as written by glmstr and Sentry
An arrow whipped through the air, sticking itself into a tree with no effect. Fen Li cursed, fumbling to both control the horse and her aim. She looked over Haruka’s shoulder, sitting snugly behind her, to see the shadow of the spirit following them. Its eyes burned through the darkness it used to coat its being.
“Haruka!” cried the archer. “You need to take the reins!”
Haruka nodded and grabbed the reins from his companion’s hands. He kept the horse moving largely in the same direction to provide a steady shot for the archer.
It was near impossible to aim over Haruka’s shoulders even with him taking the reins, but being a cat lady did come with its perks. Hooking one hand around her company’s waist, she swung herself around to sit behind him with a graceful swoop. She wavered for a moment before she regained her balance, then put up her bow to aim for the beast again.
Up ahead there were a mountain of obstacles in their way. People dashed to avoid them best they could, some a bit slowly. Fields lay before them, but they had a ways to go.
“I bet this is exactly what you had in mind for the start of our adventure, yes?” Fen asked her companion, letting her arrow fly. It disappeared within the goup monster, causing the archer to frown. “I’m having a jolly old time, myself.”
“If the adventure entails more being chased by angry spirits, I'm starting to reconsider,” Haruka joked as the horse jumped over a small fence.
The tar-like creature was gaining on them, Fen Li’s horse was not quite fast enough to outrun it in a straight line. He thought of trying to make a sudden turn to gain distance, but decided against it. Too shallow of a turn and all he'd have done is waste precious time, and too sharp of a turn would risk breaking the horse’s legs.
“We can't keep running Fen, it'll catch us eventually. We need to take it down,” he had to practically shout just so she could hear him over the wind in their ears and the horrible noises emanating from the corrupted spirit.
“Not the easiest task right now!” Fen yelled back. She drew one more arrow, their numbers dwindling, and narrowed her eyes.
This wasn’t a one-arrow chance, but she couldn’t allow them to become that desperate. Every arrow needed to count. The horse was tiring. Haruka was in danger.
Take a breath.
The world began to slow around the huntress, the noises dulled in her ears. The spirit chasing them came into such sharp focus- she saw it! Just a glimpse, that had to be it.
Her fingers let go of the string, and the arrow spun as it was released. Fen Li was drawn out of her focus as the arrow hit, but the roar was unmistakably pained.
The ground quaked with the spirit’s fall. Too much for the white-haired archer. She could feel Haruka’s yukata slip through her fingers as she fell to the ground, meeting the spirit in its roll.
“Fen!”
Haruka pulled back on the reins of the horse to bring it to a sudden halt, going with the forward momentum that seeked to throw him from the saddle. He tumbled along the ground, eventually able to regain his balance and dart over towards where he last saw his companion.
It was not apparent where Fen had landed, because by all accounts, it looked as though she had disappeared. The towering spirit lay on its side, dark oils sliding away from its body. An arrow stuck out of the black mass, where an eye might have been before.
Haruka waded into the oily substance sloughing off of the beast, trying to either see or step on Fen to find her. He didn’t need to do either. His leg was grabbed through the thick sludge, fingers wrapped around his calf.
The archer gasped, spitting the onyx liquid out of her mouth. “Haruka!” she yelled, gurgling as air bubbles trapped within the sludge. Anything that had been snowy or silvery about the woman had been turned its opposite.
“Fen!” Haruka reached down and yanked her as hard as he could out of the sludge, eventually pulling her to her feet with enough strained effort. He threw her arm over his shoulder and hauled her away from the black ooze, sitting her down on a nearby tree stump.
“You're going to need a shower, or maybe a river,”Haruka looked down at his Yukata, now covered in dirt and oil.
“I'm going to need one too.”
She felt heavy as stone. The sludge embedded itself deep within the fabric of her clothing and the strands of her hair. Still, she kept her bow firmly in hand. As soon as they had left the city it felt like they’d stepped into hell. Fen was sure they hadn’t seen the worst of it, either.
Above, an inky blackness dripped down from the sky and dispersed like cockroaches in the light. Knifelike projectiles thumped down and embedded itself into the earth, houses, and struck down many that stood beneath them. Fen pushed Haruka down beneath her with a cry.
“DOWN!”
An arrow whipped through the air, sticking itself into a tree with no effect. Fen Li cursed, fumbling to both control the horse and her aim. She looked over Haruka’s shoulder, sitting snugly behind her, to see the shadow of the spirit following them. Its eyes burned through the darkness it used to coat its being.
“Haruka!” cried the archer. “You need to take the reins!”
Haruka nodded and grabbed the reins from his companion’s hands. He kept the horse moving largely in the same direction to provide a steady shot for the archer.
It was near impossible to aim over Haruka’s shoulders even with him taking the reins, but being a cat lady did come with its perks. Hooking one hand around her company’s waist, she swung herself around to sit behind him with a graceful swoop. She wavered for a moment before she regained her balance, then put up her bow to aim for the beast again.
Up ahead there were a mountain of obstacles in their way. People dashed to avoid them best they could, some a bit slowly. Fields lay before them, but they had a ways to go.
“I bet this is exactly what you had in mind for the start of our adventure, yes?” Fen asked her companion, letting her arrow fly. It disappeared within the goup monster, causing the archer to frown. “I’m having a jolly old time, myself.”
“If the adventure entails more being chased by angry spirits, I'm starting to reconsider,” Haruka joked as the horse jumped over a small fence.
The tar-like creature was gaining on them, Fen Li’s horse was not quite fast enough to outrun it in a straight line. He thought of trying to make a sudden turn to gain distance, but decided against it. Too shallow of a turn and all he'd have done is waste precious time, and too sharp of a turn would risk breaking the horse’s legs.
“We can't keep running Fen, it'll catch us eventually. We need to take it down,” he had to practically shout just so she could hear him over the wind in their ears and the horrible noises emanating from the corrupted spirit.
“Not the easiest task right now!” Fen yelled back. She drew one more arrow, their numbers dwindling, and narrowed her eyes.
This wasn’t a one-arrow chance, but she couldn’t allow them to become that desperate. Every arrow needed to count. The horse was tiring. Haruka was in danger.
Take a breath.
The world began to slow around the huntress, the noises dulled in her ears. The spirit chasing them came into such sharp focus- she saw it! Just a glimpse, that had to be it.
Her fingers let go of the string, and the arrow spun as it was released. Fen Li was drawn out of her focus as the arrow hit, but the roar was unmistakably pained.
The ground quaked with the spirit’s fall. Too much for the white-haired archer. She could feel Haruka’s yukata slip through her fingers as she fell to the ground, meeting the spirit in its roll.
“Fen!”
Haruka pulled back on the reins of the horse to bring it to a sudden halt, going with the forward momentum that seeked to throw him from the saddle. He tumbled along the ground, eventually able to regain his balance and dart over towards where he last saw his companion.
It was not apparent where Fen had landed, because by all accounts, it looked as though she had disappeared. The towering spirit lay on its side, dark oils sliding away from its body. An arrow stuck out of the black mass, where an eye might have been before.
Haruka waded into the oily substance sloughing off of the beast, trying to either see or step on Fen to find her. He didn’t need to do either. His leg was grabbed through the thick sludge, fingers wrapped around his calf.
The archer gasped, spitting the onyx liquid out of her mouth. “Haruka!” she yelled, gurgling as air bubbles trapped within the sludge. Anything that had been snowy or silvery about the woman had been turned its opposite.
“Fen!” Haruka reached down and yanked her as hard as he could out of the sludge, eventually pulling her to her feet with enough strained effort. He threw her arm over his shoulder and hauled her away from the black ooze, sitting her down on a nearby tree stump.
“You're going to need a shower, or maybe a river,”Haruka looked down at his Yukata, now covered in dirt and oil.
“I'm going to need one too.”
She felt heavy as stone. The sludge embedded itself deep within the fabric of her clothing and the strands of her hair. Still, she kept her bow firmly in hand. As soon as they had left the city it felt like they’d stepped into hell. Fen was sure they hadn’t seen the worst of it, either.
Above, an inky blackness dripped down from the sky and dispersed like cockroaches in the light. Knifelike projectiles thumped down and embedded itself into the earth, houses, and struck down many that stood beneath them. Fen pushed Haruka down beneath her with a cry.
“DOWN!”
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