Sweey: HULLO EVERYBODDAH! :3 NO this is not the sequel to Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger. Anyways, this story is based off of my dear friend Crispy Pink's story Meta Girl. I will be writing in Allison Silver's point of view (or Meta Girl) and well... the point of this story... heh you'll find out soon enough. ;D I'm typing with a crappy keyboard so be generous with reading my typos... if there happen to be any. ;3
Chapter One: The Tactical Test
Sir Meta Knight and I had been walking through Whispy Woods for nearly three hours. I was blindfolded. Why? To be honest I had no clue but I'd soon find out. I felt him nudge me to stop and soon I could see the thick of the forest around me as his mitten-clad hands lifted off the blindfold. Meta Knight's gold eyes flickered blue and I couldn't help but wonder what this was all about.
In answer to my question, Meta spoke, "This is the time to test your survival skills that we've been working on for the past few weeks or so. Basically all you need to do is thrive in these woods for a week. I've got a tracking device on you in case you get lost or find yourself in a near death situation. Near death and only then, got it?"
I nodded, "I understand, my mission is to live in the woods for a week. Can't be too hard..." My voice trailed off as I scanned the trees. I'd never been this deep in the woods before. It was dark, intimidating, and there were few pleasant things to look at. I looked nervously at my mentor.
He grinned wolfishly beneath his mask, "Don't worry, in these wood, you're never alone." With those unhelpful words, he dashed to the side and darted up, breaking through the trees and into the hidden sky above, abandoning me in the wood. Okay... not abandoning, well, yes abandoning. He was abandoning me here but it was my mission to thrive here, in these dark... scary... tree-infested woodland.
"It's not so bad," I murmured to myself, "It's not paradise but it's not the slums either." I looked around briefly as I hadn't moved from the spot I had been in since Meta Knight left. "Which way now?" I asked no one in particular. I finally resided to start walking and a I took my time, I pulled out one of the two daggers that Sir Meta Knight had lent to me just before we left.
Both were simple and identical, their entire length just short of my forearm and their blades were sharp and well polished. I slid the dagger back into its sheath on my belt and simply continued trekking through the woods.
Then I heard footsteps, two pair, behind me.
I whirled around pulling out one of the daggers only to see a glimpse of a doe leap over a nearby log and into a thicket that took it out of sight.
My pulse had quickened and it took me a moment to calm my nerves before I began to walk onward through the dense forest.
It wasn't long afterwards that I heard the relieving sound of running water. My ears led my feet to a small grove in which a fresh spring supplied cool waters to a stream. It was the ideal place for a camp. Immediately I crouched down and took several drafts of the icy, clear liquid and shivered with delight as it trickled down my throat.
I looked around finding a small cave that had formed wide around the mouth of the spring. The bank crept into it and there was enough light to make me comfortable while entering. It was dry enough and had plenty of space enough to provide an excellent shelter while I stayed here.
Of course, it did need some touching up.
So I set to work, gathering some long grass and huge, wide leaves, weaving them to make a sturdy hammock which I hung, securing each side on two stalagmites that grew like mini mountain from the floor of the cave. After that I scaled the surrounding terrain in search for firewood and made a neat stack as well as a pile waiting to be burned. With my bed made and fire pit prepared it was now time to get some food.
There was no way I'd be hunting so off to forage I went.
Heading back out, I walked within earshot of the spring as I searched the surrounding area for food. Fortunately and to my delight, I found some blue berries and carefully picked them from the thorny bush. I gathered them in the bright, red sash which Meta Knight had blindfolded me with.
Suddenly, a loud, but brief smacking sound reached my ears, causing me to jolt forward. It sounded like a rock had hit a tree.
"What in the Universe?" I borrowed a phrase from my friends of Dreamland.
Tying the berry-filled sash to my belt, I went toward the sound that had caught my attention enough for me to further investigate.
THUNK!
It happened again and so suddenly this time that I jumped slightly. With nerves shaken, I progressed closer to the source of the sound. Then without warning, the sound erupted into what sounded like a hundred rocks hitting the trees. Instinctively, I ducked for cover as another wave of the sound echoed through the forest.
Smack~Thunk~WHACK~Th-thwink~Thunk~Bam~Smack~THWACK!
My eyes widened as they were dazzled by a cloud of arrows that flew to a grove of scattered tree and dispersed perfectly onto the center of each of the various targets perched upon them. I counted quietly to myself, "1, 2, 3, ...12, 13, 14, 15... 21, 22, 23, 24!" At that point I stopped knowing well that over two dozen arrows had been shot in a matter of seconds. That could only mean that, I paused in thought to make the calculations, nearly six archers -if well trained- had shot! Perhaps more than just that... or perhaps less...
Did Sir Meta Knight know about this? Or were they working for N.M.E.? According to the accuracy of their shots it could be quite possible that they were indeed Demon Beasts, but I had to be sure.
Stepping as quietly as I could with my heeled boots, I moved from one patch of cover to the next until I found myself concealed in a thicket, looking up just inches from one of the targets.
With no warning other than a brief HISS of the arrows flight through the air, another flock of arrows was released into the air and came and collided into the army of trees that stood in the path of their flight nearly causing me to explode out of cover.
My pulse quickened and my stomach twisted into knots of tangled and panicked fear as the figure of a man emerged from the forest. He was tall and broad in shoulder with a deep hood cast over his head, concealing most of his face in shadow. His jaw was flecked with a stubbly, brown beard and a few locks of rich, dark locks of hair dangled from the shadows of the hood. Leather straps were wrapped around his waist in the fashion similar to a bandage for a wound. His cloths were earthy and the cloak he wore was threadbare and weather-stained. The more I looked at him the more difficult I found it to follow his shifting, shadowy figure as he stepped closer to the targets to retrieve the arrows. It was like he was one with the forest.
I froze as he made his way gradually closer to the target nearest to where I sat concealed in the bushes. When he finally arrived he plucked the arrow from the target like it was no more difficult than picking a flower, despite the fact that the arrow had driven past the wooden target, pierced the bark that armored the tree beneath it, and continued on a few inches more before finally ceasing.
"Not a bad shot," he murmured thoughtfully, "What do you think?"
Sweey: A relatively short chapter, but a good one nonetheless. I think I'll finish this one (which won't be more than 5-6 chapters at max) before continuing on with both of the sequels (The Life of a Star Warrior and Clashing Colors). So, I hope this was a pleasant read. I'm rather enjoying first person and Allison is really fun to write. :3 If you enjoyed this go read Crispy Pink's story Meta Girl. In fact, don't stop there, read ALL her stories! hahaha X3 Hope you liked it! And I'm sure you know who this fellow is and for the record, he's human in this story... as he originated. ;) DON'T SPOIL IT FOR OTHER READERS but REVIEW please! :D