Kor rose silently, taking aim. The doe he found wasn’t large, but it was food. He slowly pulled the bow string back, and looked down the shaft of the arrow. The fletching tickled his cheek, and he released. His prey went down without a cry. He nocked another arrow and stood at ready until he was sure the deer was dead.
Once he was sure, he tossed the bow away, light folding in around it until it vanished from existence. He reached into his imaginary space and pulled a long black knife, and began cleaning his kill. A dirty, yet habitual task. It reminded him of life before the incident, though he didn’t have a bow then. He would survive on his own, living off the land. Occasionally going into town to trade meat for other supplies he couldn’t get on his own. Those were the days…
A quick tap on the shoulder brought him back into the present. “Kor?”
Kor glanced quickly at the figure standing behind him. “Oh hi Nixon. I’m assuming the men are hungry?”
“Yea, they sent me out here to see what was keeping you, but it looks like you’re almost done. Want some help bringing it back?”
“Sure.”
Kor drew deep upon his guilt and envisioned the weapons he wanted. A moment later two garrotes and a fighting staff were on the ground in front of him. Using practiced motions he wrapped the garrotes around the front and back legs, and around the staff. He hefted the staff onto his shoulder, and Nixon grabbed the other end. Before long they were carrying the deer back to camp.
Kor and Nixon dropped the deer off by the fire, where a man began butchering it proper, putting chunks of meat into a stew. Kor and Nixon kept walking to a large white tent, emblazoned with a crest depicting an entirely blue bird perched on a wreath of vines and flowers. They pushed past the flap on the way in and almost tripped over a black and white dog wearing a straw hat.
“Arthur,” A voice called from inside, “Will you please stop sitting in front of the door.”
Arthur stood and walked under the table occupying most of the space in the tent. The table, laden with maps of the area, had a man in armor standing in front of it. The armor was polished, though a few scratches were noticeable near the neck, and a dent occupied the upper portion of the visor. The man took his helmet off and rubbed his temples. It almost always startled Kor when he did that. The man had pointed ears on the top of his head, and an elongated, pointed face. He also had white stripes over black fur, and whiskers.
“This woman makes no sense!” Kraetys exclaimed, “Her movements are erratic, she doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. What is she trying to find.”
“Perhaps she’s purposely trying to lose us?” Kor chimed, walking to the other side of the table.
“No it doesn’t seem like that. If she wanted to lose us, she knows several different tricks that she would have learned in our corps. Look at the map, what do you make of this?”
The map was covered in a series of lines and dots, generalizations of trails and encounters. Kraetys was correct, this didn’t look right.
“It looks like she’s searching for something.” Nixon commented from the back.
“How do you figure, Nixon?” Kraetys asked, stepping back so Nixon could take his place.
“Look here,” Nixon pointed to a line on the map, “and here. These patterns repeat in different ways. It almost looks like an altered version of one of our search patterns.”
“You’re right, always quick on the uptake Nixon. So we need to find what she’s looking for first. Kor, I don’t suppose you could scout out the area, could you?”
“If I find something I’ll let you know.”
“Great, thanks.”
Kor stepped out of the tent, his footsteps trailing toward the fire.
“Now another problem,” Kraetys paced around the table, “the boy who controlled the snow.”
“Is he in league with Echo?”
“I think it would be a safe bet to assume so. Even if he wasn’t before, he’s going to be helping her now.”
“He’s another fracture, isn’t he? It’s going to be hard to take him down.”
“We don’t know the extent of his power either, he may prove to be a real challenge. I want you to scope him out, see what caused his powers.”
“Of course. Though, may I ask why?”
“If we can figure out what caused his powers, it will give us a more clear idea of them. We saw him control the snow, but there might be more to it than that.”
“Ah, I see, and once we know what he can do, we can formulate a strategy to take him down. I should be off then.”
“Of course. Take what supplies you’ll need and head out.” Kraetys turned back to his maps and began drawing new lines. He made no further attempts at conversation.
Nixon emerged from the tent and turned toward the fire. He would need supplies for a long term tracking mission. Some food, water, rope, a weapon, He marked through the items he would need in his head.
“Hey,” Kor ran up beside him, “I heard you were going on a mission.”
“Where’d you hear that?”
“Outside the tent,” Kor flashed a grin, “Here, you’ll need this.”
Kor passed him a small dagger. It was a simple blade on a wooden handle.
“Thanks. Good luck on your mission.”
“Yours too.”
They went their separate ways.
~*~*~*~
Echo walked into a cave, followed closely by the boy who helped her. She leaned against a wall and sighed, exhausted from the day’s events.
“Thank you for saving me,” Echo spoke softly, “But who are you?”
“My name’s Tristan. It’s, uhh, nice to meet you.”
“And you. Why did you save me?”
“I saw you being attacked, I couldn’t just sit there and watch.”
Echo leaned her head against the cool rock, and took a breath.
Tristan spoke first, “We ran long enough, we should have a while before they find us. I’ll just, um, I’ll take first watch.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ll be okay.”
“Okay.”
Echo lied down and propped her head on her arm. She sat for a while and tried to mull over what happened, but her fatigue caught up to her first. She fell asleep to a steady dripping coming from inside the cave. She was awoken by a scream
Once he was sure, he tossed the bow away, light folding in around it until it vanished from existence. He reached into his imaginary space and pulled a long black knife, and began cleaning his kill. A dirty, yet habitual task. It reminded him of life before the incident, though he didn’t have a bow then. He would survive on his own, living off the land. Occasionally going into town to trade meat for other supplies he couldn’t get on his own. Those were the days…
A quick tap on the shoulder brought him back into the present. “Kor?”
Kor glanced quickly at the figure standing behind him. “Oh hi Nixon. I’m assuming the men are hungry?”
“Yea, they sent me out here to see what was keeping you, but it looks like you’re almost done. Want some help bringing it back?”
“Sure.”
Kor drew deep upon his guilt and envisioned the weapons he wanted. A moment later two garrotes and a fighting staff were on the ground in front of him. Using practiced motions he wrapped the garrotes around the front and back legs, and around the staff. He hefted the staff onto his shoulder, and Nixon grabbed the other end. Before long they were carrying the deer back to camp.
Kor and Nixon dropped the deer off by the fire, where a man began butchering it proper, putting chunks of meat into a stew. Kor and Nixon kept walking to a large white tent, emblazoned with a crest depicting an entirely blue bird perched on a wreath of vines and flowers. They pushed past the flap on the way in and almost tripped over a black and white dog wearing a straw hat.
“Arthur,” A voice called from inside, “Will you please stop sitting in front of the door.”
Arthur stood and walked under the table occupying most of the space in the tent. The table, laden with maps of the area, had a man in armor standing in front of it. The armor was polished, though a few scratches were noticeable near the neck, and a dent occupied the upper portion of the visor. The man took his helmet off and rubbed his temples. It almost always startled Kor when he did that. The man had pointed ears on the top of his head, and an elongated, pointed face. He also had white stripes over black fur, and whiskers.
“This woman makes no sense!” Kraetys exclaimed, “Her movements are erratic, she doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. What is she trying to find.”
“Perhaps she’s purposely trying to lose us?” Kor chimed, walking to the other side of the table.
“No it doesn’t seem like that. If she wanted to lose us, she knows several different tricks that she would have learned in our corps. Look at the map, what do you make of this?”
The map was covered in a series of lines and dots, generalizations of trails and encounters. Kraetys was correct, this didn’t look right.
“It looks like she’s searching for something.” Nixon commented from the back.
“How do you figure, Nixon?” Kraetys asked, stepping back so Nixon could take his place.
“Look here,” Nixon pointed to a line on the map, “and here. These patterns repeat in different ways. It almost looks like an altered version of one of our search patterns.”
“You’re right, always quick on the uptake Nixon. So we need to find what she’s looking for first. Kor, I don’t suppose you could scout out the area, could you?”
“If I find something I’ll let you know.”
“Great, thanks.”
Kor stepped out of the tent, his footsteps trailing toward the fire.
“Now another problem,” Kraetys paced around the table, “the boy who controlled the snow.”
“Is he in league with Echo?”
“I think it would be a safe bet to assume so. Even if he wasn’t before, he’s going to be helping her now.”
“He’s another fracture, isn’t he? It’s going to be hard to take him down.”
“We don’t know the extent of his power either, he may prove to be a real challenge. I want you to scope him out, see what caused his powers.”
“Of course. Though, may I ask why?”
“If we can figure out what caused his powers, it will give us a more clear idea of them. We saw him control the snow, but there might be more to it than that.”
“Ah, I see, and once we know what he can do, we can formulate a strategy to take him down. I should be off then.”
“Of course. Take what supplies you’ll need and head out.” Kraetys turned back to his maps and began drawing new lines. He made no further attempts at conversation.
Nixon emerged from the tent and turned toward the fire. He would need supplies for a long term tracking mission. Some food, water, rope, a weapon, He marked through the items he would need in his head.
“Hey,” Kor ran up beside him, “I heard you were going on a mission.”
“Where’d you hear that?”
“Outside the tent,” Kor flashed a grin, “Here, you’ll need this.”
Kor passed him a small dagger. It was a simple blade on a wooden handle.
“Thanks. Good luck on your mission.”
“Yours too.”
They went their separate ways.
~*~*~*~
Echo walked into a cave, followed closely by the boy who helped her. She leaned against a wall and sighed, exhausted from the day’s events.
“Thank you for saving me,” Echo spoke softly, “But who are you?”
“My name’s Tristan. It’s, uhh, nice to meet you.”
“And you. Why did you save me?”
“I saw you being attacked, I couldn’t just sit there and watch.”
Echo leaned her head against the cool rock, and took a breath.
Tristan spoke first, “We ran long enough, we should have a while before they find us. I’ll just, um, I’ll take first watch.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ll be okay.”
“Okay.”
Echo lied down and propped her head on her arm. She sat for a while and tried to mull over what happened, but her fatigue caught up to her first. She fell asleep to a steady dripping coming from inside the cave. She was awoken by a scream
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