um. I don't think Felix would have seen Naomi cx but if he did, she isn't a brunette anymore, she's blonde now, so her description isn't correct.]

Felix felt his eyebrows rise into his hairline when she stated she was looking for someone. He watched her curiously, his eyes slightly narrowed before moving to sit at the entrance to the cave again, only facing her, and continuing in the peeling of his potato. His eyes trained on her for a long moment. "If they won't help you find her... are you sure she's lost?" He asked suddenly, finishing up the potato neatly and moving to the fire he started to dice it up into the pot, the slices hitting the water with a small splash.

She said her name and Felix felt the knife slip, cutting into his hand suddenly, he nearly fell face forward into the pot and stared at his bleeding finger for a moment, his mind a blur of thoughts.

Hitame...

She had sure grown up. Felix let his gaze fall on the girl again, and he could feel his pulse speeding up as he stared at her in shock. His pet... all grown up. He wondered how her feet were. Last her remembered her had mangled them bad enough to scar. Felix could feel a strange sensation traveling through his body.

At one point in time, he would have grabbed her right there and made her remember his name. Put fear into her heart, to send her back into the world screaming about her encounter with Felix Barker.

But now, all he felt was a strange rolling sensation in his stomach. Like something was alive that was trying to come up out of his throat and escape. He stared at this girl who at one point he had horribly treated, for absolutely no reason at all.

And he was slowly coming to grips with the feeling in his stomach. He felt sorry for doing it. He wanted to apologize, to make up for it, he knew his actions could never be made up for... he'd never be able to account for how badly he had treated this young girl. For now he could spare her any pain by not letting her know who he was.

"Ah... cut myself.." He said slowly, and brought his finger to his lips, sucking on the wound as he moved back over to the cave wall, shoving his finger under the cold trickle he winced, as he turned back to look at Hitame.

"Sorry lass.. I've not seen anyone up in these parts in months. Besides you of course." He said lightly, trying to play off his weird actions after he had heard her name. She couldn't recognize him.. if she did... he didn't know how she'd react. Probably run off for some aurors and he'd have to leave. Or attack him herself. He was pretty sure he could take on a girl her size. But he would rather not cause her any more physical pain.

Hitame stared at her hands in her lap, not wanting to listen to the words he said. More like not wanting to believe them. "Of course she's alive." the girl responded, sounding hurt. Naomi was alive, she was sure that her sister was alive. There was no way she wasn't. She couldn't be.. The very thought of Naomi being dead made her shiver and she brought her hand to her upper arm and rubbed it gently.

She stared blankly at him as he cut the potato, watching how his hands worked as she tried to fully process his words. The knife cut into his finger and she flinched. She felt the pain from the knife slicing through skin, though it didn't happen to her, and she dropped her gaze to her hands once again, making sure that she hadn't been injured.

She lifted her eyes to his hand again as he spoke and stared at the blood that had began to flow before he moved and stopped the blood. He spoke again, saying that he hadn't seen anyone and her stomach dropped. She'd been hoping that he had some kind of information that could help her. She'd been wrong.

"Oh.. Okay.." she answered softly. She must have seemed almost broken, it was how she felt. She had no leads as to where her sister was and she didn't know what else to do to help her anymore. She didn't know how to find her, how to get her back. And it was almost driving her to insanity.

"By the way.. What's your name?" she asked almost suddenly. "You know mine but I don't know yours. That isn't exactly fair." she said, her eyes resting on his face.

Felix made his way back to the pot, finishing off the potato with a flourish and grabbing a carrot, slicing it into pieces into the pot as well. She looked so sad, so broken, so lost. Like a little bird with it's wings cut off, never to see the sky again. His gaze rested on hers, and he slowly moved to her, resting a gentle hand on her shoulder. His palms were rough with callouses and his fingernails long. The skin dirty, but recently washed, as though the dirt had been there so long it wouldn't come off anymore.

"Hey now, lass.. I'm sure you'll find her." He said lightly, his actions awkward as he turned towards the rabbit he had caught and grabbed an old fashioned skillet. The fire was large enough that even with the pot on to cook, there was plenty of room for him to throw the pieces of rabbit on, and hold it over the fire to cook, sprinkling a little water on top of it to keep it from burning and help produce grease which would make up the substance of the gravy for the stew.

He sat for a long moment after she asked his name, cooking the rabbit, before finally looking up at her with a smile. The moment he had last gone on the run, he had decided on a name that would be his identity from now on. He used it now for the girl, to spare her of any pains. "Alex Fawn.. Used to live in London until I ran into some bad people.." He said lightly, taking his knife out and using it to flip the slices of rabbit meat over in the skillet, the sound of sizzling meat filling the air, as well as the smell of the stew and rabbit meat cooking.

"I'd offer you more of a feast, lass, but my supplies are running a little low. Used to be a rich man.. till my assets got seized... now I can't even buy clothes, let alone food. Catch and grow this stuff myself." He lied cleanly, having been practicing this story for just such an encounter as this.

Felix let his eyes flick slowly over Hitame, drinking in her image. She looked sad, and was looking for her sister.. but she looked well. Much better then she had been the last time he had seen her. Which was bleeding tied to a table. Now she looked as though she were older, wiser, and had seen far too much in this cruel world. "So.. Miss Hitame..." he said, using her name politely and with respect.

"You ever eaten rabbit before?"