Eden had been walking rather casually down a jagged row of trees when she could smell him. He reeked heavily of human, and by the way he walked over the dried leaves she knew that he was injured. Eden couldn't help but let a smile slink to her face as he spoke. It had been quite a while since she had had a good fight. She didn't even turn around when he lunged at her but rather slipped right out of his grasp before she whirled about to face him.
At first she was startled. He was tall, had a strong jaw, and his hair was fair. He wasn't at all rough and rugged appearing as the other men that had ventured to her border. Eden tilted her head slightly as she could see something inside of his eyes. There was more to him than just his obvious handsome appearance. Of course Eden would never admit out loud that she found any human remotely attractive.
"That pretty little thing last night was your sister?" Eden taunted him. She held nothing personal against him but she knew that if she provoked him than she would get a good fight even if he was at the disadvantage of being injured.
The look in his eye caught her attention once more as she blocked his attack with her blade. It was a wild and desperate look riddled with guilt. Eden could see that there was something haunting this human man.
As their blades clashed they seemed evenly matched at first. Eden was rather impressed he was holding out for so long and was rather delighted that this was a good fight. She continued to slash out at him, toying with him, until she finally felt irritated. There was some force lodged deeply inside this man that was driving him. Eden was rather frustrated by it and immediately disliked it since she couldn't understand this drive. This man was truly on a suicide mission.
The fight was longer than Eden had expected. When she realized that if they fought much longer she risked losing she quickly stepped out of his reach. Eden's dark eyes flashed and her body moved swiftly until she had disarmed the man and had him pinned against the tree.
"You dare come to my territory?" she growled as she held one of his arms behind his back while her other hand pressed her blade to his throat.
This was Eden's favorite part of a fight. It was when the man would beg for mercy to spare his life so that his children would have food every night. Eden knew it was foolish of the men to beg. They had made the decision to enter Lycridan and they had to pay the price.
"You are a fool to think that you could get your sister back. You are an even bigger fool to think that you could get passed me." Eden's mouth was inches from his ear as she whispered the words harshly to him. She pressed the blade even closer to his neck until she drew a drop of blood that ran down the length of her blade.
The morning came more quickly than Rafe would've liked. He had slept uneasily that night and had stirred more than once to the sounds that drifted through the trees. When he finally rose with the sun he left his small hut made from thick bark, mud, and stones. He stood out in the clearing and looked around at the others. The clan was quite large with thirty or so men and women but there were only two children.
Since the births were five years apart there only ever two or three children alive at one time. It was certainly unnatural in its own right to have so few children with so many adults. The few times that Rafe had ventured close to Alba he had always enjoyed seeing the children laughing and playing in the streets. Rafe wondered how different his clan life would be if the women were capable of bearing children.
The morning was quiet as the men and women moved about silently as they did every day. Since they all held the instincts and abilities of wolves it wasn't very difficult for them to be silent. No one really ever greeted one another and it was plain to see that the days passed by quietly in the clearing.
Rafe had moved to a stream a short way into the woods from the clearing where the huts stood. He washed his face and drank some before he stood and began to walk back. As he came back he saw a man standing close to the cage like building where Sanna was. Rafe's blood boiled as he recognized the man as the one who not only gave him his scare, but was also the one who would have Sanna.
Rafe waited until the man walked away before he went over to the hut. During the day there was no need for a guard and so Rafe felt more comfortable approaching it. He came to stand behind the building so he was out of sight.
"Sanna, are you all right?" he asked quietly through the wall. He hoped she was well. "I know there isn't very much I can do for you." He admitted softly. He hated that he couldn't make this easier for her.