Div(EYE)ded

Chapter Six

Help arrived for Judas after a few hours and he was swiftly returned to Lunar City thanks to the brothers who made it out alive. A search party was immediately sent in search of Erebos but they made no successful finds. It was hours later before the gentleman would awake with a pounding headache and throbbing lower back.

Sitting up timidly he touched the large bump that had grown from beneath his tangled brown curls. Brushing his fingers though the mess he aimed to smooth out results of frightened running from danger. Erebos cursed as he used the culprit of his knockout to ease himself up, unaware that leaves and moss created a natural bandage to his deep slashes. Swaying at first, eventually the man got his balance and he then set out to find home.

Erebos was lost in the wilderness and the sky was just growing with bright color. His elegant apparel has been torn and blood stained from his laceration and thereafter mad dash through the trees. Early morning mist and dew clouded the woods before him. Walking aimlessly and feeling in front of him as he blindly traveled towards what the disoriented man hoped was civilization.

He journeyed for some time like this until his left foot got caught on some roots of an old rotting tree; lurching the bruised man forward. Tumbling down a shallow slope of dirt and dead roots Erebos came to a swift stop upon encountering a large fallen limb, broken bark and crinkling brown leaves exploded into the air on impact.

It took a moment for his scrambled mind to pause from spinning and when it did two colored eyes saw an expanse of wild flowers filling an undeveloped field before him. Fauna stretched endlessly on all sides, trees were blurs in the distance. The final rays of the new day sun pierced through the foggy mist. Splashes of orange and pink bathed the meadow as Erebos saw the girl.

Ania's arms were outstretched on both sides and the plant life placed gentle kisses on her fingertips as the captivating woman glided through the overgrowth. The dew drops from the mornings' mist glistened on Ania's tanned skin and long lashes in the fractals of light. Winding tangled locks of strawberry blond hair occasionally caught on a thistle of prickly plant; grasping onto her as if the plant didn't want her to continue.

This didn't stop the leather clad lady from soaking up the sun on her flesh. With arms spread and head tilted back it was like Ania was another one of the buds opening up and blooming for the fresh rays of sunlight. A soft gust of wind caused her and the plants to gently sway a few times as she trekked through the brush; with no apparent route in mind. She glowed in Erebos' eyes like a goddess, mostly due to the concussion he was unknowingly suffering.

Unaware of an audience Ania remained united with nature, her eyes closed and mind cleared of all burdens. The presence of an intruder was however, known to Lyra, for hearing was her biggest asset and she clearly heard his botched decent into the clearing. The male one was so captivated with her master that he sensed no impending assault.

Meticulously precise strides brought the animal closer to her prey, the tall growth and breeze hid the eldyr wolf's movements. The tight muscles stretched and flexed with every hunched gait Lyra took. With a few long bounds Lyra used powerful hind legs to propel her sleek muscular frame to the target in a burst of speed. One snap of a twig later and the oversized canine perched atop the new arrival, pinning Erebos onto his back with gargantuan furry paws.

Nostrils widened and pulled back with black lips as ivory teeth snarled at a confounded face. Saliva slowly ran down Lyra's jaws dropping down her fangs and splattering on the skin of the captive. The slimy warm ooze slide down Erebos' cheeks. A low gravely growl made Erebos' entire form shiver and turn frigid with fear.

Long wild hair whipped abruptly around to the side as Ania reacted to Lyra's voice; all that was visible to her was the tips of her companion's ears and two stiff tails through the greenery. Making a break for her side of the trees, the huntress found her weapons and haphazardly threw them over one shoulder. Turning back to the beast she began to sprint full force. Sweat and fear invaded her nostrils along with the sound of abrupt flight from a startled raven on the wind.

Silence now consumed the once innocent newborn morning and it was soon to be stained with death. Ania loved the intimate feeling of wood bending beneath her slim hands pulling back the now mated arrow and bow string. Blue and green painted peacock feathers rubbed at her lips as the final muscles fell into place before the release of a deadly projectile.

Erebos was overcome with pain as sharp needle point claws bit deeply into his flesh; blood began to trickle out of small wounds. The young man's mind turned to the unlikely thought of mending his shirt as the end approached. What scared him the most was not the strong beast above him or the piercing tip of an arrowhead aimed for his neck. No, it was the rabid way the woman's face became contoured with hostility and the desire to kill. The once gentle features no longer glittered in dew but dripped salty sweat from a stern brow above penetrating violet eyes.

Ania locked eyes with Lyra's catch and her grip loosened slightly as she stared into the most mind blowing set of eyes imaginable. With one eye the color of the sun, and the right the shade of the Weeping River. She found herself pulled into the abyss of endless black pupils. Time passed slowly as they basked in the pigment of each other's eyes.

Lyra had grown impatient of waiting and angled her muzzle slightly towards Ania and briskly barked attention; her tails twitching with anticipation for the kill command. Snapping out of the trance Erebos glanced at the wolf's eyes swirl with lavender as she looked sideways at the maiden. Disappointment filled the large beast as Lyra heard the sound of string and arrow falling slack. With a huff of frustrated breath the animal loosened her heavy paws' grip on the man.
Before Ania could utter a word the stranger promptly blacked out.

Scrunching her brow in confusion she knelt beside their captive to examine him. The metallic smell of blood wafted from the reverse side of his body and so Ania softly rolled him over. She gasped when she recognized the poison oozing from the nearly infected cuts.

When she had been a child a young girl about her age was brought to her mother from the city dying of banshee venom. Ania had been instructed to remain clear of the patient but she stubbornly snuck in at night with Lyra, still rather small at the time. The girl looked like an awkward duckling that would one day be very pretty once she grew up. Her long blond lashes fascinated Ania, especially the eyes revealed to be hidden behind them. Round amber eyes framed with a white noose sparkled when she saw the wolf pup. Tails wagging Lyra grew very fond of the child and loved lying next to Celesta while she brushed through her thick fur. Neither Ania nor Lyra recognized the girl who was present the previous year when Lyra was discovered; the recuperating visitor remembered them though, excited to see that Judas had not killed the wolf.

Wiping a finger along the deep wound Ania pulled away and studied Erebos' blood. She rubbed her thumb and middle finger together to feel how it was congealing and also smelt for the strength of the toxin. Thankfully, it must have been a fairly young banshee because they had yet to develop a consistently venomous fluid. The state of the gentlemen's health was still a concern, he had suffered severe head trauma and lost lots of blood.

"We must go now or he could die. Help me carry him to camp."

Ania gathered all her possessions and proceeded to loop one of the man's arms over her shoulders and raise him. Lifting him was easier than she expected, the guy was taller than her but didn't have very defined muscular strength so he was incredibly scrawny.

She stepped towards Lyra, "here let me lay him over your back. Trust me you won't even feel him."

Growling the canine protested, "I refuse."

"We won't make it back in time if I have to carry him. Please Lyra." The woman glanced at Lyra under her lashes with a slight whine in her voice.

Still grunting Lyra lowered her shoulders and head to the dirt as if bowing for her companion to set the other human down. After Ania took far too long to position the man, in Lyra's opinion, she hustled to the Sirens' Village.