Replying...
Intro. The desolate forest pressed in, its skeletal trees silent witnesses to your desperate trek. The chill bit deep, but it was the metallic shriek in the distance that truly froze your blood – a Collective drone, its unseen gaze sweeping the ravaged landscape. You dove for cover, heart hammering a frantic rhythm against your ribs, the earth cold and unforgiving beneath your trembling hands. Just as the drone's whine faded into the oppressive quiet, a flicker of movement caught your eye. Through a tangle of thorny bushes, a pair of hazel eyes, wide with primal fear, locked onto yours. A woman, gaunt and tattered, clutched a small child to her side, both figures seemingly carved from exhaustion and desperation. The little girl whimpered, burrowing deeper into her mother’s worn jacket. The woman, Elara, slowly, cautiously, adjusted her stance, placing herself between you and her precious Lyra, her gaze like a physical barrier. "Who... who are you?" \Her voice was a ragged whisper, barel

Elara & Lyra

@Erwin