From the Shadows

Haala looked away from the child and to the large man instead. Well, the large wolf size certain made sense now, seeing how large he was in human form as well. She nodded in greeting, wondering where he was headed. She hadn't expected to see him again, truth be told, and certainly not in human form.​
"So you have a child," she commented, understanding why he had been desperate to take that buck to wherever his home was. "How's the shoulder?"​

@KJDarKnight
 
Mathias nodded a little in response "uh yes. This is my daughter Ruby" he said, rubbing the little girls back soothingly. He wasn't wearing a wedding ring and there was no sign of a female aside the little girl of course.

"Oh it's fine, thanks to you. Would have had a hard time of it stitching that up myself" he said and offered a small smile. He wasn't used to talking to people anymore. He had been in hiding for some time now. A couple of years secluded in the woods, only going to town on rare occasions. No life for such a young pup.

"We uh. Were just heading to town. Perhaps you'd like to join us?" He invited
 
Daughter, huh? The two looked nothing alike, but then she was no one to judge; maybe the child took after the mother? She was inwardly glad she had taken the risk of helping with his wounds, seeing there was a little girl involved in the man's life. She was also quite certain he was probably not working for the king, not with a family. The king was a cunning man after all- when you had no one left, there was no one for you to fight for. A person with no one left to protect was the easiest to swerve toward a less virtuous path.

"Sure, might as well." She adjusted the ropes she was holding and started walkin once more. "My name's Haala. You?"

@KJDarKnight
 
Mathias could see she was trying to make up her mind about him. He understood. It wasn't easy to trust anyone these days. Least of all strangers in the woods. Anyone could be a bandit or in some other way tied to the king. Mathias couldn't be too careful either, especially with Ruby to think about. He had s good feeling about this woman though, and not just because she had saved him.

"Mathias" he opted out of mentioning his last name. Some people knew the name Blackhorn as he had served as a knight. Most didn't know the first name at least.

"And this here is Ruby" he smiled.
"Daddy" the girl whispered "we not suppose ta talk ta strangers" she reminded him.

Mathias smiled "yes but Haala is not a stranger anymore. She helped me" he explained "she's nice. Why don't you say hello" he suggested.

Ruby looked away from him and ober at the woman then shyly looked away, hiding her face against his shoulder.

"Uh, you'll have to forgive her. She's very shy" Mathias explained
 
"Mathias," Haala repeated, though her gaze remained on the little girl, picking up what she was saying. Clearly they lived in hiding and took caution. Yes, it made sense that they wouldn't be involve with the King and his soldiers then.​
"She's got the right idea," she replied, smiling at the little girl before her amber eyes shifted to Mathias. "It's not easy to trust and stay safe." Even now, there could very well be spies about just waiting to catch them... if she wasn't wary. Her eyes and nose and ears were honed, and seeing this man was a werewolf, she was quite sure he had taken similar precautions, especially with his little girl.​
"I'm heading over to sell some of these," she added as she started to walk, jerking the rope she was holding to show what 'these' were. "With the way critters are disappearing though..." Her eyes darkened. "Seems like I'll have to travel further out to find suitable game."​
 
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Mathias sighed "I miss the days before the king went mad. Living like this is no way to raise a child" he said, feeling guilty his daughter had to live in fear every day

Whem Haala started to move he fell on step with her "I fear we will have to do the same, and soon so we will be prepared for winter" he was worried about that, it was shaping up to be a bad one.
 
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"Winter is coming," Haala agreed, looking up at the yellowing leaves. It wouldn't be long before the blue sky turned grey and snowflakes littered the ground. "To be honest, living like this isn't suitable for anyone, which is why I refuse to." She tugged at the rope again. "I'm hoping to make enough gold to get a small place in the village, eventually. It's... relatively safe here, as long as the king's men don't come visit."​
She was about to say more but quieted, looking to the little girl. Turning away and resting her eyes on the path, Haala strode forward once more, momentarily lost in her thoughts. The world was a harsh one, and she doubted Mathias would be able to protect her forever.​
 
He nodded a little "perhaps I can help you out" he offered "I do owe you for saving my life the other day" he pointed out. He glanced up at the tree's aswell. It was almost pewceful, except, it was a little quiet. He frowned a little and stopped, sniffing a little.

"I think we should not go to town.... something feels off..." he felt the tingle of magic, he held Ruby a little closer, it wasn't fear as much as intense awareness in his eyes
 
Haala frowned as well, though not because she felt anything in particular. She didn't want to waste all the game she had, and the fact that his nose was probably better than hers meant what he was feeling was probably legitimate.​
Cursing under her breath, she looked up at the nearest tree, calculating how easy it would be to climb. Sighing, she let the ropes drop and shifted to her cat form. "I'm going to head up and see if I can spot anything. You two stay out of trouble." Even as she spoke, she climbed up the tree as easily as a squirrel would, making her way to the highest branch she knew would be able to support her weight. From here she could see quite far, including the village.​
 
Mathias only nodded in response, watching her climb up into the tree for a better view of the area.

Up there she could indeed see the town, which was burning, she could see people being either killed while they fought back or stuffed into cages on wheels, pulled in a slavers caravan.

More than that, she could see movements in the branches of the tree's but not what caused the movement. This was a clear indication of the Fath. A souless species. Small, vicious creatures who could blend in with whatever surroundings they were in. Normally they lived in hot places like jungles or deserts as they don't handle cold. This group of Fath must work for the slavers.

(Sorry, thought this sent)
 
Haala cursed in her mind, seeing the flames beginning to dance atop the roofs of the house. The wind was blowing the scent in the other direction, but now that they were this close, she could catch the scent of smoke and ashes.​
"We can't go there," she called down, "it's being attacked! They must have realized non humans come and go from there..." She shifted in the tree, eyes and ears catching sight and sound of rustling branches. She couldn't see anyone, but that movement and rustling couldn't have been caused just by the wind.​
Growling, she turned in the direction of the movement, fur and tail puffed and her ears flattened. "Mathias, take your daughter away from here. The forest is no longer safe!"

@KJDarKnight
 
Mathias waited for her report, inwardly cursing. Nowhere was safe anymore.
He set Ruby down "we have to run sweetie" he said, stroking her hair before he shifted to his wolf form.
Ruby only started to climb on to his back when a small creature launched itself out of the trees and landed on him, making a yipping sound much like a hyena, calling the other Fath over.

One alone wasn't bad, small like a monkey even covered in fur but it had razor sharp claws and teeth and on top of that was intelligent enough to make armor and weapons. A hord of them was near impossible to escape, fast as they were.
Mathias shook violently, throwing it off but more were coming.

Scare Ruby shifted into her wolf form and tried to hid under her father but he grabbed her up by the scruff and took off. "There are Fath, get out of here Haala, there's too..." he was cut off as six of them came out of the trees ahead blocking his retreat. Surrounded he had no choice but to fight.
He set Ruby down again and stood over her, hackles raised and teeth barred as he growled, daring the Fath to make a move....
 
Haala could only watch as the Fath started after Mathias and his pup. They were sneaky, small, fast and intelligent, and going after them in this form or human form was stupidity. However, she did have range, and her position in the trees made for good cover.

Shifting to human form, she pulled her bow from its holder on her back, relieved that it was already strung. Grabbing an arrow from her quiver, she nocked her bow and looked for the Fath closest to Mathias and his pup. In seconds the arrow flew, hitting the Fath in the back, causing it to stumble to the ground.

Without uttering a word, she slunk forward in the tree, trying to close the gap between her and Mathias. Even as she did, she had already reached back and pulled out another arrow, aiming and releasing the projectile for another Fath.

@KJDarKnight
 
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With two Fath down a few of them broke away to find Haala, they weren't stupid, knew she had to be close.

That left a gap for Mathias and he took it, grabbing up Ruby again and taking off into the tree's, his only concern for his pup.
He didn't get far as a fath let loose a spear hitting him in the hind leg. He tumble forward. On the ground he let go of Ruby "run!" He ordered his daughter.

Ruby hesitated before running into the tree's. She was white which made her stand out in the forest but she was fast.

Mathias watched her for only a second before using his precious moments before the fath caught up to twist back and grab ahold of the spear. He couldn't quite pull it out but broke the shaft at least
 
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Haala had expected them to come after her, but that was fine; that only meant they weren't going to go after the little pup. As long as she was safe, it would be worth a few scratches.​
She leaped from the tree, shifting in midair to cat form, though just for a moment, shifting back to human form as she landed on the ground, pulling a dagger from her belt as soon as her boots touched the ground. Her bow would be useless in close combat, so she threw it in a nearby bush; hopefully she would remember it was there and pick it up once she was busy dealing with this rubbish.​
Just as she expected, she felt two Fath attack her almost right away. Hissing under her breath, she stabbed at the one in front of her, though not before feeling the blade of the second one's spear stabbing her side. A yelp of pain escaped her as she kicked away the dead Fath still on her dagger blade.​
"Mathias!" she snapped, stumbling back so that she could face the one that stabbed her, her blood visible on its spear. "Go after your pup! I'll take care of these pieces of sh*t!"​
 
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Mathias didn't hesitate. He felt guilty leaving here there to deal with this but Ruby was priority. Still, he couldn't run now with the end of a spear lodged in his leg.

Best he could do was lope, putting as little pressure on that leg as possible.
A couple of the fath were still determined to catch him, faster than him now they jumped onto his back, one getting a rope around his neck and pulling back sharp and hard. Mathias reeled back but rolled, crushing one of the small creatures under his weight and catching the other in his jaw, rolling to his feet again and shaking the creature hard enough its neck snapped. Mathias dropped it and continued after Ruby, hearing her yelp up ahead he tried to pick up the pace
 
With the wolf now gone, Haala looked to the remaining Fath. She knew a couple had followed after Mathias, but there was nothing she could do about them at that moment. What she could do was bring down the ones here and then follow after the werewolf.​
"Alright, you pieces of scum..." A snarl escaped her as she shifted to her cat form and leaped on the spear-holding Fath, smacking it down with her weight before grabbing at its throat. Biting down hard, she ripped through the flesh and pulled away, hoping to kill it.​
Pulling away once it stopped moving, she shifted back to human form. "Sh*t!" In the time she had taken to killing the Fath that had attacked her, the remaining two had rushed after Mathias! Grabbing her bow from the bush, she ran after them, determined to shoot them down.​
 
(Iwaku ate my post.... I'll reply tonight or in the morning)
 
Mathias continued after the sounds of his daughter, trusting Haala to have his back.

The fath who had snared Ruby came into view and Mathias lunged, grabbing one up in his jaws before it could react. He crushed its small ribcage ans threw it aside where it crumpled.

The rest swarmed him, clambering onto his back and latching on to his legs trying to get ropes around them
 
When she had reached close enough, Haala saw it was as she thought; the nasty little buggers were once more upon Mathias, pretty much swarming him. Well, it was time to do what she did best, hide and kill.​
Positioning herself behind a tree, partially hidden but not worrying too much about it, she grabbed two arrows from her quiver, nocking the first as she held the second in her mouth. Aiming, she let go and shot the one closest to Ruby, wanting to keep the Fath's interest away from the child. Seeing it topple over, arrow embedded in an eye, Haala next aimed for the Fath that was most determined to tie Mathias down. The arrow flew true, hitting the creature in the gut.​