Here is the first... Wait what's it called again? Oh yeah!
Chapter Fourteen: Filler! A Past experience.
Avery sat in a tree, one leg hung down as she hid from her father's guardians. She had a piece of paper on her lap and a charcoal pencil in her left hand. On the paper was an intricate drawing of the man she'd seen but two times. One was when he was going in for a head long collision with her. Her fingers brushed her scabbed over lip. The other was when him and his warriors had been in the forest even though they weren't supposed to be.
Yet those two, glimpses, were more than enough for her. On the paper she'd gotten every muscle drawn to perfection. His hair couldn't be any wilder but that made it pristine. And his cocky smirk, that stupid cigarette in his lips, was the most beautiful pair she'd ever seen. His coal eyes were as dark as her pencil. And the detailed tribal tattoo he had, justice was indeed done to it on her paper.
The week long project of drawing him was finally finished. Everyday she'd come to this same tree hoping to see him again. She'd formed a little crush on him. The importance of this tree was that this was where she had seen him, or rather he saw her, one week ago. She'd been hoping that he might come back, for one reason or another. But he hadn't.
With one leg lazily hanging from the tree and the other crossed so her pad and paper would stay, she leaned back and got comfortable. She would meet him sooner or later. It was a one hundred percent chance. A small smirk crossed her lips. Her left hand tossed something in the air and caught it. As the light hit it, it shone bright.
When he'd gotten right in her face then became distracted by Kamakiri, it'd fallen off. Or around then it had. The day after she'd returned to the clearing and something shinning had caught her eye. Upon further inspection she'd found it was his earring. She thought about just leaving it there, but she wanted to see him. So she took it upon herself to be it's guardian. She'd cleaned it up and has been holding onto it since.
"God damn it!" Someone cursed in the underbrush below her. She recognized that deep and manly voice immediately.
"Give it up Wyper, there's no way your going to find it." Someone replied to Wyper's curse.
"I'm going to find it. We've searched from where we entered along the direct path I went. I'd taken the same path back so it's not along our return route. It has to be here." The two men moved into her view now. Wyper had only one gold earring in his right ear. "You know what they mean."
Kamakiri sighed heavily and turned. "I'm going to find Braham and Genbo, they fell behind a while ago." Then he took off. Wyper again cursed, but this time it was directed towards his friend. Guilt overtook Avery. They'd been searching the forest this entire time for his earring. And the earring actually meant something.
Silently she scaled down the tree, but apparently not silently enough. He was on her in seconds. It was only after he had her pinned to the ground and a fist raised that he noted who it was. They stayed like that a few moments longer, him with one hand around her throat, the other raised and straddling her. She just stayed still and held her breath rigid as a tree beneath him. Once he got up off of her he spoke. "You shouldn't be wondering around alone, it's dangerous. People like me might be lurking in these woods." He looked at her over his shoulder. "Go along, run home now."
He turned and started to walk off. He wasn't going to start looking for the earring with her around. "I found this." She spoke up and he turned. In her outstretched hand was his lost golden earring. He started to storm towards her and she quickly explained. "The day after I met you here I was passing through and found it. I've been coming daily trying to see if you'd return." He'd reached her by now and his hand was heading towards her. She closed her eyes and flinched back, but her hand was unwavering. It still held the earring open palmed out for his nimble fingers to take. And even though she shook her hand held still.
"Thank you." He said as he took it from her hand. She opened her eyes and looked at him. His sudden proximity didn't bother the girl, not one bit. And because she'd been wrong and he wasn't going to hit her for taking it she beamed up at him. She felt like she'd done something not only right, but good. "But I was serious when I said it was dangerous out here. You should go back home."
He started to walk off, the way his friend had. It was a few seconds but she made a decision. His friend hadn't seemed bad, after all he'd joked around and not in the vicious or taunting way that bad people would. He'd joked around like friends would. So she was following right on Wyper's heals, grinning up at him.
Wyper noticed his new companion and withheld from flinching back. She was looking up at him and grinning like an abandoned dog would. Like because he'd given her 'food' he was now her new owner. That sounded so wrong, thinking about her like that. He'd thanked her and now she thought that he was a good man. That was anything but true. Wyper was an evil, malicious killer. And he was heading towards his killer friends and family. To the Skypiean's all of the Shandian's are killers. Man woman and child alike.
He shot a look at her and her grin seemed to widen when she caught it. "You're called Wyper, right? The Berserker." He nodded. "What's a berserker?" He looked down at her and stayed silent. "oh." She'd said and stopped walking. He continued to walk, though he'd slowed down. Pretending not to notice her he snuck a look at her.
"You're not gonna cry now are you?" He asked. Worry tinted his voice. He'd never dealt with crying, from anything. No baby, girl or animal. She shook her head and in the process put a large grin on and looked towards him. "You don't really think that something that false could fool me?" He questioned.
She just kept on smiling. Then, with a wave, she turned and headed away. He would have informed her that to get to the Giant Jack she should turn fully around and head that way, but he had business to do with her. And to do that business he needed her not to be in God's shrine. Continuing on his way he soon caught up with Kamakiri and the others. "I'm surprised you found it." Genbo said.
"Go on ahead of me." Wyper ordered. "I have some business to attend to." None of the men truly believed him, but who were they to argue with Wyper. They headed off and Wyper too left. Only he headed in a direction that would intercept Avery's current path. He stopped and leaned against a tree and soon enough Avery wondered down the path. "How long are you going to continue to smile ridiculously like that?" Questioned Wyper.
"What are you doing here?" Avery retorted.
"Thought I should tell you the Giant Jack is that way." He pointed behind her and there, looming in the distance, was the Giant Jack. "Come on, I'll walk you there. This forest isn't safe for little girls."
"I'm not a little girl!" She shouted at him and he gave her an amused look. "I'm almost sixteen. I'm a woman."
"You're still a kid, get over it." He put a hand on her head and ruffled her long orange locks. She didn't say or do anything so he looked at her. She looked slightly annoyed but also thoughtful.
"Why?" Finally she asked when it had been silent a few minutes. "Why would you walk me back like this? And don't say it's dangerous for me to be out here alone. Because as you said before you are the most dangerous thing. So unless you want to contradict yourself-"
"I may be the most dangerous, but I'm not the only danger out here. There are wild animals in this forest that would be more than glad to make either of us dinner." He tensed up and his eyes didn't leave the foliage to their right. "For example." The large bazooka he carried, how had she not seen that before? Did he have it before? No, he must have retrieved it when he allowed her to walk in the wrong direction. It was what was called a wild boar. One of the most docile creatures on the island, but there was something off about this one.
The boar's eyes weren't their normal red or black color but a disturbing green. In it's back were putrid smelling sores that where wings had once been located only puss leaked from. The long snout was bleeding and it's horribly short legs were a black color for some odd reason instead of it's pristine white. It's front leg clawed at the earth and it's head lowered. Wyper's eyes moved to her and he hesitated in taking any action.
Suddenly his arm was around her waist bent and his hand was under her ass as he jumped into the air to avoid the boars charge. He jumped around on several trees before depositing her in a branch where she would be out of the way. He had to move closer to the ground to get close enough to aim. He shot and at first it missed.
Now the boars attention was on Wyper again and it charged. Wyper shot again, this time he hit but it did not deter the boar. Jumping, Wyper flipped over it shooting in the process. This time it hit full on and the boar roared. Before turning quickly and running at Wyper. Having no time to dodge Wyper dropped his bazooka and caught the boar by it's old and damaged tusks.
Avery wanted to scream in fear. But was amazed at Wyper. The boar pushed him back several feet but Wyper had stopped all movement. Then, muscles bulging, he roared himself and with great strength flipped the boar. The Vearth seemed to shake with the large animal's weight. And from somewhere beneath his skirts Wyper pulled a blade. He slit the boar's neck opened and waited until the large body stopped twitching before wiping the blood off on the animal's fur and resheathing it. He grabbed his bazooka again and headed for Avery's tree. "Like I said dangerous."
"That was so cool!" Avery said when he reached where she sat. He lifted an eyebrow at her but she ignored it. Instead she chose to poke the young man in several different locations. "You're so muscley and strong." She gasped out. And completely ignoring his attempts to move away she took hold of one of his arms. Her small hand ran up and down his bicep. Then with eyes alight she looked up at him. "You're so cool." She announced and he blushed. He was eighteen, soon to be 19, but she was still only fifteen, too young for her to realize what her touch may be doing him.
"Let's get going, it's going to be dark soon." He lifted her up and tossed her over his shoulder. Jumping down he set her on the ground. And this time they walked in a mostly comfortable silence. Wyper was having a bit of trouble thanks to her. But soon enough they reached the Giant Jack and they had to part. "Goodbye." He said and turned.
"Wait!" She called and grabbed onto his arm. Her turned and his cheek was met with a wet kids kiss. Though he didn't mind. "Thanks." She said once she took her lips away. "Good night, Wyper." She ran off to get up the Giant Jack in her own way that he didn't know of.
"Good night, my wingless little bird."