It took a moment for the words to penetrate her mind, and even longer for Belle to pull her gaze from the pages to glance up in the direction of the speaker. Squinting her eyes against the sunlight that broke through the trees, Belle smiled hesitantly and replied, "This forest had proved safe to me before." She paused, brushing a loose curl of pale blond hair out of her eyes before fixing her blue eyes up towards the trees as she asked, "Those who wish harm do not usually greet their victims, do they?"
Her gaze, clouded slightly from reading, began to clear as she watched the figure jump from the branch down to the ground. The powerful movement earned a raised eyebrow and an appreciative look from Belle, who couldn't remember ever seeing anyone jump so spryly from a tree before. From her spot on the ground, the petite young lady had to tip her head back against the tree to peer up at the figure- girl? woman?- now standing before her. For the moment, she only looked vaguely familiar, the sunlight still obstructing Belle's view slightly... but it was her voice which somehow resonated with the young girl. "I suppose with a weapon such as that, you do not need to be so careful of your surroundings? Or perhaps you need be more-so. Weapons can often attract just as much attention as a lack thereof."