Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
𝐈𝐈⨾ TO KILL A WOLF
⋰⋰⋰
BETWEEN DAGGERS AND WATER the girl had essentially everything she needed, and to the hunter's luck that included basic medical supplies. They hunkered down inside an abandoned cave, a fire scaring away the darkness outside. Daylight had fallen and they were shrouded in night. Now was the time when secrets came out to play, and she could only pull her hood down further at the thought.
The hunter looked worse for wear, sickly pale and clammy. She frowned at his state as she worked on mending his wounds. Her hands moved with nimble knowledge, carefully cleaning and bandaging the cuts. Blood and wounds merely blended into her memory all the time.
However the hunter winced underneath her hands, his body twinging and jerking from the pain. He could not refrain from squirming. His eyes screwed shut with each jabbing pain. This was a most unpleasant introduction for him.
She bit down lightly on her tongue to hold her patience. The wounds were nothing of imminent death and his constant fidgeting made her job harder. Her mouth ended up snapping open anyway. "I would suggest you don't move," she ordered darkly.
"Right, right. I- I'm sorry." His face blanched as his entire body froze. Fear kept him from moving, but his eyes relentlessly searched underneath her hood for some sort of feature. That red cloak was mystery and it clung to her like a second skin. He winced again, this time minding his other injuries and staying still. As he watched her wrap a cloth around his arm his eyes suddenly went wide with realization. "Oh and uh, thanks- thank you! Thank you so very much! For this and- and that wolf."
She snorted airily at his stutter. Everything about him made her wonder if he truly was a hunter. Perhaps just a novice one, but then she would not have met him in the first place. She secured the cloth in place and then did a once over. "Don't worry about it." The words left her lips as she inspected some scrapes on his knuckles. Deeming them too small to worry, she let go of his arm and moved back so that she could sit in front of him from a comfortable distance. "Where are you from?"
"Uh, um," he mumbled unprepared for the sudden questioning. His hands clutched at each other out of nervousness as he rested them in his lap. "Somewhere?"
The answer was unsatisfying in face of his unexplainable appearance. Internally she sighed, but decided to leave it be. She was not expecting much from the stranger to begin with.
The hunter gulped at her silence. His mind seemed to turn to mush until he began to think about the incident with the wolf. Before him was his savior sitting in the shadows, and he knew absolutely nothing. "What about you?
Her brow rose in subtle amusement. "Nowhere."
Stammering, he looked away and stared into the fire. "O-okay." It was not altogether quiet. Outside there were animals that rustled and cooed. Inside the fire crackled as it consumed the wood. Lastly, he became very aware of his irregular breathing, but that was something he found fortunate tonight. His eyes watered from the intense staring and his sight strayed away to her again. She was digging through her bag with her back hunched over. He cleared his throat, but it was so dry that he hardly made a sound. "Can I- may I as-ask, what are you?" he spoke up finally gaining back her attention. "Because I mean it was incredible. Just amazing! That idea to use the wolf's blind rage to out maneuver him. Then there's your skill in combat which was great if not intermediating. And then..."
