Valerie roared and tore her knife from a monster’s neck rending flesh and bone in the process. As the beast slumped over dead, she toppled onto her knees while gasping for air, she had never been so tired in her life. Her arms were coated in numerous wounds, the Duvolf armour finally giving way and turned to shreds. A deep hastily bandaged gash leaked blood from her side turning the makeshift dressings a worrying shade of red. Her head rung from where a chunk of stone had struck her, tossed by some monster she couldn’t picture anymore. She couldn’t grip her knife with any modicum of strength, and it was only prevented from clattering to the ground thanks to her fingers clenched tight after fighting some lightning powered beast. Her hair was singed, one eye black and swollen, her left arm secured in a shoddy tourniquet. In summary she was battered, beaten, tired, on the verge of tears from the pain and worst of all coated head to toe in disgusting blood and monster bits.
“This is fantastic…”
She heaved out between desperate breaths. Fighting on a razors edge for five hours straight without a moment’s breath was exactly what she needed to feel challenged. Rising unsteadily back to her feet, Valerie doubled over on the verge of hurling, but a smile still adorned her red coated face. Despite all the pain, she felt alive, more alive than she had been in ages. City life wasn’t for the young huntress, the comfort of walls and presence of safety simply wasn’t what Valerie wanted. Out here, in the thick of it among the beasts and monsters was where she belonged. Travelling with Samantha all she had wanted to do was find civilization, interact with other people and find herself. Having seen her fair share, she realized it wasn’t for her; she couldn’t be bothered with the backstabbing behind closed doors, cut throat politics that affected even the guild and all the people, there was just too many of them. She liked a few and was glad to have met them but they didn’t get it, the thrill, the rush, the ecstatic feeling she got being on a hunt, no target in mind just everything that wanted her dead skewered at the end of her blade. Joanne might understand but she quit to be a business owner, Valerie on the other hand couldn’t see herself stopping, settling down or ever giving up the hunt.
Shakily rising back to her full height, she swiped the mess that was her hair out of her eyes and looked at the fresh monster corpse, her expression twisting into one of utter repugnance. It was weak, she thought, its blood would be just as weak. Her aspect had told her what the name of this thing was, but she couldn’t for the life of her remember, not due to any concussion but because it simply wasn’t worth remembering. Stepping atop the dead mound of trash she scanned the horizon for her next kill. They were so gung-ho to attack her not long ago and now, drenched in their brethren’s innards, they cowered, hiding just out of sight or running for the hills.
“Now that just won’t do.”
Can’t have the morsels scattering before Valerie could get a taste. She picked a random direction and started walking, her boots leaving a bloody trail behind her.
After trekking for some time, she found a small babbling brook with bright clear water that was quickly turned red when she dipped her hand in. Cupping a small handful, she plashed the refreshing river water against her face feeling a cool sensation spread through her body as the drying blood slowly trickled off. Eyes shut, she splashed herself several more times until enough of the grime had been washed away although the stench remained, but she could deal with that later. Rubbing the moisture from her eyes she opened them and froze at the sight before her. On the other side of the small stream, not even three feet away was an honest to goodness tiger. Her aspect did not flair to life confirming it wasn’t a monster, but it was still an oddity. She didn’t know a lot about animal habitats but did read somewhere that, similar to that wretched monkey, tigers were indigenous to the Maroch region. So then why was one here staring straight at the huntress hundreds of miles from home? Maybe it migrated, she thought, or perhaps the forest spawned it? That was impossible though the Merryland Forest only spewed out monsters and this was no monster. Although you would be forgiven for thinking it was given the iridescent smoke that poured out of its eyes and mouth. The black stripes along its fur coat were pearlescent and gave a sheen that was almost reflective just like the teeth that were bared right at Valerie. While she wasn’t sure, the huntress was starting to suspect this particular feline was suffering from a curse, however the exact effects of the dark magic were unclear at the moment. One thing was for certain though, it was angry, at what who could say, and she was the perfect chew toy to vent that frustration.
The cursed cat and the huntress continued to stare at one another, the former letting out a low growl and poised to strike while the latter knelt unmoving. Valerie would have liked a second to get in position for their tussle but wasn’t given the chance before the tiger leapt forward. Claws extended and maw wide, it made to rend the seemingly helpless huntress limb from limb in a single strike. Unfortunately for this feline, Valrie felt on top of her game and was hopped up on adrenaline like never before. Throwing herself to the side, she narrowly dodged a swipe to her head before rolling into a crouch, her knife poised at the ready for a follow-up. Repositioning itself, the tiger stalked around Valerie its gaze never leaving her while the rising smoke only intensified. In the blink of an eye the tiger struck again, charging forth while raising itself up in an attempt to slash down with its razor-sharp claws. Valerie anticipated the move having encountered several feline-esque monsters as well as watching how the alley cats behind the library caught their prey. Tucking herself forward, she rolled under the strike and swept at the big cat cutting a tendon in its back right leg. The tiger roared in pain and tried to swipe at Valerie again, but she was already gone, out of its range and snickering to herself. This wasn’t much of a challenge, she thought, with a single strike she’d already debilitated the dumb kitten’s movements and could easily-
“What the?”
She spat out watching as the bleeding cut in the Tigers leg rapidly closed and sealed itself shut like it never existed in the first place. It would seem the curse affecting this pussycat made it regenerate at an incredible pace. The revelation briefly brought Valerie out of her adrenaline addled state to assess the situation properly. In summary, things were not good, she was in a bad state and if this creature could continuously heal itself then their fight could turn into death by a thousand cuts or more likely just death on Valerie’s part. She wasn’t even sure it had an upper limit to its healing ability, wondering if it could sprout a new leg if she cut it off entirely. Despite the dire situation, the corners of her mouth slowly tugged upwards as her own wide toothy smile appeared. Finally, she encountered a real challenge in this boring set of woods.
Rolling her aching shoulders, she pointed her knife at the deranged animal, an invitation to try and take a bite. Not waiting for a second invite, the tiger suddenly leapt forth once again and received a vicious punch to the side of its head as a result. Valerie side stepped out of the way of the big cat, groaning in pain as her fist collided with furred flesh. Her left arm was still wrapped in a tourniquet and was in no shape to be used for any kind of offense, despite this she still struck the jumping kitty veering it off course and straight into a tree trunk. The tree shook violently, dropping a deluge of acorns onto the ground several of which struck the tiger to no real damage but aggravating it even further. Disorientated, the big cat tried to turn around and face Valerie but instead found the huntress climbing atop its back while plunging her knife repeatedly into its hide. Roaring in pain, the tiger shook and rammed itself against anything and everything to no avail, the cackling huntress would not let go as her knife stabbed up and down the cat’s flesh. Rolling onto its back finally forced her off and freed the punctured animal from become a pin cushion. Valerie did some fancy footwork as she danced around the suffering creature whiling jeering at its pathetic state.
“Is that it? Come on! I wanted a real challenge but your all meow and no BITE!”
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Like a call to action, the Tiger heeded Valerie’s words and spun around faster than any previous movements to clamp its jaws onto her leg. The huntress let out a guttural scream from the sudden painful attack. She pounded on the beast’s face with her left hand while stabbing its neck with the right, neither seemed to work and the big cats grip tightened sending her into more bouts of pain. It finally let go when Valerie jabbed her thumb into the tigers smoking eye however she lost her grip on her knife which stuck halfway into the beast’s neck. A torrent of blood ran down her injured leg and she found herself unable to properly move or stand on it. The tiger clawed at the foreign object in its side eventually ripping the knife free which clattered uselessly to the ground. The huntress stared the pussycat down while applying pressure to her agonizing leg injury. A brief stalemate formed as the cursed monster slowly regenerated its missing eye and closed the wounds on its back while Valerie barely stayed standing while trying to search for a way to reach her weapon.
Chancing a look around she found the river, still babbling away, was now behind her. She edged her way closer to the water her leg screaming in protestation all the way. The tiger, now fully healed, stalked over to the huntress victory plain on its whiskered face. Sloshing into the river, Valerie stopped and waited for the tiger to approach. Sauntering closer, the large feline lowered its body ready for another pounce that would end it all. Pushing off, it sailed through the air claws extended and maw open just as it did at the beginning of the bout. When the feline was a foot away Valerie kicked up with her good leg, the sudden weight on her injured one nearly causing her to crumple into a pile. Water splashed against the tiger who didn’t shift in trajectory but was left momentarily blinded. It landed with a thud on the other side of the stream, finding no injured huntress lying beneath it. Rubbing at its moisture filled eyes the tiger opened them to find a knife hurtling towards the nape of its neck. Unable to dodge or bat the projectile away in time, the knife struck home sinking deep into the beast’s thick flesh barely scratching bone in the process. The tiger tried to reach up and remove the painful injection but couldn’t get a paw high enough. While the cat was distracted, Valerie lowered herself and charged forward, her shoulder impacting the tiger’s stomach. She wrapped her arm around the animal’s side and lifted with all her might, the tourniquet on her left snapping from the pressure. She hoisted the monster high as it tried to swipe at her. With a mighty roar she tossed the beast against a tree causing the embedded knife to sink deeper and shatter bone. Collapsing into the water, Valerie erupted in pained sobs as the accumulated damage finally pushed through her adrenaline fuelled haze and the world went dark.
After some time she woke up not knowing how long she had been out of it and felt cool running water flowing under her head. Rising onto her elbows, she winced from aches all over, the stress from her wounds having been the cause for her black out. Searching the area, she found the tiger lying next to the same tree it struck earlier. It didn’t move but Valerie could still see the steam flowing from its eyes as well as its stomach rise and fall with every breath. Tears ran down her cheeks as she laughed painfully.
“That’s what you get! All you dirty, filthy monster deserve is death! You should all… all… wait…”
The victorious laughter petered out while her crying remained unchanged and heavy. This thing wasn’t a monster, she finally remembered, it was just an animal, a cursed animal, but an animal all the same. She had never fought so hard in her life, and it was against a garden variety tiger, something that she could have hunted for sport had they both been in their right minds. Here and now however, neither was in peak condition. The tiger was afflicted with a curse that caused it to strike out in anger at everything. And Valerie? She was no better than an adrenaline junkie chasing the next high or dangerous challenge just to feel alive. She was unbelievably sore in every nook and cranny while blood ran freely from her punctured leg. How could she have let herself get so banged up? How could she have just ignored the clear signs she was not okay and just kept going? Her sobs turned bitter and frustrated as her one good fist smacked against the water. What was she doing out here? She and Samantha were just supposed to be gathering blood for her class.
“Oh, oh no Samantha…”
She was alone, Valerie selfishly left her all alone in a den of monsters. Sure, her aura would keep some away but there was always a dumb or brave one that would try their luck. Her friend couldn’t kill them, she knew that! All Samantha had was a dingy little dagger they used to cut open dead or dying monsters. Valerie tried to rise and found her legs wouldn’t listen.
“Samantha!”
She wailed, her pained cries ringing out among the trees. She forced herself onto her stomach and began to drag herself forward while ignoring her own agony.
“Samantha! Please, please be okay.”
She shouted and yelled out, not caring if any monster heard her, if they appeared she would- She shook off the thought, she was in no condition to fight, that was the adrenaline talking or so she tried to kid herself. Crawling helplessly, Valerie felt the world spinning beneath her and the waning light from the sun dizzying her mind. She desperately fought against her mind shutting down to no avail. She made it barely ten feet from the stream before collapsing again, choking out a last call to her friend as she watched everything go black once again.
The world swished and swayed beneath the huntress like she was atop the mast of a boat in a hurricane. The difference was, instead of howling winds, a consistent stream of expletives and grunts of effort bombarded the half dead huntress. Her mind teetered on the edge of sleep once more until she felt the indescribable and instinctual need to run away with all her might cut through the haze. Her eyes shot open, and she found herself draped in a ragged barely long enough to qualify cloak while a smaller than average girl hefted her down a dirt road. Valerie tried to speak but found she lost her voice and could only croak out an indecipherable series of garbles. Samantha took notice to the sounds and responded in kind for some reason. The mysterious language exchange only lasted so long until Valerie formed a cohesive one word sentence.
“How…?”
Samantha turned her head slightly listening to the words of her friend before piping up.
“I’m doing alright, thanks. Don’t think you are though. Found you screaming in your sleep a ways away from camp. Oh shoot sorry, had to leave the blood behind and I couldn’t find your knife. You need to lose some pounds; I can’t carry the Trapper and Hunt team forever.”
Valerie couldn’t care less about the blood or the jab at her weight, thankful just that her one true friend was okay. She hadn’t thought about it at the time but being away from Samantha and her eery aura made the huntress feel off, like leaving the house without your keys something just wasn’t right. Surrounded by the terrifyingly pervasive atmosphere was more comforting than it really should have been and she clung on tight to the shadow user. The two fell into an easy silence, well Valerie was quiet and contemplative while Samantha continued to strain under the weight of her much larger and heavier companion her knees nearly buckling from the weight on her back. With time to reflect on herself, Valerie came to a painful realization.
“I… have a problem.”
She strained to say. It was the truth, since leaving her uncle’s watchful gaze she had been overindulging in all the things she could never do more specifically monster hunting. She hated them with a passion but the zeal and vigour she showcased was beyond normal disdain and was borderline mania to wipe them out. How many times would the easier solution have been to simply not pursue? It worked out for them with the monkey and its handler leading them to Capital City, but she deliberately antagonized a passive creature when they could have simply waited. She stole that Rolloch kill from another adventurer just because she could and then antagonized the man for no reason risking their guild memberships in the process. And there was also all the monster hunting contracts they took, did Samantha even want to get dragged on any?
“I’m sorry.”
Valerie mumbled out the water works beginning once again. She had to admit to herself she was the problem not because of some weakness or need to improve, she just liked the feeling of an ever-increasing challenge. She also needed to accept she was incredibly jealous of her friend. People liked Samantha or saw her as a wonder case that had to be studied. Add to that she was slowly getting stronger by virtue of doing absolutely nothing and it was no surprise Valerie sought every chance she could to try improving even at the cost of her health. They took on monster after monster not for the rewards or the thrill of the journey but so Valerie could prove she was better than her friend but no matter what Samantha would just keep surpassing her. She unconsciously ignored her own gradual improvements, only capable of seeing the perceived gap between her and Samantha. These thoughts ravaged the teenage girls mind no matter if they were true or rooted in her own feelings of inadequacy.
“S’okay.”
Samantha replied cool as a cucumber. She then frowned and wondered aloud.
“Wait, what are you apologizing for?”
Samantha didn’t see any signs of contention in their friendship and honestly enjoyed spending all her time with Valerie. Even if she was bored, she could be bored with a friend and that was good enough for her. She knew she could be a tad foolhardy and didn’t make the brightest of decisions but so long as the two were together they would manage. She had absolute faith in that. Samantha did not get an answer as the emotional girl silently cried burying her face into the straining pack mules golden locks. The shadow user had no clue what was going on and decided to ask Granny when they got back, she knew all kinds of things about tough emotions.
And so, Samantha, with Valerie upon her back, walked the long road back to Capital City the silence occasionally broken up by the smaller human shaped carriage groaning with effort and nearly tumbling on several occasions. The Merryland Forest, famous for its high mortality rate, had not claimed either of their lives, but it had nearly broken one of them.