𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 | 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐨𝐛 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝

𝐱𝐢.

𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.

Eventually, a warm glow filled the darkness, Jacob holding a lantern up as Maisie sat on his shoulders, clinging onto his head tightly. Lilia sat beside him, unknowingly clinging onto his arm as the beast hunter clicked the lantern's window shut.

Jacob's eyes darted to Lia's, the woman pulling away once she had met his eyes. Jacob raised an eyebrow before shaking his head internally, readjusting himself as he waved the lantern around. 

Jacob jumped slightly at the sight of the large teeth that were shut around them, Maisie clinging on just a little bit tighter in fear. Jacob then pushed himself up, the boat swaying slightly as he lifted the lantern, seeing the same zig-zagged teeth pattern around him.

A deep growling from behind them made the three turn around, a scared look on Maisie's face as her arms further wrapped around Jacob's face, Lilia standing up in caution, a glare on her face and a hand on her sword.

Jacob raised his arm into the darkness that lay in front of them, the beast's throat leading elsewhere as the wooden boat sat on its tongue. Maisie's hands travelled all over Jacob's head in fear, her legs wrapped around his throat as she stared at the creature's pink flesh in fear.

"Are we gonna... die in here?" She asked softly.

Jacob looked up at Maisie, feeling bad that this had happened to the girl at such a young age. Lilia frowned as Jacob held his arm up, Maisie taking it before she climbed onto Jacob's shoulder before he let her down. Maisie sat by Lilia's side as Jacob placed the lantern down, sitting opposite both the females.

He looked Maisie in her eyes, his hand on his thigh as he placed his weight on it, his hair soaking wet with seawater as Lilia had placed Maisie on her lap, holding the girl close.

"No," He spoke as confidently as he could before a loud roar was heard, grumbling continuing the noise as Jacob looked up nervously.

"Well," He winced. "Yeah."

Maisie's heart fell as she pulled her knees to her chest, leaning further into Lilia. The princess hugged Maisie close, running her hands through the orphan's dark coils as soothingly as she could.

"Is it gonna chew us," She asked nervously before her eyes widened. "Or will we get digested slowly... with acids?"

Her fearful eyes met Jacobs, Lilia frowning as she looked over at Jacob with her pitiful sky-blue eyes for the child in her arms. The hunter's eyes met Lilia's before he looked at the youngest member in their group.

"I don't know, Maisie," He answered honestly, shaking his head. "This is all new territory for me."

"Haven't you hunted these things your whole life?" Maisie begged.

"We kill 'em, lass. We don't study 'em," He frowned, a slow breathing sound filling their ears as Jacob's gaze looked towards the Bluster's throat.