The rising sun cast a golden glow over the valley below, causing everything to look as though it had been touched by the heavens. It was indeed beautiful, but Ariznim felt none of the warmth or happiness that the rising sun brought with it.
The mosquito looked down into the valley at the village below. She was standing just within a forest, hidden in the shadows, the sun's rays reaching for, but not touching, her. Th town wasn't far away, and Ariznim could see it waking up. It was a market day, and the people were rising with the sun. They were bustling about, setting up their market stalls, ready to sell their wares. When the stalls were set up, more people started to filter into the streets. Children ran and played in the streets together, dogs barked and the villagers bought and sold their wares.
Ariznim bit back tears. 'I do not deserve that sort of life,' she thought, though she longed for it. 'I am nothing compared to them, I am a parasite to them, a pest.'
She jumped when a sharp voice sounded behind her. "There it is!"
She turned around to see three men running towards her. They were bounty hunters, after her from the last time she had been spotted. She felt more tears fall and her wings buzzed into life. She jumped into the air and started to fly away from them, but she heard them running after her through the woods. She knew she could fly much faster than they could run, but she heard the twang of a bow, and she cried out in pain as an arrow pierced her wing. She continued to flap her wings, but she couldn't fly any longer. She tumbled to the ground and got to her feet as soon as she could. She started to run. Her wing was bleeding profusely, but she continued on. She could hear the men crashing through the underbrush after her. They were no doubt stronger and faster than her, but they were also much bigger. She slipped under branches and between bushes whilst they crashed behind her, the underbrush greatly slowing them down.
After many minutes the sound of their heavy footsteps faded behind her. The sun was higher now, but within the forest it was still dim, only a soft dappled light filtering through the leaves. She continued to run. She caught her foot on a rock and went sprawling to the ground. She cried out in pain as her injured wing hit the ground. The arrow had fallen out of the wound, and it was still bleeding. Ariznim lay on her back, her wing sticking awkwardly off to the side, breathing heavily for a few moments before she drifted into unconsciousness from exhaustion and pain.
She might of heard it before she slipped into the unconscious, but a grumpy grumble from up above could be heard. There, above the injured mosquito girl, laid a nestled white cocoon set high within the trees. The being taking residence in such a thing had taken pain staking processes to ensure the cocoon was sealed well from rain and noise, and was in the most secure location he could think of-
But it seemed just as he was dozing off to sleep for the day...
A noise woke him up. The frantic pain filled yelps jolted him from whatever lulled him into sleepiness and now made hims restless and grumpy. Angered he was so close to drifting off into a peaceful slumber, he wriggled around and found a small opening in his cocoon so as to inspect the area for what the heck was going on, and when he saw someone laying beneath him, he felt himself bristle as his growl deepened.
"Hey.. hey you, can't you find somewhere else to sleep?" he shouted down at her after vacating his sleeping cocoon. But when she didn't move, he growled again and moved to get closer to her.
"Hey!" But as he drew near and noticed she had wings, he froze in place. Were those... insect wings? From a distance, she seemed like some normal human girl, maybe about his age, or size, at least, but now he could see she was anything but-
But when his eyes caught sight of the blood and arrow that caused it, he was soon holding his breath when he heard men moving through the forests.
"That thing I think went this way! Come on!"
"Oh, I see it! There's a trail of blood!"
Miersck panicked and turned to kneel down beside the young woman.
"Oh rotting acorns, this can't be happening! Hey... HEY!" he said, giving her shoulders a rough shake. "I think those hunters or whatever that might be after you are coming this way.... Hey.." He continued to shake her. "WAKE UP!!!!"
Ariznim groaned in pain as the boy shook her shoulders. Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked up at him. "Wha-?" then she heard another shout as the men drew nearer, and she pushed herself into a sitting position.
"We-we have to get out of here! They'll kill me, and maybe you too!" Using a nearby tree for support, Ariznim dragged herself to her feet. She stood there for a moment, her head reeling from the blood loss and pain, until she took a step away from the sound of the men. She took a deep breath, she could hardly stand! Then she ripped the hem off of her skirt and pulled her wing around to try to bind it. Her blood was falling freely, and as she tried to bind her wing she started to walk away from the men, she may as well try to get away.
Seeing how she was juggling her injuries and the frantic desire to get away, Miersck swore over acorns again and grabbed her hand.
"Don't worry about your injuries! We need to run and to run now! Come on!" And he gave her hand a pull, practically dragging her behind him. He just hoped she had the strength to run, he hardly thought himself strong enough to carry her!
Ariznim did her best. She gasped as he pulled her forward, but she quickly regained her footing by flapping her remaining uninjured wing. She ran after him, stumbling every once in a while but never falling. She could hear the men behind them, but they weren't moving very quickly, but neither was Ariznim and the teenage boy.
The mosquito looked closer at the boy, she had noticed he had wings earlier, how could she not? But they were not like hers. They were larger and they looked. . . Softer, powdery, like a moths wings. That's what Ariznim assumed he was, a moth-type being. She was jolted out of her thoughts as she tripped over a root and almost fell. She managed to grab a tree branch and pull her self upright. She continued to run.
Seeing her nearly fall made Miersck stop in a panic. He could have caught her, shoulder have caught her, but upon seeing her run again, he released a frustrated growl and urged, "Come on!"
But come on to where? Running was supposed to be the easy part, but how were they to loose these men?
Ariznim looked behind her, and could see the men not far behind. if they didn't get to a safe place soon, they would be caught for sure. Ariznim skidded to a halt as they emerged out of the forest, right on the edge of a cliff.
Ariznim looked frantically around for a way away, but the cliff stretched for miles in either direction, and then she saw the way down. "There!"
She was pointing to a group of vines growing up the side of the cliff. "I can climb down, and you can fly!" she said. "The men will be too heavy for the vines, they would fall if they tried to climb down!"
Ariznim rushed to the edge of the cliff and started down. At the bottom the forest started again, and she would be hidden from sight if the men were to look over the edge of the cliff. She reached the bottom and stepped from the vines. It would take the men a long while to find another way down the cliff.
Miersck grit his teeth. He knew he'd regret this, every second that idea was drilling inside his brain, but he was soon flying after her, shouting, "Wait up!" Because, despite probably not being able to just carry her as he flew, he felt a bit strange she at least didn't ask. Though he just counted it as him being lucky. He didn't like interacting with others if he could help it, anyway.
Once on the forest floor, he was gritting his teeth again, wings twitching irritably.
"Rotten acorns," he growled under his breath. "Looks like there's a path those idiots can take to get down here." At least that road would take longer. Without thinking, he grabbed the girl's hand roughly and gave a pull. "Come on!" And he began to guide her through the thick forest, which was not navigable without shoving vines, ferns and other plant life aside.
"Wait! Wait, slow down!" Ariznim said, gasping for breath. "We can keep moving, but I can't run anymore, I can't!" She looked back at her wing, which was still bleeding. "And if we don't stop my wing from bleeding the men will have a clear trail after us once they reach the bottom of the cliff!"
Miersck growled. He hated that she was right, but didn't stop as he found himself snarling, "And bind it with what? Stopping a wound from bleeding takes time."
And time wasn't a luxury they could afford! But she was right...
she was bleeding everywhere, and though it wasn't gushing out like a river- a good tracker could easily pick up their trail.
"I know," Ariznim said, flinching back at his snarl. "But if we don't we'll be found, and possibly killed."
She started to rip off the bottom of her dress, she had pants on, and since the fabric was already so old and thin, her dress ripped easily. She reached behind herself and started to wrap the fabric around the wound, but it wasn't going so well. She looked briefly up at the moth boy, she was not used to asking anyone for help, usually, people wouldn't even stay with her fir this long before leaving her alone. But now, she really needed the help, for both of their sakes.
"Can-can you bind it, please?" she asked timidly.
For a moment, he was frozen. Had she... had she really just torn some of her skirts. He had enough,a nd snatched her wrist suddenly.
"What are you doing!? That won't do! Look... just... hold still!" he commanded, keeping her roughly in place. He reached a hand back, and scraped along the soft fabric of his wings. His hand came back, powdery as he moved it towards her wound. With his other hand, he removed the loose bindings and began to pat the powder over the blood.
"This'll stop the wound entirely from bleeding," he went on, still grumpily growling as he spoke. "But you'll still want to be careful with it- the powder takes some time to work, you know."
"Oh! Thank you," Ariznim said when the moth-boy put the powder from his wong onto hers. he was quite grumpy, but he was kind, Ariznim thought, despite his rough demeanor.
"I am Ariznim, what is your name?" the mosquito asked.
Once finished, Miersck paused to observe her with a frown. He sneered.
"Miersck." And awkwardly, he shifted and told her, "Okay, Ariz.. Ariz..nim?" He frowned as he fumbled over her name. "Just look- you gotta relax, do limited movements until this powder sits. It's not exactly easy to come by, either! Even though I might have made it look like it were as easy as picking acorns." He still frowned but kept her in his gaze, anyway, and in his hold to keep her in place at least!
"Oh, okay," Ariznim said at the boy, Miersck, told her about the powder. She carefully sat down on a large rock. "Thank you again," she said, "it is good to meet you Miersck."
After a moment of silence, Ariznim looked back at the boy. "Where are you going now?" she asked him. She wondered if he had a home, a family, even, and if it was near here., Or perhaps he was traveling, or homeless, like her.
Miersck looked souredly away, grumbling something incoherent beneath his breath. However, at her question, he bared his teeth irritably.
"Going?"
Rotten acorns! As if he knew!
"Just- somewhere. Why? Does it matter?" he went on, defensively.
Ariznim drew back at his harsh tone. "I-I was just wondering," she said. "I'm sorry if I insulted you in any way. . ."
She trailed off, goodness, this boy was strange. Ariznim had come across many people who hated her and wanted to harm her, but this one seemed to want to help her, though at the same time his tone was fierce, and his face sour.
Miersck bristled, still feeling defensive, but also feeling a bit guilty to have this girl nearly quivering.
"Look, I won't pry into your life if you stay outta mine, okay? We're just traveling together until we're both safe," he went on grumpily, avoiding her gaze.
"Oh, okay. . ." Ariznim trailed off, and they sat in a rather uncomfortable silence for a few moments until Ariznim looked at her wing.
"Is it set by now?" she asked rather timidly.
Still stiff, he sighed a moment before turning to her.
"Here, turn so I can have a look." He was trying not to be too rough with her, but his disposition was soured. "Not sure it would, but you're not exactly human so the powder might work quicker on you."
She did appear, at least, a similar specie to his own.
Ariznim hesitated for a moment before turning her back on him so he could see her wing. She was confused by Miersck, and didn't quite know what to think of him, but he had helped her so far.
Since he was so guarded about himself, Ariznim did not try to make conversation anymore, she simply sat in silence.
Although he preferred the silence, his wings twitched in irritation over that, too. He didn't like the idea of feeling like some doting care taker for this strange fae person. So he might be closer in relation to her specie than most he had run into outside of his home, he still felt strange over this interaction and found himself grumbling, "Looks like it's still healing. But you could er.. try to stretch it to see." Even he was having a hard time judging. He wasn't a medic by any means!
"Oh, okay." Ariznim gently lifted her wing. There was a dull pain, but it wasn't that bad,Ariznim wondered if the powdery stuff had actually worked. If it had, it was a very amazing substance, one that Ariznim had never heard of before.
"Well..." he asked, bristling with impatience. "Feel any different?"
"It feels. . . better," Ariznim said, and it did, the pain seemed to be numbed, and it wasn't bleeding anymore, which was a plus. "Thank you."
Miersck felt so strange at her gratitude, and found himself blushing as he shifted, awkwardly.
"Well... thanks good," he told her gruffly, looking away. "And if you're feeling better," he went on, sighing. "We should keep moving."
We? Did he really just suggest a we?
"Okay," Ariznim said, and she got to her feet, slowly testing her wing again. It definitely felt like she could move with it, though definitely not fly.
She looked around, and felt a sinking feeling in her chest. "I don't know where we are," she said quietly. "Do you?"
"Not really," he muttered. "This isn't my home lands."
Ariznim bit her lip. "Well. . . I couldn't find my way back to where those men were chasing me from. . . so should we just pick a random direction and walk?"
Miersck was so angry he could spit. His wings bristled and he turned away from her and continued to glare at the world.
"But we could end up picking the very direction those stupid humans were chasing us from! Spirit's Kneecaps, this is as ridiculous as a wolf eating acorns!"
Ariznim held back a cringe at his outburst. If they were going to be traveling together, she would have to get used to his grouchiness.
"But we have to do something. . ." Ariznim said. "We can't stand around here all day. Perhaps. . ."
She trailed off and looked at the ground around there feet, hoping she could find some of their footprints and know which way they came from. But she wasn't a tracker.
She straightened. "Are you a tracker?" she asked. "If you could find our footprints. . ?"
"What?" Miersck bristled. "Do I look like a tracker? I have wings!" Which clearly explained his annoyance!
"Sorry!" Ariznim quickly apologized. "So. . . We just a pick a direction and walk?"
Her apology, (and reply!) annoyed him even more as he bristled until it seemed his wings might burst off his back.
"Yes, of course!" he barked out the reply, and growled a little as he pointed himself in a direction and just walked.
Ariznim really didn't know how to deal with this young man, so she said nothing and timidly followed him as he walked.
She would have tried to make some sort of conversation, but she just assumed that it would annoy him even more than her previous questions had, so she stayed silent.
Unfortunately, it didn't matter what she did. Miersck was irritable with or without her aid. And in fact, her going silent was irking him now as he bristled up again.
"I hope we're not traveling together for long," he huffed, crimson eyes cutting forward towards their wayward trail. "It's not exactly safe around me...." He bristled again and huffed, "Or even out here." Then more irritably he added, "But just where are you gonna go now? And where were you headed anyway to attract humans like that after your tail?"
Although she had no tail, he figured she'd get his point!
She just couldn't do anything, right, could she.
She didn't ask why it wasn't safe around him, but she shook her head at his next question.
"I don't know what I'll do," she said. "I've never have a home, so I suppose I'll just continue to wander. And those men have been on my trail since I passed by Zantaric. I tried not to get to near, but someone caught sight of me. . . And though I would make a rather entertaining circus attraction."
He paused, eyes widened before he turned around to face her.
"What!? Zantaric?" he barked the words, baring his teeth. "Are you crazy!? I'm not even from this side of the forest and even I know to stay far away from that place like you would a bear's cave!"
Was she so stupid!?
"I couldn't help it!" Ariznim said, her usually timid voice, for the first time, coming close to a snap. "I needed money, and I had gotten a job from someone. We were supposed to meet up in a small town, but last minute they sent me a bird saying it was changed to just outside Zantaric. I didn't want to go, but there aren't many people around here willing to hire me, so I needed the money!"
"Money? What good can their money do for a forest dweller?"
"I'm not usually living in a forest," Ariznim said. "I couldn't stay out here for too long without starving. I know somewhat how to survive, I've learned over the years. But I'm always on the run, it seems. I go through towns to get food, but I don't even stay the night. For some reason everyone seems to either kill me or kidnap me."
He snorted, still all bristly.
"That's because you're not human." He seethed. "Anywhere you go around here, especially if you move further North... people seem to think you're just some animal."
Arizinim sighed. "But there are so many non-human's that live happily here, why can't I?" She glanced over at him. "You have trouble to, don't you?"
"Yeah, but I stay away from those acorn brained humans."
"I would," Ariznim sighed. "But I. . ." She trailed off before continuing. "But I'm lonely. I don't want to be alone, always on the run. I want to have friends, people who love me whom I can love back. But no one seems to feel the same about me. . ."
She trailed off again, sure Miersck did not want to hear any more of her troubles.
"What? Why?" The idea was maddening. "You want humans to love you?" He could't believe this! "You must really have acorns for brains! Rotting acorns! Rotting acorns filled with worms!"
He shook his head and walked faster so he didn't have to see her. "Human's.... they want to kill our kind! Grind us up! Use us for potions!"
Ariznim's eyes widened, and she shoved him from behind, she couldn't believe him!
"At least I want to be nice to people!" she said angrily. "At least I'm not always mean and sulking and hateful!"
Not expecting that, Miersck hit the dirt.
"What the heck-" He blinked and nursed his chin where it had scrapped against pebbly ground. His red eyes flashed angrily up at her.
"Nice to people? You just shoved me down!"
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Ariznim said, her hands flying to her mouth, not meaning to make him fall. "Are you alright?"
She reached out a hand to help him up, not that she expected him to take it, that is.
He shoved her hand away, gritting his teeth.
"What are you doing? Don't touch me! You'd done enough help already!"
"I'm so sorry," Ariznim said, pulling back her hand to her chest as her eyes started to well up, but she pushed back the tears. Miersck would get even angrier, she was sure, if she cried.
He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe her. And soon he was on his feet and growling.
"We're far enough from those men now! You can find your own way outta this place!" An dhe turned from her in a huff and began to storm away.
Ariznim watched as he turned away, and tearss started to fall from her eyes, unable to be contained anymore.
Oh no, it was happening again. Again she was being left by someone she had hoped to become friends with, or at least allies. She may have been able to find a way out of the forest alone, but she couldn't stand to be alone again.
She pushed back her tears and took a step after Meirsck. "Wait! Please don't go! I promise I won't annoy you, I won't even talk!"
He couldn't believe the audacity of her words! And the fact she was pleading with him made him madder than hell! He was about to turn on his heels to tell her off once and for all, but he barely managed to catch the sight of a hunter- whose bow was fixed squarely on Ariznim.
Not thinking, he turned and tackled the girl into the dirt, the arrow whizzing over their heads as the moth boy swore up a storm.
"Rotting acorns!" They found them!
For a second, Ariznim didn't know what had happened. One second she was looking after Meirsck, sure he would leave, and the next she was lying with her face in the dust. A second later, her brain registered what had happened.
She scrambled to her feet, attempting to pull Meirsck up after her. She knew that standing would put them directly within the hunter's sights, but they couldn't stay on the ground!
Keeping low, the nimble fae rushed right along side her.
"Come on, let's go, let's go!" he urged her, squeezing her hand as he took the lead, pulling her along and pushing his way through the thorny underbrush.
She ran after him as fast as she could, but the hunter made chase. He was bigger than they were, and probably faster, but in the forest, they had an easier time getting through the underbrush.
They could hear him cursing behind them, and an arrow flew past them, hitting a tree and stabbing deep into the wood.
"We have to either lose him, or hide!" Ariznim said, looking desperately around.
Run or hide. Miersck cringed. Neither seemed an option he was willing to chance. But they had little choice, and as they continued on their run, he knew hiding was no option, since the hunter was now in sight. And running wasn't something either of them could do forever.
But the choice was soon made for them as the hunter launched his next attack- which was no longer a deadly arrow, but a spring form netting that shot out and over their forms. By the tme Miersck saw the strange thing coming their way, it was already around them, the weights catching hold and enclosing them, tight.
Miersck felt himself go down hard, with Ariznim at his side. And as he squirmed and tried to fight the strength of the net, he spotted the hunter looming over top of them as he growled.
"My my, what a catch!" The hunter was quite pleased with himself and went to work, securely tieing the netting closed. "Can't say I thought I'd bring in any sort of creature alive today!"
Ariznim struggled too, but her injured wing bent against the netting and she cried out in pain, and by now the hunter was upon them.
For a second, she considered changing form, her hybrid form was stronger than the form she was currently in, but it would take time to change, and even more time if she wanted to do a full transformation. It wouldn't help them now, but perhaps later, if they were alone, she could use it to get both of them out from wherever they were going to be taken.
"Creature... creature?" Miersck puffed up, baring his teeth and struggling more strongly against the netting. "We're fae, not some creature you can presume is no better than an animal. In fact, we're more human than you!"
But the hunter simply laughed.
"Believe what you will, but your kind are both very rare and very useful to humans." The smile the hunter gave them sent chills down Miersck's spine. He bared his teeth again and continued to struggle.
"I"m warning you! Let us go, or.. or else!"
And the man laughed.
"Or else what?"
Ariznim was quite impressed with Miersck's bluster, but she couldn't, for all she was worth, come up with a good 'or else' to throw at their captor.
"Or else we- we'll be forced to use our magic!" she said, but immediately regretted the words. Their magic? The hunter wouldn't believe her for a second.
Miersck's expression lit up and he grew cocky in his rage.
"Yeah, or else we'll do something terrible... horrible to you!"
Not that his magic had much baring on cruel retaliations, but he did have the ability to cast illusions....
At the tone of Meirsck's voice, the man hesitated for a moment, then laughed again. "Yeah right!" he scoffed. He pulled the netting up, yanking to two to their feet. It would be difficult to walk withe the netting, but the man pulled on it.
"Come on! Let's go!" He barked, and began walking again, pulling them along with him.
That was enough to deflate his ego; not that Miersck was overly confident his plan may have worked. But as the man pulled on the netting, Miersck cursed on acorns as he stumbled forward, catching himself on the girl in a feebled attempt to 'walk'.
(OOC: If you would like to continue, I'm for it, if not, that's fine with me, too.)
IC:
"Now what?" Ariznim whispered as they were yanked along. "We have to get out of here!"
"Shut up!" the man snapped, and Ariznim lowered her voice as she continued.
"I can't transform into my other form, it'll take to long! Do you have any powers that could help us?"
Miersck bared his teeth.
"I can't think over all of this chaos!" he snapped, trying to keep back a growl while walking in the tangling confines of the rope netting. Boy, was this infuriating! And what were they going to do? They were captured up and being drug off to only the spirits knew where!
He grabbed onto the ropes, pulling at them desperately before cutting a look to Ariznim. "Do you have something sharp? Something we could use to maybe cut our way out?" he asked, trying his best to hiss the words under his breath so only she could hear it. Even as he asked her, he began to pat himself down to see if he had anything of the sort on his own person- though he normally had not much use to keep a sharp piece of rock on hand. How annoying!
Sharp. Sharp? Sharp.
"I might have something," Ariznim whispered, and she opened her mouth to allow the tip of her proboscis to stick out. The end was sharp and slightly serrated.
It was made for piercing flesh, not thick rope, but it was still something.
"Thry to hold a peithe of the rope for me," she said quietly, the proboscis somewhat impeding her speech. While her proboscis could extend to over two feet long, she only extended it a few inches out of her mouth. Hopefully if the hunter glanced back at them he wouldn't notice, or she would be able to withdraw it quickly enough so that he wouldn't see.
Miersck had almost forgotten exactly what she was! And though it might unnerve others, he was also part insect fae, too.
He nodded in compliance, grabbing the rope and looking nervously over his shoulder at their captives.
"Hurry, they seemed focus on the road ahead."
Ariznim didn't need to be told twice. She started to quickly saw at the rope. It broke somewhat quickly, but it was only one of the sections, she would need to cut at least a few more to make a hole big enough for them to get out, and get out quickly.
She continued to work at the strands of rope, her heart beating wildly as she did so. Her eyes would flick up every few seconds, making sure the man wouldn't turn around.
A few more cuts, and there was a hole big enough for one of them to get out.
They were so close to freedom, he could nearly taste it and his heart was racing inside his ears.
"I think we can squeeze thru-"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"
Miersck nearly lept out of his skin as one of the men turned on them and grabbed onto the netting roughly, in turn, grabbing onto Miersck's wing. They were caught. And before he could think any better, he gave Ariznim a hard kick out the hole in the net.
"RUN!"
Ariznim, already getting ready to climb out, tumbled right through the rip in the net as Meirsck pushed her.
She scrambled to her feet, headed into the woods, her heart pounding. But then she looked behind her, and saw that the moth-fae was not with her.
She came to a jolting halt as she saw the hunter that had a hold on him.
Without thinking, she took a step back in his direction, but she stopped herself, and she was frozen like a startled deer. What could she do to help him? How could she fight off that man, who was twice her size and probably more than twice her strength.
But she couldn't just run away. She bent down and picked up a rock, throwing it at the hunter. It missed by a mile.
"Let him go!" she shouted, tears of fear and frustration welling in her eyes. She grabbed a stick from the forest floor and buzzed into the air. Her injured wing protested painfully, and she felt the strain that was on it, but she zipped over to the hunter and above him, attempting to hit him over the head with the stick.
She barely got in any real hits, and the pain in her wing was becoming unbearable.
Then it gave out. She tumbled down, directly on top of the hunter.
She may have been much lighter than him, but he still got about 100 pounds of weight dropped on his head.
Miersck felt the captive's grip on him suddenly vanish as he spun around, still half tangled in the netting and saw Ariznim had fallen on top of him- Had she knocked him out!?
He struggled with the ropes, cussing at acorns all the way before scrambling on out and over to her side, but he was seconds too late. The other man had already grabbed her roughly by the arm and was giving her a shake, growling at her.
"Trouble maker."
Miersck felt himself grow hot with anger, and before he could think better, he shot a wad of silk at the man- and it splatted across his eyes as he yelped. Growling, Miersck barreled into him, forcing him to release his grip on the fae as he fell to the ground. He turned to Ariznim, and wasted no time roughly grabbing onto her wrists.
"We need to go.. " he gave another hard pull. "NOW!"
Ariznim let out a small shriek as the man grabbed her, but no sooner had he grabbed her than he had let go again, and Miersck was pulling her after him.
She started running, wasting no time to look back and see what state the hunter was in, and if he was chasing them.
The underbrush was plentiful, but not extremely thick, and while Ariznim didn't have the strength to push through some of the more brambled pathways, her slim frame helped her to slip by.
Of course they decided to go into the brambles! And Miersck was cursing acorns every step of the way-
But the deeper they went (and more scratches they'd acquire...), the further away Miersck heard the men in their pursit, as thy dared not try to follow into those thick of thorns. Miersck took his chances, conjuring up an illusion, hoping to blend them in, then when he felt they were a safe enough distance away, he motioned for her with a finger to his lips.
He dare not move or say anything, but the determination (laced with irritation) was burning evident in his eyes.
It seemed the men weren't so easily thrown off the path, and kept circling the brambles- but as they did so, it was evident the illusion was working. The men couldn't pin point them. Miersck grit his teeth. He wanted to curse more acorns, but talking would give them away-
Then an arrow shot clear over their heads, landing just 6 feet shy of them. He swore under his breath- thankfully no one heard.
Ariznim became completely still when Miersck motioned to her, and she didn't say a word.
She could hear the men around them, but they were obviously confused.
The arrow nearly caused Ariznim to cry out, but she clamped her mouth shut, stifling any sound.
Her eyes darted around, but it didn't seem like the hunters had seen them. Hopefully they were just trying to scare the two out of their hiding spot. Ariznim was almost tempted to run, but at that thought she held her ground and didn't move.
While, by the sound of heavy footsteps and snapping twigs underfoot, it was clear the hunters were still searching for them, the sounds of them breaking through the underbrush were moving away from the two.
Ariznim looked over at Miersck; were they finally safe?
Miersck held a finger to his lips to single her to remain silent. He kept his illusionary spell cast hoping it would lend to the belief they had left the brush. As the footfalls faded, he gestured.
"Follow me. Keep low, keep quiet."
He spoke barely above a whisper, and was careful and calculating with each step he took. There were a lot of thorns, and no matter which way he moved, they were scraping at his flesh.
He he breath slow, hot and shallow until he crawled into a small opening on the inside tangles of the brambles. Here he positioned himself carefully, quietly and motioned for her to enter the small area with him where he then paused to listen .
Ariznim followed Miersck as quietly as she could into the small area. It was very cramped, and the both of them barely fit in the space. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her scraped up arms around them in an attempt to comfort herself.
"Do you think they'll be back?" she whispered, her ears straining to hear. It sounded like the hunters were gone, and her antennae were not picking up any vibrations from the men's footsteps. However, the two had thought they lost the hunters before, and that hadn't turned out too well.
Miersck shook his head.
"They're not far enough away for my tastes," he grumbled through a whisper. "We should stay, just a bit longer, to ensure as much distance can get between us before we run." They atleast knew what direction they had gone and the brambles were an irritable but necessary mode of protection.
Ariznim nodded, it was smart to wait.
They sat in silence for a few moments, then Ariznim opened her mouth to speak. However, she reconsidered, and closed it again. Another few moments of silence.
Ariznim opened her mouth again, and this time she actually spoke, but still very quietly. This was mostly because they were still hiding, but also because of her own timidness. "When we get out of here. . ." she trailed off before starting again. "Once we get away from the hunters, what are we going to do?"
While her question was logical, her real reason for asking it was because she wanted to know what Miersck would do once they were safe, or rather, safer. Would he go his own way and leave her behind? Ariznim hoped her question, while not asking directly that, would tell her what he was planning.
Miersck's expression visibly soured.
"What to do next?"
He even bristled.
"Let's be sure to survive this first, okay?"
He huffed under his breath- (they were after all trying to avoid being caught!) and went quiet for another moment more before gesturing to her.
"Let's get out of here.. as quietly and quickly as we can."
They could figure out the next step once he was sure they were in a safer place.
But where would truly be safe?
He hated this..
This idea of being 'hunted' and looked more angrier because of it.
Then he got an idea-
Not one he especially liked...
But it was still an idea.
"Water... let's find some water. And take that.. let it lead us away from this place."
And hopefully far away from lands where those hunters might look.
He needed a nap- and badly.
But he also didn't want to get caught and be used for who knew what. Hunters themselves might not carve up the fae they were selling..
But it didn't mean they wouldn't!
"Come on."
Well, at least he had a plan, and following a stream or river of some sort would keep them from going in circles.
Ariznim moved into a crouch and followed Miersck out of the small cove of brambles they had been hiding in. Again, the sharp thorns dug into any exposed skin as she crawled out of the large thicket. When they finally reached the end and the mosquito girl was able to straighten, she did so slowly, her ears straining to hear any sound of the hunters.
"Do you remember hearing or seeing any water while we were running? Not that we were really paying attention to that. . ."