Fate - First Reply The Tree Of Truth

[Lisica Rebane]

Lisica gasped for air as she ran through the dark woods. Her two-sister unconscious in her arms as she carried them far away from their home. Yelling could be heard not far behind, causing Lisica to pick up the pace. Her legs aching and lounges burning. But she paid it no mind. She needed to get away and fast. Her main focus was getting her sisters out of here alive or at least hiding them and drawing them away.

Lisica stopped in her tracks, panting for air as she franticly looked around for a place to hide her sisters. Spotting a tree with a large hole under it, she quickly placed them both in then covered it with a bunch of branches and leaves. Just in time as the men chasing her got closer, their voices clear as day. Slipping under the foliage, she watched as they got closer,

"She can't have gone far. Find her! We can't let her escape." Just as he said this, Lisica jumps out from her hiding space, landing on the man's back with all the force she can must, sending him falling forward and hitting his head on a nearby tree, rendering him unconscious. The camotion quickly catching the others attention as they started chasing Lisica again. She began running in the oposit direction again, them hot on her tail as she ran as fast as she could.

She suddenly came to a halt when she hit the edge of a cliff. Below, a raging river rumbled. The frigid water splashing up at the sides in proof that it wasn't nice and would sure take the life of anything that fell into it. Across the ravine was a clearing. If she could only go back for her sisters, she could jump across, and they would be able to get away.

Hearing the footsteps close behind, Lisica hid behind a tree once again just as the last two men chasing her came to the edge. "Did she jump?" One said looking down into the water, trying to see if he could spot her lifeless body,

"I highly doubt it. She's much like her father, wouldn't risk her life or her sisters' lives." The other man spoke. How could he possibly know her or her father? She had never seen these men before in her life.

Lisica gritted her teeth. There was no way she could go back for her sisters yet. Not with this man knowing her every move. She pondered for a moment, keeping a close eye on the men. Crouching low, Lisica lept forward, jumping on one of the guys and knocking him into the river. His screams fallowing him down as the raging beast swallowed him whole. She then looked to the other man, he stood there, sword in hand with a smirk.

"You won't get away Lisica. We already killed your mother and father. Its time you gave up." The man chuckled with a nasty smirk.

Lisica rolled her top lip up in a snarl, baring her canines at the man as she lunged at him. The man quickly dodging to the side, swung his sword, Lisica barely dodging it, it sliced her right above her left eyebrow. Her vision quickly blurred by the blood, the man took that as his oportunity as he lunged forward, kicking her stomach and knocking her to the ground. She fell hard onto her back, earning a cry of pain to roar from her lips. Her head dangled at the edge of the ravine and just as she was about to get up, a heavy put was placed on her chest and a sward pointed at her throat.

She looked up at the man, the moonlight lighting his features as she saw the evil smirk on his face. "Looks like you've lost bitch." Hes poke, venom dripping into every word as he raised his sword, ready to make the killing blow.

Lisica then closed her eyes and whispered..."im sorry...sisters" as she waited for the sword to take her life.

 

[Raea Stormcrow]

The high-pitched whistle of an arrow in flight, a flash of feather and wood. The shaft passed a foot from the villains head, its wind of passage stirring his hair.

"Drop the sword and step back. Then we can have a nice fireside chat about gloating over your victory before you actually have a victory." The sound of a second shaft being nocked and the creak of a bow being drawn back filled the new silence.

***

These woods were not a place to be alone. Being a woman alone in the wilderness definitely added a different flavor of danger to the mix. Was fine by her.

She sat too close to the flames of her camp, trying to ward off a chill that did not really exist. Slight of frame and ghostly pale, she felt the change of temperature more keenly than most. This afternoon, even the heavy cloak she had draped over herself could not dispel the chill. At least the dull ache in her bones had lessened.

It was the life of adventure she had sought out. Most of the time it was not pleasant; sleeping rough in the cold and the wet lost its appeal rather quickly, some days. But it was a life that she chose, not something chosen for her. She loved her family dearly, but she couldn't take being smothered any more. It had been a year since she had slipped into the world and left behind another life to take on the mantle of an adventurer.

Most of the time she didn't regret it.

She was just thinking about how nice it would be to have something to eat (the snares had been empty this morning, game scarce) when she heard something that did not fit in the scene. These woods were far from habitation. She had not seen anyone in several days, and yet she thought she heard the sound of someone speaking quite loudly and quite angrily not too distantly. Raea froze, and listened with such aching intensity that her head began to hurt. And just when she thought she must have been hallucinating the entire thing, she heard them again, further away.

"...risk her life or her sister's lives..."

The adventuress blinked. There was missing context here, and the tone was difficult to tell from words so faintly heard. For a moment, she teetered on the edge of sitting by her fire and leaving whatever trouble there was lie.

Trouble was, trouble had a way of finding you if it was in the neighborhood. The options were to ignore it and hope that it wasn't any kind of problem she would dislike getting wrapped up in....or investigate and remove whatever doubt she had.

It was reluctantly that she got to her feet, snatching up the light rapier she preferred and the light bow she carried. After a split second consideration, she strung it as she left camp, marking her path so she could find it again. Her horse, a sweet little mare she had purchased many months ago, looked up at her with liquid eyes that spoke louder than words. Don't do anything stupid, she seemed to say. Raea snorted quietly, then followed the sound of the voice.

She moved quietly - not hard, being naturally inclined to stealth with her size and her particular handicaps. The scream of a man made her hesitate a moment, before quickening her pace. The scene unfolded not very far from where she had made camp for the evening, which made this trip all the better since it would doubtless have spilled over into her life.

Can't have witnesses for a murder, can we?

Witnessing the tableau as it played out, she crept up to a nice, thick-boled tree. She had her bow off her back and in hand, and an arrow in it in one smooth motion. She had practiced for days to get better at it, and her marksmanship wasn't totally terrible. Might have been a little risky, then, sending an arrow on its way as a proverbial shot across the bow (might have hit the brigand, might have hit the strange young-appearing woman). As it turned out, no one got shot.

Yet.

She gave her warning and nocked another arrow, training the missile on the mans center of mass. Thankfully he was not wearing armor. The light bow did well for game, but it would not pierce anything more substantive than leather.

Just time to wait and see what he did, hope she didn't just jump into someone else's fire.

 

[Lisica Rebane]

Lisica opened her eyes quickly hearing another voice. She looked around carefully, trying to pinpoint where they were, but the ragin ricer below was so loud she couldn't hear well over it and the position she was in limited her too much.

The man slowly lowered his sword as he turned to the voice. "What do you care!? Im just getting rid of this vermin." The man said, spitting the words as his eyes looked to Lisica once again.

Lisica took the chance of him being distracted to try to get up once again, her arms weak and knees heavy, she wobbled as she sat upright. Once she had gotten to her feet, she lunged at the man whos back was facing her, wrapping her arms around his throat and legs around his body.

His sword dropped and his hands shot up to Lisica's arms to try to break free, but with every last bit of Lisica's strength, she choked the man till they both collapsed to the ground. Him passed out on top her and Lisica releasing him after a couple seconds.

Lisica panted heavily, splaying her arms out to the sides weakly. "Thank you." She whispered, in between breaths, to the voice, the unknown voice that had distracted the man just minutes ago and gave her the chance she needed to survive.

 

[Raea Stormcrow]

She waited, the moment stretching long enough to become uncomfortable, eyes scanning the shadowy forest for any other threat. When none presented itself, she let loose a breath she did not realize she had been holding and lowered her bow.

Her blood still sang with adrenaline. "You're welcome. I think," she said at last, uncertainly. The words had a waver too them akin to that of an old woman. She stepped out of hiding, surveyed the scene one more time to be sure, and then slipped forward quietly. Other than the girl's breathing, the forest was quiet.

Raea stood over the two for a moment, then pulled the man off of the woman with quite a bit of difficulty. Up close, the frailty in her limbs was much more apparent. Also the wariness; she regarded Lisica with as much trepidation as the man that had threatened to kill her. Couldn't be too careful, after all.

"Help me bind him," she said carefully, an eye on the task at hand and an eye on the fox-eared girl. The adventuress was already panting from the effort of moving the bulk of the would-be murderer. She checked to see if he was still alive, and he was.

Good.

 

[Lisica Rebane]

Lisica nodded standing up. She quickly helped the unknown woman bind his hands and feet, then she began dragging him carefully towards a tree, leaning him against it.

"I really do appreciate what you did. He would have killed me if it weren't for your help." Lisica said, turning to face the woman.

she then remembered her sisters and without a word, began walking back to where she hid them.