A Happy? Accident

If there was ever a kingdom that needed aid, it would be Eisleyn. It was cold, snowy and treacherous. Ruled by an odd woman who has outlawed both singing and dancing. Beasts run amok and suitors from all over were being beheaded by the dozens. While she couldn't exactly stop others from rushing to a riddle based death, she could at least lower the beast population substantially. Maybe when she was done with that she'd take on the riddles herself simply to stop them once and for all.

Were they only for men though?

Hmm...

Oh...there was water dripping on her paper! She moved her brush forward, pressed against the droplet and flicked up, causing an interesting mix of colors. She leaned back, looking at the piece. With interest. The inside of a Tinder wolf's den made an interesting painting indeed. She decided to contrast heavy red's against the snow and ice in and around the cavern itself. Sure it wasn't exactly accurate to reality, but she wouldn't be here if the snow turned to lava and spread across the floor.

She let out a sigh, her paintbrush almost falling from her mouth as she did so. Her joints were always so stiff in this cold, it was easier to paint with her mouth at this rate. Still, her jaw was starting to hurt. She'd been here for hours! She was hoping to take on this beast as it came back to rest, but it seemed like it wanted to have a late night tonight! What was it out drinking with friends?

Some wolves were just so rude.

Oh...more drops. Hitomi looked up for a long moment before simply shifting the easel to the left with her leg. Her mask casually hung on the edge of it and every stray breeze threatened to knock it off. It seemed like the storm out there was only going to get worse. She tilted her head, wondering if she was going to have to stay the night here. It was certainly warm enough...

Oh...more drops.

Ylva trodded through the snow of the wilderness. She kept her head down as she forced her way through the freezing storm. She much preferred the "warmer" parts of Eisleyn, despite how rare they were. Still, she knew that this area would be perfect for her to find some rare plants to use. Ylva thought that an area as secluded as this would have more undisturbed plants, which meant more natural cures!

"Ylva, we should find shelter, this storm is too strong. We will freeze to death if we don't..." Eir said softly.

Ylva frowned and held the Incantus closer to her chest. Eir was right, the conditions were not favorable at the moment. She just needed a place to rest and they could search for the herbs when the storm cleared. Now she just needed a warm spot to stay. Sleeping out in the open was out of the question.

She noticed some tracks underneath a tree. They were pretty old, but they hadn't been fully covered by the snow. They looked like prints from a wolf, a large one too. She theorized there was probably a den somewhere.

Ylva decided that was her best option and followed the direction of the prints.

After a short walk, her eyes could make out what appeared to be a den. Thinking there was a chance there was a wolf inside, she drew her bow and an arrow and crouched down.

"Forgive me..." She whispered softly.

Ylva began approaching the den. Waiting for a wolf to leap out and attack.

Hitomi had just shifted her easel for the second time when her attention was pulled away from her painting. She froze, her eyes scanning the entrance. Something was coming. While she could not see what it was, she could hear it's soft steps. She rose her lantern and blew it out, silently pushing the easel and her pack against the wall.

She lowered herself, grabbing and donning her mask before pressing herself against the wall and moving towards the mouth of the cave. She doubted that this was her target. Tinder Wolves glow if she was correct, though maybe the quest description was wrong...Either was she couldn't afford to take risks here.

She listened carefully as the footfalls grew closer and closer. They were slow and careful, light too. She placed a hand on her blade, but did not draw it quite yet.

Once the steps grew close enough, Hitomi dashed around the corner, she began to quickly draw the blade into a vertical slash, but stopped short when she saw that she was rushing straight at a person. As she began to stop, her feet hit a small patch of ice. She swing her arms forward, managing to keep her balance. Unfortunately, this also meant that her momentum continued her forward. She was flying right at this stranger and, at the moment, she was too unsteady on her feet to leap out of the way.

Ylva had learned to expect the unexpected. The world had a habit of throwing the wildest things your way, after all. However, she had never expected an Enkidu woman to draw blades and leap at her.

Her brain didn't even register most of what happened, but she threw herself to the side to avoid the blades. She hit the ground hard and felt the crunch of the snow beneath her weight. It didn't feel great but it was definitely better than being killed.

Ylva rolled over and got onto her knees. She kept her bow drawn at the woman, but she now had a look of worry on her face.

"Um... Are you... OK?" She asked.

Luckily, the stranger was quick on their feet. They managed to dive out of the way, much to Hitomi's relief. She slid by the stranger before suddenly hitting solid ground and tipping over, She shot a foot forward, stumbled and barely managed to keep from face planting into the ground. Honestly, the whole ordeal was embarrassing enough to tinge her cheeks red.

She sighed and finally sheathed her blade and raised her hands, causing a small rattle to come from her prosthetics. If the person meant her harm, she probably would've fired by now...In a twist of fate, she seemed to inquire about HER health instead of threaten or question her. A small laugh escaped her lips as she nodded. Afterwards, she paused a moment and then, with her arms still raised, she flicked her hand forwards and pointed at the stranger. She followed this up with a questioning head tilt.

Without anything to write on, this was the best she could do as far as conversation went.

As the two shared an exchange, Hitomi's ears would pick up on the sound of footsteps trudging from the snow into the stony and slushy floor of the cave interior. Followed by it was the chattering of someone's teeth and the rubbing of hands.

"Agggh...ang lamig, lamiiiig!"

The language was not one that seemed similar to that of residents of Eisleyn, but it was obvious from its tone that they were not liking the cold. If Hitomi and Ylva were to peak towards the cave entrance, they would notice a figure with a bustling candy apple red cloak. She was relatively short, at least for the age her voice suggested, which was that of a meek, but mature woman. One couldn't see her face all too much as a result of her red hood, but they would notice relatively large round glasses that seemed to shine white.

The figure would step in a little further only to notice the two there, stiffening up momentarily upon noticing she wasn't alone, but relaxing when she noticed they seemed to be just kids.

"Oh my," she said. "It looks like Im not alone in trying to find shelter from the cold. Are you two alright?"

The woman seemed to be fine, though she seemed to not be able to speak. Ylva stared at her for a few moments while she sat in the snow. The woman definitely had seen her fair share of battles, and she was happy that she didn't end up o the recieving end of those blades.

She shook herself out of her thoughts and got up from the ground. She put her bow and the arrow back. "Sorry to bother you, I was just trying to find shelter from the snow. I...uh...didn't know if there was going to be a wolf in the den or not...s-so I drew my bow...to...uh...kill it if it attacked..."

Ylva put her hand to her chest, right where Eir had been sitting silently. She couldn't touch the Incantus for comfort at the moment, but feeling her inside the coat helped her calm down a little.

Her eyes caught a figure in the cave. Definitely humanoid, but it still surprised her. How many people were out here?! She just looked at the woman with wide eyes, until she spoke to them.

She really didn't know how to respond. She just stiffened like a board and faced the woman. "Y-Yes! We're...fine!" She squeaked out.

Hitomi waved the apology away. It had been a simple mistake, and the girl was smart to have had a bow ready. Though on the mention of the wolf, Hitomi would quickly nod. She pointed towards the outside, then back in, then nod once more. She had no idea if the point would come across, but without her paper this was the best she could do. In fact, as the girl began to put her weapons away, she'd reach out to stop her.

The new figure in the cave quickly drew her attention away though. She turned, crouching and moving to draw her blade when she saw, AGAIN, that it was just another person. They called out and Hitomi couldn't help but sigh. This was getting more and more complicated by the second.

And it only got worse from there.

As Hitomi focused on the woman, she could help but notice an odd flickering in the distance behind her, it was farther off at the moment. Perhaps someone ELSE was coming in with a torch or someth-

Then, a high pitched whistling sound would shoot through the cavern. Behind the newcomer, one could see a mass of snow and shards of ice swirling towards them. They spiraled, carried along by a powerful vortex that was headed towards them all.

Hitomi reacted as quickly as she could, bending down and leaping forward. She hoped the girl with the bow had enough time to get out of the way. The newcomer however...Well, better safe than sorry. Hitomi reached out and tackled the newcomer to the ground, placing her arms around her and shielding her. Hitomi shut her eyes tightly as she felt a wave of cold wash over her. She gripped the stranger tighter as a strong wind threatened to send them flying. She felt snow begin to pile up around her, she felt ice slam into her and break. By the end of it all, Hitomi could scarcely breath.

She forced herself to move though, pushing up through the snow and unburying herself. By the time they were free of the snow, the Tinder Wolf could be easily seen. It was easily the size of a war horse. It's three heads scanned the area ahead of it, seeming to look for their bodies. As of now it had lost track of them in its initial attack. Hitomi let out a shaky breath and looked down at the stranger, making sure they were okay before doing anything else. Besides, she really needed to catch her breath.

The first thing Hitomi would feel was a resistance to her. In particular, the woman had clenched her wrists sharply as if to redirect her, but she stopped midway as she yelped and fell back.

"No! Wait!"

But Hitomi was already protecting her from the gust. If the Enkidu looked at her, she'd only be met with the glassy reflection in the woman's lens.

When the frost receded, the first thing the woman did was grab Hitomi by the shoulders and slipped away from under her.

"Oh my goodness, are you okay!?" she squeaked in what appeared frantic worry. Snow coated her bright red cloak. She also looked to see if Ylva was alright.

While waiting for a response, her mind quickly turned towards the Tinder Wolf in the distance. The worry from the woman's expression seemed to vanish and was replaced with a much darker one.

"Whoops, children," she said. "It seems we have company. Let me handle this, will you?"

Instead of remaining in hiding, the woman fled towards the Tinder Wolf, taking from behind her a large weapon. In the little light of the cave, they'd see light reflect from the crescent shape of the golden blade of a scythe attached to a chain at her waist. The woman's hood had also fallen off, revealing a short and curly dark bob, a braid running along the sides of her hair to create a half ponytail.

Swinging her scythe into fighting position, she took her fingers and made a sharp whistle to gain the beast's attention.

"Run, children!" she said.

Ylva wasn't not prepared for that gust to come their way. The Enkidu had already attempted to shield the other woman, but Ylva was still out in the open. She threw herself backwards into the snow and covered her face. She wasn't in the direct line of the blast but it was close enough to her that she could feel the chill snipping at her, chilling her blood and threatening to create frostbite on her skin.

The woman asked if Ylva was OK. She started to stand up again. This was the second time she had thrown herself into the snow and she did not enjoy having the experience twice. "I'm fine..." She replied.

Then she saw the Tinder Wolf and fear ran throughout her body. A normal wolf was already a threat if you weren't careful, but a corrupted beast like this was something you didn't want to mess with.

The woman told her and the Enkidu to run. But Ylva immediately knew she wasn't going to do that. It wouldn't be right to leave the woman alone with the creature. She looked skilled, but Ylva knew she couldn't run from this.

Instead, she notched an arrow and pointed it towards the wolf. "Forgive me," she said. "I'm n-not going to leave you. I'm... Not worth m-much as a fighter, but... I'lldo my b-best to help you fight this monster!"