The forest grew denser as they walked, the towering trees stretching high above them, their golden leaves swaying gently in the cool evening breeze. The scent of pine, damp earth, and fallen leaves filled the air, a crisp reminder that autumn was settling deep into the land. The deeper they went, the quieter everything became, as if the rest of the world had faded away.
Shanane kept glancing at Eoghan, watching the way he moved, sure-footed, effortless, like he belonged here. She had to focus on where she stepped, carefully navigating the uneven terrain, but he walked as though he knew every stone and root beneath his feet.
For the first time since they left the cottage, she wondered where exactly he was taking her.
__Shanane: "Are we almost there?" she finally asked, adjusting the strap of her jacket.
__Eoghan: "Just ahead."
She followed his gaze, squinting slightly as she noticed the trees beginning to thin out. Beyond them, a soft golden glow bathed the landscape, and as they stepped through the last line of trees, Shanane came to a slow stop.
They had arrived.
Before her stretched a vast, open clearing, bathed in the last light of the setting sun. The golden hues of twilight reflected off a still, glass-like lake, its surface mirroring the deep oranges and purples of the sky. The water was so clear that she could see the smooth stones beneath it, their edges softened by time.
The air was cooler here, carrying the faint scent of water and damp earth. A few large, flat stones lined the edge of the lake, and beyond them, the forest stretched endlessly into the horizon. The trees surrounding the clearing were taller, their branches stretching toward the sky as if trying to grasp the fading light.
It was beautiful, peaceful. A place untouched by the weight of the village, by the whispers, by the suffocating walls of her grandmother's cottage.
For the first time in days, she felt like she could breathe.
The huntsman stepped forward, his movements unhurried as he approached the edge of the lake. He crouched slightly, resting his forearms on his knees as he looked out at the water, his expression unreadable.
__Eoghan: "No one comes here. Not many know about it." he said after a moment.
The young woman slowly walked toward the water, her boots crunching softly against the fallen leaves.
__Shanane: "How did you find it?" she asked, her voice quieter now, as if speaking too loudly would shatter the tranquility of the place.
__Eoghan: "I go where others don't." he said, his green eyes reflecting the warm glow of the setting sun.
Shanane let out a small breath of amusement, shaking her head as she carefully lowered herself onto one of the flat stones near the water's edge.
The silence that followed wasn't heavy or suffocating. It was peaceful. And for the first time in what felt like an eternity, she didn't feel like something was watching her.
Shae sat on the cool, smooth stone, letting the silence settle around her. The lake stretched before her, untouched by ripples, reflecting the deepening sky like a second world hidden beneath its surface. The sight was so still, so serene, that for a moment, it felt like she had stepped into a different reality, one where the weight of the past week didn't press against her shoulders like a leaden cloak.
She exhaled slowly, resting her arms on her knees as she stared out at the water.
__Shanane: "You come here often?" she asked, her voice softer than usual.
The blonde man was still crouched a short distance away, elbows resting against his thighs as he gazed at the lake. His expression remained unreadable, but there was something relaxed about his posture, like he belonged here, in the wilderness, more than he ever could in the village.
__Eoghan: "Sometimes." he admitted. "It's quiet. No one to bother me."
The braided hair woman hummed in understanding.
__Shanane: "You don't like being around people?"
__Eoghan: "I like being around certain people."
She tilted her head, glancing at him.
__Shanane: "And how many of those people live in the village?"
__Eoghan: "Not many."
She smiled slightly, despite herself.
The wind shifted through the trees, rustling the golden leaves. Somewhere in the distance, a bird let out a soft call before taking flight, disappearing into the fading light. The peacefulness of the moment settled deep into Shanane's chest, easing the tightness that had been there for days.
She had almost forgotten what it felt to exist without the crushing weight of the past week pressing down on her.
But the silence gave her time to think. And the questions that had been lingering in her mind finally rose to the surface. She turned to Egohan, watching him carefully.
__Shanane: "Why did you bring me here?" she asked.
He didn't look at her immediately. He exhaled slowly, as if considering his answer, before finally meeting her gaze.
__Eoghan: "Because you looked like someone who needed to get out," he said simply.
Shanane pulled her knees up slightly, resting her arms over them as she stared out at the darkening lake.
She glanced at him, curiosity growing in her chest.
__Shanane: "What exactly do you hunt?"**
__Eoghan: "A little bit of everything."
__Shanane: "That's vague."
The blonde man let out a quiet breath, leaning back against the tree behind him.
__Eoghan: "Sometimes it's the usual: wild boars, deer, smaller game when the village needs food. Other times, it's animals that don't belong here. Wolves that get too close. Bears that stop fearing people."
The young woman nodded. That made sense. She had always known that hunters provided food for the village, but she had never thought about the times when they were needed for something more dangerous.
__Eoghan: "But then..." he continued, his expression darkening slightly "There are other things."
__Shanane: "Like what?" She asked, curious
He exhaled, stretching his legs out in front of him before answering.
__Eoghan: "Not all threats come from the wild."
She turned to face him fully, listening intently as he spoke.
__Eoghan: "Sometimes, it's people."
__Shanane: "People?" she felt her stomach tightened slightly.
The huntsman nodded, his expression unreadable.
__Eoghan: "Villages like this one: isolated, small, superstitious; they attract the wrong kind of visitors sometimes. Men who come pretending to be traders or travelers but have… different intentions."
The young woman's skin prickled at the way he said it.
__Shanane: "What kind of intentions?"
Egohan's gaze flickered toward the treeline, his voice quieter now.
__Eoghan: "Some want easy victims. Some want to take what isn't theirs. And some… some just like hurting others."
She felt a cold chill crawl down her spine. She had grown up in this village, but she had never thought about what kind of dangers came from outside.
__Shanane: "So what do you do?" she asked.
__Eoghan: "I take care of it." his expression didn't change.
There was nothing dramatic in the way he said it. No pride, no arrogance. Just a simple fact.
She studied him, her fingers tightening slightly in her sleeves.
__Shanane: "You mean you kill them."
__Eoghan: "When I have to." He met her gaze evenly.
His honesty sent another shiver through her. She had expected him to deny it, to try to soften the truth. But he didn't. Because that wasn't the kind of man he was.
She exhaled, looking away.
__Shanane: "And the village lets you do this?"
He scoffed softly.
__Eoghan: "The village doesn't know half of what I do. Harlin does. But most of them just assume I hunt animals and keep the roads clear."
She absorbed that in silence. The idea of him hunting wild animals made sense. The idea of him hunting people was something else entirely.
Eoghan had been protecting the village from more than just beasts. He had been protecting it from people who would harm them, who would take advantage of their fear, their isolation. And yet, they had no idea.
They whispered about her being dangerous. But Eoghan was the one they should be afraid of.
She turned her gaze back to him, watching the way he leaned against the tree with practiced ease, his green eyes flickering toward the treeline as if expecting something unseen to emerge from the shadows. He didn't seem tense, but there was something always ready in the way he held himself.
A man who never let his guard down. A man who had seen too much.
__Shanane: "How many?" she asked before she could stop herself.
His gaze shifted back to her, his brow raising slightly.
__Eoghan: "How many what?"
__Shanane: "How many people have you killed?"
For the first time, there was a flicker of something unreadable in his expression. Not quite surprise, not quite discomfort. Just a pause. He didn't answer right away.
She expected him to dodge the question, to brush it off with a vague response. Instead, he exhaled slowly and looked back at the lake.
__Eoghan: "Enough."
The single word settled between them like a stone sinking into deep water.
She swallowed, unsure why she had even asked. Maybe she just wanted to understand him. Maybe she wanted to know how much blood he had on his hands.
But the thing that unsettled her most wasn't that he had killed.
It was that he didn't seem to regret it.
She had spent years trying to run from this place. And Eoghan had spent years to protect it.
They had both been shaped by the village, by the weight it placed on those who didn't belong.
But while she had tried to escape it, he had become its shield. She wasn't sure which of them had made the right choice.
__Shanane: "And you just… do this?" she asked, her voice quieter now. "Hunt, protect, kill when you have to? And the village doesn't even know?"
He let out a slow breath, glancing at the lake before responding.
__Eoghan: "They don't need to know."
__Shanane: "Why not?"
He gave her a dry scoff
__Eoghan: "Because they're already afraid of things they don't understand. If they knew there were real dangers out there, ones that aren't just the work of ''curses and angry gods, they'd tear themselves apart before anything else had the chance to."
She exhaled slowly, his words sinking deep into her thoughts.
The village was already paranoid. Already consumed by fear and superstition. If they knew that outsiders with cruel intentions sometimes walked among them, that threats weren't just myths but very real, tangible things, they would never feel safe again. And so, the huntsman carried that knowledge alone.
She stared at him, trying to make sense of the man sitting beside her.
He wasn't a saint. He wasn't looking for recognition. He was just doing what needed to be done. And yet, he had never left.
Never chosen an easier life somewhere else, where he wouldn't have to play guardian to a village that barely deserved it.
She hesitated before speaking again.
__Shanane: "You're loyal" she murmured, not sure if it was a compliment or something else.
__Eoghan: "You say that like it's a bad thing."
She shook her head, looking back toward the lake.
__Shanane: "I just don't understand it."
He studied her for a moment, then exhaled.
__Eoghan: "You don't have to."
She wasn't sure if that was true.
She hesitated before speaking again.
__Shanane: "Do you ever wish you had left? Gone somewhere else? To the city, maybe?" she asked, watching him closely.
Eoghan didn't answer right away.
Unstead, he leaned back against the tree behind him, exhaling softly as if the question carried more weight than he wanted to admit.
Finally, he said:
__Eoghan: "Sometimes."
__Shanane: "So why didn't you?" she tilted her head slightly.
__Eoghan: "Because this place is still my home." his green eyes flickered toward.
__Shanane: "Even after everything? Even after the way they think? The way they treat people like me?" she scoffed.
__Eoghan: "Not everyone here is like that. Not everyone here deserves to be abandoned."
The young woman absorbed his words, watching the way he said them with quiet conviction.
He wasn't naïve. He knew exactly what kind of people lived in this village. And yet, he still chose to stay.
Because the more she learned about him, the less she understood why someone like him chose to be here.
And she wasn't sure if she admired him for it or pitied him.