Then I awake, and I come back to life.
It kills me over and over again.
"When Daylight Dies" (Acoustic) | Heaven Below
CHAPTER THREE.
"Looks like another hunt," Kinsley said as she grabbed the flier. I rose from my seat at the diner's table. I looked over her shoulder at the golden paper. The hunt was for four courels that had been causing trouble for the farmers. The reward was only for 10,000 gil—not worth it for the courels around here; however, an item was offered along with the gil, and it was a rather rare sword handcrafted by Ser Kornelius himself.
"You could use that sword, right?" she asked me.
I shrugged. "What's one sword to another?"
She cocked a smile. "Is that your way of saying you're done hunting with me?"
"Heavens no. I don't think I could ever leave the mutt after our time together." Seb glared at me with his bright, golden eyes, but he didn't growl in disagreement, might I add.
Kinsley left the diner and stopped at the chocobo stables right next to us. It was small, indeed, but the chocobos pranced around excitedly at the sight of their trainers and caretakers. I followed Kinsley with the mutt trudging right behind me.
"You ride?" she asked without looking back.
Only in ceremonies, but I couldn't let her know of that. I am overly fond of chocobos, but after a certain stampede in the wild and dying several times to a single hoard of chocobos running frightened, I had been reluctant to ride one since.
"I'm not too fond of riding, if you mind."
She hopped atop the giant chicken with grace. "I can take the chocobo, and you can ride Seb."
I considered her ploy.
Seb blew out of his nose, as if he scoffed at the idea. Fine, I didn't want to ride that damned mutt anyway. I looked over at the yellow peacocks called chocobos. It had been a long time since the incident. Maybe it was time to try again.
"Seeing as Seb won't have me, maybe the chocobo will."
She paid for both of our chocobos, and I made a mental note to make sure to somehow reimburse the gil without her knowledge.
I held out my hand as the chocobo walked up to me. He stuck out his head and sniffed my hand. He squawked, but he didn't seem to mind me. I petted him and climbed atop. I was stiff on his back, and the chocobo moved around uneasily by this fact.
"Ready?" she asked.
"Lead the way, darling."
She shot a look at me, but I didn't mind it. Because, once she looked away and thought I couldn't see, there was a smile tugging at the end of those lips.
We spent many hours trudging through the marsh tracking the courels. I had learned quickly that these creatures were notorious for keeping to themselves, which also meant difficulty in tracking such elusive creatures.
I didn't mind it, though. I studied Kinsley as she dropped from her chocobo to get a closer look at tracks over and over again. She was lost in complete thought with only the tracks in her vision. The mutt was hardly any more useful in tracking the courels by scent.
"They seem to be heading straight north," I said. The past three times she checked, we headed north.
"Have you ever hunted courels?"
"I've never been fond of the outdoors."
"I can tell." She stood. "Courels are highly intellectual. They also have a very keen sense of smell. So, something not too many people are aware of is that they set traps to fool early bred hunters."
"And you just happen to know this?"
"More like I was on the receiving end." She pulled aside the left portion of her jacket and tank to reveal bare skin. There lied four red marks spanning from her neck down to her heart. "Seb and I barely escaped them. If it wasn't for him, I would have been dead long before I became so notorious."
She bent down and petted the mutt gently behind his ears. "Fortunately, his wounds healed, but mine remained. Many people aren't as lucky. They met their end at the claws of a courel."
"And you'll willingly hunt these creatures? Sounds rather dangerous to a novice such as I."
"I'm not the same person I was, and no need to fret. You'll have me to protect you." She winked and motioned to Seb. "If anything, Seb is always handy."
She boarded her chocobo again and adjusted. My eyes followed her with wonder. Maybe I should have given the hunter charm a try at some point in my long life. I have no death to fear, but I would imagine I'd become rather bored of it after some time. Especially if I were alone.
She trotted forward, and my chocobo followed.
"How old are you, Ardyn?"
I brought my chocobo up beside hers. "And why, pray tell, do you need to know that?"
She shrugged. "Just curious."
I lifted my head slightly. "Tell me yours and I'll tell you mine."
She smiled with a shake of her head. I'm not even sure how old I appeared. The crystal rejected me at a ripe age of thirty-two, but I was fairly certain I did not look to be in my thirties anymore.
"Twenty-two," she finally said. Her eyes watched me curiously.
"Thirty," I lied.
She scanned me up and down and fixated on my face once more. "Either you're lying to me or time has been unkind to you." Well, damn. She may have been onto me. That's what I thought until she tilted her head and laughed. "Learn to take a joke, Ardyn."
She guided her chocobo through the forest with ease. Seb, the mutt, seemed to almost melt into the ground and slick right behind her. Damn, that tartarus could move.
She brought the party to a stop closer to the edge of the forest. A ravine was adjacent. "This is as far as we take the chocobos."
"Nearby, are they?"
"Not entirely sure, but the tracks are… odd."
"What do you mean by odd?"
She motioned me over to her, and she squatted down close to the pawprint. I hovered over her and bent at the waist. Can't sully a good cloak, now can we?
"This spot right here—" she pointed to the heel portion of the pawprint—"It's lighter than the prior tracks. Meaning they may know we're tracking them; but, what really interests my attention is this." There was one hidden underneath some brown and green leaves. I didn't even notice it until she pointed it out. It was nearly twice the size of the other tracks.
"Mother and cub?" I asked.
She stood erect once more and shook her head. "No, something far worse. These tracks belong to normal courels, but this one is to something called a great courel. Also referred to as a dark courel."
"Ah, and they are greater and darker, I presume?" If it wasn't for the reality of a dark courel awaiting us, she may have laughed.
"They feast on elemental deposits. It gives them new energy, and each greater courel is different from the next. If they only ate one element, then it wouldn't be difficult to figure out which one, but they tend to feast on all of them in different amounts."
"How does it fall?"
"I'd imagine a lance would be the better weapon choice, but we both seem to be lacking in that skillset. Seb can do fire magic, but he's limited."
"So now the question is: do we turn back or see this through?"
I expected some sort of hesitation from her, but I did not receive anything of the sort. She adjusted her quiver and nocked an arrow on the string of her bow. "We'll resume, but proceed with the utmost caution and silence."
I nodded in agreement and followed her out of the forest. The tracks led us closer to the ravine and farther west. She held up her hand, signaling me to stop. Three courels stood before us at a small pond some forty meters ahead. A fourth courel—I could see why it was coined "greater" courel—came around the bend. It was twice the size of the normal ones with muscles seeming to beg release from that enormous body.
Its nose twitched, and its aqua eyes fixated on me. How loathsome those eyes were. It growled deeply.
Well, damn, I had thought.
I withdrew my sword, but Kinsley released an arrow. The arrow struck the dark courel, and the three lesser ones faced us. She nocked a second arrow with such godly speed and released it. It hit a lesser courel between the eyes, and it dropped to the ground, where it lied lifeless.
She sent a third arrow before I had even passed her. This arrow did not kill another, but it was able to cripple the sight of one of the lessers. The dark courel seemed to be unaffected by such pathetic weaponry.
Seb launched forth and attacked the dark courel. I figured Kinsley could handle the other two lesssers with ease, so I chose the same as Seb.
Anger rose within the great beast. He flung Seb off of him and faced that anger at me. It had been a long while since my blood pumped as much as it did that day. The beast's eyes weren't the hue of crimson or amber—no, it was none other than the gentleness that sapphires offer. It was almost melancholy…almost.
It growled and bared its teeth. I readied my sword. I remember smiling. It's odd to think about it now, considering anyone in their sane mind would not find it humorous to fight such a creature. Maybe I was looking for some pain, and I thought this creature could commit.
But memories are fleeting luxuries, wouldn't you agree? Pardon me, once again, dear reader. I will continue on.
It struck its paw forward. I sidestepped—almost like a dance. I brought my sword down on its outstretched leg. It roared its pain.
"Come now, courel," I drawled. "Surely you can do better."
The courel seemed to consider me. Maybe thinking whether to fight someone such as I—someone with daemons rummaging about inside. Seb leaped to the courel's back and dug his claws in deep.
I drew my sword in an uppercut across the beast's throat. Crimson poured forth and soaked the ground. He cried out in a song of sorrow. A lesser courel advanced toward me. I faced the creature with my weapon at the ready.
It vaulted in the air, exposing its underbelly. Its teeth sought my throat.
"Not today, I'm afraid."
I pierced the sword through the soft flesh while he came closer to my neck. I hurdled the creature up and over me with the momentum it created. Now, Kinsley fought against the greater courel.
She drew an arrow and released. It landed between its eyes, but the arrow did not stay. It swiped at her, but she was nimble and dodged the attack.
I glanced to the edge of the ravine and back to the courel. There was no way that beast would let me near his neck again, but I had an idea. Not a good idea—I'll admit. For someone who has no fear of death, however, no idea is necessarily off the table.
It continued to swipe at her, but she only played with it. The claws never made contact with her. It was almost like a well-rehearsed dance among two lovers gazing intensely into each other's eyes.
I sheathed my sword and ran right at Kinsley. Her focus was completely on the brute before her, so I'm fairly certain when I pushed her away from him and I, she was probably pissed.
I smiled at the beast, my blood pumping wildly. "Well, come and get it, then," I taunted. He forgot about the woman that lied on the ground watching the scenario unfold. I casually backed away. The courel growled some more and pursued me.
If her arrow and my sword could do little damage, I wondered what a great fall might do to him. Kinsley seemed to catch on to my plan. She raced over to Seb—ugh, that mutt. He stood beside her and waited for an opportune moment to strike the courel's flank.
I resumed backing closer to the ravine. A river rushed through the bottom. "Come on, you brute."
The courel may have grown tired of my taunting, or maybe he just wasn't all that bright. He launched forward, and I waited until the last second to move, in case the beast had amazing reflexes. His claws ripped through my fabulous cloak and shirt, and his claws drew crimson from under my skin.
But he fell, and I did not. I felt rather proud of myself and risked a glance back at Kinsley—and that would be when I noticed the courel's ultra-long tail. It was thick and heavy and knocked me over.
Straight over the edge.
It was a shock, nonetheless, even if I couldn't die. It was probably for the best, honestly. The woman would believe me to be dead, and I had imagined my little musings should come to an end. It was probably time to head back to Niflheim, too.
A sudden jerk interrupted my thoughts. My body stopped and was suspended in the air. Kinsley held onto a rope in one hand and me in the other.
"I've got you," she said.
I recall her eyes the most: vibrant and fierce. I knew it would be difficult for her to pull me up. She was a young person who probably didn't have the strength for both of us. I offered a smirk. "Do not fret, love. I will be fine."
Her eyes widened. "What are you doing?"
"I will find you again," I assured. I didn't want to risk her falling with me. I could possibly play it off as I fell into the river and made my way back to her. Kind of pathetic once I thought it over; however, I released her hand and continued in my freefall. Maybe I could follow her around a little longer. Maybe not…
She cut her rope and dove after me. The fucking hell was she thinking? She quickly tied a knot around an arrow. She came next to me. "Grab on," she demanded, and I was so overwhelmed that I found myself doing as I was told.
"Seb!" she yelled. She nocked the arrow and released. It dug into the ground over the ledge, and Seb bit onto the arrow and rope.
The rope jerked, and we came to an abrupt stop. Her grasp wasn't good enough, and she slid. I frantically seized her hand. There was fear in her eyes as she dangled above the nothingness of the ravine, only have me to hold on to.
I smirked, "Seems like I'm the one who has you."
Seb pulled on the rope and eventually brought us to the edge of the cliff. I placed my good elbow over the cliff and pulled her up with my second arm. She gasped for air as we climbed back onto solid earth. She rolled over in the earth with her limbs spread out.
"Don't ever scare me like that again," she said in deep breaths.
My breathing was already calm. "I never asked for you to jump over a cliff."
"What was I supposed to do? Let you fall?"
I cocked my head with a small shrug. "I would have been fine."
"Idiot."
"That's not very pleasant."
"Who needs pleasantries when it's the truth?" She smiled, and Seb walked over and licked her face to show his joy of her safety. The damned mutt even licked me—still trying to wash it off after all these years.
She sat up next to me. Her eyes drifted to my neck, and she frowned.
She unwrapped her scarf and draped it over me. She circled the scarf around me once more and applied pressure with both ends over my collarbone.
"You're bleeding."
"Well, would you look at that. Don't use your scarf," I said.
"Blood washes out. Can't run the risk of infection. Apply pressure here," she said. Our hands traded spots, and she helped me off of the ground. I wasn't in pain from the injury, but I'm not above having help when it's so generously offered.
"Can you walk? If not, Seb can help you to the chocobos."
"I'll take my chances," I said disdainfully.
Seb scoffed beside me and walked on ahead. Yeah, keep walking, you filthy animal.
We made it back to the chocobos in silence. She helped me atop of mine and boarded hers.
"Ardyn," she said after a few minutes of the chocobos trotting. I focused on her. "I'm not sure if you'll continue hunting with me or what your plans are after this, but please, never scare me like that again."
"Never been good at keeping promises."
"Well… if you ever need an ear to listen, know that you would not be a burden for such conversations."
I studied her carefully. Did she think me suicidal? I suppose that would be a decent assumption from my actions at the ravine. Even so, it was truly kind of her to offer.
I nodded. "I will bear that in mind."
