Spearing the Dragon

TWENTY-FOUR

The trees barely stirred as the four of them walked through the forest, Navi leading the way, his three enforcers fanning out behind him. He strolled through the underbrush, whistling, the male enforcers behind him looking at each other and their surroundings anxiously. They didn't hear a sound before this boss drew his weapon so fast, they almost didn't see his hand move, slicing open the skull of a black hulking creature they hadn't even differentiated from the darkness. The black mass dropped to the ground as he walked past, still strolling.
He took out three more before they even knew there was danger, and it seemed he hadn't even broken a sweat. He walked ahead of them, Osolin falling into step with Eirys.
"Why did he even bring us?" he whispered to her. She watched his back thoughtfully without responding, but she wondered if he'd just wanted company.

After killing three xenomorphs, Eirys exercised her shoulder. Navileth appeared at her side so suddenly, it startled her. He looked at her shoulder.
"Everything okay?" She met his concerned gaze, knowing she shouldn't be insulted by it. It was his way. Her gaze gentled.
"I'm fine. We've killed more than this before."
He nodded, looking away.
"I thought you might be...upset. About earlier."
Her heart filled with warmth that he gave her emotions room.
"I'm not upset, sir."
He looked at her with warm grey eyes.
"Good. Nice day, isn't it?"
She shook her head as he walked ahead of her, lifting a low branch for them to walk under. As they walked, they encountered a rather large spot of excrement, and before she could jump over it, he took her hand and helped her step over it as he walked beside it. She took her hand back when they were over it, giving him a chiding look.
"Perhaps you shouldn't do things like that when we're around other enforcers."
He blinked at her before he nodded.
"Of course. I just don't think like that anymore."
She looked at his back with feelings she knew she could never share, not out loud. She knew he could see it in her eyes, especially when they were in his room earlier, and she consigned herself to the fact she wouldn't be able to completely hide her feelings from him.
When he disappeared completely from sight a few minutes later, she wasn't alarmed. Like a lion on the prowl, he would go off by himself and then return should they need him. Not that three enforcers needed help to dispatch a few xenomorphs, but he appeared anyway. When she heard an inhuman scream, it gave her strange comfort. As they walked, they saw the dark shape on the path.
They walked around it before she looked up and saw a few pinned to tree trunks, and she wondered what he'd used to hang them. He jumped down beside her, startling her for a moment, before he gave her a bright smile and it distracted her from it. He strolled beside her, and she wondered where he'd put his weapon. He took some berries from his pocket.
"Hungry?"
She took some and he offered the rest to the enforcers behind him, but they shook their heads. He popped the rest in his mouth as he walked, hands in his pockets.
"How many?"
"Hmm?" He looked over at her. "Oh, I don't know. Five or six?"
"Osolin thinks you're stealing all the game."
He looked back at him with a smile, but his enforcer was too busy watching the trees. He returned his gaze to her, catching her smiling at him before she looked away. After a few steps, she blinked beside her to realize she walked alone, not even noticing when he slipped away.

They came to the edge of the tree line, and Eirys stopped, looking across the clearing to the fortress of the Black General. Navileth hadn't returned to them yet, and she wondered if he'd already gone inside.
"Should we wait for him?" Osolin asked. She considered a moment.
"He would want Galdemort protected. That's our objective."
"So are we waiting or not?"
"Follow my lead." She hunched low to the ground as she quickly traversed the open area before taking to her belly the last few yards, aware of the trees around them. They came to the edge of the property, large statues half-covered in moss stretching up three levels. She attached herself to one of them, using the nooks and crannies to carry herself up.

Alvaen lightly set his feet down on the carpet below a window they crawled inside. Loridian walked swiftly beside him as they quietly jogged down the corridor with dark red carpet. Alvaen took the lead as they approached a corner, stopping to lean against the wall before he craned his neck to look around the corner. Guards stood at intervals down the hall. He brought his head back before giving Loridian five fingers.
He took his furled up whip from his back, letting it loose before crouching low to the floor, twisting half his body around the corner. He snapped the whip and it wrapped around the foot of the closest guard. He dragged him toward them, the second guard a few yards down noticing and followed. After Alvaen yanked the guard around the corner, he slit his throat quietly before he could even reach for his weapon. The second guard came around the corner, baton in hand when Loridian quickly stabbed him in the throat.
They left the bodies there since there was nowhere to hide them, walking around the corner to find the other three guards almost to the corner. Alvaen ducked and swung his whip, catching another by the ankle, yanking him toward him, throwing a knife with his other hand, catching the second guard in the throat. Loridian kicked the last guard in the middle section, flooring him before stepping onto his hand that reached for his weapon.
The guard Alvaen had by the ankle stabbed at him with a blade, Alvaen side-stepping it before kicking him across the face so hard, his neck snapped. They left the bodies where they'd fallen, continuing on their way. They came to another corner, Alvaen peeking around the edge to see the short hall ended in a red triangle flag hanging over the heads of two enforcers guarding the doors beneath it. One of them headed in their direction, Alvaen taking his head back.
He took a net from his vest, waiting until he came around the corner before he threw it, and it unfurled, catching him on the face. He cried out as he fell onto his back, trying to pry it off his face, only burning his hands in the process. An alarm sounded as Alvaen jumped around the corner to see the other enforcer coming, his whip in hand. Alvaen brought a tube to his mouth, shooting a tranquilizer dart at him. The first the enforcer darted away, while Alvaen deployed a second and third, one finding contact on his thigh. He dropped just as the doors underneath the flag opened, and enforcers poured out into the hall.
Alvaen deployed the rest of his darts, three, before taking a nasty knife from his back. Before they arrived, however, a figure sped past him, wielding two curved knives that looked like small axes. The figure moved so smoothly and quickly, he'd killed three enforcers before they had time to attack. Alvaen watched in fascination as their ally seemed to glide on the air, his weapons ending life wherever they made contact, and something about the way he moved seemed vaguely familiar.
Alvaen pushed himself into action, taking out two before the elf in black killed the last two with a single swipe of one of his bloodied weapons. He found himself breathless, waiting for him to turn around before he slipped inside the General's chamber and disappeared. When the door shut behind him, Alvaen took off at a run, his instinct taking over before his brain.  He ran into the old-fashioned door before he hacked at the doorknob.