Strangers: Two Soldiers

Ms.Ezra

Innkeeper of The Enchanted Suites
Original poster
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
Posting Speed
  1. One post per day
  2. 1-3 posts per week
Writing Levels
  1. Adept
  2. Advanced
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
Genres
Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Superhero, Horror, Slife-of-life.
“Maintain distance. Strike her from all angles. Hound her day and night and she will fall. Use your pistols only when your arrows are depleted, or she is too exhausted to fight.”

Those had been the orders for the five men who made up The Hounds when the woman named had fled from their encampment. Another pack of Hounds were hunting her accomplice. This pack had been hunting her all day since then.

Her power had been their main concern, but here inexperience in being hunted was their boon. The young woman didn't even know she was fleeing away from the possible haven of Gatecia or some other nation. They were in the wild northern woods, in the shadow of the Forler Mountains awash in a thick mist.

The Hounds waited and stalked through the misty trees, keeping their quarry in their sights, but just out of hers. Five arrows had found their mark so far, and their quivers are still full.

@One Who Tames
@Camleen
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gands
“Just run, fool. I’ll draw as many of them as I can to me. If only one of us can escape, it has to be you. No, this isn’t me being brave. Or anything of the like. I’m just being logical. This world needs you more than it needs me. Now go… or I’ll kill you myself.”

It wasn’t the best of speeches, certainly not one of her better ones. But it was heartfelt. She isn’t sure the right thing was to help him escape. She wasn’t sure the right thing was to escape with him. But now… Alea iacta est. And here she is. And she hopes her former companion is faring better.

She has been on the run for… it feels like days. She knows it hasn’t been, but it sure does feel that way. She had bolted for the forests, the same forests she had spent hours in hunting rabbit. But now she realizes she had not actually gone that far into the forest… because for the passed couple of hours she has been in places she does not recognize.

These woods are near the base of some mountains. If she could make it to the mountains, maybe she could escape. But she doesn’t think she could make it that far. It’s getting to the point, she thinks, that she will have to fight these Hounds. And in her condition, that would end with her death. But so be it. She could burn this forest around her… make them think twice about getting closer. Maybe even kill them, or make an escape for herself. But that is folly also, she thinks. It would require to much power, and constant power, to do such. And also… this fog is helping to hide her.

Or so she thinks.

At this moment, the young girl is kneeling behind a tree. Her back against the rough bark. She wears a peasent’s tunic, it torn and stained in blood in some areas. Specifically around where the arrows are still sticking in her body. Her left shoulder, her thigh and her side. She was also grazed in the side of the head with an arrow, and her right bicep. Yes, she’s in bad shape. But surrender never even comes into her mind. She is young, maybe out of her teens. Her long dirty blond hair is tied into a french braid, a look of determination upon her freckled face. She tries to catch her breath for a few more moments…and she hears voices in her mind that aren’t there in the air.

‘She’s going to die here, doesn’t she know that?’
‘Why fight? There’s nowhere left to run.’
‘It wasn’t smart to run in the first place, wa-’


Her own voice suddenly comes forward in an angry tone, but almost a whisper. Her voice has a heavy French accent to it. “Quiet, all of you! I’m trying to listen for them…” she looks around the edge of the large tree she huddles behind, her green eyes squinting to try and make out who might still be out there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gands
It had been a peaceful day for Mathius. After getting dressed, he started things off by visiting the stables. Spending time with the horses did wonders to calm him down and to put his life into perspective. From there, he loaded up his old but sturdy pickup truck and began doing his rounds around the ranch.

The land belonging to the ranch covered a wide stretch of territory and the area was heavily wooded. Closer to the mountains, where the trees were thickest, he parked his truck and dismounted to walk the fence on foot. He enjoyed the exercise and the peaceful sounds of nature.

Mathius wore a fur-lined leather jacket over red and black flannel for warmth. Long johns under tan fatigue style pants with a sturdy pair of boots covered his lower body. And, for good measure, a simple leather boonie hat, glasses and OD shemagh topped him off.

Considering all he generally had to contend with were bears and wolves, he tended to travel light on gear. An old but formidable M1903 Springfield was slung over his shoulder and the large profile of a kukri could be seen on his belt.

The fence that marked the ranch's land was little more than a string of ancient barbed wire. The owners had far more land than they knew what to do with and had long ago refurbished what they cared to use. At places, the only thing left of the fence was a line of metal posts. It was at this point when Mathius realized he had not seen any of those posts for a good while.

He had been on foot for over an hour and, for the life of him, he could not remember when he had wandered off the path. He walked this path every day and knew it by heart... so where was he? Mathius doubled back on himself to retrace his steps but found that his tracks ended abruptly in the middle of nowhere.

This was highly irregular.

It had been a long time since he felt like he was lost. The sensation was almost lost to him. Now it hit him along with a steadily growing buzz of anxiety and tightening of his stomach. As he looked around to get his bearings, he noticed more things that were out of place.

For a long moment, he stood there and quietly surveyed his new surroundings. Finally, he noticed the mountains. They were roughly where they should be and not very far away. Since he didn't really have a time limit for his patrol, he decided to get to some high ground. A bit of climbing would do him good anyway.

Out of sheer habit, he tended to move lightly on his feet. He was not a ninja by any means, however, in his previous job making a lot of noise while on the move tended to be an occupational hazard. Also, when he felt stressed he unconsciously fell back on his training.

Movement to his left made him pause. It was distant but he could tell that something was running more-or-less towards him. He snuggled up to a tree and readied his rifle, peering through the scope at whatever-it-was making such a ruckus. What he saw surprised him deeply.

Naturally, his first thought was to question why somebody would try to shoot some random young woman with arrows in the age of smokeless gunpowder. Then he wondered who they thought they were to go and poach people in his territory. He would need to have words with them. Finally, he wondered how she was able to move so swiftly with so many arrows stuck in her body.

A few things were clear; the woman needed help and she was a trespasser. More importantly, he had poachers to bury. Of course, the idea did visit him that they might be outside of the property limits. This far away from civilization, however, it was easy to say a bear or yeti or whatever ate them or that they fell in a hole or starved to death out of sheer stupidity. He would worry about that later.

Not being a complete idiot, Mathius crept into a good position to watch over the girl and the path she had just run through instead of running straight to her. If she was running, then that meant she was being chased. He could tell from here that she didn't know the first thing about covering her trail so her pursuers, if they were worth a damn, would be right on her heels. He stayed in cover, took aim and waited. There would be no warning shot or call to surrender. He would wait to see how many they were and then open fire with careful, well aimed and unhurried shots.

Mathius was somewhere in the range of six hundred feet ahead of the woman and to her right. He was perched on a small rise giving him a slight advantage in visibility. His concealment consisted of some scrub near the base of a tree, behind which he knelt. He was careful not to poke his rifle through the brush to risk giving his position away.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gands and Ms.Ezra
The Hounds were too focused on their quarry to become aware of the arrival of a man in their hunting grounds. Having kept her in crux of a pentagram formation, there was one Hound relatively close to Mathius, just close enough to be seen through the heavy mist but conceal from her by shrubs and a large fallen tree. He puts his fingers to his mouth and produces a whistle meant to mimic a bird, a mating call out of season for anyone to the species native to these lands, but unknown to their quarry and the man. It was an indication he was in position.

An arrow hits the tree trunk Joan is sitting against with a hard thunk. Then three more come out from different directions and either hit the tree, or come close to hitting her to get her moving, react with her power, or both, anything to keep her from catching her breath. Should the girl try to flee or stand still somehow, the Hound near Mathius has one arrow knocked back and ready to fire at her.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Gands
jo005.jpg
'He’s right, you know. How does one move so quickly..’
‘With just so many arrows protruding from them. It must hurt.’
‘Of course it hurts. She’ll need a miracle now to save her.’
‘But she doesn’t believe in miracles.’
‘Isn’t that what she said’
‘That is indeed what was said.’


She lets out a hiss as she looks into the mist, quieting the voices she hears. Now she pushes herself to her feet slowly with a whimper. Her world was going from a dark grey to a light grey. She thinks that’s a good thing. She hears the bird call, but thinks nothing of it.

‘Odd that we haven’t heard many birds though.’
‘Terribly odd, that.’


The young girl narrows her eyes and looks in the general direction she heard the ‘bird call’. And just as a plan is starting to form in her head… THUNK an arrow lodges into the tree near her arm, causing her to gasp and draw her arm back. With a soft cry of anguish she pushes herself off the tree and stumbles away from it. She spins to face the direction she thinks one of the arrows came from. She breathes heavily, her seeming frail form trembling. She is hunched forward a little, her hand covering her side with the arrow shaft between her fingers. Her other hand reaches up and she grasps the strange looking amulet hanging around her neck. Angrily she tugs it off and tosses it aside.

‘Oh I remember this part. Don’t you?’
‘Certainly. She’s going to die.’
‘Die die die die die die die’


She stumbles back as she grits her teeth, and she speaks in an angry, quivering tone, tears along her cheeks now. “Je suis ton général! Et pour raison!” The forest around her is suddenly filled with the sickening smell of flesh burning, her free hand trembling now.

‘Well she’ll kill herself then.’
‘She didn’t do that last time…’
‘Last time was different.’


“Je ne vais pas me coucher comme un chien! Je ne serai pas effrayé par vous! Viens vers moi et meurs, lâches!” She screams, now her body swaying slightly. Her free hand suddenly goes from blood covered skin to simply… charred. As if she were holding it under a furious flame. But it isn’t enough yet. She feels herself slowly losing it, slowly slipping into the darkness. She might just pass out here… and then be killed. She knows that. Or she’ll just use whatever energy she has left, and try to kill them all in the process along with herself..
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gands
Mathius was surprised when he saw the Hunter appear out of the fog ahead of the girl. The birdcall was not lost on him. He held still while arrows hit the tree that the woman was using for cover. Each shot neatly pointed out where the attackers were hiding, even if he couldn't see them yet. The last one knocked his arrow but held fire when the woman began moving.

There was a stench of burning flesh in the air and the woman began to speak... french? Strange as it was, she was causing no small amount of commotion.

Mathius began to move from his position toward the nearest Hunter. He kept his aim trained on the man as he moved.

Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.

These actions were so thoroughly trained into him that he didn't have to think about it. If he was able to get within ten feet of the Hunter, he would draw his kukri and throw the heavy-bladed weapon at him. Then he would close in to finish him off by beating him to death with the butt of his rifle. If he was discovered, then he would simply shoot the man, aiming for his center of mass. Although, shooting a man at this short a range with a 30-06 rifle felt like a war crime.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gands
Without that amulet, the Hounds don't understand what the girl is saying but have heard enough of her now to get an idea what she's saying and it doesn't make any of them flinch. Well one does, the one the girl inadvertently turns on as she activates her power. The Hounds all take three steps back, including the one nearest Mathius.

That one also takes more careful aim at the girl, at her torso to at least wound her again. He hopes he can end this chase and really kill her this time.

That's not to be. Even taking a step away from the girl puts him in the strike zone of Mathius's Kukri, and he feels the blade plunge into his side before he can even hear it in the air. He utters a pained grunt and yell, and lets loose his arrow far off from its target into the brush. The Hound clutches at his side where the Kukri has entered through his ribs, but then the butt of a rifle knocks him out cold. He falls back onto the wet ground to bleed out while unconcious.

From the surrounding forest there is an echo of someone cursing in a language neither understand. The others have now spotted Mathius, an obvious Stranger they could not have expected brandishing more advanced weapons.

So one of them takes out his revolver, and fires three shots at the newcomer from his far right side. They are shots made wildly in the moment; unfocused as they are dangerous.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gands
The young girl can feel her eyelids fluttering as she fights to stay on her feet. Like before, she doesn’t think she’ll make it out of this alive. She was right then, so she has little reason to doubt such reasoning now.

Is this where we all die?
Maybe he’ll save her
Or maybe he’ll save her
Or maybe she’ll save him


As the Hounds take a few steps back, the girl lets out a scream full of rage. And of pain. Her hair comes out of its french braid abruptly, the tips of her hair now swaying a little. Mathius might notice the mist around them suddenly dissipate, the air gets suddenly warmer. The sickly smell of charring flesh now fills the forest around the girl. And now not just her hand is blackened and burned, it spreads all over her body. Her hair burns away, her eyes turning a black color as she yells.

“Votre général vous ordonne d'affronter votre mort avec courage!”

Her eyes flash a haunting red as the revolver is fired. She gazes in the direction of the shots being fired, and she screams again in agony. Tips of grass and brush start to catch fire, and then there is an explosion in the air. A tree explodes from the sudden heat directed in its general direction, an orb of white hot and seering heat suddenly encapsulating the forest for as wide as she can make it. She can’t see exactly where the pistol is fired from, but she can get pretty damn close. That’s where she sets the center of the explosive heat. An explosive heat generated by her will.

They’re coming for you
You didn’t get them all
There’s no hope now of running
There’s no hope now of anything


She blinks a few times as her eyes flutter, shifting back to their natural color. Her body sways to one side, and then she just collapses. Her whole body is horridly charred to black, as if she had been set ablaze. Her hair has burned off completely… and yet the peasents clothes she wears sees no damage whatsoever. Nor do the arrows still stuck in her small burned form. She loses consciousness, but somewhere in the back of her mind she smiles.

She died well, never giving up. Never looking back. This death is a much better one than the last.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gands
The stench of burning flesh hit Mathius's nose like a physical force. For just a moment he was taken back to his past; to the first time he experienced this smell. He quickly snapped out of it when he heard gunfire from one of the other Hounds. It sounded rapid and panicked... and not quite as sharp as a modern firearm.

As the smoke from the gunfire still hung in the air, there was a blast of heat. A tree burst apart as moisture boiled from within it as a ball of light darted from the woman toward the man who had shot at him. Mathius flinched from the heat but stayed still, entranced by what he was seeing.

Fallen and fresh leaves alike withered and burst into flames near the epicenter of the blast as well as along its path of travel. Smoke boiled from the plantlife caught in the strong thermal release and obscured his vision of the gunman for a moment. Then the woman, her body now charred and blackened, wavered and toppled to the forest floor.

"Hmm," Mathius mumbled. "Nah." There would be time to make sense of this later.

He made sure to extract his kukri from the fallen Hound and gave it a single swing to cut the man's gun belt free. Then he grabbed the severed and bloody belt with his knife-hand and tugged it free.

Visibility was much better now and that was going to be an issue for him. He hoped this act of defiant self-immolation was going to be enough to distract them while he turned and darted into the woods. Mathius made sure to avoid running away in a straight line; instead, aiming to dash from cover to cover as best as he could. Not only was he trained in this way but he, too, had seen the Battle of the Bastards and Prometheus. Straight lines were bad.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gands
The explosion consumes the Hound who had fired upon the Stranger; he dies with only a quick pitiful scream. The others had been predicting another explosion of fire to come from the girl herself as the epicenter. This change not only ends their comrade but breaks their formation as foliage catches fire despite the moist air. A Hound next-closest to the center of the blast is thrown off his feet into another tree, dazing him and making him drop his bow.

The other two are unharmed, if shocked. Seeing their quarry fall to the ground, seemingly dead, one comes up to her, draws his revolver and is about to shoot her while she is down, but he is stopped by his surviving comrade.

"Idiot! She's dead! We need to capture that Stranger!" He yells at the other man, in English even. The trigger-happy one holsters his revolver with no protest.

The two leave her be for later and shift their focus to the newcomer. Who has made himself even more of a priority as one saw him take their fallen comrade's gun belt. The man's attempt to evade them with the zig-zag pattern is smart; but these men are hunters by birth and have little difficulty following him. They even purposefully trail behind him keeping cover, waiting for him to stop for a rest. Like any good hunter, they would let him rest if he did, or keep up the pursuit. The chase of the youn woman had been exhaustive, but they feel confident they can trail him a while...

Should the man named Mathius check the gun belt he had pilfered from the dying man, he will find it is a gun like a Webley. It differs in that it does not feel the same as any like it he may have held before, as if the metal it were made of is not the steel he knows, and of course the maker had used wood for the grip. It was like this gun were the work of a master craftsman of wood and metal. The gun is fully loaded, with the belt holding pockets of twenty-four bullets. The bullets like the gun lack any marks one may find on their modern counterparts.

Meanwhile, back at the girl.

While she feels herself fading again into the dark embrace of death, there is still a voice in her mind. This one different from the others.

Wake up. I'm not done with you

The burned skin of her hands starts to fall off as new skin is formed.





300px-Webley_IMG_6789.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gands
The charred young woman just lays there in the dirt, face down. Her breathing is slow and shallow, the injuries taken this day catching up to her. The Hounds come upon her, and her life is nearly ended right then and there. But they are reminded the girl is to be taken alive. For her ‘master’ has worse plans for her than death.
But as she does lay there… a sense of peace overcomes her. Her body is numb of pain, and her mind is allowed to drift. It’s almost an euphoric feeling.
She stops breathing.
Her heart stops.


The girl looks over the property of her family… a vast farm of nearly 50 acres. Mostly pastures for livestock, around 30 acres. And then 10 acres of crop and 10 acres of forest. Her brothers and sisters are at this moment working in the fields, her mother tending to some of the livestock. Her father had been called into the village proper near them to help with collecting some taxes.
It isn’t an easy life, by any stretch of the imagination. But the family was happy. There were rewards for working hard, for going to bed with the dirt of the land under your fingernails. God would look down upon their lands and works with a smile. One of her brothers call out to her, and she smiles as she looks in his direction. Her sandaled feet slosh through the semi-dry mud, her peasent’s clothes fairly filthy. But this was the life of farming peasents. Filthy, but happy. With family.

Wake up

Her steps falter a little, and she looks around. “Jean?” She calls out curiously. The girl looking around is around 10 now, and thinks her brother is playing a game with her. She smiles a little more as she goes into a light jog in the dirt, looking for him. “Jean! Sortez, sortez, où que vous soyez!” She says in a giggle.

Wake up

A curious look crosses her features as she stops once more and turns in a circle. Did her ears her that voice, or her brain? “Jean?” She says softly now, fear creeping into her bones.

I’m not done with you

“Dieu…” she whispers softly.


In the forest, a loud gasp comes from the fallen form of the young woman. Her charred body is mostly healed… at least the charred part. With a groan she pushes herself up from the dirt, reaching to her side. With a soft yelp she breaks the shaft of the arrow at her side, and then the one in her shoulder, and then in her thigh. Ignore the pain, plenty of time to dwell on it later. The pain will serve as reminder that she is still alive. She forces herself to her feet and moves with a limp towards the area of the heat explosion as she breathes heavily. She looks down at one of the Hounds she got, and she narrows her eyes as she spits on him.

The other Hounds were so scared and so anxious to escape her wrath… they had gotten messy. She carefully bends down and scoops up the soot covered pistol he had carried, and then his partially charred gunbelt. She clasps the gunbelt across her chest (with a lot of pain).. since it’s to large for her waist. She turns the pistol over her in her hand, and she then promptly unloads it. She’s had enough training lately to at least accomplish that. She holsters the pistol in the gunbelt, and then turns to survey her surroundings.

And her eyes squint as she looks towards the other fallen Hound. “Hm?” she utters softly… the hunter had been killed with a stabbing weapon. She knows she didn’t do it. Wait… did the other Hounds go after whoever killed them? “Putain d'enfer” she utters, realizing her life was probably saved by whomever intervened. With a limp she start towards the direction of the fallen hunter, moving as quickly as she can. Though that isn’t to quickly. Her every motion is filled with pain.

Weak weak weak
They’re watching you. All around you
Escape! Escape now!


She shakes her head fervently as she growls softly to herself, and she gets to the fallen Hound. She looks passed him, into the forest. Her trained eyes can make out a path in the underbrush… multiple people went that way. So she shall, also. With another grunt she starts to move in the direction Mathius and the Hounds went, moving just not as fast as she can. She passes a large fallen branch, and she scoops it up. With a grunt she breaks off its ends, not slowing her pace. She twirls it in her hand… a makeshift wooden sword. It will have to do.
“Je n'en ai pas fini avec toi.” She utters. Which roughly translates to English as… I’m not done with you.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gands
Mathius stayed with his evasive dashing long enough to find himself out of the immediate threat of the Hound's weapons. Considering the distant tail they took up, that didn't take long. He transitioned into a more direct path of retreat to gain more ground on them. He also didn't bother hiding his trail.

Dogging a little girl is one thing, he thought. Try and keep up with me.

Fitness and stamina were major parts of his military life. They remained important to him even after leaving service not-so-long ago. He was also fresh, rested and a woodsman in his own right. If the Hounds lagged too far behind or underestimated him then he could easily outpace them.

But he didn't want them to lose his trail.

Mathius soon fell into a comfortable, distance-eating jog. It wasn't all that fast but he could keep it up for hours. As he ran, he looked around for landmarks to tell him where he was. There were none to find, except for the mountains in the distance. Even they looked alien to him. Next, he looked for any terrain features that would give him a tactical advantage; a clearing or little valley would be perfect for doubling back on the Hounds. Finally, he kept an eye open for little things that would be useful in the future; running water, berries or nuts or game trails. He couldn't afford to lead these assholes back to the ranch so that meant he might be out here for a couple of days. He would get hungry in that time.

Unless something stopped him, he would keep up his flight for near to an hour before seriously looking for a spot to double back on. If he could find one, then it was a simple matter of performing a wide "loop" to a concealed spot overlooking his earlier trail. He didn't want to be too close but he did want to see who he was up against more closely. At the same time, he could catch his breath and relax a bit and maybe try to make sense of what he had just seen!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gands
As Mathius jogs and searches for landmarks to guide him home, he not only finds nothing familiar, but as he progresses the landscape becomes rougher. The flatlands give way to hills which while not hard to surmount themselves, are made impassible by the groves of deciduous trees growing upon them in some places and so he is forced onto a game trail around the groves, unless he were inclined to navigate the groves himself to better conceal his own tracks.

The game trail itself yields curious signs for the man as the sky grows brighter and the mist dissipates from the ground. Bird tracks, but the width of his hand. Whether he follows the game trail or the thicker parts of the forested hills, Mathius comes to overlook a small valley cut through the land by a modest river. On opposite sides of this river are two creatures that look familiar to Mathius, at first. A modern man would assume they are roosters. They are not, should he venture closer or see closer by other means, in ways other than them each being as large as a wild turkey.

cockatrice_by_baron_engel_dcl1kk8-pre.jpg

The two animals meet atop a fallen tree which joins the two sides of the river. They make horendous and loud hissing sounds at each other with their wings up and heads high. The moment it is clear neither is going to fall to the others' display, the two commence a short yet loud and brutal fight. They peck, claws at each other with their talons, slam together to try and force the other off the log. It looks even for a second, until the one on Mathius' side of the river is pushed back off the log, and is assailed by his opponent mercilessly on hitting the ground. There is a small radius of blood and feathers around the losing animal when the victor stops, hops onto the log and lets out a long loud 'crow' of triumph. It struts away from the river to its harem of hens nesting elsewhere on the other side of the river. The other lies on the ground, motionless.

Elsewhere, the Hounds have taken a time to rest when they hear the distant call of that strange animal. One looks at the other and says "Looks like we got a good victory meal for when we catch this one." They share a hungry grin and get back on the trail of the man, the promise of food motivating them even more now, but thinking nothing of who they had left behind...
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Gands
In her time… she had command of armies. Men followed her into battle, although they often thought it was folly to have a woman in command. Much less what seemed a child to them. But none could deny her effectiveness in battle. She seemed to be able to know exactly what the enemy would do, and issue commands to counter them effectively. In her years, she had also learned things while being a soldier.

Like how to hunt.

And this is no different. She can ‘see’ a trail in the underbrush, and she can move quietly. Sadly each step brings pain. She had, by this time, pulled the arrows free of her form. They were starting to get inconvenient. She tore some of her tunic away to use as ties, to keep herself from bleeding to death. But she knows she had only bought herself time. She didn’t have the proper materials or knowledge to really stop all of the bleeding. Only slow it enough for her to catch these hounds and kill them.

Fortunately, the Hounds have no idea they’re the ones being hunted now. Why would they? The girl they were hunting was as good as dead. But, the girl serves a higher power. And it will not allow her death while she has a mission to fulfill.

After moving as quietly as she can for a while.. she now hears voices ahead of herself. Not far at all now. She squints, and she sees movement in the brush ahead of herself. She can feel herself barely there, she is hardly able to keep going. Perhaps she is indeed dead on her feet. She had hoped to catch up with them and strike them down with her own hands. She won’t use the gun she acquired… it’s not her way. She does her best to get a little closer as the men start to move on from their rest, and the girl narrows her eyes. She remembers something from before… when Hizashi was showing off for the native troops. He told them to keep the torches away from the odd smelling dust he used for his little projectiles.

She can’t catch up with the Hounds… but they are in her sight…

She now leans on a tree… a grin finding her lips now. She stares at one of the men in the distance. He had drawn a pistol earlier. She focuses not on the area around him… on a very specific area. He would feel the air around him start to heat up suddenly. Get to the point of sweltering in the matter of a second or so. Flesh burns along the girl’s face and shoulders as she stares, she pants heavily with the pain. She centers her focus on the man’s gun belt… on the small metal cartridges around it. On the gunpowder within. She focuses now all of that immense heat on just those bullets… and she laughs softly, hoarsely to herself…
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gands
Mathius came to a stop when he found the river and the two curious rooster-like animals on a log bridging it. He blinked and was taken aback by the sighting. While he breathed heavily and watched, the two engaged in a short but bloody fight, leaving one of them dead.

"Huh," he mumbled between breaths.

After a moment, he swallowed and took in his surroundings. This place, he had begun to notice, was nothing like the land around his ranch. Some things seemed familiar but too much of it was different. While this was patently impossible, it was not the strangest thing he had seen today.

"Hope it tastes like chicken," he mumbled before walking toward the fallen log.

No, he didn't believe he had wandered into some Neverland. No, he didn't know how to get back to where he came from. No, he wasn't even sure those guys were really people-poachers, judging by the conflagration caused by the woman. What was certain is that he was lost and that he wanted answers. Those Hounds chasing him had answers. And there was some possibility, however slim, that they were not the bad guys in all of this.

So, the former soldier decided, the best way to find out if they were good or bad was to ask them nicely at gunpoint.

Mathius was still keeping his tracks obvious as he passed the chicken thing and made his way briskly across the fallen log and into the woods on the other side. Then he took a sharp turn up-river and hurried to gain some distance. His plan was to find a tree or some brush to hide behind and wait for the Hounds to make it to the crossing. Once they were in the open, he would call out to them from the high ground roughly four hundred feet away and attempt to have a peaceful conversation. Before he could get into a good spot, however, the pin-cushion of a woman from before would perform her little trick and...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gands
The Hound feels the air get sweltering hot as they proceed along he trail left by their quarry, and he knows well enough it is entirely unnatural for them to be sweating so soon after resting; he also knows why immediately but also know it's too late. The man opens his mouth to warn his comrade ahead of him just before his gun belt explodes in a cascade of small detonations that turns the brass casings into shrapnel. The man's hip is shredded and burned. He falls to the ground wailing in agony and can only manage enough words through the pain to yell "She's alive! Run! Run!"

And the other man does just that without needing to turn around. The explosion could only mean the woman had survived, somehow, and was now chasing them. He breaks away from the trail they had been following and ducks behind a thick tree. He manages to calm his breaths as he draws the pistol from its holster, checks that it is loaded. He peeks around both sides of the tree looking for the young woman before resuming his run. In these moments, he sets aside the hunt for the new man for this renewed threat. He comes to the river down from where Mathius had come out, and seeing the log makes for that to bridge the river.

His thoughts right now are to get to the other side, take up a hidden position, and wait for that young woman to come looking for him.

Which is exactly what Mathius is doing as he makes his crossing.....
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gands
A coarse chuckle comes from her lips as one of the hunters simply explodes. She grins with her little victory, holding her thick branch at her side. She twirls it slowly in her hand, as she would a sword. Her target is taken care of, and the other one bolts. She squints to try and see him, but he is gone to quickly for her young eyes to follow. The billow of smoke from the exploding gunpowder creates a very good veil to hide him from her.

“Où êtes-vous allé?” She utters softly as she looks slowly left to right. She leans heavily on a tree for a few more moments, and then pushes off. Slowly she limps towards the newly fallen hunter.. her smaller form swaying a bit also as she moves. She does indeed look like she could pass out at any moment. Her skin is pale (well paler), almost to the point of being a chalk white. As she moves, she kind of drags the branch at her side, feeling her little burst of energy dissipating quickly.

Stopping next to the fallen Hound, she calls out “Reviens, lâche! Aider votre ami!” She narrows her eyes, waiting to see if he takes the bait. If he does… she can act. If she acts quickly enough, maybe she can kill him before he kills her. Whatever the outcome… this time she will face her death with weapon in hand, on her feet and her eyes wide open.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gands
When Mathius heard the fast rattle of ammunition cooking off, he stopped and looked into the woods.

That is peculiar, he thought.

Did one of them have an ammo issue? Was there an issue with their ammo? He considered dropping his own salvaged pistol and rounds for a moment. It never occurred to him that the French woman might still be alive and he didn't know enough about her powers to make any judgment calls in the first place.

Stick with plan A for now.

He quickly found a good spot with some concealment near a tree and hunkered down. It did not take long before one of the Hounds burst from the forest into the little clearing and went straight for the fallen log. Of course, Mathius noticed the panic in his movements. That was good for him. Fear was a wonderful motivator.

Mathius waited until the Hound was roughly halfway across the log before letting out a sharp whistle and standing up. He aimed his Springfield at the man in a clear display of the universal sign of, "Might I bother you for a quick word".

"High, there," he said, failing completely to stop himself from grinning.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gands
The Hound stops when he hears the whistle, zeroes-in on the source, and raises his hands in the universal sign of 'I surrender' . What other option did he have in this situation? There was a woman ready to burn him alive at his back, and before him a man who would kill him with what he knew to be a gun if he made the wrong move.

His commander would lash him for even entertaining the idea of surrender; but his commander wasn't here right now.

"Stranger. I surrender." The Hound says in English looking up at the man. "If you are a man of honor, you will not allow your prisoner to die under your charge." He moves his head to point behind him. "That woman. She will kill me soon as see me. Will you let her?"
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gands
Now the young girl uses the thick branch not as a weapon, but as a means to stay on her feet. She uses it as a cane, her narrowed eyes looking along the treeline around her for another Hound. She feels her breathing in deep, rapid tones. Darkness still edges her eyes. Whatever energy had pushed her this far now wanes.


‘He isn’t dead’
‘He’s still out there’
‘He still wants you dead’
‘Now you can rest’
‘Or just drop dead’


She lets out a sudden "SHHH" sound as she watches the trees. And then… a whistle is heard. Her tired eyes widen and her gaze snaps in the direction she thinks it came from. And as quickly as she can, she heads in that direction. And just as the Hound speaks of her, she appears.

Speak of the devil, and the devil appears…

She finds a grin upon her lips. She looks… a mess. Her peasant’s clothes are stained with her own blood, her skin a sickly pale color. She trembles with the effort to stay on her feet, the branch she uses as a cane bending a bit as she leans more and more on it.

“Pas plus courir, alors?” She says with a wicked chuckle as she stops within the treeline. She starts to laugh then louder as she drops to one knee, looking down. Her gaze then snaps towards the Hound, but her eyes are now blackened with red softly glowing irises. “Votre Dieu souhaite un mot avec vous ... Je vous enverrai à lui!” She says in an increasingly weak tone. Her eyes then flutter shut, and her gaze drifts down as she drops now to both knees, leaning heavily on her cane. Nothing happens, no explosions or bursts of flame. As if she had just suddenly ran out of fuel.
 
  • Spicy
Reactions: Gands