An entire day had passed as an anxious shadow crept upon the lands, overturning any rock and peering at every blade of grass or spec of dirt that passed beneath his eyes. On and off the shadow went from his path, and cold his trail went only to be brought to life once more by mere luck. Each time he’d thought he lost the marks and the splotches of blood he’d grow mildly disheartened by the delay and possibility that he would not pick it up ever again despite his efforts.
As night began to settle in, the darkness began to consume what little light there was to go off of forcing Xane to stop for he’d be unable to see the path he’d need to take to reach Rinoha, and although it angered him, he sat still at the base of a tree reasoning with himself that it was best not to fumble about in the night for he’d surely get los. While he waited impatiently, a terrible thought crept into his mind… what if this time being late meant she’d perish? He shook his head of the thought only to have another replace it. What if when he woke the dew washed away his trail. Clenching his jaw, he shut his eyes and beat the back of his head against the tree in a lazy manner then exhaled through his nostrils.
When he opened his eyes, a startling sight greeted him. A faint light shimmered in the far distance and brought him to hold his breath out of fear that he may be seeing things. He had two options to reason with. The first option that crossed his mind was to go, and the second option was to stay. Both weighed heavily in his mind for the second was the most logical but he was always rather impulsive, and trying to talk himself into the logical choices was rather difficult. The first he wished to do most as his reasoning behind doing so was that it was the only sign of life he’d seen in the woods since entering, it was secluded or at least appeared so, and it was in the vicinity of his path.
Coming to a decision, the shadow reached for a hidden blade he’d kept at his thigh then fumbled around his pouch until his fingers brushed over the tool kit in his possession. Biting at the end of a finger tip of his left glove, he tugged the item free then spat it out so he could feel around the interior of the kit to find his pick and the small hammer. Next, he felt the edges to the hilt of the blade then stripped it of it’s leather casing before running his left index finger from pomel to cross-guard until he found the seam. The green eyed lad pressed the pick into the seam then smashed the hammer down on it, repeating the motion in a couple other places until he could pry off the wood casing that held the blade secure. With the iron free, he grasped the blunt end in his left hand to test its weight and capability of wielding it.
A frown crossed his features as he held the blade but there was nothing he could do. Quickly, he shoved all the other items back into his pouch, tossed aside the wood and the leather then set the knife on his lap so he could unbuckle the straps to his jerkin to allow his right, mechanical arm to be free. A panel along his tricep housed a thick bundle of wire but he was able to slip the knife’s blade in without too much effort nonetheless. With a weapon safe in place upon his person, he quickly stripped out of his leathers for their color would not help him in the task to come. Bundling them together, he shoved them in the bush that grew beside the tree he sat beneath, and then crept toward the light. He was left in thin, dark pants and a dark shirt, clothe he wore beneath his leathers to keep him from chaffing terribly, and upon his back remained his twin swords. He had the sense to keep his comm strapped to his left forearm in case he’d need to report in soon.
Time seemed to pass slowly as he drew nearer to the light for he couldn’t move quickly or else he’d risk tripping among the uneven ground. What greeted him once he drew close enough was the light of a farmhouse though he couldn’t make out much else other than the vast, empty space of pure darkness to his left. His assumption was that is where the field was--and that is when he recalled the hay that stuck to Bullet’s coat. Farms typically had hay, more accurately, stables to farms had hay.
Xane spared a look at the window to see if he could spy anyone and found no one. Not a single sound was made either and that did nothing to settle his nerves but he had to move lest he be caught. Careful to remain among the tree line, the alteraci shadow passed over the terrain quickly, almost incapable of restraining himself from just sprinting down the end of the field. As he drew closer, a structure began to became prevalent in the darkness and from what he could gather, that must have been the stables.
Each step closer to the stables felt as though an eternity had passed, but once there he was careful to survey the area for any potential guard. There was no one. Xane eased the door open to one of the stalls and found nothing so he moved onto the next. Again, nothing. Each he tried contained nothing. Finally, he reached the last. When he pushed back the door a sudden wave of relief passed over him as he was met with the sight of Rinoha’s unconscious form.
“Maven,” he whispered into the comm, “I’ve located Rin in some f--” his words were cut short by the sound of snarling behind him. Paling, Xane turned and reached for his twinblades but was slow to react for he was pinned to the ground by what appeared to be a ferocious worg. The animal snapped its jaws at him while he shoved back against it, and trapped his left forearm in its maw. His cry and their struggling were like to be the last thing to be heard over the comms as it was promptly crushed in the beast’s jaws when it bit down.
“How’s the little bitch,” came the deep baritone voice of a man.
“She won’t die but be more mindful to not kill her, you idiot. We still need her,” replied a woman.
“Has the sneak woken yet,” came another man’s voice.
“No,” replied the woman. “I tended to his arm after I treated the girl.”
“Why? We can just kill him. He’s useless to us,” replied the first.
“If he came for the girl he has to know something,” muttered the second man.
“I thought I recognized him,” a second woman spoke. “After I pulled my worg off of him and I got a closer look, I could have sworn he was one of the men there… during the attack,” her voice faded.
“Fine, we’ll question both and as soon as one of them spills who did it we can finally just get rid of both of them.”
Xane was fully awake now and fully aware of the throbbing in his left arm. He could only imagine how mangled it was, but what truly worried him was the exchange he overheard. As they departed, he was able to inspect his surroundings. There was light but not much of it so he assumed the sun was setting. He couldn’t move for he found himself bound and from the cramped space, he could only assume this was one of the stalls. He had failed Rinoha once more.
adhelin
rinohaholt
