Fae Courts Trophy Hunted

[Ceinwyn]

The woods before dawn were anything but still. Birds had risen an hour earlier to begin their chorus and every manner of creature wound its way around the leaf litter. With pale twilight heralding the dawn, Ceinwyn moved through the underbrush without a sound. Her cloven hooves left gentle depressions in the moss as she walked and her small tuft of a tail bobbed lazily back and forth. Wide, aquamarine eyes swept the forest for the small dew-covered leaves she was after. If the sun rose they would dry and shrivel back into their stalks, but if she plucked them at the right time they would stay unfurled, with their properties unmarred.

A snap brought her head up and she froze - ears and tail raised - seeking the source. She sniffed at the calm breeze and saw movement. Her powerful legs tensed, ready to bolt… until she saw the deer’s head come around the tree trunks.

Ceinwyn exhaled, relaxing and smiling. She nodded to the doe. Of all the forest creatures, how nice that she should see one so often compared to herself.

She had traveled for three days to find the elusive sprouts. The aptly-named dewcups were sparse, but she knew the signs to look for. A depression beneath a dying tree, with a healthy bed of surrounding moss but not too many mushrooms. There were plenty of dying trees in this old forest, but finding all three requirements for the sensitive plants was proving to be troublesome.

The sun was near cresting the horizon when she found it. She breathed a prayer of thanks and grinned in victory as she closed in. Three wide leaves, fresh with the green of new growth and glittering with dewdrops. They would make a fine poultice to fertilize the soil of the Erlking’s gardens, and if she were lucky a cutting would take root.

She moved quickly in her excitement, and in her carelessness did not see the hunter’s trap laid beneath the leaves. She screamed in shock and agony as the iron jaws snapped around her shin, falling to her knee as hot tears streamed from her eyes. She felt blood running down her right leg, and looked to see the trap jaws half-buried in her flesh.

Letting another pained noise escape her lips, she tried to pry the metal apart but could not move it. Any attempt to pull her leg free was met with fiery, white-hot pain coursing through her limb. She whimpered through grit teeth, trying to figure a way to free herself. How far was she from the court? Would anyone have heard her scream?

She heard another branch snap and voices with it. She lifted her head to attention, once more silent and rigid, but her breathing had grown ragged and panicked. Two men emerged from the bushes in front of her, two from the side.

Much more valuable than a doe she made out, and what the hell kinda thing is that.

Humans. How far had she gone? She shouldn’t be out of the court yet, humans should not be here… *shit,* her glamour! Ceinwyn had never been gifted in the glamour, but she should have known to conceal herself after traveling this far. It was far too late now.

She rattled the trap trying to pull free. The pain had been dulled by terror, and as the men neared she shrieked and screamed.

”Stay back! Stay away from me! HELP!!”

They did not stop. Ceinwyn swiped at them when they got within reach but they grabbed ahold of her arms and shoulders, lifting her to her feet. The faun yelled and kicked out with her powerful, uninjured leg, catching one of the hunters in the chest and sending him to the ground. She reared her head back, and felt the arms release her as her antlers sliced into the other’s face.

The wind was knocked out of her when she fell to the ground, and her right leg hurt so badly she felt sick. One of the men knelt on her, pinning her down while the other roughly tried to bind her wrists behind her back.

She screamed again for help.

 

[Razareal]

.

 

[Harper Kai]

She'd been tracking him. How many trails had gone so cold before this? Would this one as well? And she was so close when a sharp scream filled the air. Her footsteps traveled lightly along the swampy ground of Autumn. It helped the water nymph that there was so much available water - even in the air. Moisture beading on her skin that always demanded it.

A wisp of green hair and wide-blue eyes. A curl of her lips in a snarl as one of the humans was beheaded.

The other humans stumbling away, perhaps only to become prey of the Banderwald she knew lived just beyond the bottom of the hill. But her ire was not for the fleeing humans. Or the poor faun that had just been saved. It was for Razareal. He'd killed the one she'd been tracking for the past fortnight.

"What do you think you're doing?"

 

[Ceinwyn]

Ceinwyn had run out of breath, or more accurately had been unable to refill her lungs with the weight of the human man on her back. The pain in her leg overshadowed her bruised ribs and mishandled wrists, and her struggling started to wane as the ground fell out of focus...

A flash of light immediately released the pressure on her back and she drew in a gasping, hurtful gulp of air. Her arms fell back to her sides and she managed to push herself up to her elbows. Her breathing was ragged and hoarse, and she looked around with wide, wild eyes at the men fleeing... and then finally saw Razareal himself.

He looked at her, and she shrunk away from his gaze, recoiling very slightly as he knelt beside her. She didn't know him, but she could tell he was a Sidhe. This calmed her very slightly... until she remembered what a Sidhe could do to her.

She had to blink a few times to process his voice, her ears were still ringing with her own screams and she could feel the thump thump thump of her own bounding heartbeat. She swallowed, her throat feeling very dry.

Ceinwyn was prey. It went against her every instinct to admit weakness and injury to this strange fae. She looked down at her leg, still bound by the metal jaws of the trap, and then back to Razariel. This could not be hidden, no matter how she tried.

"Bad. I-it... I think... broken."

Her legs was still bleeding, though the flow had lessened since she'd stopped struggling against it. A quarter-inch or more of flesh had been bitten through by the trap and her shin had an unnatural kink at the point of impact. She did not feel the pain right now, not after so much fright, but it would return.

She started again when Harper appeared, her delicately tufted ears rising to attention. A nymph... a water nymph? She had not seen them since she left the summer court, and few at that.

 

[Razareal]

As Razareal drew closer, Ceinwyn seemed to shrink back in fear; The Faun was terrified, not only of the humans, but of him as well. Not shocking seeing as they'd never met, but he wasn't asking her to like him-- as long as she calmed herself and got her breathing under control she would be fine, for the most part. Still, there was kindness behind his eyes. He'd been caught in such a contraption before, metallic teeth digging down to the bone.

"The worst is over, so try to relax for now." It was a tall ask of the Faun, especially as she was absolutely correct about the state of her leg. That small protrusion was undoubtedly bone, and while the bleeding was slowing and her life was not in danger, she wouldn't be able to walk until the leg was repaired. Raz lifted a hand and ran it slowly in the air over her injury. He was no doctor, and what little healing magic he did know wasn't nearly strong enough to set such a break. Not safely anyway.

"We need to get you somewhere safe, as soon as possible."

Maybe he could at least cover it up. Hauling her to safety was going to be troublesome enough without the danger of an open wound, and hungry beasts would smell the blood...

"What do you think you're doing?"

A voice from behind. The hairs on the back of his neck stood straight as Razareal rose to his feet and spun around fully prepared to fight back against whoever had accosted him. What he hadn't expected to see was what seemed to be a Nymph, glaring a hole through him the size of The Spine. His muscles loosened a bit, the brimming energy he'd been calling up to defend him waning slightly as he tilted his head somewhat curiously at the azure-haired woman.

"I was helping somebody who needed to be helped. Is there a problem, Nymph?"

What reason did she have to be angry with him for his actions? Even to the courts who wished for coexistence with humans, the killing of one who was attacking a Fae was far from an offense. He felt the corner of his lips twitch into a smile

"Or were you hoping to swoop in and save the day instead?"

 

[Harper Kai]

Blue eyes like sunlight hitting the warmer waters on the Cortosi coast ROLLED. A sniff of the air told her exactly what he was. A Sidhe. Like most Duanan she met, this one was no less uppity and privileged. A bold step forward, then another. It was clear she would not by shying away from this scene or him.

Taking a knee by the beheaded man, she began searching his pockets.

"I was hoping for...more," she muttered, hands coming away empty. Save for a small piece of paper she slipped in her pocket. Gaze softened as she looked to the faun. A frown tugging on her lips as she noticed the steel trap still around the female's leg. A quick look back to the Sidhe.

"Okay Mister Big Strong Hero, can you break her free from the trap or are we to sit a deliberate with tea?" It was chained down. They wouldn't be going anywhere unless he could.

To the faun, "If we can find a running water source I can heal that for you," green-haired head tilted down to the angry wound on her furry leg. "I'm Harper," she offered to the faun. Gaze hardening to a glare back at the Sidhe.

 

[Ceinwyn]

Ceinwyn had begun to grow dizzy. Adrenaline coursed through her veins and dulled the pain of her leg... but it was beginning to fight its way through. Her breathing had slowed, and her heartbeat had quieted its assault on her ribcage, though she remained wary.

This sidhe truly did seem to want to help her. He had killed one of her assailants, after all, and if he wanted to hurt her there had been plenty of time for him to do so. Some small worry remained that he may wish to capture her for himself, but she had little time and no choices.

"We need to get you somewhere safe, as soon as possible."

She nodded, biting her tongue to quiet her quivering jaw, though she did not move. She was still very much rooted to the spot by the horrible trap.

She sighed and groaned audibly as Razareal's healing magic wound its way into her leg. It did not knit the bone nor fix the horrid angle of her limb, but it provided a momentary relief from the growing pain and staunched the worst of the bleeding.

Her vision was beginning to blur, and Harper was fuzzy as she rooted through the dead man's pockets. Ceinwyn was quickly letting go of her fear, focusing on staying conscious over worrying about her new "saviors."

Suddenly Harper was next to her. Had she blacked out for a second? Running water, healing... yes that would be good.

"Mm," she nodded, though her eyelids were growing heavy, and the forest had begun to tilt to her left.

 

[Razareal]

Razareal stared bewildered as the Nymph tried once more to cause him severe bodily harm through her angry stare alone, before storming past him and rummaging through the dead human's belongings. She'd been hoping for more?

"How vile. At least have some respect for the departed." It probably sounded absolutely rich coming from the one who'd cleaved the bastard's head clean from his neck, but there was a difference between ending their lives and desecrating their remains. At least to Razareal. Still, he made no attempt to stop her. There was no point starting another fight. Raz had suspicions as to Harper's origins as it was, and if he was correct, causing trouble with her would make things worse.

Another loud moan of pain earned the lion's share of his concern, and his frown deepened as the Sidhe turned back to the struggling Faun. Razareal's healing capabilities were relatively weak; the bit that he had used would only keep her from death, and little else. "Stand back, Harper. I will remove the trap while you locate a suitable source of water." Whatever gripes the thieving Nymph had with him, they could wait until the Faun was safe.

A wave of his hand over the shining steel surface of the trap was all it took-- It withered away beneath the power of Razareal's destructive magic. What Raz lacked in healing potential, he more than made up for in force. "Just stay still until it's all gone..." He muttered to the poor woman underneath him. "You're going to be alright. I'll get you back home as soon as we've got you stable."

Ceinwyn Harper Kai

 

[Harper Kai]

"How vile. At least have some respect for the departed."

"Now you're worried about respect after a beheading?" An incredulous snort and shake of her head but she did step back. For the faun's sake. "And do not judge what you don't understand." A low whisper of warning as she turned her head into the breeze before and knelt on the musty earth of Autumn Court.

A court's layout she didn't know as well.

Her fingers dug lightly into the moist dirt. She could pull and feel the water around her. But for healing, it was best to find a fresh source. "Follow me," she looked over her shoulder, concern flickering across her face once again for the faun. Lesser fae like the faun and herself were always more vulnerable than the duanan. Than the Sidhe. Something she doubted Big Strong Hero could understand.

Pushing off the ground she began to make her way between roots and trees downhill. There should be a small river at the bottom. Perhaps a place to regroup.

 

[Ceinwyn]

She shivered as the trap disintegrated from around her flesh. The pressure was relieved, and Razareal's magic had done enough that the bleeding did not begin again in earnest. It had also dulled the pain enough that when her leg shifted, now free of its support, she did not faint. She should have thanked him, and later she would, but manners did not seem important right now.

She grit her teeth, fighting against the dizziness that wanted her to remain on the ground. She had to get up. She had to move. Don't let them know how badly you are hurt. Don't let them know how weak you are. It was far too late for such deceptions, but instinct was most of what supported Ceinwyn in this moment.

She was able to push herself to a sitting position. With tremendous effort she tried to rise on her good leg. She felt a bead of cold sweat drop down her nose and her petite, vestigial fangs were just visible as she grimaced. If she could rise, maybe she could hobble to the water.

Alas her strength failed her and she fell. She reached out for the only support available, which happened to be Razareal, and clung to him to steady herself. "Sorry," she hissed. Her attacker's decapitated body still lay in her periphery, and the strength that now supported her was not altogether calming.

 

[Razareal]

The Nymphs ugly tone of voice certainly betrayed her beauty. If Razareal weren't on such strict orders he wouldn't have taken so kindly to being so brazenly insulted, but there were still far more pressing matters at hand. If there was one thing he did trust Harper with, it was finding water. As she set off towards what he assumed was such a source, Ceinwyn too made an attempt to struggle to her feet.

"Miss, I don't think that's a good--" Before he'd finished her sentence she'd lost her footing and collapsed once more. At least this time the Spring Knight had the time to catch her in his arms, steadying her wobbly form before pulling her in close to his body so that he could guide her with his own strength. "Mmh... You need to rest. Just loosen your muscles as best you can. We'll take care of you, I promise."

Raz attempted to give a comforting smile to the Faun, but it was clear that he wasn't particularly used to such an expression. Looping an arm around Ceinwyn's body to anchor her to him, Razareal followed Harper from a respectable enough distance. On the off chance she was up to something, he wanted to be ready for a fight.

"What's your name? Are you native to the Autumn?" Talking would keep her mind off of her injuries, even just a little. "My name is Razareal. I'm a Knight, serving under Spring..."

 

[Harper Kai]

She heard every word the Spring Knight said. Strange that he was here in fall. And she didn't really care other than he'd killed her only lead.

And it was clear she was still pissed about it.

The sounds of a small river began to filter up from the bottom of the hill and soon enough the lazy moving waters could be seen. Some large rocks were scattered about the banks. Harper didn't hesitate to wade into the water, ankle-deep.

"Bring her here," she called, trying to keep her voice gentle for the faun's sake. Harper needed a connection between the water, herself, and the injury for any kind of healing to work.

 

[Ceinwyn]

"Err... no," she answered Razareal. It was too difficult to consider saying anything but the truth right now. She didn't have the energy to lie, much less consider the pros and cons of doing so. "I'm from Summer... mih name's Ceinwyn."

Spring... she tried to remember what she knew of that court. Seelie did not tend to think highly of "lesser" faeries.

Were she in better mind, Ceinwyn may have wondered why a knight of the Spring court was so far astray. She might have been alarmed that a nymph from her native court was also here. Could it be coincidence? If not, it was almost certainly dangerous.

She did her best to follow Razareal's advice, though it was difficult to relax her mangled leg. When they reached the river the water bit at her barely-staunched wound, prompting a sharp hiss of breath through her teeth, but soon the cool current was soothing.

 

[Razareal]

Another Summer Fae. Why were so many of the ones he'd been told were his enemies lurking within the lands of Autumn? The entire reason he'd been sent to Midir was to combat Summer's threat, but the only two of them he'd met thus far seemed... well, not particularly menacing or ill-meaning. Even the temperamental water-nymph, while brazen and rude, didn't give Razareal any reason to believe she meant him harm.

The Spring Knight smiled politely or made his best attempt to as he carefully laid Ceinwyn down on the ground beside the streaming water as Harper directed. "A fine name, Ceinwyn. Now, do your best to take even breaths..."

Razareal wished that he had more potent healing magic, but his talent had always lied with destruction. It was an unusually helpless feeling, being so powerless to heal his allies when he had such a talent for bringing about such injury.

With a nod to the Nymph, Razareal steps back, out of the way. "All yours. If I can assist, please instruct me."

 

[Harper Kai]

A look of surprise as Ceinwyn answered where she was from. A slight stiffening of her shoulders before she controlled her features back into a blank mask. Was the faun one of the bounty hunters after her?

No, couldn't be. They didn't know she was from Summer. Her identity should be safe.

Did Ceinwyn know anything about her...

She swallowed, focusing her attention on the faun's wound. With a delicate arch and twist of her fingers, water of the small stream swirled and lifted in steady ribbons to smooth across the injury. If it had been dark, they even would've seen the smallest of glows, like bioluminescence sometimes found in the ocean along the coasts.

The angry welts the trap had left behind would begin to knit back together until only a slight pink remained on now smooth skin. The water receded back to the stream and Harper's fingers stilled at her side, dipping her chin in silent thanks to the water as fatigue wound its way through her body.

"Better?" She breathed, looking at Ceinwyn.

 

[Ceinwyn]

The relief was immediate. A cool, slow breath escaped from Ceinwyn's lips as the fluid tendrils swept away her injury. Her bones aligned and fused, the tendon and muscle brought back together as though they had never been torn, and her skin mended so completely that even the soft fur of her shin appeared undisturbed.

"Oh... my..." she blinked at the heady euphoria that took the place of pain. "Much better. Thank you, thank you so much." Already her senses were returning. Her vision was no longer blurry, and the ringing in her ears had dimmed to a dull static in the distance. She pulled her from the stream and ran delicate fingers over its unmarred surface again and again, as though she was unable to believe that it had ever actually been broken.

"And thanks to you, sir," she turned to Razareal with a respectful nod. "I fear I should have been killed if the both of you not come to my rescue. Oh! But I have nothing to repay you with..." A small stab of fear struck at her again, for she now found herself in the debt of not one but two fae. And, spirits save her, on of them was a duannan.

Hoping to deflect from the fact that they could ask nearly any price, she asked "How did you find yourself in these woods? We are so far from Laigin."

 

[Razareal]

If there had been fear behind the Faun's lack of compensatory means, Razareal either didn't see it or simply did not care. The Sidhe hadn't saved the creature out of a desire for a reward, nor did he expect one. Of course, he couldn't speak for the Nymph. His suspicions towards the water creature aside, witnessing her efforts heal the Faun's injuries so quickly was unquestionably a spectacle to behold.

"Impressive indeed, Nymph..." Raz commended as his eyes followed Ceinwyn's hand as it traced along the flesh that had just moments ago been ripped and torn. The Washed's strength had always lied in destruction. Razareal would never attain the healing powers that he'd just seen before him. There was a pang of sadness in that fact, but he knew his purpose well.

His fascination waned when the Faun asked about his own origins, and the large Sidhe rose to his feet, an expression of stoicism coming to rest on his face as he crossed his arms over his broad-bared chest and looked between Ceinwyn and the Water Nymph.

The Faun had already revealed herself to be from Summer, and Razareal had no way of knowing where the other came from. That being said, there wasn't too much he was at liberty to reveal to a member of the Summer court. So, he clicked his jaw and muttered. "I've merely been summoned for an audience with Autumn and was on my way to attend. Though admittedly I became somewhat lost along the way. These are unfamiliar lands to me..."

Now, for a bit of a sideswipe.

"What about you, Nymph?"

 

[Harper Kai]

A stiffening of her shoulders everytime Ceinwyn said thank you. Two words fae just did not utter. It was a binding debt. And Harper did not like anything binding. She was nearly ready to silence the faun with a wet palm over her mouth when Razareal spoke up.

Harper remained in the water. It was where she was her strongest and if Mister Big Strong Rescuer got any ideas, she wanted to be ready. Still, Harper did not offer her name. Better to slip between courts without being identified. She was already hunted down by one court and she didn't need to add more to the list.

"I was tracking someone, though, now because of your kill first and ask questions later approach, the trail now runs cold." An accusatory green-tinted brow raises at Razareal.

 

[Ceinwyn]

Ceinwyn had to agree that the these woods looked quite foreign. Three days by hoof had carried her far, but the turmoil of the past half hour had thoroughly disrupted her direction. She knew she had traveled northwest from Laigin, so they must go southeast to return.

"I've merely been summoned for an audience with Autumn and was on my way to attend. Though admittedly I became somewhat lost along the way. These are unfamiliar lands to me..."

"I will take you back," she said, almost too eagerly. Surely such a favor would repay her debt to Razareal and unbind her from any other task he may ask of her.

Ceinwyn attempted to stand. She very carefully placed her hooves beneath herself and, half expecting the limb to snap again, lifted herself slowly. Not an ounce of pain bothered her. In fact, the aches that had built in her legs from days of travel had vanished entirely. Incredible.

"I was tracking someone, though, now because of your kill first and ask questions later approach, the trail now runs cold."

Her tufted ears perked up. "Were they one of those men?" she asked, feeling a bitterness on her tongue as she said the word. Men. Horrible, brutish creatures. "What would you want with one of them?" Normally she would not have been so bold as to ask what was clearly not her business, but she was so disgusted with those people that she could not help herself. Why would this nymph, so beautiful and kind, get mixed up with them?

 

[Razareal]

Razareal had been hoping the Faun would pick up on the chance to repay any hint of debt she felt was owed by assisting him in navigating to Autumn, and he was relieved when she offered. As Ceinwyn rose up once more, Raz remained ready to catch her in the event she stumbled or fell. the Nymph's magic proved quite able, however, and the Faun hardly flinched as she rose to her full stature once more.

"Very impressive..." Razareal's gaze flittered back to the Nymph as he gave a nod of respect for her ability. He didn't trust her by any length, but she'd helped somebody in need that she didn't need too, and that earned her a modicum of respect with the Spring Sidhe. "I would be very thankful if you helped me, Lady Ceinwyn. I'm already rather late..."

"I was tracking someone, though, now because of your kill first and ask questions later approach, the trail now runs cold."

Razareal's lips twitched at the accusatory tone the healer was taking with him, however. How was he to know that she'd been tracking the men? She hadn't exactly made her presence known, and Razareal wasn't about to stand aside and watch the Faun be taken away, even if by her tone the creature shared a similar distaste for humanity...

"What did you expect me to do? Stand and observe? Cienwyn was in peril, and I intervened. I don't specialize in pulling my blows, Nymph."

 

[Harper Kai]

Though her exterior remained rigid and more prickly than a cactus on dawn court, her careful eyes never left Ceinwyn as she stood. Ready to support the faun if she needed it. Relief that neither of the two would be able to pick up on settled in her belly. Harper knew her healing ability with the waters was not to be doubted but it was good to see it had gone as deep as the wound required.

"Were they one of those men?"

"No," a sharp and quick response. "He's," she paused, then swallowed. "They might've seen him. Known where he..," voice trailed off. She just met both of these fae. One Spring. One Summer on loan to Autumn. Even though brawn and fight was all over the former, she was more worried about the latter.

I don't specialize in pulling my blows, Nymph."

"Clearly," a huff. With no small amount of reluctance, she stepped free from the river. "You'll be safer traveling together," Harper looked between the two of them and as if that decided things, she began forging her own path away from them. She was losing daylight. And she doubted the ones Raz had taken care of were all there were of the poachers and hunters. She would bet shells there was a basecamp somewhere around here. And she aimed to find it.

And maybe if that happened, find another lead toward her brother.