Jinx

Fluffy things, bring the worst of luck

The little fox blinked, pink tongue hanging out of its mouth, ears moving front and back trying to catch that elusive sound that spelled trouble. Its tail, lush and fluffy, arching at the middle, the hairs on it raised and a brilliant red, catching the light from the large disk coming up on the sky. Spring wasn’t over yet, but the days smelled of summer.

They spoke of hunt and sex, of fun and danger. The thread connecting them all, a lively excitement. Gish adored the warmer weather. The way nature mellowed and opened up, bringing joy to all things and also trouble, in all packages.

The fox was right.

Although those darn things always brought her the worst of luck.

Ayup, Jinx thought, jumping from the large branch and landing on her feet, making no sound at all.

Almost.

The small animal twisted its neck around and stared at the curled up girl. Snorted once and then turned its canine head towards the west and deeper into the forest.

“What have ye got there girl?” ‘Pretty’ Jinx whispered and followed in the fox’s tail, as it zig-zagged from bush to bush and from one fallen trunk to the next. The woods covering most of Altarin’s valley reached the base of Northwall’s mountain range, and followed it along towards Yeriden. While thick and old, there were paths through the forest, but not enough for an army to cross, unless it cut a road through the trees, or had local help.

At least that’s what people thought. As all things, it wasn’t something tested, but more of a belief, strong enough to turn into reality.

Then reality comes along, Jinx mused, seeing the numerous recently cut stubs the little fox had found. “Makes people, look right stupid.”

She put a hand on a stub, looked for moisture and found none. The wood felt harsh and dried up, where the axe had cut it. Old, she thought. At least a month. Jinx looked to the north where the slowly reclaimed by the forest avenue stood and then turned to stare south, where that new road was leading.

In another month, the forest would have covered everything, leaving no trace but rotten stubs. No felled trunks, Jinx noticed walking towards the opening. What did you do, wit all that wood Prince?

The little fox hissed, standing right behind her. It had circled around to surprise Jinx, but now as the Gish stood up straight, to return the small predator’s stare, the red fox reconsidered the whole thing and whined softly in an attempt to ask for a truce.

It was a terrible plan, but luckily for the fox, Whisper wasn’t out hunting.

“Yeah,” Jinx agreed and gave it a wink, pink curl covering her eyebrow. “I’ve done stupid things too, sister. Move along now.”

“Are you sure?” Crafton asked three days later, while showing Liko the letters. “He might have headed northwest to find the rest of the Khan’s army.”

“That’s why I want to check the woods again, Crafton,” Jinx repeated, casually smacking away Alix’s paw from her right arse cheek. “See if they cut towards Rida or are they going further up.”

“There’s the road to Rida,” Zola pointed with a finger, as if Whisper was blind. “It goes straight there, fine cobblestone, two carts wide—”

“I’m aware,” She hissed.

“If he was heading to Rida Jinx, we would have seen them already,” Zola explained with a sigh. “So just relax a bit. What happened in Altarin wasn’t your fault, no one is hunting us. We’re out… of the woods. No need to get right back in them, asking for trouble.”

“What do you think Soren?” Jinx asked with a grimace, not wanting Zola’s lecture.

“About the woods?” The Northman asked, looking confused.

“About the whereabouts of the Cofols,” Jinx elucidated patiently.

“Haven’t seen one, since the Fort,” Soren replied.

“If they catch us in the open, we’re dead,” Jinx insisted, looking at them. “We have to know, and it’s open country and fields from here on.”

“The land dries up, cruel Goddess,” Alix informed her. “But it is indeed, mostly flat.”

“You’ve traveled this part?”

“On business alas,” The male Gish replied and gave her a lewd wink. “But not all hope, is lost, lissome Divinity.”

There ye go, she thought. This isn’t a company, but a circus troupe that can’t find a coin to save its life!

“One scouting mission to our west flank, and if nothing is there, we ride hard for Rida,” Jinx announced, looking at all of them for support. She got nothing of the sort, as even Alix was skeptical, except for Liko that is, who stood up and yelled something ineligible, raising his fist, which was in a sense rather cute, but completely useless.

So Captain Jinx, had to pull rank.

The trees were thinning out the closer one got to Rida, the ground ever-slopping towards the road and the Shallow Sea, further to the east. Jinx turned her eyes to the south, were the mighty Yeriden split the land in two unequal parts. Only the mist clouds, appearing heavy on the distant horizon, revealing the still unseen river. Grunting annoyed, she glanced towards the road, where Crafton waited, small Liko standing next to him. Liko raised a hand to greet her from afar and Jinx snorted.

“Satisfied?” Zola said, sounding bored out of her tits and Whisper Jinx rolled her eyes, having had enough of her bitchy attitude.

“You know, girlfriend,” She said and heard a branch snapping to her right. Whisper twisted around alarmed, caught out of the corner of her eye Alix going for his shortsword and spotted the two Cofol scouts coming out of a bunch of taller bushes, the nearest two trees, now at least five meters apart.

The scouts saw them as well, slanted eyes opening as wide as it was possible and went for their bows. Jinx was mirroring their movements, less than twenty meters away, while walking sideways to get away from her horse and draw their fire away from her friends.

“TAKE COVER!” Zola screamed.

The three of them fired, almost a second apart. Jinx released first, her arrow nailing the closest scout under the armpit and then dived for the ground, landing on her right shoulder, her hand gathered to her chest, in order to protect her bow. The Gish rolled nimbly, the scouts’ arrows missing her completely and nocked a fresh one -in one fluid motion- when she stopped. This time Jinx aimed for the Cofol scout that was still standing.

The other one had collapsed to the ground, left leg still caught at the stirrup.

The remaining scout flinched on his saddle, pulling at the horse’s reins hard and Jinx missed, her shot flying wild. Man and horse swung around and bolted for the bushes, his earlier dodge more an effort to get away.

“Damnit!” Jinx cursed and rushed to her own mount. She jumped on the saddle, landing harder than she’d preferred and hurting her loins. “I’m going after him!” Jinx informed the others with a grimace of pain.

“WHISPER!” Alix yelled at her back, as she burst forward after the scout.

Through the tall bushes she went, the small branches rapping at her legs and the scout opening the distance with each second. Up the slopping, soft ground. Jinx cursed and grinded her teeth, when the man twisted on the saddle, holding on with his thighs and spotting her following him, raised his bow and fired an arrow her way.

“Ye fuckin’ cunt!” Jinx cursed and cut hard to the right, her horse snorting frustrated and a low tree branch almost taking her head clean off. She ducked under it, teeth cutting her tongue that started bleeding. The trees started coming closer again, the path narrowing and shrubbery hiding one trap after another.

Then just as fast as the forest had surrounded her, it opened up again, hundreds of felled trees creating a small castle’s lawn, seeded with protruding stubs. Jinx jumped the horse over a nasty one and then pulled hard at the reins to make it stop. About fifty meters away, what looked like a heavy-laden cart, quickly disappeared into the thickening forest, just across the artificial opening she’d found herself into.

A couple of riders had stayed behind, probably waiting for the two scouts, one of them a shining Cataphract that wore that freakish mask on his face. The scout that had led Jinx there, started yelling to warn them about her and the Cataphract stood up on his saddle and turned to stare at Jinx.

This sucks bad girl.

Stay where ye are, Jinx urged him and turned her horse around, twisting her neck to keep him in her field of view. The Cofol Knight reached for his saddle-bags and pulled a crossbow out, he then proceeded to load shrewdly.

God darn it, Jinx cursed inwardly and kicked her legs to get her horse moving. The animal snorted and neighed unhappy, but moved at last and Jinx clicked her tongue to push it to go faster. Through the stubs again, her heart beating wild and the edge of the opening closing in with each passing second.

One.

Two.

Three.

Jinx swung her head around and saw the Cataphract starting hard after her, but never saw the bolt that had landed a second before that. She heard her horse protesting weakly first, not five seconds later, and just as they broke through to the thickest part of the woods, its pained neigh turned into a gurgle.

And hot blood, sprayed her in the face.

Then she knew.

Oh, for fuck’s sake!

Whisper Jinx found herself tumbling down through the thick bushes, after she’d flew briefly yet again. One tumble and she saw a rattlesnake coiling an inch from her face, Jinx’s head pointing towards the ground as she flew over it, both her legs directed to the heavens. Another and she ripped her leather pants, left leg tearing away completely, her hands flailing mad to stop the momentum.

A tree trunk did, hard and soft at places, wet and smelling of mold and fox droppings. Jinx spat down, mud and blood stuck in her teeth and looked about her dazed.

“Whoa,” She said, not believing she hadn’t broken anything important.

Jinx made to get up and look for her bow, almost going right back down again, her feet rubbery. She tried to puke, but failed and when she looked back up again -tears in her eyes- a black stallion showed her his large teeth, froth covering its mouth.

“I know you,” The smiling metal mask spat, the man wearing it standing tall atop the stallion. “You were at Hellfort.”

Jinx stood up herself, looking tiny in front of the large horse and smacked her thighs to clean some of the mud and rotten leaves off. In the process Whisper smacked her naked thigh so hard, she flinched. “It wasn’t me,” Jinx said, with a pained grin.

“I’ll never forget your face,” The Cofol told her in common. “You killed Terkan.”

Run, her brain advised.

Where?

“Twas an accident,” Jinx admitted with a sigh and glanced behind her back.

“Are you gonna run, ye pink wench?” The Cataphract asked, sounding very angry, much as Whisper understood him and she did.

Run that is.

Never let a Gish run away from you in a forest. Or a city with many turns and alleys. They are fast, nimble and can turn on a dime.

Now which Gish had sprouted these nonsense, Jinx didn’t know, as she turned right hard a minute later, jumped over a thorny bush that scratched her naked leg something fierce and bumped her shoulder on a sturdy tree trunk, almost going down.

She glanced back, saw the Cataphract always hot on her tail, nasty saber in hand and hissed in frustration. Jinx burst out of the thick part of the woods, not really wanting to, but she couldn’t exactly find her bearings with the large horse breathing down her neck.

The moment she stepped on clearer ground, Jinx dashed for the biggest tree she could find, aiming to hide behind it, or something. The horse snorted, too close for comfort and she heard it charging behind her, as the open ground favored it more.

This sucks so bad, Jinx whined and looked back again, the Cataphract coming at her, like an avalanche, man and horse covered in mail and probably weighing a ton.

She wasn’t going to make it to the tree.

Oh, crap!

Jinx felt the horse’s stinking breath on her neck and dashed in total panic to the left, away from the Cofol knight’s weapon. Scraped her knee bad, as she rolled, catching a glimpse of the horse stopping and turning hard, hooves sliding in the grass and neighing incensed at the near miss.

“There are no more trees to hide,” The Cataphract noted, breathing hard. “Yield and I’ll sell you as slave. After I’ve had my fill with you.”

Jinx stood up and puffed her cheeks out.

Her knee hurt badly.

“Ye promise?” She asked.

The man pushed his horse closer and loomed large over her.

“I’ve never had a Gish. Yer kind is nigh impossible to catch.”

Jinx released the breath she was holding and smiled a cat’s smile. She’d seen Zola appear from the thick part of the forest. They’d probably followed her, missed her trail and had circled back towards the road.

“It should’ve told ye somethin’,” Whisper said coyly.

“Huh?” The man grunted and twisted his torso to his right, either because he’d caught something in Whisper’s expression, or his horse warned him. The bolt Zola had fired, missed his broad back and struck him right at his plate-covered elbow, bounced off of it, as luck would have it and almost skewered Jinx’s neck, missing her for a hair.

Jinx flinched and cursed at the same time -a much delayed reaction- while the man let out a groan of pain and swung his horse around hard, right hand daggling useless. He’d lost his sword. Move, Whisper urged herself and jumped towards him, Soren charging towards them atop his horse, but still too far away.

The Cataphract sensed her coming and stooped to backhand her, but missed, Jinx reaching him in a brief second and stabbing him at the thigh. Her short blade stuck on the mail shirt initially, but as she put her weight on it, slipped without causing serious damage and struck the saddle’s gullet, turning in her hand and dropping between the horses legs.

Oh, fuck me in the arse! Jinx whined, just before the returning reinforced gauntlet, caught the side of her jaw and sent an almost senseless Whisper crashing down.

Sheesh, a mule would’ve packed less of a punch wit a fuckin’ kick, Jinx thought, a tooth loose in her mouth, jaw bent the wrong way and bleeding from a couple of places simultaneously. She tried to move, legs and hands all over the place, gulping down blood and bits of either grit, or broken teeth. The Cataphract glanced at the coming Northman and snorted, not impressed. He reached at the saddle and unsheathed another sword, this one a longsword, then turned his warhorse, with another glance her way.

“Hey, cunth!” Jinx yelled at him, raising her bloodied head, tongue swollen and her jaw moving funny, just as he was ready to gallop away. “Ye cock suckher!”

The Cataphract clicked his tongue to start his horse forward, but turned his head again her way, just as the animal started moving. Soren was no more than twenty meters away now and closing, but since he was carrying a battleaxe, perhaps the Cofol didn’t really consider him a serious threat. Or it was Jinx’s jeer that had struck a nerve.

“I’ll see you again Gish,” The Cataphract said ominously and then Zola’s bolt went right through his helm, like a long nail on a plank, with a clanging sound that hurt Jinx’s ears. The armoured warrior slid down from his saddle slowly, losing his grip on that Lorian type longsword he held and collapsed on a heap on the ground. The warhorse walked a couple of meters on its own, then came to a stop and started grazing.

“Nah, I don’t think ye will,” Jinx retorted with difficulty and let her head rest back down. She then tried to spit whatever it was clogging her mouth, but whatever Whisper sent up, came right back down and made the mess on her face worse.

Just before Jinx slipped into unconsciousness, she thought of that fox again. Damn fluffy things, always brought her bad luck.

Aww, but they are so god darn cute!