(Story Starts Here!)
"Nosy One allowed this one's prey an escape," the Hunter growled from behind the mask.
A strong breeze rustled Nissa's hair as Tal'ah scaled his way up her leg and regained his perch on her shoulder. She didn't even flinch as the short, sharp stings of his claws.
"I have said my said," she replied, tightening her grip on the birraga. "Stand down, or I will make you."
"This one was told not to kill Moonlit One, but Nosy One is not protected." The Hunter shifted, and the ruby eyes of the mask started to shine.
Then there were three, coming in at Nissa from all sides. She swung down under the branch, holding on with her left hand as she flung her barriga at the one to her right. It passed through the figure and rounded back to her as if she had hit nothing. The branch snapped without warning, and Nissa had to kick off the trunk to flip and land on her feet. The three figures landed above her, red eyes glowing and tranquil masks belying the intent to kill.
"This one wonders if Nosy One will realize Nosy One's fatal mistake." The figures talked in unison, and each one now had six-inch long needles between their fingers.
"Do not think I will be defeated so easily," Nissa replied as she gripped the Henj-Men's Wing in one hand. Her entire body was wound tight, ready to spring, and she dug her feet into the soft grasses for a more stable foundation.
Brief, dull blinks of light were the only warning that the needles were flying at her. She turned and used the broad body of the Wing to block, hearing soft thumps as the needles buried themselves into the sacred wood. She pulled the great barriga off her back and launched it up into the air with a yell.
It hit all three figures as they jumped at her, yet only the one to the left rebounded. The Hunter slammed back into a tree, shaking it with the force. The other two vanished in puffs of smoke. The remaining one caught a branch and dropped gracefully to the one below, perching.
Nissa caught the Wing and replaced it on her back even as she began to run. Now that she had one target, she sprang into the air and launched two more barrigas. They swept out before scissoring together at their target. Her body moved automatically, spinning to the side and ducking behind another tree.
Needles slammed into her cover, sending a small shower of broken bark over her. There was a tremendous crack, and Nissa tensed as it was followed by en entire chorus of smaller crashes. A trunk smashed down to her right, sending leaves, nuts, and twigs cascading over the ground.
Then silence filled the air, making Nissa's chest feel hollow. She was entirely alone.
Cautiously, she peered around the side of the tree, one hand resting on Tal'ah to keep him still. A few ragged shaped leaves fluttered to the ground, followed by one more nut bouncing off the fallen trunk with a hearty plunk! It was the tree the figure had perched in after Nissa connected with the Henj-Men's Wing. She approached the remaining stump, glancing around and keeping an ear on the quiet that was now around her.
The rings of the tree varied from dark to light, some thicker than others. The stump was not splintered, as if broken, but instead very smooth and even. Resting a thickly gloved hand on the wood, Nissa could come to only one conclusion.
Something had sliced through the tree as easily as a blade to a fresh kill.
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