Fable - Ask A Trail of Blood

[Ein]

"Ash Corner." Ein finished with a frown, lips thinning.

The Corner, as most in Bleakhold called it was a particularly nasty bit of the town. Famd for housing cutters and gutters, the Corner was about as dangerous as Bleakhold could get. One didn't walk there unless you were looking to get robbed, or worse. The gang running that area was particularly nasty with outsiders.

His head shook slightly, as though he were pushing away the memory. "You were better off."

Of course Ein didn't understand the ignorance of that statement.

He could not have even begun to know just what Dreadlords went through as they were trained. All he knew was what he'd gone through, what he'd seen in Bleakhold and the misery that it had brought him throughout his life.

"Most never get out." Ein said bitterly.

 

[Sloan]

Sloan nodded slowly "That's it.." she answered in a quiet murmur and her dark gaze narrowed slightly as obscure memories passed through her mind. His next comment however brought her abruptly back to reality and her brow knit forward.

"Was I?.." she asked him incredulously. "And what would you know about it exactly?.." she asked, her tone dripping with disdain as she only just resisted the urge to shove him off of the horse and trample him.

 

[Ein]

Ein shrugged, clearly missing the hints of rage in her tone. "I know what I saw growing up."

Lips thinned.

"Boys getting beaten, women getting raped, men losing themselves in the bottom of a bottle." His lips thinned in disgust. "Rich kids comin to spit at you, having you arrested when you fight back."

Fists tightened over the reigns.

That was how Ein had been forced into the guard, why he was here in the first place.

 

[Sloan]

Sloan's jaw clenched tightly and she sneered "You think I haven't seen those things? You think I haven't seen worse?.. I'll be sure to play a fucking violin for you." she growled and punched at either of his sides, not hard enough to really hurt him, but enough for him to loosen his grip on the reins so she could hopefully shove him from the horse's back.

"Do yourself a favour. Don't ever tell a Dreadlord that they've had any semblance of a better life than anyone. You have no idea, and you're lucky that I'm not one of the worst." she frowned at him.

 

[Ein]

Ein let out a sudden 'oof' as the pain shot through his sides and he cringed slightly. The wind got knocked out of him, and he cringed ever so slightly.

Returning fire at her with a quick quip or word would have been useless, his breath escaping him.

The strikes had the opposite effect that Sloan was hoping for though. Instead of loosening his grip Ein's paranoia and inexperience forced him to tighten his grip on the horses reigns while at the same time pressing his legs together.

The Horse beneath them took this as a signal, and it suddenly began to gallop forward, rushing through the forest as fast as it could until it suddenly hit a root.

It let out a loud whinnying screech, and them tumbled hard to the ground with a broken leg.

 

[Sloan]

"Fuck!" Sloan cried out as the horse tumbled, and she was thrown forward to land hard on her side and rolled to a stop, the pain in her leg searing in protest..

"You fucking idiot!!".. Of course it was Ein's fault, he'd been the one in the driving seat, all he'd had to do was fall like she'd wanted him to.

Sloan coughed and rolled onto her side to assess the damage, and the horse was screeching and throwing her head back and forth in pain. "Fuck!!" she repeated, and shot Ein a very dangerous glare, her face grazed and dirty, as was the rest of her.

"You will not live to see Vel Anir again, mark my words."

 

[Ein]

Ein let out a long pained groan, his fingers flittering to his side as he quickly checked whether or not the thing poking him was his own rib.

When he found that it was just a stick he breathed a sigh of relief, though of course that was quickly gone when he heard Sloan begin to scream at him. His face instantly soured, and as he slowly pulled himself off the ground. "HOW THE FUCK IS THIS MY FAULT?!"

He shouted at her, once again forgetting that she could crush him like a bug.

"You hit me!" His lips curled. "You could have killed me!"

Then she finished.

oh. Ein thought as he prepared to be murdered.

 

[Sloan]

Sloan was way beyond angry as he decided that now was a good time to shout and swear at her, and subconsciously her right hand slowly curled into a fist as she stared at him. She needed him to stop talking and understand exactly who he was yelling at.

Pain was in the mind, and she wanted him to feel it, just a taste, enough to make him think twice, enough to make him realise how much worse she could make this for him if she so desired.

 

[Ein]

Pain lanced through him, a stabbing needle driving into his skull.

Hands almost immediately reached up and grabbed his head, a cry escaping his lips as the agony seemed to push through his head and stab behind his eyes. "Wh-wha-"

Ein tried to find words, tried to say something, but the pain just kept coming. It was like someone had taken molten glass and poured it directly into his skull. A cry of agony pulled from his lips, and the young soldier collapsed to the ground.

"What the fuck!" He shouted as he curled against the earth, clutching his head in pain.

 

[Sloan]

Sloan stopped as the young man collapsed to the ground. She could have kept going, but she caught herself and forced the anger down as she watched him writhe. The fuck was she doing?

She pulled herself to her feet and hobbled toward the horse with difficulty, a hand reaching to still her head as she continued to throw it back and forth as she whinnied in pain. Sloan drew her blade and ran it deep across the horse's throat and she screeched, and slowly silenced and stilled as the blood rushed out onto the road.

"We have a long walk..." she grumbled quietly, and looked over her shoulder at him with a glare.

 

[Ein]

The pain washed away suddenly, and Ein snapped back into himself.

Heavy breaths left him, eyes closed as he tried, and then struggled to collect himself. It was like every little bit of him had felt complete and utter pain. Every little bit of him had hurt and stung. Fingers tightened, and he looked up at Sloan.

A scowl painted on his face, but he said absolutely nothing.

Any word that he might have said, anything that he might have offered up as an argument would very likely just bring back the pain.

With a scowl, Ein slowly pulled himself up and fell into step behind her.

 

[Sloan]

She already felt guilty but she was too pissed off to apologise and she refused to allow any semblance of remorse register on her stony face. She liked horses more than people, and it was his fault she'd had to put this one down. They had a small army of men no doubt hunting them down on horseback, and they had no choice but to walk, which was proving difficult enough for her as it is.

She found a large branch and used her blade to strip it of twigs and leaves, and she used it to give herself a little more stability as she walked in silence and pain. After a couple of miles, Sloan was exhausted. A glistening layer of sweat covered her face and chest and she paused for a moment's rest against a tree to rub at her brow.

The distant sound of hooves called her attention to the path behind them and she tensed, reaching out to grab hold of Ein and yanking him in through the tree line and into a ditch which she too fell into with a grimace.

"Hush." she told him before he had a chance to complain.

 

[Ein]

Ein hadn't made a single sound the entire rest of their journey. He'd stared daggers into the back of her head, considered more than once how he might kill her, but he never even made a peep.

By the time Sloan pulled him through the tree-line, his calves ached and the rage at his very core had become a small smoldering fire. Her voice hushed him, and his lips quickly turned to a scowl as he pressed himself into the ditch.

Mud and grime caked his skin, but he did not offer a single voice of complaint.

Hooves thundered just to the right of them, stomping loudly and thundering.

"THIS WAY!"

A voice could be heard, the barest rasp.

"THE BITCH IS NEARBY, THE SNIFFER'S PICKED UP THEIR SCENT!"

Ein frowned for a few seconds, glancing over towards Sloan with a raised eyebrow. What the hell was a sniffer?

Some sort of dog?