Lonely Boy (B×B)

Chapter 6 - Bow

××Stormy××

I could feel Fallows heart beating rapidly underneath my fingertips and I could hear my own blood rushing through my ears.

I ducked down just as Fallow flew through a narrow and low hanging patch of branches. The branches scratched my face and Fallows sides. I ignored the pain and looked up, trying to find a safe exit through the trees.

The cracking of branches and snapping of wood had me looking back. The overgrown lizard was quickly gaining on us.

It pushed through the trees and sharp branches like they were nothing, being protected by its strong, armored skin.

Fallow grunted and stopped suddenly, throwing me forward on his back. I almost fell as he made a sharp turn after stopping.

That stop and turn cost us too much time.

A tail slapped into us, knocking both of us to the ground. I let out a scream as we toppled over. Fallow grunted out in pain as he was shoved into a tree.

I pushed myself up as fast as I could and watched in panic as the giant lizard closed in on Fallow.

"Get away from him!" I yelled, throwing a knife at the creature. The knife hit but didn't stick, falling to the ground with an unheard thump. I stood shakily as it turned its beady eyes towards me.

I stepped back and watched as it followed my movements, taking the step along with me. I turned and ran, trying to make some distance.

It was easy to tell that it was hot on my trail by the sound of its hissing and the foliage breaking under it's heavy, webbed feet.

I tripped on a broken branch and landed awkwardly on my arm, pausing only a second to let the pain fade. I grabbed a knife from my waist with my good arm and held it up as the giant lizard landed on top of me.

The knife embedded into the soft flesh under its head and it quickly drew back with a cry. It shook its head out as I crawled to my feet, already grabbing another knife out to swing. It dodged each of my messy swipes, taking a few of its own with its clawed toes. It got closer with each grab for my body.

When one of the claws came dangerously close to my nose, I decided to chance running again. I tossed the knife in the general direction of its eyes and ran for it.

I almost immediately tripped again, over a vine this time but luckily caught myself against a tree. I used the tree to turn a different direction and push off.

I turned to look at the creature, looked back and almost ran directly into a wall of black clothing. I fell to the side to stop the collision and lost my footing. A hand grabbed my arm and righted me with a forceful pull. I looked up and found exactly who I thought I would. My green eyes narrowed into slits when I met his inkwells.

"We've got to stop meeting like this, cutie," Niton said with a chuckle, his large sword materializing in his hand. Once again, I fought between being angry at the name or trying to examine the sword.

In a couple swings, the lizard was falling to the ground, now with a missing head. Blood pooled around Niton's dark boots and was slowly making its way to my own. The sword was gone when he turned back to meet my glare.

"Can't you just leave me alone?" I grumbled, walking towards where I had left Fallow. I could hear Niton following close behind me. It only caused me to walk faster.

"You aren't the best with knives, cuties. Has no one trained you?"

Fallow had just come into sight, his head snapping up when he heard steps but Niton's words stopped me in my tracks. I shut my eyes tight and clenched my fists. He didn't know anything. No one knew anything!

"I've been trained almost my entire life!" I exploded, turning on him with fire in my eyes. Niton looked surprised at my outburst and held his hands up in surrender.

"I've never been good despite everyone in my family being an expert! They are all perfect while I can't even hold a knife right!" I wrapped my arms around myself as the tears burned behind my eyes and I found it hard to keep pushing them back.

Fallow's wet nose nudged into my neck and I quickly turned to bury my face in his fur. My fingers gripped onto his fur as I attempted to get a grip on my emotions. Niton seemed to step closer by the sound of crunching dead leaves. I almost thought he was going to set a hand on my shoulder to comfort me. I would break his hand if he tried that.

"Have you thought of trying a different weapon? Since melee clearly isn't for you, what about range?" Nitons words were pure curiosity but they still stung. Niton stepped back and I looked up in that moment to see him look down at his hands. I watched silently as a bow materialized in his hands.

As it formed, I noticed it looked quite similar to Niton's sword and knife. It was black with intricate silver designs running down it. The ends were curled into a pattern with a dark silver skull at the top.

Once it was finished forming, Niton held the bow towards me. Nitons hand sat suspended in the air as I simply looked on. I glanced up at his serious expression before looking back at his outstretched hand.

"Take it." Niton's voice snapped me out of my staring.

"I- are you sure?" I stumbled with my words. I had received weaponry as a gift before but nothing of this standard, nothing this intricate.

"I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't. I'll even teach you." Niton smiled at my unsure expression.

I reached out and wrapped my fingers around the spot just above where Niton was holding it. I had used a bow before, a few times at random but never enough to amount to anything.

"Thank you," I said softly, pulling the bow closer so I could use my other hand to run across the engraved designs.

"Well, let's get to work." Niton created another bow, much like the one I was holding with a few differences.

"We need to either make or buy some arrows. I do not have any to offer you to practice with," Niton explained, pulling the string of his own bow absent-mindedly.

"What's the point of being able to make bows if you don't have arrows to use with them?" I questioned, obviously confused.

"I can create arrows with the energy in the air around me so I don't need them," Niton said, watching as my expression changed to extreme excitement.

"You have to show me!" I pushed, stepping closer to emphasize my wants.

Niton laughed, "Okay, I'll show you. Calm yourself."

Niton brought the bow up to the correct level and picked a target in the distance. I watched in amazement as he pulled back the bow and a smoky arrow appeared and solidified the further he pulled back.

When he released, the smoke dispersed. The arrow flew by and stuck itself in the bark of a tree, now shining a clean silver, like the entire arrow had been sculpted out of pure metal.

"That's awesome!" I said, louder than I intended. My hand landed on his arm as I shook him slightly. "I wish I could do that."

"I guess it is pretty cool," Niton said, dropping his arm down to his side.

"So are you going to teach me how to make arrows? At this current moment, I have no interest going to Munice Village." Too many people knew me there. It was too close to the forest.

"Of course. Let's head over to a place I know would be much better to practice at." Niton waved his hand in the opposite direction of my home. Going that way worked for me.