I know it's been so long since I updated! I'm sorry! I just always forget to upload on FFN... ^^;
*Bee*
I cursed under my breath and started running again.
I heard the others behind me.
"Smellerbee, what are you doing?" Abi yelled. She probably didn't hear it. We were the ones who'd had watch duty at least twice a week.
I reached the alley and skidded to a stop, assessing the situation.
He'd lost the mount and he was cornered against a wall, one arm bleeding like crazy. Six soldiers surrounded him, spears pointed at him.
It took me half a second to come up with a "plan" – quotes because it wasn't exactly well put together.
I whistled.
They turned.
I felt two pairs of eyes staring at the back of my head like I was crazy.
I could've sworn I saw the soldiers smile. We must not've looked like much, four kids against six grown men who'd been training for most of their lives.
But looks can be deceiving.
An arrow whizzed through the air and pierced through a soldier's heart.
Direct hit.
He collapsed and the others looked apprehensive. They looked like they were about to run.
"What's the matter?" I yelled. "You afraid of a couple of kids?"
They scowled and charged.
Well, you should be, I thought.
The Duke couldn't be much help, I knew that. He'd had a couple lessons with me and Jet, but he wasn't that great, and the sword was way too big, anyways.
I glanced back at Longshot and Abi. Longshot nodded, Abi was still looking at me like I'd lost my mind.
Longshot shot at two more, they both went down with arrows through their chests.
I ran the few yards between the groups and slashed at one. It only cut through his arm, barely hurting him and just making him angrier.
But it got him to face me.
He turned, spear at the ready. I ducked under it and in less than a second he had a dagger in his chest.
I turned and found one more on the ground with an arrow in his skull, his armor too thick for one to pierce it, the other in a block of ice.
"What the HELL was THAT?" Abi yelled, looking terrified.
I shrugged. "Improvising."
I darted over to Pipsqueak, who by now was on his knees, clutching his arm.
I skipped the greeting and knelt down to look at it.
There was a gash from his elbow to his shoulder. I couldn't see it that well because of all the blood, but I could tell it was deep.
"Abi!" I yelled.
She was next to me in a few seconds. Half as fast as I would've been.
She saw the wound and gasped. She reached for the pouch on her belt and opened it. It was bone dry.
She looked at the soldier she'd frozen. It was obvious she'd used up all the water on him.
She looked nervous. She didn't know that if she unfroze him we could take him out before he could even blink.
"Do it," Longshot said, arrow aimed.
She gasped again and stared at him. It was the first time she'd heard him speak.
She turned back to the soldier and bent the water back into her pouch.
Before she was even done, he had an arrow through his skull.
She flinched, knelt down next to Pipsqueak, and bent the water onto his arm. He relaxed a bit.
"I'll never get used to that," she muttered.
"What?" I asked, standing up.
She turned, annoyed. "He had an arrow in his head!"
I shrugged. "You should be happy he did." I'd gotten used to it a long time ago.
She turned to Longshot. "So you can talk."
He shrugged.
"Why don't you?" she asked.
"He usually doesn't need to," I said.
She turned to me, confused.
"I can understand him just fine, and these two aren't too horrible at it, either."
She looked clueless.
I turned to Pipsqueak. "How are you holding up?"
"I was fine 'til those guys showed up." He scowled. Then he seemed to notice there was a new girl. "And this is…"
"Abi," she said. "And you are?"
"Pipsqueak," I answered for him. "He's one of the other orphans."
She looked about ready to laugh. "Pipsqueak?"
I rolled my eyes. I could only imagine how many times he got that.
But he chuckled. "Yeah, it's weird, I know. Don't blame me, blame Jet."
I bit my lip.
"Jet?" she asked, turning to me.
The look on my face must've given it away, 'cause she dropped her eyes and said, "Oh."
"Yeah," I whispered.
Pipsqueak looked completely lost and The Duke looked kinda confused, but it looked like Longshot got it. He always did.
I sighed. "You almost done?" I asked Abi.
She nodded. No one said anything for a few seconds. Then Abi lifted her hands and said, "Done."
Pipsqueak climbed to his feet. I held out my hand and pulled Abi up.
"Thanks," he said.
She shrugged. "No problem." She turned to me. "Ready?"
"Hang on," I said, thinking. Alright, between the eclipse starting and now it'd been… four or five minutes.
"Damn it," I muttered.
They looked at me, concerned.
"The eclipse is almost over," I explained.
They looked at each other.
"C'mon, we're wasting time," I said. If we couldn't finish up in a few minutes…
They nodded.
"Let's go."
Yeah. Um, what happened to his log? He... uh... dropped it! Yeah, that's it!