Valley of Shadows (Berserk Guts xOc Fanfiction)

Chapter 1: The Band of the Hawk

To be a Mercinary, you have to be born unfortunate enough to become so adept at fighting for your life that you make a career out of it. As such, Tilly was taken into the Band of the Hawk, a ring of mercenaries under the leadership of a boy named Griffith.

Children should never have to know the horrors of war or the scars that taking a life leave on your soul, and yet that is what most of them were. Children. Griffith could not have been older than 17, and his right hand, Casca, was Tilly's age at only 14.

Still, Tilly knew her way around a bow, better than most men twice her age. She had to, or she would have died many times over. If it wasn't hunting in the woods to scavenge for food for her family, it was fighting away the invaders that would have killed her with the rest of her loved ones. If there was one thing that she knew how to do, it was survive and keep moving.

Except in this moment. The group of mercenaries sat on the grassy hillside just outside of the Seiged castle, resting after their most recent job which went rather unfortunately... Tilly could still hear the sound of battle cries and victory songs coming from a distance. The victors were cheering in a way that sounded like a low roll of thunder. Oh well, such is life and war... the only problem now was the winning side was not the side that hired them and Tilly was sure that Griffith, who was also laid back in the grass near her was figuring out where the next payment was going to come from.

Tilly sat up along the grassy hillside, her finger tips tracing the delicate curves of her bow and examining it for any cracks or moisture to make sure it stayed strong. It had already been a full day after Griffith had Pulled them out of the fight, but she couldn't stop thinking about the fighter that single handedly took on the Gray Knight Bazuso. The way he swung a two handed sword like it was nothing and how he cleaved the "Knight Killer's" skull in half. Griffith must have been moved by that performance as well because that was when he made the call to leave. Tilly looked back behind her at Griffith, who laid with closed eyes with his arms behind his head. He looked unreal, like an angel with white billowy hair. Tilly tried to forget that she was a woman, every now and again, when she saw how beautiful Griffith looked, she would remember.

"Oh!"
"Hey somebody is coming!" One of the look outs called from the top of the hill, just passed some rubble from an old stone wall that nature had mostly taken back.
Almost all of the mercenaries shot up like Merecats. Even Tilly had turned her head towards the commotion.

Now, six of their people joined the watch, trying to get a better look at who was walking towards the ridge.
"Oi! Look, It's That guy who killed Bazuso yesterday!!!"

Tilly's ears perked up as she watched some of the men scatter and scheme

"What's he doing here?" Another questioned.

"He's an enemy ain't he?"

"That's nothing to us now."

A snake like man stuck his head between some of the other mercenaries looking down on this boy like a vulture. "But I bet his pockets are well lined.. he's got that reward for Killing Bazuso." Corkus grinned through his teeth.

The group of men at the top if the hill nodded amongst each other agreeing to go after the reward that they were deprived of.

"How about it Griffith?" They called from their perch.

Unlike the rest of the men, Griffith could not be bothered. He continued to lay next to his armor in the grass composed and unmoving. "Do as you will." He replied cooly.
Tilly understood that this Man, that killed Bazuso, could more than likely take these 6 out with no issue and Griffith was giving them his permission to die. He always did have this admirable way of knowing exactly what to do or say in every situation.