[IC] the hunter and her prey(a cursed human story, a beauty and the beast alternative to a cursed vampire story)

[Vampiretwilight]

@amberly
Angel kept running. She barely paid attention to Andrew when and if he caught up to her. She heard the water and such. The sounds she heard were getting louder and louder.

She kept it up until she saw the outline of a rather large creature. When she caught sight of it, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"wow.....a rather large beast, isn't it?"

She slowly stepped closer towards it, trying to catch it off guard.

[amberly]

The creature got onto one knee to have more leverage for lifting the branch. He groaned, stiff and sore as he got onto his feet. He looked down at the dripping branch as if considering where to dispose of it, but in the end simply tossed it as far and as hard as he could into the trees on the other side of the spring. He crouched down coping his hand to lift water to his face and run it over his head. He was hot and thirsty and no amount of water could relieve him.

He was oblivious to the stealth of the hunter. He had no fear of man or beast and did not listened for their approach.

Had Andrew been closer, his swift steps would have made enough noise to alert the creature. But he was still far enough behind to leave Angel her moment of advantage.

[Vampiretwilight]

@amberly
Angel pulled out her weapon. She carefully approached it.

"It is time for you to pay for your crimes...."
Angel spoke in a whisper. She moved through the shadows. She kept it in her sights. Then, when she got close enough.....

She attacked!

[amberly]

The creature howled at the impact and grabbed for the wound in it's shoulder. His eyes darkened with rage as it spun around and charged. It's steps were hard and lumbering but quick to advance on the huntress. He reached out his arm to catch her as soon as he was within range.

Andrew came to the clearing, his breath heavy. He leaned a hand against a tree as he took in the scene before him. Seeing the beast reminded him what he was and he jerked his gloved hand off the bark. Then he was back to thinking of Angel and the beast charging her. 'Just don't get between them,' he told himself as he stepped from the shadows out into the clearing and picked up his speed again toward the creature.

[Vampiretwilight]

@amberly
Angel did her best to dodge. She tried to be fast on her feet as she ran around the creature.

"You missed! You will pay for your crimes!"

She attempted to attack yet again. She tried not to stay in one spot for too long as she continued what she was doing. She did not see Andrew so close by until it was too late. But, she would not be able to stop him.

[amberly]

The creature turned around again following after Angel. It snarled as she was faster and better armed, he knew she could just toy with him. He would never catch up to her this way. When the creature saw two opponents he changed tactics.

The mighty arms wrapped around the trunk of the nearest tree. The dry wood snapped and splintered leaving the roots and lower part of the trunk jutting out of the ground. The upper part of the tree was top-heavy and the creature directed the fall down onto his opponents.

"Run!" Andrew yelled turning to try and push angel ahead of him. The tree was wide and tall, mostly free of dead leaves already shead.

Andrew groaned as the tree hit him from above and the ground rushed up to meet him. As if he hadn't been in pain enough from his own battles with angel. He tried to slide forward and get out from the tangle if branches. It was a struggle, these injuries hurt much worse.

[Vampiretwilight]

@amberly
Angel dodged and ran. She slashed at the creature. She blinked when she saw Andrew. She gasped when she saw what the creature did with the tree and such. Her eyes had actually gone wide for a time.

"....Andrew!!!"

She cried out and charged at the creature again. She got in another slash before she ran towards Andrew. She slashed at tangled tree branches and such.

[amberly]

Glad the huntress had finally relented, the creature slunk away to tend his wounds in some other refuge.

The weight on Andrew lessened as branches fell away under Angel's blade. It felt like he lay there forever, just trying to breathe past the pain. In reality it probably wasn't very long before enough branches had been removed. He groaned and grumbled as he got to his feet.

"Thank you for the help. Is he dead?"

Andrew was almost embarrassed that he hoped the creature was dead. He wanted to go drain the moisture out of something so he could heal more quickly, what better victim than that creature? Otherwise he would have to settle for laying in his own bed and munching on whole heads of lettuce and cabbages.

[Vampiretwilight]

@amberly
Angel had managed to clear the branches away. She simply nodded when he thanked her. She sighed and shook her head.

"No. He is not. However, he is injured. He will not get very far. We may be able to track him again."

She glanced behind her for a time. She sighed again.

[amberly]

"And you're alright?"

Andrew asked sagging against a tree for support. Who cared if the tear in his shirt brushed the bark, the tree was already drained. The cut in his arm stung and he repositioned his weight. He swallowed with the pain, the color drained from his face. He wasn't getting home to bed soon enough to get any rest. Out here, in the creature's mess would just have to do. Angel could go on and track the monster herself. She would kill it, he was certain. She was relentless. He sat down against the tree, the sky spun above him, it was better with his eyes closed.

[Vampiretwilight]

@amberly
Angel nodded.
"...I'm fine."

She found herself more concerned about HIM. She noticed how drained the tree was. She saw his cut, the one that was on his arm. She frowned. She narrowed her eyes a bit.

Angel saw him sit down and she saw him close his eyes like that. She sighed.
"..I suppose tracking the creature will have to wait....for now."
She spoke quietly to herself.

She got out some supplies from her bag. She tended to him without making contact, at least not direct contact, or she tried to anyway. She stayed close by while he rested. She sighed a bit.

[amberly]

Andrew watched Angel's fingers as she worked. She was careful. Straining to focus wasn't actually helping so he let his eyes close again, trusting her to help him without hurting herself.

Finally her sigh wore through any hope of his getting rest while she lingered.

"Angel, that creature is going to have to kill something. What if it finds a woman gardening, or a man driving his cart down the road in its attempt to heal? You need to track it before it's too late. It's too important to wait any longer. You know where to find me. And if you stop the creature, I'll be safe enough here. Split up, go without me. They're counting on you." He told her, fully convinced that it was the best plan they had.

[Vampiretwilight]

@amberly
"The nearest home is not for hundreds of miles. It is too injured to make it much further. It will have to stop and rest for the night like us. I will be able to track it in the morning. It left a trail that is easy to follow."

Angel sighed.
"Besides, you are not the only one who needs to rest. Do you truly think fighting that thing was easy?"
She frowned.

[amberly]

A faint smile crossed his features. Andrew cracked opened his eyes to look at the woman, he supposed she did look tired.

"No, I suspect it wasn't easy," he agreed. Then Andrew dared to ask a favor, since she was so careful in her touch. "Do you think you could help me over to the water? I'll get much better rest there than sitting here all night."

[Vampiretwilight]

@amberly
Angel blinked. She narrowed her eyes for a bit when she saw his faint smile. Then, she heard Andrew dare ask for a favor. She sighed.
"...Very well."

She did her best to lead him to the water, careful not to make direct contact and such.

[amberly]

Andrew sank down onto the moist ground as soon as they reached the edge. "Thank you, Angel. If you ever think of something you want, I'll be glad to thank you by getting it for you if at all possible," He promised.

Andrew pulled off his boots and socks. He bunched his pants legs up around his knees, rolling the cuffs over and over would be too much work. He lay back and slid both feet into the spring. The water burbled against his calves and he exhaled slowly, contentedly. "I don't think I'll have any trouble sleeping out here after all," he murmured to himself. Again his eyes closed for a long night's sleep and the distant sound of critters in the forest lulled him to dreams. Angel was around somewhere, a protector.

[Vampiretwilight]

@amberly
Angel sighed. She rolled her eyes.
"...figures."
She moved around to the other side of that water source. She sat down. She was awake for most of the night. She did not really sleep until hours later.

She stayed where she was though. She did not leave, not even for a moment.

[amberly]

Andrew awoke in golden morning light to a chittering argument. I'm gonna catch both those squirrels, that will take care of that. His eyes opened wide in surprise, where had that thought come from? He sat up and stretched carefully. He was sore but felt much better than he had expected to feel. Yesterday he could have sworn he'd broken a rib, but it must have only been a branch snapping over him. He could take a full breath without any pain.

This was strange water, and he wasn't sure he needed any more of it. Andrew pulled his legs out of the spring and waited for them to dry before pulling on his shoes. Now he would only be the normal amount of hindrance going with Angel.

"I hope he had a worse night than I did. I feel amazing. How are you doing over there?"

[Vampiretwilight]

@amberly
Angel slowly opened her eyes. She blinked. She looked at him. She shrugged once.

"....Perhaps."
She sighed and stood up. She cleared her throat. She did not want to let on that she had actually been worried about him.

"...now....are you healed up? or are you going to delay our tracking mission again?"
She crossed her arms.

[amberly]

"I'm ready to go looking again," Andrew confirmed. He stood up and brushed himself off. "Don't let me stand in the way," he said casually. Secretly he was pleased she thought of it as their mission, not just her own.