Chapter 7 - The Target

Aurora followed behind Irelia through the wilderness as they made their way out of the village center and toward the Song clan territory. Irelia would sniff at the air every now and then and change the direction they were moving at. The girls reached an area where the dense forest had begun to have its trees culled. The work of axes was evident.

Aurora wiped away some sweat from her brows and panted. “W-Wait a moment, we are going too quickly. Let’s take a little bit of a rest.”

“No,” Irelia replied. “We need to keep the chase, I won’t be able to smell him if we are more than two kilometers away. I’ve been working hard to keep us at this boundary so nobody will notice us.”

“So that’s why you keep sniffing at the air. And here I thought you were just a dog or a wolf.” Aurora took a bottle of water from her backpack and drank from it. She handed it to Irelia however she didn’t take it. “Suit yourself.”

Aurora observed the surroundings with a deep sense of dread. It was only now that she’d taken a breather that she realized how far away she was from her home. It had been hours since they’d been on their pursuit.

“What’s wrong?” Irelia asked.

“Nothing, it’s fine. Let’s get this done with so I can go back home,” Aurora replied. Her skin crawled at the thought of being stranded so far away from her comfortable home. She slapped herself in the cheeks and then let out a long moan. Just as the Irelia was about to move forward, Aurora pulled her back. “Wait, can you hear that?” she asked.

“Hear what?”

Aurora tilted her head to the side and focused intently on the noise she’d heard for just a split second. “Never mind, I must have been hearing things.”

The girls sped off, with Irelia leading the way. After racing for another few kilometers, Irelia slowed down her pace to a slow jog. She seemed to be at an even greater alertness than before, constantly scanning the area. She put her finger across her lips as she looked at Aurora and then signaled for her to walk slower.

About a hundred meters in front of Aurora she spotted a large structure. A tall wooden outpost about fifteen meters in height was there. From where Aurora was stood she noticed a man climbing down the ladders that led up into the outpost.

That’s the guy from earlier if I’m not wrong. We got here just in time. So he went up there, maybe to speak to one of his people and let them know Irelia is planning on something. Weird, but I don’t sense anybody else inside that outpost.

Irelia whispered to Aurora, “Let’s give it half an hour. We’ll go check out what’s inside that outpost once the coast is clear.”

Aurora shook her head. “It’s too dangerous. If we’re that high up and somebody else finds us there, we’ll have nowhere to escape to.”

Irelia pointed to the sky. “What do you see there?”

Aurora gazed at the sky. “I don’t know. It’s pretty cloudy and is getting dark.”

“Bingo. It’s getting dark and it will rain soon. By my estimate it’ll rain within the hour, so that’ll solve the issue of our means of escape.” Irelia beamed with a smile. “Look, you’re impressed right? Right?”

“Slightly. Less impressed and more weirded out by how in tune you are with nature. Anyway, just rain and nightfall doesn’t mean it makes it easier for us to escape. What if we get separated? I’m not used to… To whatever it is we are about to do.”

“Don’t worry,” Irelia reassured. “Just follow my lead and stay close to me.”

The pair waited for the green robed man to disappear into the distance. After half an hour passed they then crept toward the outpost as silently as possible. She’s really silent, even more so than me, and I’m used to stalking prey when I hunt. I wonder how much more she knows than me considering her capabilities. And her senses are insanely acute, especially her sense of smell.

“I’ll go up first,” Irelia said. “I’ll climb down the ladder a tiny bit if it’s fine to come up.” Irelia’s blond hair waved about as she climbed up the ladder. She was nimble and quiet as she made her ascent.

Aurora observed her surroundings as she waited for Irelia’s signal. A prickling sensation came all over Aurora’s skin, causing the hairs on her arms to raise. She heard a slight movement from within the woods. Aurora spun around to where the sound came from. A rustling of leaves followed by the whoosh of an arrow.

Aurora kicked against the ladder and flung herself to the ground. The arrow breezed past her left ear, slightly nicking it. A warmth dropped from her ears, which she quickly clasped onto. Aurora rolled across the ground just as another arrow flew past her.

“Fuck, we need to run,” Irelia shouted as she came speeding down from the ladder. She grabbed Aurora and pulled her off the ground.

Aurora nodded. Aurora followed the sprinting Irelia into the thicket. She turned her head just as she sensed another arrow incoming. It was too late to doge the projectile.

Aurora stifled a scream as the arrow flew into her right shoulder. The force of the projectile sent her hurtling forward into Irelia. The pair fell to the ground. Thunder struck from above and rain started to pour from the heavens. Aurora scrambled to her feet with the help of Irelia.

She held onto her shoulder as she bit her lip, stumbling across the ground.

“I’ve got you,” Irelia said. She grabbed Aurora and gave her a piggyback. She then sprinted at a speed even quicker than what she’d displayed previously. The surroundings were becoming a blur to Aurora. They passed by hundreds of trees in what seemed like an instant. A dizziness fell over Aurora, her vision slowly weakening as her eyes began to close.

“Shit, there’s poison in the arrow,” Irelia hissed.

Aurora felt herself being put on the ground. She lay flat on her stomach. The girl felt something being removed from her shoulder, however the area felt extremely numb.

“Hang in there, I-” Irelia’s voice was becoming quieter and quieter. Aurora’s focus was slipping. She fell in and out of consciousness multiple times before finally passing out.

…

Aurora woke to the sound of water crashing down from a waterfall. She found herself laying on a makeshift bed of leaves right next to a large river. The heavy noise made by the waterfall took away her focus from the pain in her shoulder by a small amount. Aurora coughed as she tried to move her body upright.

She let herself ease back into the leaves and then turned to the scenery next to her. It was currently deep in the night, with some moonlight passing down through the heavy canopy that surrounded the river. Some fishes constantly jumped in and out of the river.

“Ah, you’re awake,” Irelia said. She walked out of the river completely naked. She walked over next to Aurora and picked up a towel which she quickly wrapped around herself. “How are you feeling? I put some ointment on your shoulder to counteract the poison, but I didn’t expect you to wake up so soon. How peculiar.”

“I feel… Weird. I don’t know, drowsy and lightheaded. My shoulder feels, numb.” The girl moved her right shoulder around to a limited degree of success.

Irelia grinned. “Of course, those are the side effects of whatever that poison was. A numbing agent I believe.” She dried herself off and then put on her clothes. “Good, you seem better than before. Fainting on me and all that, you had me pretty scared.” Irelia rubbed her head sheepishly and laughed. “Don’t worry, you were fine. Definitely weren’t in danger that’s for sure.”

“Where are we right now?”

“No clue,” Irelia replied. “I have absolutely no clue where we are. I just started running. I was more worried about escaping from that ambush to be honest. You know, priorities, am I right?”

Aurora sighed. “Yea, I guess you’re right. So, what do we do now?”

“Well, wait for you to rest up. That’s our priority right now. Doesn’t matter if it takes a couple days or weeks, but we won’t get anywhere with you in your current state.” Irelia bit her lower lip. “I might have to leave you here and get my chest on my own in a couple of days.”

Aurora squinted. “A couple of days? Yesterday you told me you would do it in like two weeks if I’m not mistaken.” Aurora’s face paled. “Hold on. Don’t tell me that what I’m thinking is correct.”

“Oh, right.” Irelia facepalmed. “You were asleep for a whole week. Forgot to tell you that. Sorry.”