Bow Of The Hunter

An Unlikely Friend

Ivara looked up at the sky and her lip trembled. She had never gone this far. Never. Her daddy had never let her go this far outside the inner rim of the village. She looked around her and she wanted to cry. It was getting dark. She heard the group of boys behind her still so she took off running once more. She ran until she didn't think she could hear them running behind her anymore. She stopped and rested against a tree. She was tired. She was dirty, tired, and scared. She stifled a sob in her sleeve when she heard the five thunks against the tree a short ways away.

She rolled to her feet and took off running once more. She slipped around a tree and tripped over something. She struggled to shove herself to her hands and knees. She wiped her eyes and leaned back to sit on her feet as she rubbed her eyes. Tears fell from her eyes and she bit her lip. She didn't want this. She didn't want to run from them anymore... she was tired... so tired. She turned to look at what she had tripped over, only for a scream to get caught in her throat. "Hi." That was all he said.

Her face scrunched up and she began to cry once more. "Hey, hey, hey! Don't cry." He said and she sniffled her sobs away. "What's wrong?" he asked as he crossed his legs in front of him. His eyes scanned over her and he frowned. "How old are you?" he asked and she sniffled. "F-five..." she stammered and he tilted his head to the side slightly. "What are you doing out here all by yourself?" he asked and she sniffled once more. "They chased m-me."

"Who?" he asked and she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands. "Dozu and his s-stupid friends." She sniffled and he frowned. "You want me to hide you?" he asked and she blinked up at him. "They can see me a-anywhere you would h-hide me..." she sobbed softly and he frowned. "Are they going to hurt you?" he asked and she nodded as the tears began to fall once more. "What's your name?" he asked and she sniffled out an 'Ivara'. "Come over here and I can help you get rid of them." He said and she rubbed her eyes. "Daddy says not to go anywhere with strangers... he says not to talk to strangers either..." she mumbled softly and he chuckled.

"Well, a bit late for the no talking to strangers thing, huh?" he asked and she stepped back a bit. "I'm not going to hurt you I promise..." he said and she watched him carefully. "You promise?" she asked and he nodded. "You just have to do three things for me, alright?" he asked and she watched him with cautious eyes. "W-what three things?" she asked and he smiled, although she couldn't see it. "Alright. First, you need to come over here. He said and she took a slow step forwards. "A little closer. I can't help you if you stay that far away." He said and she frowned. "How old are you?" she asked softly and he blinked.

"Fourteen." He said and she frowned. "Dozu is twelve I think... h-he's mad at me because I caught him on fire..." she stammered and he chuckled. "Good job, did it look like this?" he asked, pulling the mask away from his mouth. He inhaled, then released a stream of fire into the air. Her eyes lit up like the moon and he smiled at her crookedly. "Cool huh?" he asked and she nodded. "Show me yours?" he asked and she took a deep breath, only to cough out a small fireball the size of a soccer ball. She blushed and fiddled with her fingers. "It was bigger yesterday..." she whispered and he laughed. "That one is much better than the tiny puff of fire I coughed out when I was your age. Mine wasn't even the size of your hand." He said and she giggled.

"Yours was so c-cool though..." she said and he pulled the mask back over his mouth. "I can make them bigger than that." He said and she stepped closer and sat beside him. "Will you show me sometime?" she asked and he nodded. "Sure." He said and she smiled. Her heart began to race as she heard the group edging closer. "P-please help m-me." she stammered in her panic and he ruffled her hair. "If I help you, you have to promise me two things." He said and she looked up at him and nodded. "One, if I need help I will ask you for help, alright?" he asked and she nodded rapidly in her panic.

"Two, you can't tell anyone you saw me here." He said and she nodded as she heard their footsteps edging even closer. "I p-promise I won't tell anyone." She said and he nodded. "And three..." he began and she began to shake. "Look me in the eyes, miss Ivara." He said and she looked him in the eye. "Take a deep breath and calm down. I'm going to help you." He said and she nodded. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She felt wind on her and then she hit the ground. She blinked and looked around her. It was dark, where was she?

Where did he take her?

:-:-:

He sighed and sat back against the tree. What an interesting day this was turning out to be. He had seen the little girl around the village before. She had been with her mother and father when he had roamed the village though... his brow quirked and he shook his head. What did he even want from the little girl? She was five... she was no use to him at the moment. He supposed she would become of use to him in the future. Not that she would remember either way. He planned to wipe her memory once this ordeal was settled.

Five sets of feet hit the ground nearby and a group of boys circled the tree. "Hey, have you seen a little girl run past here?" the one in front asked and he looked up at the boys, a smirk crossing his lips, although the boys couldn't see it. "Oh, you mean Ivara?" he asked and the boy nodded rapidly. "Yeah, that's her. Her father sent us to find her because she's been missing all day." He said and he quirked a brow. The little liar amused him greatly. "You're Dozu, right?" he asked and the spiky haired guy nodded.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you aren't the one trying to hurt her." He said and Dozu crouched and looked him in the eye. "I'm no-" he began but he froze the moment his eyes made contact. Dozu was trapped now. His gaze broke from Dozu's eyes to cross over each of the other boys' eyes. "Hey Dozu..." he called and the brunette looked him in the eye. "You were going to set her on fire, right?" he asked and the boy nodded as if in a trance. "New target kid. Have fun." He said and tossed Dozu the lighter.

Dozu turned on his friends and flicked the lighter.

He continued to stroll down the pathway in the woods until the screams of the boys stopped. He was moving further from the village so Ivara wouldn't have to see that before the flames were put out. He continued down the path and smirked when the scream of terror signaled that Dozu snapped out of his trance. He sat beneath a much larger tree where the roots rose up out of the ground and created a sort of a cave of roots. He leaned back and scooted back into the root cave. In a breeze of air Ivara landed in his lap. "Are you alright?" he asked and she nodded as she looked around.

"Y-yeah... I'm ok..." she whispered as she looked around her. "Good." He said simply and she looked at him.