The roar echoed throughout the forest, almost causing the trees to shake. It stroke equal fear into both the useless excuse of a Walker and the huntress. Miram briefly turned around, shaking her head with certainty that she wasn’t going back there, not in a thousand winters.

“No. No. No. No” She muttered out, as she picked up the pace. Eliana had begun to actually move on her own, though stumbling all the way ahead, to wherever they were going. Even Leia seemed to ease off with her happiness, barking left and right in the woods.

“Not now Leia! Hush!” Miriam sternly shouted at the dog, which simply returned the order with an open mouth, and her giant flapping tongue. The three girls kept their guard up, some more than others. Unsure whether they were going insane or if something was actually moving in the bushes, they darted off.

Noises were coming from every direction in the forest, and nothing was calming the nerves of Miriam. She wasn’t having much trouble navigating however. Eliana on the other hand, was more of a mess than she had been earlier. If her current trance wasn’t an embarrassment, her half-dead running through the woods certainly was. The rumours that had been told about those trees that surrounded them were horrifying. There was a reason a troll was to be found in there. 

[i]“This is getting tiresome. I’ll take it from here, dear.”[/i] A sadly familiar voice echoed in Ellie’s mind, bringing a brief headache along with it. The blonde girl seemed to step up her game, minimising the stumbling and actually seeming to run. It was a strange feeling. She wasn’t in entire control of herself, but knew perfectly well what she was doing, just as if her body obeyed someone else. It was so relieving to just let go. 

Miriam seemed to notice Ellie’s sudden change of pace, assuming it was the earlier determination that had overtaken her again. “This way Ellie!” she said, waving her hand to a small path that ran through the forest. Miriam almost slid along the ground, as she stopped in the middle of the escape. A silhouette sat on the road, or slept perhaps?  Leia raised her hackles, sniffing the air, and snarling at the thing. The animal seemed to react, gnarling in return. As it stood up, the massive size was revealed. 

The bear took heavy steps towards the trio, with it’s heavy and wet fur almost dragging along the ground, as it was lit up by an opening in the trees, the face of the bear was revealed. It was harshly bruised, and Miriam could swear some of it was missing. Miriam and the Walker ran in each their direction as the bear charged towards them. Leia barked a couple of times, before realising the bear had to be deaf, since it didn’t react to the dogs’ terrifying ‘Woofs’. Miriam hid behind a tree, as she got her bow out and finding an arrow for it. She turned around, scouting for the bear. Even though they had been legging it for a while, the troll’s roaring could still be heard in the distance. Eliana stood on the opposite side of the path, meeting Miriam’s gaze. The huntress looked around for Leia, hearing rustling in the bushes all around, followed by a mighty roar. Leia jumped out onto the path, with the giant beast following right behind. Without a moment’s doubt, Miriam took aim and released an arrow. The bear roared out, but didn’t seem to care much. It went straight for Miriam this time, who managed to dart off. She got another arrow out, and loosely fired it for the bear. 

Eliana tried to keep up, snatching a few rocks on her way. She tossed it for the bear, not giving her action much thought. The confused, yet furious ball of rotten fur turned around again, changing its target. As it was chasing the Walker, the brave dog leaped for it, attempting to bite into the neck of the bear. Ellie picked up the nearest sturdy stick she could, seeing as she was missing her staff. Again, she didn’t feel like she was controlling her actions, more just suggesting them to her body, which simply overruled her. The bear shook off Leia, and jumped at the girl. She was met with an unmatchable force, and thrown right down into the dirt. Before the bear could start clawing away at the woman, the headache came back, followed by a strange event. The bear simply halted, staring down at its potential victim. An eerie dark smoke emerged from the Walker’s face, and forced itself into the bear. She was met with a whimper, as the bear grew weaker, and Ellie felt a certain energy surging into her. But she had no idea what was happening. Someone else did, she figured, as the bear’s soul was drained from it. 
The monstrosity collapsed, and fell unto the ground next to Eliana. 

For some reason, she cracked a mischievous smile, as the voice spoke again.
[i]“Strangely satisfying, is it not?”[/i]