The Eldars

19

Montani's unexpected attack makes it so the controller has to retreat. His distraction is such that the prince and two others are able to free themselves.

The controller sends out weaves to capture Montani. She drops and the weaves go over her head. Quickly Montani rolls out of the way and starts stalking the controller. The controller leaves off paying close attention to the elves as his complete attention is taken in fighting Montani.

Montani has managed to evade the attacks, but she is weakening. Only about half the elves are freed. She's going to lose unless something happens to give her strength. The controller strikes and manages to sever her bond with Mant.

Montani goes crazy. She reverts to Katiri just after her family was killed. The controller has become the evil ones that killed her family. She stalks him as she stalked the evil ones. The controller hides and retreats. Katiri has become the ultimate hunter, one that doesn't care what happens to her.

When the bond with Montani is cut Mant is terrified that she's dead. He's only reassured when he sees that she is still breathing. 

But he's less than happy when the elves start waking up. He's never known Montani's spells to falter. "Leear, what the hell happened?" Mant doesn't care that he's being rude to the elven prince. He figures that this is the elf's fault.

"Montani managed to fight and distract the controller enough for us to be freed, but for each of us that was freed he was stronger against Montani. I tried to get to her to help her but he cut everything before I could get there. I'm sorry Mant, the last I saw her she was hunting the controller."

"Show me."

Leear takes him back to where Montani was last seen fighting the controller. There is a trail, Mant is confused. Montani doesn't leave trails, this isn't like her at all.

"What is that?" Mant hadn't been paying attention to Leear, but his words draw his attention.

"It's like when we taught her. She's acting like Katiri not Montani." Leear replies clearer for Mant to hear.

It clicks then. Mant closes his eyes in relief. He knows how to find and bring her back now. He follows her but not the trail, he follows her essence. All the time he calls to her, at first he uses Montani then he realizes that in her state right now she likely wouldn't remember the name as being hers.

Montani, no Katiri pauses as she hears someone calling her. The voice, she should know the voice but she can't place it. She shakes her head and focuses on the trail of the controller, he has to pay for what he did to her family.

The voice calls to her again, using a name she should know, but it isn't hers. She's irritated by the voice it's distracting her. Her quarry is here not far away from her and she wants to end this and join her family.

Mant in desperation calls to her using her old name. It distracts her. He starts calling to her asking her to remember that it was in the past. He begs her to remember about the forgotten forest and finding Mauntie. How Mauntie was saved because of her and how he brought her back to the Eldar. He begs her to remember about him, Mant.

The controller stays still and hidden. This attack by the girl was more than he could understand. He doesn't understand why she is considering him an evil one. Isn't he hunting them the only way that he can? Why would she think that he's evil, things haven't changed at all it seems.

He backs off as he watches as the unknown one, the elf called him an Eldar continues calling to the girl. Slowly the girl comes back to herself. He hadn't meant to damage her, he was just trying to save himself from the attack.

As he listens to the words of the Eldar his eyes widen in understanding. The human has been through so much. He's never found a human so strong, in truth he was led to believe that the humans were the weakest of all the races, yet she's stronger than the elves or even the eldar.

He watches as the eldar finally finds the human and embraces her. Now he realizes his mistake, they are a couple, and he had cut the bonding between them.

Montani comes back to herself as Mant enfolds her in his arms. She doesn't remember how she came to be where she is. She starts crying. Mant holds her even tighter.

Neither one is paying attention to anything else but each other. So they don't notice when the controller comes out of hiding.

But the elves aren't so focused. They set up a protective barrier between Montani and Mant and any possible attacks by the controller.

It's an elf that notices the movement of the controller and alerts every one else. Mant and Montani look up but other than that don't do anything. Mant won't let go of Montani and Montani is too tired to fight anymore.

"Why does the human see me as one of the filthy creatures?" The controller asks ignoring the hostile actions of the elves.

Leear is the one to answer him, "You controlled others, that is considered evil. Anyone to take away the free will of others is evil."

The controller jerks back in shock. "That was not my intention. That is the only way that I'm able to hunt the vile creatures.

"I hope that I have not harmed the human? I had no intentions of doing so, I just wanted to not have to continue the fight."

Mant feels Montani still shaking and holding back her tears with difficulty. "You forced her to relive the worst time of her life. It was incredibly traumatizing when it happened and hasn't lessened through the years."

Montani pulls herself together and faces the controller, "What are you?" Silence meets her words, the others hadn't realized yet that the controller was other than a member of one of the known races.