The icy clearing was unusually quiet for this hour as Myranda sat underneath a tree and checked her supply of arrows, handling each one with care and cautiously placing them back in the quiver. She had never heard the forest this silent so close to twilight. The tiny hairs stood up on the back of her neck as she watched Rikishi carefully, checking for any signs that he might feel the same uneasiness as she. The cat just yawned, bearing his long, white fangs as his pink tongue snaked out to lick a black, triangular nose. Sighing restlessly as she scratched behind his ears, watching the shadows, determined to find the source of her uneasiness.
Her life was a fairly lonely one, consisting of very few friends and everybody was a potential enemy. Rikishi was her only companion and though at times her longing for human company was great, her distrust made it difficult to travel in groups, even if they were her own kind. She knew the laws of the land and she followed them precisely. The trees, the sky, and the waters spoke to her in a language long since forgotten by most of her people. The beasts of the land trusted in her and depended on her for protection. They spoke to her, because she listened. She only hunted the corrupted; the ones who had fallen prey to the dark forces which now seemed to be consuming everything around her. There wasn't a place in these lands she could go these days without seeing the signs forewarned by her ancestors. But the worst, they foretold was yet to come.
A twig snapped in the distance and Rikishi instantly jumped to his feet, nose high in the air as he shifted his weight, turning his head side to side seeking out a scent. Myranda watched in quiet contemplation, eyes shifting back and forth from Rikishi to the shadows in the distance, her bow drawn as she placed the first arrow in place. Muscles tense, every sense alert, she watched and waited as her mind searched for clues as to the source of the disturbance.
Her body started to shake as the minutes ticked past. Rikishi stared off into the east and a low growl escaped his throat as a shadowed figure stepped towards them. She swung her bow around, pointing it directly towards where she imagined the head to be as she snarled in the most menacing voice she could muster.
"You there, show yourself!"
The figure took two steps forward and her finger tightened on the crossbow's trigger.
"One more step and I don't care who you are I'll put this arrow strait through the middle of your forehead."
He stopped abruptly and laid his weapon to the ground at his feet.
"It's alright Milady I mean you no harm."
His actions disturbed her, no warrior she had ever came across parted of his weapon this easy. She made a hand signal to Rikishi who instantly pounced with purpose onto the stranger, holding him firmly in place as Myranda picked up the weapon, examining it for any clues as to who this stranger could be. A familiar symbol glowed upon the handle, a blood red rose with an outline black as coal. She looked down and saw his face in the moonlight, their eyes met and a strange tingling sensation flowed throughout her body, starting from the soles of her feet and rising to the top of her head. Her ears began to ring as her face flushed. A shiver ran through her although she was no longer cold. Her face burning with an impossible heat as her breath caught in her throat.
Rikishi began to purr as the stranger scratched him behind the ears.
"So we meet again noble one, ever diligent in protecting your Lady I see, well done... well done indeed."
Myranda dropped to her knees before the man as he rose to his feet.
"My apologies milord I didn't know that was you there."
