Private Tales On The Hunt

[Myrdin]

"Don't have any sea legs hu-" Before Jorg could finish Isla suddenly burst into a sprint.

He gaped for a few seconds, his eyes popped open in surprise for a few seconds he gaped after her. What the hell? Why was she running now? What was the point when he'd made all those promises and she'd seemingly accepted?

The hell kind of game was this? "Hey!"

Myr shouted as he broke into a sprint.

"What the hell?" Had the idea of going out to sea really offended her that much?

 

[Skyler]

Turning, she pressed a finger to her lips and hissed a "shhhhhhh." Hand motioned for him to not be so loud with his feet as he ran. There was a sudden rustling ahead and a sound of a growl.

Turning, she crept quickly ahead and crouched low.

The bushes and foliage moved of their own volition, giving her space to easily pass. There in the center of a small space surrounded by a ring of trees was a creature caught in a trap.

 

[Myrdin]

Myr managed to catch up to her quickly enough, though his steps were notably less quick and lithe. His legs were not meant for the jungles, but rather the seas.

As he caught up to her his hand latched onto her shoulder. "Warn me next time."

The Fel growled, his gaze flickering towards the beast caught in the trap that she pointed out. The monster was not one that he recognized, though it was oddly froglike in nature. His lips thinned, and he motioned for her to take a step back.

"This seems...suspicious." He whispered quietly.

 

[Skyler]

The half dryad shrugged that hand off her shoulder, lofting a single rusty brow at the man. Must she run everything by the man now? She looked around the clearing.

"It does but I don't think it'll harm us."

She was more worried about what or who built that trap. Instead of taking a step back she took a step forward. "I have to try to help it; it's injured." And before he could stop her she broke into the clearing, her hands spread nonthreatening at her sides. The creature croaked but didn't move to attack her.

And Isla didn't see the hidden net poised as a second trapped beneath the leaves on the ground.

 

[Myrdin]

"Wait!" Myr Hissed as Isla suddenly stepped out of the woods and wandered towards the creature.

As soon as she moved too far, the net beneath the leaves suddenly snapped upward.

It happened so quickly that Myr hadn't even taken half a step forward before Isla was suddenly snapped up from the ground and caught within the net. A curse rang out from the Sea-Elfs lips, and he quickly backed himself down into the bushes.

"Hahaha, idiot."​

A voice called out from the opposite end of the clearing.

"Knew that would work."​

 

[Skyler]

A yelp escaped her lips as she was snapped skyward. Face pressed against the netting and she squirmed trying to reach for...something. Verdants searched for the voice below.

The trees had warned her of the trapped toadgrel but not about the other trap. Perhaps these were impish pines. Should've known not to trust them.

"What do you want?" She growled.

 

[Myrdin]

The figure was dressed in black leather armor, his face was smarmy and a scar sat across his lip which had clearly been placed there by a knight.

"Haha, god are you really that dumb?"​

Myr recognized the man, he was one of the hunters who had been a the Councilors home. His gaze flickered towards the man, and then towards the beast, and then quickly towards where Isla was standing. He took a small step backward to hide himself in the bushes further.

He did not know this man, not by name nor by his skill.

Unlike Isla, he would be doing this carefully.

"I'm here for you dollface. You're going back to Alliria."​

 

[Skyler]

It was a good thing for her own and Myr's sake that she was not, indeed, that stupid. She did not look for Myr or indicate that anyone else was with her nearby.

"Like hell I am," she spat down at him.

With a sudden twist of her fingers through the net, he'd be met with vines moving from the trees themselves, trying to ensnare and choke him. The vines didn't move with the best accuracy because Isla was still learning her own magic.

 

[Myrdin]

The man seemed to jump three spans within a single leap, bounding to the side and drawing the small dagger like sword at his side. The blade instantly sliced through one of the vines, though another lashed around his leg.

It wrapped around his leg, digging in and causing a spike of pain.

"SHIT. YOU BITCH!"​

The voice was loud enough to echo, but Myr wasn't paying him any mind. He had no doubt that Isla would remain alive for at least another minute. He needed the time to sneak around the edges of the the clearing to get behind him.

 

[Skyler]

The hunter raised his arm and cut the rope that was holding her up. She yelped as she sailed toward the ground and thumped against the dirt and roots.

Ouch.

A groan left her throat. Head shook as she slowly moved her limbs, testing to see if anything was broken. Arm snapped forward as a piece of the ground broke away and throttled toward the man's face.

Who you calling bitch?!

 

[Myrdin]

The man was about to raise his sword to simply cut Isla and end her life, but Myr popped out of the forest behind him almost at the exact same time as she threw her punch.

He rushed forward, grabbing the man's arm just as the blade was about to come down. The Hunter's eyes opened wide in shock.

"YO-"

He was mid-shout when Isla's fist connected with the man's face. Blood splattered from his lips almost instantly, and the fool went reeling back. Myr took the opportunity to pull him to the side and grab his neck.

There was a sickening crack, and then the Hunter fell to the floor like a rag.

 

[Skyler]

Isla was breathing hard. The magic drained her. But she felt the forest offer some of its energy to her. Some of its life. She grimaced as she accepted the small gift but not as much as it wanted to give her.

Fingers pushed at the net, trying to find the opening.

"Thanks," she breathed. The toadgrel blinked a lazy eye at them.

Fingers tried to pry the net off her but she was pretty tangled up.

"Can you...help?"

 

[Myrdin]

Myr glanced down at the Hunter for a few moments, pondering for just a second before he stepped forward and wandered over to Isla. "Careful with the mark on my hand."

He said, gesturing to the splotch of blue that sat there.

An after-effect of his magic. The marks lasted for a few weeks after using his abilities, and although they did not harm him, mages who even grazed against them would find themselves in no small amount of pain as their own abilities rebounded on them.

With the deft movement of a knife Myr cut Isla free of the net.

"Maybe next time." He prompted. "We make a plan before moving?"

It was clearly a question and not a demand.

 

[Skyler]

She eyed the blue mark on his hand curiously. She wondered what it did or why she had to be careful. "Is that all the time?" She pointed to the blue on his hand, eyes traveling to the other blue along his face. "To be careful about not touching it?"

Fingers picked the rest of the netting from her hair and she stood up carefully.

"Yes, we can make a plan. The trees warned me about the Toadgrel but not about the second trap."

A hiss escaped her lips as weight shifted to her right foot. Looking down, she frowned. The flesh around her ankle was swollen.

 

[Myrdin]

"A good rule to follow around me generally." Myr told her softly as the net dropped away and she stood.

The Sea-Elf stood to his full height, glancing at the massive Toadgrel and letting out a small sigh. The Beast seemed mostly okay, though he wasn't entirely sure of it's anatomy. For all he knew the damned thing was starving to death.

For some reason he did not seem at all concerned that Isla was talking to trees.

Perhaps because flowers grew where she stepped. "Perhaps its best we get out of here."

Myr offered softly.

"Do you need to be carried?" He doubted her injuries were that bad, but he wanted to be sure.

 

[Skyler]

Isla nodded but couldn't stop thinking about what he said. A good rule to follow around him generally. Not to touch those blue spots?

Strange.

Limping to the toadgrel, she released the beast. He croaked once and then hopped off. "Yeah, you're welcome," she muttered and looked to Myr. "You are not carrying me. I just need something to brace on. A walking stick or something." Eyes searched the clearing around them as she winced and took a step.

 

[Myrdin]

Myr raised an eyebrow and wondered if he should have just picked her up and thrown her over his shoulder. It would have been a lot easier to be sure, but he was also fairly positive she would throttle him if he tried. A frown touched his lips, but he said nothing.

Best not to.

"Okay." He said with no argument. Instead he went about searching the dead body on the ground. The hunter was well equipped, though it was clear that much of his equipment had either been unused or just recently purchased.

A frown touched his face as he pulled out a small piece of rolled parchment. He opened it up and quickly flicked his gaze over it, a frown deepening on his lips.

"I hope you're ready for more." He said quietly. "Seems this one had a sort of Alliance with a few others."

Myr sighed and watcha Isla flop around on her leg. "Sure you don't need to be carried?"

There was no sarcasm or tease in his tone.

 

[Skyler]

She frowned, resting her hand and most of her weight on a tree. Her ankle wasn't broken. Just probably sprained. But that didn't mean it hurt less to walk on.

Damn.

Head tilted to the side as she looked at Myr. He wasn't looking for a stick she could use as a walking stick. Eyes cast around the area but she didn't see one either.

"How would you even carry me? I'm not supposed to touch those blue markings, remember?" She wasn't sure which would slow them down more. Him wasting his strength on carrying her or her trying to keep up with him and hobbling along.

 

[Myrdin]

Myr motioned to his clothes. "It's only direct contact."

He explained.

The splotches were an after effect of his own magic. They were small pockets of whatever magic he had last come in contact with. To him they were irritants, small pockets of pain that he couldn't get rid of. If anyone touched them though they would feel that exact same pain.

It was an odd sort of defense mechanism his body built up, and a wholly unpleasant one for him.

"You can hop on my back." He motioned, the clothes there would protect her. "Easy enough."

He'd carried heavier people for longer.

Bounties of mages who had refused to comply. Myr wasn't much for horseback riding.

 

[Skyler]

She sighed, eyes narrowing slightly. Heel of her hand pushed against her forehead as she sighed quietly.

"Okay," she finally relented. As he stepped closer and turned around, she'd place her hands on his shoulders. Pulling upward, she'd give one quick hop on her good foot and wrap her slender legs around his waist...or beneath the crooks of his arms if he'd rather.

Arms would loop at the base of his neck, over his chest as she pressed and clung to the man.

Because this wasn't awkward at all.

Her skin was warm against his own and he'd get hints of earthy smells mixed with coffee and cinnamon.

 

[Myrdin]

"See?" Myr said as he bent down slightly to allow her to clamber up onto his back. His arms wrapped around her thighs, being careful not to touch her with the splotch that sat near his forearm. "Not so bad now is it?"

His nose tickled slightly with the scent of her, a pleasant smile forming on his lips for just a brief second before he slowly began to walk.

As he'd assumed, her weight wasn't really much to speak of. He probably could have carried two of her without much of an issue. Going for several miles like this would end with him tired, but not much more than usual.

"I used to do this with my sister." Myr said, trying to ease some of the tension between the two of them.

 

[Skyler]

She let the silence linger between them for a little bit. Enjoying the sounds of his boots stepping through the jungle floor. His steady breaths and that heartbeat she could feel through her grip around his chest.

"Perhaps not," she relented, finally.

"Oh?" Rusty brows rose in interest as her eyes darted around them. Might as well keep a look-out for those others. They - she - was literally being hunted. "Is she your only sibling? And was it a game you used to play?"

 

[Myrdin]

"Not a game." He said with a smile. "She could not walk herself, a disease took the use of her legs."

It had been a tragedy that most had refused to speak of. His father had been the most cruel of it, though his mother had kept his sibling alive.

"It was the only way she could travel through the Islands." Myr had fond memories of those days. It had been before he'd needed to prove himself, before the incident at the arena. The moments had been happier.

A part of him still yearned for those days. "She died shortly before I left."

Myr's tone saddened slightly.

"It's an oddly...Familiar feeling this." He said with a quiet chuckle.

 

[Skyler]

"Oh," Isla spoke quietly.

"I am sorry Mydrin," his name rolled off her tongue with ease. Though a part of her almost shortened it. As if she'd known him more than a day. Strange. She usually didn't feel comfortable around someone new for a long time. Perhaps it was because of the situation they found themselves in.

"It sounds like she was lucky to have you and you her."

She shifted against him slightly, careful not to move her legs too much around the exposed skin on his forearm.

"They say I washed up on the shores near Minaris alone. Wrapped in a large leaf and nestled in a wooden box with a name on a pendant around my neck. A local fisherman adopted me with his wife. They'd been trying for a child for the longest time." Head shook slightly.

"I always wondered what it would be like to grow up with siblings."

 

[Myrdin]

"I see." He mused for a few seconds.

It made sense. He would not have associated her with the citizens of Minaris. They had vastly different skin colors. Her hair itself should have been a dead give-away, but...well he hadn't really wanted to assume anything.

"Thank you." Myr said with a soft smile. "Siblings are a gift, though sometimes a curse."

A laugh echoed from his lips. "I suppose more the former though."

He shook his head.

"Did you have a good life there?" The Sea-Elf asked.