Silver Skin

18

Bite back
~
Cadence
~

Tala's leg swept across Erisa's feet in a dashing motion and she collapsed to the floor in a heap.

Loud and obnoxious laughter sounded around them and Tristan pointed a finger at Erisa. "You suck!"

Erisa grunted and rose back to her feet, wiping the dirt off her.

The three hunters and the Beta had been going at it all afternoon. After Cadence woke up on the couch with no sign of Rexton or Accalia, she hassled the others awake in an attempt to fasten the day by.

Cadence couldn't recall her falling asleep, but she could sense the absence of the hybrid not being around in the morning. Rexton was always on the move, whether that be washing dishes from his consummation of cereal, having the television loud and clear through the many halls of the Fenris manor and searching for any sign of Lycus, his presence brought a silver lining Cadence tended to feel the loss of only when he wasn't around. When he was gone, there was an evident emptiness, but when he was here, it was absolute.

Tala joined in after she finished her rounds of patrols and other duties. Over these many weeks, the she-wolf and hunters had no choice but to work side by side. Tala was loyal to Accalia as was Cadence, and it ignited an alliance neither of them dared to speak about.

Cadence whacked Tristan on the back of the head, not appreciating his commentary. "You better shut up."

Tristan rounded on Cadence with a cheeky grin and poked her in the shoulder. "Or what?"

Cadence's eyes flared and angrily poked him back. "You're tryna get a rise out of us and it's not going to work. Piss off if you're going to be annoying."

Tristan wrapped his arm around Cadence's neck and pulled her into him. He didn't stop there and pulled her off the table they were sitting on, dragging her out to the clearing where they were sparring.

"Let's take a stroll, cousin," Trista muttered as he dragged Cadence by the neck.

The Beta strolled up to Erisa and tossed her a bottle of water.

"You need to be faster on your feet, hunter," Tala advised and wiped her sweaty forehead, her hair sticking to her skin. "You're quick with an arrow, but not in hand-to-hand combat."

Cadence didn't have the heart to tell Erisa that. The Jaeger hunter was raised in books with an array of weaponry and history, but not the upbringing of head-on fighting with werewolves or lycans like Cadence grew up in.

But Tala was right, Erisa was handy with a bow and arrow, good at her aim, but lacked strength in combat fighting.

She was weak in arms and knees, an easy target to take down – she would need to improve her strength to properly take someone, maybe a werewolf down. She had to pack power into her punch.

Erisa huffed in response and gripped her sides, motioning to the trees behind her. "I'm going for a walk, I'll come back in a minute."

Cadence narrowed her eyes at her and tried to elbow her way out of Tristan's death grip. "Need me to come with you?"

Erisa shook her off and picked up her leather jacket. "Nah, I'll be fine. Just need to cool off."

The Jaeger hunter disappeared through the trees and Tala shot Cadence a questioning glance.

"Something I did?" The Beta inquired.

Cadence shrugged loosely and waved Tala off. "Nah, she's not used to this. Being in the pack and all."