88 The Misfits

Oh god, what did I get myself into?

This was all I could think to myself as I… admired the freaks that Paula had chosen for this hunting quest.

There was on guy and two girls including Paula. The guy was bald and looked like a crack head. The bags under his eyes, the lack of eyebrows, and the fact that he was emaciated to a concerning degree. His arms and legs were also covered in bandages. His name was Sirius.

The girl that wasn't Paula looked as if she literally ripped Zarya out of Overwatch 7 and copy/pasted her into this game. Literally, look up Zarya and that's what she looked like. Her name was Olga.

And, of course, there was Paula. She was a creature in and of herself, so she fit right in with these beings of wonder. The craziest part was that all three of them were elite members of ANV. Are strong people always eccentric? I thought that was just an anime thing.

I sighed, glancing at Sirius since he seemed to be the least unhinged of the three of them. "So, Sirius, what's your story?"

Sirius crouched next to a tree and rubbed a bare spot with his thumb before smelling it. Why he did that, I had no idea. He replied in an English accent as he wiped his thumb on his right pant leg. "I've been fighting cancer for 6 years and needed something to do since I can't do much outside."

I immediately grimaced, regretting opening that can of worms. I now felt bad for judging him being bald and emaciated. To recover, I quickly turned to Olga. "What about you, Olga?"

Olga gripped her heavy blaster and smiled. "I save money to move family out of Russia. Is shit show there. Only 17 and have family on back. Smile on babushka face always make worth."

I chuckled and nodded. I somewhat understood where she was coming from. "I can agree on that point. Family is more important than anything."

I smile turned forced as I recalled my mother. One day I will see her again. The force will guide me there.

Olga laughed heartily and looked me straight in the eyes. "HAHA! Not so bad for American."

I shrugged and turned to Paula, not in the mood to unpack her dislike of Americans. We did destroy her country after all. "And you, Paula?"

She sighed, looking off into the forest. Her expression was most definitely not a happy one. "Other guilds turned me away because, in their words, I was bad for their image. Why do I have to get punished because the guys are jealous I'm stronger than them?"

Paula's face shifted into a smile as she glanced around the group. Her warm expression almost let off a tangible light. "Then, I found this guild. They accepted me for my strength and nothing else. I want to prove to the other guilds how wrong they were while thanking this guild for welcoming me."

Oh boy, that really struck a cord with me. This guild really was something to be proud of. Ever since my uncle joined, he overhauled the recruitment to meet his own standards. While they were quite a bit looser than the ones he uses for his people, they follow the same logic.

If you have a skill, if you are the best or better than others at anything, we want you. We will find a way to put you to work and contribute to our success. Being a good leader isn't about being the best at anything. It's about being able to identify talent in others and then placing them in a role that will best make use of those talents.

Their background doesn't matter. Who they love, what they look like, where they are from, who their friends are, none of it matters. A good leader can bring out the best in anyone.

I then noticed that Paula was looking at me suspiciously. "So, what's your story? You have to answer too, haha!"

I had to quickly think of a cover story. Fortunately, I could just tell the partial truth. "Pretty simple. I just graduated from college and wanted to enjoy myself for a bit before I start working. What do-"

"SHH!"

My head snapped towards Sirius as he shushed me. He had a very intent expression on his face as if he was focusing on something.

He took a deep breath and slowly extended his arm. He raised three fingers before waving his hand in the 1 o'clock direction. After doing this, he reached down to his waist and unsheathed his two blades. The first was a katana which he held in his right hand. The second was a tanto which he held in his left hand with a reverse grip.

(Google them. Thanks bye.)

I quickly understood what was happening. There were probably some animals ahead and maybe there were three of them. At least I hope they were animals. It would be much more problematic if they weren't.

Thus, I unbuttoned my holster and pulled out my blaster pistol. My lightsabers were hidden in my jacket in order to maintain my disguise. At least to my knowledge, I was the only Jedi in the guild, so I didn't want to give away my identity.

The four of us were in a diamond formation. We moved forward in silence. The only noises were the soft crunching of leaves below our feet.

*Chirp* *Rustle*

The gentle and calming sounds of wildlife shifting around us rang through the air. Birds gliding between tree branches, critters scurrying through the brush, and leaves fluttering in the slight breeze.

After 15 seconds of silence, Sirius raised his left fist, signaling for us to stop. This hand signal was just about universal.

About 50 feet ahead of us, there were 3 animals that looked similar to moose. However, they were twice the size with blue fur and orange spots. The three of them were eating what appeared to be berries from a bush.

I was amazed. Sirius was damn impressive. How did he do it? While I was curious about these majestic beasts, my curiosity was even more so towards this man's hunting skills.

On his left hand, Sirius waved two fingers to the right and then one finger to the left. After that, we walked over to the tree next to him and began climbing it in total silence. How? I hadn't the slightest clue.

Despite my growing amazement, his orders were clear. Olga went off to the left by herself, elegantly stepping in silence while lugging her massive blaster. Paula and I shifted to the right and took aim at the closest beast.

As we all moved into position, I glanced up through pure instinct and watched Sirius leaping between tree branches without making even the slightest of sounds. Not a single leaf moved and not even a small creak came from the branches.

The only sounds were those of the wind and the huffing of the moose-like-beasts. Even the birds and critters went still as if they were watching with great anticipation. No one could take away from the insane skill this seemingly emaciated man was displaying.

As if he had 360° vision, Sirius made his move the instant that we were all in position. He fully trusted that we were ready.

He gracefully leapt out of the tree, soaring through the air in a path that would have him land directly on the center-most beast. Both of his blades were fully extended, begging to be plunged into their target.

*BBBYUM* *PANG* *Puchi*

In unison, all four of us hit our targets. Sirius sunk both of his blades into one beast's head as he landed on its back like he was riding it.

Olga single-handedly obliterated the left-most beast's head with one round from her heavy blaster. I grimaced, praying that I'd never be on the other end of that thing.

Meanwhile, Paula and I killed our beast with several blaster shots to its body. Our kill was quite underwhelming compared to the others.

I stared at Sirius in absolute astonishment, unable to comprehend what he had just done. I was able to feel the force singing in joy as pure, unbridled confidence rolled off of him. This kid was special.

I shook my head as I continued observing him. "Sirius, that was FUCKING INSANE! How did you do it?"

Maintaining his focus on our prey, he effortlessly pulled out both of his blades. He then flicked them out to the side, sending any blood that was on them spraying onto the ground. After putting both blades in his right hand, he reached to a satchel on the back of his belt and pulled out a rag.

Sirius began wiping his katana down, clearing away any residual blood. "Well, there were a few factors."

After a few seconds of wiping he sheathed his katana and tucked the rag into his belt for later. He then elegantly weaved his tanto while taking a few steps before flicking it once more, sending another spray of blood onto the ground.

Just a moment later, blood began flowing out of the necks of all three beasts. "For starters, I chose this direction to hunt since the wind would be blowing towards us. They can't smell us when we are downwind."

Sirius quickly wiped down his tanto before sheathing it on his left side. He then pulled a few bundles of rope from his satchel and tied the rear legs of each beast together, leaving plenty of slack in the rope. "Olga, if you would."

Olga nodded and placed her blaster to the side. She picked up the ropes one at a time, lifting each beast that was multiple times larger than her with little difficulty into the air. She then tied the slack in the rope around a sturdy branch, suspending all three beasts in the air. This caused blood to continuously flow out of the slit in their necks.

Sirius walked towards a tree while taking a deep breath. "The second factor was the environment. Forest hunting is quite familiar to me. My rather used to have me accompany him every weekend until I fell ill."

He sat down on the ground, leaning against the tree while closing his eyes. "The last factor… I'm not quite sure how I should describe it. I'd have to say that instinct fits the feeling best. It was almost as if something whispered in my ear, telling me that my desire lay just ahead."

I immediately grew suspicious. The description that he gave for this instinct was way too similar to how one might describe the force. Was he force sensitive? For now, I had to continue observing. This could be a great find. "So, what now?"

Sirius rested his head against the tree. "Now? We wait. While it isn't necessary, I prefer to wait for my game to bleed. It makes the processing of their corpses easier when the time comes."

Oh! That should take a bit. This is the perfect time to probe this specimen some more. "How about we meditate to pass the time?"

Olga quickly shook her head as she picked up her blaster. "I do not like sit still."

Paula nodded. "Olga and I will continue the scouting part of the quest while you two stay here and watch our prey. Sound good?"

I shrugged. "Works for me."

Olga and Paula then walked away. I shifted my gaze to the silent Brit as I moved towards him. When I was several feet away from him and near the center of this clearing, I sat down cross legged. It was time to get to the bottom of this.