𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 | 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐨𝐛 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝

𝐱𝐢𝐢.

𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝, 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐥'𝐬 𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝.

The Bluster flicked Jacob upwards, the hunter crying out in fear as he briefly faced the Bluster, its yellow eyes watching him curiously. Lilia grunted as she dug her boot into the Bluster's skin, pushing herself up.

Jacob cried out again as he began falling, his dagger spinning in the air before diving down after him. He landed with an 'oof!' in the pink sand, squinting in confusion at the sky as the rope landed down on him, a smaller item nose-diving towards him.

Jacob let out a fearful wail, eyes widening in fear as the dagger's edge was aimed at his face. He quickly sat up, missing the dagger narrowly before the rope's slack tightened again, yanking him upwards.

Jacob quickly grabbed his knife, flailing his arms around in the air as he bumped into a tree, letting out a noise of pain as he spun in the air. He then cried out as the rope swung backwards, Jacob crashing into a coconut tree before he grabbed the plant's trunk, clinging onto the wood.

He frowned, stabbing his dagger into the bark before growling, looking back at the Bluster with an irritated glare. The Bluster rumbled, nearing Jacob in curiosity, the hunter glaring at it as he spotted Maisie clinging onto his spear nervously, Lilia kneeling behind the orphan with a hand on her back.

"Hold on, lasses!" Jacob grunted, pulling himself up from his blade, tugging on the rope as soon as he had perched himself on the blade.

As he pulled, the Bluster lifted a flipper, staring at the rope in confusion, grumbling as it lifted it up. The hunter stopped pulling the rope, letting out a noise of confusion as he looked up at the Bluster cautiously.

The Bluster then tugged at the string, Maisie grunting as the strength of the Bluster's efforts had tugged the wedged spear out of its nostril, Lilia screaming as she was dragged along with Maisie, the two females swinging towards Jacob's direction.

"Jacob!" Maisie cried out, reaching for his hand as Lilia's arms were around the young girl's torso, the princess' hand also outreached as it passed by Jacob's outreached, much larger hand.

Their fingers merely brushed before they swung far away, Jacob grunting as his grip on the tree slipped. The hunter cried out as he fell, being yanked again just before he could land on the sand, the rope caught around the knife's handle.

Maisie cried out as she clung to the rope, Lilia looking back at Jacob in concern. Maisie's eyes widened as she looked ahead, wincing as she tugged at Lilia's sleeve.

The two females let out nervous cries as their feet barely touched the Bluster's upper lip, its flipper continuously acting as a pivot for the swinging ends of the rope. Just as the two were about to swing in the opposite direction, the Bluster lurched forwards, gently wrapping its teeth around Maisie's boot.

The two females came to a startling halt, Maisie breathing nervously as Lilia froze under the Bluster's gaze, her breathing slowing out of fear. The Bluster continued to eye them before it breathed out slowly, the wind lightly ruffling both females' now-dry hair.