The Children of Shannara

Valen

Valen

Well-Known Member
Life in Shady Vale was a simple one. It had been countless centuries since the days of the Ohmsfords. In those days, Shady Vale was a small, but prosperous community of farmers.

Most of the villagers had never travelled beyond the borders of Shady Vale. Had they, they would have seen relics of a world long gone. Another time, another age. Rusted, metallic skeletons embedded into the soiled earth. Their painted majesty providing a vision of an age of flying machines and deadly weapons. These relics were dotted around the landscape, providing a picture into a world that once was, but could never be again.

These days, this new Shady Vale was build on the skeletal ruins of the old one. A simple collection of thatched huts, Shady Vale was nothing more than a gathering of like minded hunter gatherers. Theirs was a simple existence. Sleep, wake, hunt, eat, sleep. That was the cycle, and had been ever since the death of the world that was once known.

The Ohmsfords were long gone, and their name was now reviled. History had been revised and altered. Where once they were a line of heroes and their courage the thing of legend, things had changed. In these dark times, the Ohmsfords were seen as cowardly, villainous, power-hungry despots. Twisted creatures of darkness who had struck out to conquer the Four Lands. This revisionism triggered by their association with the thing that had come to lay waste to most of the known world.

The Wishsong.

Once, a number of centuries ago, wielders of magic walked the Four Lands. Druidic magic and Wishsong alike was used to make the world a better place. But over the roll of years though, something happened. It started as a strange, subtle twisting of the magic. When a druid used their ability to create light, for example, the light was tainted by dark shadows, flickering and burning in the air. That subtle manifestation gradually expanded, until the magic was twisted and altered in ways beyond the wielders control. This random, bizarre manifestation led to magic and magic wielders being barred from the major cities in the Four Lands.

Then, one day, the Plague appeared.

It began through use of magic, spreading from wielder to the next. It twisted their physical bodies as it had their magic, destroying their humanity. What began as a plague carried by magic wielders quickly spread through the rest of civilisation. Despite every possible effort, there was no containing it. In a matter of months, humanity had been devastated, and the twisted, dead bodies of the plague's victims lay broken and rotting across the Four Lands. Civilisation was reduced to ash and dust. Those that survived the effects of the plague were twisted into hideous mutants. Their minds shattered, they were reduced to base, murderous killers. They scavenged the ruined wastelands in search of victims to feed their insatiable bloodlust.

Shannara was dying.

Over the two centuries since, small pockets of civilisation sprung up once more. The survivors of the apocalypse coming together to try and rebuild some small semblance of the lives that they once had.

Here, in the ghostly fragments of what once was Shady Vale, you are one of these bands. The Children of Armageddon. But soon, you will become much more. You will become the genesis of Shannara, the leaders of those who would look to survive the final death throes of the world.

Where once it began, now the cycle completes, and it all begins again.
 
He pushes through thick brush and scrub. Panting heavily, the man runs forward. He has been running for so long now that he can barely remember a life doing otherwise. Overhead, the blue sky is obscured by the treetops surrounding him. The tops of the great oak trees block the sun from shining down on him. Around him, he is surrounded by dark, impenetrable shadow. As he runs, he glances behind him.

Nothing but the dark, shrouded woodland trail that he has been fleeing down.

His lungs burn as he gasps in short lungfuls of air. And then, sudden pain, shooting up and down his leg. Wincing, the man falls to his knees, sprawling onto the dirt track. Rolling onto his back, he raises his hands up to ward off the attack that he is sure is about to come.

The attack that never does fall.

He is alone. Around him, the woodlands are silent. There is not even the sound of birds chirping to keep him company on his panicked flight.

Mahdi. My name is Mahdi Anwin.

Closing his eyes, he takes in deep lungfuls of air. His name was Mahdi Anwin, and for eight years now, he had been running for his life. For eight years, he had been surviving in this barren wasteland of a life that was once meaningful. Running from his own kin who wished him dead. Around him, his body ached, sending small needles of pain lancing up and through him. Blood trickled from innumerable cuts and scratches. Grunting, Mahdi slowly climbs to his feet, ignoring the burning agony in his left leg. Right now, his need was more immediate than running from his murderous kin. Right now, he simply needed to survive.

Mahdi had seen terrible, terrible things with his own eyes. Ghostly whispers, and terrible, twisted beings who hunted him for what he knew. Dark shadows who could take form with taloned claw and sharp fang to rend and tear flesh from bone and heart from chest. Limping over, Mahdi picked up his oaken shortbow, and shrugged his backpack onto his shoulders.

He had to survive. If he did not, the Southlands would be washed away under a tide of blood.

Turning, he limped onwards, unable to put weight on his wounded leg.

"I am Mahdi Anwin and I will live. I am Mahdi Anwin and I will live. I am Mahdi Anwin and I will live. I am Mahdi Anwin and I will live. I am Mahdi Anwin and I will live."

It became his chorus. His mantra. As he took one pained step after the next, the words became more than a litany to him. They became his only link to reality. As the hours continued to pass, and as Mahdi continued to breathe and survive, the chant warded off the terrible, hallucinatory images that threatened to destroy him. Terrible, screaming banshees leapt at him from the shadows, conjured up by his own fractured mind. They looked to devour his heart, destroy his soul. And all of them.....every single one took on the twisted visage of her.....

His twin sister. His killer. Dulcimae.

Finally the vegetation and the foliage began to recede. Finally, was this never-ending nightmare due to end?

Mahdi Anwin came forth. He came forth into the light of the sun, beating down on him.

Sun.

The road angled down gently, leading to a collection of simple thatched huts. It was no more than a dwelling, yet to Mahdi's tortured eyes, it was the most beautiful sight imaginable. Limping slowly to the collection of thatched huts, Mahdi saw the people going about their daily business, blissfully unaware of the fact that their lives were about to be turned upside down. They turned to regard him with widened eyes.

He held out a shaking hand, and his whispered voice carried forth, "Help......me....."

He could not see who it was he had asked. His grasping hand reached out to them, and then he collapsed, unconscious to the floor.
 
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While most of the village folk stood there, stunned by what they had just witnessed, an auburn haired girl leaped into action. Sprinting forward she rolled the white haired man over so she could check him for injuries. He appeared to have many scratches and bruises throughout his body, but the most probable cause for his collapse was exhaustion. This girl, Cassandra Xilstine, knew she had to work quickly, if she didn't get the man to her father, the village healer, he'd likely perish.

Scooping the fallen man up in her arms, she quickly sprinted past the crowd that had gathered to see what was happening. Moving as fast as she could with the man weighing her down, she made it to her adoptive father's hut, quickly bursting through the door. "Papa! This man needs help."

The older elf, Fenris Xilstine turned to face his daughter, his face a mix of surprise and worry. "Set him down on the bed, Cassandra. What happened?" He asked as he quickly moved for his healing poultices.

"I'm not sure. He wandered in from the forest and just collapsed right in front of us. He's got cuts and bruises all over so he must've been lost in the forest for a while." Cassandra surmised, laying the white haired gentleman on her fathers bed.

Fenris gently moved his daughter out of the way, tilting the head of his patient up and helping him drink the contents of the poultice. "This should help him recover some strength. It's a recipe from a forgotten age. I'll need help cleansing his superficial wounds. Cassie, bring me a cloth, please."

She nodded, quickly scanning the room. After she retrieved the cloth, she dipped it into their water supply before bringing it back to Fenris, as he often wet the cloth before treating patients. He sprinkled a few of the contents of a second poultice he brought onto the cloth before dabbing at each of the stranger's cuts. The dirt and grime seemed to wash away, and cuts that were still bleeding began to clot as Fenris continued his work.

"I'll do what I can for now. See if you cant bring back some game. The poor lad will need to eat once he wakes up." Fenris advised. Cassie nodded, retrieving her swords and quickly set off to find an impromptu hunting partner.
 
Thorkelin slowly picked his way through the woods. Though no one would dare to say it, Kel was in fact better than Cassie when it came to moving in the woods. He had a shoulder bag slung to rest against his bottom. Within it were various medicinal and edible plants, a few manuals on plants and a small blanket. However, it was what was under the blanket that Thorkelin thought was worth its weight in gold. It was some kind of electrical thingymajiger. If he had read the plate on it correctly, then it was a 'radio'.

As such, the young half-elf couldn't wait to get back to Fenris and sell him today's harvest. After that he would have headed straight home to where his Human father lived. There, he would have proceeded to disassemble the radio while cataloging every bit and piece in one of his copious notebooks.

However, Cassie was just leaving her step-father's home. Cursing his luck, Kel tried to sidestep the girl, but she wasn't having any of that. Kel was the second best hunter in the town compared to Cassie. He was also her equal when tracking and superior to her in moving silently through the woods. However, most importantly, Kel that she was attractive. As such, he almost always got dragged into her hairbrained 'we must help those people' ideas. Kel hated these ideas of her's, though they usually tended to be quite fun.

After getting grabbed by the color, a smile on the girl's face, Kel muttered, "What now?"
 
Arlios threw his jacket back on and winked at the cooper's daughter. She shot him a devilish grin back and he couldn’t help but wish he could stay longer. He knew that he had been out of the forest long enough though. If he didn’t catch enough for tonight and get it home before supper, it'd probably be best for him not to come home at all. His father had taken ill after a bite to the leg from a feisty boar. He'd been banned from working by the healer and it had put him in some dark moods of late.
Arlios' skill with a bow had given him some leeway-he didn’t need to spend all day hunting, but with his father out of action, Arlios had to make up double the number to trade or sell.
His grin slipped, but he ducked in to give his day's conquest a parting kiss. "Farewell, my sweet." He shouldered his bow and walked to the window, weathering her pout. "I hope our parting is but brief."
Sarna thrust out her lower lip. "It had better be."
Grinning, Arlios swept off his hat in a florid bow, and jumped out of the window. Ironically, his training in the forest had given him the strength and catlike grace to manage exactly the opposite of what his father would wish of him. He doubted any father wished this of him, actually. Hence the window.
Still grinning, Arlios landed on his feet a short drop away, not even needing to roll to soften it. Bouncing back to standing, his self-satisfied expression only grew when he saw what he'd leapt into. Laughing, he walked over to where Cassie was holding Kel up by his collar. Clapping the poor boy on the back, Arlios asked, "What's he done this time, Cass, most beauteous of all Shady Vale's fair roses?"
 
As she left her father's house, she found luck to be on her side. One of her two best friends, Kel, happened to be walking towards her house. With a mischievous grin on her face, she grabbed Kel by the collar and began dragging him along with her. "Kel! Perfect timing, I need a hunting partner." She said, quite amused with the grumpy face that he made towards her. That was just their relationship, her ever the plucky optimist and him the grumpy pessimist.

Timing seemed to align perfectly, as the third member of their trio leapt out of his window. Arlios, ever the womanizer, with his hair slightly messy and his trousers currently hanging loose after he haphazardly put them back on after what she assumed was another of his conquests. She giggled at his unsubtle flirting, knowing it all to be good fun. "I'd appreciate the flattery if you'd remembered to tie up your trousers, Arlios." She pointed out as she finally let go of Kel's collar, turning to face her companions.

"We're going hunting, and I need you two focused today because I'm feeding three. Some poor soul collapsed in front of the village this morning, I took him to my father and he's currently treating the man. He looked like he's been traversing the woods off of barely any food for months so I want him to be treated to a large meal tonight. Shall we?" She indicated toward the forest, beckoning for her friends to join her as she moved towards the forest.
 
Arlios' light, tinkling laugh filled the air. He glanced proudly down at his slightly askew trousers, hands on his hips. He had been in something of a hurry, he supposed. The cooper was about to return home, after all. "As ever, your sharp eye is my undoing, fair Cassie. Feel free to cast them upon me at any time." Tying his trousers with deft fingers, Arlios found himself put in line with Kel as she explained their job for the day.
It had always been this way. Cassie explained her most recent deed, Kel grumbled about it, and Arlios found some way to turn it into a tale worthy of a hero's ballad when they got home. Arlios' eyes lit up as he listened.
A stranger in Shady Vale? He hadn't even known there were still strangers to be had around here. His family were foresters in name, but really, the only guarding of the forest they'd ever had to do was from boars and the occasional pieces of scrap metal that Kel loved to scavenge. Never before had a stranger come to their village. He had come from the woods.
Often, Arlios had spoken about what lay beyond the forest. The truth was, no-one knew. No-one went beyond the forest-there was no need. Everyone had responsibilities to those in the village, everyone had a job to do, and everyone did just fine. Exploring the woods was more than enough adventure to occupy their little free time, and the wild imaginations of children. Arlios and his friends had spent half their lives doing just that, having imaginary battles with sticks and bows, hunting squirrels and stealing eggs as though they were the heroes of old.
They had lay in the forks of trees and imagined a life beyond the forest. Arlios had loved to talk about how one day they would the three of them trade enough to leave Shady Vale and explore the world, slaying monsters, and wooing women. Eventually, his father would find him, drag them down from the trees and back into reality, until the world of possibility that Arlios and Kel and Cassie dreamt of existed only in the treetops.
But now there was a stranger in Shady Vale. Someone from the outside had come in. Someone had broken the seal. Maybe now that someone had come in, that meant someone could go out.
Arlios' grin widened and his eyes flashed. The air smelt of crisp new beginnings and a minstrel's tale. "If he's with your father, I'm sure he'll be hale by evening." He checked his quiver on his belt. "The only payment I require is that we are allowed to eat this feast with your guest. Now let's go put your keen eyes to the test and see where this fellow came from. I'm sure there'll be plenty of game deeper in the woods."
There was the ringing of a bell and some heavy footsteps behind them, and Arlios cringed down, half-hiding behind Kel. "And let's do so quickly before our dear cooper thinks to check on his daughter."
 
Kel watched his two best, nay, his only, friends got reacquainted. "You were messing with the Cooper's daughter again? You do remember what happened when he caught you the last time, right?" Kel was incredulous at his friend's proclivity towards women and danger. As Cassie continued to drag the two behind her, they began to talk of things. Finally, the topic of conversation fell to the completely oblivious Cassie. "Hey, Arlios, you do anything to Cassie and I'll rip your throat out, you know that right?"

Memories, lost to Kel, but retained by Arlios, came flooding into the young man's mind. It happened nine years ago. The incident. The one that no one but Arlios even knew about. The day that Kel became a beast, a wild thing deserving of death.

Kel had found something, a book, rotten and old. He had brought it back to Shady Vale and began to show it to others. Kids had gathered around the young Kel, and they normally never did that. He was a bastard child, motherless, and he was a halfbreed. For this reason, parents, irrationally fearing for their children , chased him away. They called him monster, beast, bastard, filthy half-breed, son of a whore...among so many other things lost to both time and memory.

Arlios witnessed as his friend, barely known to him then, ran from the town, a ruined book, destroyed by the adults, in his hands. He ran, and ran, and ran. Arlios, high on his heels followed from the town, curiosity ruling over common sense. Never able to catch up, Arlios arrived at the clearing after Kel. An injured doe, young, but seasoned, sat in the middle. The scene, serene, peaceful, and overwhelmingly sad. Then, Kel destroyed the mournful serenity.

A long, wooden stick in hand, the ruined book in the other, Kel strode forward, anger and pain written as clear as day on his face. His mouth warped into a twisted snarl, his cheeks stained with rivulets of tears. Kel's long, white hair ripped and ragged. His fair skin sporting scratches and scrapes suffered from the forest's thick brambles.

Calmly, as calmly as possible, Kel began to swing. Striking the doe over and over, a frightening irony descended upon the scene. Arlios could only watch as Kel's pain and anger struck at the doe. Over and Over again. Bones breaking, skin splitting, the ordeal finished only as the sun hit the horizon, Kel covered in the animals blood, a ruined corse at his feet. Tears dropping to the doe's mutilated face.

Finally, the trio arrived at the forest's edge. "So, what are we hunting today?" asked Kel.
 
Arlios grimaced. He most certainly did remember what had happened last time he got caught. There were always a few laughs around the room when the tale was brought up.
Arlios had whined about how he'd walked funny for a week and how the red marks didn’t suit his pale complexion, and without fail, he brought up the fact that he had managed again the next week with the cooper's second daughter.
He hadn’t mentioned what had happened when he got home that night and the cooper had told his father.
They moved towards the forest together, chatting and reminiscing and pondering.
And then the world got a little darker.
Arlios' stomach dropped as Kel spoke. Unbidden, flashing images kaleidoscoped through his mind, of a ruined book, a ragged half-breed boy running into the forest, and blood, so much blood. Arlios' chest pounded.
It was shock he felt, not fear. Just as he had that night, Arlios saw much more in the boy than he did in the mutilated corpse.
Did Kel even remember? Not once, had they spoken of that night. Had he just said that out of innocent regard for Cassie? For that tiny flame of chivalry Arlios was desperately keen to fan? Was there a chance, however slim, that Kel remembered that night?
Arlios shook his head, putting a hand on Kel's shoulder. Even if he remembered that doe in the forest, even if Arlios truly meant to challenge his certain right to Cassie, there was no way that Kel could so casually speak of doing something so violent, so wild, in such a casual way. Not to Arlios. And even if he did want to rip his throat out, ah well, what were friends for? Arlios would probably let him.

Thorkelin's chest heaved. The ends of his long, white hair were tipped in red now, the book he'd been so proud of stained and sticky. The doe lay on the ground, a mass of blood and gore that this boy had created. Arlios hadn't been able to look away. The sound of it, the sick squelching at the end far preferable to hearing bones crack and the doe scream, the crazed panic in the doe's eyes as it tried desperately to escape. It was sickeningly familiar. Silent tears streaked down Arlios' face, and it had taken him years to truly understand why he'd been crying.
But the doe had died, and all that was left was Thorkelin.
Arlios had felt afraid, but he'd learnt already that if you kept fear by your side, you knew when it would strike. Leaving it alone only meant you would get blindsided when it hit. And this boy had more fear in him than Arlios had felt in a long time.
He crept forward until he reached the half-elf. Ever so gently, he took the stick from the boy's numb hands and led him through the clearing, down a path, to the stream. He washed the tips of his hair. Then Arlios had talked to him until he could finally sleep.
Later, when the foresters had discovered the corpse, they had had no clue what had happened. Arlios had made up some story about a monster that everyone had written off as childish fancy. Even Kel had seemed to believe it when he woke up the next morning. But Arlios had kept Kel by his side since then.

Arlios reached over and ruffled Kel's hair. "If I ever manage that, my friend, I am certain you'll have to wait for her to finish with me first. I do however apprecoate the offer of mercy to end my suffering so quickly."
 
Cassie let out a sigh as her friends bantered back and forth. She really didn't see why Kel needed to use such graphic imagery to describe his hypothetical actions. It honestly scared her a bit when he would talk like that, it wasn't in his character. To use such imagery when it was Arlios' usual flirting seemed unnecessary, at least in her mind. Luckily Arlios seemed to take the threat in stride and joke along which caused her to giggle again.

"Oh nonsense, Arlios. I could never kill either of you. You might need crutches to get yourself around for a while afterwards though. Not like you need legs to sling a bow anyway, right?" She said back to him as she kept her friends moving into the forest.

Her mind drifted back to the stranger she'd left in her father's home. He seemed to be about her age, a very handsome lad even with all the dirt and cuts he'd received out in the wilderness, white hair strewn about, reminding her a little of Kel now that she thought about it. She hoped that he'd be ok, she had so much she wanted to ask that young man.

She stopped both boys as they came to the edge of a clearing. "Look." She whispered, pointing to a buck that happened to be grazing out in the field. "Think you can make that shot? He's a bit to far for me to rush him down."
 
Noticing the buck along with Cassie, Kel lifted a hand to stop Arlios. "While I have no doubt that you could make the shot, Arlios, efficiency comes first. Instead, let me go round back, let them smell me come, and come even closer to the both of you. DOn't move, don't make a sound." Silently, Kel faded from the two, moving swiftly and lithely through the woods. The trees did not block his way, it was almost as though they opened their leafy boughs for his travels. Stalking the buck, Kel made his way round, as he said he would. Then, coming in closer, he began to push the Buck towards the other two.

"Oh god, make the shot Arlios, make the shot..." he mumbled to himself as he coerced the buck towards his two friends.
 
On the bed, Mahdi thrashes. Unconscious, he thrashes as if he were in the throes of a dream. Unbeknownst to Fenris, he was. A dream....a memory.

***​

My name is Mahdi Anwin. Once, long ago, I was just like you.

He wakes, to the sound of horses and the motion of wheels moving. Opening his eyes, the first thing he sees is the sight of a raven haired beauty looking to him with an expression of concern on her features. She was wearing a long, flowing dress of multi colours, a garment that framed her beautiful, lithe form to perfection. Hanging from her neck was a beautiful emerald set within a golden pendant. She had worn the amulet for as long as Mahdi had known her.

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Dulcimae. Sister. The Dark of the Moon.

Sitting up slowly, Mahdi winces at the sudden shooting sensation of agony that knifed its way through his gut. Dulcimae stood, laying a hand on his chest to settle him, pressing him down gently.

"Settle now, brother. Rest easy. You took a nasty wound from the bandits sword."

Dark eyes looked down at his bare chest as worry flickered across them. Glancing down, Mahdi saw the bloodstained bandage wrapped around his bare torso as she continued, "It could have been worse though. Despite the fact that the man struck from the shadows, you managed to react just in time to avoid the worst of the blow. Either you have cat-like reflexes, or you were born with the gift. Except we know that that is impossible of course."

Laughing softly, the expression not lessening the worry in her eyes, Dulcimae stood. She missed the brief, pained expression crossing Mahdi's features as he grimaced, and not from the pain. In all the years of the Rovers, there had only been one recorded instance of a male child born with the sight that had lived to adulthood, and that man had been hunted down and killed. Rover legend told of a prophecy that a male born child with the sight would bring shout the doom of their kind. Darklings as they were called, often showed their abilities early, and such children were killed before they grew to adulthood, and old enough to be a threat.

Mahdi tried to rose again, but Dulcimae shook her head, pressing him down gently once more. "Rest, brother. Please, for me. Mother and Father have things in hand. We will cross the border tonight. We are clear of the bandits."

Dulcimae's eyes reflected her worry. Since childhood, the siblings had been inseparable. Their bond was one of blood, and it was one that the land they lived in could not break. From an early age, the troublesome siblings had inflicted all sorts of mischief on their long-suffering Rover kin. And yet, despite their mischievous antics, the twins were regarded with much fondness and love from their tight-knit community. The Rovers saw the twins as a lucky omen. Mahdi was the light of the sun to Dulcimae's dark of the moon. And in the broken land they lived in, there was little enough good left to hold on to. As he lay down, as he looked his sister in the eye, Mahdi nodded, and simply replied, "Aye."

For him, his own reckoning would come soon. Mahdi knew, deep down, that he could not hide his "condition" from the others much longer. Already, there were mutterings in the camp. There were whispers that Mahdi possessed some strange power that they could not comprehend. Sighing sadly, he closed his eyes. He would miss them....especially his twin, whom he had never been apart from. Once he was gone, he would carry a hole in his heart.

Yet, he knew no other way.

The door closed softly behind her. Opening his eyes, Mahdi looked towards the door, where she had stood only moments before. A soft whisper escapes his lips.

"Goodbye, my sister."
 
Arlios laughed again at Cass' response, though quieter now they were in the forest. It was true, but she certainly never wanted to get on her bad side. The conversation dropped off a bit as the silence in the woods began to press in on them. Leaving the other two to spot movement in the forest, Arlios cast his eyes over every branch, every clump of dirt, and every stick that could possibly tell the tale if this man's flight. The truth was, he was far better at tracking men than he was at tracking animals. Maybe he just liked people too much. And this man had been running. Everywhere, the forest showed signs of his passing. He'd fallen, hard, several times. Trees were scraped and the dirt gouged. He hadn't been stumbling, exhausted, he'd been running for his life.
Where had the man come from? What had he been running from? Now that his mind had had a moment to work past the thrill of adventure, a sliver of doubt built in the back of Arlios' mind. This man had been running-what if he was still being followed? Had he led some enemy into Shady Vale? It was suddenly very important they find out the rest of his story.
Cassie stopped them as they came to the edge of a clearing. A buck grazed quietly on the far side. "Ah. Dinner." Cocking his head to the side, Arlios reached up and pulled down his bow as Cassie asked if he could make the shot. "Anything for you, my lady."
He grinned as Kel melted, disgruntled, into the shadows. The boy had a gift for that. He could dance through shadows and branches, vanish into nothing with barely a whisper. So Arlios did as he was bid, stringing his bow quickly and nocking an arrow, silently. He grinned over at Cassie. He took careful aim at the buck, and waited.
Within moments, the buck started to shift nervously. Thorkelin pushed, and the buck responded, giving a nervous bleat and trotting towards them. Grinning around the bowstring pulled back to his chin, Arlios murmured, "That's our boy." He waited for the perfect moment before he loosed the arrow. It sailed true, taking the buck in the heart. He could have made the shot when it was over the other side of the clearing, but with Kel there to pressure it, it was all too easy. This was why they hunted in teams.
Gesturing floridly for Cass to take the lead, he followed her forwards to take the buck. "Now then, I need to pick up a few rabbits or something to drop home and trade. Shouldn't take me long, if you felt like dealing with this?"
 
The process of killing the buck was all too easy. Kel bringing it towards her, Arlios knocking the arrow, her ready to pounce should his aim be off. Her action wasn't necessary however, as Arlios' aim was perfect as always. She rushed over, soothing the buck as it took its last breath, then gave Arlios a nod of approval. "Kel, care to help me carry this big guy back to my father's? I need to start skinning him early in order to get him cooked before our stranger wakes up."

She kneeled down and picked the buck up by its forelegs, waiting for Kel to do the same. In truth, she probably could've carried the buck herself, it would've made a nice workout, but wanted to keep some space between Arlios and Kel. The threat Kel gave their friend was still fresh in her mind, she didn't want to overreact, but she was very protective of her friends. No one would hurt either of them on her watch, not even themselves.
 
Kel trotted back to the others. He watched as Arlios sauntered away, apparently going after some rabbits. Though Kel knew the real reason. It was difficult for him to get with Cassie alone, with Arlios being his best friend and all. Kel smirked slightly as he thought of the idiot's hidden gifts. Responding to Cassie, Kel said, "Yep, I can help you there.: Though he looked weaker than Arlios and Cassie, Kel was just as strong as either of them.

Grabbing the buck by its rear legs, Kel hauled them up onto his shoulder. Walking in line, Kel and Cassie made their way back to Shady Vale. During this much longer journey, Kel had time to let his eyes linger. He could see the traces of old buildings, slabs of concrete jutting from the ground, covered in foliage. His blood began to prickle with excitement. Oh how he wanted to go and see what the plants were hiding, but every time his step changed, Cassie would pull the dreamer back to reality, much to his own disgruntlement. Eventually, the duo arrived at Cassie's home, ready to take care of the buck's corpse.
 
Arlios allowed himself a moment to watch Kel and Cass wander off. "Have fun, kids!" he muttered to himself, knowing better than to yell it out after them while he was hunting. He had traps set up deeper in the woods, but he may as well see what he could catch on the way out. He wouldn't be able to take down another deer, at least not one of that size, but if all the traps he'd set up this morning worked, then hopefully he wouldn't have to.
Kel and Cassie passed out of his sight through the trees, talking quietly, Kel's attention being drawn ever back to the unnatural things that grew in their forest. Grinning, Arlios turned and walked deeper into the forest. He trod between the trees, between branches at times to stop from wearing a path in the forest floor. He knew every part of this forest like the back of his hand. That's what you got for exploring it since birth, he supposed. Four of his traps had caught rabbits, big juicy ones. It was a decent amount, but not quite enough. He dropped them all on a brace on his belt. One or two more should do it.
He re-set the traps and moved quietly back into the trees. Dropping into the fork of a tree with fairly good visibility all around, he checked the sun, barely visible through the top canopy. It was getting late in the afternoon, but he still had time. He was desperate to meet Cassie's new guest, though it was equally likely that he would still be deeply unconscious when they got there. At the very least, he would be able to have dinner with Cassie's father. He was a healer of no common order, and had patched Arlios up several times. If there was anyone in the village who suspected anything about Arlios' home life, it was Fenris, but the old elf had never mentioned anything. He was good to Arlios, and Arlios always tried to be good to him in return.
And that meant finding him some good herbs. Arlios waited, and shot some rabbits and smaller game for teeth and claws and scales, all without leaving his tree, though it took him a small while. He made it to ground cover and started in the vague direction of home, pulling up herbs and flowers worth trading. He even found a small snake, the poison of which was apparently of some medicinal value. Eventually he realised he was just killing time now so he didn't have to go home. And maybe to give Cass and Kel more time alone, skinning a deer. Ah, what romance.
Grinning, he attached all his catches to his belt or stuffed them in pouches and made ready to leave. A fox skittered over his path, but Arlios was more than done for the day. He set a course for home.

Arlios came in through the back door. He hung the rabbits and left a few herbs and all the tradeable goods in the kitchen. Then he hovered. The house was quiet, which was surprising in and of itself. It was a large enough place that he couldn't hear everything that went on, but usually you didn't have to strain to hear it if something was happening. Quiet was good. But foresters worked best in the quiet. Closing his eyes, Arlios took one of his rabbits and a few deep breaths. Frozen on the doorstep, he waited with a hunter's patience, but the quiet remained. He could leave. So he did, stopping by the brewer to trade for a few bottles of wine and a kiss from his daughter. Feeling notably better, he struck out for Cassie's house.
 
As they began making their way through the town, after multiple instances of Cassie chewing Kel out for letting his eyes linger on various knick knacks, the anxiety gnawing at Cassie finally won out and she decided to ask the question she'd been dreading. "Say, Kel? Before we reach Papa's house, I wanted to ask. Have you been feeling ok recently?" She found it hard to look her good friend in the eye, her embarrassment over having to ask such a question was apparent in her face.

"Earlier today, you threatened to tear Arlios' throat out... I know you'd never do it, of course, but still it was a pretty extreme threat. It was just Arl being Arl, you know? It's just had me worried is all." She had finished asking the question right as they reached her house. Lowering the buck, she moved over to Kel and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We're friends, right? So if anything is bothering you, you can tell me." She assured him with one of her bright smiles.
 
Kel's half-elven ears immediately turned red as he heard what Cassie was saying. Damnit, he thought, why did she have to catch that of all things!!! Responding, "I'm fine Cassie, thank you for asking." Then, he debated, warring with himself, over how to respond to her question of why. He was just as embarrassed to answer as she had been to ask.

Gulping several times, Kel finally answered the girl's questions. "Yes, it was just Arl being Arl. You don't need to tell me that. The two of us have been side by side for nearly a decade now. But, he joked about something he shouldn't have, and I was putting him in his place. That's it. Anyways, you know that I have neither the physical capacity nor the expertise to actually rip a man's throat out." Kel gave Cassie a lighthearted smile, trying, begging for her to change the subject.
 
Cassie sighed, this wasn't the answer she wanted, and it was apparent in her features. "Kel, I appreciate it, but I can handle Arlios myself if I feel his flirting goes too far." She huffed and heaved the buck up by herself before looking back to Kel over his shoulder. "To be honest, I rather like being told that I'm pretty. You want him to stop, maybe you should take over in his place." She teased with a wink and a grin.

Nudging the door open with her foot, she brought the buck inside. "Papa, I'm back! Kel's here too, him and Arl helped me grab this big boy. She said, heaving the buck into the next room, onto the butchering table. "Knowing Arl, he'll probably be coming along sooner or later to see our guest too." Taking off her armor and rolling up her sleeves, she grabbed her butchers knife and began to carve the skin from the meat. It was a dirty job, but Cassie enjoyed it, never afraid to get some blood on her hands, she'd taken up most manual labor around the house since Fenris has gotten up in years. The older man was still quick on his feet, but she wanted him to focus on keeping the town nice and healthy.

Fenris nodded towards the too as they entered. He'd gotten the stranger as clean as he could without having to remove his clothes, and put a warm cloth over the poor boy's head. "Good to see you, Kel. Our poor guest has been suffering from what seems to be a fever dream for a while, though it seems to be settling now. I don't know what this young man has been through, but it must've been quite the stressful ordeal.
 
Arlios walked with a bounce in his step up to Fenris' house. There weren't any corpses in the yard so he gathered they'd made it indoors. He rapped a crisp rhythm on the door before letting himself in. Cassie was arms deep in gore and Kel was sitting forlornly in the corner, the tips of his little halfie ears still red. Apparently it hadn’t gone quite so well then. Arlios grinned. One day it would.
"Good evening to you all! I bear gifts!"
He walked into the main part of the house, skirting clear of the blood and mess Cassie was creating. He had seen enough beasts being skinned in his time, and indeed done it nearly nightly himself. That didn’t mean he particularly cared for it. He dropped the herbs, wine and the dead snake on the table in front of Fenris. "For you, kind sir. How is your patient?"
He sat in one of the chairs, leaning back and folding his legs.
 
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