Valerie lay in her bed staring up at the ceiling and carefully listened for the slightest echo of movement anywhere in the cabin or beyond. It was difficult with her roommate tossing and turning on the cot next to her. After choosing to stay and become James’s pupil, Samantha, as was her norm, made the audacious claim she was happy to sleep on the floor using her cloak as a pillow. She claimed she was used the feeling of hard flat surfaces and in some ways found them comfortable. Valerie balked at the idea and instead set to make a proper bed for the girl. After many failed projects that bordered on torture devices her uncle stepped in having some carpentry experience, he had after all fashioned all their furniture. As a compromise Valerie instead insisted the newly made cot be placed in her room so that Samantha wouldn’t be alone, a proposition the girl accepted without complaint. She casually mentioned she was used to a group sleeping area as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Once again, she failed to elaborate any further on the odd statement.
Valerie occupied her bored mind with thoughts of her new house guest and of the last half a year they had spent training and forming something of a friendship. From one-time enemies to training partners and roommates, they were unconventional bed fellows yet that only seemed to bring them closer. Turning her head from the ceiling, she could vaguely make out in the darkness the sleeping form of Samantha, safely cocooned within her cloak. She could barely recognise her from the skeletal figure she had been all those months ago, not just in a physical sense but personality too. It took a long time, but Samantha slowly crawled out from her shell exposing who she really was, which was a bat crap insane girl who didn’t seem to feel any pain, laughed at the most disturbing things and had developed a habit of grinning constantly no matter what. Valerie felt a twinge of shame, it was possible she may never see those odd quirks again after tonight.
It had been a week since achieving her second aspect and her uncle finally stopped berating her excessively. Now he was down to a respectful amount of berating with a helpful smattering of reprimanding and a pinch of harsh lecturing. She endured it, even if the near constant verbal assault meant she had little to no time to practice with her new power. Yet it was already beginning to show its effects particularly: the call to hunt, to find ever bigger and more ferocious prey then to lay them low. She thought it may just be an after effect from the adrenaline inducing hunt on the Hackalope, but the sensation refused to abate. Valerie had been desperate to leave for some time, it was why she often snuck away from her uncle to practice, why she was so fervent to refine her skills and prove she was ready. The arrival of Samantha delayed any plans to flee her uncle’s overprotective shadow but did not cancel them outright. She was a fantastic distraction and Valerie was truly better off for meeting her, without Samantha she may have gone crazy from isolation.
Valerie silently groaned, there it was again, the guilt. Samantha is more than just a distraction, she all but saved the fledgling huntress from her own reckless behaviour. It was no small exaggeration to say that since she arrived Valerie had made leaps and bounds in her training as well as other less important skills like socializing. All that said however, she knew the time was right, there was no better moment to leave than now. Her uncle had left to check up on some of his traps leaving his pupils behind with a firm warning that neither was to leave. A warning he all but directed at Valerie herself before he set off. She ofcourse ignored the warning and decided tonight was the night, she was ready and needed to get out now otherwise she may never leave.
Rising slowly rose from her bed; she knelt beside Samantha and rested a hand to the girl’s cheek. She was so cold yet never shivered, it was just another oddity she exhibited that Valerie had grown accustomed to and may very well miss. Lingering for a moment, her resolve teetered until she finally drew her hand back and little by little crept out of the room refusing to look back. As she crossed the threshold of the only home she had ever known Valerie felt something well up inside her and couldn’t help but speak up.
“Thank you… goodbye.”
She whispered to Samantha, to the cabin and to her uncle wherever he was. Finally exiting the house and closing the entrance agonizingly slow behind her, Valerie glanced around her home for the last time. It was nostalgic, she recalled the games she used to play with her uncle as a child. She fondly remembered the day he unfurled a leather roll containing an assortment of weapons big and small inviting Valerie to select any that caught her eye. She was so entranced by the display, examining each instrument of war carefully, testing their weight and how quickly she could swing them. In the end she picked the one tool that caught her eye immediately, she couldn’t quite put her finger on why but holding onto her uncle’s old hunting knife simply felt right. Letting out a long breath, she left the steps of her home racing into the tree line, if she stayed any longer her resolve would crumble entirely.
Breaking into a sprint, Valerie felt her fear and anxiety gradually melt away to be replaced with exhilaration and euphoria. She thought about this day for weeks, months, maybe even years and nothing could stop her now not even herself. If her uncle were to appear right this second and catch her in the act, she wouldn’t back down, she would fight tooth and nail. It was a foolish thought; she never beat her uncle in any of their one-on-one sparring matches but in that moment, she felt like she could topple a mountain. After running for what felt like miles, Valerie slowed her escape to a jog while searching for a collection of trees surrounding a large rock. It had taken some time and careful planning, but she managed to squirrel away a change of clothes into a bag and buried the contents beneath the stone some time ago. Locating the group of trees, she slid between two with practiced ease and fell to her knees before the stone. She ripped at the ground tossing away dirt and debris until striking gold. She fished a filthy bag out into the open and double checked the contents: her new outfit as well as five throwing knives and an old belt with a sheath for her knife. She had formed a habit sleeping beside her knife every night and was able to abscond with it without raising any suspicions. As for any food or water she might need, she would take from the forest using all the skills and knowledge her uncle had passed onto her.
A voice in the back of her mind kept insisting this was the point of no return as it had done at each step of her run. It was a small pitiful whisper compared to the chorus that demanded adventure, freedom and answers. She didn’t need to know who she was, what she was doing out here or who her family had been. She just wanted to know where she was and where she could go, after that the sky was the limit. Discarding her pyjamas, Valerie dawned the stowed away clothes, a simple shirt, pair of trousers and boots. If she was ever to make it on her own, she needed to be able to carry her own weight which is why she elected not to take any of the gear handcrafted by her uncle. Satisfied with her ensemble, she stuffed the discarded clothes beneath the stone and reburied them. Dusting the dirt off herself and hefting the light backpack over her shoulder, Valerie scanned the surrounding area afraid her uncle would somehow appear or already be on her tail. She was alone for now with no company but her heavy breaths as well as the chirp of owls and other nocturnal animals filling the quiet night. A mischievous grin split across her face, and she was off again no goal or direction in mind just forward.
After travelling for another half hour, Valerie stopped for a much-needed rest by a stream. Running at full speed mixed with her lack of sleep tired the girl more than she would like to admit. She dropped her bag and began cupping mouthfuls of water only stopping to catch her reflection illuminated in the pale moonlight. Her hair was a mess, whatever tie she used to keep it in place was long gone somewhere along the trail. There was sweat dripping from her forehead down to her chin and a wild glint never left her eyes. As she took in her dishevelled appearance Valerie was taken back to the moment, she killed the Hackalope, she was a dishevelled mess then too. All she was missing was a thick coating of blood, a dead monster and Samantha to appear out of nowhere to truly bring her back to that not-too-distant time. Chuckling to herself, she rose back up stretched her aching muscles and searched around for the bag lost somewhere in the darkness.
“Here you go.”
Stolen story; please report.
“Thanks”
She said to Samantha after receiving her bag. Jumping back in surprise yet again while dragging her knife from its sheath, Valerie almost lashed out at nothing in her path. Her eyes darted back and forth like a madman examining everything within her field of view.
“Just my imagination… yeah.”
She tried to convince herself, she was doubtlessly exhausted which was probably why her brain was conjuring up voices. How her bag was suddenly in her hand she refused to question any further. Calming down somewhat, she returned her knife to its sheath and turned back to the water only to be met with a familiar face obscured by a ragged cloak.
“So, where you off to tonight?”
Samantha said as Valerie fell back from the water edge and into the muddy embankment while fumbling to grasp her weapon. The younger girl stood ankle deep in the flowing river, hands on her hips and a pearly white smile that could frighten a spectre.
“Oh come on! How?!”
How? How did she find her? How did she keep up? The answer was quite simple, Samantha was no light sleeper but developed a stomach-ache from what she believed to be undercooked Hackalope meat. She tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling, tossing and turning in bed unable to fall asleep. She spent her time admonishing herself for being so spoiled, back in the day she would go to bed hungry and like it. Living with the… no-last-names’s was doing her wonders but making her soft even if she spent nearly every day getting the stuffing kicked out of her. The unfortunate circumstance did at least allow her the chance to catch Valerie as she made her subtle exit, which to be frank wasn’t all that stealthy stepping on every creaky floorboard and knocking over a plate in the process. Curious, Samantha decided to follow after, carefully watching Valerie’s escape from a distance and putting a newfound taste for sneaking to the test. In all honesty, Samantha did believe this was indeed a test set up by her mentor with Valerie acting as the target. As she ran, Samantha had no trouble keeping line of sight with the ludicrously fast huntress. The stealthy girl explained none of this however and simply walked out of the freezing water to offer a hand to the toppled over Valerie.
Looking her stalker up and down apprehensively, Valerie gripped onto the offered hand and was pulled to her feet. Wiping away any filth, she reorganized herself and stared daggers at her unwanted follower.
“Congrats you found me, now go home.”
Valerie said venomously, a hint of fear stoked voices in her head whispering worries that Samantha would lead her uncle straight to them. Paranoia began to set in, and the runaway girl tightened the grip on her knife till her knuckles ached. Unaware of any imminent danger, Samantha Cupped a hand to her chin and looked over her compatriots dishevelled form while tapping her drenched socks against the ground. Unlike Valerie, she was not prepared for a nighttime getaway and was still adorned in her sleep wear including the ever-present cloak. Her mind wracked with questions and conundrums, or at the very least it would have for most, instead she just wondered why they were training so late. And then a moment, a single instance in time, everything suddenly made sense.
It was a strange but well documented phenomenon that on very rare occasions a person could connect dots and come to conclusions they themselves didn’t truly understand how they reached. Like a fish learning to climb it was not impossible just very unlikely. This strange phenomenon was also how a person would realise they had an Aspect, the name and presence suddenly a fundamental truth to their existence like the need to breath. Despite having no way of knowing the particulars or the deep-seated feelings that lead to the midnight jog, Samantha had what can only be called a eureka moment. Snapping her fingers, and failing to make a sound, she exclaimed a detective’s ‘aha!’ making her deductions known.
“You’re on the run!”
Pointing an accusatory finger at the perpetrator, Samantha loudly proclaimed her deductions. Valerie stared in amazement clearly taken aback at the genius before her. In reality the guilty party was astounded that the deductive virtuoso finally come to any conclusion after standing and scratching her chin uninterrupted for over two minutes. The relatively long silence allowed Valerie a chance to think more rationally which prevented any wanton murder, this time at least. The next words out of Samantha’s mouth did take the runaway by surprise, however.
“Ooooh I love an escape, where are we going?”
Had she the opportunity, Valerie would have spit out her drink, dropped her jaw to the floor, jumped out of her skin, and had her socks knocked right off from the unexpected statement. Half formed sentences came and went as she tried to choke out a reply.
“We? You? I don’t- What?!”
Samantha waded back into the flowing stream and set her hand against her forehead acting like a pirate captain scanning the sea for booty to plunder.
“It’s you and me Val, let’s go out there and see the world!”
Valerie’s mind finally caught up with the situation and she was able to make her displeasure known.
“Nope, not happening. You march your sorry butt home; this is my escape and I am not baby sitting you.”
Without turning back Samantha pleaded her case.
“Aw c’mon! I swear I’ll be on my best behaviour. Besides…”
She twisted around to reveal a cat like grin.
“I don’t know the way back home.”
Valerie was about to launch into another round of refusals when it dawned on her Samantha was right. A chilling thought on its own but neither she nor Valerie could navigate themselves back to the cabin after the distance they travelled. They would probably be faster circling the whole world to make it back home than turning back now. Valerie fumed and tried to remain firm but something about the hope filling Samantha’s horrifyingly dark eyes tugged at her heart strings. Maybe having a bit of company wouldn’t be so bad? It would mean having to scrounge up food for two, but what kind of hunter would Valerie be if she couldn’t provide a meal every now and then. As she weighed the pros and cons further, the huntress began to feel that guilt again. Why did she think of leaving Samantha out of the plan in the first place? She spent years with her uncle before escaping and wouldn’t want anyone to suffer such a dull fate. Letting out a groan that peaked into a sigh, Valerie laid down the law.
“Fine, we can go together, but you HAVE to follow a couple rules.”
“Lay em on me travel buddy.”
Samantha responded chipper that she got her way.
“Number one: *I* am in charge, what I say goes and you follow my orders. Got it?”
A firm nod answered Valerie’s demands.
“Number two: you say nothing about my uncle or where we lived. I don’t know what we’re doing out here but there’s a reason for it that I don’t want to find out about.”
“Understood, my lips are sealed.”
Samantha made a show of zipping up her lips, throwing away the key and then faked suffocating for a few seconds. Valerie stared dryly at the display finally intervening when Samantha made to prat fall into the waters. Hoisting her travelling companion back up, Valerie looked towards the rising morning sun and felt a sudden sense of relief. Not only was she free, but she also wasn’t alone either. No doubt things would be difficult, life threatening even but whatever happened it would be her choice, her destiny. She was on a journey, on an adventure and it didn’t matter where she ended up, who she came across or what sights she saw, she would experience them all with her beaming travels buddy right beside her.
As the morning sun rose on small clearing with a babbling brook running through it the air was choked by a smokestack rising high into the air. James sat by the husk that was once his home, twirling a chipped and once thought lost knife with blackened blood on the edge. He found it after the fire that consumed the cabin died down. It was odd how nostalgic he felt over the tool perhaps because it was a piece of both his pupils and a memento from their first meeting. He tossed the blade into the charred remains of his home, he couldn’t leave even a single scrap of evidence he or anyone had lived here. A part of him would miss this place, the memories he shared with his niece and those from Samantha’s brief stay. The days he spent training both, watching as they developed new skills and talents. Watching as they formed a connection they themselves didn’t quite realise was being forged. They were gone now, and he needed to erase all traces they were ever here starting with setting fire to the cabin. He guessed correctly his niece would be angling to leave now that she had her second aspect and would just need the right opportunity. Rather than delay the inevitable, he chose to force fates hand and vacated their home giving his niece the perfect opportunity. He was wracked with worry for Valerie, but she was nearly an adult and he couldn’t contain her any longer.
Observing from a distance, James watched Valerie leave in the middle of the night with Samantha chasing behind. Come the next morning when neither returned, he finally left his hiding spot and entered the cabin again. They left behind so many things that would only be unnecessary weight on their journey, yet the sight brought about a feeling of melancholy within James. Even now he still fell it, the sadness of letting go of accepting his role as a guardian was over.
Rising out of his stupor, James too gave one last glance at the grounds he had called home with his niece for so many years. He then turned his gaze to the sky and sun overhead, he wondered if his brother and Valerie’s mother would be proud of their daughter or curse James for not protecting her till his dying breath. He would have to ask them when his time came. That would have to wait, right now however he had work to do. His niece was on a new journey with skills and a trusty companion to help her along the way. James meanwhile would set in motion events that should have begun a long time ago. Samantha marked the start of fates intervention, but he would not let his niece be beholden to the whims of gods whenever they please. He gave his all to train her and provide the tools to take control of her life, now he had take her freedom away. When all was said and done, James only hoped his niece would forgive him and understand he did his duty and would forever more.