Private Tales A Walk In the Woods

[Arianrhod]

The Falwood was the true home for elvenkind. It was far more welcoming than the harsh cold in the north. Arianrhod felt more at home in these warmer woods than she did the pines that scattered the lower foothills of the Spine. The predators were less fierce, the forest was more forgiving, and there were more of her kind than any other species. A bastion of elvenkind, even its borders were threatened now by fire and axes.

Arianrhod was hunting. She normally went alone, it gave her time to think. There'd been enough debate around the feasting fires of late that she craved the pure clarity of purpose the hunt provided. The Ravens claimed a champion was coming, the Bears had halted their migration north and were happy to waylay every caravan that crossed their path. Her own band were undecided, as per usual.

The scents on the wind were her first warning. She always smelt prey before she heard or saw them. Something different, distinct from this forest. Arianrhod halted in her tracks, tilting her head to one side. There it was again, unmistakable. Human.

Her lips pursed in a smile and she began to scale the tree nearest to her, trying to gain a bead on it. She vaulted to the next branch, walking with lithe steps along the bough.

Maeve

 

[Maeve]

Maeve's head was reeling as she walked through the wood with a basket held loosely in one hand like an after thought. The past few days had overhauled her entire world. She had known that leaving the Isle would be a shift in lifestyle and in honesty she had been reckless in not thinking further ahead about who she might have encountered in these strange new lands, how she might have had her life altered. But even in her wildest dreams she wouldn't have thought she would meet a man her peoples legends were built on.

She most certainly wouldn't have expected to have all of her beliefs ripped from her. The King was not returning, there would be no reunion of the Clans under his banner, the hope of her people was a lie.

Slowly she blinked and came to a stop. Oh gods where was she now? Glancing back the way she came she chewed her lip.

Lost, lost, lost...

"I know I'm lost," Mae snapped as the wind rushed down and around her, leaving leaves as presents in her hair. She sighed in frustration but she knew better than to lose her temper with it. The Wind was both so ancient it made her bones ache and so young it reminded her of a toddler. And it managed to do both at the same time. "Can you help, please?"

 

[Arianrhod]

Arianrhod watched with a mixture of amusement and disbelief. A human but she was blundering about like a lost child. She seemed to take a few paces one direction and then turn, unsure exactly which way she had come from. How could this have happened?

Her hand came up to her mouth to stifle a giggle as the woman spoke aloud. Did she realise how far sound could travel? It was fascinating to watch her blunder about, Arianrhod's joy increasing the more frustrated the human got.

She selected her arrow with exceeding care. She couldn't risk letting a prize like this slip through her grasp. Her fingers ran over the arrowhead to ensure it was blunt. She'd used them in slave raids before but you always ran the risk of killing even if it wasn't the intent. She'd seen the stone break bones and crack skulls. Lets hope you have a hard head darling.

She nocked the arrow and drew it back, aiming at the human. She almost felt a pang of sympathy. She wouldn't know what hit her.

 

[Maeve]

Laughter danced around her as the wind grabbed at her hair and played with it. It enjoyed nothing more than playing with her, toying with her. When she was little she had enjoyed the games too but now they had a sinister edge. To anyone watching it looked almost like a small tornado swept up the girls body before disappearing as quickly as it had started.

"You're hopeless," Mae wasn't entirely sure if it was an slur against the wind or herself. Sighing in frustration she turned slowly until she could see her own tracks and walked back a little way. She was a good hunter - had been incredibly so back home - and instinctively it seemed she had made as little disturbance to the forest floor as possible. Still, there were tell tale signs if one knew where to look. Carefully she pulled one of the bracelets from her wrist and wrapped it round a branch so she could find her way back to this spot at least.

 

[Arianrhod]

Arianrhod couldn't blame her. The girl showed some affinity for the forest but it was an elven one. Even a skilled woodswoman could find herself out of her depth. She sighted on her when a disturbance happened. A small tornado of air swept along her body before disappearing.

Gaping, Arianrhod released the pressure on the bow string for a moment. Only the woman's movement forced her back into action. Snarling, the elf drew and shot.

 

[Maeve]

Move.

The wind made it sound like a suggestion but it wasn't. It never was with the voices. She was still recovering from her fever and the arrow wound in her side to react incredibly quickly. It didn't help that Mae had no idea what she was meant to be moving from and wagered on something attacking her from the ground. She jumped, hands reaching for the branch above her and swung herself upwards.

The blunt arrow thundered into her knee a second later with a sharp crack and she gave a sharp yelp. Despite the cry and agonising pain with gritted determination she pulled herself the rest of the way up and onto the low branch. At least the tree would provide her some cover, but she cursed herself for not thinking to bring a weapon with her on her trip to get firewood.

"I mean no harm and am unarmed, I'm just lost," Mae raised her voice, trying to see through the leaves. Perhaps she had just accidentally stumbled into someones territory.

 

[Arianrhod]

If Arianrhod didn't know better, she could have sworn the girl had known the arrow was coming. She made a leap for a branch but too late to avoid it. The crack and yelp were audible, the elf almost winced with sympathy. Even still, the human showed remarkable toughness, hauling herself up into the branches.

She smiled hearing the plea, not moving a muscle. Vision was based on movement, she could see the human straining to see through the undergrowth. "Come out" she said in Common, making her voice sound sickly sweet.

Arianrhod scooted sideways, moving until she could leap onto the branch of an adjoining tree. "You're in danger" she said, forcing concern and fear into her voice. Inside she was resisting the urge to cackle. A run and a jump to another branch. "Don't let them hurt you"

 

[Maeve]

Sweet honey traps flies.

"Shut up," Maeve hissed under her breath. She didn't need riddles right now, she needed help. Carefully she shifted her weight on the branch and touched at her still sore wound on her side. Her hand came away with blood. Fantastic. She slowed her breathing and listened instead to the voice - voices? - beyond her precarious safety canopy. It sounded like whoever was warning her, there were a group of them. Perhaps? Or could one person move that fast. She knew only of her people and the Fey of her isles. One of them could easily project their voices around like this. A cold icy feeling ran up her spine.

"Can you help?" A hesitant ask of the voice - Mae was still unsure if it could be trusted. Her Common Tongue was unpractised and as she spoke it sounded stiff and formal rather than natural. She didn't like not knowing where she was. Mae felt her first pang of homesickness then crushed it like a bug under her boot.

 

[Arianrhod]

There.

Arianrhod had been hoping for a response. Anything, even a curse damning her. All that mattered was pinpointing her location and making sure she hadn't slipped by. She kept her ears open for any noise indicating she was trying to move.

The voice was barbarously accented. Arianrhod seemed to have run into the only creature in the Falwood with worse Common than hers. Biting back her annoyance, she forced her voice to sound sweet and beguiling. "Come down" she pleaded, injecting it with every last trace of persuasion she could. "Where are you?" a worried, unsure tone now.

 

[Maeve]

To trust the creepy voice or not. Now that was the question.

Glancing around she weighed up her odds. There wasn't that many branches she could move too. With her wound from her flight here and the throbbing in her knee she wouldn't get very far let alone quietly. She was just a sitting target. But even then, was going out into the open really the best thing to do? It hadn't said it could help her. Like hell was she going to have escaped a Fey from her island to be porcupined by some... some...

Maeve took a breath. Her only option was down really. Then she could at least make a run for it on flat ground, and she knew the rough direction to head in now at least.

"How do I know you're not going to hurt me?" keep it distracted, Mae thought as she shuffled back along the branch so the safety of the trunk.

 

[Arianrhod]

Knife or arrow. Arianrhod settled on the knife.

She positioned herself on the bough, crouching with feline grace. If she made a break for it, she'd drop atop her. "Why would I hurt you?" her voice sounded beguiling, pleading, upset. Fucking bitch. This quarry was clever in a way. She'd made for cover the moment the elf had made her move.

It made the rundown all the more rewarding. The thrill of the hunt was what she lived for and while this wasn't the most physically taxing, there was some pleasure in trying to entice her prey out. Still, it was aggravating how obstinate this one was. Why didn't she just run for it?

The elf savoured the anger, tightening her grip on her knife. "Please..." she drew it out, sounding all the more mournful.

 

[Maeve]

"Why would you hurt me indeed..." Maeve muttered low under her breath in her own tongue. That decided it, she needed to leave and some how not alert the sing song voice to her whereabouts. Carefully she stood on the branch. It was a narrow thing but Mae was light. Another touch of her ancient fae blood and the promise made. She slowly put her foot down and tested the movement of the branch. It dipped every so slightly but it was enough for her to take her foot back. She couldn't afford to give away her position like that.

Glancing above her she reached for the branch over her head but it was too far beyond her reach. Her knee was pounding and when she put her hand to her side it came away bloody. She had reopened the wound on her side. Aw hell Liath was going to kill her. If this person didn't.

Any movement she made was going to alert them to her position so she had a split second between that and getting as much distance between her and this place as possible. Easy, right?

Ignoring the screaming of her body she crouched and leapt for the branch above her. The limb of the tree she had been on shuddered from the movement. Once her hands grasped the wood above her she swung her hips as hard as she could and dropped down a good few meters away from the tree she had been in. Her knee was a symphony of pain but she wrenched herself to her feet and made a run for it.

 

[Arianrhod]

Arianrhod had had it beaten into her since childhood that you never assumed. You were to never presume something was a given. Guess, predict, yes. Take it for granted, no.

Which is exactly what she did now.

She'd been so focused on her quarry dropping to the ground that she'd neglected to think about her going higher. Maeve's feint worked perfectly for the first few seconds. She heard the movement and Arianrhod focused, waiting for the human to drop. She didn't.

At least not where she'd expected to her. The human landed a few metres further on, the sound carrying but out of sight of the elf. Arianrhod snarled and dropped to the ground, catching sight of a flash of movement, the human making a break for it.

The elf sped up, breaking into a long loping run. She was angry. The damned vermin had got one up on her and she was going to make her pay for the insult.

 

[Maeve]

The sound of a second pair of feet coming after her was barely heard above the hammering of her heart and her own breathing. She leapt over fallen branches and smashed through those that hung too low. If she could just get back to the cottage then this might all end a lot quicker. Every time her right foot his the ground she gritted her teeth harder and harder until she was sure she would end up with a permanently locked jaw. But she couldn't let the pain in her knee stop her from moving. The fever still hadn't left her system entirely and she was woozy from the impacts of her ordeal getting off the island which was hindering her thought process. If she was thinking straight she would have been thinking about the utter mess she was leaving in her wake.

Maeve stumbled over a root she hadn't seen and grabbed at the trunk of a nearby tree to catch herself and smearing her blood against it. For a brief moment she stopped to collect her thoughts. The wind was laughing, which was never a good sign. Glancing in the direction it was flowing she pushed herself off the trunk and changed her path to follow it.

 

[Arianrhod]

She was fast, she'd give her credit for that. The elf was gaining on her but without her banjaxed leg, it'd have been a more even race. She sacrificed stealth for speed which meant she left a trail even a blind man could have followed.

There! The redhead was pushing herself on, wounded prey that knew every second counted. Arianrhod would have laughed but she was saving her breath. Another flash of greenery and she'd lost her again but the trail was still there.

The smell of blood was intoxicating, so much that she almost missed the change in direction. "Got you!" she snarled in Elven, pushing herself into a sprint.

 

[Maeve]

Run Rabbit, Run Rabbit, Run, Run, Run....

Maeve threw a withering look to the wind that raced above her and nearly lost her footing because of it. A breathe hissed from between her clenched teeth and she concentrated again on her feet and putting them one in front of the other. The footsteps were getting closer behind her the more her wounds pulled at her and she looked around desperately for some kind of weapon. There! Ahead. She could see the freshly fallen branch laying amongst the leaves. Mae pushed herself on to the last bits of her strength and skidded to a halt to grab the large hulking piece of wood. It came to her chest in terms of height but it was light enough for her to pick up and wield.

Mae only had a second to test the weight of it in her hands, she could feel the other person coming up quick behind her. Without much further thought she turned and put all her strength into the swing of the branch, aiming for where she thought the persons face was going to be. Knocking them out or injuring them should give her some more spare time.

 

[Arianrhod]

Arianrhod ducked under a branch and saw the human coming to a halt. Her grip tightened on the dagger and her teeth flashed in a sadistic grin. She was turning to face her, what a stupid bit-

The branch had been swung at head height for Maeve. The elf was a good bit taller than the average human so it took her full force in the throat. Strong as she was, the impact staggered her, the elf stumbling to the side. The dagger dropped from her hand and she clutched at her throat. She wanted to breathe but she couldn't. All that happened was a rasping wheeze.

 

[Maeve]

There was a moment of pure shock that she had actually managed to hit the person who was chasing her. It froze her as she looked at the other woman and then her eyes went to the fears with growing horror. Maeve launched herself at the dagger, picking it up and pointing it instead at the woman, heart pounding. Had he sent someone to try and bring her back? She had the kind of look of the other Fae, though perhaps some sort of branch that lived off the island. Maybe the ones trained in the arts of hunting those who had broken pacts.

"I am not going back," her words were laboured by her panting but they were fierce. She still held the branch in one hand and the dagger in the other. Her face had grown pale from the strain and it made the blue ink of her tattoos even harsher across her body. "Who are you?"

 

[Arianrhod]

Arianrhod kept a wary eye on the human, all playfulness gone now. She pushed herself off the tree, eyes narrowed and fixed squarely on her. The human had the dagger now but the elf made no move for any other weapon. She started to circle her slowly, her body crouching a little and hands out to her sides.

"No, you won't be going anywhere" she agreed. The beguiling voice was gone now. Maeve's blow had left Arianrhod painfully rasping out words. "Who are you?" she demanded, incensed the trespasser had the gall to question her. "Drop the knife girl".

 

[Maeve]

"No I will not - answer the question," Mae narrowed her own eyes at the other woman. It was clear despite her injuries she knew how to wield a blade - and she was not afraid to wield a branch either apparently. All was far in love and war after all. However, the fact the woman was asking her who she was caused her to rethink her original theory that she had been sent him the Sidhe from her island. She took in the woman's appearance as they continued their stand off, from the arrows on her back to her pointed ears. Pointed ears? Maeve tried to wrack her brains to think of what species the books had said had such ears. Her arm lowered a fraction.

"My name is Maeve - I live with the traveller who lives on the shore back that way," she jerked her head slightly in the direction of the coast. Perhaps she would know of him and it would ease her concerns.

 

[Arianrhod]

Arianrhod was very wary of the blade. If skilled, this could become a lot trickier. If unskilled, well she only had to get lucky once. "Oh you will" she promised her, her mind already enjoying the various ways they'd enjoy getting it out of her. She looked to be a fine catch but the resistance that had been amusing at first was now frustrating the elf. Humans should know when they'd been outmatched.

A laugh at the introduction. "Do you think I care?" she hissed, flashing sharp teeth. The momentary dip in the arm was all she needed, Arianrhod sprang at her with the speed of a striking snake.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve didn't have much time to react as the elf sprung, they were naturally quicker and stronger than humans and her Fae abilities were new to her. She hit the deck with a yelp with the elf on top of her. The force with which she hit her head off the hard ground made her vision swim and the breath leave her lungs. For a moment all she could do was stare at the woman on top of her and then she was pushing back, her knee came up in an attempt to hit her in the gut enough to wind her and get her off of her.

The dagger she had dropped from her hand but she desperately tried to reach for where it had fallen now.

"Get off me you crazy woman!"

 

[Arianrhod]

Arianrhod's tackle went well, helped by her quarry being wounded. Snarling, she moved to restrain the human but she went from dazed to feral in a matter of seconds. The knee hit her stomach muscles, nearly winding her, but Arianrhod was more prepared for it this time. She glared at the human, properly pissed off now.

"Yield!" she growled, doing her best to pin the human but she was fighting like a cornered rat. She made her own grab for the dagger, not wanting the human to get her grasp on it.

 

[Maeve]

"No," the world was a snarl. She might have been tired and injured but she was also incredibly stubborn - sometimes to the point of her own detriment. When the woman also reached for the knife Maeve focused instead on ensuring that she simply didn't get it. Summoning what little amount of control she had over the wind she turned and blew at it. A gust passed between them and lifted the dagger off the floor and threw it into a nearby tree, eliminating the chances of either of them getting it.

Then she spat in the elf's face and brought her own head down sharply on the woman's nose. Maeve had never played fair.

 

[Arianrhod]

This wasn't what Arianrhod had expected. Normally humans were too dismayed at the onslaught, they stood frozen in shock or ran screaming. They didn't fight tooth and nail like this woman was. She strained her arm to reach the knife but a gust appeared out of nowhere, lifting the blade and flinging it into a tree. Arianrhod gawped. She didn't have time to ponder the mystery of how a gust had appeared out of nowhere because the human headbutted her right in the face.

She saw stars, her vision going black for a moment. The pain was sharp enough to cut through her elvish control and a cry escaped her. Her hunt sisters would have been appalled at the display of weakness. She gave up trying to pin, her hands went for the human's throat. Her teeth flashed in a snarl while she struggled to focus on her through eyes streaming with tears.