"Everyone," Miwah whispered to the other two without taking her eyes off the cat getting ready to pounce. "Get your weapons ready."

"That's not the same one, is it?" Alson asked as he slowly withdrew his sword from sheathe.

"No," Tamma whispered back. "Look at the leg. Still intact." She drew her bow and kept the arrow pointed low. The willow lion slowly crawled across the branch, keeping it's bright and wide yellow eyes focused on the three. It opened its mouth wide and let out a gargled roar. Alson stepped back but kept his sword raised from the abrupt growl. “Willow lions tend to travel in groups.”

"This one must be infected too," Miwah said quietly.

"Looks like we had a bit too much luck. We managed to get the first sample quickly. Looks like we’ve got a chance to get one more," Tamma said as she pointed her arrow upwards, directly at the angered animal perched on the branch.

"We will be getting far more than just one more," Miwah replied. She angled her body to the side, her sword held tightly by her two hands as she took the right flank. Two more willow lions crawled closer, their burning eyes illuminating the shadows cast by the trees.

The willow lion on the branch attacked first, jumping forward towards Tamma. It stretched its claws out forward while keeping its jaws wide open. The hunter let her arrow go, sending the projectile soaring into the attacking animal's mouth. The animal dropped to the ground, turning limp the moment it landed. Its crazed eyes remained open as it lay sideways with twitching legs as an arrow jutted out of its agape mouth. Tamma withdrew another from her quiver and quickly turned her body towards the other two.

Miwah and Alson kept their swords up in a defensive position. The other two willow lions slowly circled them, making loud growls as their stares remained constant. "How comfortable do you feel using that sword, Miwah?" Tamma asked as she stepped to the seamstress' side with her arrow aimed.

"I have never used one before. But it should be easy, correct?"

"Her form is off," Alson commented. The willow lion closest to him raised one claw and slashed at the air, prompting the guard to react by angling his sword towards his body. "She'll be able to cut through a stationary foe but if she keeps slashing like the way she has been, she'll only injure these animals and make them angrier."

"You know how to handle a sword?" Miwah shot back, not taking her eyes off the animal in front of her.

"I am a member of the Farrowport Guard. You think they’d just let me have my job without knowing how to use my weapon? If there’s one thing I know, it’s how to follow through with a proper slash. We're taught to deliver killing blows." Alson stepped forward, and using the leverage of his front leg, brought his weapon down at an angle. The wild animal he aimed for jumped back and let out a long and sinister hiss. The guard returned the weapon to an elevated position and kept his eyes on the feline.

"I'll help you out Miwah. Once I hit it, you go in to finish it off if I can't kill it in one shot."

"Understood," Miwah said with a nod.

Tamma released her arrow, piercing the willow cat on its left. The impact from the arrow knocked it on its side, pushing it to the ground. It let out a howl and kicked its legs around, prompting Miwah to follow through with the plan. As she closed in the distance, the other animal pounced. Both claws extended as the cat flew in Miwah's direction.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

Both women watched in fear for the brief moment that the willow lion was airborne. Miwah froze, her sword in front of her as she watched the crazed animal come at her with burning eyes of rage. But before the animal could pounce on Miwah, Alson's blade intercepted its trajectory, cutting the animal in the back with a downwards swing. The metal of the sword made a slashing sound as it slashed through the flesh, sending blood across the dirt and making a small puddle of dark crimson mud.

With the animal now down, Alson took the tip of his weapon and plunged it into its neck. All movement ceased save for the blood that leaked out of the dead animal's wounds. Not wasting any time in looking at his slain foe, Alson sprinted to the other willow lion with an arrow sticking out of its side. It scurried to its legs as best it could and began gnawing at the air while leering at the guard. Froth and saliva flung from its tongue as it continued to bite at the air all while limping closer to Alson. Another swift slash to the lion's head put an end to it.

Tamma relaxed her grip, letting the string to her bow ease but kept it wedged inside the notch of the arrow. She looked down, shifting her eyes between the two dead willow lions and then looked at Alson. "Good job," she said while gathering her breath.

"Thanks. If there was one thing I was good at during training, it was my technique with a sword."

The hunter nudged Miwah in the elbow. "See? No need to be so hard on him. Told you Alson would pull through!"

The seamstress lowered her weapon along with her eyes while angling her body towards the guard. "Thank you, Alson. For saving me."

Alson smiled. He put his sword back inside his sheathe and scratched the back of his head. "I'm just doing my job. Defending the good people of Farrowport."

"We can discuss this later." Tamma began heading back towards the section of the forest that led back into Farrowport. "Let's leave before any more of those baby maggots decide to start crawling out!"

Miwah and Alson followed. Their pace picked up, turning into something just short of a sprint. Tamma stayed ahead, occasionally looking behind her to make sure that the others weren't too far behind. Miwah managed to keep at a steady pace but Alson lagged behind, his movement becoming hindered by exhaustion. "You doing all right back there, Alson?" Tamma called out as she stopped mid-step.

"I'm... I'm doing fine. It's just that all this armor... isn't meant for mobility." He came to a halt, bending over and placing his hands over his knees as she panted.

"Just a bit further, Alson! I know you can make it!" Tamma shouted.

The guard didn't stand up. His breathing became deeper followed by a bit of coughing. "Just need another moment to gather my breath." The other stopped their movement to look at the guard. Miwah squinted in his direction and pointed behind him.

"Alson! Behind you!" the seamstress called out. Still propped against a tree, the guard looked behind to be greeted by a swarm of yellow eyes gazing back at him through the foliage. A willow lion leapt out from its cover behind bushes, only to be swatted out of the air by a horizontal swing from the guard.

"It's the rest of the willow lion pack! The entire family must have been infected!" Tamma said as she ran to Alson's side. She fired an arrow into the distance, striking one of the cats in the head, making it close its eyes as life left its body.

Alson used the tree he leaned on as leverage by pushing against it. He left with as much as of a sprint as his body could muster. Miwah and Tamma stayed in the rear, both with their weapons as they remained focused on the oncoming swarm of feral creatures.

"Take off your armor!" Tamma called out as loud as she let another arrow soar into a crazed willow lion. "Miwah and I will cover you!"

The guard slipped his tunic off first and threw it to the side. He then squirmed his way out of the chainmail and let it plop to the ground with a loud metallic clank. Dressed in nothing but a tunic and trousers, he tugged on Miwah's arm. "I can run now!" He shouted. Both Miwah and Tamma turned around, letting the hunter lead. Their speed picked up as the willow lions took pursuit, some climbing up trees to get a better vantage point while other darted across the ground.

Miwah slashed at one, not dealing a lethal strike but enough to stop it from chasing. Tamma launched another arrow behind her, narrowly missing a treebound cat. "Just focus on getting out of here!" The hunter bellowed, her voice almost being drowned out by the growls of the pursuing cats.

"What are we going to do when we get out of the forest, Tamma?" Miwah said as she faced forward, lowering her weapon as she ducked under low-hanging branches and over large roots. "Will the willow lions pursue us into town?"

"I hope not. Let's hope their instincts kick in and they turn around once they leave the edge of the forest. If not, we’ll just have to make enough distance to lose them!"