A Robin in the Meadow
The wind gently blew across the schoolyard, carrying with it a soft and crisp scent of Spring. A light chill on the air as the very last breath of winter ran passed, among the smell of flowers blooming, and fresh grass being cut along the campus. The final bell rang, as a fervert parade of students cheered as they ran from the campus, either to their dorms or cars to celebrate the last day of a long semenster before the long, and for some, party filled spring break. Sadly, or in some cases happily, I was not among those.
I slowly stepped down the stairwell from the main doorway, my two best friends by my sides. Layeh, a friend of several of my professors and owner of my favorite pot shop on Sol. A wolf demoness with succubian traits as well, though I've never been clear on her full lineage, nor did I really care. Her hair was done today in a side shaved pink style, a few strands braided giving her a similar look to one of my favorite characters to play when we game. Her outfit a simple but loud green hoodie over a black tank top with a green silhouette style potleaf on it, and ripped jeans to match. Not a drop of make up on her, but then she was far from your typical girl. Her white tail was wrapped around her waist as usual, with her ears hidden beneath of rainbow bright beanie.
On the other side I had my classmate Tilia. She had started going here to finally get her degree, but why she'd need it I'd never know. She was a large scale musician, known across several systems, what she needs with college is beyond me. Her hair was green today, tied in her favorite twin tails after a similar idol, but any appearance similarities stopped there. Her entire body was covered in these odd, yet strangely beautiful markings, tattoos or birthmarks I had no idea. They were a blackish blue color that seemd to swirl like tendrils battling vines, some smooth and wavy, some thick and thorny. It gave her an almost otherworldy beauty, and the way she dressed didn't help.
Tight short shorts showing every inch of her legs down to her sneakers, and a mid drift matching her hair color with a mini jacket of black overtop, with a music note on the back. Her neck covered by a pair of kitty hearphones her wife had bought her, that I always found odd given the pair sticking out of the top of her head already that she'd dye the fur of to match. Still, she adored them, so who am I to judge?
I stood between the two as we slowly walked down the path, through a forest that surrounded the campus on all sides. Dark blue hair that reached my shoulders, that Til always stated make my greenish blue eyes stand out a lot more. She wasn't wrong, if the number of people who flirted with me stupidly was any indication. Pervs mostly, and given my lifestyle most of them probably wouldn't be too keen on going beyond the flirting. I was wearing a short blue skirt with a black T, the words 'Proud Predator' on the front with my backpack slung over my shoulder partially.
Layeh was the first to speak, blowing out a puff from her vape before smirking. "So, Alesha! What's this I hear about you heading out to the bar tonight? Got yerself a date?" nudging me softly as she teased. I rolled my eyes, used to it by now.
"No, I'm heading out to eat. It's a great place to find prey for lesser fed predators, and besides. It's been a week since I last caught anything," I retorted, smiling softly as I thought over the different creeps I could snare. I had got my license for it over a year ago, so I doubted the barkeep wouldn't recognize me or my image from the Predator boards handed out.
"Damn, and here I thought you finally caught yourself somethin other than dinner," Snapping her fingers, blowing out a long puff before giving a joking grin.
"Oh shush it, or I'll launch an arrow in your ass!" I half shouted, only playing along.
She laughed, grinning teasingly again showing one of her fangs. "As if! You couldn't hit me if ya tried!" Sticking her tongue out, before taking off down the pathway laughing.
Tilia snickered at us, as I took off after her laughing and shouting, "The hell I can't!" As i chased after her, tossing my copy of the spring reading material in my backpack as I did.
The chase went on for quite a bit longer than I'd expected, leaving us both winded by a local shrine just outside a nearby town. The shrine was to the deity Anubis, a common place for people to come for guidance in being a better person. Who better to ask than those who often commune with the God of Judgment. The place was set up with a hand made pyramid in the center, carved from marble with symbols of the god around each side, with small places to burn offerings, and an area for quite meditation within the main household. Around it were tall stone arches, replicas of the Egyptian obelisks, but instead of heiroglyphics they were decorated with the drawings, and paintings of small children. The shrine keepers would let adults with kids relax inside while seeking prayer, while the children would be allowed to paint the obelisks with their ideas of Anubis.
Both of us were near the well on the grounds, half slumped against it. Not long after we finally caught our breath, Layeh grabbed me putting me in a headlock. "Told ya! Haha," She laughed jokingly, her demonic strength making it tough to simply pry free.
"Y yeah, well s shut it bone breath," I retorted, flicking my head back smacking her nose just enough to make her let go.
"Ow! Hey watch it!" She shouted, rubbing her nose. "Ya got a hard head, and I don't need a crooked nose," She said giving a pout, but I knew better.
"Serves ya right for taking me for a hell of a run!" I shouted back. We stared each other down for about five seconds, before busting out laughing. I fell back, holding my stomach, as she covered her face, hanging off the well. It felt good to laugh again, will all the stress that's been going on with school, and Layeh always knew just how to get me rolling.
"Ahh alright, I better get going. Tia's gonna get worried if I'm not back by 6, and Bara hates when people get home late. Dinner gets cold, and he hates serving cold food ya know?" She said warmly, dusting herself off as she got up stretching.
"I gotcha," I replied, softly putting my pack back over my shoulder, brushing a bit of the dust off my skirt.
"Want me to open a portal home for ya?" She asked, smiling softly. I began to answer, before something caught my eye. A flash of orange from the forest, as I quietly squinted.
"Did you see that?" I asked, leaning passed her. Whatever it was, it was gone.
"Seen what?" She asked as she raised a curious brow, turning to look at the forest while sniffing the air. "Hm... Nothing unusual, maybe just a few birds coming back for the season?"
"Yeah, maybe," I said thoughtfully, before smiling. "I can make it home just fine, don't sweat it. A good walk is just what I need anyway," I answered her earlier question, before giving her a hug.
She hugged back, smiling warmly. "Alright, take care then," She said happily, before turning around opening a portal. Her family are full of powerful beings, so being able to do that without a porta-gate seems almost second hand to them.
I waved her off, before slowly walking out of the shrine. I paused at the base of the stairs, turning to look at the forest one more time. My eyes widened for a moment, as I caught a flash of orange again. It took off, seemingly blending into the trees, but I took off. I ran into the forest, still a bit exhausted from the chase so I didn't move faster than a brisk jog. It was hard, whatever it was was fast. The only way of following was with glimpses of tree branches that either snapped, or shifted as I ran through the still reblooming trees.
It seemed like forever I followed those flashes of orange, before stumbling into a large meadow. The entire place covered in soft lilies of many colors, as I gasped gently at the sight. A stream flowed to the right of me just alongside it, and the meadow itself seemed to expand for a full 40 meters in a large circle before falling back into more of the forest. I looked up, trying to catch my breath before gasping a bit louder.
At first, I thought I had merely seen a deer. My vision a bit hazy from all the running I had done, but after a few moments I knew that wasn't it. It was a man. Standing at the river bend, just before it left the meadow's side and returned into the forest, clad in apparel of green with a cloak covered his face. Save for a peeking of orange hair under the bottom of it, and a hint of his chin illuminated by what I could only guess was a hand rolled cigarette from his mouth. His one arm hidden beneath the cloak, the other slowly reached up, removing the smoke from his lips at he let out a slow breath, before tapping it out into the water. He looked up just enough as he replaced it to his lips as I caught the tiniest hint of his eyes. Emeralds, almost as gleeming as the fresh stems of spring herself. They met with mine for a single brief moment, and it felt as if time stopped for me. A single moment, emeralds as beautiful as the forest herself, meeting my greenish blue.
And then, the moment ended. I felt a soft prick in the side of my neck, before very slowly feeling my vision fade. Internally, I screamed. What trap had I run right in to, what was he going to do to me?! I didn't even have a chance to think of the horrors, before the world went dark.
When I woke, i bolted up panting frantically as I looked around. I was in my bedroom? I looked down, still in my clothes with my pack beside my bed. My covered had been on me, a league blanket. Someone had tucked me in. I looked around for anything to be missing. My room was small, as I lived in a singles apartment. My posters of characters and musicians were all still there. Vi, Syndra, Master Chief, The Blood Red Vixens, and my one of a kind DJ Foxtrot poster, signed by the mysterious artist. They were all still there. I glanced at my shelves, figurines and textbooks messily thrown up before now were organized, and even alphabetized. My nose scrunched up a little at how organized it was, unsure if I should be offended someone touched it, or that I was messy enough for someone to do that.
Slowly i got up, looking at my laptop and tv. Both were still there. I checked my bag for my wallet, only to find it right where I left it. He had just brought me home...? How did he know where I lived? I shook my head, holding my forehead as I sat back down. I seriously needed a drink right now.
I got up, walking into the small kitchen just passed the living room. Only wide enough for one person to fit at any given time, with a sink, an oven and fridge all lined alongside each other at the back wall. A small breakfast nook that the last renter had built themselves to the left of the door, and a few cabinets above all the appliances filled with spices and dishes. I dug in the fridge, luckily restocked just last weekend before pulling out the bottle of fireball. I'd need to thank Layeh for this once I got over all this.
I walked into the living room, plopping down on the small couch. The room was... bare to say the least. I mean, I had my bow mounted on one wall, and a few pictures of my friends and I hanging out, but otherwise nothing but the couch, a table, and the big tv across from it.
I scooped up the remote, taking a swig of Fireball as I clicked on. The screen buzzed to life, showing the time in one of the corners. It was 6:30, so not even a full hour had passed since I got knocked out. I turned on the youtube app, as I haven't had cable in months, before putting on a news channel I liked. They had a new video, so as I took another swig I hit play, before lounging out.
It seemed simple enough. Festival arrangements in the Eastern Kingdom to prepare for an upcoming event. A few stories about idiots in the Senate fighting as usual over recent bills, before I smiled. A senator I respected had effectively forced through a bill on women's rights, completely negating any senate alligned world or system from passing any legislation that restricted women's rights to an abortion, as well as the necessary fundings for places that gave them such as planned parenthood from being undercut via funding changes. That brought a smile to my face, before slowly my eyes widened again.
The next story was of a senator who had recently been robbed blind. His bank accounts, and his home had been completely emptied. Not only that, but evidence had been left on the desk of the local police that he had been taking bribes for years, and of some particularly nasty things that were in his basement. However, when the guards arrived to apprehend him, they found him dead on the scene, collapsed on the floor near his dining room with an arrow sticking out his back. It was also reported something had caused the veins and arteries directly around his heart to explode, almost like someone had put gunpowder in his chest.
While this was a bit gruesome, predators were known for bloody scenes. This on a scale of one to Angry Layeh was barely a 3, but what caught my eye wasn't the kill. It was a camera feed the news show showed of the first entry. Just before they had busted down the door, cameras from outside news stations had caught a glimpse of a man escaping out the back. No defined details, but I recognized him immediately. Orange hair, and a cloak of green.
I paused the video, grabbing my phone to check when this all had happened on the official sight. It had been this morning, around 11. It hadn't just been this morning either, this had only been two miles from where I had seen him. Then, It clicked. I scrambled back to my room, pulling out the reading material from school that we were told to go over during spring break, though I doubt the teacher expected anyone to. It was a book with the simple title of 'The Robin of Sherwood.'
I walked back to the living room, sitting down as I near burned through the entire book in a few hours. The story was of the famous human legend, Robin Hood. The more I read, the more the pieces fell into place. A rogue that steals from the rich, but hides from society. Halfway through though, I shook my head as I placed down the book. I had to be insane, I had to be! That was a human legend, and one that was centuries old! Maybe a copy cat, a predator looking for a stylish way to show off. Yeah, that made sense I told myself as I took another swig, before capping the bottle. Three was definitely enough.
I laid across the couch, taking a breath as I turned on some music on the Tv, before picking the book back up. I figured I got this far, might as well finish it now. At a slower pace this time, I read the story of Robin Hood. A man often called the faceless King, or the Ghost of sherwood. Tales told of both his life, and myths spun after his passing. When it came to the final chapter though, I felt chills run along my spine.
It said that even in death, the Robin would not find his way to paradise. For he was already a ghost, and a ghost he would forever be. To live out his days, faceless and nameless to the world beyond titles, and legends. To wander the forests, and continue his work in eternal solitude. A man doomed to never know the touch of another, to only ever be a whisper. A legend. A myth. To never be anymore.
Then, it came to the final page, as I felt sweat begin to drip down my face as it showed an illustration of what he had become after death. A man cloaked in green, smoking a rolled herb with messy orange hair barely hinted beneath the hood. A weapon on his left arm, strapped to it like an arm mounted crossbow, that the book had named the Yew Bow. The Story of the man who died ran through my mind, as I compared it to the legend of the bow. A bow of Yew, made from a sacred tree, with a single notable trait. The power to instantly discharge impurities in the stomach, and in the blood. To make it so anyone shot by this bow, if they carry any type of poison, would have it explode within their veins.
"As if it were gunpowder..."