Horizons

8 Unseen

The scouts ran through the bush with ease, they moved effortlessly as they wove through the foliage, leaving no evidence of their passing. They were speeding towards the village of Shadyknoll to discover their next mission and return the stolen books to safety. The pair of racing warriors went unnoticed by the forest creatures going about their day, every now and again a shocked squirrel would be hurdled by a phantom covered in mud, after the momentary surprise it would return to searching for the nuts it needed to survive winter.

Raider was passing under a ceder branch in the trail when he sensed it; a presence searching from the West. He stopped and signaled his companion to perform an action known as a fade. The two blended into opposite sides of the deer trail that they were on and began to meditate; further becoming a part of their surroundings. The practiced meditation, a hallmark of Scout training, allowed them to draw in and reduce their human sized spirit. The effect rendered their presence to that of a small rodent or insect, creating a balance that allowed them to more readily disappear amongst the forest underbrush, making them virtually invisible.

Hawk began to feel something coming from behind them. A dark presence was coming. The birds sounded an alarm to the other forest creatures that danger was coming. Then suddenly the forest went silent as the fauna froze in fear. The scouts concealed by the undergrowth, remained calm while the demonic force scoured the land. They could feel it, an ethereal force, rage filled, desperately searching for some unknown vexation. Hawk felt a very strong urge to succumb to panic, fortunately for the two he remained stalwart and focused on his vole-like self image. It began to fade, the presence was moving on. The birds began to relax and the animals began to come out of their hiding places. The scouts remained in place until the rage filled presence was far out of range. Hawkeye emerged, taking Raiders lead, he looked to his mentor for reassurance, but only found a concern set to the elders face. The youth signalled to Raider, asking him for answers. Raider only shook his head in dismissal, he had no answers for Hawks questions nor was this the time to stop and parley. The pair needed to move now, the unknown force may return and neither Scout was interested in encountering it again. They returned to their race, but this time even more wary of the dangers at their rear.

Further on Raider felt Hawk riding up on him, the youth was slowly closing the gap on the elder. Raider knew what was happening, fear was taking hold of the fledgling Scout. He signaled a halt, and pulled out his water skin. While sipping at the thirst quenching clear water he observed his young companion. The boy was not drinking, nor looking over his camouflage. Instead he was scanning the area around them, searching for danger. He was utterly fixated, in a flight or fight mode. The master let out a stream of water from between his lips. It hit his understudy directly in his right eye, the scout started. His hand jerked toward his hip, where his machete hung. His body in the ready position, he looked at his master in incredulous fury.

"Always be watchful for danger." the master whispered as the wind.

"But, that's what....I was doing, Master." The youth replied, a little more raspy than the wind.

"No shit, try to get a hold of your fear. It's turning you into an idiot. You are more than that."

Hawkeye thought for a moment. Raider was right, the malevolent force had unnerved him and he was giving into the fear. More importantly he had to be better than this, fear was for the people he protected, for his old self, Kyle. Hawkeye was a Scout and must be more than a scarred boy. He bashfully patted the wet from his face and drew his own water skin. "I apologise Master." His whisper had lost the edge that it had before he had been humbled. "I need to know, do you know what that was?"

Trying to choose his words carefully, Raider stated "Someone is searching for us. Someone as practiced in meditation as a Grand Master, assumedly; whoever leads those creatures we met. The person...or persons who stole Jarvis from us."