Alea
Snap!
The sound came again from a different direction. Elfrea and I move to our feet, facing towards the sounds. I hit my wrists, realising the dagger, readying myself for a fight. I grab one of my throwing daggers and hand it over to Elfrea to help defend herself.
Snap! Snap!
Two large grey forms slowly emerge from the cover of the thick bushes. I gritted my teeth as they moved in closer, one slow step at a time. The two began to circle us; they were truly acting like a pack of wolves.
Elfrea and I were now back-to-back, facing each feral as they stalked towards us.
"What do we do?" Elfrea asks me with a shaky voice.
"Stab it until it stops moving" is all I could tell her. I would need to fight the one in front of me quickly to help her out. I hoped that Elfrea could hold her own long enough for me to deal with my opponent.
The feral in front of me begins to rush at me, so I begin to fling myself forward. I move my arms to swipe my dagger into its side, and it howls in pain as the blade strikes skin. The feral's body now has a large gash in its side. The feral backs away from me, and I maneuver to go in for another strike.
"Aaaaahh!" A terrified scream from Elfrea pulled my attention. I turned to see her being forced down to the ground, the feral she was up against mouth was clamped down onto her arm. Forgetting the other, I began running over to Elfrea, but I was thrown off when I felt claws rip into my side. I smack the ground hard, the air leaves my lungs, and my head spins in a dizzying pain.
"Alea!" Elfrea screams my name.
I opened my eyes to see the feral pounce on top of me before I could react. I then focus on my free hand and say an incantation. The warmth of magic flows through my body to my palm. As I finished the words, a flame formed in my palm, and I hastily touched my palm to the feral's open wound.
It withdrew, freeing me as it howled in more pain. I jump to my feet, trying to fight against the pounding in my head. The feral frantically swiping its claws at the flames that caught on its body, the flames began to spread. Using the opening, I rush forward and thrust my daggers into its chest. We both fall to the ground as I stab at it over and over until it stops moving.
As I stood up, I felt something grab onto my shoulder. I whip myself around, ready for another attack. Fortunately, it was only Elfrea who was standing before me, her hands up and eyes wide with worry. I bring my arms down and we both relax a moment, staring at each other.
"Are you alright?" We both ask each other at the same time.
We both start to laugh and smile at one another.
"I think I will be, although I have a pounding headache from the fall I took," I said.
Elfrea moves in close, closing the gap between us. With her so close, I had to look up just to see her face. I watch as she reaches out with her hand, touching the top of my head. Her eyes then seem to glaze over as she moves her hand to her face, bringing blood-stained fingers to her lips.
Her eyes roll back as she licks the blood from her fingertips. I was so stunned, I started to move away too slowly. Elfrea was already pinning me to the ground, grabbing my wrists so I couldn't swing at her.
"Elfrea!" I yelled as I tried to squirm from her grasp. I wasn't making any progress; she was much stronger than the feral had been.
Once she was on top, I felt her slowly and gently licking at the wound on my head. She then moves to where we are face-to-face, our noses lightly touching mine.
"Elfrea," I say her name, but she still keeps the same glazed look in her eyes. She begins to move in closer, so I close my eyes and ram my forehead into hers.
This seems to cause her as much pain as me, as she quickly jumps off of me, yelling. I move to my feet and position myself ready for any more attacks, but Elfrea only stands before me. Her hand clamped over her mouth, her eyes now filled with shock. I watch as tears begin to flow from her eyes, and she starts to back away from me.
"I'm ... .Im" she starts to say through her streaming tears. " I'm so sorry," she gets out before turning away from me and running into the trees.
I now stand in the open field alone, wondering what I should do. I was covered in blood, and my head was still pounding. I walked over to the pond's edge and crouched down. I washed my face and my head, and my hair a bit, trying to do what I could for now. I wasn't coming back here until the sun was high in the sky.
I sigh as I get up and take a look around, feeling more worried for Elfrea than afraid. Elfrea had tasted witch blood and lost control. I should be ready for another attack from her. My heart told me that she wasn't going to, she ran so she wouldn't. Her face had shown me she was horrified by her actions.
I start to head back to the manor, and I pass by the feral corpses. I felt sorta proud of Elfrea for taking down one all on her own. I look over the corpse and see the killing blow it took. It was strange that the hole it had in its chest was much larger than what the dagger would have done.
I wanted to ask her, but she might not show back up for a while. This hurt because even though she attacked me, I still wanted her near me. I wanted to talk to her and know she was safe. To tell her that I forgive her because I did.
I continued back to the manor without incident and no sight of Elfrea. As I walked through the kitchen door, I was met with silence.
"Elfrea," I called her name as I walked to the study. Opening its doors to find no one else. I then noticed that her bag hadn't been in the hall. She really had left.
I close the study doors tight and curl up on the lounge chair, wrapping the cloak around me. Tears fall from my eyes as I lie there and cry, letting the scent of wildflowers she left on my cloak wrap around me.