The crunch of boots through the snow on the black stone road sounded like cracking bones. The crisp winter air no longer smelled of pine and ice but ash and blood, the stench of desperation slowly clawing its way to the forefront of her senses. Umbra’s tail twitched next to her; the giant, onyx panther poised to pounce at her command. “Hold,” she whispered to her familiar as she pulled back the string of her bow. The beast flicked its tail in response, letting her know it understood. She took aim, the milky moonlight of the full moon that bathed the road making it easy for her to track her target from where she and Umbra were perched high in the branches of the sycamore tree. The intruder was at least six foot tall, dressed in black leather armor with twin swords at his hips. She couldn’t make out exactly where he was wounded beneath the dark cloak that shrouded the back of his figure, but the trail of blood he left was telling that he must be in bad shape. Not to mention his choice of trespassing on this particular road, on this particular night. Only those who wished for death risked passage through here during The Hunt. And that’s exactly what she would give him. The intruder trudged another two feet forward and she inhaled steadily as she pointed her nocked arrow down, waiting for him to hit the exact mark on the ground… “Now,” she exhaled, releasing her arrow as well as the invisible leash on Umbra. The panther hit the ground in one graceful leap as her bolt zipped through the air and plunged itself clean through the man’s right shoulder blade and nailed him to the trunk of a tree on the other side of the road. A roar of pain ripped out of his throat as he slammed back into the wood, hand coming up to try and pull the shaft of the arrow out of his body. She fixed her bow across her torso and swung down to the ground from her perch, landing with an easy thud on the ground right next to Umbra. “Valentina,” the man hissed, eyes widening as he realized who was before him. Valentine grinned viciously as she unfurled herself to her full height, flicking a strand of her amethyst hair off her shoulder as she strode toward him. Umbra mirrored every move she made, thought the familiar never took its eyes off the man for even a second. “Noctus,” she purred as she stepped up to him. “It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten to sink one of my arrows in you. Though, I must say I’m surprised to see you’re foolish enough to have crossed this way during such a lethal time.” “I came for help,” he growled as he finally broke the shaft of her bolt and shifted himself forward to release himself from where he was pinned to the tree. “Do you really think I’m daft enough to cross here during The Hunt if I didn’t have to?” Valentina shared an amused glance with Umbra as she answered, “Yes.” Noctus bared his teeth. “You think you’re funny now, but when the briar wolves tracking me down catch the scent of my blood, we’ll see who will be laughing then.” Valentina sucked in a sharp breath. “You led briar wolves here? You fool.” Noctus shoved a hand through his short, midnight hair, his sharp jaw clenching with ire at her insult as he turned his head towards the direction he came from and said, “It wasn’t me—I’m just the lone survivor. It was a reckless mage. He was leading a group for The Hunt through the lower valleys and stumbled on the briar wolf pack. Nyx and I heard the slaughter and tried to help but…Nyx died causing a distraction for me to get away.” “That sacrifice was in vain if they have your scent,” she sneered at him. “What the hell am I supposed to do if an entire pack of briar wolves comes through here? If they get ahold of the Token before The Hunt is over—” A howl sliced through the dark in the distance. Umbra’s ears flattened back at the haunting sound and Valentina cursed. Noctus tried to sidestep from between her and the tree, but before he could move an inch, her hand shot out with lightning speed and grasped onto his neck. His emerald eyes blazed with fury as she held him in place, and she knew if he truly wanted to, he could rip himself out of her grip. Even wounded, he would still have a considerable amount of strength over her, his muscular frame a testament to that fact. Thankfully, Umbra’s sharp canines only inches away from ripping off his favorite bits kept him from doing so. “Listen to me carefully,” she seethed. “Unless you want me to rip out your throat and leave you here for the briar wolves to devour, you’re going to do exactly as I say.” Noctus huffed out a laugh and called her bluff. “Huntress if you killed me now the wolves will come running, and after they’ve cleaned every last bit of flesh from my bones, they’ll look for their next target and what makes you think that won’t be the Token?” He was right and she knew it. “If you cooperate, both of us can get away and warn the others before that happens. Win-win right?” Noctus’s expression turned serious as he thought over her offer, and for a moment she couldn’t help but realize how attractive he was. Disgust erupted in her belly at that thought and she gritted her teeth as she waited for his answer. “Alright,” he finally drawled. “What’s your plan?”

Entered by: 0xEC17…4bc7 and preserved on chain (see transaction)