Hunting with Prey (G/t)(on hold)

Unwanted Help

Moving to the next town over the only job she could come across was a meaningless level one job that any slayer could handle. An entry-level hunter could do this job and get paid. Gremlins. At least they weren't normal gremlins, they were winged gremlins. A shop keeper reported these little buggers were stealing from his carts as they were coming in, so he hasn't had a good haul in months.

Gremlins were annoying creatures for anyone. They were manageable if you knew what you were doing, but that doesn't change the fact they were beyond irritating. They lived and traveled in groups. The smallest one she has ever come across was a group fifteen. They're only as tall as a human's kneecap and the only real dangerous thing about them is they swarm. These greenish-blue creatures with big ears, as big as their own heads, would never travel alone. You find one and there will always others and they would always protect their flock by attacking all at once with sharp teeth that looked exactly like a cat. The gremlins she was hunting were even more irritating because they had wings to fly above a person's head with whatever they deemed as theirs, usually shiny objects.

What made the job even worse was she had to go back. Go back to that same forest she met the monster of Wellwood at. The exact same place she was just released from Ferris. It's for that reason that she planned on going in, finding the flock, killing them within fifteen minutes, then leaving. No stops along the way. No hang-ups. Nothing. She couldn't afford to be found by that giant again when not even two days ago she was released and only because of a deal she made.

Coming into a clearing, she could hear the creatures even before she saw them. Sounded like there were twenty of them, maybe more. Crouching behind a bush she took in her surroundings first. The little blue and green creatures were flying around a cart they tore to pieces. There were crates sitting out that had wood hanging off of them and all of the content was thrown all over the place with no regard what so ever. If it wasn't shiny the gremlins had no interest in it. A few crates must have been hard for them to open because there were a few that we're obviously dropped from the air to bust open on impact.

Her assumptions were spot on as she watched two gremlins work together by grabbing two sides of a crate. They flew into the air about three feet from the ground. She then heard a sound that imitated counting in unison. The voices were high pitched, but whatever they said was spaced out and they would speak it after swinging the crate. After making three noises both released their hands causing the crate to be thrown in the air only to result in plummeting to the ground to break into several pieces on contact. She watched as hay and contents that looked like meat flew out and land on the ground. The gremlins scrambled over trying to collect everything, shoving the meat pieces into their mouths like they haven't eaten in years.

To the left, she noticed a wooden cart with no horses attached laying on its side. About ten more gremlins were either on top of the cart or inside throwing items around trying to find any valuables.

Scarlet watched the havoc unfold shaking her head in disappointment. How have the creatures not been taken care of by now?

Walking out into the open she didn't take even a second to draw her crossbow, load an arrow, then release the trigger. The arrow shot right through the creature's head pinning it to the side of the carriage. All the gremlins stopped their actions, dropping any items in their arms. They seemed so mortified. Green blood pooled out onto the arrow that was sticking out of its body and landed on the ground.

As if on cue all the remaining creatures turned their heads to stare right at Scarlet. One made a horrifying squeal pointing in her direction. All at once, the creatures charged towards her in a swarm. Some crawling towards her while others flew. Scarlet stood her ground with her sword now drawn. She would take them all on. She had to if she wanted to be paid.
-------------------------------------------------------
POV Change
Farris was doing his typical rounds through the woods. This was his routine. Get up early. Track around his forest, hunt, then return home. If there were humans in his forest then he would take a few moments to have fun, especially if they were hunters. He loved to toy with hunters. Those humans always believed they were on the top of the food chain and could take anything down. He made it his personal agenda to find these hunters, toy with them, then destroy them. All humans needed to be put in their place, but such overconfident beings such as the rare warrior who hunted giants for money were the ones that needed to be put down a few notches. Over the years this philosophy seemed to work because he has made a name for himself in the human community. He has heard many versions of it. Giant of Westwood, monster of the forest, Devil of the wood, maybe the best one was the Disappearing Titan. Killing hunter after hunter has settled his instincts, appetite, and caused fewer and fewer nuisances to come trudging into his home.