Hunter and Prey

Chapter 11: Shadows

Rose wandered towards Kimata from the cave entrance as he piled some wood strategically in the pit beside the sleeping bags, making a tipi structure. He had gathered some dry grass from the cave entrance and was now pushing it under the pile, lighting a match and kindling the wood into a flame. She had been watching the sun go down until the sky was fading from oranges to yellow to soft blue, stars starting to peak through the darkening blue. She sat down on the opposite side of the fire, watching Kimata as he gently blew on it and added wood to it to make it bigger. He'd only found dry wood near the back of the cave from branches that must've blown in from storms a long time ago. He had also cleaned up the blood and body of the cat creature, having buried it in the woods so it wouldn't attract predators. Rose had asked why they didn't eat it themselves so it wasn't wasted and Kimata shook his head saying that another predator would track the smell of where it was buried and eat it as it's meal rather than them. She had agreed to that. She sat on her soft sleeping bad and stared into the growing fire softly, the oranges yellows and reds flickering in her blue eyes like a pool of reflection. Kimata finally pulled back from tending to the fire after he'd gotten it going to a state of independence that would last a while. He sat on the small boulder, smiling over at Rose softly, glancing towards the cave entrance out at the darkening sky and back at her. A silence ruled the air around them except for the soft crackling of the fire. Rose decided to break it. "So... Kimata..." She stumbled for something to say, not really having thought this conversation over. His ears perked and he listened attentively. "Yes?.." He answered back confused, waiting for her statement. She swallowed softly, trying to think of something to say. "I was wondering... Erm..... Where did you come from?" His ears twitched and he smiled lightly, letting out a soft sigh. "I came from the kingdom of Fyrth..." After that he went quiet as if that were all he were to say. Rose caught her breath and asked something else, trying to break down some of the barriers that lay between them. "How did you become a bounty hunter?..." Kimata's ears twitched and his eyes flared lightly with his fierce blue glare. Rose's ears went down, now knowing she shouldn't have asked that, falling silent. Rose averted her gaze, shivering softly at the thought he might be anger. She heard him sigh and she looked back, his gaze sharp and serious, voice trying to sound soft but coming off defensive. "Some answers just shouldn't be sought, lass... Forgive me, I'm sorry if I frightened you." She shook her head, ears still down and staying silent. His own gaze lowered, ear twitching softly. "I'm not proud of my past lass... I don't wish to share the story of it right now..." With that he looked away, watching the fire, seeming stressed like his thoughts were elsewhere. He smiled and looked up at her, seeming to drop the past subject, standing up and dusting off his coat softly. "Hey lass, I'm going to go get some more firewood... I need some air too. Don't let it die out okay? I won't be long..." He smiled and started to walk towards the cave opening. Rose stuttered and shuddered in year of what might happen while he was gone. "W-What if another creature or wild animal comes? W-what should I do? I thought you told me to stay by your side at all times?..." She was panicking lightly and she stood up as if to leave with him. His raised his hand in a commanding manner, eyes cold and serious as he glared at her, standing his ground a few meters away. She shuddered at his gesture and sat down again, her ears down at his stern response. "I want you to stay here. It's safer inside here than out in the woods with me, alright? If any creature comes, put out the fire to hide yourself better and use your dagger for defense. Like this..." He walked towards her swiftly. Reaching into her satchel bag and pulling out her silver dagger, putting it firmly in her hand and pressing the tip against his chest for example, having the tip aimed over his heart. Rose shuddered heavily and tried to pull the dagger away but he held it firmly. Folding her fingers around the hilt of the dagger with his own into the proper gripping method, looking into her eyes. "If anything or anyone that comes here that isn't me, stab your dagger their heart if you can... Do you understand? Do not hesitate to kill for your own defense, not even a second... Seconds can cost at death. Do you understand me, Rose?" He pulled the dagger back away from himself and left it in her hands, rubbing her shoulder up and down soothingly. She shuddered and nodded slowly, looking down at her dagger. "Remember... Don't hesitate." He smiled softly and backed away slowly, turning back towards the entrance and heading out down the path into the woods without another word. Rose sat there still in shock that he'd left her there alone but she quickly got herself busy and tended to the fire, having a flask of water ready to pour on the fire if a creature did come by.
She glanced outside at the fully dark sky now, stars flickering all around, the nearly full moon starting to rise into the sky, glowing beautifully. Rose smiled softly and turned back to the fire. She wondered about what Kimata had said earlier... About not being proud of his past. She knew he must've done some bad things as a bounty hunter, so what did his past have in it that she couldn't expect from a hunter? She wondered why he didn't want to tell her and why he was so put off by the question. These thought swam in her mind as she stared into the fire, poking it with a long stick from her seat on her sleeping bag, starting to feel a bit tired. How long had Kimata been gone since he left for firewood? It felt like at least an hour since she'd seen him leave. Her thoughts came to the present now, starting to worry about his whereabouts. Surely there was plenty of dry wood laying around the forest. There was certainly a lot of it on the way here... She whimpered quietly to herself at the foreboding thought at what might've happened to him. She glanced at the fire and saw it starting to turn slowly to burning embers. She added her poking stick to the fire to keep it going just a little longer. He was taking a really long time... And she didn't have anymore wood to keep the fire going. She sighed, seeing nothing else she could do to help the fire, walking over to the cave entrance and staring out over the canopy of trees that lay in the forest before her. An owl hooted softly not too far away. A few crickets chirped in the forest below and Rose felt comforted by some familiar sounds of the night.
She crossed her arms and wrapped them around herself with them folded against her to keep her warm. She wore her black cloak and a light pink t-shirt, wearing some short black pants as well. Even with her cloak wrapped around her, the cold night breeze tugged at her fur, making her shiver. Her eyes scanned the forest below for any sign of the returning hunter but nothing caught her eyes as she did and her ears lowered worriedly. Her eyes widened and pupils shrunk to slits as a loud, horrifying, spine-tingling howl rung out from the forest floor nearby. Her ears flew flat back and she staggered backwards at the force and shock of the familiar air-slashing sound. The howl came from no more than half a mile away at best. Rose turned sharply from where she stood and raced back to the fire, grabbing the flask and shaking as she opened the lid, dumping all of it's contents on the fire. It sizzled and steamed lightly before dying, the light of the last embers vanishing. The only light visible came from the moon and stars outside the cave, softly lighting the floor inside, even the glowworms knew not to let themselves light up again after that unearthly sound. Rose panicked, trying to think of what to do next. She reached down and grabbed the satchel bag full of food, tucking it into a small crevice a few feet away, blocking it with a large rock. She then ran back to her supplies bag and reached in, grabbing her dagger and running as deep into the cave as she could, getting to the back wall and turning to hide behind a jutting wall out from the side. She held tightly to the dagger, panting and turning her head around the corner to watch the entrance, her breath visible in front of her. It was much colder near the back of the cave. The sound of clattering stones sounded from outside the cave. A spark of hope lit in her chest, letting out a sigh of relief. "Kimata..." She started to pull out from behind the rock wall to greet him and stopped in her tracks, shaking as she saw the growing silhouette of a massive white wolf at the entrance as it climbed up the side path and into the cave, huffing lightly. It's ears pushed forward with an air of dominance and confidence as it stepped inside, starting to sniff at the air curiously, turning it's glance to the end of the cave. Rose shuddered and pulled back, stepping backwards carefully and pressing her back to the cold stone wall behind her, tears welling up in her eyes from pure fear, her breath caught in her throat as she held it trying not to make any noise. She heard the scuffing of it's colossal paws on the stone floor echoing to her end of the cave, hearing the echoes get shorter and the footsteps getting louder. She held back a whimper and held her dagger by her chest, aiming it out in front of her. The wall in front of her turned dark as the large wolfs shadow cast over it. Her ears pressed flat back against the wall behind her, shaking in pure fear, tears trickling down her cheeks, still holding back sobs. Her blood turned cold as the bright white countenance of the wild wolf pushed out from around the corner, it's fiercely glowing blue eyes fixated on her as the rest of it's large body rounded the corner. This was the same wolf from before... Rose could tell just by looking at it, and by the sound of it's howl. She gripped the dagger tightly and held it in front of her, letting herself breathe now that the wolf had found her. Hiding herself didn't matter anymore... It's lips raised in a warning snarl as his bright eyes caught the glint of the silver blade.
A deep growl vibrated within the wolfs throat and chest, glaring at the dagger and then into Rose's eyes, almost seeming to command her to drop it. She whimpered and kept it held firmly, her muscles fully tensed and her whole body shaking under the fierce powerful gaze of the wolf. She shook her head pleadingly, as if denying the command to surrender, letting the tears stream down her face now. The large wolf growled deeply and snapped it's jaws a few inches away from her face, scaring her and making her drop the dagger out of pure shock. She yelped in fear and shivered more, closing her eyes and turning her head away. "P-Please... Please don't kill me..." She whimpered out quietly, still tensed up, pressed against the wall. She opened her eyes a crack and watched as the wolf stood there, holding it's head high like that of an alpha. It's brilliant blue eyes focused on her, seeming to have endless depth to them. She shuddered and let her eyes open more to watch him, staying still and trying to look as little threatening or provoking as possible. It had stopped growling and now seemed to thrum lightly in content at her surrendered state. It leaned in closer slowly and she flinched, keeping perfectly still, watching him confused.
He sniffed at her face softly, it's nose stopping over the place where she had hit her head the night before, it's ears perking lightly. It leaned closer and softly licked over the bruise, his tongue soft and gentle as it dragged over the tender and sore area. She shuddered and winced softly, whimpering in fear and keeping still, even more confused when he pulled back without doing any more. She turned to face him and looked up at him. He growled lightly but didn't show any sign he'd attack... He only looked a bit annoyed by her growing confidence. She shuddered and her ears perked slowly at his intelligent gaze. "Why aren't you attacking me?..." She whispered out softly, starting to un-tense a bit. It gave another soft growl in warning but she stood unfazed. The wolf looked surprised as she slowly raised her hand up, being slow and careful not to make any sudden movements. It stayed still, it's upper lip still flickering on the border of a warning snarl. Rose shuddered and raised her hand slowly to it's snout, holding her hand still in front of it, afraid to move it any closer. His bright eyes focused in on her hand and he sniffed it softly, moving his snout slightly closer and coming short of about an inch, staring into her eyes. She shuddered as the fierce gaze looked away and the wolfs body turned to leave, walking back around the corner and towards the cave entrance. Rose panted and shuddered heavily in relief, smiling and laughing lightly near insanity at the fact she wasn't dead at the paws of this wolf. Confusion welled up in her and she stepped forward, looking around the corner and watching as the wolfs tail disappeared over the slope of the cave mouth, the rocks clattering as they rolled down the short cliff. Why had it found her and stocked her if not to kill or eat her? She swayed lightly and ran towards the cave opening, stopping at the edge and looking out over the forest. The wolf was already gone, far out of sight... A clash of fear and curiosity pounded in her heart as she tried to piece together the confusing actions of the wolf. As she stood there overlooking the forest another thought came to mind... Kimata! Where was Kimata?... Had the wolf eaten him, and ended up not hungry enough to finish her off as well? Her eyes widened in fear and her heart thumped in her chest, making her sway. She wanted to call out his name, but she feared more creatures, far less merciful than the wild wolf would come. She whimpered to herself and wandered resentfully back into the cave, walking to her sleeping bag and starting to crawl into it. Something occurred to Rose that made her core shudder with confusion and wild thoughts as she gazed into the fire pit. The fire was flickering and burning stronger than before as if it had never died out. Fresh wood had been lain on it, large logs and branches that would make it burn long and warm. Her mind whirred with the pure impossibility of it altogether but she didn't complain about it. She curled up in her sleeping bag and pulled the top cover over herself, getting warm and comfy in the softly cushioned material. She was tired and considering her long day and strange events, she closed her eyes and drifted into sleep quickly from exhaustion. As she lay asleep a pair of big bright blue eyes gazed over the ledge of the cliff. They gazed at the sleeping form of Rose beside the fire and the pair of eyes quickly vanished as swiftly as they had appeared, remaining unseen by Rose as she slept peacefully. Nothing more disturbed her as she slept through the night... The morning would be very different.