The Tale of the Huntress

6. The Huntress

Nova awoke to the smell of rotting flesh and blood. She rose up too quickly from her position on the floor of the hall making her head spin. Every motion gave her the same outcome but still she attempted to get up again more slowly. The adrenaline had long since left after her fainting spell and pain surged through her body reminding her of her wounds. The emerald irises traveled down to the former puncture wound on her leg and she gasped in horror at the black pattern slithering up from her calf like a spider web. Where the dart had met flesh there was now a gaping hole that exposed muscle tissue and some bone. She bit the inside of her cheek in pain and to keep her focused on something other than her necrotic leg. Her mind reeled with different solutions to her problem as her eyes wandered around the hall she was stuck in.

In the bright light of the day her reflection gleamed in the blade of a sword. It was covered in dried blood and sitting next to the body of the man who had caused her leg to decompose. Her body groaned as she dragged herself towards the weapon, determined to survive. Once it was in her grasp, she ripped off a large portion of her tattered shirt and tied it tightly above her knee. A deep breath in and out was all it took to remove the hesitation from her mind. In one swift motion she plunged the blade into her leg and felt the bone snap as she let out a howl of pain. It went straight through and adrenaline rushed into her veins making her numb to the procedure. Her arms raised once more and the necrotic half of her leg was severed from the rest of her body. Healthy red blood was spurting from the wound but she simply wrapped more material around the stub. It seemed to clot quickly because her body had already gotten used to keeping the blood away from that area in her leg so the gushing soon stopped.

Once her nerves settled down a bit she began to realize that Armageddon was missing from her side and was hit with the memory of leaving him in the pit. Her lips turned down in annoyance at her stupidity but there was nothing she could do to free him at the moment. Her first task was to find something to help her stand and then gather leather and a needle from the basement to fully stitch up her leg.

Nova decided that the discarded sword would fill in the position of a walking stick for the time being and slowly made her way down the stairs. Sweat covered her body at the blood loss she had endured and she was growing increasingly dizzy but still her one leg carried her into the candle-less void. Once inside she blindly fumbled around to find a lamp and lit it with the matches on the table nearby. Shadows bounced up onto the walls sending chills down her spine but the new illumination guided her to a sewing kit. She was quick to stitch herself up and wrap a leather piece around her half leg to prevent further bleeding and infection.

Noise from upstairs caught her attention and she swiped a blade that was sitting on the desk nearby. The pain crazed woman held it out in fear of having to face another opponent while injured and watched as a shadow began descending the stairs. The clicking of claws confused her until the skull face of Armageddon peered down the steps and once recognition set in, he bounded towards her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and collapsed against his fur while he growled a bit in frustration at his abandonment.

"I'm so sorry Armageddon. I-I wasn't thinking about anything but Aurous," she whispered to the beast. At the mention of his name his ears perked up. She pet a tender hand against his ivory muzzle and let a few tears drop down but the Axius was no longer paying any mind to her woes. He ripped away from her, letting Nova fall to the ground with a grunt, and sprinted up the stairs towards the little one's room. She heard a distressed cry from him before he clambered noisily around the house in search of the child he always watched over. Once he decided that his efforts were in vain, he resigned to returning to his partner. His fur had tinted to a vivid blue color as was common when Axius were near death and Nova recognized the sign immediately.

"No you can't leave me. Please I have no one left Armageddon," she cried against the beast. Slowly but surely the blue faded back to green but left scarred patterns of the azure imprinted on his fur as a memory of their loss. They sat against the wooden floor together for what felt like hours to grieve. Once she had shed her last tear, Nova pried away from Armageddon and rose up with a training staff tucked under her armpit. She had no clue as to what she would do now that war was beginning to spread across the land and she only had the Axius to help her get through life. He seemed to realize she was deep in thought about their situation and nuzzled her arm. Her eyes went up to him to notice his snout pointing in the direction of her workbench where several skins were still laid out. Everett was the one that usually brought them into the nearby town to sell pelts and some meat for extra coin but Nova had never joined him.

"I don't believe anyone would trust a lady hunter Armageddon, and we can't stay here. Someone will undoubtedly come looking for this group of soldiers and with my...injury I am unable to move them," she explained. He ignored her excuses and began to nudge her towards the table gently at first and when she didn't comply, he shoved her forward like a child throwing a tantrum. "Armageddon I raised you better than to-" she paused in her sentence when he began plucking the pelts off of the counter and thrusting them at her with a firm resolve. She gave in and began to take them up in her empty arm before making her way to where the sewing kit was. The contents of it were separated according to importance and then the bag was filled with the miscellaneous furs. Once everything that she could manage was tucked away in the pack, Nova strapped it around Armageddon and chose her favorite sword and small blades to take with them wherever they were headed. The last thing that she slung over her own shoulder was the bow that Everett first gave her to teach her how to hunt and with a last look at their little den, Armageddon assisted Nova back up the staircase.

They had little trouble maneuvering around the bodies strewn around the house and continued out of their former home safely. Not a bird peeped nor creature moved in the brush sensing the aura of sadness that encompassed the pair. Everything was eerily quiet and Armageddon was on high alert, his ears swiveling around at ever leaf that fell from the trees and crunch of twigs underfoot. Nova broke the silence slightly when she groaned from the pain in her phantom limb. Armageddon was merciless to her pain seeing how she had abandoned him earlier and he still held a grudge. The creature pushed her to continue until they came upon the fallen trap where they last parted. The deer still lay dead on the bottom and Nova stared at him in question of how they would haul such a large animal up if she was barely able to walk without assistance. He grabbed the rope nearby in his mouth and placed it in her hands before glancing at the pit to direct her.

Nova climbed down the rope using mostly her arm strength while Armageddon kept it steady between his paws and teeth. Once at the bottom she tied the creature up more tightly and looked up at her partner for further instruction. Using all of his strength, somehow the Axius maneuvered his way to pulling the deer up as well as his cherished friend. The kill sat between them after they walked further into the unknown of the jungle to set up a sort of camp with only a small fire pit and the pelts laying about as a makeshift bed mat. She stoked a fire and cooked meat for herself as Armageddon helped himself to the corpse after Nova had carved the skin off with her sharpest blade. They ate silently and spent the rest of their day in quiet remembrance of the family that they had lost.

"Goodnight little star," her voice came softly. She placed a kiss on his skull and let sleep overtake her senses. Blood and the faces of her loved ones haunted her throughout the night but every time she would stir in her sleep, Armageddon was right there to comfort her with a loving brush of his tail or a gentle nuzzle to her cheek. The pair woke early in the morning in order to cover their tracks and get as far away from their former home as possible. The forest was a harsh landscape for a disabled woman and an Axius the size of a panther but they made it through within a few weeks. It was no easy feat but once they broke through the last of the tall trees, a plain of grass with a village in the distance became a grand prize in their eyes.

"We will start anew in this town," Nova said, turning to Armageddon with her lips in a strained smile. It was obviously difficult for her to feel any kind of positivity after all of the foul cards fate had dealt her but she was steadfast in living her life no matter what obstacles faced them. "It will only be us this time dear friend."