Liam squinted at the rustling bushes ahead.
A single twig cracked.
He clutched a flaming stick like a sword, crouched low, sweat pouring down his face. His leg throbbed with every heartbeat. "Tavian," he whispered. "Its probably the wind."
Tavian, held his dagger tightly keeping his eyes wide open. "Nope something is coming"
More rustling. Closer now.
Then—a rabbit popped out, its fur comically fluffy, nose twitching.
Liam screamed.
A shrill, high-pitched "AAAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!" echoed through the trees.
He flailed his burning stick like a possessed cheerleader. "BACK, DEMON! I HAVE FIRE! I'LL ROAST YOU!"
The bunny stared. Then hopped away like a bored god ignoring a mortal tantrum.
Tavian blinked.
Then bent double, wheezing with laughter. "By the shattered stars—You're the biggest wuss in Vileria! "
"I panicked!"
"You squealed, Liam."
"I panicked intensely!"
Tavian pointed at him with the dagger. "Aren't the Nordheim supposed to die for glory? Feast with axe gods? Bathe in wolf blood?"
Liam collapsed onto a mossy log, breathing hard. "Nordheim..?? In my defense I've been through a lot ."
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: species analysis complete!]
[user appears to be a rare breed of Nordheim Chicken]
[New trait unlocked: Screams at Fluffy Things]
Tavian snorted again, still chuckling as he turned to tend the fire. "If your ancestors could see you now—"
THWACK.
An arrow buried itself in the tree right next to his head.
Both men froze.
Tavian slowly turned to look at the shaft, his smirk vanishing.
"Well," he muttered. "The bunny brought friends."
Liam scrambled upright, leg nearly giving out. "RUN?"
"RUN."
They tore through the underbrush. Liam limped heavily, every step an agony.
Another arrow zipped by.
"I'M TOO PRETTY TO DIE!" Liam shrieked, ducking behind a root.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[Incorrect.]
[People would rather stare at the sun. Still worth saving... maybe.]
Tavian grabbed him, yanking him behind a fallen tree. "They're hunters. Returning slaves warrants them gold. "
"We can't outrun them," Liam groaned. "My leg is basically a noodle full of pain."
"We fight," Tavian growled. "Stay hidden. Unless your useful."
Liam raised an eyebrow. "Are you Batman?"
"OMG just shut up for once...!"
And then he vanished into the trees like smoke.
"Did that bastard bail on me!!"
THE FIGHT BEGINS.
Tavian struck first. A shadow darted from the thickets full of adrenaline that pushed him to survive no matter what. He lunged his dagger in his throat. Blood gushed out, he tried to scream but he chocked on his own blood and collapsed on the ground.
Liam tried to crawl behind a bush and promptly fell on his face, he shrugged it off and got up with a bleeding nose.
Another hunter saw him and charged.
Liam yelped. "OH, YOU HAVE GOT TO BE—!"
He swung the stick. It smacked air.
The hunter lunged.
Liam screamed something unintelligible and spun around to run, but his bad leg gave out. He tripped, twisted, flailed—and fell backwards like a collapsing scarecrow, pushing the hunter who was dumbfounded at the moment.
The hunter, stumbled—
—and slammed face-first into a tree stump which had had with splintered wooden fangs left from a lazy axe job.
The splintered fangs went through the man's eye socket and spilled his brains out
Silence.
Liam blinked from the ground, his leg screaming, heart pounding.
"…Did I just kill a man with gravity? God bless sir Isaac Newton."
Poking the Dead with his stick.
Liam stared.
"…I did that?"
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[Congratulations! You killed someone through a combination of fear, flailing, and sheer dumb luck.]
[New Passive Skill Unlocked: Blind Idiot's Miracle Strike]
[Don't get used to it.]
Tavian was now face to face with the last hunter in a distance. The hunter was not green, he had his blade out and in his combat stance.
Steel kissed steel in a hiss of sparks.
They clashed, face to face, blades dancing, eyes locked in an intense duel.
Grunting, they circled—Tavian parried, the hunter slashed, Tavian lunged, the hunter ducked.
Then—a misstep. They both grabbed for each other's wrist at the same time—
CLANG!
Both daggers went flying into the ferns.
A brief silence and tension.
Then, fists. Tavian ducked a punch, rammed a shoulder into the hunter's gut, and they both tumbled back, grappling like wild animals.
The hunter landed a knee in Tavian's ribs.
Tavian answered with a savage elbow to the jaw.
They rolled—then Tavian came up on top.
With a grunt, he grabbed a stone next to his opponents head and smashed his face into a smooth pancake, cracking his skull to smitherins over and over again alike.
The hunter went limp.
Tavian panted, wiping a bloody smear from between his nose and mouth.
When Tavian emerged, his hair was wild, his eyes gleamed, and his blade dripped.
He looked at Liam, still half-facedown in the mud.
"You look like someone who lost a fight with dirt."
"I won a fight, actually," Liam said, raising a trembling hand. " Killed him with my bare hands."
"Truly," Tavian said with dry sarcasm, "you are the stuff of legends." he could see the man and the tree stamp
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Aaaa! yes I can see it, the legend of the Nordheim wussy]
Tavian collapsed next to him in the mud.
They sat in silence.
Crickets chirped. Blood stained the leaves.
Finally, Liam muttered, "...think the bunny's still around?"
Tavian "I hope it kills you in your sleep."