The Dragon Chief Ch. 11

*Note: Sorry for the short chapter. This story isn't dead, life is just busy. The next chapter should be out in the next month or so. Enjoy!

In the quiet of the hills, the two women walked in comfortable silence. For the first time in more than two weeks, Willa felt peaceful. These woods reminded her of home and it wasn't long before she warmed to Hilda. The woman was a lioness - lean and ferocious - but Willa could feel warmth behind her cool facade. She may have been hardened by a warrior's life but Hilda was still charming and lighthearted. There was a poetry to the way she spoke.

"Listen to the forest," Hilda had told her. "Stay aware, or the bow means nothing."

Willa listened. She could hear the wind as it whistled between pine needles and the sounds of tiny birds hunting insects in the tree tops. Hilda listened as well, drinking in the sounds of the hills with a soft smile.

"Have you ever used a bow before?"

"No, but I had a gun in a past life." Willa offered. She was a tradesperson, not a hunter. But she also knew how to endure in a harsh world. Hilda explained every part of the bow to her - the rest, the grip, the sight window, the limbs.

"A warrior knows her weapon like she knows herself," the huntress explained.

"I've never met someone like you, " Willa told her, watching the lioness intently as she skillfully demonstrated how to properly nock an arrow. Hilda flashed a confused look at Willa. "You're very... strong."

"Thank you?" Hilda laughed at her and Willa found herself flushing.

"No, thank you for teaching me. I'm sick of feeling vulnerable."

Hilda nodded, suddenly solemn.

"We're all just trying to survive." Hilda's jaw was set tight. "You're a survivor, like me."

Willa was quiet for a moment, hoping Hilda would expand upon her thought. Instead, the other woman reached out and brushed Willa's finger tips with her own.

"Are you okay?" Hilda asked her softly. Willa shook her head. Of course not. But Hilda was right, she was a survivor. "How are your ribs?"

"Fine." Willa considered her next words carefully. "Did it never bother you? All the women? Me?"

Hilda shrugged. "It's the way things are out here."

Willa offered only silence.

"But I guess it did." Hilda spoke without looking at the woman next to her. They dropped the topic after that, neither willing or courageous enough to breach it further. Instead, the two of them fell back into comfortable chat. They spent the morning tracking a small pack of grouse with Hilda as a patient teacher. The bow did not come naturally to Willa. Despite this, the women took down three birds.

"Didn't do much hunting up North, huh?" Willa shook her head.

"I never had to." She laughed and stood up straight after tying her bird to the small pack on her shoulders. When she recieved silence, Willa glanced back at her new friend. "Are you okay?"

Willa's jovial mood disappeared quickly when she saw Hilda's expression. Her eyes were dark and focused. She was still tying the bird to her pack but her eyes were on Willa and the surrounding woods.

"Get back on the ground." Hilda's voice was low. "Now."

Willa was unnerved but did as she was told and sat on her knees next to the crouching woman.

"Hilda..." she began but was silenced when the huntress shot her a look.

Once again in her low voice, Hilda commanded Willa.

"When I draw my bow, run directly east without stopping until you get to camp." Willa's heart was beating fast.

"No." Willa responded. The huntress looked down at her, confused and frustrated. "I'm not leaving you here."

"They are here for you." Hilda's statement made Willa's insides twist. Before she could reconsider, the sound of a gunshot cracked the air and Hilda hit the ground with a snarl. She was clutching her bicep. "Go."

Willa's stomach dropped when a man with a silenced hunting rifle and brown ski mask stepped out of the woods.

"Two sluts! Even better," The masked man announced as he emerged. Adrenaline slammed through Willa's veins and she pulled Hilda up by her uninjured arm, dragging her to the forest line. Hilda dug a small pistol from the back of her jeans and readied it in her other hand as Willa pulled her through the undergrowth. They went crashing down to hide in the shrubs when another gunshot broke the quiet of the hills. They were curled in the brush and Hilda's pistol was steadied and ready to kill. Willa clamped a hand over her own mouth and nose to muffle her heavy breathing.

They could hear him gliding through the brush as he searched for them. He was quiet, but the area was thick with tall bushes and any movement inevitably made sound. The rustle drew closer and Willa could see that despite Hilda's grazed arm the woman was steely with focus.

"Hello, ladies." The masked face appeared and Hilda fired without hesitation before hooking her arm around Willa's and dragging the other woman from hiding. They were both quiet as they threaded through the brush.

Neither said a word until they reached camp, where Hilda explained everything. Oro worriedly dressed her wound as she spoke. Willa chewed her lip as she watched. She knew better, but this felt like her fault. Barr was nowhere in sight and she wondered briefly if he was safe before realizing the thought was a useless one. He was more than capable.

Jorvun was checking Willa for wounds but she knew she was uninjured aside from bumps and scrapes. She had said as much, but allowed his examination anyway.

"I shouldn't have let you go - you're still injured." came his tight voice. She shook her head at him as he gently felt her healing ribs. The entire experience felt as if it had happened a lifetime ago, but her sides were still sore and the memories were crisp in her mind.

"I have to learn to defend myself." She shrugged, eyes still on Hilda's wound as Oro's suprisingly gentle hands wrapped it in strips of fabric. "She only got hurt because she was protecting me."

Jorvun was quiet. He knew she was right.

"I want you to teach me to fight. " Willa finally pried her gaze from Hilda's bicep and looked Jorvun in the eyes. He simply nodded.

"What the fuck?" Barr's voice carried from the edge of the clearing. He approached, dropping an armful of dry boughs on the ground next to the fire.

"They were attacked," Jorvun told him simply. Barr's jaw clenched when his gaze landed on the bloody towels at Hilda's feet.

"Just grazed me." She shrugged it off. Oro finished cleaning and wrapping the wound before offering her a hand-rolled cigarette. Hilda perched it on her lips and leaned in so he could light it with a match.

Barr nodded, seemingly comforted by the news. He turned and focused on Willa, who was holding a blanket tightly around herself.

"I'm ok." She reassured him. This time, Willa related the tale. Her version was less concise but as she explained, Barr's expression darkened. Her body pressed into Jorvun's. This was the first time she'd ever seen him like this. Not only was he massive and well-built, but she understood now that along with his genial spirit something else carnal and lethal lived inside him. Jorvun squeezed her shoulders before standing and guiding the warrior priest away. She could hear them speaking but did not hear their words. Barr was staring into the thin, scraggly woods with cold eyes. Why wasn't she ever in the loop?

"They're trying to protect you." Hilda told her in a breath of smoke.

"I didn't ask to be protected." Willa bit back. When she glanced up and saw hurt behind Hilda's eyes, she immediately regretted the tone. "I'm sorry."

Still high on adrenaline, she jumped slightly when Jorvun's hand landed on her shoulder. He addressed the three of them solemnly.

"Barr will be back soon. We move out as soon as he is." Oro and Hilda nodded affirmatively. Willa's hand landed on Jorvun's. Without delay or excitement, they packed everything onto the horses and departed into the hills as soon as Barr returned. He looked solemn and very unlike his typically relaxed self. She was concerned by Jorvun's expression as well. His scarred face was set into a scowl and he looked to be deep in thought. Willa wished they would speak to her but she was beginning to see what Hilda had tried to tell her. It seemed they were learning to interact with her as much as she was struggling to understand them. She couldn't help but resent them for pulling her life out from beneath her but she also couldn't help the affection growing inside her.

They did not stop moving through the hills until the sun had completely disappeared and the inky night threatened to swallow them whole. They would be in Redwater tomorrow.