43 Black Walking Hood

Walking for hours, Allyria and Kaius decided to stop for a moment. They were going deeper into the woods that they couldn't remember where the way out was anymore. Nothing seemed to be familiar about the trees and the path they were taking.

Allyria's only fear was if they'd encounter the rebels. She couldn't remember the exact place she'd seen them. Her memory of that night was too hazy and even the surroundings were as dark as a thief's pocket. They can only hope they'd find a way out sooner.

The incident earlier still kept bothering Allyria's mind. She couldn't believe how it happened and especially here in Vervali. Most of them were already extinct and if they were alive, they wouldn't be complacent enough to show their magic to humans. But maybe Silas trusted them not to tell it to anyone. He saved them after all. It was the only thing they could repay for his kindness.

She often wondered why he preferred to stay in the woods all his life but now she understood. He was in hiding. And if an Ikigai was alive in this part of the country, there could be more of them anywhere.

Kaius couldn't also place his emotions after seeing it. Vervali and Cesparia are just some of the countries that banned the Ikigais from living there. Magic wasn't a normal thing. They considered it as a threat so they extinguished every last one of them, though not successfully but almost.

"We need to find a place to sleep," Allyria said. The sun was almost setting and the woods never seemed to end.

Kaius wiped the sweat off his forehead. They didn't bring anything aside from the sword on their hands after running away—no clothes, no food, nothing. Talk about looking like a killer on the loose.

"I'll find something we can use to sleep on," Kaius said as they halted under a towering tree that's already enough for a shade.

Allyria nodded, "I'll hunt for food."

Kaius and Allyria went on their separate paths.

Allyria walked stealthily as she held her sword. She had to be extra careful especially it would be harder to hunt without a bow and an arrow. Her only hope was to find something, probably a hare for a night's consumption, and not scare it away.

She went farther from their post as she shouldn't have risked but there was no choice. There weren't any animals in the area and she preferred venturing out than not having anything to eat.

After a few minutes of careful searching, she crouched in a cluster of thick shrubs. Through the thorns, she had a half-decent view of a clearing and the small brook flowing through it. Anytime, something might show up.

She eased into a more comfortable position and calmed her breathing, straining to listen to the forest over the wind. The sky is slowly vanishing, only a few fragments of blue remain—like scattered pieces of an impossible jigsaw puzzle. If her judgment was right, sunset would soon come in half an hour.

The howling wind calmed into a soft sighing. Allyria puffed out a breath, preparing for what is to come. She's never seen any wild animals near Silas' cabin. Perhaps the animals had pulled in, going deeper into the woods than they could follow so if Kaius and she were already far from the road, they must be here around the corner.

Bushes rustled across the clearing.

Allyria narrowed her eyes and peered through the thorns. There she saw a deer just standing a few yards away from her, tearing strips of bark, chewing slowly.

This must be her lucky day. She only asked for hare and the Eternal Gods gave her a bigger one, enough to feed them for days in fact. Allyria could bring it with them for a days-worth of journey back to the castle. They wouldn't need to stop by and sell whatever they had for food. It was already there, standing in her field of vision.

Allyria tiptoed towards it, hiding behind the trunks and bushes. She only had to go near without scaring it away and they would already have their feast.

A few feet from it, she accidentally stepped on a twig that left a crunch sound on the leafy path. The deer raised his head, searching for where that sound came from. But when he saw no one around, he continued on with his snack.

She was only ten steps away when she saw a pair of brown eyes shining from the bush adjacent to hers. It looks like someone wanted to compete with the hunt.

The man in a black hood didn't seem to bring anyone with him. That's a relief. He had an bow in his hand, drawing the arrow slowly. The arrow was long and heavy enough to inflict damage—possibly kill the deer, if he aimed it right and do the favor for her.

Of course Allyria wouldn't want to surrender the food now that she's already seen one. Her time was limited so she had to get back before the sky dims.

The black hooded man fired the arrow towards the deer's direction. Allyria's eyes followed it and found its mark in his head. A decent shot.

The deer collapsed to the ground, the red liquid pouring from the damaged spot.

The hooded man went towards it, claiming his prize, his back now on Allyria.

'Not so fast.'

Before the man could carry the deer in his arms, Allyria picked up the nearest wood beside her and sprinted towards him. The man immediately sensed this and was about to turn around when Allyria hit him on the head, his body diving into the floor with his face on the ground.

"I'm sorry," she said and dropped the wood from her hands, jerking away from the body. She didn't hit too hard so it would only buy her a couple of minutes.

Allyria went for the deer and carried it over her shoulders. It was heavy but she can manage. She halted for several seconds, staring at the hooded man. Guilt crept towards her but food was the first of her priority. Besides, he wouldn't die with a hit on the head. Maybe a lump or a wound but nothing too serious.

Allyria removed her eyes off him. As much as she was curious who he was, she didn't care enough to find out about it and just walked away.