'Shit! Shit! Shit! Fucking!... How is this kid so fast? She's sprinting on all fours!' Reggie thought to himself as he vaulted over a food cart. 'Are all kids built this different in this world?'
Reggie was putting just about all of his adventuring training in this moment. Rushing past the unaware evening pedestrians, dodging over, under, and around random street obstacles, and keeping a constant hawk's eye on the attempted murder child. Though, Lady did most of the work on that one.
"Lady, can I get any more help here? Like that 'water filling with lungs' trick?
Shit. You know what I meant!
What do you mean you're not angry at her?
She stabbed our friend!
My friend?
Okay, now is not the time for an argument!"
While Reggie was busy talking to his dearly departed, Lily was still on the run from him. She grabbed a spare knife from a butcher's cart as they ran past. As soon as she got the opening, she stopped and gave a precision throw directly for Reggie's head.
Moments before striking, a thin film of solid water deflected it towards the ground. Lily was back on her feet, but Reggie gained a lot of ground having never lost momentum.
She pulled of the main street into an alleyway. She needed something quick as her pursuer was just a few feet behind her. A moment of genius struck. She moved to a wall, her fingers shifting into claws, she launched herself upwards to cut the chord on a line of laundry.
The sudden avalanche of fabric landed on Reggie. He kept his speed, and with a blouse obscuring his vision he full body slammed into a person. They both fell to the ground.
"Shit! Sorry!" He didn't even take a moment to see who he collided with. His eyes were instantly on the road around him. To his surprise, Ag and Mordeki just so happen to be standing there.
Before either of them could say anything, Reggie had seen Lily and was already on his feet. "Hurry! That little bitch stabbed Bounty!"
Both got surprised looked as they glanced at each other. "The beast..." They whispered before breaking off into a full sprint.
Ave on the other hand was stunned and confused. After all, he did just get full body tackled by Reggie. He slowly stood up. The intense ringing in his ears punctuated by the sounds of his bones shifting, clanking, and snapping with every movement.
He slowly trudged forward. Every step accented by squelching flesh. Black, festering blood dripped onto the cobble road below. He trailed blood for a block before he finally gave in and secluded himself in another alley. He rested against a wall. Through the piercing ringing, a familiar voice rang through.
[It was never supposed to turn out like this, was it, Ave?]
"Cease speaking. The dead don't talk." Ave replied through pained breathing.
[Strong words for someone who has already died.]
"What do you want? Answer quickly. I don't have time for this."
[Oh, but you have all the time in the world. This one anyway.] The voice mocked.
Ave snapped his jaw closed with an angry hiss.
[I want what you want. I always have.]
"And what would that be?"
[Revenge. Against those who doubted your ability, those who massacred your people, the one who turned you into this, and the one who stole her away from you. She was with a child--]
"Stop. Enough." Ave let out a pained sigh. The ringing in his ears stopped in an instant; the voice vanishing with it.
Ave rested himself on top of a crate pulling open his robes to inspect his body. He pressed his hand against a rib that fractured through his chest. He braced himself before forcefully pushing the bone back into his body with a pained cry.
He watched as the wound slowly stitched and molded itself back together. The bone shifting and locking itself back into place.
"Only a matter of time..." He whispered to himself.
XXXXX
"What happened? Where's Bounty?" Ag asked as the trio continued their chase.
"He's fine I think. Whistle's with him."
"What he do to get stabbed by a... little girl?" Even Ag questioned himself watching this girl dash about on all fours.
"Hells if I know! I showed up after he was already on the ground and Whistle was fighting! He seems like an ass but I doubt he'd provoke a child enough to get stabbed."
"She's running to the park on the left!" Mordeki called out. He pointed to a fenced off area with large metal gates and pointed iron fencing, like spears lined up next to each other pointed towards the sky.
"Mordeki, cut off exits! Reggie, flank around. Trap her at the gazebo in the middle."
As soon as the three got inside, Mordeki stopped and pulled out his spell book. He flipped to a bookmarked page and began chanting as a cyan rune formed at his fingers. Barriers of intense flowing air formed at the gates preventing travel.
Lily skidded to a stop at the barrier. She doubles back right into Reggie's direction. "Just give up kid, you're outnumbered." He called out.
Lily flashed her shark like teeth. She pounced going straight for Reggie's neck. "Oh fuc--!" He shouted in surprise as he ducked under her lunge. Lily tumbled past. Her eyes locked with Mordeki, the one really preventing her escape.
She rushed through the central gazebo on track to stop him, but she was stopped herself after slamming into the shin piece of plate armor. She staggered backwards. By the time she was ready to move, a sword was already being pointed at her throat.
"Do not try to run beast." Ag pressed the sword closer into her throat. "Why did you attack our friend?"
"Cause I liked his coat!" She venomously stated with a psychotic grin. Both Reggie and Ag shared a confused look.
"His coat?" Reggie asked.
Lily cocked her head back. Her hair falling onto the wooden floor. She gave him a wide eyed, toothy grin that sent shivers down his spine. "You smell like sea salt!" She kicked upwards knocking the sword out Ag's hand and lodging it into the ceiling of the gazebo.
She rolled onto her stomach and launched herself towards Reggie. Ag thought faster and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. He wasn't fast enough however as she kept her speed allowing her to slam her feet against Reggie's chest and flip around.
The sudden force made Ag's claws tear through the shirt making him loss his grip, but he hadn't lost her yet. She straddled herself upside down on his arm and bit into his forearm. Her teeth piercing through his vambraces causing him to shout in pain.
"Ah! Fiendish creature! I just got those repaired!"
He pulled her off with he spare hand and tossed her into the railing of the gazebo. She smashed through taking chunks of wood and splinters into the grass.
"Mordeki! Hex, restraint, something! Stop her!" Reggie called out. Mordeki looked up to see the girl in her weakened state. He dropped his concentration on the wind barriers to conserve mana and his mentality. He flipped to the hexes chapter of his book and started reading for something he could use.
Before he could even find what he was looking for a sharp piece of wood stabbed through his book. The pointed tip stoping just an inch from his muzzle. He looked up to see Lily already on her feet with splintered wood wielded like swords.
"What is with this kid!?" Reggie asked Ag who was clutching his wounded arm.
"Ave said she's been hunting one of us for the past few days. Disabling wards, barriers, and even evading divinations. I guess her target was Bounty." He took in air through his teeth as he flashed his arm with fire to cauterize his wound.
Reggie pointed at Lily while still looking at Ag. "That is a fucking... like... an 8 year old girl!"
"And I will not let her fool me again." Ag grabbed his sword out of the ceiling and stormed towards the savage child. He formed a red rune in has hand and slammed it against the blade engulfing it in fire. He grabbed the hilt with both hands and got into an offensive stance.
"This is your last chance, creature. Surrender, or be purged." Ag warned. Behind him, Reggie got into his own stance with his trident followed by Mordeki with a blue rune that slowly formed sharp jagged ice.
Lily tightened her grip on her improvised swords. With a war cry she charged.
XXXXX
A few minutes later.
XXXXX
Ave was still resting in that alleyway. Most of his wounds had closed, but his body was still too fragile to properly move; not without a lot of pain anyway.
His eyes darted to the entrance where someone was approaching, but the shadows of the evening city draped the stranger in darkness and anonymity, but Ave knew who it was in an instant. The beast in all her tiny glory.
Ave opened his mouth to speak, but only coughed up some blood that splattered down his broken torso. He looked back up to see Lily had fallen to the ground and into the light. Her body covered in cuts, burns, and frostbite.
"So we finally meet, beast." Ave let out another cough; less blood this time.
"Who you calling... beast?" Lily moaned from the floor. She herself was barely able to move.
"You. The one who has been trying to break into my nest and steal my dinner."
"So you're the one who kept me out of that mansion." Lily let out a pained chuckle. "I was just trying to hunt down that cat."
"Foolish creature."
"You trying to pick a fight?" Lily yelled from the floor, even though she was in no condition to even stand anymore.
"I'm trying to teach you. A true hunter must know that their prey isn't just a meal. They are a tool. For instance, that cat is mine, as well as those three that pursued you. They will undoubtedly draw attention to themselves. 'A bigger fish' I think is the human phrase. I will be the one to kill and eat that fish."
"So... are you going to... kill and eat me too?"
"Depends, did you kill those three that chased you?"
"No... I could only run. Finally lost them on some rooftops." Lily slowly got back up on her knees, she looked forward to see exactly who she was talking too. She was suddenly taken aback by the image before her. A broken white lizard covered in black blood. Silver piercing eyes that acted like windows to a slitted void. Everything about him said the word 'Monster'.
"Then you aren't worthy enough to be killed by me."
Lily felt something pierce her heart; an emotion she's never felt before. Fear. She's had to live on the feeling of self preservation before, but in that moment, she was actually scared of death. Behind it all, she felt she was challenged.
Ave stood from his seat and stumbled forward. He gathered his balance and walked past Lily.
"Wait! You can't just leave me." She cried out.
Ave stopped but did not turn to face her. "Why shouldn't I?"
"I can be a useful tool like you said! I'll stop hunting that cat, I swear!"
Ave stood silent for a moment. He wanted to leave her there, but he was instead hit by feeling from the past. A mentorship that never lasted, and a fatherhood that died before it even began. He turned around and pressed his hand against her back. A glowing white light flashed from their contact.
"Your first task; stay awake, and I will accept you."
The cuts on Lily's body began closing and stitching back into place. Burns were fading, and dead frostbitten skin was revived. However, Lily didn't get a second of rest as the whole process put her through excruciating pain. A pain she had only known one other time in her life. 'I stayed awake through that, I'll stay awake through this.' She thought, but the only thing that came from her mouth was a blood boiling scream.