Months had passed since his first night. Winter had fallen to the warming of spring. There hadn’t been any snowfall during the few weeks he had experienced with the coldest season, but that did little to convince him. The Scar was a massive place and likely had multiple different microclimates. He would need to experience the season at its worst before he made his final call, and thankfully that was a long ways away.
Despite the sheer amount of time that had elapsed, he had made no headway in uncovering the mysterious entity he now referred to as his ‘guardian angel.’ While their initial meeting had shocked him and left his ability to sleep in ruin for weeks, he had since slowly grown accustomed to its looming presence. He had never woken up to a wound or sign of potential harm to himself. Sometimes his knife would simply be located in the corpse of some creature near his resting position, like a twisted bowtie on a gift. And other times there were just slight adjustments to his dwelling. So long as that warped, and albeit very 1 sided, symbiosis remained intact he felt comfortable in not rocking the metaphorical boat. He still had more pressing issues to deal with.
He had met Grian’s boss Tarbh on multiple occasions at this point. Not just the leader either. He had run into multiple people claiming to be from that group, though remembering their names proved far harder than the primary duo. None seemed or even acted hostile towards him, and yet he still felt compelled to remain far from the camp. He was content with their current relationship, or at least that’s what he believed his gut was telling him.
Kieren dove into the crystal clear water and began to look around. The morning had left a
beautiful dew on the grass that gave way to a wonderful midday temperature as the sun continued to climb. Not too hot, not too cold, and accompanied by a faint yet cooling breeze. His eyes darted around the rocky riverbed he had been using as a fishing spot for the past few weeks, located a ways downstream from the lake he had fallen into. Less than ideal for remaining hidden, but far easier for his initial tenure in the Scar. After a few moments his eyes locked onto a fish. He pulled the knife to his side and studied the animal’s movements. After a few seconds he dove forward and made his strike.
Breaking free from the water, Kieren took in the fresh air before giving out a defeated sigh. Once again he had failed to catch a fish. This had become annoyingly routine for him. Out of all the things his father taught him, fishing was the one he could never figure out. He refused to carve up the fabric he had to make a line for a makeshift fishing pole when he would likely be unable to even use it. He turned around and began to swim towards the shore with an annoyed expression.
“Doesn’t matter if I can’t catch them, I don’t need them.” He told himself under his breath. Between his own hunts and the gifts his guardian angel would leave for him, he was in no shortage of food. If anything he had an abundance despite being in a survival situation. It was thanks to that abundance that he was allowed to foster a bit of a friendship with Tarbh’s group. The group would meetup every so often with him and trade their fish for some of his, or his angels, fresh kills. This gave them a more diverse food selection for less work, and gave him any potential nutrition from the half of the wildlife he frankly couldn’t handle.
Walking onto the rocky shore he made his way over to the rock he had draped most of his
clothes and supplies on or around and grabbed a handful of fabric from the top of the rock. It was no towel, but until he needed that fabric for something, this is what he used them for. His eyes returned to the river. “Guess you win, again.” He accepted his defeat with a mutter. It didn’t take him long to dry off and toss his clothes back on. He was still wearing the same outfit he had from the start, only a little baggier from the methods he was having to take to clean them and the addition of a few minor rips and tears. He returned the shotty bag knife to his bag and tossed it onto his back. Without a fish in hand, he made his way back into the forest.
Grian lifted his arms into the sky with a loud yawn. The sound of chatter and movement outside his tent had ripped him from his slumber. The group was always like this in the morning: loud and noisy. He gave another yawn and lamented his team with a “Damn morning folks…” before getting out of his pelt bed and getting dressed for the day.
Parting the pelt door he moved out and into the center of the camp before giving another long and drawn out stretch. “Oi, sleepy!” Mona shouted from the entrance as she waved her hand. “Perfect timing, mind giving me a hand?”
“Whacha need?” He asked through a fake yawn.
“Today is the exchange day, and I was going to try and send some mushrooms. I was wondering if you could help me out.”
“Y’mean put them with the fish Brea’s working on?”
“Mhm! The meat last time was really good, so I thought he deserved a special thank you.”
Grian wrapped an arm around her and gave her a smile. “I like your thinking! Lavish him in gifts and he’ll come over in no time flat! Good idea, Mona.”
She pushed away with a reluctant sigh. “Geez, it’s not a bribe. It’s a thank you.”
Grian shrugged and took a step towards the forest. “Doesn’t matter! Let’s get those mushrooms before they finish gathering the fish. It’ll be like a race.” Mona gave a happy nod and the two entered the forest to the side of the camp.
“We’re those two off too?” Cerra questioned while watching Grian and Mona’s exit. With a thud she dropped a reel of makeshift rope next to Tarbh and Bria. “They know we have to get these fish before lunch, right?”
“I’m sure they do, Cerra.” Tarbh spoke with a small chuckle while preparing his fishing line. “Grian comes on the walk with me, he’s aware of how long it takes. I’m sure whatever she needs help with is important.”
“You don’t think Grian asked?” Tarbh turned to her with a brow raised and a half smirk. She blinked twice before letting out a small laugh. “Alright, alright. You have a point there.”
“But…” Bria turned to the two with a smirk. “What if she just wanted some alone time with him?”
“Gross.” Cerra gave a look of disgust. “Those two?”
“I’d have to take Cerra’s side on this, Bria.” Tarbh gave her a worried look. “We’re lucky those two even get along.”
“But that’s what makes it better!” Bria balled her hand into a fist. “Isolated from the world before crossing paths. Ice cold hearts that thawed over time. It’s just like a book!” Looking back at the two she was treated with a pair of synchronized and disgusted eye twitches by her teammates. “Stop that! It’s romantic!”
“It’s disgusting.” Cerra retorted.
“Your imagination is as impressive as ever.” Tarbh tossed his line into the water with a nervous laugh. “Let’s focus. We want to make sure we get everything ready in time.” Brea gave a reluctant exhale and a wave of her free hand before turning back to the waters.
“Fine.” She hung on to the end of the word for far longer than necessary.
A few hours later Kieren emerged again further down the river and placed the freshly slain carcasses of two wolves against a rock. The sky had begun to darken by cloud cover despite it only being midday. The wait for the meetings always made him nervous. They had an unquantifiable number of chances to attack him but hadn’t during any chance meeting or one of their more routine ones like this one.
After a few minutes two figures came into view farther down the river. Kieren calmly watched as Tarbh and Grian arrived at their meeting point, the ladder giving a wave. “Still strugglin’ to catch anything?” Grian asked with a lifted smirk.
“Easier to do it this way.” Kieren responded while gesturing to the wolves. “I assume these are fine?” He tried to repress his accent during meetings with others, adopting a more clean tone to hide any hint of his more country upbringing.
Tarbh leaned down to give them a quick rehearsed once over before rising back up. “Fine as always.” He gave a small smile from his looming height. “It’s always interesting to me how you get them so clean with just a knife. How do you do it?”
Kieren rolled his shoulders into a shrug. “Patience and quick execution.” He lied. He avoided giving any of his own kills unless absolutely necessary, instead opting to use the gifts for the exchange. They were far cleaner and would, hopefully, make them believe he’s far better than he actually was. The better he looked the less likely they were to attack him, or at least that’s what he hoped.
“This good with a wolf but can’t catch a fish to save yer life.” Grian chuckled while looking over the wolves. “This isn’t what I had in mind, but at least we’re workin’ together.” He smiled as he stood, motioning Kieren over a few steps. He then lowered his pelt sack and opened it like a blanket. Inside were four freshly caught fish and a few cleaned mushrooms. “Caught ‘em this morning. Whatcha think?”
Kieren ran his fingers across the scales and gave each of them a quick inspection. Even now he had no idea what he was looking for but like with everything he did with them, the air of experience had to be maintained. ”They seem fine. No issues from me.” He paused for a moment as he noticed the mushrooms. “Did you forget to clean the pelt?”
Grian let out a laugh. “You let some humor slip. Careful there pal, I’ll think you’re human.” He gave Kieren a nudge with his elbow. “A girl at the camp wanted to thank you for the meat. Her name’s Mona, a real nice one too. Eats a lot though.”
Kieren turned to Grian with a furrowed brow. “Is she why you need two wolves? I always
thought it was because of…” Kieren’s words trailed as he turned back to look at Tarbh’s looming figure.
“She eats roughly one by herself.” Tarbh responded with a chuckle.
“You don’t say…” Kieren responded with a blink. “Well, I won’t say no to the extra.”
“Then I think we have another fine deal.” He smiled. “Want the pelt this time?”
“Nope.” Kieren responded as he scooped the fish off and in his arms. “I have plenty, plus you guys have a longer walk.” His words were cut short by the sound of the mushrooms hitting the rocky shore below. Kieren quietly looked down at them and blinked, something Grian found amusing enough to offer a quiet snicker.
Grien knelt and started putting the mushrooms into a small pelt pouch. After a quick second he tied it shut with a makeshift rope and tossed it onto the pile of fish in Kieren’s arms. “I know you hate askin’ for help, but it looks like you’re a bit too preoccupied to say no. You can give it back next time we meet if it makes you feel better.”
“Really doesn’t.” Kieren answered with a sigh. “But fine, thank you.”
Tarbh gave a chuckle as he held out his hand for the pelt that Grian happily provided. The ladder whistled and continued a small conversation with Kieren about the recent weather while Tarbh put the two wolves on the pelt before folding it over and securing it with a makeshift rope. After rising back to his feet, he tossed the pelt bag over his shoulder. “We should be going; I don’t want the others to think something happened.”
Grian turned back to Kieren. “Sure you don’t want to come?”
Kieren hesitated but shook his head. “Sure am. I like things how they are.” He wasn’t lying but he also was, in fact, being worn down by Grian. The months had done nothing but slowly convince him more and more of the group's overall good nature. Yet something told him to keep his distance. Skepticism, fear, precaution, he couldn’t figure out what held him back from joining them but, like with his guardian angel, he didn’t feel he needed to challenge the status quo. “Let your friend know I said thanks, if you don’t mind.”
“She’ll be happy to hear that.” Tarbh answered. “Stay safe, Kieren. It smells like a storm is approaching.” The looming man shot a look at the dark clouds edging closer before turning with a smile as he began to make his way back.
Before joining Tarbh, Grian shot a look at Kieren and gave him a wink. “If you ever need
anything, you’re always welcome at the camp. Just follow the river and you’ll make it in no time.” With his parting words Grian made his way back to his partner and the two made their way home.
Once the two were no longer in sight Kieren released a deep exhale. Knowing he was In the clear allowed his mind and body a moment to fully relax. Once he was ready he turned back to the forest, and while trying not to drop any of his haul, the boy made his way into the tree line.
The three had been around the unlit central fire pit since Tarbh and Grian left. It wasn’t that common that both were out at the same time, but when they were, the three would always make time to enjoy a bit of girl time away from the boys. The main topic of these meetings, as of late, had been the odd little alliance their group had with the mysterious boy. Outside of the initial details Grian provided, neither he nor Tarbh spoke much more about him. All they knew was a rough physical description and the unreliable jokes Grian made about how he acted.
“You sent them off with Mushrooms?” Cerra questioned with a furrowed brow.
Mona blinked. “Was that wrong?”
“No, just a strange choice.”
“Was she supposed to send fruit? We don’t really have an orchard nearby.” Bria chimed in with a chuckle.
“But mushrooms? Really? Why not flowers?”
“Oh, flowers would have been a good idea.” Bria pressed her palm against her narrow chin. “Or a nicely worded note asking him to join us.”
“I wouldn’t mind him joining us.”
“Me either.” Mona added. “He seems like a nice guy.”
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“Yeah but what if he’s mean?” Cerra questioned.
“Do you think anyone who took the time to trade that game for fish would be mean? He’s
probably just shy around-“ Bria blinked a bit before a wide grin formed. “He’s nervous around girls.” Her tone was suddenly cold and calculated.
Cerra and Mona blinked before Mona spoke. “I don’t think-“
“Just think about it. He only meets with Tarbh and Grian. Never one of us.” Bria smirked. “We have to get him here, as soon as possible.”
“Nope.” Cerra cut in. “If you’re right, I don’t want him anywhere near you. Meeting a girl like you would only traumatize the poor guy, or anyone for that matter.”
Bria argued back, and Mona watched with a jovial smile. She usually enjoyed these meetings more than anything else, but for once she was looking forward to Tarbh and Grian’s return. Her mind kept tossing around the worry that the Mushrooms might have upset him, or that he would find them revolting or strange. She had been a worrywart since she was little. It was a problem she had gotten much better at controlling, but the thought of potentially scaring off a new friend left her far more worried than she typically was. “Do you think he’ll join us?” She blurted out without thinking, generating a momentary silence. After an embarrassed blink she apologized for the sudden question.
“I hope so.” Cerra smiled. “Having another set of hands can’t hurt, especially if he can hunt. You could always use more food.” Her finger stretched out in the direction of Mona’s stomach. “Lest the beast break out…” She teased with a big grin.
“Hey!” Mona shouted.
“I just hope he’s cute.” Brea added, leaving the other two bathed in a sudden silence. “Oh don’t you both pretend it isn’t on your mind.”
“It really isn’t.” Cerra narrowed her eyes while Brea turned to Mona.
“But it is on someones…” Brea smirked. “You can’t hide it!” Mona shot her face out of view of the two.
“Hide what?” a familiar voice questioned. Brea blinked a few times in quick succession before slowly turning to find Grian and Tarbh standing a few feet away. The former with a raised brow and the ladder holding the tied sick. Cerra hid a playful snicker at Brea’s sudden flushed face. Cerra had noticed the two coming into the camp, and knowing full well Brea wouldn’t be able to hold herself back, opted to not warn her.
With a stutter of embarrassment and a desire to quickly shift the topic, Brea posed a question. “H-how’d it go?”
“Rather well.” Tarbh answered. “No different than the normal meetings.” Mona lowered her head a bit. “The wolves look to be in great shape as always.”
“Grian needs to ask him how he does that.” Cerra teased.
“That’s a lot of work.” He chirped back with a shrug. “It’d be easier to just get him to come over.”
“Any luck with that?” Cerra questioned while motioning the two to come over. Tarbh, as per usual, made his way towards a small makeshift wooden table to begin work preparing the beasts for cooking. Grian took the invitation and almost leaped onto his seat between Mona and Brea.
“Still a no. He’s still committed to being alone.”
Brea rolled her eyes and gave a disappointed sigh. “He needs to hurry up and give up.”
Grian raised a brow and looked at the other two. “Since when was she so gung-ho about this?”
“She wants it for all the wrong reasons.” Cerra answered with a narrow and disappointed glare.
“Regardless of her reason, I do enjoy the enthusiasm.” Tarbh chuckled from a short distance. The group continued to talk while Tarbh prepared the meal. Banter before supper was always a fun time for the five of them. However, Grian noticed something was off. He watched Mona for a bit and quickly caught onto the poor girl’s emotional state. As the fire came alight he leaned over to her.
“He said thanks.” His words hit her like a tsunami of relief. She didn’t make a sound, only allowed a small exhale to leave her lips as her body began to shed the tense rigid form it had taken. Grian gave a smile and looked back to the group to rejoin the banter.
Despite the winds picking up at the coming storm, the group sat around the fire. Tarbh handed out skewered chunks of the prepared wolves and they all worked to cook their pieces. Brea lamented the small peace she was given. Cerra made fun of the four skewered pieces Mona held. Grian reached around and stole one while she wasn’t paying attention, teasing her for a bit before handing it back after it was cooked. They were like a family, chipper and excited for the coming day and the prospect of a future inclusion.
Kieren pushed a bush out of the way. His small camp wasn’t far into the forest, only just deep enough to make seeing or smelling it difficult from the riverbank. He shot a look around the small clearing he had made. In the middle was a small stone circle with some sticks and moss. Behind it were a few sharpened sticks he leaned against a tree for skewers or makeshift hunting spears. He refused to sleep on the ground following his first night, so his bed was located above in the tree line. While sleeping in the trees did little to prevent his guardian angel from meeting him, it did offer a little bit of safety from potential fauna visiting him. But it mostly served to keep his mind at ease.
He could definitely smell the coming storm now and it was only made more obvious by the increase in the wind's strength. “Not much time then.” He sighed as he placed the fish on a pelt he had kept from a deer. “Better get to work.” Pulling the knife free from its hiding place he got to work preparing his gifts. With so much to prepare and so little time, his cuts and gutting was far from perfect. He wasn’t exactly the best at this to begin with, but the added rush only worsened the quality.
After a few minutes he put the fish filets onto his sharpened sticks and went to work to light the fire. He had it roughly down to a science at this point and could easily get a spark off the shoddy pack knife and a rock. While the fire worked to take shape and grow, he took another three sticks and worked to climb the hulking tree. If it was going to rain, he had to cover himself. In the treetop he had made a makeshift bed out of thick tree branches and pelts. He also had carved some holes into the trunk itself. Pushing the sharpened sticks into the holes they formed the skeleton of a roof. After that he put the deer hide over them to create a protected area beneath. The foliage above would catch a good majority of the rain, but this would keep whatever made it through from touching him. While he was working on the roof he noticed the trail of faint smoke from downstream. “Looks like they made it back safe.” He smiled before returning to work.
How much longer he would continue this relationship with them was a constant question he pondered after each of their meetings. Eventually he would need to leave. The easy route to success was, of course, safer. But that hardly seemed like something the Fianna would accept. Regardless of success, he wanted to fight some of the tougher beasts in the journal he kept on his makeshift bed. He wanted to experience the Scar in all its glory, not simply coast to mediocrity. If he was going to do that, he would have to truly venture into the unknown soon. Would he look back on these days with a smile? Would he miss them? These were the questions he pondered while laying down for the night, but not while he still had work to do.
After finishing setting up his shelter, he made his way down the tree and back to the still burning flame. A brief pause followed his eyes freezing at the still resting fish. One was missing. He pulled the filets from the flames and rested them against some rocks before making his way around his campsite in a quick perimeter check. “Guess you came for payment.” He mused during his walk. Every now and then his so-called guardian would take a piece of his food while he wasn’t paying attention. He had no proof it was the same being, but he hoped it was. It was far more comforting believing it was one phantom as opposed to a serial haunting.
Once his perimeter check was done, he bounced back to the warmth of the fire and began to enjoy his cooked prize. The fish was dry, overcooked, and bland. He was also by no means a culinary genius, so it would have to do. It was different from the meat he usually ate and that was really all he needed: variety. “Hope yah liked it.” The country tang of his accent he worked hard to subdue around Grian and the others slipped. Unsurprisingly, the empty air offered no conversation. He gave a moment for a response, and when none came, he simply smiled and returned to his food. “Hope I’m not already going crazy.” He questioned himself.
Clunk.
Kieren’s head shot around like a bolt at the sudden sound. He noticed what looked like a rustled branch and immediately jumped to his feet. He pressed his hand against his concealed knife and moved over slowly. “Finally gonna show me your face?” He asked without so much as an inch of fear. He carefully placed his hand on the branch before flinging it out of the way to reveal nothing but the dark forest behind. With a disappointed click of his tongue he released the branch and turned back to the fire. He couldn’t even take a step before his eyes immediately landed on something peculiar. He blinked and let out a sigh. “Again with the games.” He muttered with a sigh while making his way back to the flame. Sitting down next to the missing speared fish he picked up another and continued his meal.
He was originally terrified of the entity he would later call his guardian angel. The fear of
vulnerability combined with the isolation to form a stew of doubt and paranoia. It wasn’t until a few weeks had passed and various gifts received that his fear was slowly eroded into a jovial partnership. Now even blatant trickery to steal food did little more than earn an eye roll from the young man. “You could just ask if you wanted another, y’know?” He spoke into the darkness. “The company wouldn't hurt.”
About midway through his meal he felt the cold poke of a raindrop. His eyes looked up at the looming dark clouds and he gave a soft smile. “At least falling asleep won’t be an issue.” His eyes momentarily caught a view of what looked like a flock of distant birds. Oddly enough they appeared to fly into the storm. With a shrug and a pat of his thighs he pushed himself up and began quick work at packing away and readying the campsite for the storm before retiring to his already set up treetop bed.
Grian’s eyes flickered open to the calming sound of the downpour. He tried to roll over on his single pelt bed, and then rolled again. This repeated a few times before he reluctantly, and rather annoyingly, gave up with a loud exhale. “Gotta take a leak…” His eyes lingered on the top of his tent. “And at the worst time…” He sat up and watched the entrance of his tent for a few moments while mentally preparing himself. With a tug Grian pulled the shirt he was wearing off and set it next to a change of clothes. He would have taken it all off to keep it dry, but he worried one of the girls might be running into a similar feeling and meet him outside. If the boy was anything, it was considerate.
“Alright.” Grian told himself with a light and jovial slap of his cheeks before parting the tent's entrance and entering the downpour. The rain wasn’t cold, thankfully, just heavy. As such he didn’t feel much of a need to run into the forest. The dark skinned boy took a brisk walk through the darkness, occasionally illuminated by the crackling blast of light from overhead. Between the ambient noise and moderately hard drumming of the rain against his skin, it was a rather enjoyable ordeal.
Once he was comfortable with his distance, Grian pressed his forehead against the tree trunk and began to relieve himself. These moments were his time to decompress. A time where he could drop the smiles and laughs for a brief moment to himself. “I wonder how much longer we’ll stay here for…” His thoughts trailed off. Were they waiting for Kieren or just more numbers? Were they waiting for supplies? He enjoyed the group and the friendships he had made, but he wanted to experience the stories he had heard. A small sigh left his lips. “I’ll give it a bit longer.” Grian told himself with a reformed smile. The wait would be worth it, he knew it.
His way back to the camp was just as peacefully beautiful as his departure. The storm's orchestra of raindrops combines with the howling winds to form a symphony of natural beauty. Once the boy made it back to the riverbank he took a quick look at the water level, and with the help of the overhead light show, he confirmed there wouldn’t be a flooding issue. Following his first inspection, Grian returned to the central camp to give the site proper a good once over. If he was already up and about, he figured he might as well verify the integrity of the camp. All the tents were in good shape and nothing was missing. With a well-earned smile Grian returned to his tent. He parted the doorway and went to kneel down to make it inside.
Crash!
The sound was deafening to him, but to anyone else it would have been silent. The blow sent a shockwave through his entire body before violently ripping the consciousness from him. A single strike to the side of the head had sent Grian to the ground, devoid of consciousness.
Neither the rain nor the lightning could rouse Kieren from his slumber. The redhead was lost to the land beyond under the calming orchestra of rain. Yet a sudden and precise pain ran through his body as a distinctive strike made contact with the center of his forehead. His eyes shot open and the boy's head swiveled around to locate the source of the juvenile strike. The search was cut short as, despite being covered by the drumming of the rain, he heard the sound of branches breaking and vegetation rustling below.
“Grian?” He thought quietly before immediately dismissing the thought. That wouldn’t make sense. It was pitch black out and they were in the midst of a storm. Moreover he never told any of them where he was based. If there was someone below, they must have either stumbled on the camp by accident or were in the final moments before springing a stealthy trap. And despite the logical assumption that would have been to suspect Grian’s team, he refused to entertain the thought. This had to be something or someone else. "But..." He thought to himself as his eyes momentarily caught the rain. "No animal would be out in this." Kieren axed nearly all the possibilities in an instant, confirming to himself at least that it had to be people.
He verified his knives were still with him before quietly grabbing the bag he had left next to him. Kieren’s movements had to be quiet above all else. He still had no idea what was below him, but he knew he didn’t want to be discovered by it. His gut was telling him to move, and to move quickly.
The movements from his treetop bed were precise and rehearsed. Expecting a situation like this at some point he had taken the opportunity over multiple nights over the past few months to figure out optimal routes to escape. Once they were located he made sure to maintain the semi precise trimming of the foliage and branches to reduce sound in the event he needed them. Kieren made his way through the twisting floral labyrinth before dropping down to a branch, and then another, before quietly landing on the ground. Following a quick verification of his bag to make sure it was still on his back, he started to lightly jog in the direction he knew the river was.
“Good…” Kieren quietly told himself as he emerged from the tree line, happy he hadn’t accidently taken the wrong route and wound up lost. He turned to the left and then to the right. If he made his way back to the initial drop point he knew, thanks to multiple scouting attempts, he could follow the ridge wall and flee. It would even take him to higher ground as a bonus. Once there he could use it to either camp at, or potentially see what was happening and formulate a better plan. He took a step in that direction but his body froze. Eyes trailing down to his foot, he was shocked at how shaky it looked. “C’mon, move!” He told himself before recalling his final genuine conversation that day. Without needing the words Kieren’s head swiveled around and his eyes fixated on the opposite direction, towards where Grian had told him their camp was. It was far too dark and what little vision he had was obstructed by the blanket of falling water to discern anything beyond a few feet.
He shouldn’t. “It’s not safe, they could be-“ His mind lingered on the words he didn’t want to say. Hands balling into tight fists, Kieren tried to turn and take another step towards the ridge, to freedom, but couldn’t. His body and his heart refused, knowing that if he took the logical path a part of him would be claimed by the Scar. He might not have traveled with them, but he had worked with them. If that group had met their end to an ambush, then he would be the one to bury them. “No, they’ll be okay.” He reinforced his resolve. Refusing to hesitate again, Kieren sharply turned and sprinted down stream, following the rushing river as another bolt filled the sky with a flash of light. “Please, just be fine!”
A blonde man dug his stick into the ground as he hiked up and through the forest's muddy path. The path, used enough to have its natural grass withered to dirt, served as the most used passage out of the initial drop-off basin and towards the northern reaches. “Easy does it…” He told himself as his eyes remained fixated on his feet. The rain had started to pick up and he was far behind schedule. It took him a little work but he was able to beat the oncoming storm to the top of the ridgeline. After a long well- deserved breath he quickly jogged to an opening that overlooked the vast basin that he had landed in a few months ago. A triumphant smile lined his face.
While his eyes crossed the expansive scenery they halted for a moment on an area near the river. It was incredibly hard to notice from here, but there was no mistaking it. “Is that a fire?” He questioned his own vision. “No way, in this weather?”
He rubbed his eyes but it didn’t go away. While trying to verify its authenticity, something even stranger crossed his vision: a butterfly. It was dark out, save for the strikes of lightning, but there was no mistaking that this was indeed a butterfly, and a black one at that. He watched as it gracefully made its way through the rain as if the water wasn’t there at all, before landing on a mound. The man took a few steps towards it before he noticed the silhouettes of even more butterflies on the mound. His curiosity of what the mound was had itself quickly exterminated by a flash of overhead light. His stomach tried to vacate itself but he slammed his palm against his mouth as the horrendous amalgam of limbs faded back into the night’s darkness. Falling to the muddy ground in quaking fear he tried his hardest to muster the strength to stand back up. “What did this…?” He thought, before cursing such an ominous question mere seconds before it was answered.
“You know, I was hoping to run into that little louse before she started.” A husky voice sounded from the abyss overhead. The blonde man hardly had time to look up before the source of the voice came to him, crashing down onto the horrified man’s knees like a boulder- shattering them instantly. The man screamed in agony and terror before his mouth was silenced by the bare heel of whatever loomed over him. “Oh well.” The voice returned. “The night’s still young.” The weight of the monster's body pressed harder against the man’s head as a flash of lightning illuminated portions of the monster's body, most notable of which being a necklace fashioned from dozens of coins. Shock and terror had all but consumed the legless victim before the full weight of the looming horrors form came down, pushing through his skull to meet the ground without any semblance of resistance.
Blood began to flow freely from where the assailant stood. His head turned to opening while another butterfly landed on the mixture of blood and gore slowly oozing free. “What a great night for a hunt.”