Chapter 106
Unbearable

.:Violet:.

The forest was ancient. The trees were thick and old, roots were twisted. It might once have been filled with bird-song and animals that roamed but now it was ages past its former glory. Its canopy was so dense that you could only see the occasional streak of sunlight that rarely touched the forest floor. With every step she took, her boots would leave a footprint in the damp soil showing every intricate detail of the grip work underneath but sometimes, she would steps on leaves; new green ones, yellows ones slowing dying and the brown ones that would immediately crunch underneath her light weight and break into little pieces. Occasionally, a wind would blow by but it would only be soft; just stirring the fallen leaves in its path. However, with no sunlight to penetrate the canopy of thick leaves with warmth, Violet drew her jacket around her closer.

It has been a couple days since she have seen the others. Thanks to Zane falcon which visited yesterday, they informed her they were now behind schedule due to the fact that the train they tried stalling away in led them further away from the power station so they are forced to go on foot to avoid the same mistake. But the ninja of air made sure to travel as far as she can go into the mountains and into the thick forests but unfortunately, she had to make the distance by foot. If the Overlord was true to his word and said he was tracking her every move, flying away with great speed would surely mean she's straying away from the team. But if a group of ninja wanted to hide away from the Overlord, why not go into a dense forest? Surely that would be Violet's first pick to look if she was an evil lord. But knowing purple in the forest would surely attract attention, the girl went past a village and 'stole' some clothes. Well she went into a store in the middle of the night and took some clothes but she left money behind. All she took was a pair of brown leather boots, fitted black trousers, a black tee and a brown leather jacket with fur lining. If she had a choice, she would have chosen to wear all black but unfortunately, brown was all the store got for boots and jackets. But surely that isn't stealing… Same went for the grocery store, she needed to refill her food supply and other stuff.

But soon, the beautiful sound of running water met her ears. Violet sighed with relief as she had only finished her water supply a couple hours ago. Immediately, her brown leather boots took bigger strides as she was determined to get to the brook. The river came into sight and Violet gasped at the beauty of it. The brook is a ribbon of living turquoise, boldly flowing amongst the green of the forest. Violet immediately jogged over and took her bag off. She got onto her knees and placed her hands into the running water. The girl softly smiled when the coolness of the water relaxed her fingers. Immediately, she cupped her hands and splashed her face; getting rid of the grime. She then went into her bag and fished out her two bottles. Once she filled them up, she placed them back into her back and lowered her face towards the water. Opening her lips, she allowed the water to flow in. It was like bliss had set her mouth on fire. After drinking, Violet sat back up and wiped her face dry with the fur lined collar. She then placed her bag back on and proceeded to continue her hike.

Although she did have to admit, she felt lonely. She missed the playful banters she and the others would have over breakfast, lunch or dinner and she definitely missed the smell of Sensei Wu's tea… and the taste of it too. Softly, Violet sighed and looked down to her feet as they followed alongside with the stream. She wondered if it was possible to worry so much. All she knows is that her adoptive father was in the hands of the Overlord and who knows what the villain has planned for him. Violet knew the Overlord won't hurt Wu like Vincent hurt her. This caused Violet to exhale deeply again and she looked down to the engagement ring on her finger. She really missed the way Kai would hold her in bed, spreading the warmth into her body and how he would comfort her during the night after the dream of Vincent trying to drag her down deeper into the water. Yes that the talk with Gene helped but Violet couldn't stop but have the dreams.

But looking past her ring, she stopped to see footsteps in the dirt. Crouching down, she realised they weren't new tracks. She placed her boot next to the footprint and saw that these aren't from footprints (if she happened to walk in a big circle) but someone else's because these foot prints were much bigger than hers. Smaller than Kai's for sure but they were bigger than hers. Immediately, she went to grab her bow and an arrow. She lodged it onto the string and looked around. So far, she saw nothing. Looking back down to the foot print, she believed they were to be older than a day. She was no hunter so how was she supposed to know? So Violet got back up and followed the foot prints with caution. Her hand gripped tightly around the wood of her bow while the fingers on the other hand lightly gripped the string as her thumb gently brushed over the fletching of her arrow.

As she followed the steps, she kept looking over her shoulder, expecting to see someone follow her but no one did. But she stopped as she saw what the footsteps were leading her to. Up ahead was the trunk of a great tree. Violet was sure that she would need ten or more of her to wrap over the tree trunk. But as she got closer, she saw engravings on the bark. In loving memory of Tyler. It appeared to her it was whittled in with careful orchestrated engravings as if someone drew it with a calligraphy pen instead. Looking down, she saw a few white pebbles on the ground and immediately she knew this was someone's grave. She quickly bowed her head in respect until she heard a wavering voice.

"Put your weapon down and move away!" The stranger shouted. Immediately, this got Violet on the edge and as a result, she held her bow tighter. But she could tell this boy –yes boy- was more scared than her. His young voice –maybe thirteen?- shook and wavered and she could tell he was trying to act tough. Judging by the noises her ears were receiving, she also assumed he was shaking by the rattling sound of an item he was hold. "I said to drop it and move away!"

And that's when she heard a click. More like the bolt of the gun sliding back to get ready to shoot. Instantly she froze as her body remembered the searing pain of the bullets Vincent shot at her. Not wanting that to happen, Violet slowly placed her bow far away from her.

"Stand up but no sudden moves otherwise I'll shoot you!" And she did was she was told. "Hands behind your head and I want you to take a step back." And she did. "Now turn around – slowly."

And slowly, she turned around, her heart hammering against her chest. Just as she thought, this boy did seem to be around the age of thirteen, maybe fourteen but there would be no way of telling if his wavering hands were going to pull the trigger or not. He had tousled light brown hair which also almost seemed like the colour of sun-bleached wood. There are some dark streaks for sure but the pale browns dominate, never pale enough to be blonde and without any golden hues. However, his hair was thick and seemed to be roughly styled into a falcon hairstyle. His teary eyes were a soft light brown which was also the exact shade of a latte. A ring of gold hung inside his iris, adding another layer of depth. His face showed youth and tear strains however, it was strong and defined as if they were moulded from granite. He was a couple of inches taller than her which didn't surprise her since she was fairly short however his body didn't seem to be made of muscle. He was rather lean and a nervous wreck. Looking to his boots, Violet could tell that the foot prints belonged to him but looking to his hands, she was surprised to see they were… well delicate in a way but also a little bit rough.

"I won't hurt you, I promise. Just put the gun down," she spoke softly but the boy shook his head and pointed the rifle at her.

"How do I know you won't even try to kill me?" He argued back, his brown eyes darting to her bow.

"You don't," she simply told him, "just watch me." And she bend down to pick up her bow. Immediately, a loud bang was heard and the dirt by her hand exploded into the air and rain over her. She was relieved the boy missed but her heart won't stop hammering.

"Leave it!"

"Please," she continued to speak softly and once she felt the wooden in her palm, she picked up her bow and threw it to the side. "There, I'm unarmed."

"No you're not! Throw your sheath over here," he demanded. Knowing there was no point in denying, she took off her sheath of arrows and threw it to his feet. "I can tell you have more weapons, give me your skinning knife."

Well, it was true she had more weapons but not exactly a skinning knife. But if she was going to get away from this boy, she knew she had to earn his trust for him to let her go. So, she fished all her daggers out of her bag threw them hilt first between them – so she doesn't give the boy the wrong idea of her trying to stab him. Then she reached into the boots and her jacket to pull out the reminder of her daggers. When she looked back to him, she could only see a face full of shock.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" He asked, his voice no longer wavering but his hands lightly shook as he readjusted his hold on the rifle.

"My name is Violet and I'm only here to get away from some people."

"What people? The police?"

"No, someone called the Overlord."

"Impossible. My brother told me it's all a legend. I'm not stupid!"

"Well neither am I," she answered carefully, "I didn't come here to hurt you. I'm just travelling through this forest so if you don't mind, I'll take my stuff back and continue on my way-"

"No! How am I supposed to know you won't try to kill me in my sleep? Only assassins bare weapons that many." He spoke in a shaky voice again. Immediately, she gave him the softest look she could muster.

"I know, I've been called an assassin a couple times but when I give you my word that I won't hurt you and I simply came to pass, I really mean it," Violet said softly but stopped when she heard a growl. Looking to the boy, it seem it didn't hear but seem to be in deep thought.

"B-But what word do I-"

"Shhh." She immediately silenced him.

"Don't tell me to-" But she can't him off again.

"Listen."

Another growl could be heard and when she looked to the boy, his light tanned skin went pale. It wasn't until thundering footsteps were heard and looking past the boy's shoulder, she could see a beast she hasn't seen before but she knew it was a bear. A big, black bear. Its teeth were exposed in an angry fashion. They were like sharp white daggers, hanging inside a dark, moist cave ready to find their target's neck. The bear's claws sliced through the moist dirt and its massive paws would powerfully kick the dirt out from behind it and it came straight towards them, running with its thick hide moving with the body. By the time the boy would move, Violet could already envision the bear to attack. Immediately she ran forward and pushed the boy to the side rather forcibly and grab the nearest dagger, it being her throwing dagger. So with an arm with the speed of lightning, she threw the dagger forward and watched it sail through the arm and lodged itself into what seem to be the shoulder of the bear. However, this had no affect other than enraging it more. Before Violet even had time to grab the next closest dagger, the bear lunged into the air and placed its paws on her shoulders, pinning her down.

Immediately, Violet's hands pushed underneath the jaw of the bear and tried to keep its snapping jaw away from her head but the weight of the bear was unbelievably heavy! As the bear's jaw snap in her direction, balls of spit would fly onto her face and she nearly threw up once she smelt its breath.

"Shoot it!" She yelled to the boy as she then placed her feet under the beast's belly and pushed upward. To her right, she could immediately hear the boy fumbling for his gun and before she knew it, a loud bang was heard but Violet immediately cussed out loud when she felt a burning pain in her leg.

"Sorry!" Came the apologetic response from the boy. She should have expected this from him. But the bear seemed to be agitated by the loud bang of the gun as its powerful paw came and hit her in the side, sending the ninja rolling along the ground until her back hit a tree. She groaned in pain and struggled to get up until she heard a scream.

"Help! Please!" Looking over to the boy, she could see fear plaster on his face, his brown eyes wider than saucers but sooner than later, pain entered the boy's face as the bear's powerful paw knocked him down and took his body into his mouth. A wail full of agony pierced through the air.

Quickly, Violet flew her way over to her bow and she went over to the arrows and lodged one on. Within seconds, she release and the arrow found its mark into the bear's back. A howl was sounded and the bear dropped his prey and turned to look at her. Instantly, she took another arrow and fired again, this time into its neck and not waiting for a response from the bear, she shot another arrow into its eye. After a couple of staggered steps, the bear collapsed onto its side. But the pain in her leg acknowledged itself, sending her falling to her knees with her hand clenching her leg.

"You… killed him." Violet heard the boy mutter with fright but also with a winch. Looking over to him, the fourteen year old had tears streaming down his face and his body shook with blood seeping through the wounds on the side of his torso.

"I have a feeling you encountered this bear before," she muttered before limping her way over to the boy to inspect his wounds. Blood has already seeped through his clothes which stuck to him as a second layer of skin. Immediately, she opened his jacket and helped him to take off his shirt and to her relief, he didn't push her away or told her to leave him.

"I-I'm sorry about shooting y-you… I don't have a g-good aim," the boy spluttered his apology.

"It's okay. This isn't the first time I've been shot." On the left side of his torso and back were shallow wounds of the teeth puncture. It didn't seem to have damage anything important but Violet used her element to bring her bag over (and she ignored the startled gasp from the boy) and took out a roll of bandages. Swiftly, she wrapped his torso.

"H-How did you do that?"

"A bit of a long story," she muttered as she tried to do it tightly but not too tight to hurt the lad but a winch escaped through his clenched teeth. She knew she needed to distract him from the pain, "tell me your name."

"Jonah," he replied.

"You met that bear before. If you don't mind me asking, can I know why?" She asked as she quickly wrapped an arm around his shoulders to get him sitting upright a little more to make it easier for her to wrap him.

"The bear killed my older brother a month ago…" Jonah muttered bitterly before hissing in pain as she tied the knot.

"And you've been by yourself ever since?" She asked softly as her eyes casted over to the small grave. She didn't get a verbal response but a simple nod. But Violet knew she also needed to attend to herself.

So, with the courage she could muster, she stuck her fingers into the bleeding wound and groaned. Only until she could feel the bullet did she immediately grab it and pulled it out. She threw the bullet to the side and ripped the bottom of her shirt off and wrapped it around her calf. Violet then shakily stood up and went to put all her daggers back into her bag and picked up her bow and sheath of arrows. Finally, she limped her way over to the boy who still sat on the ground with his back pressed against the rough back of the tree. She held her hand out and offered him a smile. Hesitantly, he took her hand and she hoisted him up but he winched in pain immediately and she quickly placed his arm over her shoulders and supported his weight.

"Do you have a camp or something nearby?"

"Yeah." And with that, she let him tell her the directions and she followed.

I am soooo sorry for the long update and to only give you a short chapter, school is a pain in the backside that I'm barely having free time to myself or to even talk to my close friends. Massive thanks to everyone who have reviewed, you guys are amazing! Your response made me so happy! So massive thanks to: Kairocksrainbow, Ninjagymnastgirl, Dark Yugi, FlameNinjaofDarkFire, Bl0ndie, CarlyShi208, ElementzGirl7, Kai4Ever, ALookIntoMyWorld, Mihoshi 2.0 and all my silent readers!

Kairocksrainbow: Yeah (smiles sheepishly) that's how Tyler is introduced to the story.

ALookIntoMyWorld: Well I hoped I did the personality right because I made some minor alterations. I hope you don't mind.

I doubt I'll be able to update within the next three weeks since that's when I'll be getting more and more assessments and so on. I'm so sorry everyone to keep you waiting for long but I really hope you understand, I won't be abandoning Fanfiction anytime soon.

Xoxo – ZaneLoverFan88