The thrill of the hunt. The pumping adrenaline coursing through her as she chases her prey. One was darker skinned, female. She had never seen prey care for their own, heal their kind's own wounds. She did not care, however. It was an annoyance to her, the beautiful gashes made by her hatches completely healed after a while of gentle care. There was also another. A fox, with fiery hair and endurance that outmatched all the other Survivors. The Huntress kept running after the fox, stuck in an endless loop until a noise was heard and she was hit in the face by a painted wooden structure. To shield herself, she had put a hand up in defense, realizing that no repercussion would come after a few short seconds. When she looked up, her prey was gone. They were speeding and dodging, attempting to negate her axes that she flung with rage. Anna let them go. She would hunt for the Voice another time. With a simple flare of her nostrils, she walked behind them as they neared the gate, an endless lullaby sending chills down their spines. The Huntress watched as they ran out the gate, knowing what the Voice would do to her if she crossed the bounds. A head tilted as the two walked into the mist.
It seemed that the dark-skinned woman and the fox haired girl had come back once again to her territory. She didn't like when people wandered onto her hallowed grounds. The forest was much stronger than the Voice, and she decided that she would hunt them and put them on the meat hooks provided for her. That was her thought process until she smelt the two women once more, sneaking along her grounds. Curiosity piqued, and she slowly crept forward, a soft hum upon her lips to try and soothe them. It did not work, and they startled, sprinting to the only building in sight, which was her own dwelling. Usually she would never let anybody get this deep into her territory, but for some strange reason she did not interfere.
"Wh- what is this?"
The prey murmured, not noticing the gentle humming permeating the room as she picked up a cloth toy, the faded blue colour still showing. The girl looked confused. The other prey unfortunately, was much more alert than her friend, instantly noticing the piercing gaze from the killer from outside the window. All Anna did was tilt her head, the mask riding up to reveal a pale upper lip. If Anna wanted to kill her, she would have done it by now. She was too interested in them to kill them at the moment.
"We need to get the hell out of here. We're still in a trial."
The fiery woman grunted, poking a sharp elbow into the other's stomach. The Huntress began to near closer, lazily climbing through the window to enter her abode. They should have scattered then, but the botanist only flinched as the woman sat down, a large thump reverberating through the house. Both looked surprised, with Meg still nervous. She stood, her muscled legs tensed to sprint away from the ridiculously tall woman. Anna could practically hear their hearts fluttering in their chests.
The Huntress cocked her head, looking down at the blue cloth toy. She then reached forward, and her prey jumped back, scrambling to a far corner of the room. It was a good instinct, and to their credit they had stayed inside her house. Calloused hands grabbed a stuffed rabbit, the fur smoothing out beneath her hand. She grabbed it, lifting it up before placing it gently in her own palms. Phillip had taught her an English word every day, and this time she would actually use them. For once the Voice was silent, the strange being watching instead of trying to intervene.
"Play."
A Russian accent cut through the tension, her voice as thick as the fog outside. The thick haired girl gasped, an obviously confused expression on her face. The redhead looked like she was just about to bolt out of the place, but the other survivor held her in place.
"Would you like to play?"
The botanist asked, holding up the blue cloth doll. Anna cocked her head, trying to decipher the words said to her. It was a question, which meant she was asking something. She also heard the word play. Was she asking to play? Yes, she would very much like that. The woman nodded, setting down the stuffed rabbit before quietly moving the toy up to make it hop.
"Play."
She repeated, looking at the fox. It was good instinct for her to be cautious, but she was tired of hunting the same prey over and over again. She wanted to be with her mother again. Someone to dote on, someone to take care of. The two were good candidates for this.
"Meg, come on. Even if she kills us, we'll come back."
The much smaller woman of the trio murmured, pulling the reluctant redhead down next to her. The fox had groaned, crossing her arms though she had sat down. The Huntress scooted closer to her prey, the cloth rabbit clutched in her hands. She wanted to play, but she wasn't quite sure how to. Everything was half-remembered fever dreams. But she tried anyways, repeating the motion from before to make the rabbit hop again. The two Survivors looked at each other, which constituted a small grunt from the large Russian. The fox hesitantly looked around, finding a moldy children's book that happened to actually be in English. It seemed that the Killer had a penchant for collecting toys, books, and small little trinkets. A pen was even seen among the mess, along with sheets of yellowed paper.
"Daughters."
She pointed towards the many things lying across her floor. She picked up a shiny pin, passing it to her prey.
"Good hunt. Bad men."
She murmured in severely broken English, proceeding to show the girls every item she had collected. Most were toys, but some were children's clothes, utility belts, and even the occasional gun. The old weapons were long since rusted, and would definitely not work anymore. Her humming continued on as she showed the prey all her cherished items, tears occasionally spilling underneath her mask as she remembered the ones she could not take care of. The dark skinned girl and the runner was shocked to see her in such a state, her small lullaby occasionally breaking as her voice choked up.
"Are you okay? You have some very... cool stuff."
The redhead asked. The Huntress only laughed, her song lowering into a much more sinister tone. Her prey stared worriedly at her, looking at each other in some sort of secret communication. They spoke again to cut off a deranged giggle.
"Hey, hey. What's your name? I'm Claudette. That's Meg."
The botanist's voice shivered as the Huntress stopped humming for a second, her head tilted. She could barely remember her name. Phillip and her other comrades had to remind her of it. She thought for a moment, her form completely still. A- it definitely started with an A. Phillip had told her that she could spell it the same forwards and backwards, but she didn't really understand that because she didn't know how to read, much less write... oh! That was it.
"Anna. You Meg."
She pointed to the fox.
"You Claudette."
The word stumbled over her tongue, causing her to mispronounce the name. She then moved, setting the toy rabbit down to pick up a sheet of paper and a pen.
"Draw? Want draw."
She hummed, her voice silent for the moment as she lowered herself down onto the creaky wooden floors, her stomach flat. She propped one hand to support her head and used the other to draw a happy face. Her lips curled up into a smile to match the face drawn. She handed the pen to her prey- no, Claudette. Her name was Claudette. The botanist took it, her hands shaking before she brought a sheet of paper and began to draw on it, the nib scratchy on the paper. It still worked, and she finished the drawing in seconds. A couple of stick figures with curly and thick hair was shown next to the happy face. Anna giggled, pointing to Meg. Claudette seemed to get the point, passing the vellum sheet to her. The redhead immediately began to scratch out a running shoe with small wings.
"Good draw."
The smile she showed to them was crooked and scary due to her fanged teeth, but it still showed joy. If they could see behind the mask, they would find delighted brown orbs staring back at them. The Huntress continued in her hum, absentmindedly taking off the mask and veil from her head. The two girls eyes widened in surprise, wincing. Would she have endless scars on her face like the Hillbilly? Or perhaps cold dead eyes like the Wraith? They looked forward, preparing for the worst. She looked... human. Pale porcelain skin, muddy brown eyes, and rosy cheeks.
"No way."
Claudette whispered. This was much stranger than any of the other faces that haunted them throughout the trials they endured. She did not look dead, or mangled. Yes, there was scarring on her lips and a small one that cut through her eyebrow, but not much. The large Russian grinned giddily in response, now using both hands to prop up a childlike face.
"Like?"
The woman asked, her head tilting to the side as she awaited an answer. Her fox looked to the other, whispering something she couldn't understand. They seemed happy enough. Maybe her prey could turn into her pets. Something she could care for. Meg moved closer to her, the muscles finally relaxing as she realized that she did not intend to hurt her. Small fingers gently touched her bloodied forearm, the strong muscle rippling beneath it.
"Yeah. You're very nice."
The two said in tandem, almost as if they had planned it. It took about twenty seconds to decipher the words, and once she did, ruddy cheeks darkened at the compliment. They said she was nice!
"Thank."
She said in response, using her elbows to move her closer. She wanted the attention, and sat up, hands on her lap. They itched to touch something, to stimulate her senses. She knew they would startle, so she moved her hand slowly, eventually petting Meg's head. Her other hand did the same with Claudette. They cringed slightly under her soft grasp, but they reciprocated, ruffling the short hair she had to chop off to stop lice. She leaned heavily into the touch, her hands faltering. She couldn't really multitask well, and eventually her hands fell back into her lap, her body instinctively moving closer until she was only a foot apart from them. Minutes passed, and her humming filled the silence until she eventually fell asleep, her breathing finally evened out.
"We should go. We can see her again. I- I can't believe she's a human."
Claudette whispered, grabbing Meg's hand and sneaking out of the house. They saw the gate, a sigh of relief being drowned out by a caw from a crow. Hand in hand, they left, with the fearsome Huntress sleeping soundly on the floor. Once the campfire came into their view, they sat down. Their friends looked at them, obviously confused.
"What the hell happened? What took you so long?"
Bill asked, and they both shared a look.
"You wouldn't believe it."