Eirlys looked down at the fearless leader of the guardians and furrowed her brow. ❝What in Annwn happened to you?❞ She knelt down beside him, unsure if she was concerned or simply curious. ❝Who did this?❞
Hours passed by the time Willow managed to gather the strength to pull herself out from beneath the examination table in the Grimms’ lab. She shifted into her light form, but the light itself sputtered around her even as she flew through the open door of the lab and began setting off through the trees. She felt sick, broken, but more so, she still felt as thought the darkness she’d swallowed was waiting beneath the surface. As she flew, her form occasionally dipped and flickered unable to maintain consistency until she saw a familiar form and allowed herself to drop beside him. ❝Macsen... help...❞
featuring @guardian-macsen, @arainwisp, @sunyri, and @theyoungergrimm
Macsen waited, biding his time while by the sounds of things Hans became increasingly more flustered. He listened for the boots of the guards around him, pinpointing where they were going and standing. The hound’s large blue eyes watched the hunter begin to tie him down. The shackles were unnaturally colder than any winter in Arain.
Taking this moment, Macsen thrashed in his shackles, swiftly slipping one paw from the restraints, turning on his side and snapping his jaws down onto the ankle of the hunter. Doing what he could to avoid a second gun shot, his maw dug into the sinew further to move himself round and out of fire. You will not win easy, Hans Grimm.
The unnatural echoing sound of a huge roar hit Sun in the ear as she was training in the dark of the moon. Fortunate for Macsen, she had been having a hard time sleeping lately. Instantly her head went to the direction of the sound. At first she was just going to let it slide..to continue her training..but then another, more unnatural sound, came out of the darkness. She knew what it was. A gun. Someone was being hunted.
Sun didn't wait any longer. She wasted no time in using her enhanced speed to tear through the forest, her sense of direction and the loud sounds of a fight leading her to the target.
The scene appeared fast. She could see a couple of hunters with a wolf. The one she had eyes for was the one who had shot the poor animal and within a matter of seconds she was leaping over the wolf, her eyes glaring menacingly and almost animalistic at him as she went to grab for his throat and use her magical strength to throw him into the darkness beyond. Her hair wisped around her face as she stood facing Hans, eyes glaring at him while the wolf lay behind her.
"You will not hunt this night." She snarled.
The hunter was a blur as he was flung past Hans' face. There was a loud thud and a cry of pain but Hans never took his eyes off of this interloper. The other hunter still lay on the ground, screaming as the wolf dug its teeth deeper into his leg. The iron cable was still tight in his arms and he wrapped it around the wolf's throat, attempting to pull it tight through the pain that was overwhelming him.
Hans looked at the situation around him. Two incapacitated hunters, one wounded Guardian, and one..whatever this was. He raised his hands in the appearance of surrender and placed them behind his head as if to show he was unarmed. Out of sight he gripped the skin of his right wrist tightly between his fingers and twisted it as hard as he could, almost bringing tears to his eyes from the sharp sting of pain. Hopefully Willow could arrive to help hold her off until David brought reinforcements.
"I think there's been a misunderstanding." he said, voice as calm as he could make it. "I was out here investigating what's been going on with the forest, and we were attacked. Everything that we have done was in self-defense."
Macsen was still fiercely wrestling with the final hunter. Growling loudly, he tried to push himself free. from his grasp, the iron cable digging further into his fur while his maw was still clamped tightly around his ankle. He was losing this battle though, he could not keep the pain at the back of his mind forever and the loss of the use of his hind leg was taking its toll. The only option he could take was to drive his teeth further into the flesh of the man but it was no longer easy to do so when he was exhausted.
Out of the corner of his eye he watched someone fly through the bush, his grip loosened in surprise. He had not expected help and also did not want it - and it was Sunny of all people. The iron cable around his neck was not loosening, air was not properly flowing to his lungs anymore. He had no leverage with his hind leg out of commission and the others tied down. Han's voice and particular choice of words still infuriated him despite his predicament. "Lies. Do not listen to him." he rasped from his throat, desperate times meant communicating in words with his current form.
She was not the Sun that walked the forest and calmly spoke in court. The Sun that stood before Hans was the warrior that had beat all of her brothers and secured her place as protector of the Seelie Queen. And she burned with a rage that seemed blacker than the night sky at that moment.
In the back of her mind she did register that voice as belonging to Guardian Macsen. She knew who it was that Hans was capturing and that made her even angrier. Her nostrils flared at Macsen's warning, but she did not turn her back from Hans to look at him. She was in battle. And when in battle you always went for the leader first...
She felt like she stood there forever. Taking way too long to do what she really wanted to do (which was destroy this human.) But her mind was trying to tell her something. It tickled the inside of her brain and broke through her rage to reveal that she really really needed to turn her attention to Macsen and save him before it was too late.
With a growl she turned her back on Hans and if Hans or Macsen had blinked they would have missed her appearing behind the last hunter. She grabbed the last hunter by the back of the scruff of his shirt and lifted him, tearing his flesh from the wolf's sharp teeth and then turning and tossing him at Hans feet.
"Take your dogs and get out." She didn't even bother to give him a second glance. She didn't have to. Sun would know if Hans would try anything else. She turned to Macsen and knelt down , pulling the iron cable off his throat and wincing at the burning pain it left her.
Willow found little joy in those activities she once held dear, but always managed to make time to simply exist, mindfully, alongside the forest. It was times like these that she felt there was still hope in saving her home. Turning to face her secret patch of strawberries, one of her few pleasures.
She brought a single strawberry to her lips, but the motion was quickly halted as a sharp and unyielding pain on her arm caused her to drop the treat. Her voice broke the silence of her forest as she cried out, grasping at the sensation.
In barely more than a moment, Willow quickly diminished to a small ball of light and moved quickly through the forest, refusing herself the pleasure of feeling the breeze against her form. Arriving amidst the chaos, she allied a temporarily blinding light to fill the scene before she landed on two feet in the middle of the fight.
The Wisp looked first to Macsen, her own eyes filled horror before she felt the painful tug of her link turning her regretfully towards Hans. When she spoke, her voice was low and rigid. "What have you done now?"
Torn between survival and pride, Hans glanced left and right for anything he could use. He had his knife, pure iron, sure to hurt this creature, but he doubted he would be able to get to it in time before she was on him. In the midst of the blinding panic, there was a small part of Hans' mind that was taking notes. Heightened speed and strength, but prioritizing the Guardian instead of attacking.
It was as he was thinking these thoughts that Willow appeared in front of him. Relief washed over him and his usual smug smile appeared on his face, though slightly frayed by nerves at the edges. "These creatures " he spat, arm lowering to point at where the strange woman knelt by the wolf. "Attacked me and my men. I want them taken to the facility, now!" He was red faced and shouting, different from his usual calm and disconnected demeanor. He dropped to his knees and pulled the gun out of the crumpled hunter's hand, shaking with rage.
The release of the iron from around his neck rushed air back to his lungs, irregular but better than before. Still recovering from the wound on his leg, he lifted his head from the floor to look back at the damage exactly when his ears heard and felt a rush of air and the light around them seemed to expand and overwhelm for a moment. Willow... Shutting his eyes slowly he wondered how he had misjudged all of this so poorly.
His cold glare soon moved to Hans while he barked his orders. Making an attempt to break the cables around his legs but ultimately failing, he snarled at his own predicament.
“Grimm.” He calmly called for his attention, mouth splattered with red from the Hunter. “You will not win the forest, I have foreseen it.” A lie, yes, but he hoped something that would embed itself into his mind, break the arrogance. “You will lose.”
Banking on the hope that Hans knew very little about the abilities of the Guardians, he took his chances. His gaze drifted to Willow, a sorrowful stare for everything that had just happened. Voice dropping to a mutter he addressed his savior, despite the proximity of others, “Do not attack him, Sun. We cannot hurt him...”
Sun felt the breath return to the wolf and breathed a sigh of relief just as Willow came into the area and cast her blinding light on them all. Sun shielded her eyes with her hand and also closed them, the light was so bright. When the darkness finally returned she had to blink a few times to be able to see Macsen in front of her.
She saw that Macsen still could not be released and growled. Her hands were already burned from the cable pretty badly, but she would not leave until he was safe. She gave him a hard look before gripping the cables with all her might and pulling them to unravel the wolf as best as possible. "Arrgghh!!" Smoke rose from her hands as she tried desperately to untangle him. Tears stung her eyes from the burning sensation. When she heard Macsen tell her not to hurt Hans she glared at the wolf with shining eyes, but did not speak back. Her hands were ruined for a while with this much burn damage and she may even have scars to tell the tale later.
Staring at Hans, Willow took a step back from him. She may suffer for it later, but she would not do as he said unless she had no choice. Not with Macsen at stake. The smell of the fae's burning flesh only added to the terror of the scene. Willow had only moments to think before she turned and quickly moved to assist Macsen, whispering to him. "I'm so sorry, I'm so so sorry..." The Wisp looked from the fae's face to her hands. "If you can try and hold him off, I can help him..." Willow tugged at the restraints with one hand until they started to come loose and used the other hand to emit a low-level light to help his enhanced healing to move more quickly.
Hans stood again, feeling the weight of the gun in his hand. It was strange hearing the wolf talk out of a mouth clearly not designed for language. The vowels warped strangely, but the point remained. He felt a chill run down his spine and then pushed it away. "Why didn't you foresee us coming then, Guardian." The word was mocking. He stared incredulously as Willow backed away from him. "Willow, you will regret this."
He watched her tug at the restraints and then stormed forward with a speed that surprised even himself and grabbed her by the arm. "You will do as you are told!" He pulled her towards him. "Capture them. Protect me. Do you understand?" He raised the gun with his other hand and pointed it at the fae, his teeth clenched tightly together.
Macsen spat the blood from his teeth and grimaced at the restraints being moved from his legs. The smell of burning flesh making him impatient, he could not be in this position while they were in danger. Willow's efforts were making a difference, he could feel the wound beginning to close at a faster than it was before. "I saw... Some things you can not avoid." he growled, baring his teeth at Hans who was making a mockery of his proud race, while he slowly started to shuffle the cables from his legs. His eyes widened while Willow was pulled away from him.
Unsteady on his feet, Macsen slowly got back to all fours, hairs bristling while he watched Hans threaten the Fae and Willow. Teeth clenched he made one bound towards Hans to knock the gun from his hand. Leg not yet healed though, he landed awkwardly and only crashed to the floor again. Frustrated he pushed himself up again, gritting his teeth, standing between Sun and the bullet at the very least.
Sun was thankful for Willow's defiance and accepted her help without question. The cables were untangling and giving way as Willow helped him heal up. She could smell her own hands burning from the touch of iron and tears openly slid down her cheeks from the effort of keeping hold of them. She was in such a mindset to help him get free that she did not know Hans had pointed a gun at her.
As the wolf began to become free she was seeing white spots from the pain of the cables and when he freed himself she had to tear the cable from her hands and then both palms hit the ground. Her back heaved for a second and she shut her eyes to focus. She was not finished. The job was not done. The guardian was more important than her and she needed to make sure he was safe.
"No! Macsen! Run away!" She shouted as she gulped down the last strength she had to turn around and scream at Macsen. The sudden movement made her so dizzy that she almost fell out onto the ground. She looked over at Willow, "I don't care about me. Please save him!" Her head drooped down to the ground.
❝I may suffer for my actions, but I will never regret them.❞ She spoke through a clenched jaw, doing what she could before being inevitably pulled away. Her muscles tensed as they awaited their command. ❝Capture them. Protect you...❞ She repeated back, her mind working quickly within the vagueness of the command. As she moved, her hands shook. She knew well that her next moves, though necessary, would reveal at least a fraction of what she could really do to Hans.
❝Capture them.❞ Willow's voice was quiet as a shadows spread out from the group where the trees prevented the light from reaching the ground and quickly moved up and over the hunter's capturing them in a dome of darkness. ❝Protect you...❞ More shadows quickly swept up and over, forming a large, curved barrier between Hans and the Magicks. ❝Understood.❞ Her voice was quiet once more, smothered by the knowledge of what was sure to come as a result of her actions. Still, the only motion she would regret was the way her hands shook as she did was she knew to be right.
Rage can cloud the mind but it can also sharpen your thoughts. As the shadows rushed around him and the hunters, Hans had a moment of clarity and his fingers dug tightly into Willow's arm. The wolf put himself in danger to protect this woman, and he would surely do it again. If they took her back to the Facility, it was only a matter of time until he came after her, now on the humans' terms. He pulled Willow closer. "Get that woman," he spoke, words tight and clear. "The dark-haired one. Take her and bring us back to the Facility now."
Willow may not think she would regret this, but once the Guardian had died and she was suffering underground in the Facility, she would change her mind. There were all sorts of experiments he hadn't been able to run because she needed to remain useful, but with the anger tight in his chest, he didn't care. She would pay.
Willow's disobedience and twisting of orders had brought him some time, her display of her powers though was worrying, it showed how much Hans had a control of her, the leash around her neck. They had no leverage here. The best he could do here was to deny Hans his wishes. Turning around, Macsen stretched and twisted back into his human form, wound almost healed on his left leg while he reached for Sun. Stooping down to help her up, he attempted to get her up from the floor to get them both out of here before Willow could get a hold of her. "Come on, Sun." he muttered while he tried to lift her from the ground.
Worried, he turned to check on how much progression Willow had made. Either way, it didn't matter they had to go. He was not going to just leave Sun here, especially when her predicament now was because of his recklessness. It may have been exhaustion or his wound but he could not get Sun off the ground, he struggled to keep her in his arms and ended up having to put her back down. Exasperated he shook his head, kneeling by her half unconscious form unwilling to leave her here.
She was so out of it. Sun hadn't realized how much she had actually hurt her hands until she had gotten Macsen free and the pain actually started to hit her full force. It was hard to keep conscious as she felt him lift her and then proceed to tumble her back onto the ground. "Mac.." She mumbled. "Just..Just run."
Sun wasn't sure where to place her hands. They hurt so badly. She ended up laying them face-up in her lap. She was upset that she couldn't have done more. "You big dummy...I'll be fine." She chuckled slightly, and it may have held a hint of darkness. "Go so you can come back another day...I promise I'll live, stupid."
Willow cried out as Hans' grip tightened around her arm. Swallowing at the new command, unable to find any loophole to exploit, Willow nodded. Slowly, the Wisps shadowed prison evaporated from the hunters who were huddled together in fear beneath the dome. One of them seemed to have wet themselves during the encounter. Watching in horror as Macsen did not attempt to run, Willow shouted in his direction. ❝Run Macsen, while you can! She'll be okay...❞ The lie did not leave her lips quite as easily as the warning.
The barrier between Hans and the two magicks began to slowly disappear until there was nothing left between them. Unable to look at them while she moved, Willow's free hand moved to reach towards Sun. The shadows previously residing on the forest floor finally moved up and over Sun's form, wrapping her in darkness even as she finished her demand to Macsen. Finally, when the fae was secured, Willow turned back to Hans. ❝How far away are your friends?❞ She began pulling the shadowed cage along with her through the trees towards the center of the forest where the facility loomed beneath the cover of the foliage.
Hans kept his gun trained on the Guardian and nodded. "They're on their way." He pulled her along with him, not looking away from Macsen until he vanished among the trees. He kept the gun ready in his hand, just in case. He'd have to mark the location later so the hunters could go pick up whatever might be left of the two they'd left behind. "We'll get her set up in the facility and then you and I are going to have ourselves a talk." They walked forward toward the tall fences and thick walls of the facility.
From the quieting sounds of the forest, Eirlys could tell that the celebration was toning down. With that in mind, Eirlys began to walk further into the forest, keeping her ears open for any trouble that might occur at the cairn. The air around her grew unusually dark and she looked around wondering if this could be the work of the Wisp. The crunching beneath her feet began to sound different just before she looked down and noticed the surplus of long thin sticks. The Guardian felt that something was off. There were no trees around that would produce the sticks in such a surplus, all equal in size after if made to be that way.
A familiar voice began to sound in the middle of the unnatural darkness. ‘You’ve disappointed me... I saw the darkness within you and it was beautiful, but when the time came...’ The figure up ahead turned and she could see the side of Mabon’s face. ‘You were not there to save me from my end.’ Eirlys swallowed and took several steps backwards, only for the image to vanish just before the voice sounded once more behind her. ‘Have you missed me, Eirlys?’
