Aside from the bow, he carried a large, clanging sack over one shoulder, and the edges of his cloak appeared to tremble for the presence of other weapons—swords and bludgeons—that he kept strapped to his back. The chuckling hunter, trekking across the field with his arsenal, lifted the arrow in his hand, and in doing so summoned a number of Zuscha from the depths of the woods. They fell into step behind him, silent as shadows.
Minx raised her bow, and it was only a grunt from Kaleb that kept her from firing right then and there at the approaching hunter. She wasn't in a talking mood. Her stressful night had left her on edge, and until they'd returned to familiar territory—to the comfort of Pandling Grounds—she wouldn't be able to let her guard down.
“Who're you?” demanded Kaleb, still carrying Alla in his arms. The girl stirred, opening her eyes weakly and getting a look at the oncoming gang of archers. At sight of them, she shuddered violently and buried her face against the dragon shifter's shoulder.
The hunter, in a gravelly voice better suited to an animal, thrust his chin at Kaleb in salutation, then motioned at the girl in his grasp. “Mighty far from home, aren't you, Alla? Someone must be worried sick about you, no?” The Zuscha at his rear began fanning out, encircling Minx and the others with bows at the ready. Every one of these nocked arrows, whose points glistened in the new sunlight, were likely to be poisoned.
Alla didn't respond to the hunter's taunt, but instead shook her head as if trying to repel his voice.
“Friend of yours, Alla?” asked Kaleb, regarding the hunter narrowly.
“No...” she managed.
Minx's temper reached the boiling point. Taking aim at the human hunter, she cut into him with a sharp gaze. “Who are you, and why did you attack us yesterday?” The creaking of her bow as she drew it punctuated the question with ferociousness. If she didn't like his answer, she'd send the arrow right between his eyes.
Alla shifted in Kaleb's grasp, and with a deep breath she lowered her feet to the ground, clinging to him for support. She was barely able to stand, and her silvery locks were matted to her brow by fresh sweat. The poison robbed her of all strength, and even as she held onto Kaleb's arm, she swayed feebly. “L-Leave us alone... Just go away...” she mumbled.
“You heard her,” said Minx. “Turn around and go back to where you came from.”
The hunter and his dark Fae minions made no such move, however.
I'll take the ones on the left, offered Mau, claws extended. You handle the hunter and the ones on the right. Give Kaleb cover so that he can keep Alla safe.
Minx allowed herself a little grin. That's just what I was thinking.
Without warning, she let the arrow fly.
In the same instant, Mau loosed a terrible roar and lunged to the left, rushing at one of the waiting Zuscha.
The entire field fell into chaos.
Mau's claws sank into the archer's flesh. The Faelyr took the assailant to the ground and battered him with punishing swipes. Making sure to snap the assassin's bowstring, she hopped off the dazed archer and rushed headlong toward the next, narrowly avoiding an arrow which sank into the ground beside her. She jumped into the air, all four paws meeting the archer's torso and shoulders, and delivered a fearsome bite to the back of the neck. With a grating shout, the Zuscha crumpled beneath her weight.
Minx's arrow whistled through the air and would have found its home in the human hunter's skull if not for the rustling of his ashen cloak. He dropped the arrow he'd been holding and reached for something else, instead. From beneath his garment there came a large wooden club, which was stealthily raised in defense. The arrowhead was planted deeply in the knotted wood, and was then cast aside.
The Fae huntress couldn't help but be shaken at this display. He's pretty fast for a human... How did he do that?
The hunter wasted no time. He knelt just long enough to nab his dropped arrow, nocked it, and then sent it streaming toward her in a smooth upward arc that she barely evaded. He then stood to his full height, nocking a second. Meanwhile, the other Zuscha on the scene weren't fooling around. They stepped away from the fray just long enough to take aim and fire, and their poisoned arrows crackled as they leapt through the air. One shot grazed Minx's side, but mercifully failed to penetrate her jumpsuit. Another ripped past her so closely she could feel the tug of the arrowhead as it claimed a few of her hairs.
Still other arrows flew—these intended for a different target. Two arrows, one from the right and another from the left, sailed toward Alla from two of the opportunistic archers. Kaleb had been aware of their movements, but his footwork wasn't quick enough to completely outrun the shots, which met his back plate and faulds were met with a metallic crash. Had the shots been a bit higher, they'd have easily pierced the girl, who
