Dark Arrow Ch. 06

Hello again. It's been a while and for that I distinctly apologize. In the course of writing this I discovered two things. First my writing had gotten rusty and I had to revisit sections time and time again before I was satisfied with it. Secondly life and school got in the way and sadly one must sleep if one is going to survive. However In the end one of the biggest factors I realized that was holding me back and requiring revisions to the preceding work is that I was torn on how to precede from here.

I had envisioned a second arc from here that would contain another 2-3 chapters before wrapping up with the potential for other arcs from there. However as I wrote this I realized I also had the potential to wrap up the chapter right here and now. So I'm putting the choice to you all. If you'd like to see this wrapped up neatly here and now I can write a short follow up to clean up any loose ends and we can leave Ren and Erillia there.

On the other hand I can continue down the path I'd originally set up. It's not as easy a path, but I think it would also be potentially more satisfying to everyone. If you wish the next chapter will be a final wrap up for this story, or it will set the stage and start a new arc that has been hinted at but not yet revealed. The choice dear readers is in your hands. With that being said I would like to thank everyone who has pitched ideas and helped in various ways to make this chapter FINALY become a reality and I promise that future chapters and stories will not take as long.

Sincerely ~ Dark Terra.

Nam mea iam leaena

*****

"Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck." Erillia muttered under her breath trying to figure out which way to run. There were no stories to draw from, because no one had ever reported surviving a shadow lynx attack. She'd have to depend on her wits here, which normally wasn't a problem for her. However when the bloody cats went invisible it was impossible to tell where the attack was coming from, and generally you were dead before you had a chance to react. Making a guess she tugged Ren towards the trees they'd come from, but he jerked his hand free.

She spun to scream at him, but the sight of him standing there, eyes narrowed into mere slits, gazing across the meadow stopped her cold. In a movement so fast she would barely have been able to match it he drew and fired. She wanted to yell at him that he was just wasting arrows, but before the words could leave her mouth an unearthly screech brought her up short. The lynx blinked into view pawing at its face, and she could just make out Ren's arrow sticking out of the bridge of its nose.

"Move," Ren bellowed, firing another arrow at the lynx as he shifted position. He never broke eye contact as he jogged with her across the meadow firing as he went. The lynx shifted position and its screams rent the air as they dodged into the grove of trees. "I don't have enough penetration to get a lethal hit on that thing," he growled under his breath as they stood panting and leaning against the trees.

The grove was small enough and the underbrush and saplings were thick enough that it was not easy to get between the trees, and the lynx did not immediately follow. Erillia kept a careful eye on it however. Racking her brains for some way to get them out of this mess, she almost missed the movement as Ren walked past her.

"What the hell are you doing?" she hissed at him. He walked on towards the edge of the grove farthest from the cat. She glanced back and saw that the lynx was carefully tracking Ren's movements.

"Keep your eyes on that thing. Watch when it vanishes and pay close attention," Ren growled as he moved to the edge of the trees. She opened her mouth to ask him what the hell he was talking about but the lynx picked that moment to vanish.

"Ren," she shouted, starting to step towards him.

"Don't move!" He thundered. "Just watch. You'll see it soon. Don't panic I won't let it actually get me, so just focus." She was supposed to be the wilderness expert here. She was supposed to be teaching him, but he had clearly seen something about the cat that she hadn't. As she watched she noticed that her breath was coming in panting, heaving gasps and fought to bring it under control. Her mouth had gone dry and her tongue was sticking to the roof of her mouth as she heard Ren take another step.

Ren didn't seem the type to just throw away his life nor the type to say he saw something when he hadn't. He was too experienced and professional for that sort of thing. He hadn't been a fool or tricked her before so she took a breath and decided to trust him. Keeping her eyes peeled she fought to remain calm as she waited to see what Ren had seen. She held her breath and strained her hearing, because it seemed to her that all the sound had died from the meadow. Finally a flash of something teased her vision so fast she almost dismissed it at first.

"Look out!" Her eyes bulged as she watched Ren deftly step back further into the trees with his bow drawn. No sooner had he moved back than the Lynx appeared in front of him, swiping between the trees as he faded back into the grove. It vanished again but having seen it once she was able to track it better now. As Ren moved back the lynx followed, moving between the trees with feline grace. Her mind barely kept up with her body. As Ren back peddled from the lynx she stepped forward drawing her bow to the max, sighting between the close packed branches and trunks as the cat wove through them with unnerving grace.

Calculations flew through her head from her scant knowledge of the animals and the behavior she'd observed as well as the speed of the lynx and Ren's pace backwards. She predicted the path and calculated the location the Lynx would appear for its strike. Fast as were her calculations from the years of experience predicting animal behavior while hunting she was only barely in time. No sooner had she sighted in on the location she thought it most likely she'd see the cat the lynx came into view. Ren's bow twanged as he released a hasty shot but his aim was off and the arrow sailed harmlessly off through the trees.

Milliseconds counted as Erillia let her arrow fly. Her body adjusted without conscious thought. Aim and release, actions long since committed to muscle memory, by the time she consciously made the decision her body was almost through making the adjustments and the arrow slipped through her fingers on its way to its target almost without her being aware of releasing the string. For Erillia the world stood still for a moment as her arrow twisted its way through the air. Then there was a scream and the Lynx turned midair and bit at the arrow that had slammed into its shoulder. Ren, grateful for the distraction, quickly put greater distance between himself and the cat.

"Did you see it," he asked quickly never taking his eyes off the Lynx. The cat had managed to rip the arrow out and was licking the wound. The rumbling growl it kept emitting sent shivers through Erillia. It wasn't going to give up the hunt now, and it was hurt and angry. She nodded her head and took a deep breath. She'd always suspected it would either they or the cat wouldn't be walking away from this, but now there was no doubt. Either they killed it or it was going to eat them.

"Yeah I saw it," she said taking a deep breath and trying to analyze the cat's weaknesses now that she knew she could track its movements. "Their camouflage isn't perfect. There's just a bit of a ripple like effect as they move." Ren nodded as he glanced her direction and then froze as the Lynx stopped tending to its wound and began pacing after him again. Ren started retreating again, glancing around quickly but never letting his eyes stray from the cat for too long. Erillia had to pace after them to keep the cat within range where she could shoot it again.

"Erillia," Ren said quietly. She had been watching the cat, but her head snapped around at the tone of his voice. He smiled softly and glanced at her. "Do me a favor." She stared at him, wondering what on earth he was doing distracting her. The cat was doing a very good job of staying behind cover. Keeping trees between its side and her and never leaving a clean shot as it dashed after Ren in fits and stops. She didn't notice at first that he had reached the edge of the woods. In fact she didn't notice at all until he caught her eyes a second time. "Don't miss!" He growled before he spun and raced out of the trees and across the meadow.

"Ren! No!" Her shriek was shrill even to her own ears, and her heart was immediately hammering out of control in her chest. She might be able to see the cat when it was moving but even her bow would barely get lethal penetration and she'd need a perfect placement to bring the animal down before it got Ren in the open. She tore through the trees heedless of what the lynx as doing as her eyes glued to Ren's figure dashing towards the lake. Shaking she burst out of the trees and froze. She was practically hyperventilating as she glanced around for the Lynx, but it was nowhere to be seen.

For a second she wondered if the lynx wouldn't go for her instead, but then she caught the faint flicker of movement. The cat was hard on Ren's tail and her breath caught in her throat. If she didn't act now she was going to watch Ren die right here in front of her and then she was going to join him. He was running a parabolic route that would keep him out away from her about a hundred yards but would cause the cat to run across her path if it followed him.

Early on Erillia had learned that it was easiest to kill if you simply shut your mind off. Second guessing yourself, or a momentary twinge of sympathy for the target could turn a clean shot into a bloody mess. Those lessons came to the fore again as she shut down and let her body react on instinct. Her arms moved smoothly through the motions and she found herself moving on a parallel course to Ren trying to draw a bead on the cat without really considering her actions. There was a target, here was her arrow, her job was to make the two meet. For a moment it was that simple, but this was no ordinary mark.

Seeing a blurry motion was one thing, picking a spot to shoot would be quite another. As she sighted in however she noticed a slight smudge on the blur that remained constant. It took her half a second to realize that the smudge was blood from the arrow wound. Her arrow had been practically centered on the shoulder and if what she knew of animals held true the lungs would be just behind the shoulder. Her brain never caught up with her body as she sighted and let fly. She didn't know the anatomy exactly and she had to hope that her instincts were good, but at least she had a target. Her hands swiftly plucked another arrow and sent it on the heels of the first.

Her eyes never left the target as she nocked another arrow and drew again. She saw the moment of impact before she heard the Lynx shriek, and then the second arrow buried itself into the invisible cat. She saw the spurt of blood and some of the tension drained out of her as she realized she'd hit her mark. The lynx blinked into view and she could have yelled in triumph as she saw her arrows exactly where she'd wanted them. Buried to the fletching right behind the shoulder joint. Indeed if not for one factor she would have been jumping for joy. Even as she celebrated the placement of her shots though she saw Ren turn to look behind him. His eyes left the ground in front of him and his boots snagged in a clump of the meadow grass causing him to stumble and fall.

"No!" The scream ripped from her lips when she saw the Lynx gather itself and pounce. The world fell silent and if you had asked her Erillia would have sworn even her heart stopped for that moment in time. She expected a scream of agony from Ren as the cat tore into him. There should have been growling and snarling as it ripped its prey apart, something, anything but this god forsaken silence. She stood frozen as she stared at the silent scene in front of her. The cat perched so calmly and quietly on top of where Ren had fallen. She suspected the animal was dead, and the irony was not lost on her.

If Ren had only been able to keep running a few more feet she wouldn't be standing here now staring at two corpses she'd be in his arms. Instead he'd stumbled where the cat could pounce and kill him before it died from her arrow. She felt tears start to run down her face and her hand trembled as she lowered the bow.

"Ren!" The shriek ripped from her throat as she sank to her knees. She collapsed clutching her hands to her face and trying to hold back the scream she wanted to let out. "God damn you Ren," she whispered brokenly, hanging her head. Her chest heaved as her eyes clouded with tears that formed as fast as she wiped them away.

Thoughts of what might have been between her and Ren rushed through her mind as she sat there. Her mind eventually moved forward though she couldn't have begun to say how much time had passed. Each moment felt like an eternity to her, and time seemed to have no real meaning. She had to move on, so what next. As she tried to figure out what she would do next the question kept coming to her, what would Ren have done? Thinking of him brought the tears down in fresh torrents. She was sobbing so hard she almost didn't notice that the Lynx was moving again.

For a moment rational thought deserted her replaced with sheer panic and anger that the animal had somehow survived. With a scream of rage she rose and grabbed her bow. Nocking the arrow again she drew back and loosed arrow after arrow until she realized something was wrong with the way the lynx was moving. It was heaving and shuddering for sure, but the motion was not coming from its limbs and its head lulled limply. With a grunt the lynx fell to the side and Ren rose panting from under the carcass. He glanced at her arrows and nodded almost seeming to smile as he examined the kill.

She blinked at him, absolutely stunned for a second, as her bow fell from her suddenly nerveless fingers with the arrow still nocked to the string. Her hands clenched at her side she took a deep breath to calm herself, but despite her best efforts she was anything but calm. He still had his back to her examining the cat as she stood ridged watching him. Try as she might Erillia couldn't shake the sick feeling from the pit of her stomach. Tears stung the corners of her eyes. She hadn't cried since the rape, and for the life of her she couldn't exactly explain why she was on the verge of crying now or why she'd broke down before.

Well... if she was completely honest she'd have to admit that wasn't true. She had a pretty damn good idea why her emotions were out of whack and why she was ready to burst into tears but that would require admitting to a weakness she'd sworn she'd never have. The one emotion running through her she could understand and was ready to accept right now was the rage that rose inside her at how undone she had been by this experience.

The rage built in her and she was moving before her mind even processed what she was doing. She'd closed half the distance between them before she'd decided what she was actually going to do when she got there. Ren heard her foot steps and turned to look at her with that same satisfied almost smile still on his face. Bearing her teeth she launched herself at him. His smile faulted as he braced himself to catch her realizing too late what her intent was.

A growl rose from her throat as she slammed into him. Her teeth gleamed as she gritted them and snarled at him as her fist crashed into his face. He wasn't able to block her attack fast enough to stop her punch nor to prevent her knee driving up into his stomach. The air whooshed from his lungs and he collapsed with a groan, and she dropped on him with a shriek. Her arm cocked back for a blow, but she suddenly froze. Her anger snuffed out in an instant as she stared down at Ren, and she could feel sobs threatening to break through again.

"Damn you Ren," she hissed at him. Jumping off of him she grabbed her bow and stormed over to the deer that had started this nightmare. She had to do something or she was going to break down, and she'd be damned if she was going to let him see her like that right now. Bending down she grabbed her knife and started skinning the deer.

"Erillia..." she heard Ren say quietly as he came up behind her, but she ignored him. Her hands shook if she paused, but the motions of skinning and butchering the deer were so practice that her hands moved with a mind of their own. She focused on the process, listing off the steps to herself as she went to keep her mind busy. Not that it helped much as her thoughts kept wandering back to that scene frozen in her mind. The image of the cat perched on top of Ren resurfaced no matter how deeply she tried to bury it.

Erillia sighed as she finished up her work. She knew she should stop and deal with her emotions. She'd nearly cut herself twice while trying to skin the deer and she actually nicked herself butchering. She was so distracted that she had nearly completed her work before she actually became fully aware of what she was doing. She shuddered lightly as her mind came back online and she became aware of Ren's presence behind her. He'd been standing in that exact same spot the entire time she was working on the deer. She stiffened slightly as she felt him move a slight step closer as if he could sense she was back off auto pilot.

"Stay the hell away from me right now Ren," She snarled as she began cutting the meat she'd butchered into smaller portions and then glanced around for a place to start a fire. She couldn't take the kill back to the cave because she wasn't going to be able to handle being cooped up with Ren like that. So she was just going to cook some of it here and see if her rage wouldn't dissipate before nightfall.

A hand fell on her shoulder as she worked and she exploded into action before she stopped to process. She heard a gasp and Ren jerked back, his shirt ripped on the upper shoulder and a thin trickle of red showing where she'd scored a hit. Her knife slashed out a second time only to be blocked harshly by Ren's arm. Her mind caught up as she swung a wild punch, but despite the fact that she hadn't intended to start this fight she was just too angry to stop. As Ren ducked away from a second punch she lashed out with a kick to the chest, catching him out of position and throwing him backwards.

She switched her knife to a fighting stance and charged Ren, who had recovered from the kick and circled away from her as she faced him.

"You don't want to do this little one," he said quietly as they circled each other. She swiped at him, causing him to dodge back.

"You wanted to teach me to fight. Let's see if you can handle me when I actually want to hurt you," she snarled at him. Ren cocked his head for a moment at her as they faced off. Pursing his lips he took another pace back to gain distance, but she followed and he frowned.

"If you do this Erillia I won't hold back," he said gruffly. "If you make me defend myself I will do so to the best of my ability. I can't promise who, but if you're intent on fighting like this I can promise you one or both of us is going to get hurt."

Ren dodged in as she fired a punch at him. She smiled as he fell for her diversion and swung her knife expertly. As Ren reached to grab her arm she deftly slashed his forearm drawing a curse from him. Spinning on her heel she brought the knife around and drove the point into his quad as he sprang back to disengage. Ren limped back a pace and glared at her as he wiped the blood dripping down his arm and hand on his pants.

There was a bit of grudging respect in his eyes this time as he approached her and it made her hesitate. She swiped again, but he wasn't caught off guard this time. Jumping forward he blocked her arm and delivered a quick blow to her wrist. She winced as her grip on the knife loosened. She hadn't expected him to risk stepping inside her reach like that again or that he'd go for a nerve stun with the tiny window of opportunity he had.