[h2]Memories.[/h2] [i]Collab with [@agentmanatee][/i] It didn't take long for Draco to settle into his room for the... a quick glance towards the window reveled that the sun was somewhere in the sky through he couldn't quite remember where it had been when he had arrived at Seren's Folley. He had long given up noticing or really caring when he was able to safely bunker down enough to get some much needed rest; Sleep was sleep after all. He tended to be somewhat nocturnal these days anyway. Removing his cloak and using it to cover the mirror in the room, Draco [i]finally[/i] felt comfortable enough to remove the cloth mask that covered the lower half of his face. He hated seeing his reflection these days. Laying down in bed, Draco found himself staring up at the ceiling in silence as sleep refused to come to him while his mind hosted the totureous dance that were his memories. He remembered that night all to well... .......................................................... *Eight years ago, in a forest far away from Seren's Folley.* The undergrowth beneath his feet rustled softly as he brought his foot down on top of it, each traitorous noise endangering his life as Draco tried to keep himself calm while pushing ahead. That was the hunter way after all; Travel with caution but be unafraid. His knuckles were white from squeezing the handle of his saw-cleaver so tightly as nerves and excitement about his first hunt warred within him for domination. The beast in question that he was hunting was rather green when it came to being a monster as well; A shepard who had been attacked by a wolf like creature some months prior and survived to tell the tale. While his father and a few other hunters went off to deal with the main threat, he had been tasked with 'clean up'. After all, what was the point of slaying one beast if you left another one alive to take its place right away? By the time he had arrived at the shepard's hut the man had already fled into the nearby forest; To escape from hunters or to distance himself from innocent people was impossible to say, but in the quiet of the moonlit night, Draco stalked through the forest after the trail that the man had left behind as he turned into something much more beast like and dangerous. Genoveve hummed as she happily moved through the forest, looking for the rare herbs mother had sent her out to get. She hoped she could find her forest friend, she hadn't been around as much recently... regardless she was happy to be on her own again as mother rarely let her get to far from home. The thick underbrush was not a problem for the young witch, she was fleet of foot and had traceled this way often. However, as she jauntily moved down the path she cam upon something new. It appeared to be a ripped shoe, the barefoot young girl cocked her head quizzically at it, picking it up and admiring the foreign object. She looked in the direction it had pointed and saw a trail. Scraps of clothing, small drops of blood, fur and hair. Her curiosity got the better of young Genoveve, and she happily followed the new found trail, picking up bits of cloth for mother along the way for sewing new clothes. For a moment, Draco came to a complete stop as he looked down at the trail in front of him. It branched off into two different paths, both of which seemed to have evidence to support that they were the path that his prey had truly taken. Bringing his weapon to bare in order to prepare himself for whatever was to come as he started to carefully edge his way forward down the left most path... before he heard a noise that sounded like something sharp coming out of wood above him. Jumping to the side and rolling in order to create more distance between himself and where he had been standing, Draco felt something [i]heavy[/i] hit the ground. Swinging his cleaver on instinct he felt the blade connect with something even if it was a weak, glancing blow. A pained howl filled the forest air as he was finally able to turn his head to see what had tried to attack him. He had seen pictures, skeletons and the occasional dead body of various werecreatures as part of his education as a hunter but for that split second none of it prepared him for facing a live creature. It's fur was as pitch black as a light-less cellar at midnight, causing it to stand out amongst the shadows of the forest a lot easier then he would have expected. It's limbs looked disjointed and painful, but designed to allow the beast to swap between using four legs and two with relative ease. The beast was currently on four legs and its was just a foot or so shorter then he was; He didn't want to think about how big the bastard would have been on its hind legs... And it was looking at him with a rabid insanity in its eyes, the pain it had felt at having its claw slashed by his blade being channeled into murderous rage. The fear that had crept into Draco's heart was driven out as his training kicked in, both of his hands gripping the blade of his weapon as he prepared for the fight of his life. The werewolf didn't keep him wait as it lounged at him, Draco stepping to the side in order to avoid the attack and the creature's bulk before slashing it down its side in a spray of blood. The dance had began. Genoveve heard the howl of pain and her eyes widened. Was something hurt? Did it need her help? It sounded like a large animal had been injured... that was not good. The barefooted girl took off through the underbrush, jumping and running over vines and roots trying to get where ever the injured animal was quickly, she hated hearing things in pain. Eventually she though she glanced it, a large black beast, and she tried to skid to halt... but her feet were not so sure this time. The small red-headed girl tumbled head over heels into the middle of the tense fight between man and beast, coming to a stop right in front of the massive werewolf. Her long and vividly red hair was somewhat dirty and unkempt, twigs and leaves were strewn within it, mostly on accident but a few small flowers appeared to be placed in it on purpose. She was only slightly taller than most girls her age should be, her skin was a bit tanned from her long hours in the sun, but possibly most drawing were her vividly dark blue eyes as she sat up rubbing her head. She turned and saw the werewolf and her eyes went wide, realizing what this was. Mother had taught her of all the most dangerous beasts... and she believed this was a werewolf. It was terrifyingly huge, and the little girl quickly attempted the get away from it, backing up and seemingly to stunned to try and stand. The battle with the werewolf was a fast paced and deadly battle of attrition; Both combatants were fast enough to dodge out of the way of fatal strikes but Draco was much more used to the body that he was currently fighting in and he was using that to his advantage, striking and shredding chunks of the werewolf off of its body with every successful strike. Werewolves might be able to regenerate supernaturally fast from most injuries but the silver and wolfsbane on his weapon helped negate that, as well as the massive sizes of the cuts that he was making. The beast was quickly losing blood and growing slower and weaker by the moment. It would be over soon... A girl barely in her teenage years seemed to appear from the forest itself, landing right in between himself and the werewolf. While both man and werebeast were surprised by the arrival of the newest 'contender', the werewolf's rage and blood lust allowed it to recover much faster before it charged at its newest target. Draco didn't think; Instinct took over as he charged forward and grabbed the girl's shoulder and forcefully threw as behind himself. There would be no dodging this one...there was no time. Grabbing the handle of his weapon as tightly as he could, Draco swung it towards the beast's neck while the werewolf swung a powerful claw towards his face. Both blows connected. Pain threatened to consume Draco's entire world, but despite being blinded by the burning in his face he was able to manage one final jerk of his weapon before succumbing to the pain and falling on the ground, screaming and clutching at his face. Genoveve tumbled backwards violently as the man had grabbed her shoulder and flung her out of the way. As she came out of the tumble she looked up to a disturbing scene. The Werewolf lay on the ground, its head very nearly severed and its body twitching in its death throes... but the man was a hunter. His garb and weapon were distinctive and Genoveve very nearly took off screaming, but saw that he was the one screaming and clutching at his face. She still debated running, mother had always told her one day hunters would try to kill her and she must not be afraid to kill first but... he had saved her from the wolf. She stood and rushed to the young mans side, he was bleeding and screaming and she needed to see his face, so she mustered what she had in her for a small charm spell to calm him, saying,[color=f6989d]"Shhhh, shhhhh good hunter, you must show me your wounds for I may help. Please good hunter, remove your hands and quiet yourself."[/color], the spell took quite a bit of effort but the hunter seemed young... Genoveve hoped it would work. Draco didn't know what was happening around him. He didn't know that the werewolf was dead through he might have been able to guess that if he was able to process any thought beyond 'Oh gods it hurts!' Someone was trying to talk to him, through he couldn't hear exactly hear what the voice was trying to say at first. The fact that someone was there through... it helped. He couldn't explain why, but the fact that someone was next to him, trying to help him seemed to dull the pain a little. Breathing shallowly and quickly, Draco somehow managed to force his blue eyes open in order to look at the girl that he had saved from the werewolf. He didn't try to hide the fact that he was scared; This didn't feel like some minor cut that he could just ignore. This fault deathly serious. Slowly with his hands shaking all the while, he lowered them in order to let the girl see just how bad the damage was. There was a great deal of blood as two claw like streaks have sliced their way across his face, starting from his left cheek bone and ending just beyond its right counterpart. If she looked closely enough she might have seen bone... but the hardest thing to miss was what wasn't there anymore. Draco's nose was quite clearly gone, leaving nothing but two dark holes in his face that would have allowed him to breath if he wasn't breathing through his mouth at the moment. Genoveve exhaled and inhaled very sharply to calm herself, if she freaked out the charm may fail and he would start screaming and thrashing again. There was... [i]alot[/i] of blood, and it appeared the werewolf had taken off his entire nose with his claw. Genoveve bit her lower lip as she tried to remember what to do... the herbs she had been gathering! She reached back to her small gathering bag, a tiny leather bag tied around her waist and rummaged through it. She removed several leaves and other plants and a root and placed them before her... she needed a glass. She quickly searched the hunter and found one, but as she drew it our the smell of wolfsbane hit her and she nearly gagged, but covered her mouth and nose to stop it. She stood and walked a few feet away, carefully uncorking the vial and pouring the wolfsbane out, using he small leather waterskin to wash it out before coming back. She crushed up the leaves and flowers into the vial and ripped a small piece off the root, putting it in the vial as well. She re-corked the bottle and whispered a few words, the contents slowly liquefying within the vial. She turned to look at him frowning, and began to sing. It was a quiet and innocent tune, but she hoped it may keep him calm as the charm spell began to fade. She shook the vial violently as she sang, the now black liquid settling as she uncorked it, and then poured it over his wounds. The black liquid would burn for a few moments as it began creating scar tissue, hastening the healing of his wounds... she hoped it didn't hurt to badly. Whatever little hope that Draco had that the injuries really weren't that bad and he was just being a baby as his dad put it were dashed when he saw the young girl gag at the sight of them. At least... he thought he saw her gagging. Everything was sort of blurring into the pain as he seemed to fade out a little. He remembered that there was singing... it really was beautiful... A new layer of hell reveled itself as something was poured onto his face, taking him completely by surprise as he screamed aloud "[color=00aeef]MOTHER FUCKER THAT BURNS![/color]" in pain before instinctively reached up to clutch at his face again. The pain this time started to... fade through. Rather quickly in fact, through there was a dull ache that remained. As pain stopped clouding his thoughts he started to piece together some thoughts. The girl was young, through she seemed to have a knowledge of medicines... a medicine woman in training maybe? As he started to relax a little, he softly asked in a voice that sounded strange to his own ears "[color=00aeef]H...How bad is it?[/color]" Genoveve watched as the bloody and ruined skin began to scab over and then scar over that... it was not a... pretty sight. Regenerative magic was far beyond her, so the scar tissue formed over the place where it once was, but luckily did not cover the holes. it was... well it was ghastly, terrible, freakish and hellish. "[color=f6989d]It uhm... well it's not... you are... I'm sorry...[/color]", was all she could say. She looked sad and tears began to well up in her eyes, "[color=f6989d]I-I-I... I'm sorry I can't-[/color]", she cried quietly, she couldn't repair his wounds completely. "[color=f6989d]I-I-its all my fault... if I hadn't b-b-been here-[/color]', she couldn't stop crying. If there was one thing that you never wanted to hear from someone who was treating your injuries, it was the words 'I'm sorry'. Dread cast its iron weight down into the pit of his stomach, fearing just how bad the situation truly was when he finally saw it in a mirror. A part of him wanted to cry... but he still had a job to do. Besides, the girl was crying. He couldn't let her keep crying... Forcing himself to sit up, Draco took a deep breath before looking at the girl who had treated his injuries. "[color=00aeef]Listen... no matter how bad it is, I do not regret saving you. I could have just let the beast attack you in order to buy myself an opening to finish it off but I [b]didn't[/b]. I stepped up to protect you willingly and I don't regret doing that despite what happened. I didn't expect you to be training to be a medicine woman and I'm kind of glad that you seemed to have at least some idea about what you were doing... so no more tears alright?[/color]" "[color=00aeef]What is your name?[/color]" Genoveve sniffled as Draco told her not to cry, and that it wasn't really her fault. She was happy that he said he would have saved her rather than let the wolf hurt her no matter what... even after what happened. She cocked her head ssomewhat when he called her a medicine woman in training... did he not realize she had cast a spell? She stopped crying as he asked her name and smiled somewhat, "[color=f6989d]I-I'm Genoveve Boudicca I... I'm not a medicine woman though... I uhm...[/color]", she wasn't sure what she should say... he was a hunter but... he had saved her life and it just felt wrong to lie to him. "[color=f6989d]I'm... a young witch sir... I was gathering herbs for my mother and...[/color]", she sniffled, now afraid he would hurt her or capture her, "[color=f6989d]And... please don't hurt me...[/color]", she shrunk down, seemingly trying to make herself to small to see in fear. Draco blinked a little at Genoveve's confession about the profession that she was being trained in. He had heard tales of witches before, but the Russ family were not some gang of superstitious ruffians. 'Witches' tended to be little more than pagens who knew how to use the environment to cure blights and illnesses that were targeted by the church to increase their own power and little more. "[color=00aeef]I'm not going to hurt the cute little girl that I just saved and helped me in return.[/color]" Draco said with a smile. It hurt like the fifth level of hell to do so but right now Genoveve needed some assurance that he wasn't one of the idiots who were after her for being smarter then they were. "[color=00aeef]My name is Draco. It's a pleasure to meet you... through I wish it was under much, [i]much[/i] better circumstances.[/color]" Genoveve looked back up at him, smiling in releif that he had no intention of hurting her, "[color=f6989d]Well I don't know... I've never met a hunter before, mother says they hunt down and kill witches so... I am not sure how else we could have met heh heh.[/color]", she slowly stood up, he was very tall especially compared to her... it was ver intimidating. She blushed slightly at being called cute, "[color=f6989d]S-so... what are you gonna do now Mister Draco?[/color]", she was wondering what he was doing alone and so far out from a town, "[color=f6989d]Are... are there other hunters nearby?[/color]", she asked worriedly, not sure any allies he may have would be as open minded about witches as he was. It took a moment for Draco to get enough of his breath and strength back to force himself out of his sitting position and to his feet, but when he did he made the effort to hide just how much pain he was in. "[color=00aeef]Your mother isn't wrong. Most hunters will mindless attempt to kill any so called 'witches' that they find. Some do so out of religous zeal, others because its a large, easy paycheck. Personally I blame the church; They seem to think that anyone who knows which herbs in a forest are healthy and heal and which ones are poisonous who isn't a church goer is a demon seeking to reap the souls of the faithful.[/color]" "[color=00aeef]This... is actually my first hunt. Dad and a couple of clan members are currently hunting down and dealing with the bastard that turned that poor bugger into that...[/color]" Draco pointed to the very dead body of the werewolf nearby. "[color=00aeef]They sent me after him to prove myself by killing my first werewolf...[/color]" A small sigh escaped him as he muttered "[color=00aeef]I can already hear dad telling me that I was an idiot for not letting you die and scoring an injury free kill...[/color]" Genoveve's eyes widened as Draco talked about his father scolding him for not letting her die, [color=f49ac2]"He sounds... brutal... he would really prefer you let the wolf kill me to get an uninjured kill?!... he sounds like the kind of hunter who would hurt me..."[/color], she said nervously. She looked curiously at him when he talked about his clan, "[color=f6989d]A whole clan of hunters? ... uhm... are any of them the kind that would... hunt withes? And that seems like a very dangerous test to become a hunter...[/color]", she said thinking about killing a dangerous beast alone. "[color=00aeef]Dad wouldn't hurt you unless you got in his way for some reason. He just wouldn't care if you died because he wouldn't 'stick his neck out for an idiot that doesn't belong there in the first place'.[/color]" Draco made it sound very much like a quote. It was. His dad had said it a few times and I was sure that he was going to here it again very soon in his upcoming rant. The question about the honor of his clan caused him to chuckle somewhat darkly. "[color=00aeef]We're not a bunch of superstitious zealots or greedy murderers. Clan Russ are monster hunters to the core.[/color]" Reaching forwards, he was about to run his hand through her hair to get rid of some of the excess twigs and leaves before he noticed the blood on his hands and stopped himself short. "[color=00aeef]You don't look like a monster and it's full moon out. So I'm afraid you're just an intelliegent, beautiful woman.[/color]" There was a small, playful wink thrown in there for good measure. "[color=00aeef]To be fair, I was meant to get him before or during the transformation. The guy ran away from home before I got there through and by the time I caught up... well...[/color]" There was a head tilt in the dead bodies direaction. Didn't really need to say anything about it really. Again Genoveve was surprised at the way Draco's father appeared to consider non-hunters... and assumed he was going to berate him for saving her,[color=f49ac2]"W-well... if you don't hunt monsters to save people... why does your clan do it?"[/color], she was legitametly curious, most hunters did seem to believe they were doing gods work or something. She was happy to hear that the rest of his clan wouldn't hurt her or her mother. He reached out to touch her hair which she thought seemed strange but seemed to think twice and stop before reaching her,[color=f49ac2]"Y-you can touch my hair... I don't mind..."[/color], she said sheepishly, before blushing when he called her a beautiful woman,[color=f49ac2]"uuuhhhh uhm... heh th-thanks Draco..."[/color], she giggled happily until he mentioned the werewolf again,[color=f49ac2]"Well... look at it this way, if you got him before you wouldn't have met me? Well... I suppose if you hadn't met me you'd be less hurt to..."[/color], she smiled morosely. "[color=00aeef]Oh, most of us do it to protect people... Dad just believes that killing the monster and being in a condition to fight again is more important then saving a single life.[/color]" Draco didn't agree with his father on the matter, but there wasn't much he could do to change the old man's mind now. "[color=00aeef]I don't want to get blood in your hair.[/color]" He added, just to explain why he stopped. Sighing a little at her statement about might have been, he smiled a little as he said "[color=00aeef]And if you had accidentally bumped into the right tree hard enough, it would have fallen and crushed him [i]and[/i] uncovered a chest filled with riches at the same time. What's done is done and sometimes we just have to accept that and deal with the aftermath.[/color]" "[color=00aeef]I should collect the head and get going. I'm sure your mother is waiting for you too...Maybe when I'm passing through here next I could stop by and see how your training is going?[/color]" He asked, happy to have a reason to meet her again down the line. "[color=f6989d]Well... I'm glad your not like your dad then... or that he wasn't the one to be here.[/color]", she giggled again, happy to hear that most of his clan were like him... of coourse they weren't there for her benefit anyways, seeing as she was a witch. When he mentioned not getting blood in her hair she shrugged, "[color=f6989d]Its really red, I doubt it would show up... besides my hair is always messy. Mother says its like the gods saw fit to place a burning blood fire in place of my hair.[/color]", she smiled about her mothers pagan superstitions. She tilted her head at him about the tree being knocked over, not getting the point of his statement for a moment before grasping the concept, "[color=f6989d]Oh well... I suppose thats true... it would have made for a far more entertaining time heh heh.[/color]", she smiled at him, he was smart which was nice. Her eyes widened when he talked about visiting her at her and her mothers hut and shook her head, "[color=f6989d]No-no-no! Thats... not a good idea... mother kills hunters! She has done it before... she'll do it again... and she is gonna teach me to and all the... other witch spells.[/color]", she looked down sadly, tears were welling up in her eyes again, "[color=f6989d]I-I... I don't know if I'll ever see you again... but if you try to visit me mother will kill you! Please... don't try to visit us at home...[/color]", she said moreosely. Draco didn't really know what to say about the fact that Genoveve's mother had killed hunters before and was likely to train Genoveve herself to do likewise if need be. Some people who have denounced them both there and then but he couldn't help but look around a little. The both of them lived in a forest that didn't have anyone nearby... if they had encountered hunters in the past then clearly the hunters had come for them... "[color=00aeef]Well... I can't fault someone for protecting themselves and their family.[/color]" He admitted rather calmly. Taking a moment to walk over to the body of the werewolf and reclaiming his blade, he finished the job that he started by hacking through what little remained to keep the head connected to the body. "[color=00aeef]So I will never be meeting your mother then... Where would I be able to meet up with you then instead?[/color]" He asked, turning to look at her to watch her response. Genoveve nodded, "[color=f6989d]I-I guess you can't blame her for that...[/color]", she said nervously, but she didn't think he would tell his clan that part. She watched as Dracco walked over to the felled werewolf and finished taking its head. She wondered how long it would be before the forest creatures got ahold of the body... maybe she would take some warm wolfs-blood to mother since she had used most of the herbs to heal Draco. When he asked her where he could see her again she blushed a little bit before thinking about where he could see her again... "[color=f6989d]Well... th-there's a little grove east of here I go sometimes. Its nice and quiet and I always at least stop by there when I'm alone and out... though I'm only out at night and not always... b-but I am being out alone far more often now![/color]", she smiled proudly at the increased freedom mother had been giving her. "We could... meet there sometimes... if you want to.", she wrung her hands nervously. "[color=00aeef]I would love too.[/color]" Draco said truthfully. "[color=00aeef]We're going to be staying for a month or so before we move on... make sure that there aren't any more werewolves running around before we head off. I'm not sure when I'll be free to go off on my own but I promise I'll meet you again before I go.[/color]" Genoveve smiled, "[color=f6989d]Thats wonderful! I mean that your going to see me again before you leave not the... werewolves obviously...[/color]", she shrugged then realized just how long she must have been out here, "[color=f6989d]Uhm, well... see you then I have to get back to mother before she gets worried... goodbye Draco![/color]", she said quickly before dashing back into the forest. She did not want to get scolded to much on being slow. Draco kept the smile up until Genoveve was gone... then it slipped away as he silently screamed at the amount of pain that he was currently in for keeping a smile on his face for so long. What she had done had gone a [i]long[/i] way to helping deal with the pain, but he had been hiding what he could from her in order to make her feel better about accidently causing him to get injuried... even if it was by his own choice. There was still work to be done however and the night wasn't over... Picking up the head of the beast, Draco started to make his way back to face whatever waited for him after a successive hunt... even if he had suffered for it. The knowledge that he would see Genoveve again did help to lift his spirits slightly through; It helped make the trip easier at least.