Dark Arrow Ch. 05

The early settlers had nicknamed them godzillas and scalephants, and had both feared and admired them for their size and destructive potential.With such large prey though there naturally came predators equipped to take them down. The shadow lynx was easily twice the size of the large cats of earth, but with an additional terrifying ability. While it was warm blooded it seemed to possess a chameleon's ability to change it's coloring to blend into the surroundings. They were harder than hell to spot, and could rip you limb from limb with a single swipe.

Sleek and black, unless they were hiding, they resembled the panthers she'd read about, though their glossy skin had no fur. They moved with a grace and ease through the woods, and the only warning one was near was the sudden absence of birds. The silence that accompanied their presence was perhaps the spookiest thing about them to Erillia. The way the woods could go from so full of life to so deathly silent sent chills up her spine. It was so quiet it was almost as if where the cats walked was sacred ground.

She'd only encountered them a few times, and generally they were content to go their own way if they even noticed you. In the absence of the larger prey animals there was more than enough forage for the deer that had been imported. They reproduced at a remarkable rate, which was lucky since it took many of them to make a meal for one of those cats.

She broke out of her musings and considered what had brought the cats to mind in the first place. "So the general populace is like the birds and other animals. If they scatter there's a predator around. If that's the case then why do my kills draw such attention?" He tilted his head and considered her question for a bit.

"Well people are by nature curious. Death is not something most people see, and most people seem to recognize that once the target is down the danger to them is minimal. It's rare for an assassin to stick around longer than they have to or take down more people than they were paid for. Some people come out of the genuine desire to see if there is anything they can do to help, but most come because to satisfy their curiosity."

"More importantly," he said shaking his head, "most of the people you've taken down were people that others didn't like. Sad as this may be most people would never say a word against these people when they are alive out of self-preservation, but the second you kill them they are there to gloat over what happened to the person."

He looked at her carefully and smiled. "I think that's probably enough for now. We'll come back to this tomorrow. You caught on to this faster than I'd expected. Let's get cleaned up and then we can go hunting." She nodded and glanced at him, chewing her bottom lip.

"That plasma pistol isn't really suited for hunting," she murmured. He glanced at her in surprise.

"Not really," he agreed, "I thought you were the one doing the hunting."

"Oh, so you were just going to tag along and make hunting more difficult and not help?" she huffed, glaring at him.

"No I figured I would handle the skinning, gutting, hauling, you know... whatever you needed." He said holding up his hands defensively. Though he couldn't help thinking to himself that by god she was glorious when she was angry.

"Well think again," she growled. "Go get cleaned up. I happen to have a spare bow here you can use." He looked startled, but when she waved for him to go he moved over to his bag and retrieved some soap.

"Make sure to scrub down extremely well with some of the bank sand after you use that soap. I don't want every deer in the surrounding area laughing at us because they smell us coming from a mile away!" she yelled after him. Turning back to the room she glanced at the chest against the wall. Underneath her spare clothes there was a box in that chest. It held her old bow, the one she'd used before she'd made her current bow. She hadn't used it since she was fifteen, but it should still be in working order.

That bow had been made by her father for her when she first started hunting. He'd taught her the process and let her help as he worked on her so that she'd be able to make her own later. It was a fine bow, but it wasn't big enough for her anymore let alone Ren. She stood staring at the chest for a moment longer, mentally berating herself for offering him a "spare" bow. She'd known damn well this one wouldn't work, but she'd opened her mouth and said it anyway.

Heaving a sigh she turned and strode out of her room and into the kitchen. The Cabin had three rooms, but she'd only used two for years. There was the main room where they had slept and a small kitchen complete with stove. The third room however had not been opened in seven years, not since her father died. She didn't want to admit it, but the instant she made her offhand statement about having an extra bow she'd known what it was going to cost her.

She paused in the kitchen and took a ragged breath as she stared at the door she'd sworn she'd never open again. She should know by now that there were somethings it was just not wise to promise yourself. Not using a resource or partner to their full extent for sentimental reason was foolish. It was the king of thing that could get you killed. She could have kept her mouth shut and prevented the need to do this, but she hadn't and now she'd just have to deal with it.

Reaching above the door sill she found the key right where she remembered it. Her fingers felt numb as she fumbled with the lock for a second before the key turned. Slowly she pushed the door open, and tried to ignore the way her hand shook. Her knees trembled as she walked into the room that her father had always used.The air in the room was still and the room had a feel that just screamed the room hadn't seen use in a long time.

The quilt, emblazed with an insignia of some kind he'd had specially made still sat on his neatly made bed. She remembered when she was younger and he first brought her here how she'd loved sitting in here at night, tracing the lightning bolt that was emblazoned across the emblem. The skull it passed through had scared her at first, but her father had merely smiled and told her it was nothing. Just the symbol of some far off warrior band that was never seen on Terra, an image plucked from a book he'd once read. The scroll at the bottom of the emblem brought tears to her eyes as she stared at the words written there. `Semper Fi´ written in bold black letters across the scroll.

In an instant she was back in the past at her father's bedside before they wheeled him off to intensive care. She'd ridden with him to the hospital, but they refused to let her stay with him until they had him examined and transferred to a bed in the ICU. At the time she'd been so distraught she almost missed her father grabbing her hand

"It means always faithful," his voice once a strong baritone now thin and ready called her attention to him. She didn't understand, and he read that in her face. "Those words, 'semper fi', they mean always faithful. It's bigger than that though. They mean you can be counted on beyond a shadow of a doubt. They mean you will be there for your friends, for your partners, for those closest to you. They mean when all else fails you won't, that you'll never leave someone behind. They are the heart and soul of the code."

She wanted to ask him what he meant, but he'd broken down coughing, bloody sputum frothing out his mouth, as he gasped for breath. The nurses had flocked around him, jostling her out of the way as they suctioned his mouth and throat out and adjusted his oxygen flow. "Erilla," he gasped, snatching her hand fiercely as they started to wheel him away. "One day you'll understand.Right now your mom needs you to be there for her while I can't. I need you to take care of her for me for a while. Remember..., 'Semper Fi'."

"I tried dad, god knows I tried." She whispered brokenly as her hand rested on the quilt. She hadn't thought about those words in years, not since Leo changed her life so drastically. Her mother had practically disowned her after the murders. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that girls had come forward from all across the outskirts to denounce Leo for what he was and what he'd done to them Erillia wasn't entirely sure her mother wouldn't have turned her in to the police out of spite.

She had done her best, and she could meet her father in the afterlife, if there was an afterlife, with her head held high. She'd kept her mother fed and provided for; even after her mother had declared to everyone she didn't have a daughter anymore. She had kept her word as best she could. If she were honest she couldn't fathom what had drawn her mother and father together in the first place, but then she doubted anyone would be able to see what drew her to Ren either.

That thought brought her back to the reason she'd come in here after so long. Kneeling beside the bed she reached under it and pulled out a well-worn case. She preferred her steel bow ever since she'd made it, but there were people who preferred the old fashioned things and her father was one of them. Tears gathered in her eyes as she traced the initials her father had carefully imprinted into the leather. Just like the bow and quiver it held, her father had made this by hand. She rose slowly and carried the case back to her bed.

Ren walked in to find her holding a long bow and stroking it affectionately. The mahogany finish gleamed despite the fact the bow was clearly a functional weapon rather than a show piece. Tears were streaming down her face as she lovingly handled it, and he fought the urge to rush over and comfort her. Instead he watched her carefully for a while as she stared at bow. Finally she glanced up and saw him standing there.

"That's not a spare," he said in a soft tone as he moved towards her. She shook her head, but held it out to him. He fingered the wood lightly as he took it from her hand. It was yew wood, one of the few trees imported from earth. The dark stain contrasted sharply with the lighter wood visible in the engraving on the bow. He held back the urge to explode into a string of curses. The globe surmounted by the eagle and crossed by the anchor. Underneath was a name he knew too well, "Diablo". There was only one Marine he knew of that had used that name in recent memory.

Taking a deep breath he glanced over at Erillia. She made a little more sense now, but damn did this complicate matters. It wasn't bad enough he was in a relationship with someone he was going to have to disappoint. It wasn't enough that the first time he actually found someone that made him want to be a better man and to stick around when the situation had conspired to make sure that couldn't happen. No, that wasn't enough of a twisted joke. Instead she had to be the daughter of a legendary Marine, a legend he'd once been sent to kill.

He blew out his breath and tried to calm his emotions. She didn't know what had happened. Hell how could she, he didn't even know what had happened. All he knew was that when he'd been sent here it was the beginning of the end for his career with the Advocacy. When she'd described how her father died he'd started to get suspicious. Now there could be little doubt, and any remaining questions he had were erased when he glanced at the case lying on the bed. The "E.L" pressed into the leather was the final straw.

Edward Laroch, outstanding Marine Special Forces record. Single handedly stopped multiple uprisings and took out countless pirate gangs. Took his nickname of "devil" when one of the pirate crews he'd infiltrated referred to him that way. Went off the reservation for unknown reasons and settled on Terra. Had prevented popular uprisings here on several occasions and given no reason for action to be taken against him. That was until they had suddenly sent him in for reasons he still couldn't quite fathom. He looked up at Erillia, mentally adding father to the list of titles he knew the man had.

He shook his head. He might not have actually killed her father as he'd been ordered to, but he doubted she'd really care about that when all was said and done. Small wonder she was nearly his match when it came to combat. Her father had clearly trained her well, but hadn't focused on lethal skills. He'd hazard a guess that it was because the point of training her had been to allow her to get away from danger, not rush into it. A noble goal, but with Erillia he felt it was probably a wasted effort. She seemed to be drawn to danger like a moth to the flame.

He slowly bent the bow and slotted the string into place. It was supple and despite the fact he was sure this bow hadn't been handled since her father passed it was in functioning condition. He'd not handled a bow in years, though as a boy he'd done a bit of archery at camps. She passed him the quiver. Leather dyed a deep crimson with brilliant yellow arrows. Wooden shaft and real feathers, though they used steel for the heads. He was a bit surprised that her father had made something so bright for a hunting weapon. It was difficult to disguise, and would draw unwanted attention. Then again as plentiful as deer were and as good as lieutenant Laroch was supposed to be he probably didn't need to get that close.

He looked at her and the tears still shown in the corners of her eyes. She gazed at him, but he'd bet his bottom dollar she wasn't actually seeing him. Her eyes were unfocused and she was shuddering. He cursed himself silently. All the blood on his hands and it was the one life he didn't take that threatened to break him.

"This was your fathers?" He didn't have to ask it was clear, but he needed to get her talking. She nodded, and drew a ragged breath.

"Yeah," she muttered softly. "I'm sorry." He reached out and pressed a finger to her lips.

"You have nothing to apologize for. Your love for your father speaks well for you." He took a deep breath, and thought for a moment. If he told her part of the truth now it might distract her, but it might be for the best. If she was distracted he could still probably bring down some game, and if he couldn't... well there was always the MRE's. "You father was older wasn't he? He'd be around 65 if he were still alive am I right?" She looked startled, but nodded.

"Why do you ask?"

"I know this is going to be hard for you to believe, but I know who your father was," he said softly. Her head snapped back in shock as she stared at him in disbelief. He turned the bow to face her and tapped the Marine emblem. "Marine corp. He even added the big dipper." He tapped the stars carefully engraved just above the eagles head. "That wasn't added until after space flight and the Marine corp transition to being the main assault forces of the interstellar fleet. There's only one Marine in recent record that used Diablo as his code name."

"Your father," he shook his head, "your father was the reason I joined the Marines. He is... was a bloody legend. Your full name is Erillia Josephine Laroch, daughter of Edward David Laroch, First Lieutenant of the Interstellar Marine Corps." Her mouth hung open in shock. Finally she shook her head and stepped away from him.

"You're crazy Ren. My father was no Marine he was just a hunter. He worked in the factories here." She shook her head again and shoved past him as she strode out the door. He grimaced.

"Brilliant move Marine," he muttered to himself as he slung the quiver over his shoulder and walked into the kitchen for one more cup of coffee. He'd wanted to try and break some of this news softly to Erillia. Maybe even ease into telling her about the extent of his connection to her father. Clearly though she wasn't ready to hear the truth. He was still musing over the situation when she appeared in the door way, her hair still damp and glistening from her dip in the river, and her skin red from the cold and from scrubbing herself down.

"Look Ren," she said softly shaking her head as she moved into room. "I don't know what you think you know about my father. I don't know what the truth is anymore. I... I'm not stupid enough to think there isn't more going on here than I know about. Maybe some of what you say is true, maybe it all is. Right now I can't think about this. I have too much to deal with just trying to understand what's going on between us to go back and dig through everything I've ever known to be true for what was real and what was a lie."

He nodded. He should have suspected as much. Lord knew his head was still spinning as he tried to wrap his mind around what was going on with them, and he had a far firmer grasp of the situation than she did.

"Fair enough little one, but you need to be aware that we will have to deal with these things at some point. You're right, there is more going on that you know, that's why it's so important for me to train you as fast as possible. I'm sorry Erillia, but when you and I crossed paths it set some things in motion that I don't believe can be stopped. Right now you're good, but you're only good in the environments you know. I need to train you to where you can adapt anywhere, because I'm not sure we can even stay in Terra Prim." He didn't say it out loud, but if he were honest with himself it was likely they couldn't even stay on the planet at all let alone in the city. She looked at him for a moment, and then nodded.

"I know," she said in a broken tone that tore at his heart. She hung her head for a second, and shook her head. "We need to get going. Deer don't stay to close to here when I'm at the cabin. We need to head upstream for a few miles. There's another tributary that they like to water at up there."

"Upstream," he asked surprised. "I thought you told me this was only a mile from those cliffs." He glanced out the door towards the rocky crags. "Those don't look like they're several miles away."

"They aren't," she said with a smile. "We're following the river through them there's a meadow that isn't even on most maps. There's a small pond there, and the hunting is almost always good, and if we're lucky the fish might even be biting.

"Right so we're going camping again," he said moving over to his bed. She grunted an affirmative as he dug in and pulled out the two bed rolls and tossed one to her. She caught it and pulled out her bow and quiver, slinging them over her shoulder as she waited on him. He rummaged around for a few more minutes, pulling out another small bag like the one he'd given her to hold her bow and quiver and placing a few items into it. Finally he stood and nodded to her.

She looked at him, but there were so many things that she wanted to ask that she couldn't think where to start. Finally she jerked her head for him to follow her. She stepped out into the slowly receding darkness and took a deep breath of the cold crisp air. Moving through the forest was second nature to her, but she was pleased to see that Ren was nearly as skilled. She hadn't been sure if her memory of their flight from the cops wasn't tainted by adrenaline and the after effects of the morphine.

He wasn't quite as skilled as she was though, and she frowned as he stepped on some easily visible and avoidable branches.

"Watch where you put your feet," she hissed. "Cracking branches will drive game away faster than you can blink." He grimaced, and nodded.

"Sorry," he gave a lopsided grin. "I guess they focused more on how to kill people than how to sneak up on them when they trained me." She chuckled despite herself, and moved forward again. She glanced back and almost froze at the site of the first golden rays backlighting Ren. For an instant her father was with her again. The cold crisp air, the soft pat of their feet on the leafs, the distant twitter of a bird as it woke, all of it called to mind the many times she'd done this with him.