The Game is On | Tag - Aphrodite

[cynthia aphrodite georgiou]

There’s a million ways it could go

“You’ll know alright.” Aphrodite mumbled, more to herself than to the man standing near her. She wasn’t one to give up too easily, even if it meant that she had to dig deeper than her usual limit. She had a feeling that trying to find out things about this guy would take longer than normal. His refusal to tell her anything about himself proved that already. Whether or not she could find someone to help her with this was a different story. He was bound to leave a trail, it might be glaringly obvious, but there would be a mistake or a trip up somewhere. People always did. Refusing to roll her eyes as the guy’s smirked grew; Aphrodite turned her back on him, pulling her phone out her pocket. Quickly texting her father saying that she might be home a bit later after dropping off the rabbit. It seemed like she wanted to go to the forest after all, despite it being two or three miles away. It would take her roughly an hour to get there, but it was probably worth it and she could get some decent game. “Glad to hear.” She said mindlessly as she sent the text and shoved the phone back into her trouser pocket. If anything, Aphrodite was glad that this conversation was over. It was tiring and getting a bit childish for her taste.

Keeping her eyes trained on what the man was doing, Aphrodite walked over to a part of the ruin and leaned against it. It was only necessary to see what this guy deemed ‘interesting’ enough for her to try and do as well. Placing her bow next to her and crossed her arms over her chest, Aphrodite watched the scene unfold in front of her. She made herself comfortable as this might take a while. Raising her eyebrows as she watched the man aim and then fire at a group of overly large tourists, she tilted her head to the side slightly. While it was amusing to see them all run around screaming like little children, Aphrodite didn’t get much pleasure out of it. An ‘are you kidding’ look crossed her face when the guy asked his question. “No not really. It was a little dull for my taste. You could’ve done a lot better.” She said, her voice batting around a cold tone. While the group of tourists seemed to have calmed down, there was a certain edge around them now, which would make scaring them a lot less fun. Not that she’d sink that low to scare people with a bow and arrow very often. She usually enjoyed sneaking up on them, finding something out and then using it against them in as many ways as possible. It had provided her with hours of fun.

Granted she couldn’t really do this with a group of tourists, a small idea flickered in her mind. To her, it wasn’t much better than what the guy just did, but it was something she had only tried once before. That was only because a group of people were annoying her in the first place. They didn’t know of her powers, but they knew of her archery. They knew just how good she was after she’d shot at them. Of course, nobody got hurt, but Aphrodite had a pretty good feeling afterwards. They didn’t bug her again after that. A small smile showed itself on her face as she remembered what happened. Glancing around the ruins, she could see some shadows making themselves known in the rising sun. She didn’t normally like blending into shadows during the day, but it seemed necessary.

“I can show you something interesting. But seeing as we find different things interesting, you would probably hold a different opinion.” Aphrodite turned her back on the male and started wrapping up the rabbit in her target. If she got moving in the next half an hour or so, she could get a few hours hunting in before having to head back. It all depended on how long this ‘conversation’ kept going on for.

[ilyas aylin]

She wasn’t impressed; he didn’t care. That wasn’t the reason why he decided to shoot, to impress her. If she thought he was acting for her sheer entertainment, she was dead wrong, and even more spoiled than he initially thought. “Oh well. As long as I enjoyed it.” It was worth wasting an arrow on, seeing as how it stirred the tourists enough to make them take their leave, but not without looking over their shoulders ever few seconds. They paused again a little further away, but that was when Ilyas decided they were no longer worth his attention. And he was quickly starting to feel the same way about this girl in front of him. Clueless to what she really wanted, he was growing tired of waiting around for her to spill it out.

The day was still young, and he had better things to do. After all, he had to figure out a way to get food now. The man cringed slightly at the thought of having to go to a supermarket to purchase nutrition; the meat they sold there tasted completely different from that he caught himself. Filled with chemicals, unnatural. One could even taste the stress of the animal prior to being killed. No, he’d probably prefer to chew on his own limbs. Even the meat of better quality, purchased at a butcher shop tasted funny. He hadn’t the option to try ‘the best of the best’, since his budget wouldn’t allow that, but he highly doubted whether that would actually be any better than the cheap shit. People were so easily pleased. People settled for less. As long as they got what they needed, as long as they were satisfied, they didn’t care about anything else. Not about how much an animal would suffer before it reached their plate. When he went out to hunt, he made sure to kill an animal instantly; he didn’t inflict any more pain upon them than was necessary. And anyone who critiqued him as a hunter was better to watch their back, since he was convinced his lifestyle was a lot healthier than that of the city folk, for both him and the world around.

He agreed with her; the two of them probably couldn’t be more different. She held other interests than he did and frankly, he cared very little for what they were. “Don’t waste your time on me. You don’t want praise from me anyway.” He just had to mention that again, rub it in. “And besides, you’re starting to bore me.” That, and he couldn’t shake a strange feeling he had about this girl; he was unable to put his finger on it exactly, but something was up with her. It was better to leave her be, before she played the tricks she most likely had up her sleeve, for whatever her reasons were.

“Now, excuse me,” he started and picked his bag up from the ground, swinging it over his right shoulder. The bow was still in his hand. “I’m going to get out of here, before those boobs call the cops.” And actually, it seemed they were already on that; several of the tourist were busily talking into their phones and Ilyas doubted they were making a friendly family call. Annoying modern technology. Without awaiting the redhead’s reaction, he started to stalk off from the ruins, but he was still careful enough to not let anyone catch a glimpse of him.

[cynthia aphrodite georgiou]

There’s a million ways it could go

Rolling her eyes yet again, Aphrodite wondered if this ever had any fun for longer than 5 minutes in his life. While she knew that life could not all be fun and games, surely there was a limit to how seriousness one guy could take. And this guy seemed to be the complete image of total seriousness. It was true that she didn’t want praise from him in the first place, but she could easily brush that off without a second thought. “Well aren’t you an excitable one.” She said, not bothering to look over her shoulder when speaking. He wasn’t worth looking at right this second. “If I’m starting to bore you, then why didn’t you leave earlier? I would’ve thought you’d have more sense than that.” Sometimes Aphrodite didn’t know when to shut up. But it was remarks like this that could made her like teasing with people that much more fun. Even if it meant the guy coming straight at her, she could easily dodge out the way. What with the gymnastics she did back in Greece as well as the occasional practice here, she was pretty quick on her feet. She could move when she wanted too. Plus standing at 5’5, Aphrodite wasn’t the biggest target in the world.

She was standing there thinking about this, that she nearly didn’t listen to what the guy was saying. Just as well, because it wasn’t all that interesting anyway. But she decided to humour him anyway. They would be parting ways soon enough anyway; it was only in her nature to play around a little before they did. Well she said that, Aphrodite guessed they would see each other again soon enough when she found out the necessary information that she needed to. Aphrodite let out a small laugh as she finished rolling the rabbit up. At least it wasn’t her that seemed to be all riled up at the moment. “You’re such a spoil sport. I wouldn’t have figured you to be someone to run away from something as simple as the cops.” She teased a small smirk on her face. She emptied the arrows from her quiver and smoothly, placed the rabbit into the quiver. It slid in quite nicely, leaving a big enough gap for the other arrows to fit around the edge. The rabbit stayed safe and probably wouldn’t slip out. The broken bits of arrow were snapped in half and tactically put over the top of the rabbit and target so that they wouldn’t fall out. She would be able to dispose of them safely when she was back home.

Glancing at the man as he retreated, or rather stalked, off in the opposite direction, Aphrodite could feel a bubble of laughter rise to her lips. It was a second or two later, that it came bursting out. That was not how she envisioned him walking away from pulling a stunt like that. Placing the last bits of arrow in her quiver, she hoisted it onto her shoulder. After she finished laughing, a small part of her was still nagging at her to make him come back. Seeing him shoot at the rabbit earlier had sprung an idea into her mind. The man wasn’t exactly that far away from her at the moment and he could probably hear her if she called out to him. “Hey! If you want, you came hunting with me in the forest that’s two miles out. There’s a good place where some decent games comes to drink, if you want, I can show you were it is.” Aphrodite called, picking her bow up with her right hand and leaning against the wall on her left side. She didn’t care who looked over, if she caught the guys attention, well good. If not, then more game for her.

[ilyas aylin]

She was good at playing games. Clearly, she tried to provoke him, to turn around and dash back at her. She showed little respect, but then again, he hadn’t given her a reason to show him that. He hadn’t exactly treated her like a lady either; mostly because she didn’t act like one. Insulting him by calling him a coward wouldn’t make him turn on his heels; he’d much rather be a coward than have to spend the night in jail. There was a large difference between being a coward and acting wisely, but perhaps she would learn, if she’d stick around here long enough. She might even get blamed for his actions. That thought made him smirk lightly, but he was sure she was capable enough to deal with a bunch of police officers. Her mouth was big enough for it, and her brain didn’t lack intelligence.

Is she laughing at me? he wondered to himself. His brows furrowed, but he still refused to look over his shoulder. Something was apparently very amusing, because it wasn’t just a short giggle, but rather a burst of laughter and it was enough to make him change the way he was walking; she could have little other reasons to laugh at but him. Yet, in a way, he could be proud. He’d managed to amuse her and with a sourpuss such as herself, that seemed quite an achievement. Heh, maybe they had more in common than he’d wanted to admit earlier.

The loud exclamation of ‘Hey!’ caught his attention, though, and he spun around, gazing the young lady in the eye, but he didn’t speak. She just had to be so darn loud. Maybe she was even doing it on purpose; that wouldn’t be a surprise. With large paces, he stepped back towards her, his face slightly darkened and he stopped in front of her when he was close enough for her to hear his low voice. “Thanks, for blowing our cover.” He gestured towards the spot the tourist were standing in previously; two of them were standing there again, one of them being the guy Ilyas had shot at, but they weren’t alone. There were two other men, dressed in black and blue uniform and a similar hat; one didn’t have to be a genius to see they were working the law. They’d been gazing at the arrow that had pierced the man’s hat, until the girl’s voice drew their eyes in their direction and when the chubby man pointed at them, it was safe to say they’d been discovered. Treading fast and with frowns on their faces, the group swiftly proceeded in their direction. Now they’d either have to come up with a really good excuse for why there were carrying around bows and arrows (and one for why they’d shot at a group of people, seeing as they couldn’t really deny that any longer), or run to save their skins.

Ilyas met the redhead’s eyes; the second option seemed a lot more appealing. “The forest, you said?”

[cynthia aphrodite georgiou]

There’s a million ways it could go

So the previous two things hadn’t worked out in her favour. Aphrodite hadn’t managed to grab his attention, apart from maybe the slight change in how he was walking, but she could dwell on her past actions in a minute. It was a couple of seconds later that she saw him start walking back towards her. Maybe what she’d said about the forest had managed to grab his attention. However, it was the look on his face that suggested differently. Aphrodite looked around, her eyes skimming over the tourists from before. That glance was just enough. The uniforms of two police officers caught her attention. A small smirk placed itself on her lips. She then heard low voice of the man, who so happened to be standing near her. The smirk stayed on lips as she spoke. “You’re very welcome. But I assure you I have nothing to worry about. It might have failed to catch your attention, but I believe that is your arrow stuck in his hat, not mine. You should be more careful where you shoot your arrows.” The smirk on her face broadened a bit. For such a smart man, Aphrodite would’ve thought he’d remember things like this. Whether or not the police accused her of anything didn’t bother her so much. She could very easily talk her way out this.

It was only after he mentioned the forest did her smirk falter and earned him a very sarcastic look. “No old man, Narnia.” Aphrodite had to control herself with the sarcasm, but at the moment she couldn’t help it. Sarcasm could’ve dripped off her words if it was possible. “Did you not hear me correctly?” Aphrodite glanced over at the tourist and the policeman. While it would be fun to watch the guy get into trouble and to her, he did deserve it a little, she wasn’t completely heartless. The three people were getting closer. She sighed and turned back to the guy. “If you really want to get out of here before they get here, go up there, turn left and keep going until you hit the road. I’ll be with you in a second.” Aphrodite pointed in the direction she said and then started walking over to the policemen. If the guy had any sense left in his head, he would let her handle this. Taking out her phone from her pocket, she quickly texted her father to send a car out so that she could send the rabbit home and for a different bow to be sent. She didn’t like using the same bow and quiver for hunting in two different locations.

The tourist and the policemen stopped in front of her just when Aphrodite stood still. Her grip on her bow was firm as she stared at the trio with a blank expression. “What can I do you three on the fine morning?” She asked, one of her fake smile plastered onto her face. Gah, she hated this smile. Usually she wouldn’t do this sort of thing for someone she’d only just met and she didn’t expect to get anything out of it, but the guy looked sort of desperate. “Do you know what happened to this guys hat?” Aphrodite bit down on her tongue to stop herself from answering sarcastically. “Well, it seems like there’s an arrow in it, sir.” She answered, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice as much as possible. While she hadn’t had many encounters with the police often, there had been a couple of occasions where her arrows had ‘misfired’ into a different direction. She had gotten used to talking her way out of it. “Obviously we know that. We also realize that you and that guy over there both have bows and arrows. What we want to know is how it got from over there, to over here.” These guys were blunt to an extent. Aphrodite held back her a bitter smile from her lips, keeping the fake one on her lips instead. “I’m really sorry about that. You see he’s my brother. He’s not all there in the head. He can sometimes get a little over excited when practicing his archery techniques. I’m trying to teach him a few things as he’s not quite there yet. He saw the group of tourists this man was in and thought it would be to try and aim for his hat. I’m just glad the hat got shot and not this mans poor head.” Aphrodite explained, doing all the necessary hand gestures and facial expressions in order to try and pull this off.

The policemen looked slightly sceptical, but thankfully bought the story. Internally, Aphrodite let out a sigh of relief, offered one last smile towards the tourist, turned around and walked off in the direction she’d pointed the guy in. It took her no less than 5 minutes to be able to get there. Thankfully, the car was there. Ignoring her surroundings, she leaned in, taking the quiver off her back in the process, opened the door and placed both the bow and the quiver into the back seat. Instead, she took out an older looking bow that she’d been using for about 9 or 10 years now. Sure it was old, but it was holding out really well for its age and almost didn’t look it. She pulled out a new quiver and a bag as well, strapping both things around her shoulders. The quiver was full of arrows this time, more suitable for hunting than the ones she was previously using and the backpack was almost completely empty. It was made to hold any smaller game that she was able to kill. It had a couple of tools in it to help her carry pieces of game though the forest. Saying a quick ‘Thank you’ to the drive, Aphrodite pulled further away from the car, slamming the door shut. She watched it drive for a second before turning and facing the man.

[ilyas aylin]

If that little bitch hadn’t caught the attention of the law enforcers, he would’ve already been out of here before she could so much as blink her eyes. Why he decided to walk back to her was a mystery to himself as well; perhaps it was due to yesterday's liquor, was he still hung over, or perhaps ever still drunk. Whatever the reason was, he decided not to stick around to see the end of this.

Narnia? What the hell was Narnia? Could that be the name of the forest she was referring to earlier? Probably not, judging from the tone of her voice and that aggravating, presumptuous eye roll of hers and he wasted no time responding to her. If he’d say something, she’d counter it and they’d end up wasting even more time. Instead, he did what she’d told him to do. Not because she told him to do it, but because whatever little plan she had inside that head of hers, he’d already decided to make a run for it when first catching a glimpse of the cops. He wasn’t even so much interested in what she was going to tell them. He was, however, interested in why. First, she sabotaged him by calling out loudly, now, she made up for it again. Weird girl; crazily insane, weird girl. She had issues, definitely. It takes one to know one.

He reached the road rather quickly; his pace was always swift and for someone with long legs like his, it didn’t take long to reach a destination. The question crossed his mind why in the world he’d wait here for that stuck-up child. She’d definitely take enough time to rub everything that happened today in his face; even when he didn’t respond to it, she still felt it held some sort of amusement. But she did know where the forest was. That meant he needed her for a while longer. Just a little while, though, because even though he knew well how to hide it, she was somewhat getting on his nerves. Probably due to the fact he was so used to being on his own; anyone sticking around for longer than ten minutes would’ve annoyed him, and especially one who thought quite highly of herself. It even happened to him and his sister, and they’d spend most of their lives together. Of course, she wasn’t as big mouthed as this girl was. No, Yaira was probably a bit worse, even, but for some reason, probably because he was her brother, he could take it from her easier than from this redhead.

So he waited for her; he needed directions to the forest. Although he’d definitely find it himself, had he gone through a little trouble, she presented this opportunity; since she’d already wasted so much of his time, this would make up for it, slightly. He laid down in the grass by the road, his arms folded under his head and his eyes aimed up at the sky. Blue sky, a few light clouds; a perfect day to hunt, despite it being a bit later now. The sound of a car coming to a stop nearby raised his suspicion, though, and caused him to sit back up straight. The windows were tinted; no way he could see who or what was inside, but it wasn’t long before a shape showed up in the distance, and fire red hair. Two and two were easily put together. This car came for her and it said only one single thing: filthy rich. Disgustingly, filthy rich.

And yes, indeed, she leaned inside, took out some stuff and just as suddenly as it arrived, the car drove off. As he’d predicted, she had a new set of arrows; he recognized the change instantly. Her bow was different as well. When she turned in his direction, he shook his head slightly, unable to wrap his mind around her motives. And what better way to find out then to ask? “I don’t get you. You act like you hate me--I appreciate that, by the way. But then, you ask me to go out hunting with you?” There was disbelieve both in his eyes and voice as he tried to read her expression; she turned out to be equally good at hiding what she felt and wanted as he was, so he popped the one question he wanted answered. “What the hell do you want from me?”

[cynthia aphrodite georgiou]

There’s a million ways it could go

Aphrodite let a smile cross her face. So the guy had caught onto what she was doing had he? Well, she wasn’t really doing anything. She was just being her usual self. She heard the disbelief in his voice though. That wasn’t uncommon. But this guy intrigued her to a certain extent and playing with him was quite a bit of fun too. That was the main reason why her attitude had change so drastically over the past few minutes. However, the reason why she’d asked him to go hunting with her? Aphrodite would never admit this out loud, but the guy seemed like a pretty good hunter. His skills would possibly help her find some game for herself. Not that she wouldn’t be perfectly fine without the guys help, but he could have skills that she didn’t quite know yet. Though the chances of that happening were slim. But there was also the chance that they could teach each other something. Aphrodite nearly snorted at that idea, but managed to restrain herself right at the last second. What a stupid idea that was. She thought.

Deciding to answer the guys questions, Aphrodite focused back on him. She wouldn’t totally admit what her ‘motives’ were. Leading him on seemed like the better idea. But he would get bored soon enough, which would suit her just fine since it would give her a chance to change her tactics again. “That, old man, is a tale for another time when I’ve finally figured you out.” She said, grinning cheekily at him. Aphrodite knew it was a risky thing, saying things like this. Soon enough, she sobered up a little, deciding to clue him in a little bit. It would be worth while to give him a little bit of truth now to keep him somewhat interested in what she was doing. “But you could be a valuable asset to me sometime in the future. Whether you not you choose to believe that is up to you, but that’s as much truth as you’re going to get from me this time.” Exactly why she’d chosen him and how valuable he was could wait. If he stuck around long enough, Aphrodite could find it within herself to tell him the full details. But the chances of that happening too were slim at best. She liked to keep these small details to herself just in case she needed them for the future.

“Anyway old man, shouldn’t we get going? We have an hour or so walk ahead of us to get to this forest I was telling you about. If you’re just going to sit there you might as well stay here.” Aphrodite teased, a small smile on her lips as she started walking in the direction of the forest. Granted she could have told him to get in the car and let her fathers chauffeur take them there, but that seemed all too easy. Plus she didn’t want to rub in how rich they were. Though it probably was quite obvious now than it was earlier. She’d be able to get the car back, no way was she going to be able to carry loads of game with her. Usually she got quite a good haul. A few rabbits, some peasants or ducks, maybe some other bird and maybe a deer if there was any. The deer were rare and she’d only been able to catch three or four of them over the 11 years she’d been hunting. “Keep up old guy, I might just get all the game.” She called, teasing him slightly.

[ilyas aylin]

That cheeky grin of hers made a pair of blue eyes roll. She still hadn’t given up on revealing the man’s identity, but he refused to tell her again that search would be hopeless; she’d find out soon enough. However, his eyebrows rose slightly when she spoke next, because it almost sounded as if she was giving him a compliment. ‘Valuable asset’, that was a good thing, yet she refused to reveal what he was valuable for. Of course he could’ve questioned more, but she clearly wasn’t going to answer to that. Currently, he tried to convince himself she was referring to his hunting skills, but he couldn’t quite shake the idea she had more planned. Ilyas would still be on his guard, even around this child.

An hour walk; was that on a fast pace? He had trouble imagining this small girl walking fast. With his 6’5”, he was at least a foot taller than she was, but so far, the swiftness of her tread pleased him. And he could hardly call her lazy; with ease, she could’ve jumped inside the car and let someone drive her to her destination. He wasn’t yet sure why she’d chosen against that; maybe she simply found this a lovely day for a walk. She wasn’t sick of her ‘old man’ joke yet either, but neither was he. “You damn kids and your young legs,” he playfully scolded in her direction, but he was rather mocking old, grumpy people than he was mocking her.

After a twenty minute walk, they left the road behind and followed a smaller path. It was open, not surrounded by many trees and deserted; the path was too small for a car to drive on, and within their view, Ilyas could spot no houses or something alike. In the far distance, on the horizon, the tops of the trees could be seen. A somewhat relieved sigh left his lips. He wasn’t a city man, he was a forest dweller and just the sight of distant trees were enough to lift a weight off his heart. The redhead girl walked about a hundred metres ahead of him, her tempo not slowing just yet.

“Do you really want to be walking in front of me? Not scared I’ll stab you in the back?” Although his tone was equally teasing as hers had been, he meant that both literally and figuratively. He’d showed earlier he wasn’t afraid to shoot at living human beings, and his aim could be perfect, if he wanted to. Also, if she’d show him the forest, he’d most likely dump her and follow his own trail. That was the way he did things, on his own, but he hadn’t completely decided on it just yet. Somehow, this all could still turn out to be a good experience, or an interesting one, at least. And having showed off her skills, and her ability to counter with a good amount of sarcasm, she had managed to win some of his respect. That didn’t mean she was no longer fun to mess with.

“Alright. Cards on the table,” he said, his pace slowing a little. He knew this would be a comment that would interest her. His lips faintly curled up, while his face was slightly ducked to the ground, so she wouldn’t spot it. He waited long enough to know her interest would be tickled to hear the rest of what he had to say and with a light sigh, he continued. “I didn’t really want to tell you this.. I didn’t really want to tell you anything, actually. But.. I guess you’ve earned this.” His face was serious now, but his eyes sparkled all the more. “I like the meat in Greece too,” he revealed, a 'shocking' secret. And with that said, he picked up the swift pace again.

[cynthia aphrodite georgiou]

There’s a million ways it could go

It seemed like the sarcastic comments had stopped for now which had opened a brief window of teasing. This didn’t bother Aphrodite in the slightest, even if it wasn’t that light hearted. It was better than nothing. She let a small smile sit on her lips as she continued to walk in the silence that blanketed them. Her pace never slowed, despite the heat and how long she’d been on her feet for. She’d been taught never to complain about things to do with hunting. For all her father cared, she could complain about everything else, but this. He claimed she would ‘scare off the game’ if she complained too much since she could be pretty loud when she wanted to be. It wasn’t until the twenty minute mark that the voice of the guy reached her to say something. Aphrodite was a little surprised by this, but figured that a conversation was bound to happen somewhere. She did say anything for a few seconds, letting his word sink a bit. Truthfully? No she wasn’t worried. Despite what she’d seen from him, she wasn’t scared about what he could do. She would put up a good fight if he tried and there was always the chance that no matter how perfect his aim was, that he’d miss.

“No. No I’m not.” Aphrodite said this with bravery in her voice. Though there was a slight hint of worry it her voice, but only showed it for a brief second. She had learnt to hear the way the bow and arrow worked as well as just using it. She might not be perfect at it, but she could the vague signs. If she heard any sign of it occurring from behind her, Aphrodite had a theory, that despite his longer legs, she could easily out run him. Her footing and agility could be just as dangerous as a bow and arrow. “You should be more worried about yourself than trying to stab me in the back.” It was a bit of a brave statement, but it held a bit of truth in it. She had made this journey three or four times by foot. While she had only come this way once out of those four times, she had practically memorised where she needed to go. If, for example, the guy did decide to try and stab her in the back, Aphrodite would merely try to dodge the arrow or position herself so that she wasn’t fatally wounded. If she was, a quick call or text would alert her parents and she could try to make her way back or run to the forest depending on how close they were to it. “Anyway, even if you tried you wouldn’t do it. You don’t seem like the person who wants the thought of being hounded by the police on their head.”

Aphrodite slowed after hearing the guy’s words. She did not come to a halt as it would prolong their trip and she wanted to get some serious hunting done. It intrigued her about what he had to say, but there was an edge to it. She couldn’t deny that. Keeping her face forwards, she felt a smile creep onto her face as his ‘truth’. “Wow. I am shocked by that outburst.” Aphrodite knew that the smile as well as the sarcasm was in her voice. “Thank you for telling me that, oh kind one.” She turned around, not slowing her pace any further and did a mock bow before turning back around again. She picked the pace up again, not allowing this small tidbit of information to slow her down. Aphrodite let a small laugh as she rolled the piece of information around in her mind.

[ilyas aylin]

People usually feared him, but Ilyas wasn’t surprised this girl came across bravely, although she wasn’t fearless. Not surprisingly. She had to be confident to take a stranger along with her into the woods, but despite all her skills, there was always the possibility someone would catch her off guard. Even a trained hunter could have the disadvantage of the element of surprise. No matter how skilled one was, if the predator was silent and cunning enough, they could still strike, swift and silent; the blonde man had the scars on his back to prove that, but he figured the redhead had never had such an encounter before. He didn’t wish it to her, either. There were different ways to learn a lesson except a nearly deadly one. “Glad you’re not worried,” he stated calmly, his eyes still piercing her back.

“Who says the police will find out?” he muttered barely a moment later, again only loud enough for her to hear. It was hard to tell from his voice whether he meant it in a joking way or whether he was serious. Who was to say he wasn’t already on the run from the cops? That would explain why he wanted to avoid them at all cost earlier. He could as well be a criminal, a murderer, with all the weapons he carried around. He wouldn’t even have to use his bow; the dagger in his boot would do the trick as well. With a single swift movement, he’d have reached for it and thrown it in her direction; she wouldn’t know what was coming at her. But a couple of seconds later, a smile appeared on his lips, displaying the frolic rationale of his comment. He didn’t plan to kill her. She could be quite annoying, but to his knowledge, that was hardly a crime. If it was, he’d be guilty of it too, although it would probably be the smallest crime on his record.

Was she laughing? Yes, she laughed. Be it lightly, but she laughed. Perhaps the physical exertion had them both more in their element, more at ease, even around each other. Normally, he wasn’t one to make conversation, but for some reason, he kept replying to her statements. “I’m full of surprises, am I not? I figured you’d find it shocking,” he teased as their swift pace brought the trees of the forest closer and closer. “It isn’t every day business that I confess such a deep, dark secret to anyone, specially not with a big mouth such as yours.”

The both of them fell silent again, until the first trees were reached. They’d need to walk for a while longer, as most forest creatures wouldn’t dwell near the edge of the woods, especially not the bigger ones. It would be indecent to ask for her name, seeing as how he wouldn’t answer such a question himself either. But that didn’t quite matter, because instead, he’d already come up with a name for her as well as she had for him. “So, what kind of creatures live here, Ruby?” he questioned, the name referring to her red hair, or maybe her fiery personality. He had the need to be prepared for what would await them. It looked like a decent forest to hunt, but that meant not just for them; he wondered how many times she’d been here and if she’d ever ran into a creature that wasn’t so friendly to their kind.

[cynthia aphrodite georgiou]

There’s a million ways it could go

Aphrodite nodded, letting that part of their conversation slide away. It didn’t mean that she wasn’t worried; she refused to let that show. She just hoped that he wouldn’t do anything like that anyway. It didn’t seem like he would, but she couldn’t be too sure. Letting the thought swirl around in her mind for a few seconds, she nearly missed what the man said next. “My parents will know I’ve gone missing, they know where I’ve gone as well as with who and my father can easily track the trails I’ve gone on. My parents will notify the police and will eventually find my body. So I wouldn’t get your hopes up.” She wasn’t always on the friendliest terms with her parents most of the time. In fact, half the time they ignored her and let her get on with whatever she wanted. If their only daughter went missing, then there’d be uproar. It would only be a matter of time before they’d find her body. Though, if he managed to get rid of her body pretty well, then it would cause some complications. But since two police officers had already seen the two of them together, then they’d know who she was with. Which would probably point the finger right at the old guy. “If you’ve already forgottern the encounter we nearly had earlier. Two police officers have already seen us together, so if I did go missing, you’d be the first suspect.” A smirk was on her face as she thought of this thing playing out. Though she’d be dead of course, but still.

“Yeah, I figured that out already.” Aphrodite said, rolling her eyes, not that he could see. She watched the forest move closer and closer with every step. A part of her was relieved. It wasn’t every day that she saw the forest and that part of her always relaxed a little. Especially in this part of the country, in this town where the forest was two miles or so outside of town. “Though I’m not going to blab it to anyone, my mouth’s not that big.” She retaliated. Sure she could yell like a sailor, she could talk like one at times and there were certain bits of information, that once she got her hands she would use for blackmail. But something that tiny? That wasn’t even worth anything for the time being. What would she do with that? Go around telling everyone that this random old guy liked the cheap alcohol and the meat in Greece? Aphrodite near snorted at this thought again. Sometimes she amused herself. It was pretty useless without knowing his name and wouldn’t do that much damage anyway.

As they got to the first line of trees, Aphrodite’s pace slowed down. While there wouldn’t be any animals this far out, if they made such a noise going in, most of them would avoid the pair anyway. She slowed to a near stop, but kept moving forward anyway, changing her footing so that it landed in the best spots to reduce noise. “From what I’ve seen, there are quite a few rabbits and hares, a couple of pheasants as well as a few other birds. I’ve also seen a load of deer in here as well, though you have to walk around a bit to be able to find them. I think there’s also a small river running through here with fish in it as well, but you’d have to check that out for yourself. That’s as much as I know.” The one thing she hadn’t told him was the fact that there might’ve been a wolf or two in this forest. But her mind told her it would be better if this guy found this out for himself. However after finding these things out herself, Aphrodite had been pretty content with hunting the less dangerous things and hadn’t gone searching for anything else. If she wanted to she’d bring her father with her too.

Stopping herself a few more metres in, Aphrodite drew an arrow from her quiver, hooking it into her bow. She scanned the currently surroundings, ignoring the guy for the time being. It would be better this way; it meant she could quickly react if she saw anything that was worth going after. Her gymnastic skills kicked in at this point and she carefully made her way through the trees, being as agile as she possibly could. There was little to no noise coming out her feet and she glanced at the man. He seemed smart enough to not make any noise to ruin her hunting. She had yet to show him this small pond where most animals seemed to drink. Sure there was a river running through this place, but over the few time she’d been here, that pond seemed like the best place. Aphrodite continued through the trees, keeping her footing light as she moved, dodging any obstacles that might make any loud noises.

It took her a few minutes to get through the trees without making any noise, but she finally arrived at the pond. It was a bit bigger than a normal one, since it was constantly used by so many animals, but trees were stationed all around it. If she wasn’t here to hunt, Aphrodite would’ve admitted it was a pretty nice place. Crouching behind a nearby bush, she peered through the a small crack in it, observing the animals that had already gathered around it. There were a few things to focus on. A couple of rabbits, a number of birds as well as a number of other things. However, the thing that surprised her the most was the fact that there was a deer, practically right in front of her but angled slightly to the left, with its back to her and currently drinking. Aphrodite let a small smile appear on her lips as she raised her bow to fire. It was a perfect shot. She had an opening to shoot it without getting the animal into too much pain.

[ilyas aylin]

Ilyas moved equally silent through the forest. The leafs of the trees had taken on brown and orange colors; the colors of autumn. The trees also started to lose their leafs slowly, which meant they’d have to try harder to stay hidden with little natural sources to cover them. The man paused for a moment and closed his eyes, the wind blowing a soft, cold breeze through his blonde hair. It came from behind them, which meant they were advancing from the wrong angle. He wondered if Ruby took this into account as well; he hadn’t seen her take a moment to calculate where the breeze came from, but her tread was determined none the less. With more distance between them this time, he kept following her, but when she came to a halt, his eyes narrowed. Clearly, she’d found herself an interesting prey. He stood too far away to catch a glimpse of what she was looking at, but she took shelter behind a bush and aimed. It was clearly a prey worth the while.

Instead of joining her by her side, the man decided on a different approach. With bow in his hands, an arrow ready to be shot, he moved on. He spotted the pond from the corner of his eye and, indeed, the water was surrounded by animals of different types. Small ones, but also a few bigger one; he spotted a deer. The redhead must’ve spotted it, too, and claimed it as her trophy. To Ilyas, there were unwritten rules in hunting. The first one laying their eyes on a prey made the unspoken claim on that animal. He wouldn’t steal it away from her, she’d get her shot at it, but he hoped for her the deer wouldn’t catch her smell before her arrow hit its goal. In a forest like this, without any human souls to spoil the peace, it wasn’t strange the animals came to gather, but the deer flinched a few times, making Ilyas pause in his movement. It was on its guard, although there was no apparent cause for that. All the more reason to believe there were predators around.

After a few minutes, the man stopped at the other side of the pond. Here, he, too, had a clear view on the deer, and the girl who was aiming for it. The animal gazed in his direction for a short while, and he could see it was a healthy exemplar; a male, its antlers still small and therefore, it couldn’t be very old, but strong and muscular and providing them with enough meat to dine from for a few days. A soft, soundless huff left his lips. He was acting like a fool, assuming this girl would share her prize with him. Just because she’d offered him a rabbit didn’t mean she’d offer him part of the deer as well. She could have different purposes with it. No, he’d have to fetch his own food, but the small rodents weren’t his favorite, and neither were the pheasants. And the squirrel that made its way up the tree on his left side was barely worth the trouble too. But a man has to eat, unfortunately, and he’d never been in a position to act spoiled; food is food, even if it’s a small animal. So, he decided on the largest pheasant anyway; with the right seasoning, it would be a meal for royalty and actually something to look forward to. He was ready to take aim, when his eye fell on the ground, or rather, on a track on the ground. A paw print, sunk deeply into the moist earth, and it didn’t belong to any of the animals standing by the pond. It wasn’t of a hoof, it was too large to be a rodent’s, and it clearly had sharp claws. A coyote, he judged; or perhaps a small wolf. But most troublesome: it was a fresh track. They hadn’t been the first ones to come hunting here and the chances of the predator still being around were rather large; there were no signs of a previous hunt, so it hadn’t struck yet. Ilyas glanced over his shoulder, his eyes quickly scanning every detail. Even though he’d be bigger than this animal, it could still do a right amount of damage. But at least it wasn’t a bear..

[cynthia aphrodite georgiou]

There’s a million ways it could go

Aphrodite felt a slight breeze on her neck. If she didn’t do it now, then her catch would run and the rest of them scatter. She positioned her bow in a way that would easily make the shot. A smile spread across her face as she let the arrow go. It landed with a thump in the deer’s side. It let out a small yelp and fell the group within a second. She looked up at the rest of the animals that had gathered around the pond. They hadn’t spotted her yet, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t noticed that another animal had dropped down dead. They stared at the lifeless deer for a few seconds, a couple of them bolting right there and then. It was clear that the animals knew something was up and Aphrodite moved as silently as she could away from the area in case another gust of wind came. She wouldn’t go straight for the deer yet as there were still a few animals left around in which she could make another kill. It was true that most of the smarter animals had scattered, leaving only the ignorant ones left. But it meant she didn’t have to travel all that far. Though she wouldn’t be travelling far or fast when the time came for to her carry the deer around. However, that was where the equipment in her bag came in.

It was a long shot, but Aphrodite stopped behind a thick trunked tree, eyeing up a nearby rabbit that hadn’t scarpered yet. She knew that rabbits were skittish animals, who bolted as soon as they saw anything remotely unusual and by all odds, this one had stayed. It was clear that this particular rabbit had meat on its bones. It was plump enough for her to be able to want to shoot it anyway and would eventually serve it’s purposes later on in the house. Aphrodite drew another arrow, silently moving around the tree as she pulled back the arrow. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the man aim for a pheasant. It wasn’t until after her arrow left the bow and the rabbit lay down dead did she look over. He seemed, oddly distracted by something. Her forehead crinkled a bit as she frowned, temporarily forgetting about her kills. She walked over as quietly as she could looking down at the spot that the man seemed focused on as well.

Once she saw what it was, it took all Aphrodite could muster to stop herself from letting out a laugh. “Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you. There’s also a very small possibility that there’s some sort of wolf or coyote out here too. Just thought I’d let you know.” She whispered, just loud enough for the guy to hear. It was a cruel joke really, but he should’ve known that they’d be some sort of threat out here. They were just lucky that there weren’t bears in this forest. It wouldn’t have made much sense though. This forest was tiny compared to some of the others. In fact, when Aphrodite heard that they’d been wolves or coyotes in here, she’d nearly scoffed. But she’d seen the signs which meant that she had to accept it. She smirked and walked back to the tree she was just at. She would wait a few more seconds before going to get her kills. Before that, she had to scout the area for a decent place to put them. However, it would have to be quick, there were bugs around that could eat at the bodies soon.

After a few minutes, Aphrodite had managed to find a place. It was just then that she heard a howl. Her whole body froze up. She’d heard howls in this forest before and she’d always frozen. She let out a breath, trying to unfreeze herself from the position she’d frozen in. Right now, she didn’t care exactly what it was, but it was close and Aphrodite wasn’t going to take risks with this thing. Her skills were outmatched to that of a wolf or a coyote. Aphrodite practically raced back to the pond as quietly as she could. She moved out into the open. Whatever was left out here would’ve bolted when she did. At that moment she didn’t care, she just needed to get her kills out of here. Swinging her bag down from her shoulder, she quickly opened it and placed it by the rabbit with her free hand. She pulled the arrow out of the body, practically shoved it back in her quiver. She put the rabbit in the bag, making sure it didn’t get crumpled or broken in any way possible. There was no way that she’d be able to get the deer inside the bag. Which was why she had brought some other things with here, though she was wondering whether or not she’d be able to do it in time. There was another howl and her head shut up. It was definitely closer than before.

Looking back down at her bag, she closed the flap and pulled it up. Hurrying over to the deer, she knelt down again, opening up her bag and placed her bow next to it. Pulling out some wire, Aphrodite quickly tied up the deer’s legs, gently pulling the arrow out its side afterwards. Her heart was thumping in her chest. If she didn’t get this done quick enough, who knows what might happen. Whatever was howling had probably smelt them as well as the kills she’d made already. Letting out a breath and calming herself down for a second and looked down at the deer. She sized the thing up. It wasn’t fully grown, she could see that from the antlers and it wasn’t especially big, even if it had got quite a bit of meat on it. If she was lucky, she’d be able to place it over her shoulder and carry it out. They weren’t all that far from the edge, about fifteen minutes, twenty at most. Deciding that this was the best option for now, Aphrodite slung her bag back over her shoulder, moving her bow next to the deer. Grabbing the front legs that were tied together, she used all her strength to lift the deer up. Granted it was heavy, but she had a lot more muscle then she originally thought. Moving swift before her arms gave out, she moved the deer over her left shoulder. Her right shoulder had the arrows behind it so the left seemed like the best way to go.

Making sure she could shoulder the body, Aphrodite placed her hand on the side before squatting down and picking up her bow. It was only then did she look around for the man. In her haste she had completely forgotten about him. However, the guy wasn’t what her eyes latched onto. It was the rustling of a bush that caught her attention. She couldn’t shoot very well with a deer on her shoulder and her knife was currently in her bag. She mentally scolded herself for forgetting about that. Backing up slowly, Aphrodite made she was walking the way that they had entered the scene, her eyes continuously fixed on the bush. Her eyes swivelled round to look at the man before back at the bush. She wasn’t sure whether or not her eyes conveyed some sort of ‘help me’ message or not, but her face remained composed. If anything, she would’ve thought her face had a scared look on it.

[ilyas aylin]

He didn’t laugh at her joke; how proud she was of herself she’d managed to toy with him once again. Little did she realize that a joke such as this one could easily cost her her life. If this was the track of a wolf, they’d be in big trouble. It had been here very recently, judging from the track it left. He could’ve yelled at her, cursing her for her stupidity, but that would only give away their position. The scolding could wait, yet again. Ilyas ran his fingers over the paw print; two short, grey hairs covered the tips of his fingers. He had barely noticed the girl had already gotten back onto her feet and walked off; he was fully concentrated. The hairs looked very familiar. His eyes slowly trailed to his right shoulder; a scar caused by an animal he expected to soon find here as well.

And his fear was confirmed by a loud howl, nearby.

A howl meant one thing: it was a call to others of the same kin. One could view upon it as a kind of war cry; the wolf’s way of letting know it was moving to strike. Another howl sounded, not from the same place, meaning it could impossibly be the same animal. They were closing in on the hunting duo. The man stood in his spot, the bow still in his hand, but lowered, his muscles slightly tense and his eyes searching for anything that moved. A bush did, not much later and a snout emerged from it; teeth revealed and a low growling. As the animal approached, Ilyas remained in his spot, but the question was: for how long.

The redhead tried to hurry from the scene, but she was too late. It wasn’t one wolf that appeared into their view, it were two, and the bush was still moving. Wolves hunted in packs, always. Perhaps the paw print he’d spotted earlier was just a sign of one of them scouting their hunting ground. Perhaps they only came into action when they caught smell of fresh blood, that started to flow when the arrow hit the deer’s heart. The animals had come prepared. Ruby backed away slowly. Ilyas didn’t look at her eyes, focussed on the approaching predator, but he could spot her form in the corner of his eye. Her body language was that of a nervous person; she looked scared, something he could hardly blame her for. Two more wolves stepped from between the leafs and the blonde man took his first step back as well. These two were smaller, younger and likely more inexperienced, but he wasn’t going to stick around to let them prove that.

The pack had picked their prey. The largest one in front, they kept decreasing the space between them and the two humans, but despite the odds, that were clearly against him and the redhead, there was still a chance they could get away unharmed, be it a very small one. “Drop the deer, Ruby.” His voice was remarkably calm, but his eyes didn’t leave the animal’s for even a second. His experiences with wolves had taught him that keeping eye contact with the canines was the smartest option to chose. They were somehow slightly intimidated by a prey that stood tall and fearless, and kept them within their sight. It was key now to try and distract the animals; perhaps they’d choose the deer over having to go through the trouble of making a kill themselves. But wolves usually showed little interest in prey that were already dead, unless given no other choice. And in this case, they had a choice; two choices, actually. They chose the thrill of the hunt over an easy meal; they didn't take the bait. A bow would be no more use here; it was impossible to shoot four animals charging at rapid speed, at the same time. No matter how skilled a person was, one wolf was already challenging. Four? That was madness. For a regular human, that was.

Ilyas’ voice was still calm when he spoke up again. “Back away, slowly,” he told the redhead girl who stood slightly behind him. “Keep eye contact. Do not turn around.” And the last words he spoke were clear and very determined. “Do. Not. Run.” The wolves would lunge at her if she chose to run off. Her physique smaller than his, they’d decide on her being the weakest; the one they’d hunt most successfully.

His free hand moved back and forth, only slightly. It was a movement that wouldn’t be noticed by the animals and although he held his hand nearly behind his back, he questioned whether the girl would notice it. It wasn’t his weapon of choice, but when in absolute need, he would resort to it. The water in the pond stirred slightly, equal to the movement of Ilyas’ hand. Ripples, small current. It was hardly notable; it could’ve been blamed on the wind. But it weren’t the forces of nature causing this. It was the man.

A short snarl signalled the beginning of the attack; the largest animal leapt forward, while the other ones made their way around, surrounding the two in a tactical way; wolves were skilled hunters. Working together, they could easily take out a prey twice their size. The grey wolf came at Ilyas, his teeth revealed, ready to lock his jaws onto the man’s neck.

The sound of swirling water drew close; a wave loomed from the pond, disrupting the ever so calm water. While the man made some quick movements, a large squirt came flying in their direction, hitting the wolf in mid-movement. The impact was large enough to send the animal crashing into one of the trees. Swiftly, Ilyas’ eyes trailed to the girl, who would soon have her hands full as well; he wondered if she’d manage to protect herself against several of these animals. This was a different story than hunting for deer. These animals fought back. And would she prove too nervous or scared to keep her aim straight, he’d have to fight off all four of these creatures; not an encouraging thought. This short moment of distraction was enough for a second wolf to sink its teeth into his upper leg. The bow was dropped to the ground and with clenched fists, Ilyas pounded against the canine’s head. It flinched, let go and backed off to regroup. That gave the two humans a moment to regroup as well, a much needed moment. Reached down to his leg, Ilyas found his fingers covered in red. He cursed softly, but would deal with the wound later. They had bigger issues ahead of them, because the animal he’d knocked out a moment again already stood on its paws again. They weren’t yet ready to give up on a luscious meal.

It was time for round two.

[cynthia aphrodite georgiou]

There’s a million ways it could go

Okay. It turns out there were wolves here. Pretty darn close in fact. She didn’t hear what the man said, all she cared about was slowly backing away from the animals. If she had the chance, she would’ve blended in with the shadows at the moment, but there hadn’t been time since she’d picked the deer up. There was no way she was dropping it now. Aphrodite was stubborn, but sometimes that stubbornness wouldn’t go away, no matter what the reason. This was one of the times where she wished she could give it up, but she was so shocked by the scene in front of her that she didn’t want to make any sudden movements. A fierce expression on Aphrodite’s face. If they weren’t being attacked by wolves at this very moment, she wouldn’t thrown the deer at him. What did he think she was? Stupid? She knew how to back away from a wolf. It was practically common sense to her. Ever so slightly, she moved her shoulder round, feeling the weight of the deer on it. It was too heavy for her to jump up a tree and by the time she’d got the deer up there, she’d be ripped to shreds. The wolves were closing in on them and it looked less and less likely that there was going to be an escape route. Aphrodite kept moving backwards anyway, keeping her pace slow and steady as her eyes trained on the two wolves in front of her. So far they had made no sudden movements, but they were trying to corner her against a tree. So much for her powers if she did.

The sound of snarling echoed from her left and Aphrodite’s head would’ve snapped round if it weren’t for the two in front of her. Clearly the other two wolves had other ideas. She controlled her breathing and backed up even more, clearing a few trees on the way. It felt like hours that passed by before something happened. A large bubble of water burst from the pool and hit one of the wolves closest to the male. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to make sense of what just happened without loosing track on the problem in front of her. Nothing natural would do that, which left only one explanation in Aphrodite’s mind. She’d heard about other people have certain types of powers, but she’d never seen one before. She nearly said something before remembering what was in front of her. The two wolves in front of her were clearly distracted as well, which gave her a short time to be able to do something. Letting herself blend into what ever shadows were near, Aphrodite moved slowly backwards, using her light footing to make sure she wasn’t heard and out of a small gap. While the wolves could still smell her, she could still hold an advantage with her powers.

It wasn’t long before the two wolves noticed she’d gone missing. However, it was just enough time for Aphrodite to throw the deer’s body up on a branch. Clumsily climbing up next to it with her two hands, she then lifted it up to the next branch that she could reach. Pulling her backpack off as well, she pulled the rabbit out of it and a knife. She tucked the knife into her boot, hooked her bow over her shoulder and threw her backpack over the branch where the deer was. By the time she’d finished all of this, the wolves were circling the trunk of the tree. A couple of times they tried to jump and nip at her legs, but she was too high up. Aphrodite smirked at them, holding out the rabbit. While it might not be alive, it certainly piqued their interest a little. She wiggled it about a bit to keep their eyes trained on it instead of her. Taking advantage of their distraction, Aphrodite looked around for the best escape route. She had to get back to the male before he got seriously injured. But she couldn’t exactly do that much. Two humans against four wolves. It was hardly what people called fair.

A light flipped on inside her brain. Aphrodite wormed her phone from her pocket, jiggling the rabbit as she did so. The wolves wouldn’t be focused on it for much longer, so she really did need to hurry up. Flipping it open once it was out, pressing 2 for her fathers mobile number, she placed the mobile to her ear and listened to it ring. Once. Twice. Three times it rang and she started biting down on her lip. What if he wouldn’t pick up? She knew what her dad was like. She was just about to give up when she heard the phone click and voice come down the line. “Dad! Thank goodness. You’ve got to get down to the forest. Wolves are attacking me and this guy I was with. We were hunting by the pond. You know the place. Get here as fast as you can and yes you can have a go at me later.” It was the best she could do for now and Aphrodite flipped the phone shut and stuffed it back in her pocket. She wiggled the rabbit once more before flinging it across the forest. It landed with a thud. One of the wolves was less experienced and obviously didn’t know everything yet, so it ran after it.

Aphrodite took this opportunity to look down at the other one which was had started circling the tree again. Pulling the bow off her shoulder and hooking an arrow into it, she watched the wolf circle a few times, getting used to its pattern. It wouldn’t be long before the other one came back so she would have to be quick. She had no idea where the fatal spot for a wolf was, so there would have to be some guess work going on here. Hooking another arrow into the bow, she aimed and the fired just as the wolf came round the corner. It gave a small yelp before a small snarl. By this time, she had already docked another two arrows. The wolf jumped up at the tree, snapping at her feet. It was going to have to be now. Aphrodite let go of the two arrows, one going in the middle of the forehead, the other on the bridge of the snout. It was pure luck. The wolf flopped down dead. Taking a chance, she hopped down from the tree, hoping her stuff would be safe there. She landed with a thump, but safely enough. Removing the knife from her boot and the bow in her other hand, Aphrodite jogged through the forest, moving in and out of shadows to keep the wolf on its toes. She could hear it running through the trees behind her. It had obviously lost interest in the rabbit.

She wasn’t that far from the pond and she reached there in a matter of seconds. Aphrodite switched from the shadows she was currently in, to one that lead round to where the male was. He hadn’t noticed her yet, but what with the slight noises she was making, she wouldn’t be surprised if he knew she was around here somewhere. The young wolf made its appearances seconds later, moving to joins it’s two friends. Aphrodite kept down low, keeping her eye on the one that had just appeared as well as the other two. Hopefully her father would get here soon with something that would help them. She was just lucky that her bow at worked. She kept her gaze firmly on the young wolf, waiting for it to move. Sliding the bow up onto her shoulder, Aphrodite tightened her grip on her knife. Inching her way to the nearest side of the young wolf, she readied herself to lunge at it.

A second later, that’s exactly what it did. It leapt at the man and Aphrodite was just in time. She hit the wolf with as much power as she could. It definitely made an impact as they rolled away. She landed on top of the beast as she tried to pin it down as best she could, pushing an arm down onto it’s neck. Thankfully, it wasn’t fully grown, but it still had a lot of strength within itself. The wolf snapped at her, catching the side of her arm with it’s teeth. She winced, but kept as much force on the animal as possible. She really didn’t want to kill these things, but it was either that or injure them. Which she attempted to do. It’s claws swiped at her and Aphrodite did as best she could to dodge. She ended up with a few scratches across her chest and throat, but nothing serious enough to make her roll off. She forced her arm further onto the animals throat which made it whine slightly. Taking this one second chance, she slashed at the wolf’s chest in return. It yelped and tried to kick her off. Aphrodite slashed again on it’s paw before jumping up. The animal rolled over and stood up. The cuts were welling up with blood and Aphrodite could see it was limping. It made one last attempted to attack her which was a bit messy due to it’s paw. Despite this though, it was a close call and it managed to claw her side. A claw had caught on something on her jacket which caused her to stumble and whack herself into a tree. Blinking a few times, Aphrodite steadied herself. “Any time now father.” She glanced around, casting a glance over to how the man was doing. They would have to hold out a little longer. She cast her eyes back onto the wolf as it focused on her, clearly not backing down despite its injuries.

Two could play at that game.