Kael and Syris didn't even notivce Vex was there until he spoke.
They hadn't smelled him. They hadn't heard a twig snap or a leaf rustle. They hadn't felt his presence at all.
Vex had his ways.
Being the forest's Public Enemy Number One required a certain set of skills. Specifically, the ability to become as invisible as a ghost and as silent as a shadow. There wasn't a single beast in this forest Vex hadn't stolen from, pranked, or thoroughly pissed off at least once.
He sat safely on a branch about thirty feet up, swinging his legs.
Kael and Syris got over their surprise instantly.
"Where is Ren?" they growled in unison, their voices overlapping in a terrifying harmony of baritone rage.
Vex leaned back against the trunk, examining his fingernails casually.
"She is not with me," he replied, his voice calm and unbothered by the double-dose of killing intent directed at him.
Kael took a step forward, his golden eyes narrowing. "Did you leave her at the tree?"
