I quickly trot through the forest, unable to find a path that could lead anywhere. I've been walking aimlessly for hours now. What in the world am I going to do? My eyes scan the forest, calling for Jaiden and Jett but try to be quiet. They will be able to follow my scent if they are near but I can't sit around and hope they come across it. I don't want that rabbit man thing finding me at all. I-If he comes at me like that again I might actually hurt him.
"Oh, there you are!" A cheerful voice says. I whip around and take a step back, staring at the red eyed brunette in a long trench coat hop out of the woods and into the small clearing I am in.
"Y-You-!" I stammer, retreating a step, "how are you alive? I saw you disintegrate in front of me!" I cry, too frightened to think anything else. He looks at me with a puzzled smile, giving a light shrug.
"I don't remember. Mr. Lizard caught me and Nightmare erased my memory. But, I was able to get away with this," he cheerfully grins, happily presenting a slender little vial with a heart stopper.
"W-What is it?" I stutter, watching as he takes the top off and slips it into a pocket.
"It's the Potion of Hearts. I have no idea how I got it but since I do, that means Mr. Peter doesn't have it. I wonder if I stole it from him?" He asks more so to himself before laughing in a carefree way. "Oh well! Either way, the foreigner gets to play the game now~," he starts towards me with a confident grin, placing his thumb over the top of the vial to keep liquid from spilling out.
"Eek! No, no don't come any closer! I-I-I'm warning you-!" I shout, about to get into my fighting stance before tears of a small girl floods her mind. N-No, I didn't mean to hurt her. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. She came at me like a wildcat and there was nothing I could do but defend myself. The man smiles cheerfully as he drinks down the potion. W-Why did he-
I bulk as the man hooks his fingers around my head and pulls me down to connect our lips. W-Wait, how should I react to this?! Normally I would hurt him b-b-but what would a girl do? All thoughts freeze as I feel something warm slide between my lips, a sickly mixture of sour and bitter liquid flow between my teeth.
"YEEEEEEEEEKKKK!" I screech into the contact, punching him right in the throat. He jerks back, startled as I cough out the awful drink. Ew ... I s-swallowed some.
"Awe~ that's not fair! You need to drink it all~ down." He smiles, presenting the same vial with only a few drops missing. My hand flies to my chest, gripping the suddenly dry material. H-How did that happen? I thought it spilled onto my shirt. "Now be a good girl and-,"
"NOOOOOOOOO!" I scream, taking off into the woods. He won't be able to catch up to me running. I know he won't. My heart races with fright as I hear him barreling through the woods after me.
"STOP FOLLOWING ME~!"
BLOOD'S POV
My, how awfully boring these faceless are. Dusk shifts to Night rather quickly as we carry out our business of exterminating some bold rats who thought they could steal information from me without consequence. One by one they fall under the power of the firepower of my gun. Can't anything interesting or exciting happen? If it is simply a sign or a hint of something interesting then I will accept it. I glance to the side, noticing another faceless trying the same boring tactic. So pathetic, armed with a bat and he's trying to get to me? Heh, I'm tempted to let him get close so I can actually have some fun.
I turn my back to him and pretend to survey the massacre of faceless, intently listening as he slowly approaches before running at me. My eyes flash as I whip around, spying a streak of black leap into the air and sink it's teeth into the man's arm holding the bat.
"AAAAAHHHHH-!" The man screams as the Doberman viciously tears into the man's arm, vigorously shaking back and forth as though to rip it off entirely. Oh ho~ what is this? A rabid dog? No, it has a collar and harness on it. I watch, rather pleased as the dog rips the man off his feet and to the ground, it's jaws never loosening from the man's forearm.
"C-Call it off! Call off your dog-!" The man pleads, punching the dog's head with his fists in a desperate attempt to get free. The Doberman viciously snarls and yanks it's head back, tearing away a decent amount of the man's flesh. He takes the opportunity to get up and run but the wild hound is right after him, sinking it's teeth into the man's thigh and bringing him down once more. I look to either side, searching for who it's owner could be. This dog has been trained. I can tell by the persistence in its attacks and ferocity thereof.
"EEEEEEEKKK!" The man screeches, punching the Doberman's chest repeatedly as it climbs on top and bites the man's neck. In for kill, is it? I watch as the man grabs the dog's jaws but it already has a firm grasp on his windpipe before ripping the man's throat out. The faceless wildly rasps for air as the dog climbs off and circles him, madly barking and snarling until the faceless stops moving. What an interesting dog. The barrel of my gun aims at its head if it decides to attack me as well. That faceless was exceptionally weak to be taken down by a dog ... with eyes?
The dog shakes itself out after realizing the man is no longer a threat, trotting over towards me and circles around my legs before obediently standing by my side. He sniffs the air, as though asking for praise for his work well done. I study the hound for a few moments before shifting my gun into my cane and crouching down so I can look at its tags and harness. Police? What is police? The tags balance on my palm as I look over the name. So Jett is the dog's name. Avery Fernandez, the name of the owner ... how thrilling! A dog with eyes ... perhaps, is there a chance this dog is a foreigner? My cheek twitches into a smile.
Which means there must be a young man walking around with a beating heart.
"M-Master Blood, are you alright?" A servant asks, a little out of breath and scraped up from being ambushed.
"I am perfectly fine. Rather, I am much better than I was before." I answer before heading down the alley where I could hear Elliot's shooting frenzy. A light jingling catches my attention as I glance down, spying the hound walking right beside me without a leash. Very, very well trained. I'm getting more and more interested as to who this Avery sir is.
"Elliot, leave the small fry. I want you to find someone much more entertaining."
AVERY'S POV
My heart pounds hard as I sprint through the dark forest, the only source of light coming off of the moon. Strange looking doors plastered onto the trees barely catch my eye as I dart into the center of a small field before resting my arms on my knees and catching my breath. I-I think I lost him. At times like this I'm glad for my longer legs.
"Open me."
"No, me, open me!"
"Come on~ open me up~," voices say as I jerk back up and stumble back.
"W-Who's there-?!" I trill, frightened by the voices echoing all around me.
"Come open my door."
"No, mine, open mine!" The voices reverberate through my head as I stumble back, clutching either side of my head as my vision starts to get fuzzy. No, no leave me alone-!
"No, no no no get out of my head-!" I scream before something smacks into my stomach. I fall onto the ground, instinctively catching the smaller body that hit me. My head snaps down, spying the face of a young boy with mouse ears. He looks up with wide eyes, clearly puzzled.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKK!" I scream as I shove the screaming mouse off.
"SQUUUUUUUUUEAAK!" The little boy lets loose loud peel of terror of his own and scrambled back as I put some distance between us, panting heavily as a flustered touch of red claps across my cheeks.
"E-E-E-EARS! You have a-a-animal ears!" I trill, pointing at his head while my entire arm trembles. O-Oh, my goodness what kind of hell am I in?! The little's boys puffing chest and moist eyes soften, his initial fear replaced with curious confusion. His ear flickers, making me jump and shy back
"Chu? You're scared of me, and you have eyes?" The boy asks, a long furry tail twitching as he leans forward for a better look.
"D-Don't come any closer!" I nearly shriek, scrambling back in fright with a deep flush on her face. I've had enough of people with a-animal ears today! G-G-Go away, leave me alone! My legs shake as I try to retreat further but I bump into a tree, face engulfing with horror. I'm trapped!
"Ha ha! You're so cute, chu!" He cries with a grin before diving forward.
"I said get away from me!" I nearly scream in my terror, visciously kicking out my long leg. The heel of my shoe sinks deep into his gut as his smiling face transforms to shock and pain, tumbling back a feet few feet as I struggle not to hyperventilate. Run, I need to run-! I turn to make a mad dash out of there, freezing as I hear soft sobbing. My heart is needled with guilt as I spin around, spying the boy on the ground and hugging his stomach.
"Wah~ w-why would you k-kick me?" He hiccups, clutching his stomach. The blood drains from my face, mortified that I hurt the young boy so badly. What in the world is wrong with me? I-I just hurt him, and I didn't hold back either! Because I panicked h-he got more hurt than he would have if I was serious.
"O-O-Oh, my goodness I'm sorry!" I frantically apologize, leaping over to him in one bound and kneel beside him. He huddles into a ball and rolls onto his knees with his forehead touching the ground, obviously trying to protect himself from getting more serious further injuries. I helplessly flutter my hands over him, trying in some way to beg for forgiveness. Oh gosh now what do I do? He's crying because I hurt him!
"H-H-Here. I know it isn't much, but here." I say, digging in my pocket. I know I have a small lollipop from the bank in here somewhere. My thin wallet slips out along with the lollipop, falling open to a picture with my five older brothers all in uniform. I stare at it for a moment and feel my heart squeeze as I see myself happily grinning with a pair of thickly padded grappling gloves on. Another small wail from the boy snaps me back to attention as I snatch the wallet back up and present to him the green round flat lollipop.
"P-Please take it, I'm really, really sorry." I apologize in a soft voice. His ear flickers up as he daringly peeks out from under the protective stance, spying the treat in my hand. He hesitantly sits up and stares at it before cautiously taking it from me. The treat rolls around between his fingers for a moment before looking back up to me as if expecting something else for what I've done to him.
"I-I know it isn't much, but it's all I have with me. I'm really, really sorry so-,"
"SQEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" He shrieks at the top of his lungs before leaping onto his feet and dashing into the woods.
"N-No, wait I'm really sorry-!" I cry before I see an arm swinging at me in my peripheral vision. My head whips back and against a hard chest before the arm gets around my neck and tightly squeezes.
"Guh-!" I whine as a body presses up from behind to reduce my movement.
"That wasn't very nice of you, Miss Foreigner. You punched me when my guard was down and I was being nice." The brunette's voice purrs as his arm tightens. H-He found me-!My throat begins to close up from the crushing force before my arms whip up and grip the suffocating limb. I dig my nails into his arm and drag it down far enough to work my chin under his arm so he can't choke me out.
"O-O-O...ff-!" I wheeze, feeling my heart race faster and faster. I can't die. No, not here. Jett and Jaiden are still lost and if I'm killed here, there's very little chance of anyone finding my body.
"And~ down the hatch!" He eagerly grins as his fingers dig into my hair and force my head back. His other hand comes around with the vial in hand and thumb over the top. I open my mouth to scream but his thumb smashes against my lips, prying my jaw open with the vial itself. The glass scraps against the edges of my sensitive teeth, the choking liquid pouring into my mouth. I shove my back against him and try to get him off balance as my tongue blocks the back of my mouth, forcing some of the liquid to drip down my cheeks while most remained in my mouth.
"Awe~ that's not fair. You need to swallow the potion in order to play the game." His voice near sadistically purrs as he shoves the entire vial down my throat. The thick vial gets stuck against the back of my throat as my eyes widen, unable to breath at all while the cool liquid slithers into my stomach. N-No, it might be poison or - I ... I ...
I will go to hell sooner than die here in a forest with this man.
"That's a good girl." He smugly purrs, his arm loosening up while the vial itself chokes me. My fingers latch onto his arm before my leg shoots back and smacks against his knee.
"WHOA-!" He excitedly shouts, startled but pleased. I bend forward and flip the man right over my shoulder and onto the ground before retreating a few steps, dropping to my knees I shove my hand into my mouth. My finger grip the back of the vial and rip it out of my mouth, tossing it aside as I sputter and cough to get my breath back. L-Lucky it wasn't any further down my throat or I would have s-swallowed it. I bit back a frightened growl as I glare over my shoulder at him. I need to either run or hurt him. Run fast enough that I can lose him or hurt him so he can't get back up and follow me.
"Ooh~ impressive! I thought I was going to have to give you the Heimlich maneuver!" He cheerfully laughs, picking up the vial coated in saliva. He wipes the dirt off on his sleeve as I wobble to my feet. R-Run, don't hurt him. I take a few shaky steps, attempting to make another getaway before his hand latches onto my arm.
"Hey, Miss Foreigner, you're not going to leave your vial, are you-," he starts before I whip around with an elbow to the temple. He gives me the slip and ducks out of the way, bouncing back a little bit with a cheeky grin on his face. "Awe~ you wanna fight me? You sure that's a good idea?" He asks with a dangerous smile.
"I don't," I honestly say, putting my fists up near my cheeks as my right legs slides back a bit. My knees bend as I start swaying a bit, taking a deep breath before exhaling and analyzing my target, "but if you touch me a third time I will drop you."
"Ha ha! You can fight? I wanna see~," he happily purrs as he unbuckles his sword from his hip. My eyes flash as I hop from foot to foot, slipping a finger over my nose and taking off my glasses before tossing them back towards where I plan to leave after dropping him. I don't need them. Those are just for show, really but my brothers got me those as a gift after I made the decision to quit MMA. I didn't want to, but I ... but I didn't want to be called a dike or be judged for my hobbies, and for a short while, my profession. Call me a ninny or call me a sissy. Call me self conscious or call me a freak. Be my guest.
But when you raise a fist to me you will not walk away.
"Fun~! But, you don't fight with a weapon I guess." The man chuckles before tossing his sword into the woods. He eyes me with interest, trying to awkwardly copy my movement. I let the tension leave my body with the next exhale, waiting for his next move. His training is mainly based on the sword. His movement is clean but the power behind it messy. He's a hard hitter, not a precise attacker.
"Sorry, but I don't know how to go easy." He apologizes with cool eyes before he grins, "I've never really trained with hand to hand combat before ha ha!" A joker. A kidder. A mocker. Someone who can't fight well with fists and instead relies on weapons. I remain silent before making the first lunge, watching for his sloppy counter attack to the large opening I left. He grins and jumps forward, aiming with a poorly formed uppercut. My head barely moves to the side, feeling his knuckles scrape against my jaw before shooting my arm out and around the back of his head and yanks his head into my collarbone before forcing his head a little lower. Being taller I need to maintain control, not allowing his body to move freely.
"Ooh~ a booby shot?" He laughs, mocking my muay thai clinch as he pushes his head into my chest. My fingers dig into his hair as I pull my leg back before driving it into his gut. He bulks, realizing the true danger he is in, before putting his hands up to catch the next one. I bring my arm back and lighten up the hold, letting him try to tear his head back as a normal reaction before swinging my elbow around and digging it into the side of his head. He stumbles back, holding the bleeding cut as I dance back. He knows I'm a threat now so he has a choice; continue or be driven into the ground.
"Ha ... ha ha ha ha ha!" He laughs, seeming enthralled, "this is so much fun! You actually got a hit!" He says, pulling his head down to reveal how large the gash was. My heart trembles as I watch the blood stream down his face. I hit him hard enough to knock someone out but he's still standing. I ... I need to take out his legs somehow. At least sprain or break and ankle so he can't run after me.
"Alright~ no more going easy I guess." He grins before whipping forward. I bounce back and wait until he's close enough, immediately realizing the bear hug he's attempting despite the poor cover up.
The moment his fingers touch my arms I drop down to one knee and grab his leg, using his own momentum to knock him clear off his feet. He drops to the side as I force his leg up and, ignoring the other leg going around for a kick, wrap my legs around his thigh and hook my arm around his ankle. I need to sprain it. I have to. The unexpectedly hard kick from his other leg despite the awkward position smacks into me, making me falls down over his ankle at an awkward ankle. Crap-!
I feel the tendons and bones in his ankle strain before suddenly giving out beneath the thin layer of the long boot, crushed under my body and at the unintentional angle of falling. The man takes in a sudden breath before I let go and roll onto my legs, hopping back as I survey his awkwardly twisted foot. T-That was not my intention! I meant to strain it, not break it!
"Ha ha ha ha ha wow that hurts!" He laughs as he sits up, realizing the fight is over. He lifts up his limp foot and looks at it with a cheeky smile, probably too hyped up on adrenaline to realize just how bad it is.
"I-I'M SO SORRY!" I instinctively shout as I drop down and stare at his broken foot. O-Oh, my gosh, crap that's not good! "I-I-I only meant to sprain your ankle but you kicked me over!" I sit by his leg and gently touch the calf oh his foot and start to untie the laces.
"Huh? Aren't you going to run?" He asks, looking confused as I very gently slip his shoe off. My eyes widen as the sorely red and irritated skin was already starting to balloon up, making his foot stiff but his ankle free moving.
"B-But I broke your foot!" I cry, mortified. I've got to get him to a doctor and then run for my life from him. I can't just leave him out here, he'll die!
"So? It will be fixed in a Time Change or two." He laughs, not at all caring about it. I nervously stare at the foot before going off to the side and picking up my glasses, setting them on before hopping off where I saw him throw his blade. He perks up as I reemerge from the bushes, noticing his sword now buckles around my slimmer waist.
"Ha ha am I being robbed?" He laughs with a wide grin, seeming to enjoy the thought. I kneel down right beside him and grab his arm before hooking the other around the injured leg's knee. Before he can say anything I pick him right up off the ground in the form of a fireman carry.
"Ha ha ha ha ha I'm being kidnapped!" He shouts with near delight with a grin on his face. I glance at the signs and spy the word 'town' on one before heading down that general direction.
"S-Sorry ... really, really sorry. I'll take you to a hospital." I say, swallowing my fright of walking through town with the man over my shoulders. This ... is not something a girl would do, carrying a man over her shoulders. But I need to help him. I ... can endure the r-ridicule. This is my fault. I shiver at the thought of what others will think as I try to hurry down the path but not jostle the man around too much.
"No need. I'm heading to the Clock Tower now since Julius called me on a job." He answers, seeming the enjoy the fact I could not only lift him up but also carry him.
"Julius?" I ask, assuming he's a doctor for where ever this Clock Tower is.
"Yes," Ace breathes with a smile as his eyes seem to sadden, "he's my best friend."
"Then, I will bring you to Julius." And then run for my life and away from this man.
I stumble a little bit over some loose rocks in the path, almost dropping the broken man. My grip tightens, making sure to hold firm as I continue. I almost feel that this forest is moving somehow. I cautiously glance off to the side, bulking as I swear a tree zips across the ground before settling in a new spot.
... I'm going to pretend I didn't see that.
I do my best to see through the shadows of the trees cast over the cobblestone road, ignoring my fright whenever a tree suddenly moves. This is really, really creepy. The brunette happily looks around the road, observing the moving trees as well with a smile before laughing.
"Hiya, Mr. Whale!" He cheerfully cries.
"Whale?" I ask, looking up where he was looking and jump as I spy a large boulder covered in moss. W-When did that get there?! There was all trees lining this place a minute ago! The deep creases in the boulder starts to part before a large eye rolls open, almost immediately locking onto me.
...
"EEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKK!" I shriek as I take off down the path as fast as I can run.
"Ha ha ha you can run with me too!" The man boisterously laughs as my heart races and fears shoot up.
"THE BOULDER HAD AN EYE~~!"
Awe poor Avery lol. The finalists are Gray Ringmarc with 7, Elliot March with 7, and Peter White with 4 (unless I miscounted because there were some people who did not clearly state who they wanted).
The final set count will be shown at the top of the 3rd or 4th chapter, so you may continue leaving votes in the Reviews until I feel there have been a fair amount of people to input their decisions since I feel all three have really good potential, namely Gray - for his mothering instincts - or Elliot - because he's actually taller than her.
What do you think is going to happen in the next chapter? 10 REVIEWS for the next chapter, Chickadees~ :3