Stride blinked.
And blinked again.
And blinked one more time, just for the hell of it.
âThey didnât tell you.â The words were phrased more of a statement than anything, delivered in the most deadpan voice that the woman could pull off. Slowly, her gaze once again scanned Teddy, this time with more of a dawning sense of disbelief than anything. âThey really didnât tell you. Youâve got to be shittinâ me, here. They didnât fuckinâ tell you.â Stride knew very well about the reputation of the Ursas. Of guardians, well enough in their job to have kept the Haven safe from discovery for decades to come. Apparently, however, through all of their more positive traits, they couldnât be bothered to have a smidgen of common sense.
Running a hand through her hair- and sending the locks flying even more wildly than before- the guard squinted at the other, although before she could speak further on the subject she became aware of another presence close by. Surprised, Stride turned on her heel, only to come face-to-face with a kitsune. Someone from the village, no doubt, but this was becoming quite the chain of events. It was rare for anyone to be so far out, after all, and even rarer that it wasnât someone affiliated with the official keepers of the Veil. After taking a moment to try and identify the womanâs identity, it suddenly struck her- one of the Iwasaki family. Fairly harmless, really, but hanging around near the edge of the forest wasnât exactly a privilege just because you were known well enough.
âHey, lady,â she began, âI donât care if ya wanna come along nâ show Blondie the sights, but ya do know youâre not supposed to be âround here, yeah?â The last time someone had wandered so close to the barrier, the aftermath had brought enough paperwork to make a table out of. Of course, after that little event, Stride had long since stopped calling the rest of the guard for littler grievances like this, but she hadnât become lax enough to let someone simply wander about for no apparent reason.
And then, adding upon the little chain of random events that had begun to build, a lowâŠgrowling had begun to build in the undergrowth. Unlike before, where the occurrences of human and villager alike had brought little more than dry dialogue from the hybrid, Stride immediately paused. In a casual, hardly noticeable stream of movement, she unlatched the crossbow from her hip and allowed it to slip neatly into her waiting hand. There was, otherwise, no sign of wariness or fear at the approaching sound.
At least, until Lehav left hiding.
It took little time for Stride to take action. One moment, she had been facing both Akira and Teddy, and in the next she wasâŠnot. It was to a beat that she shifted, bow suddenly loaded as she turned towards the soundâs location. One, two, three. Crossbow tucked under her chin, hand running against the polished wood as gently as if it were a lover. One, two, three. The point of an arrow aimed preemptively at a target. One, two-
Her finger had been placed upon the trigger, just about ready to let the arrow meet flesh when she caught sight of the apparent âdangerâ. Immediately, Stride caught herself, letting out a muffled curse as she lowered the crossbow and stared down the stranger- just another random civilian. âFuckinâ damnit fuckerâŠâ Slipping the arrow back into its quiver, she began to place her weaponry back in its proper place, as if the entire ordeal hadnât happened. Once that was taken care of, however, she brought her eyes back up, lips pulled back in a silent snarl.
âYou stupid fuck! I couldâa just killed ya there, ya know!â Her middle finger had quickly risen up in one of the most indignant expressions she could give at the moment, waggling rapidly at Lehav in order to get the notion across. After a few seconds of this, the gesture ceased, and Stride allowed her arms to lower in favor of making any more inappropriate signs. âDonât they teach you not to go up nâ try nâ do shit like this to an armed guard?â She hissed. âAsswipe.â
For what could be said about Stride, one would be hard-pressed to say that she didnât, at the very least, take her job somewhat seriously. It had been a part of her life for many years now- a driving force in a majority of her motives. It was a job as a defender to the people, even if the job tended to be left unappreciated. As such, upon hearing the distant cry of yet another villager, and watching the approach of another, her irritation was very much visible in spite of her obscured features.
âDid someone call a fuckinâ town meetinâ out here?â Practically growling the words, the guardâs hand flew to her head, mussing her hair even further into a total mess. âLook, I donât know why you all wanted to join the party here, but youâre both breakinâ the damn law, nâ scarinâ the shit outta the Ursa kid. You got it?â
However, before he could respond, Stride chose then of all times to have his words click in her head. Something she had missed, through her fuming at the sudden gathering.
The kidâs name.
âWait.â Slowly, Stride turned to face the other, regarding the blond as he sat back on the forest floor. âDid you just say your name wasâŠTeddy Ursa?â A pause, and a realization. âLikeâŠâTeddy Bearâ? Your parents named you teddy bear?â
At that, a quiet snorting began to erupt from behind the mask, and some of the tension left her shoulders as laughter began to break free. âCan see why they didnât tell ya all âbout this, now,â she said, once she had composed herself enough to speak. âYour parents mustâve been on some really good shit when they had you. Fuckinâ teddy bear.â Stride went silent for a moments, attempting to stifle the remaining humorâŠ
Only to immediately fail, and start cracking up again.