Tavern of Witchita

18 | Conflict

Rustles of the forest trees fill their ears as another arrow flies off straight into a bunny. It twitches for a bit and stops moving.

Dhara lowers her bow, tying it to her quiver as she slides down the tree and picks up the two carcasses.

The brown holster boots she wears scrunch within every step. As a blonde male enters her sight, he whistles sharply.

Caiden flashes the girl a smile, a knitted basket of a colored berries in his hand.

“How did it go?” he asks the hunter, who showcases her harvest.

“Two rabbits. Thank you for the hunt, ” she utters, more or so aimed to the rabbits than to Caiden.

The man eyes the rabbits for a few seconds before returning his vision to the redhead female.

“I'm selling both these to the market. Did you get anything?”

“I found some berries!” he grins, presenting his own, less-violent harvest. Dhara chuckles at the guy.

“If you want cream cheese and berry sandwiches that badly, then so be it, ” she partially jokes, giving in to the blonde's need for a specific breakfast.

Caiden playfully salutes to the lady, earning a rather harsh nudge to the arm. Chuckles and snickers fill the area as they walk back to Dhara's home.

Not a long time passes until the mood of the atmosphere drops. Dhara frowns, deep in thought. Caiden notices the disturbing silence and goes to eat a single berry.

“Hey, ” Dhara calls out, starling Caiden as he faces the grimacing lady. Usually, she wouldn't get that mad over a single berry.

“Have you seen those three anywhere?”

Caiden halts as he allows himself to think.

If she means “those three” as Narra, Horns, and that young boy, then he had a fairly good answer to her a question. Yet why is she so glum?

“I passed by Horns earlier today but he didn't seem in the mood for talking, so I left him be. Why? Is something wrong?”

Another eerie silence stretches within the couple. Caiden picks up and eats another berry, while Dhara continues to face the ground upon walking. They reach her home and both step in, locking the door afterward. They place down their harvest on a table.

Finally, she answers.

“I haven't seen any soldiers at all. It's unlikely that they would just leave their target after one failed attempt. I'm worried if they got her already…”

Caiden grimaces at her words. It's true, the possibility of her theory is very likely but it isn't confirmed yet. Dhara's smart and careful to have noticed.

Three quick knocks radiate from outside. To put it simply: there is someone by the door.

Caiden looks at the entrance in alarm. The disturbing silence made him jumpy. Shaking his unnecessary thoughts away, he goes to the door, only to be stopped by Dhara.

“I'll go get it. ” she says.

The redhead steps ahead of the blonde, walking towards the window beside the door.

It's better to be safe than sorry.

Her maroon eyes peek through the blue rugged curtains. There, her sight lands on a demon with his head hung low. Suddenly, she swings the door open, startling the demon.

“Horns?” Caiden questions.

He looks rather depressed actually.

Dhara gives Horns a sharp glare, looking more protective than welcoming. Horns has his eyes facing the floor, a sluggish posture; what happened?