A little boy stood in the corner, frozen and afraid of moving. A small crippled figure laid in the corner, covered in blood and completely still. Another figure stood tall in the middle of the room, the same blood on their hands and feet. Bot the boy and the crippled one should've been protected by the figure.
And their faces were hidden in fog.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Phillip snapped awake with a shout. Quickly realizing where he was, he put his hands over his mouth. Surrounding him was a thick bushel between a small patch of trees. He'd been sleeping there for the past week while he prepared for the upcoming event the clan was supposedly holding.
After taking a moment to calm down, Phillip stood up with a stretch. During his first week on the island, he learned about the island he was on. First things first, people rarely come out. Phillip had only seen someone come out three times in the past week, which meant he was usually safe to wander about and gather supplies.
Second, either these people were really fast, or knew he was here and was just messing with him. Every time he tried to follow someone to gain information, they would turn a corner, then, POOF! Gone. And it was really starting to mess with his head.
After eating a portion of his rations from his bag, he pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. He had been mapping out Isaril on a scroll, as he did every time he went to a new island and had enough time. After observing what he had down so far, he began walking through the trees.
Phillip spent the morning wandering around the island, on high alert and ducking into the nearest bush any time he heard anything that could've been a person. The island he was on was very beautiful but at the same time... strange. The second day he was there, he went up a hill and found a large, flat stone platform that was clearly man-made. It looked very old, as large roots cracked through the stone and it was partially covered in moss and foliage. If this clan was going to hold their event, it would surely happen up there.
Phillip was continuing to wander the island, admiring the environment around him, before he heard something up ahead...
Quickly, Phillip dived into a nearby bush, trying to see what he could through the leaves, and if there was someone. He kept hearing some kind of rustling somewhere. He sat in the bush for a minute or two, waiting for the noise to go away or see what was causing it... up until something suddenly landed on his back.
Phillip was tackled right out of the bush, and onto the path by something or someone. He let out a startled gasp before trying to struggle to get away. This thing had him completely pinned. Phillip looked around frantically, before spotting the person who had him pinned. It was that person he had seen next to his hit on the day he arrived. Ax, if he got her name right.
"Who are you?" She asked sharply.
Play dumb, Phillip thought. Or just lie.
"I-I'm sorry!" Phillip cried, putting on a scared façade. "I'm a-a bounty hunter... I-I was just exploring this place between contracts!"
Ax lowered her head to get a better look at Phillip's face, observing his expression with a scowl.
"What's your name?" She demanded.
Name, name...
"UH- um... Tular."
"Tular what?"
"...T-Tular Demonian."
Ax lifted her head again, her face puzzled.
"Demonian?" she asked. "Like, that island tribe down south?"
Stupid, stupid! Phillip scolded himself. Why would I use my last name?? Of course she would recognize it...
"I... I left them." He lied. "The island life didn't really fit me I guess, so..."
Ax's face became even more puzzled as she asked: "They let you do that?"
"Y-yes... they do." He said shakily.
Ax thought for a long moment, so Phillip decided to break the increasingly awkward silence.
"U-um... What's... your name?" He asked, holding back laughter.
Ax stared at Phillip with a suspicious look, before finally answering. "...Ax. Ax Berg."
So that is her name. Phillip thought.
"...Ax, could you let me up now?"
Ax scowled at Phillip for a second, before finally getting off of him with a begrudging sigh, and Phillip stood up, wincing as his back began to ache from being straight-up tackled.
"You shouldn't stay here for long." Ax told him. "Gods only know what's in these woods, or who might be in them."
That's a bit ironic. He thought. But... I don't think I should refuse. It might draw suspicion.
"Well... I suppose you're right."
"Of course I am, let's go." Ax said abruptly. She began walking towards the shore of the island, and drug Phillip with her, as she grabbed his arm.
Phillip followed along, albeit he was hesitant. Once both got to the shore, Ax stopped and looked around.
"Where's your boat?" She demanded.
Phillip slowly walked over to the bush where he had hidden his ship, pulling it out of the bush. Ax walked over to the ship and stood there, observing it.
"...Why would you hide it like that?" She asked.
"I... just didn't want it to be stolen." Phillip lied.
Ax narrowed her eyes at Phillip, observing him as he pulled the ship out of the bush and pushed it into the water. Phillip climbed in and began to set it up for sailing.
Gonna have to circle back later Phillip thought.
As everything was finally prepped, Phillip turned back to Ax.
"So..." He began. "Nice to meet you, I guess?"
"Yea, I guess it was."
So, on the half-hearted goodbye, Phillip let the sails fall, the wind catching them and pushing the sailboat further. Slowly, the island began to fade away just as it had faded into view a week ago. Phillip continued to sail, until the sun began to set.
This is certainly going to throw a wrench in my plans. Phillip thought begrudgingly. If I get caught by them... it won't end well.
Phillip thought about how this would effect his mission for a moment, as he picked up the paddle, and set it into the water.
And slowly, his sailboat began to turn back to Isaril just at the sun began to disappear over the horizon.