The Tale of the Huntress

15. To Grandmother's House We Go

Nova set up a campsite in the meadow that night. It was much more convenient for the lot of them to stay out of sight and away from curious eyes. Lilium put up no protest as she loved the few times that she had been taken on Nova's hunting trips when they needed to camp out somewhere. Iridian opened the satchel that he had been carrying and laid it down before them as the huntress prepared her bow to go into the forest for dinner and fire wood. The elf lifted his hand to pause her though and she turned to him.

"There is something I haven't been able to show to anyone for a long time so you must meet him," he excitedly chattered and motioned to the bag lying on the ground. Nova looked confused and a bit worried for the way he was tenderly petting his bag. Then it began to make bubbling noises and stretched open as if it were a yawning cat. Before she could say a thing, Iridian plunged half of his body into the bag, completely baffling the lady nearby. Lilium giggled and put her hands on the lip of the bag before poking her head in as well. Then an echoed "whoaaaa" came from her lips before she grabbed at something in it's depths.

"Momma, lookit!" she yelled as she pulled out a long silk scarf however Nova was still in shock at this new oddity. Iridian laughed and it reverberated throughout the satchel as he pulled out sleeping mats, blankets, and a few other things. Armageddon flicked his tail nervously as he too was very confused as to what was going on until Iridian noticed their prolonged silence. He emerged with another small bag between his teeth and more blankets tucked under each arm.

"Oh excuse me, this is Robin, my cursed satchel. He expands to accommodate all that I place inside and so I make sure to always have supplies for unexpected trips in stock," he explained with a goofy grin on his face. That was the moment Nova took to give Armageddon a knowing look of worry for the somewhat crazed looking individual. She had no reason to ask questions so she settled on just mumbling an awkward "okay." The bag then gurgled again and Iridian patted it down until it was flat again, like a normal empty bag. "I think you hurt his feelings," he mumbled and Lilium mimicked him to also pet the satchel. Without another thought, the huntress turned and walked towards the growing shadows of the forest line. Armageddon stayed behind as he believed Nova would be fine by herself and he would rather keep watch over the child since he was still wary of the mysterious elf.

Her feet carried her through the brush easily and with no noise. The green eyes she was known for became slits as to see more clearly in the darkness around her. Birds continued to chirp from their perches until they saw the huntress and sensing the ferocity in her stance, flew away from the danger quickly. Nova's eyes picked up movement in a bush and she readied her bow before kicking a rock towards it. Out sprang a strange looking rabbit with short ears and long back legs that made it similar in stance to a dinosaur. 'Perfect,' she thought to herself before letting an arrow fly, cleanly killing the Hallow rabbit. She slung it over her shoulder and continued further into the wilds.

Another sound alerted her and Nova cautiously ducked behind a tree. It was the quiet sound of large paws hitting the ground. 'A mountain lion or a wolf,' she commented in her mind and then peered around the bark. What she saw though was the shimmering eyes of a Nocturnus as it padded over the scattered leaves and bushes. Her eyes went wide with amazement at the grand lion with a mane that reflected the stars. It was made of a fog like substance that rolled off of it behind its ears and then dissipated when it traveled too far from its owner. She was speechless and decided to climb the tree rather than interrupt its passage through the forest. They were rare creatures that many believed to be forest spirits sent by the gods.

As she clambered up the tree, her foot slipped and a branch fell, alerting the massive lion. It's eyes flew to her and it stared without emotion before bowing its head to her. Nova was stunned at its response but nodded back before offering it the rabbit she had just hunted. The great Nocturnus nudged the flesh of the creature in her hands before prying it away with its jaws. It tore in its skin and gobbled it down in a bite, returning her a smile.