"Girl, we need to go!" said the man with a brown scarf, dragging the little girl by her wrist with ease
"No! Don't Wanna! Mama! Papa!" screamed the little girl forcefully.
The man stopped, kneeled in front of her and stared at her eyes, grasping her little shoulders, he said in a soft tone, "Look, they'll be alright capiche? I promise, if you stay close to me, they will also come too you hear?"
"No! I want them now!" the little girl pouted.
The man sighed then the little girl tries to wiggle away from his arms. Sensing her wanting to get away, he decided to carry her over with his shoulder.
"Eeeeyaaaaah! Noooo!"
The girl screeched in protest over her being carried, she continuously hit the back of the man with her tiny fists, Yet the man paid no heed and still ran and ran, and ran, as farthest as he can, until a blinding light fell from the sky in its speed of light, crushing the land on his path. The man clutched the little girl harder as he stumbled and thrown away by the impact the light caused. Their bodies rolled furiously as soon as they came in contact with the ground. Rolling, and rolling, until the momentum finally stops with the little girl's back lays at the ground, still in embrace of the man who is over her. Realizing the momentum stops, the man releases her at his grasp and giddily rose up, and asks the little girl,
"Are you okay?"
The girl nodded, and then behind the man, she saw-
***
"…You're finally awake."
Lying beside the tree roots with a cloth for a cushion, Ishnaia then suddenly opened her eyes wide enough and raised her upper body upwards in a jolt to make herself into a sitting position. The abrupt movement gave her an instant headache that was gone in a second.
"Fuck…" She held her head.
"You're Finally alright?"
The owner of the reassuring voice was from Alister. He was there, at the campfire. Facing at the flames that burns the wooden branches, making arrows from branches and pelt from the beastkins. At that sight, she remembered the deed she had done earlier before this moment. Killing the pesky beastkins that tried to kill them. Or one could call that is is just a plain massacre of them. And she remembered how she did it, in every, single, execution of them.
"Blllllaaaargggghhhhh!" Ishnaia vomited in an instant she remembered the gore she committed wherein the soil beside her was happily filled with it, and then Alister rush by her side in a flash. He tapped her upper back repeatedly and ask with worry,
"Lady Ishnaia, are you fine?"
*pant* "haaah…" Ishnaia breaths in and out, "Yeah… I'm fine, just bad stuff in my mind..."
"It's alright." Alister stops tapping and sat beside her, "You went unconscious earlier after I called you out when we're all fighting, but It is finally over for now."
"We all fought?"
"Yeah," Alister nods once, "Me,Hardy and Kes helped you take down those scoundrels."
"I…" Ishnaia looks downcast with a grin, "killed those scoundrels huh?"
Alister glances at her, "They deserved it. Do not worry about it."
Ishnaia was surprised how heartless he sounded and glances at him quickly and to campfire, and smiled, "Ok then." then she looks at the woods and asks, "Where…"
"We are not that far from the tavern if that is what you are asking." Alister replied. "See that?" he pointed some light from few meters away, as if hiding between the sonorous bushes of trees. "That's the place, and It's still burning as we speak. Don't worry, remember there are open fields at that place, right? The flames certainly would not reach here. If you fear it to be."
"Huh," Ishnaia glances at her surroundings, "Where's the dwarf?"
"Hardy… accidentally lost the horses and are on for the search with Kes."
"That so…" Ishnaia grinned, "Hardy really lost a fuckton of things accidentally huh?"
Alister also grinned "Can't be help, but at least he saved some of our things from fire!"
"I say that's an accident."
"Well, He's a king of accidents!"
Both laughed shortly and paused, both looking at the said light from afar. Then Alister speaks,
"You know, I have been meaning to ask…"
"…What?"
"…N-no, nevermind. It will be rude of me."
"Now I'm curious," Ishnaia leans closer to him, "What's up? I don't bite!"
"Alright then," Alister sighed, "…Do you remember? A-anything about where you learned how to fight? Never I have seen any who fight like that for a lady… You fight…" Like a demon possessed? A brutal Dancer? Alister paused and did not say any of those words. He felt it would be rude to do so. However, Ishnaia grasps on about what he had to say, she sighs and speaks,
"Truth to be told, I don't remember much more because of my stupid memories missing. But fighting… It felt… natural to me. Like I knew what to do at any moment in times of danger. I guess that I had been trained for so long that it's like a fucking muscle memory for me, but I don't know who, how, what or when."
"And those times," Alister interposes, "All those times you suddenly acted is when the times we are in danger. Did you remember something?"
"That…" Ishnaia paused, "All I remember before I acted, was the horrors I may had seen a long time ago…And I remember it. People...beheaded…b-burning..."
Ishnaia started to tremble. Alister noticed this and hurriedly grasp Ishnaia's shoulders with his hands,
"Ishnaia! Lady Ishnaia!" Alister desperately called "I'm sorry! It's alright, It's alright! Don't force yourself!"
Ishnaia blinks twice and got back to her senses and sees Alister directly in his face and muttered, "Oh, I did it again huh?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry." Alister sighs, "I will not ever bring that up again." And he returned to her side. And they sat without words and stared again at the light from afar. Then, in a timid manner, Alister asks,
"Say…"
"Hmm?"
Alister shyly glances at Ishnaia, "Are you…" *Ehem* Alister then clears his throat.
"Wh-what do you think of Hardy?"
Ishnaia snorted giggly and looks at Alister, "The way you say, it sounded like we're dating."
"N-No!" Alister blushes and turned his eyes away from Ishnaia and back to her, "What I'm saying is, Is he a good companion? Are you a bit mad at him? The way I see it, you two always in a brabble with each other."
"Ah," Ishnaia nods in understanding and shooks her head, "No, I'm not mad! Sure, he may be a pain in the ass for only time knows how long, but he's alright, and it's really fun to tease him for the sake of him for being how funny he is when mad!"
Then Ishnaia laughs, Alister smiles wryly and wants to say something, but could not say to her and only to himself, and that is, 'It's really because of you as of why he is a pain for you!'
***
"ARTHURIA! LANCELOT!" Hardy howled whilst moving with a gesture of calling with both of his hands, "DADDY'S HERE!"
"Shh! Hardy, not so loud!" Kes reprimanded Hardy, who is walking alongside him with a lamp with a cracked glass.
"What, Giving up already?"
"No, it's just…"
Cringey... Kes wanted to say.
"A-anyway," he continued, "how can we ploughing find your pets in this dark forest?"
"What are you saying?" Hardy squinted at Kes, "Ain't beastkins can see clearly at night for you people only see black and white isn't it? And hey! Use your nose!"
"Are you sodding me?" Kes expressed irately, "you're talking 'bout beasts that don't reason! You dare compare me to 'em!?"
"Wh-Naaah! Nooo!" Hardy wryly smiles, "Someone told me that a long time ago!"
"And that someone is? You know, it doesn't matter, I can see clearly in the night as day, but I can see colors fine, ya hear?"
"Damn, so Ludwig lied me a long time ago!"
"Ludwig," Kes was quite surprised hearing that name, "you mean my brother?"
"Yeah, and the two of you had uncannily similar look. Heck, I even thought of you as him earlier!"
"Earlier, heh," Kes grinned, "It's as if we quite had a long road with each other already because of earlier isn't it!"
"Yep, and no thanks to you!" Hardy grumbled, "Don't think that I'll ever forget you attacking us like that when I'm so ploughing friendly as a man's best friend!"
"I'm no man, but I'm sorry! Fuck, you really saved my skin at Ludwig's place!"
Hardy shrugged, "What can I say, I just know there's good in you!"
"Good huh? Then I'll advise you something good, we stop looking for your horses, and rest till morning. Darkness invites danger as the saying goes! Not that I fear it but, there's also this story about disappe-"
"What are you saying Kes?" Hardy annoyed, "Look, I can't sleep knowing that they may be hungry, lost or in danger as you say!" Hardy then pointed at the axe sheathed at his back, "See this? I'm prepared then before! Thanks to those pesky beastkins waiting to be in six-foot underground!"
"Just because you had a new blade and mine does not mean we're out from danger!"
"Exactly! And besides, we had you, a Beastkin! In a flesh! And I heard Beastkin's are good in tracking lost pets! We'll be out of danger in no time!"
"What am I? A dog?" Kes furiously says.
"You had the looks, and I guarantee it."
"I'm more of a wolf than a dog, and you should probably know that!"
"Enough complaining and more searching Kes! Arthuria and Lancelot's waiting for us. They may be scared and chilling as we speak!"
"And how does your presence help our searching I wonder?"
"Why of course I'm the parent! I took care of them. And hey! they may run again when they see your face!"
"Bastard!"
And they continued to walk with Kes lighting the way with the lamp. Pitter-patter, pitter-patter, they went slowly. Then Hardy speaks again.
"Ploughing trees, these branches does not help! Can't they just open the sky for once and let the moonlight pass for us?
"Why don't you ask them."
"Ask them?" Hardy snickered, "Doubt they'll understand me. Besides, I don't speak treespeak. Why don't you?"
"Well I don't do treespeak too."
"Then we got no choice but to entrust our way unto that trusty lamplight. And speaking of trust, I don't trust you completely yet ya hear, So why don't you give me that lamp and we go? The event earlier is still fresh on my mind and I fear for out friends called grasses in here."
"You sod! Just because the others did it to the tavern doesn't mean I'll do it in here!"
Hardy sighs, "Hardarse, just give it to me will you please Sir Kes? I need it more than you do."
"…Why you had to be an arse in the first place?"
Kes then gave Hardy the lamp, then Hardy stared the cracked glass and said,
"The more I look at this, the more I thought that it'll break once monsters shows up…" Then he glances sideways, "Well, good thing that there's no monster in here."
"We continued to extinguish them for experience." Kes explained, "Many of which were captured and sent to the Erons just for them to kill it also for the sake of experience."
"Ha! Talk about easy labour!"
"You tell me! Day and night, we hunt and hunt here in this Deepwoods, until this place is quite abandoned all in all when there are no more monsters to gain here! Heck, some of our kin disappeared into Aliya knows where! It made rumors, a kind of story that those who loiters long in these woods disappear! But for me? Guessing that they'd been sick of this situation after all!"
"Damn, that's slavery all right… But what is there to stop them from runnin' away?"
"Family? There's no place like home, they say. Moreso, the ploughing loyalists hunt those who escape. Heck, they may be even here somewhere! So I suggest-"
"Loyalist! That's no surprise!"
"Heh! Sodding right! But that's not-"
And then Kes' ears moved, "Hear that?"
"Huh?" Hardy concentrates on his hearing, "Ha! It's them!"
"Yea, but there's something- Hey!"
Hardy rushed off, feeling excited to see his beloved horses as he heard their neighs. "Arthuria! Lancelot!" He yelled out loud. Kes followed him easily, even if they're speeds evenly matched. Kes calls out loud, "Hardy!" but the guy who is being called ignored it as he continues to yell the names of their horses. Finally, even in the dim-lit woods, Hardy knew enough the shapes of his pets, the seemingly inseparable mare and gelding. They're they are:
"Arthuria! Lancelot!"
They ran towards him. Hardy opened his arms wide… and they passed over him and Kes. Hardy quickly turned around and called their names again, "Arthuria! Lancelot!" and alas, they did not turn around for him. And then, ground shook and stopped.
"What the?" He said to himself, confused.
"I don't know!" Kes declared, "One thing I'm certain is that this is bad! Let's bounce!"
"You know where we came from!?"
"I had a hunch, but that's all!"
"What? We're lost!? SODDING BALLS!"
"Shove your sodding balls up your arse, you really just need to rush away to see your beloved pets do you!?"
"You really are a son of a sod do you! If you just-"
Then the ground shook again, and Kes' ears moved and his tail went upward, then his eyes opened wide, "MOVE!" He bellowed loudly as he rushes into Hardy and tackled him away. The lamp fell from Hardy's hand and has shattered completely as it came contact with the ground, lighting up the grass into flames. Then, a gigantic round mouth, shaped like a worm's mouth with a claw shaped teeth appeared instantly from the ground, where Hardy stood, Kes tried to dodge, but it's fast, too fast for him to make a maneuver for him to save his whole body, He did save his own skin, but his whole left arm from his shoulder got bitten off from him.
"AAAAAARRGGGGGHHH!!!"
"KEEES!"
It was a clean cut. He was dragged upward for a moment a bit by that monstrous mouth, but with the help of his momentum to evade it, his arm snapped away from his own body. Kes's Blood gushes madly from what was once where his arm connected. It was a horrific sight, even to Hardy who thought he could stomach any horror he sees. Kes clutches his bloodied shoulder madly as the monster submerged again with a newfound joy of finding a new meal, maybe.
"KES! PLOUGHING SOD!"
"FUCK HARDY JUST GO! LEAVE ME! I WILL PLOUGHING KILL THIS BITCH!"
"YOUR ARSE!" Hardy readied his axe to his arms, "I'M GONNA BUST THIS SOD'S HEAD TOO!"
***
"You heard that?" Alister turned behind towards his left.
Ishnaia also glances also where his eyes are pointing, "A bird?" and she glances back to him, "No fucking clue."
"I guess that it is Hardy, or Kes."
"The dwarf's fucking loud and furryman's had a mouth of an asshole, but are you sure it's them? It sounded like a fucking boar."
"Now you mentioned it," Alister glances at Ishnaia, "Maybe not."
"Whatever," Ishnaia shrugged, "At any rate," and she pointed on her own body, "where can we wash these clothes? The bloodstains in it are fucking dirty!"