The shade of the trees caused an immediate darkness that seemed to swallow all who entered. The sounds of life filled the air around Theodor as he took in his surroundings. Dotted rays of light illuminated the forest just enough to see only thirty feet ahead. What little foliage the sparse light allowed to grow clung to the trees, or grouped around them, sharing the nutrients they gathered. Roots from the trees crossed the ground in a network that made it difficult to keep a steady footing.
With careful light steps, Theodor kept a moderate pace through the forest as he headed towards his traps. Theodor couldn’t help but feel at home in this forest. He had spent little more than five months learning from his father before realizing how comfortable the forest was. The feeling of bark in his hands as he held trees to step over roots felt more natural than the paved streets and the crisp misty air more comforting than the protection the town provided.
The rune he had cast caused most creatures to ignore his presence but Theodor couldn’t escape the feeling of eyes being on his back. Glancing around, only the normal wildlife was present and none paid him any attention. After a few more steps, he dashed forward and ducked behind a tree. Crouched, he waited and listened. Despite the feeling of comfort the forest gave him, he knew he still had to be careful of the creatures there.
After what felt, to him, like an eternity he still hadn't heard anything especially strange. He shook his head as he stood and began to walk again. I’m too jumpy today, he thought. Ignoring the feeling, but not forgetting it, he continued to his traps.
As Theodor reached the clearing that had his first snare trap, the smell of blood filled the air. The smell was pungent; whatever it was was fresh. Blood and fur coated the forest floor with a mangled rabbit carcass near the trap. What had remained in the snare trap was part of the hind leg of the rabbit that looked as though it had been ripped off, yet no meat had been removed from the leg. As he looked around, Theodor noticed markings on the ground. Deep claw marks circled his trap, a few splattered with blood. The rabbit couldn’t have dodged, he thought, so how did it last so long?
A feeling of unease settled over as Theodor surveyed his surroundings more attentively than before. He grew anxious as he noticed a set of prints that lead into the clearing. Almost unnoticeable, the prints were too shallow to be from any creature in this part of the forest. Foliage in the path of this creature was hardly affected. The paw size was large, but the tracks looked almost as if the beast was lighter than it should be. While there were predators in the forest, none should have been this nimble, he thought .
The shallow prints continued into the clearing before being replaced by the deeper claw marks that had circled the trap. Then, leading away from the trap were the shallow prints again. Looking at the direction the prints went, Theodor instantly knew he needed to be careful. They were in almost the same direction as his other trap. Concern quickly mounted and he quickly took the leg out of the trap to dismantle it. Throwing the leg into the dense forest, he packed the trap in his bag and quickly headed to the next location.
Soon, the feeling of being watched once again overcame Theodor. The feeling was different this time.The first watcher had no malice, that much he could tell. Now, a feeling of malice was thick with this gaze. Without a second thought, he activated his power and spun to where he felt the glare. With a powerful flick of his wrist, he launched three daggers faster than most people would be able to throw. A dull thud resounded in the air. Hitting nothing, a thick tree had become his target. The daggers stuck into the tree just past the outside edge of where he could see. He prepared another dagger in his hand before lunging where they had struck, sure that he had barely missed whatever was watching him.
Theodor flailed the dagger in front of him as he landed, striking the air in a flurry. Only Theodor’s confidence was struck by this desperate assault. With the feeling of the glare gone, and his surroundings clear, Theodor felt his face become warm with embarrassment. He grabbed his daggers from the tree and took them into himself. With a heavy step, Theodor set off towards his next trap.
Despite the feeling of eyes not returning, Theodor readied his bow as he came upon his next trap. The sound of a nearby waterfall smothered the other sounds in the area, making it difficult to make sense of what he heard. Theodor crouched low as he approached the trap, careful to avoid any loose branches and sticks in his path. In a clearing ahead of him, he saw his trap.
A rabbit lie unmoving in the clearing ahead, a small rope around its hind leg. By focusing, Theodor could see that the rabbit was still breathing. Having seen the frantic scratches on the ground around it, Theodor couldn’t help but to think it had tired itself out. He moved as close as he could while still being behind cover. Hidden behind a large plant, he watched the rabbit. The rabbit would occasionally move, trying to escape the trap in vain. The small rope secured around its ankle stopped it from making it too far before the sapling it was tied to drug it back with a snap. It would rest and try again every so often, determined to live. Unmoving, he watched this go on for quite some time.
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Looking around the area, Theodor thought it’s as clear as it’s going to be. He made his way to the trap, his pace slower than a snail’s as he still checked his surroundings. As he reached the rabbit, it was too slow to react to him. It was resting, saving energy for the next failed escape attempt, when Theodor grabbed it. In one fluid motion, he held the rabbit down just behind its neck and jerked its head back until he heard a snap. The rabbit went limp in his hands, not even having time to let out a cry. He picked it up by the ears and went to place it in his bag. Startled by a rustling in the bushes next to him, Theodor drew his bow while spinning to meet the source of the sound.
Theodor’s heart almost stopped. A few heads shorter, a Leezh stared him directly in the eye. With his focus on the rabbit and his surroundings, he hadn’t noticed that his runes effect had worn off. His presence was no longer obscured from detection.
Without focusing, Theodor almost couldn’t see the shape of the beast. As it prowled towards him, its body melded in and out of the mist, obscuring its full size. Its deep Gray eyes didn’t leave his for a moment, analyzing him. The Leezh broke the straight line it was making and began to circle Theodr. It slowly stalked around him, its long tail flicking and limbs tense with anticipation.
Theodor couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Leezhs rarely leave the densest parts of the forest and one had never been seen this far out. Unsure of what to do, he stood there with his bow drawn and aimed at the beast. He didn’t dare look away or remove the only thing between them. When learning about the animals in the forest, there were a few his father had mentioned as being too dangerous to take on. When describing the Leezh, his father had lightheartedly said “if you see it, that means it’s probably too late”.
Above him, a bird let out a shrill caw. With a jolt, he loosened his fingers on the sting of his bow and let loose the arrow he had drawn. It shot directly at the Leezh. The Leezh sprung forward, narrowly avoiding the arrow. Before Theodr could notch another arrow, the Leezh landed and turned sharply to lunge at him. Thinking quickly, he stabbed his bow into the ground between them and angled it towards the airborne Leezh. The Leezh rotated slightly to avoid hitting the tip of the bow and swiped with his claws at Theodor. With the sound of paper tearing, the Leezh gouged out most of Theodor’s left upper arm and ripped his sleeve. His arm hung limp at his side as he let out a scream of pain and fell to his knees.
Not giving him a moment, the Leezh pounced again. His arm throbbed, sending a jolt of pain throughout his body as he tried to dodge. Theodor tried to somersault to the side but he was unable to fully evade. The Leezh flayed the upper part of his right ribs with its claws. The wound didn’t reach bone, but they had left their mark. With blood running out of both wounds, Theodor got to his feet as quickly as he could and turned towards the predator. It stood where it had landed, not preparing to attack again. A smile almost forming, it circled him again. Theodor stood stunned as a sick realization hit him. It’s playing with me.
The two stared at each other for minutes. One didn’t dare make a move, the other wanted to enjoy this longer. Trying to calm down, Theodor escaped into his thoughts while watching the Leezh. Okay, he thought, its playing with me. I can work with that. I just need to use a potion for my arm and ribs and I can figure it out from there. Slowly, Theodor reached towards his bag that was miraculously still on him. Without seeing what bottle he was grabbing, Theodor activated his power and took in all of the bottles that he could touch. Once they were all absorbed, he moved his hurt arm in front of him as far as he could. He tried not to look at the missing section of his muscle as he looked at his forearm. Thankfully, the Leezh was amused by him taking away his attention and held off attacking.
Using his power, he moved the bottles to his forearm. His missing bicep flared as though a hot knife was slowly cutting it off again. He bit his lips until he bled, trying to focus on what he was doing through the pain. He had tears forming in his eyes. “Fuck”, he whispered as he tried to see the bottles on his arm through the tears. Moving it to his able hand, he grasped the red bottle as it emerged. With a painful bite, Theodor uncorked the bottle with his teeth, holding back his crying. With the cork out, he slowly raised it to his hurt arm and poured it over the wound. Once drenched, his remaining muscles twisted and grew to reform what had been gouged out before being covered by a new layer of skin. The Leezh looked astonished before lowering itself, ready to attack.
Before it could pounce again, Theodor used his power to launch the bottle. The Leezh dodged to the side as he dove behind a tree out of its sight. Activating his saved rune instantly, Theodor hid his presence and scrambled to a further tree before ducking. He waited a few seconds before ejecting another red bottle and using it on his ribs. With his wounds healed, he grasped two of his daggers from within himself and took a deep breath. Before he could focus himself, a tail came around the tree and wrapped around his ankle.
Theodor was drug from behind the tree by the tail. Upside down, and five feet in the air he was held by the Leezhs tail in front of it. Having no other choice, Theodor lashed out with his daggers in a last ditch effort. Not having seen the new daggers, the Leezh was slow to react to the flurry. One of his daggers managed to stab the Leezh in the eye, causing it to reel back and drop Theodor. He tried to brace himself for the drop by extending his arms in front of his head but was too frantic to notice the large jutting root that took him by surprise. With a thud, his head hit the root and broke his fall. Theodor flopped to the ground like a giant panda, dazed and seeing triple of everything.
The Leezh took only a few seconds to adjust to the one eye and targeted Theodor, a burning hatred showing in its twisted face. It pounced with all of its might and the barely conscious Theodor. Unable to form words, he could only watch as the Leezh came closer.
Appearing from seemingly nowhere, a large greatsword sliced the Leezh in two mid-leap. Blood splattered the area, covering Theodors face. Without moving, he lay there for a few seconds before beginning to sob. A swarm of emotions overtook him. The fear of the Leezh and death mixed with the joy of it being dead and him being alive made him unable to control his emotions. Amid his sobs, Theodor heard a booming laughter.
The laughter and the warmth of the blood brought him back to his senses and he tried to stop crying. He wiped his eyes with his hands and tried to look at who the sword, and laughter, belonged to.
Looking up, a familiar scarred face looked down at him with a mocking grin. Behind him, a man with deep red hair stood. With his hand over his eyes, he looked annoyed as he shook his head. Before Theodor could say anything, David paused his laugh and said, “Man, it was sad watching you fight.”