The Runaway Maverick

Chapter 3 -Alone

As I tumbled towards the icy rapids below I twisted around in the air and with every ounce of my remaining strength I threw my beloved hook back at the tree. It's talons wound along the branch and hooked its bark.

Consequently I hadn't given much thought to the power of the thrust. The inevitable sudden stop of my flight towards the starved waters below had whipped my head back with a crack. The air was knocked out of my lungs from the abrupt halt.

Snap.

Whatever small drop of triumph I had briefly felt vanished. Reality began to stall just like the last time I had seen it. How could I fulfill the role of a complete imbecile so perfectly?

Finally I had come face to face with the deadline to my life. The beas- no demon had grabbed my ankle to slow his haste and to swing himself from the waters edge. But he weighed too much and the rope ripped sending me plummeting with him.

Falling to my death I couldn't help but think back to when I obtained my hook:

Fa shook me from my sleep on the daybreak of my 10th summer. Tanni grinned at me with what little teeth she had gurgling her giggles excitedly as I refused to stir from my slumber.

"Go awaaay" I had moaned. "Leave me be" pretty pitiful considering what day it was. I hadn't thought of the effort it took for my fa to smile- to be happy on such an anniversary.

Of course I eventually grunted and caved into Tanni's squeaky slurs. She was but 3 summers old and could barely formulate words.

"I'm up! I'm up!" I cooed as I slipped past Fa scooping her into my arms "No more giggles nnnnnooooo more" I laughed as I tickled her in my embrace.

A loose tear slipped my eye at the memory...

"Come on you two" groaned Fa as he scooped us both up and began to sing "Oh the trees are no longer bare nor frosted with tears of ice. The welling of grief gone past the haze and we celebrate yet another day. Oh happy day of birth my young one. Oh happy day of birth my angel. OOOh happy day of birth my little Jess"

We allowed the silence to embrace us he finished ma's song, a present she gifted way before my birth, he reached into his ever useful pouch handing me a small pine wrapped secret coiled with a single lavender flower.

Fa put us down as I rushed to open my gift...

"It's perfect!" I squealed as Tanni hopped to look what I held. An intricate hook wound with lavender vine. The plant was from ma's garden.

"Thank you Fa, so much" I had whispered beneath my breath. Only if she were here to see us.

Yanked from my memory the acceptance of my fear swarmed in my failure. My plan of luring it to the rapid currents had failed. Only if it had worked. It would of been dragged into the tides downstream giving me enough time to disappear. But it hadn't worked. I had failed already.

"I'm so sorry Fa" was all I could manage to wish past my lips.

In abrupt force my fall stopped. The demon beast that I had watched devour my village held me rigid in its arms on the banks edge.

Clouds of black, putrid breath panted into my ear as it grunted six words that i will never-ever be able to forget no matter how hard I tried.

"We're coming for you little maverick"

Screaming, I awoke dripping in sweat; shaking in dispair. Rapidly glancing at my surroundings I realized they were identical, I was still in the clearing.

The fire had long gone out and night was creeping towards dawn. I could only come to the conclusion of it being a night terror?

But under all my questions I was unable to shake the surreal experience from my mind. How could it have felt so palpable. Its monstrous words of poison still lingered ringing in my ears much like a spell of dark magic.

A true conjuring of my fears into reality.

Huddled against the trunk the old oak I had rested on I finally allowed myself to be swallowed by my ever present grief. As I sobbed in the dark all my thoughts were able to settle on was, how was I ever going to succeed?

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Not after dawn broke the horizon I was packed and ready to set out on my journey once again towards the mountains. Just to ensure further precautions I interchanged my direction around my previous camp site to throw the scent trail way off in different orientations.

I presumed it was better to be safer than sorry. Even if my terror last night was a dream it served as a warning and I was not about to ignore it.

My plotted course was loosely based on the limited detail of an old map that Tanno had gifted me on my 12th summer but this was considered forbidden information in our small isolated village. Such a gift was considered taboo so perhaps Fa wasn't the only one preparing me?

No don't get distracted Jessie! Focus on the task at hand.

Trekking North soon became increasingly colder as winter had begun to paint the sky. I was definitely going the correct way.

The only doubt I had was the fading skylight as the days grew shorter and the nights longer, darker and far more dangerous. Great. Just what I need: Note the sarcasm please.

Luckily the dried doe skin served as an appreciated distraction from my thoughts. As I multi tasked the stitching and melding of an extra water container as well as spare to make an extension to my pouches capacity to hold kindling I continued mindlessly droning in the same direction.

Before I had realized the days had passed only accompanied by short restless breaks rather than long time draining slumber.

A week after the sacrilege and murder of the entirety of my village a strange feeling began to hum in my chest disrupting the routine I had become accustomed to.

An unusual swelling of a nauseating longing kept bothering me as I traveled ever further north. Although I had tried to ignore the abnormal feelings, I soon transcended to the passing it off as nerves or even gas.

Much to my dismay the pressure just seemed to expand its growth more and more till it developed into a deep throbbing in my very core. Never had I ever experienced nor encountered something like this. What was wrong with me?

My days continued the same till I could no longer trek beyond a few more steps thanks to the buckling of my knees under my own weight. I guess its time to set up camp...

To my luck I thanked the heavens upon discovering a small abandoned cave but half a mile up my path. Perfect.

Settling into only the second proper makeshift camp I had built in the past few days I felt the safest I had in what seemed a lifetime. It didn't take long for me to sleep with a full belly and hydrated palette.

Deep in my slumber I felt a mysterious warmth radiating on my face as soft sharp tingles danced dizzily across my cheek. The continuous gentle stroking of my face deepened my sleep further till a sudden fear filled me. Who was touching me?

Stiffly I sniffed the air only to be flooded by an aroma that could only be described and sensational. Firewood, coco and fresh mint engulfed my senses as I found myself unable to control my movements.

Shuffling my fluffy fox skin off my sluggish form, I peeled my eyes open, only to be greeted by the most intense mesmerizing gaze. Sure my experience was limited due to the small population of my village, but when I say they were the most alluring; spellbinding hue, I mean it.

Under their glare I found myself incapable of even dwelling on the possibility anything other than those eyes could possess such beauty.

They were a bewitching blue silver that swirled with specks of gold and tints of faded red like the shimmer of a dragons scale. Every colour transmuted between one and other.

I was so captivated that I had forgotten to breath and soon began coughing and spluttering as I gasped for air. The lack of oxygen had begun to burn my lungs.

To my surprise I was lifted much like a feather onto its lap being cradled and cooed to by a soft husk hum. An act of comfort?

Before I could truly respond my eyelids began to close on their own accord. No- wait I had to ask wha- what.. um? I had forgotten completely what I was going to ask. As I drifted into perhaps the deepest slumber I had ever slept I found myself snuggling deeper into the warm tingles.

Igniting from deep below, a strange fuzzy-ness had been set in motion surging at an increasing rate from my core.

Well that's new...

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What do ya think? Within 10 hours of joining the site I've begun this tale of...horror? partially. Romance? Guess you'll have to wait and see.

Dipping into*coughs* deeper aspect of Jess at the um end there *hehe*

I'll update soon enough so be prepared for perhaps some steamier encounters?

Also if anyone has any ideas for a decent book cover or their own edit i'd be grateful! This is still unedited so sorry about that...