Red & Wolf

Chapter Two

Our heroine's name is pronounced as 'Ah-deer-ah', in case you were confused or wondering.

By dawn, Adira was out of the cabin, arriving to her usual practice rounds, her meadow. It is a semi-large meadow, almost perfectly round that used to be filled with wild flowers and tall grass; before Adira plowed the entire field apart. She converted it to a training course of her own strengths and stamina. The sun was directly overhead now, filling the circle with a golden hue of warmth. It was still in the endings of Summer, the chill beginning to follow through the forested lands of her home.

Adira inhaled deeply, the air was fresh and the smell of bark sent her mind into a peaceful haze. This is where she belonged, where she could not picture herself anywhere else. The emotions and physical strains of being a Huntress was all Adira wished to be. As a girl, before her mother passed, she would dream of fighting the forest's monsters; side by side with her mother. Adira had no father as a child, she was told that he passed away before he could see her birthed into the world. But from the way her mother used to describe him, the love was evident enough to know that he must have been a good man. Adira's mother was kind yet firm, a 'no nonsense' type she was when it came time for Adira to enter Huntress training at the age of five. It wasn't unusual, at least that what her grandmother states, that future Huntresses began their training at small ages. The faster they begin, the better their chances are at not dying, she would say.

Securing her quiver of arrows and bow, Adira went to set up her targets. Five tightly woven squares of hay disorderedly laid about the field. On each square, was painted a red target consisting of four rings. The fourth ring being a 'horrible shot' to the first ring being a 'bullseye'. Aligning the targets without much effort, Adira began to relax herself and took out her bow and one of her arrows. Her best skill has always been Archery, she alone bested all the men in the nearby villages. She wasn't bad with a sword, and she was quite extraordinary with throwing knives, but as a Bowman, none could compare. Holding her stance, she placed her thumb around immediately below the arrow, the nail of her index finger pressed against the arrow nock to keep the arrow on the string. She held her bow in her left hand with the top limb slanted to the left. The arrow passing between her index and second fingers while also resting on the base of her thumb and the bow. It's rather childish and awkward in appearance, but this stance was handed down and passed down through the generations from her 14th generation grandmother who apparently learned it from her husband of second marriage, a Yahi Indian, named Ishi.

First target, 30ft. .

Thwish. Woosh. Twang. Thunk.

Second target, 35ft. .

Thwish. Woosh. Twang. Thunk.

Third target, 45ft. .

Thwish. Woosh. Twang. Thunk.

Fourth target, 55ft. .

Thwish. Woosh. Twang. Thunk.

Finally, fifth target, 70ft. .

Thwish. Woosh. Twang. Thunk.

Lowering her bow, she looked at her targets with a cheeky grin. As expected, Adira hit every mark, she wouldn't have settled for any less. Again, she pulled out another arrow, shooting another round of pointed tips into the hay. Soon after, once she retrieved her arrows, yet again did she begin another round.

She was at her eleventh round, when she heard the rustle of bushes in the distance. Turning swiftly, Adira poised her aim towards the direction of the noise.

"Easy there, it's just me," came a familiar voice, as he stepped out of shade that the trees and bushes provided him. His hands raised above his head, he treaded carefully into clear view.

"Well, well." Adira sighed, she did not lower her weapon when she acknowledged who he was, "William, what a rather pleasant surprise to see you here, in my training quarters."

"Well, I just thought I'd see if you needed a training partner of some sort. .?"

"No."

"What? You can't just shoot me down like that Adira! You did not even pretend to hesitate this time!"

"Actually I can and I will, so no."

"And why the bloody heck not? I'm a first-rate with the sword." William huffed, lowering his hands and crossing his arms over his broad chest.

"William, what is it exactly do you see to gain, training with me? This is not the first time I've rejected your proposal on being combat partners."

Something with the way William stood silently for just a moment, staring at her, made Adira slightly jump at the unexpected intense look in his eye. But as quickly as she noticed it, it vanished.

"I just wanted to be of some use besides, I'm bored and seeing as you're officially a Huntress, I'd thought to test the waters to see if you can defeat a Huntsmen."

_________________________

"Come on now, I thought you were a first rate swordsman?" Jeered Adira as she swung her sword mid-air at William. The clash of metal resonated throughout the meadow. Small sparks between the two swords danced dangerously as they clashed time and time again. William seemed to be struggling with his defense, counteracting each blow with less ease than Adira expected. "You've gotten better since we last battled like this." He grunted.

"Aye, it's been two years since you last crossed blades with me." She stated matter of factly, her grip tightening on the handle as she began to batter at William as if to pound him to the ground. The air rang with sounds of metal on metal once more, harsher, the singing of blades filling both their ears. Adira, however, was no match against the brute strength of men. The hoarse raspings of both fighters grew louder as each skillful blow countered one another. Her biceps were straining to hold due to exhaustion. Their sparring battle had gone long enough, late afternoon to evening day, they clashed.

It's now or never. .

Adira quickly slid past William's defenses and made for attack, however it was dodged, he began 'tsking' at her playfully. "Impressive, Adira, quite impressive but," William's blade caught hers vertically with a backhand slash. "I'm afraid, it's not enough." Giving her a arrogant smirk, which made her blood boil.

She raised her blade, high in the air, they stood belly to belly, face to face. Their caught blades gleaming in the evening sun, glaring into his eyes, Adira strained her muscles harder to break through. Yet William simply stayed put, barely budging at all.

And then it was as if by magic, or some other supernatural force, a howl was heard in the distance. Causing both heads to snap in its direction, one pair of eyes filled with disbelief and the other with fear.

Adrenaline rushed through Adira's veins, forcing a break between their blades and sheathe her sword.

"What are you doing?" Yelled William watching the Huntress frantically grab her weapons, his fearful daze instantly cut off when he no longer felt the warmth of Adira's body against his.

Securing her quiver of arrows, she quickly bent to grab her bow and ran towards the woods. "Can you not tell? Come on!" She screamed, her pulse quicken to where she thought it would pop out of her chest. Into the forest she ran, hoping to God that it this was mirage, if not, not even Hell would keep her away from the beast that escaped her revenge.