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Ruval stared. And stared. He did forget how to speak for a moment since he didn't expect his savior to be a gorgeous woman. The woman part was really not what confused him as much as her beauty. Another moment passed were both just stood there staring at each other before Ithiliel smirked and broke the silence.
"Meow," she said with a highly sarcastic tone in her voice while stepping closer. Though instead of approaching the knight, she went for the corpse of the bandit and crouched. Her hand reached for the veil and removed it, and by the looks on her face, the man on the ground was someone accustomed to her.
"Dughall...," she muttered and stood again. Her expression was a strange mix between disgust and hate. And satisfaction? Before Ruval could be sure, her expression straightened and was unreadable again.
"Dughall? I take that as you acknowledging him?" He finally found his voice to ask her, keeping his eyes focused upon her. She was already about to fix her weapon back onto her back as his voice drew her attention. Her head turned slowly to face him, and cold green eyes would meet his. She nodded, looking then back down at Dughall's lifeless body. The hatred expression returned upon her features, and with a furious yell, she kicked the corpse.
"Hey!" The knight stood in front of her with a few giant steps and kept her from kicking Dughall's body once more. "What the fuck? He might have been scum, but this is no way to treat the dead!" He growled down at her, blocking the second kick coming for the corpse with his leg. A pained hiss came from Ithiliel, and fury-filled eyes gazed up at him, her face a hateful grimace that, surprisingly, didn't fail her beauty still. In fact, it somehow made her look even more beautiful, almost like a goddess of war.
"Oh, shut up. You've got no idea who this piece of shit was. He deserves worse. To be honest, if I had known it was him, I would have kept you from killing him to rip off his limbs. You did him a favor," the huntress hissed at the knight.
"Alright, I see there is a lot of bad emotions when it comes to this guy. But this gives you no rights nonetheless to humiliate his corpse. No matter what life he lived," the blonde growled back, still blocking her from coming any closer to the corpse. Ithiliel's eyes flashed with hate once again, but she controlled herself quickly and turned, flicking her hair back over her shoulder. A shrug and disdaining gaze back at the knight followed.
"Whatever. I'm gone. The others are probably gone already as well, and it's getting late," she replied, more to herself than towards Ruval, and attempted to leave.
"Wait, what? Do you want to leave the bodies lying around here open like this? What the hell is wrong with you?" Ruval stared at her in disbelief. He sure had seen her hate towards the man on the ground, but she sure behaved ruthlessly. The young woman shrugged again at his words. "Winter was long. There are enough beasts that need to feed after the long cold."
Ruval's jaw dropped open, and if Ithiliel hadn't been so mad, she probably would have laughed at the knight's expression. "Careful there with your pretty face and close your mouth before you choke on a fly," she said with a slightly mocking tone and turned to climb the slope back up where she came from.
Dumbfounded as he was, it took him a few more moments before realizing her being about to get away. The sword he was still holding was quickly sheathed, and he went after her. "Wait! You can't just leave like this. Wait," he yelled after her, cursing silently while his feet slipped every here and there upon the loose ground up the slope. How the hell could she climb it this quickly, he wondered. Fine, he thought, let's hunt then.
He closed his eyes and focused on his surround, listening to everything that would not fit into the natural soundscape of a forest. But, evidently, he missed that his prey was a halfelf just like him. When Ithiliel revealed her face, he was far too distracted by her beauty to have seen the small pointy ears poking left and right from her bloodred locks. A frown wrinkled his forehead; his well-trained senses seemed to fail him for the first time in his life. How could this be? The thought crossed his mind, and he opened his eyes again.
Ithiliel, meanwhile, stared down at him, carefully balancing upon the branch she chose as a lookout, and bit her lip to keep herself from laughing. Who would have guessed that her day would be this eventful? The failed hunt was already forgotten; this now was way more fun than staring at dirt and trying to read traces of potential prey. And she found out who one of the bandits was. Caer, Dughall's father, won't be happy one bit. She was certain of that.
What she didn't reckon on was that the mere thought of Dughall would draw a scoff from her lips, and suddenly her eyes crossed with the knight's ones. 'Fuck!' she thought and crouched a little to hide within the leaves. But he already had seen her. "I seem to amuse you," he misinterpreted. Ithiliel rose at his words, not intending to correct him, and leaned against the stem with crossed arms. "What if?" she replied, her eyes pinned to his with her head slightly tilted to the side.
Ruval wasn't able to hide the grin her words caused. "Ah, well. Maybe I would be too looking from your point of view, having a stranger run after you like a headless chicken, not paying attention to his surround. I must admit am surprised you didn't shoot me yet," he said then, his hands raised to show her that he was unarmed. For now, at least. Even if he had his sword drawn, she had an advantage from her position and with those marksman skills.
The response returned quickly. "There are not many men who admit openly to prefer to be penetrated," she smirked down at Ruval, aware of her words, before adding. "But if you want me to shoot you..." Ithiliel reached up for her bow as if she would draw it to make her words come true. But, instead, her hand stopped mid-air, hearing him laugh.
"Oh, if I were my friend Peryan, I wouldn't complain," Ruval replied, amused. "But I, for my part, would prefer it the other way around. But enough of this. There are corpses on the path of which we have to take care of. So, if you do not mind, come down and help me."
Ithiliel didn't bother. She leaned back against the stem while looking down at him. "Not interested, am sorry, 'my lord.' You're a big boy; you can handle them on your own now," she gave back as answer and pushed herself off again, and with a last look at the knight, she'd jumped from the branch she was standing upon.
But she didn't land on the ground. Ruval expected her to land close by, but she did not appear. And Ithiliel must be still observing him because of the amused laugh that weaved through the small clearing. His face showed open confusion. What the hell is wrong with me, crossed his mind. He had never been taken aback by anyone his entire life, just for his willpower and attention to be challenged by a girl now?
His confusion disappeared then, and a grin curled his lips. "Challenge accepted," he muttered to himself before shouting out. "You'll help me with the corpses should I catch you before nightfall!"
A clear laugh rang through the clearing again, and Ithiliel smirked down again at the knight. Usually, she was the hunter, and now she's the prey? Why not. "Playing hide and seek with a huntress in her very own domain. You seem confident. I grew up in these woods. Good luck not getting lost," Ithiliel replied before jumping into another tree with a laugh.
Ruval shook his head, but a grin played around his lip corners. "Am sorry, Var. Seems you've got to wait a bit longer for me," he muttered to himself while his eyes followed Ithiliel. Soon she disappeared from his gaze. Damn, she's fast, he thought. His ears twitched and turned, making sure not to miss any noise; since she was moving now, it shouldn't be that much of a problem to her there. So he thought.
Ithiliel, however, knew of her strengths, and she knew her environment. She hopped from tree to tree with a few skillful jumps, always using the leaves and shadows to vanish from searching eyes. Unfortunately, she melted with the shadows with her black attire, and Ruval struggled to keep up with her.
Deeper and deeper, he followed her into the forest, always following the amused laughter that somehow seemed to come from everywhere. But since it remained loud and clear, he knew that she was still close to him. She's toying with him, obviously. If she had wanted to get away from him, she would have succeeded long ago. But she remained close, her clear laugh echoing through the forest, and started to piss him off.
This can't be; the sun is already setting, he thought while following her deeper into the woods. The environment started to change slowly, rocks and mossy boulders appeared more often, small hills and slopes blocking his path now and then, and old majestic trees with deep roots offered places to hide and vanish quickly. Soon the sound of flowing water mixed into the sounds of the forest.
"I see you're still not giving up. Sun's almost set; you should give up and keep what's left of your dignity," Ithiliel voice echoed through the air, her words coated with amusement. "Almost, but not yet. By the looks of it, I still got a half hour left at least," Ruval answered while he drew his dagger from its sheath. Was about time to end things here. The huntress became too confident, and he finally was able to track her movements properly. A flash of metal cut through the air, and soon there was a surprised yell. He grinned to himself and rushed over to where the cussing and cursing came from.
There she was, the fabrics of her cloak pinned by the dagger to the trunk of a nearby tree. She pulled and tugged; the soft sound of ripping cloth was to be heard, but she wasn't able to free herself quick enough before Ruval reached her. She turned and found herself between his arms, the tree in her back and her face not far from his. "How the fuck?" she glared at him.
"Simple. You became too confident in the end. Never underestimate your opponent, kitten," Ruval replied delightedly. "Kitten?" Ithiliel hissed back and tried to push him aside, yet he did not move an inch from where he stood. "You got me, now back off," she added, slightly annoyed, but there was also something else in her voice. Could it be fear, he wondered. "Yes, I did. But you've got my esteem. No one in a long time could have fooled me over such a long period as you did," he smiled down at her, drowning in her eyes. He did not back off, though.
His smile did not really calm her either; Ithiliel still glared at him and tried to push him away. And by the look on her face, her dislike was genuine. That's a first for him. Usually, women only played hard to get in his presence, but this little wild cat obviously did not want to be too close to him. "I said, back off, dude," Ithiliel repeated herself, her palms pressed against his chest and continuously trying to push him away. Ruval shook his head. "And let you get away again? Do you think I trust you?"
Fair point, she thought. And she did play with the thought to slip from his grasp, but he was smart enough not to allow this situation to occur. He was right. She WAS too confident towards the end and didn't pay attention. She would have seen his change in move and approach. Then again, she also was proud and would not stand against her word. If he managed to catch her, she would help him with the bodies. "You've got my word. But why would a great 'knight' trust the word of a lowly huntress?" she answered, and how she emphasized 'knight' only signed him that she didn't think too highly of him or his kin for that matter.
"Ruval is this knight's name," he introduced himself, ignoring her taunting, and tilted his head while his eyes scanned her face once again. She sure was beautiful. "Mind me asking for your name in return?"
"You may not," came back as a response. Ithiliel kept her eyes locked with his, but as soon as his gaze started to trail off, she turned her head, allowing her hair to shield her from his eyes. This was the time when he finally realized the pointy ears of hers poking through her hair. "Oh. Now this explains a lot. You're of elven blood," he said then, turning his head a little to look into her face again. The smile that played around his lip corners was still there, yet he sure looked at her with even more interest.
"So are you," she replied and turned her head to look back up at him. "Now, would you mind to get the fuck off of me finally?" There was no mocking in her tone anymore, and the sass was gone. Only discomfort was left. "I would, but I still do not trust you. How about you give me your name in exchange for your freedom?" A reasonable request, he pondered. But not for the young woman. With her name, he was able to track her down again if he wanted. Not that there were many redheaded half-elven huntresses in these woods.
"None of your business. And you've got no rights to keep me hostage, either. So let go of me, I told you, you've got my word. I will help you with the bodies if you catch me. You did — end of the bargain." Again she tried to force his body away from hers, but he still did not move. He couldn't help himself. He was enchanted by her somehow and wanted to stay a little longer with her. His eyes moved down to her lips, wondering how they might taste, and he knew he was pushing his luck, but he couldn't help himself. "A kiss then?"
"A what?" Ithiliel's eyes widened in disbelief. Did she hear correctly? Did he receive a blow to the head dealing with the bandits? Was it the unusual warm for this time of the year that gave him a heatstroke? He could not possibly ask her for a kiss in return to let her go.
But he didn't hear her question. Nor could he control himself. Once the wish to kiss her crossed his mind, he couldn't let go of it, and so he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Ithiliel froze. She did think of him being handsome, she did also blush when her own thoughts went astray earlier, but she did not expect something like this to happen. Her hand reached out to the side, taking hold of the dagger he threw earlier to pin her to the tree, and with a forceful yank, she ripped it from the wood. She aimed for his temple with the pommel of the dagger's hilt, using the momentum, and - succeeded.
A deep grunt came from Ruval as the pain stroke through his head, letting go of Ithiliel, who took advantage of his situation and pressed her back against the tree, lifting her legs and crashed her feet against his chest. The knight did not expect the blow to his chest and flew backward, landing hard onto his back. He laid there, rubbing a hand against his throbbing temple while the other clasped onto his chest, trying to catch some breath. "I guess I deserved that one..." he panted while looking up, his eyes searching for the huntress.
"You did deserve worse," she replied, throwing the dagger and watched it impale the ground between his legs, not far from his manhood. He breathed in sharply and stared at his blade, then back up at Ithiliel. But she was gone. Where she was a moment ago was nothing but emptiness. "I did... Indeed..." he murmured, reaching for the dagger and ripped it from the ground to sheath it properly, wondering about himself and where his self-control went. He took a look around once again before standing and sighed then. "Now you need to find your way back on your own, idiot..."
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