'...This horse is a burden', the small girl decided, glaring at it through narrowed eyes. 'I wonder what it would taste like. Maybe even better than the rabbits it keeps scaring away.'
Ever since she'd been 'gifted' the horse, she'd had to tug and pull its mane to subdue the beast into submission. When she'd throw her weight into her efforts, the horse fought roughly -- she had a few scrapes on her side from where she'd fallen, balance lost when the horse had abruptly whipped around to one side.
The creature seemed smart enough, recognizing Ildiko as a being above itself, though it had a stubborn will that could only be broken when she dug her long fingernails into its backside. Ildiko hadn't felt confident enough to ride it at all, yet with the passage of time the horse eventually tamed just enough for her to lead it around with the short rope she'd tied around its neck. So far, its only use was to carry her things.
But this morning, she had led it to a small, denser patch of woods and tied it to a slender tree. The beast whinnied and stamped its foot, almost in frustration. Ildiko watched it carefully with a frown. It didn't appear hurt. When she leaned down to check its hoof for an injury, it reared up wildly, landing so quickly that if she hadn't instinctively rolled out of the way, she would have had a deep, hoof-shaped bruise on her back. It missed her, but just barely.
Ildiko clenched her jaw, her breath coming out in a tangible, forced huff. She took a deep breath and lifted the flaps of the saddlebags, trying hard to restrain her emotions. Her intentions towards the horse were quickly growing more murderous by the second.
She found a razor within the folds of the bags, hastily forming an idea of what do to with it. Ildiko picked up a thick stick off the ground, testing its weight, then carefully inserted the razor in a crack inside the wood. She lightly tapped it against a tree, embedding the blade deeper, though without splitting it completely. Admiring her work with a smirk, she started to walk away from the horse, intending to hunt with her new weapon.
It wasn't a dagger, but it'd work fine.
Ildiko wanted to sink her teeth into the flesh of a rabbit, freshly caught. She'd heard them for hours, and the scurry of their paws between trees and across ice-covered ground kept her awake during the day, when she wanted to be sleeping.
Since she couldn't sleep, she was going to eat.
As she moved, she kept the image of a Zith hunter in mind: crouched, swift, and fearless. When she tried to imitate, her footsteps were slow and deliberate, but far too shaky. Far from silent, she heard the moment when her feet connected with the ground, and winced.
She was out of practice. Instead of losing focus, she held her breath and focused on making her movements more fluid. Each step, she shifted her weight from her heels to the balls of her feet before moving forward. It wasn't perfect, but making that slight adjustment made her feel more satisfied that the rabbits wouldn't hear her so easily.
Another problem. She found her cloak too cumbersome to move in. While it was keeping her warm, the long sweeping fabric was making whipping noises in the wind, and getting trapped between her legs. It was ruining her flow. She removed it slowly, making her way back to the horse, and draping it across its head. ''Serves that stupid creature right. Maybe now it'll calm down.'
Without her cloak, she was freezing. She felt the wind's fingers against her skin, cold and unyielding. Weapon in hand, Ildiko suppressed a shiver, and snuck a few tree lengths away from her horse. She'd make this quick.
As she passed a thicker tree, she heard a rustling against the trunk. Surprised, Ildiko sucked in a breath, preparing to attack. The rabbit was spooked by the sharp noise, hopping away to get away from her.
The sight of movement and the thrill of the hunt sent adrenaline rushing through her body, keeping her warm. She was so close, she could almost taste its warm blood. When it ran, she hesitated initially, not expecting it to be so fast. Ildiko ran after it, but she soon lost sight of it. She felt disappointment sink like a rock in her belly. Her stomach growled with a violent churn, reminding her why she was in the cold in the first place. Ildiko panted heavily and rested by a tree, bending over and coughing. She felt dizzy from hunger, and from over-exertion. It'd been a long time since she'd run. It was far too cold to be pushing her body like this.
And then she heard something to her left. The movement again. Wiping her mouth slowly, she turned her head, not expecting to see anything.
Another rabbit, curious, came to her side, apparently wondering what the commotion was. She flinched and attacked it without meaning to, frightened by its sudden appearance. The rabbit was bludgeoned with the sharp end of her club, and though it tried to squirm away, she killed it with a final blow. The blade cut through its skin cleanly. The creature twitched once, then went rigid.
After she was done and had confirmed that yes, it was indeed not moving, she stared in astonishment at the dead rabbit at her feet. This wasn't her first kill by any means, but it had been her most...undignified. Instead of feeling proud of herself, she felt upset. She should have been able to kill it with pure skill and honed senses... not out of fear. If a little rabbit could make her lose it so quickly, what hope did she have to survive away from her pack?
The smell of blood reached her nose and her mouth watered. She pounced on the dead kill, bringing it to her mouth and ripping at it with her teeth. Ildiko sighed in contentment. Fresh meat had been hard to come by.
She ate as much as she pleased with no regard for the future, blood coating her lips and her hands as she filled her stomach with abandon. Caught in a full crouch with her hair obscuring her view, she had been too engaged in what she was doing to pay attention to her surroundings...or to hear the stranger sneak up behind her.
"Who are you and what are you doing?"
The voice was firm, masculine, and spoke in Common. Multiple emotions flashed across Ildiko's face before her features settled on fear. She'd let her guard down. Only the weak let their guard down. This person could kill her without hesitation and that'd be the end of her. She swallowed quickly, keeping her body as still as possible. If she was still, maybe he'd feel sorry for her. Maybe she wouldn't be a threat.
She raised her hands slowly into the air to show that she was unarmed. Both bloodied hands appeared in the air next to her head, though one was clutching a small carcass.
She turned to face the intruder, though she didn't get a good look at his face. Her eyes focused on the weapon in his hand. He was armed, and therefore, dangerous.
She breathed slowly, collecting her thoughts as she stood up slowly. Her eyes were wide like a doe's, and her tangled hair was in her face. The front of her thin shirt was wet and bloodied. Her nose was bright red from the cold. She would have looked more homeless than dangerous, were it not for the blood coating her lips, and the maimed piece of meat in her hand. "Hungry," she enunciated in Common, her voice soft, but hoarse. Ildiko stared at him blank-eyed for a moment, face impassive. Should she say more? She couldn't remember how to form a sentence, much less in Common. Perhaps now wasn't the time to be diplomatic.
Without warning, she moved without thinking. Throwing the kill forcefully at his head, she aimed straight at his face. Using it as a distraction, Ildiko bolted as fast as she could towards her horse. Breathing heavily, she threw the cloak off of its head, swinging onto its back and goading it with her heels. It was still tied to the tree. It bucked uselessly against the rope before settling, neighing in irritation.
She panicked, fear sending a chill through her veins. Ildiko began attacking the rope around her horse's neck with her own teeth, trying to free it. She needed to run. Her heart was beating so loudly in her ears, that she couldn't think clearly. Angrily, she ripped the cord with her fangs, giving a feral cry frightened even her horse.
As she tried to get away, the horse resisted, turning towards the stranger and refusing to budge in another direction.
She'd made a grave mistake by staying in this area too long. Her 'diversion' had failed, ruined by a stubborn horse.
She felt so frustrated that she could cry. Ildiko stiffened her upper lip and stared back defiantly, hoping to appear fearless.
She wouldn't show any weaknesses. "If you're going to kill me, just know that I fight back." Her Common was fluent, though heavily accented. The fierce expression she wore, however, was universal. |
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