6. Like Civilized People

"This is a bad idea."

For once, Penny was the one to voice her displeasure. She was sure Yang agreed with her feelings towards the nonsensical situation they found themselves in, but to their dismay, Ruby was having none of it, set in a professional, take-no-prisoners attitude. As much as both girls tried to convince her otherwise, she was determined to resume the failed job.

"Don't back out now, Penny. You said you'd help."

"I only did it because you'd kill yourself out here all alone. You should be home resting, Ruby."

After the prior night's events, when the archer had collapsed at their doorstep from exhaustion, they'd barely had time to nurse her back to health before she decided to drag them to the woods. She wanted to finish the task at all costs, and there was nothing they could do to dissuade her. Despite the blood splashed on her attire, she had suffered no major wounds, only small scrapes, and now that she'd slept and eaten properly, strength had returned to her muscles.

But even restored, the huntress recognized she was no match for the monster. The first attempt at catching it had been foiled, and mere luck had gotten her out in one piece. She'd woken up right as the fiend was closing in on her, and she ran as fast as she could back home with no significant damage. Now it was time to summon the cavalry, or at least, as much backup as she was going to get. It was a substantial improvement in the means of raw stopping power, a brawler with a fiery temper and a colossal creature of stone. If those two couldn't take down a single beast, she doubted a whole battalion could. And after successfully staking the lycan once, picking up the trail would be much easier.

Thus, they found themselves amongst the trees, looking sheepishly at their leader who was concentrated on the nearby foliage. It was a strange experience for both of them, watching the red-hooded girl in action, immersed in her natural element. It was almost as if the gleeful youngster had disappeared, replaced by an attentive and observant woman, who spoke not a word when she was working. The statue didn't rightfully know what to think of this new side of her friend, so further apart from the cheerful self she'd known so far, but considering the new information she had been given she decided to accept that not all could be colorful and bright. Humans could have a darker side too, but that didn't necessarily mean they were bad. To her knowledge, Ruby certainly wasn't.

Eventually the hard work seemed to pay off, the archer hummed in satisfaction and gestured her companions to follow her. They traded concerned glances, utterly lost in this part of the forest, but decided to trust that the huntress knew what she was doing.

The walk continued for hours, the sun rising and descending in the sky above, hidden behind the thick vegetation that prevented them from having a proper notion of the passage of time. Ruby kept chasing the clues of her prey, with a determination that bordered on obsession, making the other girls question whether it was still just a contract or a personal vendetta.

Along the way, Yang had grabbed a couple of wild berries, and was distracting herself by flinging them at the marble sculpture. Penny took it as a challenge, and they soon found themselves in a heated berry battle, never ceasing to follow the red-hooded youngster. Her marble hands were tainted in crimson, from all the fruits she'd tried to catch, only to squash them by accident with her stone hands. They both giggled in silence, finding some means of enjoyment in that forsaken place.

Their playful antics were stopped when Ruby turned back, and raised on hand in the air while looking at them.

"Keep quiet, we're almost there. Oh, and Yang?" Amusement flickered through her eyes, as she pointed to the red spheres on her sister's hand. "You do know those are poisonous, right?"

The blonde shrieked, letting go of the fruits she held, and wiped her palms on the side of her trousers with a frightened look. Penny dropped hers too, before realizing that whatever toxic substance they were composed of, she was most likely immune to.

"Relax, you'll get a rash at worse." The dark-red haired girl laughed, a smile creeping onto her lips. It was certainly refreshing to see her back to normal.

Yet the light-hearted moment was gone as fast as it had come, the task at hand waiting for no one. They soon started to notice increasingly torn and scratched vegetation, their silence matched by the quietness in the air. It seemed the creature's lair was near, and a collective breath escaped their throats upon the sight before them.

A massive tree stood proud, towering towards the heavens, the ground in front of it clear of anything but dirt. The trunk was hollowed, a hole in it marking the entrance, and inside were someone's living quarters. A blanket was carefully folded in a corner, the only object inside that could pass as a bed, and a couple of satchels were lying messily on the floor. The lack of contents indicated whoever was taking refuge there hadn't been doing so for long. It wasn't very spacious, but the thick wood all around created a great shield for both the cold and the elements. A half-eaten hare was hanging by a tree branch outside, waiting for the owner's next meal.

This had to be it, they were sure they'd found the place they sought. Since the fiend wasn't home, Ruby coordinated them into ambush position, and they waited for the prey. The archer and her sister took to the treetops, to catch the monster from above, while Penny did her best to hide below, her physique incapacitating her to climb with the rest. She just hoped the glimmering white marble wasn't too obvious between the green foliage.

Within the hour, as the sun set on the horizon, their guest arrived, an enormous panther-like animal, fur black as night and limbs muscled and thick. It looked powerful, capable of ripping a man in half with her sharp fangs and claws. The stone girl started to question the solidity of the plan, scared not for herself, her skin was tough and impenetrable, but for her cohorts. The lycan stopped to a halt, and her proverbial heart skipped a beat, as the creature was staring straight at her. The huntress had made sure they were positioned against the wind, so as to counteract the beast enhanced sense of smell, but it quickly became evident that it wasn't enough. The ambush had failed.

A yell came from above, catching the dark beast by surprise, as a golden haired figure leaped at it. The dodge to the side wasn't enough, and arms grabbed at its legs, a full-body tackle keeping her in place. The golem took her cue to jump in, and ran, aiming a punch at the animal's face. But before she registered what had happened, she heard a growl and her fist connected only to the dirt below. She fell, a strong blow to her leg throwing her off balance, projecting the hit she intended to deliver right to the ground.

As she struggled to turn face up, her weight working once more against her, she saw Yang trying to grapple the opponent, only to take a swift kick to the belly, pushing her into the air. The panther was predicting all of the attacks thrown at it, and its finesse allowed it to stay one step ahead of the brawler. The fight wasn't going well for them, odds quickly turning to the opposite side. The blonde got back up and projected all of her rage into a blind flurry of strikes, her eyes lighting up with the flames of her anger. The muffled cry that followed suggested at least one of the hits reached the target, but it wasn't enough to grab the advantage, and she was tripped over, losing her footing and her attack power.

Penny finally managed to return to her feet, in time to see Yang falling down with a loud cracking sound, and the fiend walking a few steps back without taking its eyes off of the fallen opponent. Then, it lowered its body and flexed its back legs, preparing to pounce at the prey. The ivory-skinned girl started sprinting, trying to prevent the carnage right about to happen, but before she could reach it, a short white line flew in, cutting the air in its path.

The animal growled in pain, an arrow lodged in its calf, the barbed tip coming out on the other side. It was only then that the girl made of marble realized Ruby hadn't joined in on the fight. Throughout the entire brawl, she had stayed in her position, and had clearly been waiting for the right moment to strike with her hard-trained accuracy. She looked at the hooded huntress who nimbly descended from her perch. They traded a smile, and then approached the creature, another bolt tensed against the bowstring, just in case. Behind them, Yang struggled to get up, and took a few step as well, with difficulty due to her probably broken ribs. Neither of them was ready for what came next.

Right before their eyes, the panther shuddered its entire body, and slowly the black fur disappeared, leaving only bare skin. The sizable animal shrunk ever so slightly, and the bloodthirsty eyes turned into wide golden orbs, long dark hair appearing from behind its head. True to its species, the lycan reverted back to human form, although clearly in great pain to do so. And, within seconds, there wasn't a monster on the ground, but a woman, stark-naked, still clenching her teeth from the projectile stuck in her leg. Her heritage was only evident by a small pair of fur-covered ears at the top of her head, which were almost camouflaged by her disheveled black mane. Paying no mind to her aggressors, she leaned forward and used her newly formed opposable thumbs to grab the back of the arrow, and pull it out in one go. The trio of huntresses took a step back at the blood-chilling scream that followed.

It was then, pressing against her bleeding wound, that the dark-haired girl turned to the assailants. She slowly limped to Penny, and reached for her with the available arm. Her voice was soft, and it came out as a reverent whisper.

"What are you?"

"I'm… a statue?" While she answered, Ruby was pressing the new arrow even harder into her bow, unsatisfied with the turn of events. She knew the golem could defend herself, but she wasn't going to let her guard down, regardless of how vulnerable the panther-woman seemed.

"Fascinating, I've never met one of your kind." And, lowering her tone, she added. "Why are you with them?"

"They are my friends!" The stony girl retorted, confident in her answer, and provoking an astonished look on the nude woman.

"Your… friends? They're humans, and they were hunting me!"

"We were hunting a monster that is supposed to live on this part of the forest. One that eats people." The archer barged in the conversation, worried about the course it was running.

The lycan pointed at the hanged rabbit. "I don't eat humans."

"And why should we trust you?"

"Because I haven't killed you? I had plenty of opportunities, believe me. You think you escaped me yesterday because of your own merits? You were sleeping, I could have torn you to pieces. Instead, I chose to scare you away. I was hoping you wouldn't return."

Ruby lowered her bow only a little, stunned by those words. She thought she'd been lucky, but now it made too much sense. She had managed to flee because she had been allowed to.

"Look, we'll talk about this like civilized people, but can I at least patch this up and get dressed? The blonde one keeps eyeing me up, and it's starting to get uncomfortable." The feline-eared woman glared daggers at Yang, who only opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, mumbling incoherently.

"You're not going anywhere alone."

"Fine, she can come with me. I trust her." She pointed at the golem. Penny glanced around at her short friend, inquiring if it was all right with her, and received a subtle nod.

As they walked away to the creature's quarters, the huntress elbowed her sister in the arm, avoiding the potentially damaged ribcage, with a disapproving look. The brawler whispered back an excuse.

"Oh come on, Ruby, you saw it too! She was a panther, and now she's a girl! And what a girl…"

As the two creatures reached the inside of the tree, the brunette grabbed bandages and some sort of ointment, and started applying it to the pierced muscle. She hissed under her breath as the treatment stung into her flesh, and wrapped the whole thing tightly with the linen stripes.

"So, what's your name?"

"Penny."

"I'm Blake. Are you sure they can be trusted?"

"They're good people. They've treated me right so far, never cared that I wasn't human." It was a lie, Yang had most certainly cared, but the blonde was quickly starting to come around. Right now, diplomacy was more relevant than the absolute truth.

"Must be a peculiar sort, those two."

"They sure are." The marble sculpture grinned warmly, recollecting how lucky she felt to have met the sisters.

The other one finished getting presentable, and motioned for them to head back. She was wearing a simple white shirt and dark pants. At the top of her head, she wore a little black bow, covering her secondary pair of ears. She noticed the ivory-clad figure staring, and elucidated.

"If you managed to find me, others could follow. I wouldn't want any more humans knowing what I am. Not everyone is so understanding."

Outside, they found the duo of siblings sitting on the floor, the youngster checking the other's side for anything broken. The sisters turned and stopped what they were doing at the approaching silhouettes, but this time Ruby didn't even reach for her weapon. She knew that if the fiend wanted to crush them, they wouldn't be breathing still. There was a momentary stare between her and her stony friend, but a trusting smile assured her there was no cause for alarm.

"So, you mentioned a 'monster' you were hunting? I hope by now you've realized it's not me."

"There's supposed to be a beast around these parts. It kills near our village, and leaves only carcasses."

"Well, there aren't any others like me around, I would've noticed…" Suddenly, the lycan's golden eyes shot up in shock. "Wait, you said it left only carcasses. Cattle or…"

"No, human."

"Oh, no…" Her voiced lowered, and her stance became smaller, her body coiling in fear. "I know who you're after."

Everyone stared intently at the dark-haired feline, waiting for the next piece of information, as well as curious as to what had caused such a reaction.

"There's only one lycan I know of who targets humans like that, so full of hatred. And he would know how to hide his tracks from me."

She breathed in and out, sorrow and dread both inhabiting her expression.

"You're after my old partner, Adam."

I thought this chapter was going to be much harder to write than it was. I usually have the events I want to happen, but need to try and piece them together. This time everything just fit into place by itself, it was really satisfying.

Also, I assumed most people would figure out the lycan was Blake, so I tried not to treat it as a plot twist. Still, I didn't add her to the character list because I didn't want everyone to be expecting it since chapter one. I'll probably add her by the time the next chapter goes up.



I hope you enjoyed, and I really appreciate your kind words and astute opinions. Don't change the channel, 'cause we'll be right back.

