The Eldars

2

Katiri had learned how to track and hunt from the elves themselves, but even if she was completely incompetent she could follow this trail.

There seemed to be three of the things, she judged them to be about average human height. She had never heard of an animal that big that did what it did to her family and the animals. Even bears would eat their kill, but what happened to her family was just for fun, wanton destruction.

The two smaller creatures, and by smaller she guesses they are about less than half a foot smaller than the third creature, don't try to hide their passage in any way. The third one seems to be more intelligent and at least tries to hide it's presence, but, to Katiri's eyes at least it's obvious that it is there.

She loses herself so much in her concentration that she fails to notice where the trail is leading her. The first she realizes where she is at is when sounds of the forest is silenced just as she comes to a clearing. 

She looks around and starts chewing herself out internally. She doesn't recognize anything around here and she's hunted all parts of the forest except one, the forbidden forest. The Elves had warned her about this part of the forest. They themselves won't go near it.

That's why the sound of a battle up ahead makes her confused and curious. She keeps to the cover of the forest as she looks into the clearing where the fighting is taking place. The two smaller creatures are down, but she sees movement in one. It at least isn't dead.

Then even as she watches, the man that looks like an elf takes down the third creature even as the creature gives the man a wound. They both go down.

But the creature isn't finished. He rises up with his knife and moves towards the man that is now bleeding out and unconscious. 

Katiri's arrow takes the creature through the eye. The thing falls just a few inches from the wounded man.

Katiri makes her way to the creature closest to her. This is the one that didn't move. She shoves her knife and her father's hunting knife into the eye sockets  just to make sure that it's dead.

Then she repeats the process with the one that she did see move. She knows that the third one is dead. She never misses what she aims at. Even the Elves had been impressed by her shooting ability and they didn't think much of humans.

She still isn't sure why the elven prince had taken such an interest in her. The elves usually avoid the humans. Most humans think that elves are part of the myths that abound. Katiri knows better. So do those of her settlement, they are aware that the elves live nearby, but they, for the most part, have never seen one.

Katiri not only has seen one, she's been taught by them, the prince had been her special mentor. But he had cautioned her about mentioning this to the other humans. The elves prefer the humans think of them as myths, it keeps the humans from bothering them.

The elves, like the other races look down on humans. They are considered the weakest of the races.

Katiri brings herself out of her memories and goes over to the man. She makes herself comfortable sitting before placing the man's head in her lap.

The rumors about her were true. She is able to heal all but the most dire of wounds and heal almost all illnesses. She thinks that should be a boon, but the other humans barely tolerate her. She shrugs, it could be worse, they could burn her as a witch or some such thing like that. She's heard that other villages and towns have done so.

She thinks them to be fools.

She looks deep inside herself to find the magic or whatever you want to call it and she heals the man. However, his spirit had already started to leave. Katiri calls back to the spirit. It pauses, "I have healed your body, there is no need for you to leave now."

The spirit looks to her then turns and starts leaving once more. Katiri gives it one more chance, "I have healed your body, yet if you wish to die, go ahead. You should know however, that this is the forbidden forest. I don't know who you are, but surely even you know what happens to those that die in this place?"

With those words the spirit of the man returns to where she is, "Who are you to call me back from the land of the dying?" His words hold more than a little command in them.

Katiri shows no emotion as she replies, "Who I am is of little import. I have healed your body, it is up to you whether you wish to return or not. I would suggest returning at least long enough to leave the forbidden forest before you choose to die."

The stranger didn't much care for her words or lack of respect and tries to keep her there under mental bonds.

Katiri looks at him in narrowed eyed anger, although the anger is hidden. She then proceeds to break the bonds he had her bound with and leaves.

The shock of the human girl able to break the bonds that his own people couldn't break, and to do so after healing his badly damaged body and calling him back from the dead wakes him up.

The man slowly sits up anticipating pain and finding none. He realizes that he had been lying on the girl's lap and turns to look at her, the one that saved him. When he fell to the wound he didn't think he'd ever awake again.

The girl is now unconscious. The energy to heal, call him back from the dead and break from his bonds had been enough to make her lose consciousness.

She couldn't be more than eighteen, although it is likely that she is younger. She is pale and her breathing is shallow and rapid. When she doesn't wake at his calling to her he realizes that he'll need to go after her.

Looking at the evil ones that lie dead around them he notices that the girl dispatched them before taking care of him. Smart, the evil ones have a way of pretending to be dead when in reality they are just waiting for an opportunity to attack again. But he is surprised at her brutality. Why would she be like that for a creature she should never have crossed paths with.

Looking for answers he goes into her mind and searches her memories. He finds her shield and manages to break through. He slams his own shields down as quickly as he can, shaking at what he'd seen and possibly did to the girl. The shields had been to protect her from the horror of what she'd seen. She had reason to be brutal to the evil ones after all.

She hadn't deserved that after doing all that she did to help him and save him. He resolves to do his best to help her in return. But in order to fully help her they needed to leave the forbidden forest and go to a place of safety. She is in no shape to walk, even if he could wake her up and he's not sure that he can, and he's not in any shape to carry her. He is too weak to walk very far.

He turns to the histories and does something that hasn't been done for centuries, he calls the giant eagles. He doubts that they will answer just because he calls, so he adds in the evil ones and he gets his reply. They will help him and the human girl.

Now he just has to make it so that the girl will survive until he can get them to a place of safety with the help of the eagles. He takes the girl and holds her to him, as he himself looks deep into his most secret places. Then he looks at the girl.

He looks to her life flame. The flame that all living creatures have inside of them and sees that hers is getting duller and colder even as he watches it. He quickly adds to it from his own energy and then goes after the girl. He really wishes he knew her name. Then he could call her and she'd almost have to come. He thinks almost, because this girl already has proven herself stronger than him and she might have still refused to come.