,A.N.: So, this chapter was supposed to be posted three weeks ago. I had finished the chapter and all I had to do was give it to my editor so she could proofread it. But, as fate would have it, my computer died on me before I could send it and I had to restart it. I lost the whole chapter and had to rewrite it, which was honestly more difficult than starting from scratch. I'm really sorry for almost a month of inactivity; now, on with the story!
(K POV. Launch)
"Now, take your positions."
After hearing those words, I dropped down to more relaxed stance, putting my hands into my pockets. I turned my head over to the right to look at the white-haired girl standing next to me. She was standing sideways with her left arm extended forward, rapier in hand, and her right arm craned upwards behind her head. She looked over to her left and caught my gaze. I flashed a smile at her with a wink, but she just rolled her eyes, turning her attention back forward. Pfft, whatever, girlie. Giving a small shrug, I looked back to see that the others immediately to my left were being launched; looks like I'm up. I bent my knees and was soon catapulted into the forest. The force of those tiles was nothing to joke about; if you weren't ready for it when they opened up, you were in for quite the ride. Of course, I didn't need to worry about that. After all, I was gonna be one of the greatest hunters this school had ever seen.
Soaring through the air, I started looking for a good way to land, settling on a pretty large tree just up ahead. I took my hand out of my pocket, unclipped the yo-yo on my waist, and began to spin it next to me. Once I was close enough to the tree, I threw the shell of the weapon at one of the top branches, letting it wrap itself around the branch until it hooked on. Using the force of the fall, I swung around the branch two times before landing upright on it. Nailed it. I unhooked the yo-yo from the branch, reeled it in, and began making my way down the tree when the words of the headmaster came to mind:
...the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years.
A grin formed on my face; here's to getting a cutie to work with. Maybe I'll get a tough girl that I'll have to conquer? Or a smart one that's looking to cut loose and have the time of her life? Ooh, maybe I'll get a totally innocent girl that will melt every time I talk to her? I wouldn't mind if she's good in a fight either; after all, we are gonna be combat partners, and if she's bad, it'll make me look bad. She doesn't have to be strong; she can be one of those people that trick their opponents to win or whatever. I don't really care what she does in a fight. As long she lets me do my thing and stays out of the way, we'll be good.
I started making my way north towards the meeting point, not seeing any monsters on the way. This wasn't really how I pictured this forest, which was supposedly infested with Grimm, to be. The walk eventually took me to a denser part of the woods. The kind that screams, "Danger! Danger! Turn back!" Definitely the kind of place I want to go through. However, the path through the dark part of the forest was just as uneventful as the one getting here. I was about to give up hope when I caught a glimpse of something moving out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head towards it, but there was nothing there except some trees. I looked at the spot closely and something stood out in the shadows; a small mirage was gently swaying in the air, connected to a much larger invisible figure.
Oh? This could be interesting. I started playing with my yo-yo and kept walking forward, acting like I was unaware of whatever was tailing me. Eventually, I knelt down on the ground as if to tie my shoe, leaving my back completely exposed. C'mon buddy, you know you want to. Sure enough, the creature took the bait and ran out of its cover, ready to jump on me. I spun around on my heels and slammed the yo-yo on the left side of its face then jumped back, getting a good look at my stalker.
It was a large, panther-like Grimm, the top of its skull covered in a white, bone-like mask. The rest of its body was completely jet black, except for the plates of bone armor that ran across its spine. A Guenhwyvar. I raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Huh, I didn't expect a Guen here. You look pretty tough; how's about you help me warm up?" It roared, moving in to try and strike me again, but I just sidestepped out of its path and dug the heel of my boot in its side, which sent it tumbling.
"Awww, you're a friendly kitty, aren'tcha? Alright, then." I brought my left hand up toward its shoulder, and a shape began forming itself in my palm. The hand that used to be empty now held another yo-yo, completely identical to the one in my right hand. I gave the two a few spins at my sides before reeling them in, "Let's play!"
We charged at each other, closing the gap between us almost immediately. I brought my right yo-yo down on its head, resulting in a direct hit to its skull. I decided to go in for another strike, and swung the left yo-yo, aiming for its leg so I could pull it in and give it a good kick in the face. Unfortunately for me, the panther jumped back after the first hit, causing both the swing and the kick to miss entirely. It then pounced on me again, taking advantage of the fact that I was off-balance to knock me down to the ground. I was able to bring my arms up just in time to shield my face from the Grimm's claws as I kicked at its body repeatedly. After a couple of hits to its abdomen, I was able to bring my knees up to my chest and give it a good kick to the shoulders, throwing the beast off of me. I pushed myself off the ground and put some distance between us. A wry grin crept on my face, "This is gonna be fun."
I grabbed hold of my weapons and pressed the button they had on the outer shell; once pressed, they both began to hum slightly. I let the yo-yos unwind and started to spin them around me at a much faster pace than before. The Guenhwyvar ran towards me to strike as I reeled in the right yo-yo to be closer to me. Once the Grimm was close enough, I mounted the left one on the other string and brought them both together in an uppercut that landed square on its jaw. Using the momentum from the strike, I spun around and slammed both yo-yos across its face, backing up after the impact.
The panther pounced blindly, hoping to knock me down again and take a couple more free swipes at me. But I'm not about to fall for the same shit again; that's not how I roll. I met its pounce halfway and slid underneath it right before it could grab hold of me. As it flew overhead, I threw my weapons up, the strings wrapping themselves around the Grimm's neck until the shells tangled up with each other. It fell to the ground with a thud, snarled, and tried to turn towards me as I pulled on the strings and started to choke it. The beast scratched at its neck to try and free itself, but I just tightened the hold even more, causing it to let out a small whimper as the strings dug deeper and deeper into its neck.
"What's the matter? Cat's got your tongue?" I asked it with a big smile on my face. "That was fun, you were definitely better than I was expecting. Too bad it didn't last very long, but all good things must come to an end, I suppose," I said as I walked over to it, constantly tightening the strings; wouldn't want it to try anything in this positon. I stood in front of it and knelt down to meet it face to face, "Thanks for the practice. Bye-bye." I gave one final pull, the strings piercing through skin, muscle, and bone, eventually decapitating the Guenhwyvar.
The yo-yo in my left hand soon faded away, and I reeled in the one on my right, pressing its outer button again to turn off its high frequency. I began to move my head side to side and rolled my shoulders back; if all fights here are going to be like this, I'm in for a good time. I should start picking up the pace to the meeting point; the fight with the Guen held me up for a bit, and I still need to find a partner. Hopefully not all the hotties have partnered up yet, it would suck if I had to choose one from the stragglers that couldn't find anyone. I clipped the yo-yo back on my belt and continued heading north. I walked quite a distance without any Grimm, and just when I started to think that it was getting boring-
Boom
Whoa, what was that? I turned my head over to where the explosion came from, only to hear what sounded like a dying pig squeal. They were both pretty loud, so whatever was making these sounds wasn't far away. Soon enough, another set of screeches filled the air. Uh-huh. You know, Kenn, the smart thing would be to ignore this and move on, but that's no fun, so let's go see what's up.
I started making my way towards where the sounds came from, and eventually came across their origin; three Boarbatusks were surrounding a cute redhead with a short sword in a small clearing. She had a white top, a brown leather skirt, and matching knee-high boots with stockings, all under a long, dark yellow overcoat. They had her pinned to a tree, but the look on her face was calm and confident, as if she had complete control over this battle. One of the boars spun itself into a ball and dashed towards her, but she simply rolled out of the way and let it run into the tree behind her. The impact caused the Boarbatusk to land upside down, exposing its weak spot, something that the girl took advantage of as she went up to it and drove her sword through its belly. After killing the first one, she quickly turned her attention back to the other ones, who were already moving in to strike.
Pretty? Check. Smart? Check. Good fighter? Check. Ding-ding-ding! We have a winner! Let's help her wrap this up. I walked up behind one of the remaining Grimm and, before it could fully register my presence, slammed my weapon onto its spine, a snap confirming its demise. I couldn't stop the grin that formed on my face. One hit, one kill. The last boar turned to see what was left of its friend and, once it saw what I had done, squealed and charged at me head on. I tossed the yo-yo's shell into my left hand, wrapped its string around my fingers and pulled, forming a tight line of string in front me. The boar tried to charge through the string to get to me, but it couldn't get past, squealing in frustration; they always underestimate how strong it is. I looked over towards girl and yelled, "Heads up!"
I stepped back, let the boar stumble forward, and gave it a roundhouse kick that sent it flying towards my new partner. She then proceeded to skewer it mid-flight, stopping its momentum completely. Damn, I really lucked out with this one. Once the boar fell off her blade, I clipped my yo-yo back on my hip and she sheathed her sword in her right sleeve, turning towards me with a smile, "Thanks for the help; they had me outnumbered for a while."
"Well, the hero does tend to show up to rescue the beautiful lady," I said, laying on the charm.
She chuckled at the comment, "Well, hero, I'm glad you showed up when you did. It looks like we're partners now, I'm…" The cheery look on her face faded away into one of worry, "Look out!"
I turned around to see what she was freaking out over, only to find myself face-to-face with a Beowulf that was moments away from slashing me right across the face. Oh, damn. I crossed my arm in front of me and braced for impact, but it never came. I opened my eyes to see that a thin, amber-colored screen had formed between me and the beast, whose strike had bounced off the shield. Soon after, a bolt of lightning came from behind me and pierced the wolf's head, toppling the now dead beast. What just happened? I turned around and saw my partner with her right arm extended towards where the Grimm was with some of her fingers bent. What the hell did she do?
"You okay?" The voice of the girl snapped me out of my stupor.
"Yeah, don't worry. It'll take a lot more than some dog to take me down." I replied, putting my hand in my pocket.
She gave me a skeptical look, "Really? Even if that dog snuck up behind you and was about to get a free hit?"
I scoffed, "Please, the Guen from earlier couldn't take me out alone; I doubt that Beowulf would've gotten anything after that first hit."
Her eyes widened, "You took out a Guenhwyvar all by yourself?" A smug grin formed on my face as I nodded in response. "Wow, that's impressive. It's surprising to meet someone who can already hunt such a strong Grimm on their own."
"Trust me, babe, I'm full of surprises." I said in a suave tone.
"Let's hope they're good ones," she responded quickly, seemingly unaware of the implications of my comment. "I'm Rory; it's nice to meet you." She extended her hand towards me and gave me a friendly smile.
I took her hand and looked her straight in the eyes, "Kenneth. I hope you and I can get to know each other a lot better." I put all the charm I could into those words, going as far as to add a wink at the end to make it clear.
She shook our hands. "Good, now let's head on out. We still have quite a bit to go before we reach the temple," she said in the same happy tone, completely unfazed by my advance, and then started walking away. What the hell? How can she not have reacted to that in the slightest? That was the most obvious I could've been without it being off-putting. Is she dense? Or is it possible that she's actively ignoring my flirting?
"Hey, you coming?" Her voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Oh. Yeah, let's go." I caught up with her and we continued making our way to our objective. I looked over at my new partner as we walked. She's not exactly what I envisioned to be my perfect partner, but she's not terrible. Rory seems more than capable of handling herself in a fight, she's not lacking in the looks department, and she seems like the type to make a lot of friends. Friends which I wouldn't mind meeting. At least I'm with someone like her and not some total loser.
(N POV. Descent)
"FUCK. HOLY SHIT. THIS IS NOT OKAY. NOT OKAY," I screamed at the top of my lungs as I flew through the air above the Emerald Forest. I thought I was going to be the last one out, so I didn't get into a good position. But, as luck would have it, I was actually the first one to get launched; and since, I wasn't ready for it, I was now spinning out of control as I fell into a Grimm-infested forest at high speed. During the spins, I began to notice that the space between me and the ground was closing. Oh, shit, I'm descending. Moving my body every which way, I was finally able to stop myself from spinning and face forward. Perfect, now to think of a way to land. Let's see, I can't just dig my daggers into a tree without risk of breaking them and/or dislocating my arms, and taking the force of the fall head-on does not sound like a good time. I could use that but… No. I can't start relying on it for everything already; I'll figure out a way to land all by myself.
As if to remind me of the situation, my feet began to graze over the canopy of the trees; I was out of time. I need to do something now or I am going to die. Fuck it, looks I don't have a choice but to use it. I brought my arms to my sides and began to concentrate, a green glow forming within my jacket. Soon enough, light green veins began to appear in the inner fabric of the jacket, and gusts of wind formed themselves around me, slowing down my fall and keeping me airborne. After I had enough control over my flight, I began looking for a place to land, settling on a less dense part of the forest to my right. A strong gust of wind pushed me towards the area and, once I was close enough, another gust pushed me off the ground, stopping my momentum and allowing me to land perfectly fine. Once on the ground, I immediately fell to my knees and then onto my back from a combination of dizziness and mental exhaustion.
I brought my sleeve up to my face and pulled it inside out, revealing the Dust sewn into it. A defeated look formed on my face; it's only been one day since I got here, and I'm already starting to use this damn thing for every little thing. Great. Why haven't I gotten rid of it yet? I don't need it. I scoffed at my own thoughts; yeah, right. If I really didn't, I wouldn't have made it in the first place, and if I hadn't, I wouldn't be here now, would I? I covered my eyes with my hand and let out a sigh. Man, I really suck.
After a while of lying on the ground in a state of self-loathing, I got back on my feet. I shouldn't be wasting so much time when I need to be finding a partner. I stretched my arms and back a bit before making my way north. On the way, I started to think about who would be a good person to be partnered up with.
Well, for starters, there's Rory. She was so nice to me when we first met; only one other person has ever talked to me after I make a complete fool out of myself. She's friendly and seems like a really good person, the kind who would always have your back no matter what. I'd love to be partnered with her, I think we would make a good team together, which means she's probably already taken... right. Ok, up next is Jaune; he's... nice. He seems pretty trustworthy, and I have no doubt we'll be probably be good friends, but I don't think he'll be a good match for me. I'd like to have someone who can keep the monsters busy while I take the chance to shoot 'em down, and Jaune doesn't strike me as a stand-against-the-tide kind of guy. Then again, he might surprise me. I mean, he got into Beacon, so looks could be deceiving.
Let's see... Oh! There's Yang and Ruby. Those two were really fun and I got a serious kick-butt vibe from them. Having Ruby as a partner sounds like a blast and I wouldn't really mind if I got to be close to someone like Yang. I just hope that I can get along with whoever I end up with, and that they're not like the heiress; I'm not sure I'd be able to live with someone like that for four whole years. As I walked through the forest, I began to take in just how pretty it was. Light from the sun shined on the undisturbed nature, tree branches swayed in the breeze, their leaves rustling ever so slightly; it was so serene, like one of those moments in stories right before some random encounter. As if to provide to reality to my thought, I heard a faint growl coming closer to me. Oh, come on.
I took cover behind a nearby tree and started peering out, looking for the source of the sound. My vision soon went monochrome and zoomed in its direction until the creature in question came into view. It was a Ursa, and a small one at that. It looked like a cub that had probably separated from its pack by accident and gotten lost. I unhooked Zephyr from my back, keeping my eyes on the Grimm. There's maybe 20 yards of distance between us; an easy shot. Hitting it anywhere would probably kill it, but its heart and lungs are my best bet for a good, clean kill. The heart's a small target, so there's a good chance I could miss it if the bear moves, so lungs it is, then.
I reached over my shoulder to the quiver on my back as I pressed the release on the bow grip, opening the weapon. As the top limb shot up into positon, the string attached to it slipped out of the groove and flew back until it snapped at my inner thigh like a whip. I did my best to hold in my voice, letting out small harsh breaths as I vigorously shook my leg in an attempt to lessen the pain. This is why I should've been careful and taken my time to string my weapon! I could have easily stringed her the right way and made sure it was set correctly, but nooo. I had to strike up a nice conversation with two girls and geek out over a cool scythe. I looked back towards where the Ursa was and saw that it was coming over towards where I was. It seems I wasn't as quiet as I thought I was and the monster figured out I was hiding here. Looks like I'm not getting a do-over.
I quickly folded Zephyr, put her on my back, and unsheathed my daggers, holding them parallel to my arms. Okay, Ursa's attack three times and then stop, so I'll take that chance and strike then. I ran towards the bear monster and met it halfway, ducking under its first strike and scraping its foreleg with the teeth of my sword-breaker. That's one. It swung at me with its other foreleg and then moved in for a grab, but I was able to back away from both attacks. Now! When I stepped back from the grab, I flipped my blade forward and launched myself at the monster, aiming for its throat. I got in really close, and just when the dagger was about to make contact, the beast brought its forelegs outwards and swatted me away with the back of its right paw. The blade fell out of my hand as I flew to the side and landed face down on the ground; maybe I shouldn't be using a monster manual as a reliable reference for real life combat.
A shadow cast itself above me and I immediately rolled out of there, barely able to avoid the two paws that were being slammed on the ground I was just on. I need to go on the defensive if I want to make it out of this. Once I got back on my feet, I switched the sword-breaker into my left hand and dropped into a more grounded stance with my arms crossed in front of my chest. The Ursa charged at me, but I stood my ground; I needed to time this right. It got right in my face and, as soon as it attacked, I ducked over to its right side and ran the edge of the dagger across its body, leaving a deep wound. It didn't seem enough to stop the beast, however, as it turned towards me and took another swing. It missed by a mile, but it wasn't about to give up, and so it started flailing its forelegs at me, fishing for a hit.
I dodged all it threw at me, biding my time for the wound to take its toll on the monster, and, sure enough, the swipes started getting slower and more sluggish as time went on. This thing is reaching its last breaths. Let's see if I can end this quickly. I shifted the dagger so that the blade was facing forward, and waited for the right opportunity, which came in the form of a missed backhand swing that left it completely open. I threw out my left arm to deliver a wide slash across the Ursa's chest, using the torque from the slash to twist my body and do a backflip to create some distance between us. When I was back on my feet, I thrusted myself at the Grimm again, this time aiming for the heart. The monster decided that it wasn't going down without a fight and got ready to swat me away again.
"Not this time, buddy!" I taunted as the green veins in my jacket lit up. A strong surge of wind jetted out and propelled me forward, shoving the weapon deep into its chest before it could counter-attack me. The monster gave a pained whimper and went limp as I pushed it off the ground, providing a thud as its corpse hit the ground.
I… I did it. I did it, I won!
"Wooo!" I raised my arms in the air and let out a cheer. I can't believe I actually beat it in close quarters! My knife play was so bad back home, I rarely won any sparring matches when I had to use them. It got to the point where I decided to keep them around as more of a backup in case anything happened to my bow, but maybe I can start considering them as an asset. Awesome.
I walked over towards where I had dropped my dagger, picked it up, and sheathed both blades; let's take this chance to restring Zephyr too. I opened her up, took off the string, lowered her to the ground, and set it properly. I went through all the steps this time, even checking the string to see if it snapped anywhere, and once it was on, I gave it a few test pulls to see if there were any more surprises. Once that was finished, I started heading towards the temple. I had only taken a few steps before a growl, much louder than the one before, stopped me in my tracks. I turned to see what made that noise; it was another Ursa. But, unlike the first one, this one was almost twice its size and looked a hell of a lot stronger. It looked over at the now dissipating corpse of the smaller Ursa before staring directly at me and letting out a feral roar.
My eyes grew wide as realization hit me, "M-mommy?"
The monster let out another roar and charged, closing the distance between us almost instantly. I panicked while reaching backwards for my quiver and stumbled backwards, the claws of the Ursa grazing my nose with its first swing. I regained my footing and jumped back, opened up the quiver, pulled out an arrow, and shot it. However, the arrow crashed against the bone-like armor that covered parts of its body, so the Grimm didn't pay any attention to it and continued its assault. I moved out of its way before it could ram into me and shot another arrow at it, which hit an exposed spot on its backside. It turned to me and stood on its hind legs, letting out a fierce growl. I took out another arrow and nocked it on the bowstring; I'm at a serious disadvantage from so close. I need to end this fast while I still can.
I brought Zephyr up and aimed at the Grimm's chest, a subtle barrel-like whirlwind forming itself in front of the arrow. The Ursa began rushing forward as I fired; it pierced through the armor on the back of its forepaw after it attempted to swat the arrow away. I kept shooting as it ran towards me, arrows lodging themselves across the chest and forelegs of the beast. Some of them even looked like they might've hit a vital point or two. None of that seemed to matter, however, as the bear monster took every single shot and wasn't showing any sign of pain or exhaustion. Once it got close enough, I tried to sidestep out of its path again, but it wasn't about to let me do so a second time and backhanded me onto the ground. I was able to minimize the impact with wind and then amplified the barrel whirlwind to shoot the arrow I had nocked as strong as I could. But it wasn't enough, as the Ursa smacked the bow and arrow out of my hands and pinned me down with its other leg.
My hands shot down to reach for my daggers, but retracted in pain as the beast began to dig its claws into me. I tried to push the paw off of me, but it was useless. I didn't have the strength to move it, and it only got worse the more I was crushed. After toying with me for a while, the Ursa raised its free forepaw high and brandished its claws. Looks likes its done playing around with me.
This is really bad; I can't get out of this, and I don't think my aura can take any more right now. Is this how I'm gonna go out? Will I be known as the guy who got himself killed during the Beacon initiation? Is that going to be my legacy? Fuck me. I closed my eyes as it brought its paw down and braced myself for the impact, but it never came. I opened my eyes to find out what made the Grimm stop, and saw that its body was being pierced by a wide blade.
"Rrraaaaaagh!" A scream came from the other side of the body, and the Ursa was cleaved in two. The halves of the body shifted off with the blade, removing the crushing force from my chest. Holy shit, I'm alive. Oh, thank god.
Struggling to catch my breath, I looked up to see my savior, only to lose it all over again, because staring down at me were these strikingly beautiful, silver eyes that looked like they captured all of the stars in the… Whoa, slow down there, Nate! I mean, the girl standing in front of me is extremely beautiful, but I don't have a poetic bone in my body. Apart from her eyes, she had a matching silver pixie cut, full lips below a dainty nose sprinkled with… Are those freckles?! Yup, those are freckles. Good god, how is this girl real? She looks more like an angel than a huntress.
I tore my eyes away from her face and noticed that her left arm was completely armored from shoulder to wrist; it could pass for a prosthetic if it weren't for her hand sticking out at the end. Her right arm, however, only had a leather shoulder guard and a metal glove, the sleeve of her black top completely visible. In that gloved right hand was the biggest fucking sword I had ever seen in my life. The blade looked like it could be as big as I was and probably weighed a ton, but she looked like she was wielding it just fine and with one hand. How can a person use a sword so big?
The weapon itself was pretty simple in design, it was a greatsword with a black cross guard hilt, leading up to a long, silvery steel blade. The left side of the blade had a thick, short black segment with a hollow, oval center starting at the guard, which was probably how she carried it on her back. I looked back up and her eyes stared directly into mine as she towered over me. She was so beautiful and stoic, like a knight who had just slain the monster to save the damsel in distress.
"My hero…"
Her casual glance turned to a glare, "What was that?" she asked, sounding a little annoyed.
"Oh, n-nothing," I spat out, raising my hands up defensively. Rising off the ground, I took note of just how tall this girl was. She was easily over six feet, which would sort of explain why her sword was as big as my bow. But it didn't explain how she can use that thing with one hand. Eh, I'll find out eventually.
"Thanks, that thing was about to put an end to my life with its bear hands." A grin crept on my face and I shot her the double finger guns, putting them away as soon as I saw that her face wasn't changing.
"Why were you being pinned by such a weakened foe?" Her voice was harsh and cold. Is she angry at me? Was my joke that bad?
"Um, call it weak all you want, but that thing shrugged off my arrows like they were loving taps and just kept rushing me no matter how many times I hit it. I did what I could, considering the disadvantage I was in, but eventually it just knocked me onto the ground and started to crush my chest with its paw. The feeling of having sharp claws stabbed into you isn't exactly a pleasant one, you know?" I replied, absentmindedly rubbing my still numb sides. An idea popped into my head, "Hell, if I didn't have my aura, the pain would've been unbearable," and I let out a fake laugh, only to end up groaning from the pain in my chest.
The silver haired girl scoffed and started walking away from me. Whoa, where is she going? Aren't we supposed to work together now? How did I mess this up? What did I do? "Hey, hold on!" I yelled as I ran after her.
She stopped and let me catch up. I took a deep breath, which hurt only a little less than before, "Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot somewhere, but according to the headmaster's words, from now on we're a team, so could we maybe start over? I'd really like it if we could get along. I'm Nathan."
She let out a sigh and turned to me, "Ellis."
I smiled, "Looking forward to working with you, Ellis," and extended my hand towards her.
She nodded her head, "Let's go," and continued her way north, leaving me with a smile on my face and my arm stretched out like an idiot. I gave a few quick nods while slowly closing my hand and then followed her.
The trek to the temple wasn't a very long one, but it felt longer than it should have with how awkward things were between me and Ellis. The air felt so tense, I could cut it with a knife and probably use it as weapon. I tried making some small talk to break the tension, but my attempts were either ignored or occasionally got me a one-word answer. Well, this is going great, I think I really got that first impression thing down. This is definitely how I pictured this moment to be. A frown formed itself on my face and my body slumped forward. Why is she so quiet? Was it something that I said? Did I offend her in some way? I was only trying to be funny. Does she not like puns? Argh, I don't get it. I rubbed my temple to ease the small headache that was forming.
Oh well, she might be making this very awkward for me now, but with her weapon and her ridiculous strength, she might actually be a perfect fit for my fighting style. Right, should take stock of how many arrows I have left; I did go a bit ballistic with them in that last fight. I opened up the back quiver and counted the arrows inside, which amounted to a total of twelve. So, that means I shot eight of them at the Ursa before. Damn, I can't be wasting so many shots to take down one enemy; every shot needs to count.
It wasn't long before we made it to our destination. The ruins were this massive stone structure in a large clearing that had most likely seen better days. Most of the pillars and walls lay broken around it, leaving its insides completely exposed except for the section farthest from us. Arranged in a semi-circle on the inside were a bunch of podiums, some of which had small black and white objects on top of them, which I assume are the relics we were sent to get. With vines, trees, and moss growing on many parts of the stone structure, it was pretty spot on to how I had envisioned an abandoned temple in the middle of a forest to be like. Nice.
As we made our way closer to the ruins, I saw that there were two others that had probably just gotten here now as well standing by the podiums. Hey wait is that… oh, it is!
"Rory!"
Looks like the mystery member has shown up. Or should I say the Ms.'s E member? I'll be here all week.
Please let me know you guys' thoughts on how the fight scenes feel. Writing combat has always been one of my weakest points and your feedback would help me improve. I want to thank my editor for helping me out with the rewrite; you're the best Isa, couldn't have done this without you.
I hope to see you all in the next chapter. Take care.
WindRanger