Year 2114

"Damn it" Skyler hissed as she stumbled over a log, it was pitch black and her torch had died 15 minutes ago,

"ouch" she whispered accidentally kicking a tree stump. Stumbling around in a dark forest looking for your latest campsite isn't exactly ideal, but the alternative would be so much worse. After tripping over some sticks, and stepping on a rather slippery rock Skylar found her site, she made he way over to a hollowed out log and felt around for a spare torch

"gotcha" she said triumphantly. She didn't think it would be that hard to get back but after hunting for 3 hours and having to carry her kill, which was a small wild pig, it proved to be a little difficult. She carried her kill towards a rather large bush a few feet away where she had hidden a well camouflaged esky, after placing the beast inside and covering the lid with weeds and leaves she said

"i'll deal with that in the morning" to herself and slid into her sleeping bag. Exhausted from the long day and very much ready to sleep she almost forgot to call out to her pup "Tramp,come here boy."she called out in a hushed voice, after a few seconds she heard the familiar foot steps of her pooch Tramp, he bounced over and snuggled into her side "good boy"she said making room for him besides her before she drifted off to sleep.

She had been on her own for about 6 months before Finding Tramp with his leg stuck in a piece of tin all by himself and they have been together for nearly 3 and a half years since. Skylar had lived in a small town and was working in the guard, before it was attacked, There was a huge battle and she was on scout duty when it started. She had been knocked out from behind in the middle of it and woke up to rubble and the smell of death. Everyone she loved Had been killed and her home was destroyed. She could barely stand and had no idea what to do, after staring at the ash that was once her life she just ran. 14 years old and on her own, Not thinking of the future or the monsters or the people she might come across, she just kept running till she couldn't anymore. Skylar liked setting up camp in the forest rather than towns or city's, she proffered to stay out of them completely if she could and only ever go into one if she was desperate for supplies, she enjoyed the quiet.

Late in the night Skylar was woken up but the growls of Tramp quietly warning her something was wrong. She listened closely for any un-natural sounds, slowly opening her eyes to look around she saw that something shifted to the right of her and she was on her feet in seconds. Her Bow armed and ready, she Scanned the area. The forest was silent except for the hoot of the owls and the squeal of wild pigs, Skylar waited a few more minutes before she decided it was just a bird or a bat and sat down on a tree stump

"it's fine Tramp," she said as Tramp sat down beside her "Probably just some wildlife." She grabbed her backpack and pulled out a piece of dried chicken for him

"oh, well." she said stretching "Better get this place camouflaged a bit better anyway".

After strategically placing branches, bushes and weeds around the outer area of her small camp, Skyler finished by wiping some mud on her more colorful items such as her backpack, the hidden eski and the shoes she had picked up on her last scavenger hunt.

"Done, What's next?" She asked tramp while wiping leftover mud on her pants "How bout we go for a quick swim before I cut dinner?" hearing this tramp jumped up and down, tail wagging uncontrollably "Thought so".

They stayed there for three more days before Skyler had sensed anything suspicions. It was just a animal in the forest she had told herself, but after scouting the area a few times she found a disturbingly low amount of animals around. The day before Skylar had made some arrows and left a few spare ones in the hollowed out log, with extra rashin's and a couple bottles of clean water, in case she returned to this site another time. She had been doing it for the past year every time she found a safe, secluded spot, she would leave spare weapons, food and water if she could spare it. As a in case of emergency situation.

"Okay buddy, i'm going to have to climb up there," she said looking up at one of the higher branches of the tree she was standing under, she looked down at Tramp

"Patrol" she commanded him, Swirling her finger in a circular motion before she started to climb. Skyler would look down every now and the to make sure Tramp was nearby, once she was halfway up she groaned regretting that she hadn't left her arrows on the ground with tramp, and rotated her shoulders trying to ease some of the weight. When she was high enough she stopped to mark the tree with her special little symbol, so that she could find the place again if necessary, then climbed down

"Done" she said to Tramp proudly, After swinging off the lowest branch, clapping her hands together to get the dry bark off "still a while before the sun sets" Skyler said looking at the sky

"what shall we do now?" she asked Tramp, She looked in the direction she thought he was and saw nothing there

"Tramp" she called, sure he was just there, "Buddy?" when there was no answer she grabbed her bow from her back and started walking towards the stream. She kept her bow armed and nearly Screamed when a possum ran across her toes, followed quickly by Tramp.

"What the heck" she said "Really Tramp, a Possum?" she scolded him. He sat there with a sad face

"come on then" she said, turning around.

There was a quick Growl before she felt something grab her from behind, covering her mouth and binding her arms, She struggled to for a second before

!CLONK!

Everything went dark.

"...Can Complain All you want, it worked and now were safe," a girl was saying,

Skyler slowly opened up her eyes to get a look at where she was, listening as a male voice started drifting her way

"doesn't mean you had to HIT HER!" someone else hissed, making her shut her eyes so she wouldn't draw attention to herself.

"Shhhh Jasper, be quiet its no big deal okay." The girl whispered in an urgent manner "I'm sure she's fine okay, I didn't even hit her that hard and she's only been unconscious for a few hours" there was a huff and a mumble that sounded something like,

"Youdidn'thavetousemybat" and then what sounded like the footsteps of someone walking away.

Assuming the coast was clear Skyler tried to move around but found her arms were bound as well as her feet What the heck is this, She thought to herself as she felt the rope which seemed kind of slimy, she tried to wriggle around to sit up or rub the slimy rope off of her hand but couldn't get any traction. Stopping she opened her eyes and tried to get a good look at her surroundings, there was a bush beside her, a patch of grass seems to be what she was lying on considering everywhere else was ash, she tried looking the other way but only saw more ash, and sitting next to a fire was a guy, well a boy, with scruffy brown hair, green eyes and a torn shirt on, he looked to be about 13 and was staring blankly into the fire. So that's the voice she heard, she thought to herself, Trying as quietly as she could to roll onto her side so that she might be able to reach her pocketknife. Instead she felt something wet drop onto her hip from above she turned to see where it had dropped from and couldn't stop herself when she said

"What the FU-" she was cut off mid sentence by the girls voice yelling

"Cassidy! NO, COME HERE" Skyler watched as a monstrous looking beast leaped over her and run towards the girl and boy near the fire.

"Avril, what are you doing, she cant be here" the boy - Jasper - Was saying while the girl -Avril- petted the beast as if it were a giant puppy

"oh Bah" Was her reply followed swiftly by her sticking her tongue out, Blowing a raspberry"

Skyler was baffled that the girls hand hadn't been bitten clean off yet and was frozen on the spot, if she wasn't tied up she probably still wouldn't be able to move from shock,

"Wha- What the Heck is going on here?" She said when she finally managed to shake her head clear, the two next to the beast stared at her for a moment before they seemed to realize what She was talking about they looked between her and the beast who had now moved to lay behind them before choosing to answer

"Right, Sorry" Avril said, She made a gesture with her hands and pulled something out of her pocket, tossing it towards the monster then turning back to Skyler and pulling out a knife from the opposite pocket,

"Avril?" the boy said "Put it away,"

"Oh c'mon Jas," she said walking towards Skyler, as she got closer Skyler noticed she seemed to be young to with the same Scruffy brown hair as the boy and her clothes also looked as if they'd recently been torn

"Av, Don't" he said seriously, Avril was now standing directly in front of her with her knife out threateningly

"Calm down," she said leaning down, Skyler resisted head butting the girl "I'm just cutting her ropes" She said, the sound of a snap from the ropes, proving her point.

"See" She said happily picking up the slimy bindings and turning back to show the boy, Skyler had no idea what was going on or who these people were so without giving the girl a chance to do anything to defend herself Skyler swung her newly freed legs underneath the girl in front of her and dived for the knife as it fell out of her hand. As she reached out to grab it she heard a thud as the girl hit the ground hard, she grabbed the knife and spun around to check her surroundings better.

"okay I don't know who you are but I swear to the gods if you've hurt my dog, I will peel he skin from you body while you watch" she said resting her eyes on the girl she had tripped "where's the other one" She demanded,

"Ouch, was that necessary?" the girl asked innocently from her place on the ground, Skyler kept an eye on her as she tried to see the boy who had seemed to disappear into the shadows. She suddenly felt something cold behind her and was about to swing her knife when instead she felt a hand wrap around her wrist, before she had a chance to move the knife was pried from her fingers and she was pushed forward into the dirt.

"Hey what the Hell are you doing here" Avril said angrily, And Skyler looked round to see the girl dusting off her ragged clothing and marching past, towards another girl with Spiky black hair and what looked to be a tiara on her head,

"I told you we didn't need your help" Avril was saying

"Yeah but you weren't exactly handling the quest well, sis" Jasper said stepping out of the dark forest into the dim firelight, "and I didn't want to risk her getting away" He continued shrugging,

"STOP!" everyone turned to look at Skyler, "Who In Hades Are You People And Why Did You Knock Me Out Tie Me UP AND BASICALLY KIDNAP ME?!" Skyler yelled, Getting louder as she spoke.

The girl Avril and Her Brother Jasper had their fingers to their lips in an instant shushing her, though The Boy seemed to be trying not to laugh, and the Spiky haired girl was walking in her direction, Skyler stood her ground as the girl got closer. Spiky hair looked her up and down when she was just a few steps away,

"Alright first if you don't wanna die, I'd keep your voice down" Se Said

"Is That A Threat?" Skyler asked between clenched teeth, taking a step forward

"NO, its a warning" She replied "Now, two" counting the reasons on her fingers, "we will explain everything when I get you and these numb skulls to a safer location," spiky said glanced at the others when she spoke

"Uh what makes you think i'm going anywhere with you" Skyler asked

"Well your going with us either way, its your choice whether or not your awake for the trip," Spiky said matter-O-Factually "And three" She said raising A third finger "they ''Basically Kidnapped You'' as you say, because they were told to, so they were just following orders. Cant blame 'em for that" After mumbling a snarky remark under her breath Skyler said

"And who Told them to do that?" They all Smiled Before moving closer

"come on, i'll explain on the way, its a long walk," Spiky said as she walked over to the others and said something in a quite voice, "OH" She said spinning around "I forgot, this is Avril and Jasper" she gestured to the other two "And i'm Thalia".

As she reluctantly Followed the three strangers into the dark forest she kept a close eye on her surroundings, watching for movement or a glimpse of eyes in the trees. Her companions seemed to be doing the same but in a more relaxed manor, glancing around occasionally.

After walking in silence for 10 minutes straight, the spiky haired girl 'Thalia' spoke up

"you don't need to be so on edge, we aren't going to hurt you" Avril giggled quietly at this for a moment

"I'm not on edge" Skylar replied gruffly, Staring at the road ahead. It was Visible only because of Jasper's torchlight.

"sure your not" Avril said sarcastically "and i suppose you aren't worried about whats in the darkness either, right?" Avril had only said a handful of thing to her so far but Skye was already sick of her voice,

"I'm NOT on edge," she repeated more firmly "though I see plenty of reason to fear the dark." Avril didn't reply but Thalia said

"nothing should harm us on this path, your not a high target and these roads are enchanted to prevent attacks" two different things caught Skye's attention, High Target and Enchanted Road, not being things she hears often they alarmed her a little.

"Wait, What do you mean Enchanted" Skye asked. Avril snorted and Jasper lets out a breath that sounds a lot like a laugh

"that's new" Avril murmured to Thalia who just nodded in return

"What's new, what's funny, and Where are we going?" Skye Demanded getting slightly frustrated. She felt as if there was something specific they weren't say and it was getting on her nerves, their stupid secrecy.

"don't worry were nearly there " Thalia said "just keep walking" she hadn't noticed that shed stopped walking but decided to stay put till she got some answers.

"no, you said you'd 'explain on the way'" Skye said using air quotes, she then gestured to the road they were on and said "well were on the way so speak up" she crossed her arm's over her chest and watched as the others walked back towards her, stopping just a few feet away.

"it would be easier to explain after we get there" Thalia tried "we aren't far now" not waiting a second Skye said

"no you said on the way, I'm not moving till you explain, and give me my dog back" she added

"C'mon newbie, don't make this difficult" Avril said sounding bored "its actually a long story, so if we could just get there-"

"I said no. if you want me to take another step you'll speak now." Skye said strongly

"fine, the short version will have to do for now then." Thalia said, She took a step closer then began to speak "these two knuckle heads were sent to get you by our, um leaders" she had a weird smile on her face when she said leaders, as if thinking of an inside joke "who believed you may be able to help us."

This shocked her a little and was about to ask why when Thalia held up a finger and continued "Avril had managed to track you a couple of weeks ago and her and her brother have been watching you for the past week,"

"from the shadows" Avril added with a smirk, Skye noticed jasper smiling silently behind Thalia.

"They've been watching me for a week?" Skye asked looking between the three "do you know how creepy that sounds?, why have you been watching me just a blunt answer alright!" she was shushed by the siblings before she finished speaking.

"keep it down moron" Avril said glancing around a little too much "just cause its enchanted doesn't mean it isn't soundproof" she finished.

Thalia just listened to their surroundings for a minute before continuing. "Like I said they were sent to find you and bring you with them, they just wanted to know how you would react to their appearance" she paused looking towards the two,

"perhaps if I wasn't knocked unconscious upon our first meeting I wouldn't have the way I did" Skye interjected rubbing the back of her head. Thalia Glared at Avril

"what did you do?" she asked her

"hey how do you know it was me" Avril said " It was his Bat" she gestured to Jasper who was opening and closing his mouth like a fish, trying to form words.

"you took it from be when I grabbed her" he said

"why did you grab her in the first place, you were told to confront her, gently." Thalia questioned him

"it wasn't my idea, Avril told me to and she was put in charge of the quest" Jasper replied, slightly panicked.

"ha" Avril said aloud Causing everyone to turn towards her

"Explain yourself" Thalia said to her. Avril shrugged then spoke

"Cassie smelled a drakon a few miles away and this nimrod was heading straight for it looking for her little pooch, it was either chase her, which would probably startle her and end with yelling, which would attract said Drakon. Or end with her running off, Probably towards the drakon, Or we could knock her out cold." she shrugged "This way I got to hit something" She smiled in Skye's direction.

"I was that something, Thank you" Skye said indignantly

"hey wasn't my fault, you were struggling"

"You jumped me"

"we were helping you"

"Why?"

"cause i was told to"

"Why"

"Becau-" Avril was cut short by a stern look from Thalia. There was a silent moment before Skye spoke, slowly asking

"Because?" She looked between them,

"Because they are some of the best trackers we have and we needed you with us as soon as possible" Thalia said "they were ordered to find you, so they did, they were meant to talk you into coming with them." she glared at them again "but your here now and that's all that matters. Now if we keep walking and talking then we could get to our destination quicker and Then you could ask all the questions you like" Skye considered this for a minute not knowing whether or not to trust these people, she heard a squeak from behind her and turned to see what it was.

*CRUNCH* the ground shook beneath her feet *BOOM* another shake

"what was that?" she asked looking for some sign of beastly creature in the darkness beyond. The four of them took a step back, each one trying to spot the culprit. There was a shriek to the left, a squeal on their right and more crunching behind them. Skye had fought a lot of these monsters in the past but from the sounds of this creature, it was something she had yet to face and she was pretty sure she didn't want to see what it was.

"guys" a quiet voice spoke behind her, 'probably jasper' she thought "we should probably go befo-" to late she thought as the creature pushed itself between a clump of trees. The monster had dark red scales covering its entire body, with a tail as long as bus and a body to match like some sort of serpent it had no backs legs just two large, clawed hands and eyes darker than night. She was frozen. Shock had taken over as she went through a list of strategies in her head. Cant out run it. Cant Hide.

"where's my bow" She asked out loud, not taking her eyes off the beast

"what, your gonna fight it?" Avril asked sarcastically. "are you mad?" She held her arm out for her bow and quiver

"guys if we just get pat this ridge" Jasper was saying, though it seems nobody was listening. Thalia had been studying her since the beast appeared, assuming she'd flee at first sight, something any normal person would do but instead she had just stood there. She looked at Jasper and shrugged before grabbing her own weapons to arm herself. Quickly Avril and jasper did the same, Jasper handed Skye her weapons including the spare knife taken from her shoe, then went about arming himself. Skye didn't take much notice of the others, keeping her eyes instead on the creature in front of her. It seemed to be looking for something, trying to sniff them out but each time it glanced towards them it was if it couldn't see them at all. 'perhaps its blind' she thought though she doubted it. As she was placing her quiver on her back Thalia spoke

"once we step off the road it'll be able to see us, nobody make any sudden moves and nobody die" Thalia looked at the siblings seriously then glanced at Skye "I mean it alright, Nobody" they each took a deep breath

"couldn't we just get to-"

"no" Thalia cut Jasper off before he could finish "Lets see what she's got"...

Everything slowed down around her the second she stepped off the road.
The smart thing to do would be to turn tail and run back up the road or even through the bushes, but instead she stood there in front or the group staring into the eyes of the beast waiting to make her move. There was a crack in the trees behind the monster but everything else was silent. Skyler blocked everything out apart from the drakon, she carefully took a step to the side and brought her bow up. It turned to her then sensing her movement and once its eyes landed on her it let out a cry so loud and painful it scratched at her ear drums, she momentarily heard the others before her groan and drop some of their weapons to place their hands over their ears. She took another quick step away from the to the left,, putting herself closer to the trees.

'Just me and you' Skylar thought to herself 'lets go ugly' There was another cry from the beast then it lunged for her, she already had an arrow notched, pulling back on the string and aiming for the eyes she let go and met her mark, but the drakon didn't stop. She notched another arrow and Fired again, hitting it in the same eye. There was a weird noise scratching the back of her head and some mumbled voices in the distance, she almost turned around to see what it was but then the drakon was so close she notched and arrow, fired, then ran towards the dark forest without watching it fly, the only confirmation of her hit being a dull thud. Skye hoped the beast would follow her back into the woods and away from the path, It had been a while since she had fought anything and never anything this size but the bigger they were the dumber, 'right?' she thought.

She ran through the trees jumping over falling logs and ducking under low branches but the drakon was to big to outrun and she didn't have to look back to know it was gaining on her. The darkness didn't help her with dodging trees but if she just find a small clearing where she could get a clean shot she should be able to take it down. After dodging another branch she spotted a patch on moonlight coming through the leaves of the trees, she glanced over her shoulder and saw the red scales of the enormous creature getting closer. 'alright' she thought, heading towards the light patch 'come and get me' she reached the patch then spun around arrow at the ready, string pulled tight. The beast headed straight for her and let out yet another terrible cry, she could feel her eardrums aching to burst but she held steady

The drakon burst through the trees and into the patch of light, looking straight at her She released the Arrow and watched it fly it was was about to lunge when the Arrow sunk deep into its large eye, It yelped and moved towards her again but in an instant Skylar had released another arrow and it hit the beast in the center of the other eye and this time it roared in pain. She jumped aside as the beast swatted at her with its sharp claws she fired 3 more arrows at the drakon, all of them hitting the right eye causing it to lash out at her. she backed into the darkness where she could see but not be seen and notched another arrow, taking aim she shot it in the eye again, this time stopping the creature dead. The drakon fell to the ground with a loud thud, crushing trees as it went, and lay there un-moving.

"whew" Skyler let out a breath and bent over, hands on her knees to catch her breath She then stepped back into the light to examine the dead beast. after looking at its corpse for a minute she walked over to its massive head and went to grab the arrows but she noticed something Strange. There were barely any marks where the arrows were in the left eye, she'd expected blood to be pouring out of its massive black eyes but it was like she had stuck toothpicks in cheese. She pulled the two of them out with a sucking pop* making sure the ends were still attatcched and sharp then moved over to the other eye. This one was what she had expected, messy and coved in blood she reached over to grab her arrows but found them to be slightly different then the others. These werent her home made ones and she was pretty sure she had no bought ones left, seeing as how she hadnt seen an armoury or weapons shop in the last three trips to the market. No these were much different, they had white feathers on the end as if placked from a swan and half way down the rod it was

"gold?" she asked herself alloud. "I didnt notice that" she said grabbing hold of it to pull it out, There was another sucking noise then the familiar pop* but that wasn't the only sound. There was a swoosh Beside her and suddenly she was flying through the air, Skylar felt a crack when she hit what must of been a tree and landed, Painfully in the dirt below, rolling over rocks and roots. She only had a moment to register what had happened before there was a shuffle of legs and sound much like a siren behind her. Skylar, Dazed, raised herself up on shaky hands and pushed herself to her feet

"great, your up" she remarked sarcastically to the Drakon who was now upright, clawing at the arrows still embedded in it right eye.

First part is Thalia then Avril and this is what was taking place while Skye was Dealing with The Drakon

Everything went into full speed the second Thalia stepped off of the road. The drakon lunged and Skye was already firing arrow., Avril was guarding Jasper One sword held defensively in her right hand, keeping a vigilant eye on their surroundings. As the Drakon got closer Skye seemed to edge towards the forest, taking the beast with her

"Skye Hold up!" Thalia called out,

Spear in hand and shield at the ready she lunged forward stabbing the drakon in its side, it barely flinched as it continued after Skye she went to thrust her spear at it again until she saw something move on the other side of her. She averted her vision from the drakon for a moment to get a look at what had moved and turned around slightly. She saw a dark shadow rush through the trees, watched it flash past then heard a commotion behind her

"Thalia!" she heard her name being called and turned to see Jasper, hanging upside down in the hands of a cyclops.

The cyclops was small for its kind but looked just as ugly and hungry as any other she'd come across, She ran for it Holding her shield up to scare the hideous being. As she got closer she noticed Avril was nowhere to be seen and the drakon was tearing through the trees, no doubt chasing after Skye. The smell of the Cyclops got stronger the closer she came and Jasper was thrashing around trying to free himself from the cyclops's grip, causing it to shake him around like a rag doll.

While it was distracted Thalia Ran to the left of it and raised her spear 'little help dad?' she asked silently, her answer came just seconds later in the form of lighting. She held her spear higher as it absorbed the blast, feeling the power grow, she saw Avril stumble from the shadows and called out

"hey uni brow Over here!" The cyclops clumsily turned towards Thalia looking for the voice. When it saw Thalia it loosened its grip on Jasper enough for him to slip out of its fist and into the shadows. The cyclops stepped towards Thalia and the smell hit her, making her gag a little

"What have you been eating" she groaned, unable to hold her nose "geez I swear you guys just smell worse and worse" the cyclops came at her and She pointed her spear and shield at it. The moment the Cyclops saw her shield it stopped, cowering back a few steps, though not enough to escape the bolt of lightning Thalia shot from the tip of her spear. The air was full of electricity and the Cyclops was hit with a massive blast of pure energy. Thalia watch as the creature burst into dust, the forest going eerily quiet around her.

"Avril? Jasper?" she half called hoping they hadn't got themselves into any trouble, to her left was a shuffle and she turned her spear in the direction, finding Avril and Jasper. They stepped out of the shadows looking slightly beaten up but otherwise fine, then looked over Thalia's shoulder where there was a sudden shriek in the distance.

"crap," was all she could say before she sprinted towards it. Following the trail left by the drakon she climbed over fallen trees and broken branches Jasper and Avril followed as close as they can. They fell behind quickly Since Thalia had pent about a hundred years with the hunters of Artemis, running through different terrains and climates. She saw a blur of red up ahead and heard another shriek then a thud.

Behind her something cracked and she glanced back to see Avril sword, to sword with a tall man in what looked to be a trench coat.

"Dammit" she said, and turned fully to lend a hand.

Avril had been on several quests already and did exceptionally well with a sword but she could get cocky at times and that could get her into trouble. Thalia approached carefully, not wanting interrupt Avril since she was doing fine on her own but Thalia was responsible for her well being and didn't want to risk leaving her on her own even though she knew she should go and check on Skye. As she watched Avril dodge the guys sword she listened for any more shrieks from the Drakon 'guess she's better than I thought' Thalia thought to herself of Skye, still not taking her eyes off of Avril.

Avril dodged another swipe of the guys sword and struck a blow to his leg with a quick strike of her own weapon, He let out a little grunt of pain but kept coming at her. He swung high and she ducked enough to miss getting a unwanted haircut.

"That all you got fugly?" She Insulted him. After falling to far behind Thalia Avril and her brother had moved through the shadows, when she noticed movement behind Thalia She had sped up to investigate and looked closer noticing a flash of something in its hand ' sword ' was her first thought. Looking between the human like figure and Thalia, Avril was closer to it than her but she was hidden in the darkness. She had unsheathed her sword and leapt at the Figure knocking it off balance and to the ground.

Avril had swiftly got back to her feet, sword in front of her and braced herself for a fight. She watched as the being got to its feet and noticed that it looked to be human, a man with Brown hair and a withered face. He had paused for a moment staring at her before laughing and thrusting his sword at her chest. Avril stepped aside blocking the sword with her own and knocking him back with a blow to his side, but he didn't seem to notice. She had seen Thalia approach a moment ago and was glad she hadn't tried to interrupt her fight, she wanted to prove herself.

Avril swung left and turned to the side when he blocked her move, she tried to slice his leg but he was blocking her blows with surprising speed. He raised his sword over his head and brought it down towards her, she brought her weapon up but the force of it made her stumble a step giving him a chance to swing at her again. There was a blinding pain in her arm as the man in front of her thrust his sword aiming for her chest, she had managed to dodge the deadly hit but still got snagged on the sharp blade. He went to strike her again, though she was back in a fighting stance not giving him the pleasure of hearing her cries of pain, instead blocking the blow with her sword and stabbing him in the ribs with the Dagger she'd had hidden in her boot.

"Aaarrrrhhh" He cried in agony, Blood pouring from the wound as he clawed at it

"Does that sting" Avril asked sweetly.

He looked up at her and Growled, she paused "did you just growl" she asked, regretting it instantly.

"Hahaha" He laughed, straightening his position with A smirk on his withered face.

There was a shriek behind her but she couldn't take her eyes of the guy in front of her. The figure was changing, some sort of hair sprouting from his arms, his back curved into more of a hump, The trench coat melted into hair. No, fur, that spread over most of his body. His nails sharpened into claws his face shifted into something akin to a lion mixed with a dog. Avril stepped back sword held high and just when she thought he was finished changing she spotted a tail like a scorpion raise from behind him, she gulped as he smiled down at her. There was another shriek behind her and she composed herself enough to say

"Manticore"

Authors note: HEY Hi whats up, Thanks for reading. Feel freee to review. This story gets better i promise.