The rattling of the shudders woke Jackie with a start as she suddenly sat up, looking out the window at the cascade of downpour covering the entire forest. With the thickness of this rain and clouds it was impossible to tell if it was night or day. This storm was a once a century kind of storm. It wouldn't surprise her if this kept up for a few days, stranding here at the witch's house. With a heavy sigh she parted the web-like hammock and got to her feet, dumbfounded by the lack of pain she was in. That medicine, although unsettling and disgusting, really worked.
"Oh, Jackie, are you up?" Grim asked from the kitchen, poking his head into the door, "excellent! How are you feeling?" He asked, hopping over with a cheeky grin.
"Surprisingly pretty good." Jackie admitted, raising her dress a bit and looking at her legs. They were just fine.
"I expected so. Well, then I can say that the new concoction really worked." He crossed his arms and nodded all happily to himself. "Your tissue and ligaments were quite stretched so I had to work on them first and then made sure that the renewed ones weren't stiff. Lucky for you I know just how to heal these sort of things."
Jackie stretched somewhat and felt it didn't hurt as much as last night, when her nose caught wind of a curious scent she asked, "you have something cooking?" It was a musty smell that escaped words as to what it could be.
"I always do but this is not for ingesting. It's fermented snake liver with crushed pig hooves, veins of a dozen salamanders, spots of an Amanita Muscaria, fish intestines and some rosemary." He answered with a perfectly happy face as Jackie literally gagged, feeling utterly disgusted with that.
"W-What in the good world is that for?!" Jackie gapped, shuddering in just the mere thought of anyone having to drink it.
"Medicine for another customer of mine," he said as she let out a relieved sigh knowing it wasn't for her before she paused.
"Customers?" She asked. This was the first time she ever heard him say something like that, "do you get other visitors other than myself?"
"Ooh~ jealous?" He teased as her eyes narrowed, daring him to continue on before he giggled at her expression, "yes, I have many, many customers, my dear. I'm surprised you never found out after all these years."
"I really had no idea." She admitted. That is so strange … was he perhaps lying? The path to his house wasn't very worn so if there were common travelers on it she would have noticed their tracks, "what kind of goods do you sell?"
"The usual, mostly medicines with the occasional cursing," he shrugged.
"Right, right … and what are these herbs for?"
"You tell me." He said with a cheeky grin as she paused, realizing she was being tested by the witch. She smirked.
"From a glance I would say you're seasoning some but you're not," She said, poking her fingers into the other leaves and making sure not to get the substances mixed with one another, "these will be used in a … muscles relaxation … no, not that." She said, leaning back and thinking, "I don't recognize the last one here so I would have to go with an external medicine that will be added to some sort of adhesive cream."
"You're not so far off; when you're better maybe I'll tell you. In the meantime I'm making some ointment for your lovely skin but while I make the paste I want you to grind these up so I can boil them," he smiled, brushing a finger over her arm and drawing her attention back to the discolorations on her body, "do you not feel these?" He asked, taking her arm and twisting it around to show the bruises which mirrored the form of hands that strangled her arm.
"These aren't much." Jackie said with a shrug. She honestly got bruises so often that they didn't bother her too much at this point. Well, more like she did not vocalize her pain.
"You are so stern to tolerate this without complain." It was impossible to know if his words were a mock or a reprimand. Most likely they were both.
"Do you want me to get all huffy? Do you want me to complain about the marks to ears that won't listen? Complaining hardly accomplishes anything so why do it at all?" She snapped, annoyed at his comment. He acts like others would care if she complained about her marks.
"Do you want to do that or perhaps want something to be done in regards? That is of course up to you." He said, poking the tip of her nose before returning to the kitchen, "while you are resting you should make yourself useful; I need you to grind some herbs for me." He hummed as he returned a little too quickly, carrying some stone mortars and pestles with him with herbs already cut up and placed inside.
"What is this one?" Jackie asked, picking up the mortar with plush looking leaves. She rubbed the greenery between her fingers before smelling it, getting the strongest scents of lemon from it. She almost wanted to taste it, wondering if she could use it as flavoring for food but she knew better than to taste something the witch gave her.
"It's from a land far away from here; it's natural aroma and toxins soothe aches with ease." He explained with a grin.
"I never knew there was a plant that smelled like a lemon before," she said with a light chuckle, taking the pestle and began grinding the plant up. Her wrist rolled with ease as she grinded the plant into a mushy consistency, setting it aside and working on the others to absolute perfection. A deep and cheerful hum caught her attention as she glanced over at Grim, watching him staring at her hands and the consistency rather blatantly, " … what?"
"While your body does not hold the natural capacity needed of that to be a spellcaster, your hands are incredibly skilled. You could easily be an excellent alchemist and herbalist with the right guidance," he purred, poking his finger into the dust and testing the consistency, "yes, a very, very good quality - though untrained - that can only be made with naturally skilled hands. Your skills in this area could get to rival even mine." He said, flattering her as she stared at him suspiciously.
"What do you want, Grim?" She said with narrowed eyes in annoyance. Was he offering to teach her? He smiled, staring at the powder before taking the bowl from her before both of them paused and listened closely to the sounds, or rather lack of noise. It was close to being silent outside as if the storm, all at once, died down. They both look outside, caught off guard as the rain softened it's fall and the winds quieted.
"It's over?" Jackie asked, surprised as she walked over to the window and looked up at the clearing sky. Just beyond the clearing, though, she could still see a massive wall of wind coming towards them rather rapidly.
"It's only the eye of the storm, my dear. But during this little respite, why don't you collect some fresh herbs for me in my garden?" Grim suggested, trotting into his kitchen and pulling out a pair of sheers.
" … yeah, sure." Jackie said, standing up and stretching her pleasantly stiff limbs.
"I want some basil, rosemary, fennel, cilantro, bella dona, wild lilies and garlic. You will find them in the back through the small path." He noted with a smile.
"Outside?" Jackie uneasily said, shivering slightly as the thought of the trolls were still fresh in her mind. How that wolf got away from them and had time to catch her she had no idea. Actually, she really had no idea how she survived at all.
"You needn't worry." He said, giving her a brief, one armed hug before setting the shears in her hands, "as long as you stay within the trees with the red ribbons on them they won't even be able to sense you. You'll be fine." He reassured as she managed a half smile.
"You better bet right or else you'll have to find a new Red Riding Hood to mule your things back and forth." She teased rather lightheartedly, warmly smiling towards the witch. She trusted the witch. It made her uncomfortable to admit it to herself but out of anyone she knew she trusted the witch with her life. It was foolish to do so and one day he would most likely betray her horribly but for now she trusted him more than any other person she's ever known. She supposed that expecting his eventual betrayal made him trust him even more and that comforted her.
"Then I'd better prepare a new potion for your health and more ribbons for the trees. I find your visits rather entertaining." He noted with a playful wink.
Jackie genuinely smiled this time at his words before she left, lightly treading down the thin path to the outside garden. She was shocked the plants were perfectly alright even during this storm until she stepped inside an invisible force, feeling the warm air embrace her immediately. Whoa … she looked up, seeing some spitting rain falling but not feeling any of it, watching as it evaporated into a soft haze and floating off into the sky. Magic was really amazing. She let out a soft sigh and began trimming some leaves off the basil, setting them in the small basket before snipping up some rosemary.
Her breathing hitched as she felt her blood run cold for seemingly no reason. The hair on the back of her neck rose, sensing something rather than seeing anything at all. The strangest menacing dark presence made her skin crawl with goosebumps as she whipped around, startled as she saw the same man as before standing in the corner of the garden and staring rather openly at her. She blinked, startled and losing her voice to speak before finding it again with a sighing smile.
"I'm glad you're alright. I was worried thinking something dragged you away while I was gone," she said, setting the basket aside before walking towards him, "it isn't safe to be out alone like this," she anxiously said, pausing by the red ribbons as Grim's words echoed through her mind. It was only the stranger she helped, no harm there. She stepped past the ribbons as the man's red gaze flickered from her to the ribbon and back again before she paid it any mind.
"Are you alright? What are you doing out here in the woods alone? It's dangerous." she said, looking over his strangely bare top before remembering his jacket. "Oh! You're jacket, I forgot about that. Let me go get it." She said, turning to leave before he very gently hooking his hand around her elbow. With the utmost gentleness he ushered her still as he looked over her bruises and rather painful looking marks.
The man's eyes looked at the markings and then he looked her in the eyes as if asking what were those from since she didn't have them last time they met. Jackie's cheeks touched with pink, noticing his concern for her as she tried to sheepishly glance away but found herself looking him right in his crimson eyes instead.
"O-Oh, uh, these? They're nothing, really." She reassured him as he continued to stare with the strangest intensity in his burning eyes, " … were you there? When I w-was attacked by those trolls?" Jackie asked, having to ask. She wanted to know how she ended up so close to Grim's house when she still had another hour of running to do. That wolf was there too … she wondered what happened to it. She thought she was dead after it pinned her.
The man lightly nodded, his stoic gaze continuing to stare at the marks on her flesh. Embarrassment touched her cheeks. This man saved her life that night. If he hadn't then she would have been eaten by that wolf.
"Ah … thank you, Hans," Jackie said, wanting to give the man who saved her life a hug - a soon becoming habit instilled in her by Grim's clinginess - but she resisted, "how can I repay you? You saved my life."
Hans leaned down towards her, his lips getting close to hers. Jackie held completely still, her breath stuttering as she actually waited for the warmth of his touch before he dipped a little lower and hardly audible to the ear, sniffed her. She blinked, startled as she held still. Did he just … sniff, her? After that he moved away and turned around to leave.
"Ah, wait, why don't you come inside? It's safer than being in the storm." She said, gently catching his arm. A piercing, sharp glance of his blood red eyes made her breath hitch as she quickly retreated back, her lips trembling in remembrance of the white wolf's crimson eyes. The man's expression did not change but those eyes alone held its own menacing air.
Without a word he turned around and walked away uncaring about the weather or her startled reaction. That glare … that awful, terrible and heart stopping glare was something she had never suffered before. She had received plenty of glares in the past from the villagers but this man's glare was genuine and thorough in a way that didn't hide what he felt. Those eyes alone piercing through her was enough to invoke a nature of such fright that her feet remained rooted to the ground. As she watched him leave she felt as if she had just survived an encounter with a truly deadly predator. The thought left her heart quivering as she watched him leave, but she also felt a sort of longing for him to stay. He had frightened her terribly but he was also the only one to have ever helped her in such a way. It was such a strange and contradicting feeling that she didn't know what to do and before she could call out to him he had already vanished into the darkness of the forest.
The wind soon began to pick up before Jackie came to her senses, quickly gathering the rest of the herbs and retreating back inside Grim's house for safety before rain and hail pelted the glass windows.
"Phew~! It got much worse!" Grim laughed, clapping his hands in enjoyment at the raging storm. It almost looked like he was going to start dancing. His tapping feet certainly pointed at that.
"Are you truly enjoying this storm that much? It's going to ruin farmer's crops at this rate." Jackie asked, cautiously glancing outside and hoping it won't begin to thunder or lightning at some part.
"Of course I am! Wonderful things come out after such nice rain and I get free publicity in the foolish minds of the foolish fools who foolishly think I'm foolishly responsible for this … tomfoolery. Ha, ha ha!" He madly laughed before suddenly stopping with a shrug and normal voice, "well, at least I'm not responsible this time."
" … nice things like what? Wait, 'this time'?" Jackie asked with a slightly raised eyebrow. She wanted to comment on his idiocy for making her situation at town worse but it wasn't his fault; she should have been more explicit telling him not to do anything dumb and it could have been avoided if she just came the next day. Well, live and learn.
"Mushrooms, snails, slugs, moss, special flowers, creatures of darkness who come out hunting and many, many other fun things to collect." Grim said with a cheeky grin and totally ignored her second question.
" … what kind of mushrooms and flowers?" Jackie tried to nonchalantly ask, looking away and trying not to seem too interested. As crazy as this witch was he was very knowledgeable. He knew things she could never hope to achieve and while she did want to learn more, she still kept a reserved air about her.
"Some Mushrooms that are poisonous until dried and then prepared, but once they are, they are very effective in potions. As for flowers, some that are used for sweetening foods or drinks, some that make you sleep, others that make you paralyzed and so many more delightful ingredients!" He excitedly trilled as a wider and wider wicked grin spread across his face. His eyes coolly slid over in her direction, studying her rather adorable and stubborn attitude, "all kinds of very interesting things come out. It would be foolish not to collect them now while I have the chance." His smile turned more sweet as she relented and looked at him fully.
"And these effects are all natural or do you use magic on them?" She asked.
"Ho ho~ I could tell you, but if you want to know those specifics you'll have to agree on becoming my cute student." He teased with a cheeky grin as she rolled her eyes.
"No matter how many times you ask, Grim, I won't become your student." She firmly stated, actually quite horrified of that.
"Well then, I suppose I simply need to wait until you ask me instead," he hummed with a cheerful grin, "regardless, the offer still stands." He said with a smile.
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Jackie slowly made her way home, thoroughly enjoying the smell of the wet earth beneath her boots. She loved it when it rained. Everything afterwards just felt so clean and healthy. The red ribbon around Jackie's wrist bothered her a little bit from it's tickling edges but she didn't think much about it. Grim told her it would protect her and she believed that.
The basket weight light in her hands as she continued to walk, hardly making it a quarter way to the village when she saw a small girl, hardly around 12 years old, approaching. Jackie walked off to the side, watching the little girl in the red coming towards her before her heart dropped into her gut.
They … they already assumed she died?
Jackie's expression turned cold and deadly as she stepped into the pathway, seeing the girl stop before jolt back in fright. A hardness in her heart softened a bit as Jackie approached, recognizing that terrified, frightened gaze in her face. A gaze she too often held herself in the mirror.
"You … b-b-but m-my father-," she started, nearly shrieking as Jackie reached towards her and gently grabbed the basket. The girl shivered, remaining firm in her stance as Jackie gently took the basket from her hands and sadly looked over her.
"I'm not a ghost. See?" Jackie said, holding her other hand out for the girl to touch. She hesitantly poked Jackie's palm, nervously gulping as the young girl looked her in the eyes with a teary gaze. " … it's scary out here, isn't it?" She said as the girl remained silent, too frightened to speak. " ... Here," Jackie said, setting the baskets aside before taking off her ribbon and handing it to the girl, "this will protect you on your way home. Hurry back to the village and let them know I'm not dead. I'll deliver this to the witch before coming home." Jackie explained, staring at the fake crimson hood in annoyance before taking it off of the girl suddenly, startling the young girl as it fell with a small snap. The girl's legs trembled as Jackie stared at her coldly. "Never wear that hood lightly." She warned before picking up the two baskets and spare hood, turning around to return to Grim's house before the speechless girl ran for her life back towards the village.
Jackie's fingers trembled in anger as she tried to control herself. Th-Those rotten idiots-! So what, they thought she was dead so they went ahead and sent someone else?! Once the girl was out of earshot she threw the smaller red hood to the ground and stomped on it hard.
"Those rotten, no good, stupid swines of idiotic-!" She shouted, continuing to stomp the hell out of the replacement red hood before she took a deep, shakily calm breath and exhaled. She knew she couldn't blame the little girl but she was so angry that she didn't know what to do with herself.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed into the air with all her rage, uttering every curse and every angry word that had ever been said to her, cursing out the people of the village one by one before taking another deep, calming breath.
" … nope, still not good." She hissed between her teeth, roughly grabbing the dirtied red hood before running to the witch's house. With nothing in her way to stop her she ran right inside, zipping past Grim who opened the door for her with a pleasant smile. Jackie dropped both baskets before leaping over the couch and, with all the angry she could muster, she threw the fake red hood into the lit fireplace. Her chest huffed and puffed as she glared at the rising flames, watching the newly stitched red hood burn before her eyes. Grim darkly laughed, realizing what must have happened.
"I'm so touched you get jealous about anyone coming to me but you. And since you hate those silly villagers now I can truly curse them," Grim happily exclaimed and from out of nowhere in his hand appeared a wand with a badly crafted shaft. "That means you can happily become my apprentice!"
" … no, I don't hate them." Jackie said with a heavy sigh, running a hand through her hair before pinching the bridge of her nose and trying not to lose it again, "I just have an extreme dislike for idiots who don't think … which basically consists of the whole village." She sighed, feeling her rage floating away like the ashes of the red colored hood in the fire.
"Oh ho~ Red Hood, your misplaced 'understanding' for that village truly knows no bounds," he giggled, walking over and hugging her. She stiffened up a bit, surprised as he lightly squeezed, "you're the only Red Hood fit to deliver my goods. Remember that." He said with a smile before she turned around, hugging him back.
" … I'm not jealous." She huffed, looking away before he poked her cheek with a long nail.
"I think you are."
"I'm not."
"Are too."
"Get off, I need to go back now."
"But why? Just stay here." He said with a shrug as Jackie froze, startled at the offer. "I do care about you because you are too fun."
" … stay?" She asked, surprised at his offer. Of course it … had to be a joke.
"Of course! Why would you go back when I already prepared your room upstairs? Why would you go back to bring the goods to me when you can stay here and go to get them instead?"
" … no, Grim. I'm not staying here." Jackie said, shrugging him off rather angrily before he caught her hand and kissed her knuckle. The motion startled her into holding still, seeing just how genuine he was being from his eyes alone.
"Regardless of what you say now, the offer will always be open. Besides, it'll give me incentive to redecorate the place." He grinned, looking around as the wheels in his head already began to turn on the possibilities of what he could do.
" … Grim, not now," Jackie answered with a hard breath. He probably had no idea how badly she wanted to take him up on that offer but it would cause too much trouble, "I have a lot on my plate and I … need to think." She said, rubbing her temples.
"What's there to think about when you already have the answer to the questions you don't even need to formulate?"
"My answer remains the same, Grim," Jackie sighed.
"Boo… well, I would at least advise you to remain here a couple more days for you to heal, but since you are decided on going back then I expect to see you sooner next time. You know to come here if anything happens again." He sweetle grinned.
"You know I will," Jackie said, not wanting to admit it out loud but this place was truly her safe haven compared to that town of hers. She did wonder why she still stayed occasionally but perhaps part of the reason was that she knew they would just find another young woman to deliver the goods, making her suffer all that she has … and she didn't want that to happen. Ugh, curse her and her bleeding heart. "Good bye, Grim. I'll see you in a few days." Jackie said, picking up the baskets and handing him the one with the jostled and bruised fruit inside of it while keeping the empty one for herself.
"Do be careful. You gave that girl the ribbon I prepared for yourself and it'll take me a couple days to prepare a new one." He looked down at the fruit, "and tell them to give me better goods next time. This is just of not good enough quality."
"Right, right. I've survived without the ribbon before and I'll survive again. Besides, I will reach the village before nightfall," Jackie assured, walking out the door and heading back to the village.
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"We are so glad you could make it, Lady huntress. Now, come, take a seat. Is there anything we can get you? Water, wine or a meal perhaps? I'm sure the journey was long and you're eager to rest." The mayor sheepishly offered, appearing rather nervous through his speech and constant shuffling.
Before the overweight and clearly flustered men, the huntress stood with the shadows of the flickering flame dancing over her face. Her entire body was strapped with dark, strong armor covering her all body but the joints, allowing her the utmost flexibility while her vitals were covered from nearly every direction. The perfect protective suit and the many weapons ready against her prey. Bright olive green eyes visible on a stern and serious face. Her reputation preceded her. She had survived wars and fought against humans and non-human foes, always surviving against all odds. The confidence alone of the famous or infamous mercenary and itinerant monster-slayer for hire shook the men's own stability and her presence intimidated everyone in the room. Her eyes portrayed no sense of mercy nor did the weapons looped around her curvy hips or her back.
"Perhaps after we negotiate my services." She calmly suggested, perfectly at ease if not bored. She was the huntress and everyone else was a potential prey.
"Straight to the point then? Very good." The judge agreed with a slight nod of his head, eager to get negotiations out of the way. "Well then, if it pleases you we shall make this meeting brief so that you may rest up in the provided inn." He said before going quiet, allowing the mayor to clear his throat and get ready to speak.
The huntress sized the man. The fat on his throat shook with his throat clearing and his hands were sweaty and chubby, looking almost like a pig intestine shoved full with too much meat. He was well fed to the point of being overweight, far too different from the average villager and it seemed to have been the case for many years judging by his lack of physical condition. His clothes were also newer and of finer making. He was wealthier than he stupidly wanted her to believe.
"Very well, then as per your request we would like to discuss the payment for your services. Being a rather poor town as we are, we can afford to pay you about 800 Shillings." The mayor said, getting right to the point.
The huntress chuckled in a mocking way, her hand setting over her hip "I would take that pocket change for a band of goblins or kobolds running amuck." She looked at the room. I was better build and decorated that the rest of the what she'd seen so far" Not exceptional but not poor either. "I'm only passing through this place. You can hire me to hunt something specific, but for anything bigger or general hunts you could arrange for me to stay a while longer and instead pay for that time and all that hunt during it is included. But for pathetic 800 shielings, you won't get much. I'd stay a couple days at most." She twisted her neck and the cracking of bones was heard. She then smirked seeing the men readjust themselves as they began to think of a counter offer. "Don't mock me, gentleman. State a real deal or else I simply walk away and leave you with your problems. There are many places and people that will pay real money"
"W-Whatever it takes, Ms. Huntress. You see, we called you here when we heard you were nearby, to hunt down a monster which presents a particular danger to us here in the village. In the past we have had our run of the mill with large trolls and other beastly creatures that can be held at bay but this monster is more dangerous than any of us can handle. We have suspicions of a werewolf lurking about our walls and we want you to hunt it down and bring us its head," the mayor explained, nervously twiddling his thumbs, "we are only a town of farmers and few small prey hunters. No one here has the experience needed to capture or face such an elusive beast. Would you be willing to kill this werewolf and spare everyone in this village?" He asked rather meekly but he tried to portray himself as a strong leader, even if he was intimidated by the presence of the legendary huntress. And she was certainly legendary, one of the strongest out there still alive but whether famous or infamous was more open to interpretation as there were some rather dark stories about her. The village, however, was desperate and willing to overlook her questionable kills.
"As long as you pay I hunt, but a werewolf ... that is not cheap and I would need to stay longer than I intended." She crossed her arms and then fixed her gaze on the flames in the fireplace. "Shifters are quite rare nowadays. All their kind will most likely be extinct someday. Still, they are indeed elusive creatures; beasts that can hide under human skin. They are as smart as any human but are driven by instincts. Human concepts of good or bad don't apply to them. Anyone could be one." She looked back at the mayor, her eyes burning as the fire. "I'd have to first get proof there is a werewolf, then find out who it is or set a trap for it." Taking out a bright ballesta bolt from a hidden compartment in her forearm, she showed it under the fire's glow to. "Shifters are strong and regenerate quite quickly. Only silver weapons, alchemical concoctions or magic can deals aggravated damage to them." She explained while showing them the bold before sheathing it again.
The men remained silent for a few seconds and the huntress remained as stoic. By the way the huntress spoke about the topic, it seemed that she had experience with shifters. Her knowledge about them and other creatures was also hardly unparalleled.
"Now, gentleman. If you present a better offer I'll may still be willing to let your offense of such a small sum slide and I may still take this hunt." The Huntress remained calm but could not help but let a faint smirk curve her lips up. Of course she already knew there was a werewolf around. She was here for that same reason. She had been hired by other clients; much higher paying clients. There was no proof that this particular werewolf was her original target but if it was then she could earn a little bit extra. Regardless, now that the town was backing her it would be much easier to negotiate free lodging and food during her stay.
She seemed interested into going ahead and getting the legal things sorted out for these men, something they were relieved to see from the huntress. "You may reside in the town's inn and eat freely; rest assured your housing will be on the town." The judge assured her, hoping to sweeten the deal just as she had predicted. She remained quiet and simply smiled, casting her eyes back to the fumbling mayor.
"We know the werewolf is not anyone of the town. We have not seen any suspicious behavior from any of the townspeople, nor has there been any new faces around here." The mayor explained.
"And what about the Red Hood?" The Treasurer of the town spoke up, his beady eyes needling the mayor, "she is too often in the woods. Who knows what she could have contracted outside of these walls; she most likely still lives if she is a creature of that sort."
"As much as I share your distaste of the Red Hood she could not possibly be this werewolf. She lacks not only the strength but the temperament of one as well." The Judge firmly countered with a stiff frown.
"And how would you know how a werewolf acts?" The treasurer snapped back. He was the most distressed of them all; he had to budget and figure out how to pay the Huntress while maintaining order and legendary hunters weren't cheap to hire.
"If you perhaps read a book here and there you would learn a few things. Werewolves are particularly hot tempered and at the slightest provocation will transform and rip apart the object of their hatred. And since she has not down such a thing like that in the slightest there is no reason to suspect her. If she had then she'd be dead already." The judge pointed out with a sly sneer at the treasurer.
The huntress refrained from rolling her eyes. "Shifters are creatures driven by instinct and want. Any passion is deep and primal, whether it is destroying that which they dislike or they feel threatened about their interest, or claiming anything they feel is theirs." The huntress remained quite aloof and then, out of boredom, inquired, "who is this Red Hood?"
"The Red Hood is the child of the town whore. Our town among with the few others use the Red Hood to bring the witch of the forest tribute every other day now. Before it used to be a week before she disrupted it." The mayor miffed in annoyance, leaning back in his ornate chair.
"A witch?" The huntress rose her eyebrow and shifted her weight on her other foot, "now we're getting somewhere. Speak of this witch. Although I generally don't bother with them, it might provide a good clue about the werewolf."
"The witch is known as Grim Reaper; he is a frightfully powerful witch that lives deep in the most despicable parts of the forest, forcing our towns to put together tribute to give to him once a week. However, since the Red Hood used some supplies on an injured traveler, the witch appeared in the town himself; something he has never done before except once decades ago." The judge explained in a cool tone as the mayor smacked his fist on the table, startling the two men beside him.
"That wretched girl! Now we are forced to put together a basketful of tribute to him every other day, that greedy witch! That stupid girl!" He shouted in an outburst, taking a few, deep breaths to try and calm himself again.
"Yes, well, as much as his presence is unfavorable we have little to no choice than to allow ourselves to coexist with him. He is a witch so powerful we dare not hire a hunter to try and kill him." The judge said with a shaking of his head.
"Witches are still human in their cores. For dealing with them you'd need an Inquisitor." The huntress twisted her head again but in the opposite way to once again crack her bones. "A competent inquisitor, regardless of religion, have ways to nullify a witch's powers long enough to deal with them."
"Of the which we have tried and failed in the past. He set out to the forest and never returned." The judge said with a grave frown, "his name was Fredrick Bullhound."
The huntress chuckled once, then again, and then a melodical laughter came from her moist lips, silencing the three men uneasily when the sound turned into a darker maniacal laughing for a minute before she suddenly stopped as if it had never happened, "Fredrick Bullhound is a well known fraud. If you hired him then you were robbed. I'm surprised he was still alive to keep on his facade, more so using the same name."
"What?" The mayor said, startled by the information, "b-but he came with a whole crew of hunters and officially signed documentation!" The mayor blubbered out, looking more and more angry as his face became a deeper shade of red.
The huntress chuckled again and then pointed at the men one by one "And did you ever check his references? Anyone can sign a paper. You have heard tales of me, you can check by other towns, even the nearby kingdoms and pricipades; but apparently you didn't hear of his fraud or his lack of reputation while in this backwards town. He's been known for quite a while."
"That diabolical trickster!" The mayor shouted as the judge grabbed his shoulder, squeezing rather harshly.
"That was in the past. Now we have the werewolf to deal with for the time being." The Judge reminded him rather harshly.
"And the witch, mind you." The treasurer reminded the two of them.
"Where is that Red Hood now? Where is that ungrateful child?!" The mayor demanded as the Treasurer heavily sighed.
The huntress helped herself to one of the apples on the nearby table as she ignored the show. The fruit was quite fresh.
"The Red Hood is dead, remember?" The judge reminded them rather harshly, "we sent her out into the storm in the dead of night to make amends with the witch."
"Feh. That is if she is not the werewolf herself." The treasurer rather moodily grumbled.
"No … she is dead. No little woman could survive the night." The mayor miffed, leaning back in his chair and appearing rather pleased.
"But what if the witch turned her into a werewolf to torture us?" The treasurer pushed, "would it not be impossible for him to create a monster through that woman? All our troubles center around her so why not this as well?" He growled, clearly suspecting this Red Hood woman rather harshly.
The huntress finished the apple and then walked towards the entrance, now tired of this charade. "That's not how shifters are created." She stood by the entrance. "Not just any person can be changed into a shifter and no small magic would achieve such. However I note that you do want to get this werewolf to be somehow related to this Red Hood person. Is there any reason?" The huntress had a guess. Ignorant and intolerant people in small towns needed to have some scapegoat. That was something the huntress had used on various occasions in her favor to get some human bait.
"Because most of our problems stem from that whore's child. It would be more likely she requested the witch to curse us like this," the mayor cut in with a dispositioned sneer.
"How is that so?" The huntress noticed the animosity in their postures. Her mind starting to paint the picture and how to use this in her favor.
"She was born with a cursed deformity, obviously. It makes her look quite hideous and brings bad luck." The treasurer stated with a huff, sounding quite firm in his conviction.
"I'll have to see that whenever her body turns up, then. If she is as dead as you claim. But I assure that the witch calling a werewolf is laughable. Shifters are extremely proud; they wouldn't let themselves be controlled by a mere witch." She wasn't sure the werewolf and the so called witch were related but it never hurt to check, "but back on track, you still haven't offered a serious payment for my services and I warn you, if you hide any information from me during these negotiations then you'll become my next prey."
"It would be wise not to underestimate him, Huntress." The mayor gulped.
"It would be wiser not to underestimate me." She growled, her eyes seeming to lit bright for an instant and her figure looking like an even more dangerous predator than the prey's she hunt. "After all… what is stronger? A dragon or a dragon slayer?"
"You are wrong, Huntress. Forgive me for speaking out of turn but that witch has terrible power about him. He turned me into a newt!" The treasurer snapped, making the Huntress stare rather oddly at him. " … well I got better."
" … regardless, we are sure this werewolf has connections to the witch somehow but we cannot risk angering him in fear of what more he may do to our villages." The Judge said, coughing and regaining everyone's attentions.
"That is something I'll have to check out … If you have the money for it; and I'm sure you do," the Huntress twisted her head to soundly crack her knuckles.
Silence enveloped the room as the treasurer let out a heavy sigh, fidgeting his fingers before turning to her.
"6,000 shillings is the amount our combined towns can pay and even then the townspeople will suffer through the winter without it." The Treasurer said with a tone of warning towards the Huntress.
"Perhaps you can wait for a common band of rogues to accept such low pay and get ripped apart by the wolf if not to run away with the money. The creature would then feel the need to take revenge." She shrugged with a funny smile on her face "What other information are you hiding?"
"We are not hiding any information from you, Lady Huntress," the judge said, interfering and trying to ease the tension in the room, "and we will continue working with the treasurers of the towns to see where we can find some extra influx of money." The judge said, casting a cautious eye over the other two.
"You wouldn't dare draw from our funds as such!" The mayor started but stopped, seeing the judge's harsh glares.
"The wolf will kill us faster than the cold of winter. We will survive just like all the others, mayor. Everyone needs to make their proper sacrifice for the sake of the safety of the village." The Judge said, giving the mayor a hard, knowing look before the mayor backed down with a grumbling sneer, "give us time to figure out a better deal, Lady Huntress. Now, what else do you want to ask of us?" The Judge said.
"Enough of this lunacy!" The mayor shouted, behaving like a child as he suddenly stood up, glaring at the huntress. "6,000 shillings is all you will be able to suck out of our town, you wicked succubus! We farmers and hunters cannot afford anymore without risking not making it through the winter!" He shouted angrily as both the Treasurer and Judge's eyes widened, shocked at his outburst before turning to the huntress for her reaction.
Her silence and calm was scarier than if she had responded the insult. "Very well," without another word the Huntress's hand reached the door.
"Wait-! Simon, you fool!" The judge harshly reprimanded as the Huntress grinned out of sight.
She knew they were hiding more. How could they not know about that well known fraud of Bullhound? She had also noticed that even if this village was remote, it was too old looking for the current times and people seemed too disconnected from what was happening on the world. Not to mention that the rich fields she had passed in her way or the new clothes from these men here denoted they weren't as poor as they claimed. Plus she wasn't even charging extra, 6,000 shillings could maybe cover a hunt of a week for a troll, but a werewolf? Ha.
"Lady Huntress, wait," the Judge said, coming up behind her and dancing in front of her to prevent her from leaving, "please, before leaving allow us to reevaluate the money in our storage. We will pay handsomely for your services. In the meantime, please, stay and enjoy our hospitality at the town inn. In the morning we will have a much more favorable amount to present to you." He said, nervously wringing his hands together.
"I'll accept that hospitality for tonight and I'll give you a chance to present a fair offer tomorrow."The huntress looked at the man in the eyes harshly, making him step back and averting her gaze like a scared animal "But before that, I want you to tell me about the visits of this Red Hood girl to that witch."
"Of course. Ask me anything you'd like to know." The Judge said, being surprisingly compliant as he took another step back.
The huntress stared at the man rather coldly before glancing off to the side, sensing someone fast approaching as the choking sobs of a little girl rang out through the brisk air. "You have a visitor."
Two seconds later a female sobbing was heard. "U-U-Uncle Fergath, U-Uncle Fergath-!" The girl sobbed as she hurried into the building, her eyes locking onto the judge as he turned towards her with a shocked expression.
"What are you doing here? You are supposed to be delivering goods for the witch!" He snapped at her, approaching her as she threw herself into his arms and cried into his shoulder. The harsh eyes of the judge softened a tad as he let out a heavy sigh. "I know it is frightening, Mary, but someone needs to deliver the goods." He said, petting her hair as the huntress simply remained silent and observed the two of them.
"No, no uncle, it's not that! She, the Red Hood, s-she still lives!" The little girl sobbed, hugging the judge tightly before he grabbed her shoulders with his boney fingers, shoving her off and holding her in place.
"What is the meaning of this?! The Red Hood could not have possibly survived that night!"
"She did, she d-d-did-! Look!" The little girl cried, holding up a small red ribbon, "she made me wear this and return!" She hiccuped before the ribbon began to writhe in her hand. The judge quickly grabbed the ribbon, tossing it aside as it coiled into the form of a red snake. With a sharp hiss it lunged at the two of them as the judge held the girl close.
A ballesta's bolt stuck the snake's head in the floor but the snake still twisted. As fast as a blink, the huntress was over it, slicing a knife along it's serious body following its twists to part it in long two perfect sides, then made a new slide to cut of the head. She stood up with the bolt in her hand, the head at it's point, and she walked toward the fire, where she threw the head causing a reddish black smoke to come out of it while the rest of the body, still on the floor, melted, roughly forming puddles over the splintered wood of the ground before floating up into small red orbs into the air. "What a cute trick."
The judge remained tense and alert, glaring at the potential danger as the Huntress remained unmoving.
"What is the meaning of this-?!" Judge demanded irritably, hugging the young frightened girl close.
"A message from the witch, it seems." The Huntress said turning towards the orbs in the air. She grabbed a cloth form the table and cleaned the bolt.
"HELLO~!" The orbs ripples with the loud and cheerful greeting from the witch, making the judge jolt in surprise. "Thank you so~ much for the goodies you've been sending me! But I really must say," the voice continued before the tension thickened in the air, "I do not like my favorite messenger being endangered. Have you not heard the saying 'don't kill the messenger?'. Lots of fun wars have started that way, and wars always involve very horrific tales of slow and painful tortures; and those don't even involve magic! Oh well, we can chat later in person if the next tribute that will be brought to me by my favorite red hood is not in concordance with an apology. Cha-cha!"
The smoke orbs dissolves into nothingness and the huntress groaned. "Quite the show off, it seems. I would suggest that if you contact an inquisitor, have it be from the east. This magic is not from these lands. However, do that at your own risk. Inquisitors are very … hard to deal with themselves."
"Th-That damnable Red Hood-!" The judge hissed, glaring at the fire and the burning body of the spell encased ribbon.
"So ... how long has this girl been delivering things to that witch?" The huntress folded her arms and leaning against the wall. Something in the witch's voice was familiar, not as if she knew she had heard it before, but familiar in a way that related to something she couldn't recall.
"Since she was about the age of 5 years; she's around 19 now." He answered without batting an eye, "that is, if she truly did survive." He pondered, hugging the little girl tighter as she continued to sob in fright and cling to the elderly man.
"Anything else about this girl?" The huntress was getting annoyed by the cries and sobs.
"Nothing out of the ordinary. She lived alone with her mother who is the town's whore, as we said before. The poor woman gave birth to Jacqueline Penske, the Red Hood; she was born with a cursed eye, you see." He said with a shake of his head.
"What makes her eye so cursed? Being born with an abnormality is not so strange." She said with a raised eyebrow.
"But her's is. Her left eye was a very light blue while the other remains a light green. It was rather ugly to look at," he said with a deriving snort, "such an abnormality would be natural if she were to have received it later in life but she was cursed to be born with it."
"Ugly or not, that is as relevant to a curse as a chicken looking to the sky. She may have useful information regarding the woods and the witch." The Huntress said, glancing off to the side in thought. "If she's been making this deliveries for so long she probably knows the terrain well and the creatures that may lurk around."
"I'm sure she does. None of us have dared to travel to the witch's house ourselves; she's the only one who knows where exactly he resides, and travels there on a regular basis. All we know is that it is deep in the woods and is not a pleasant place to be." He warned.
"I am sure I've seen worse. I'll be gone to see the town and its surrounds. For 1,000 shillings I'll tell you all the weak points of the village that need reinforcement and all the proper means to ensure real safety, like taking the fat guard of the door or the big gap the doors have in the little towers window to the right or about how you are storing all your grains in a convenient route for been destroyed." She calmly teased, "tomorrow morning I'll want this girl to take me to the witch's house before you present your real offer."
"The Red Hood isn't scheduled for another tribute tomorrow and putting together a proper apology will take some time. You may have to wait until the next day unless you convince the child otherwise." The treasurer said with narrowed eyes, "if she returns at all."
"She doesn't need to take anything to the witch but only show me the way." The answered with a chilly tone, her gaze setting on the treasurer, who couldn't hold it for more than a couple seconds before looking away.
"If she's willing. I doubt that girl would willingly take a huntress to the house of the witch. Who knows where that wretched child's loyalties lie anymore," he huffed.
"We'll see then." The huntress opened the door and walked out of the room, the crying girl a then running past her to tell the inn to show the huntress proper hospitality.
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Here you go! 5 reviews to the next chapter~ I love this story a lot haha and I know lots of you do too! What do you think is going to happen next? Leave your thoughts in the review~ until then, Chickadees, read on and enjoy!
Chaos-dark-lord: Hello readers. Yep, seems like we are retaking this story. Believe it or not we have quite a bit planned, so please review to keep Peeko interested in it.
