First draft

Lithoniel leaned against a tree, a short bow in her hands as she looked down the slope. Most of her hunters, children whose lives had been turned upside down, did the same. However, everything was quiet below them. The clearing in the woods was empty, and the only thing they could hear was the wind whipping into the withered trees, the heavy snow filling their branches streaming down like a white cascade. Yet, there was no trace of the person she was looking for, the small elf she'd saved months ago.

Where are you, Liara?

"Don't worry." Kolvar whispered from beside her, "Liara may be small, but her instincts are keen. She can do it."

Lithoniel bit her lips, "I know" She whispered back.

Yet, she looked worried, her eyes darting around as she searched for Liara's tiny figure. The thicket she had chosen as hiding place was slightly elevated and offered a perfect view of the clearing below. It was a good place to lay in ambush. The problem was to lure the prey. Which was exactly what Liara was doing now. Lithoniel glanced at Kolvar, but immediately averted her gaze.

Perhaps it was his hair or his clothes, but every time she looked at him, the only thing she could see was Rolim. They were brothers after all. Their features were similar, and though they didn't behave the same way, the differences between the two of them were much subtler now. Kolvar had grown up in the last couple of weeks, and little was left of the hot-tempered youth she'd remembered. He looked calmer, more rational and above all, dependable. Even his voice was much deeper, and every time he talked, she could hear an echo, like two people were trying to talk at the same time. As time went by, she'd started to confound them, and now she was barely able to remember Rolim's voice.

Kolvar sighed, "You're not just a hunter anymore, Lithoniel. Don't you remember what happened to the former Nighstalker?"

Lithoniel was about to rebut when they heard a long whistle.

The signal.

"Nock your arrows." Lithoniel whispered, and the hunters lying in wait nearby repeated her order.

The snow under her feet was thick and soft like carpet and muffled the sound, but she could hear them.

Footsteps.

They grew closer and closer until she could see a shadow coming out of the woods. It was Liara. However, she wasn't alone. Something was chasing her. Lithoniel stiffened. It wasn't just one beast, a cave bear like she'd expected, but several animals. Lithoniel recognized those reddish furs at once. Vorloks. An entire pack of them. They looked like dogs, but they were as tall as ponies and unnaturally slim, their muzzles horribly distorted and hairless, completely devoid of fur.

"Pick your target" Lithoniel whispered, trying to sound calm, "But wait for my order."

She could hear the hunters around her dragging their feet as they backed away. They were getting nervous. She looked at Liara jumping over a trunk, quick and skilled like a monkey as she used trees and bushes at her advantage to slow down the Vorloks.

"Wait" She repeated. The Vorloks were less than fifty steps away when she drew her bow.

Out the corner of her eye, she saw Kolvar awkwardly lifting his short spear as he prepared to throw it, but she couldn't care about him now. The Vorloks were gaining ground. Once or twice a Vorlok bigger than the others---the Alpha probably---almost reached Liara. Its fangs were so close to her back that even Lithoniel shuddered, but every time the Alpha was about to plunge its oversized canines into her flesh, the small elf dodged, avoiding it at the last moment. The Vorloks had just entered the clearing when one of the hunters, a young elf named Aeolis, couldn't take it anymore.

"Liara!" He shouted.

"That idiot...!" Lithoniel cursed when she heard an arrow whistling through the air.

However, probably Aeolis was nervous, and his aim was a bit off. The arrow flew directly toward Liara. She ducked to dodge it but lost her balance and fell. The tip of the arrow brushed against the top of her head, going past her before plunging into the alpha's side. The leader of the pack cried in pain, and the other Vorloks suddenly halted, their huge paws sliding on the snow. Unfortunately, it wasn't a mortal blow. The alpha just staggered a little and then growled, its pack barking at Liara.

The Vorloks fanned out, and they were about to surround her when Lithoniel shouted, "Loose!"

A throng of arrows shot up into the air before crashing down on the Vorloks. The beasts yelped in pain, their blood staining the white carpet under their paws. Four of them laid motionless in the snow, dead on the spot, and another one immediately turned tail and escaped. However, the last one—the Alpha---was still standing, though two arrows were embedded in its body.

All the hunters froze when it gnashed its teeth, snarling at Liara.

"I can't shoot!" One of the hunters shouted, and Lithoniel growled in frustration. The Alpha was too close to Liara.

Aeolis was the first to react. He drew his knife and ran toward the Vorlok like he was possessed, the wind carrying his war cry.

Lithoniel cursed, dropping the bow. Then she unsheathed the sword and followed his example. However, she was much faster than Aeolis and soon overtook him. Faster, but not fast enough.

"Liara! No!" She heard Aeolis screaming from behind her when the Alpha was about to reach Liara.

The small elf was crawling backward when the Vorlok opened its jaw and bit her leg. Liara had no time to dodge and screamed, her blood painting red the beast's muzzle. Maybe it was the pain or the blood loss, but Liara's screams soon died down. The Vorlok was still chewing at her leg when Lithoniel arrived. The beast had just the time to lift its head as Lithoniel blade went through its bloodied jaw, cleanly severing its skull from the rest of its body. The Vorlok's lifeless corpse fell with a loud thud, but Lithoniel wasn't looking at it anymore.

"Liara!" She called as she crouched down close to her, but the small elf was unconscious, her face unnaturally pale. Aeolis was just one step behind her, his childish face alarmed beyond measure. He rushed to help her, but Lithoniel blocked him.

"Stay where you are" She hissed, "You've done enough damage already."

She was trying to stop the bleeding when someone said, "I have to bandage the wound."

It was Jandar, erudite and medicine man of the Asp Ridge's tribe. Lithoniel stiffly nodded and took a step back, watching with apprehension as he wrapped a piece of cloth around Liara's thigh. Jandar was tall, slim and quite handsome, though he looked a bit exotic. His hair was black, and like many cave dwellers, his skin was dark like the ebonwood bark.

"Hold her down." He said while he spread some kind of powder over the wound, "I have to stitch her up."

Lithoniel didn't know how he did it, but even in that situation, the medicine man managed to sound polite and oddly solemn. Still, she hurried to do as he said, using her weight to hold her down. Liara's body seemed to jolt when Jandar plunged the needle in her flesh. Then she opened her eyes, moaning in pain.

"Liara!" Lithoniel said, but Liara just mumbled something.

Her eyes were glassy, her forehead dripping with perspiration. She was delirious and soon passed out again.

Jandar was even more skilled than she'd imagined and stitched her up in no time.

"Jandar, how is she?" She asked when he was done.

"She lost a lot of blood, but she'll live." He patiently explained, "Her leg, however..." He shook his head.

Lithoniel bit her lips, "Can you save it?"

"Here? No. If we go back to the village? Maybe. The wound is very deep. I need my tools."

That's all she needed to know.

Lithoniel immediately stood up, and started barking orders, "You!" She shouted, pointing at one of her hunters, "Go get the tanners! They have one hour to skin the Vorloks. The other hunters! Prepare a travois."

The hunters were still looking at her when she shouted, "What are you waiting for?! Move!"

While the hunters got down to work, Lithoniel's gaze shifted to the person responsible for this debacle. Aeolis stepped back, his eyes full of fear when Lithoniel walked toward him with a murderous look upon her face. She carried her bloodied sword like she was eager to use it again, on him this time.

"Lithoniel" Kolvar grabbed her arm, "Calm down. You're scaring him."

"He should be scared" She hissed.

Still, she sheathed her sword before walking toward him.

"I-I'm sorry. I wanted to..." Aeolis said.

"What were you thinking?" She thundered, invading his space. She was tall for an elf, and since Aeolis was young, maybe just a year older than Liara, she towered over him.

"N-Nighstalker, I..." He stuttered.

"Right," She snorted, "you weren't thinking at all. You were trying to impress her, weren't you?"

Aeolis reddened, averting his gaze.

"Well?" She pointed at Liara who was lying unconscious on the ground, "What you think? Is she impressed?"

Aeolis reluctantly shook his head.

"I don't think so. Liara can take care of herself. She doesn't need your protection. She was never in danger but you" She pushed him down, "Almost killed her!"

Aoelis didn't even try to stand up. He lowered his head, his whole body trembling. Lithoniel seemed satisfied with his reaction and turned to look at the hunters around her.

"In case you forgot, let me remind you." She raised her voice so that everyone could hear her, "The Embersea doesn't forgive." Her tone was harsh, but she sounded a bit calmer now, "A good hunter can assess the risk, knows when to fight and when not to fight. But above all, a good hunter thinks."

All the hunters stopped working to listen to her, but when she looked at them, none of them was able to meet her gaze. She waited a minute or two, her words lingering in the air.

Then she turned to stare at Aeolis, "Now go. Out of my sight." She said to him, "I'm sure the tanners need some help."

Aeolis paled, "Nighstalker, please give me another..."

Lithoniel narrowed her eyes, daring him to continue.

"Do as the Nighstalker says, Aeolis." Kolvar suggested, his tone sympathetic. "As a tanner, you can still follow us, but as a casteless..." He trailed off, but the meaning of his words was very clear.

Aeolis' jaw snapped shut, his lower lips quivering as he finally understood what he'd risked. Then he stood up, glancing at Liara one last time before walking away.

"That was a bit harsh." Kolvar whispered when Aeolis was gone.

"That was nothing." She grunted, "He was beyond reckless."

"But brave." Kolvar argued.

She clenched her jaw, "Hunters don't have to be brave." She hissed, "They have to be smart, and strong, and ruthless, not brave."

"You were brave when you killed the terror of the Embersea, Zarukslayer." Jandar, who apparently had finished bandaging Liara, interjected.

Lithoniel winced. It wasn't the first time she heard that title, but no matter what, she wasn't able to get used to it.

"And about being reckless..."Kolvar continued, "it's not a bad thing, not necessarily. Volodar and the others would have been dead otherwise. You were reckless at the time, but you saved their lives." He reminded her.

"And what good did to me?" She muttered under her breath.

Jandar raised an eyebrow, but Lithoniel just shook her head, "I wasn't brave. I was desperate. Brave people die young."

Jandar declined to comment. He glanced at her and then at Kolvar and said, "I'll go help the others."

Then he left, and only Lithoniel and Kolvar were left.

The elf took a deep breath, "Lithoniel..."

"Don't." She warned him.

However, Kolvar had no intention to listen to her.

"You're changing, and that's inevitable. I get that. However, closing yourself off from the world..."

"Don't even start, Kolvar. I don't want to listen to you."

"Then, who? Who do you listen to?" He fired back, "Since Rol..."

Lithoniel gave him a frosty look.

Kolvar sighed, "I'm sorry, Lithoniel, I miss him too. But you don't listen to anyone. And those people...those people almost worship you."

Lithoniel winced.

"Don't misunderstand me. I'm happy for you, but they never contradict you."

Lithoniel's expression hardened, "And that's your role, isn't it Kolvar? Is that what you are trying to do? Take his place?"

Kolvar bit his lips, "I didn't mean..."

"Isn't a bit too soon, Kolvar?" She mocked, "Your brother hasn't even been dead for a month."

"I know that no one can take his place." He clenched his jaw, his face contorting with anger.

"Do you? Because it seems to me you're really trying to act like him." She looked at him from head to toe and gave him a meaningful glance, "Or do you think I wouldn't notice?"

"Lithoniel, you're misunderstanding..."

"Am I? The way you dress, talk and behave...is exactly like him. Hell, you even look like him. But you're not him. You'll never be."

Then she turned and was about to leave when Kolvar said, "Damn it, Lithoniel! I'm just worried about you."

She stopped, but she didn't turn, "Don't. Don't worry about me. I'm fine."

"Really? Then tell me, how long since you slept?"

Lithoniel froze.

"It's been a while, isn't it?"

The color drained from her face, "How do you know that?" She asked, trying to resist the urge to touch her stomach. "Don't tell me you're doing it again..."

"No!" He hurried to say, "I don't do that anymore, you know that."

Her brow drew together, "Then how?"

Kolvar scratched his head, "Our tents are close, and sometimes I can hear you...screaming in your sleep."

A vein popped out in her neck, "You eavesdropped."

Kolvar winced, "I didn't mean to, and that really isn't the point here. I know you're having nightmares. Maybe if you try talking about it..."

That was the wrong thing to say.

"You had no right." She snarled at him before walking away.

"Lithoniel...!" He called, but she didn't turn or listen to him anymore.

She ran away, touching her stomach. It was almost like she was trying to hide what lay beneath her clothes, conceal the grotesque brand growing on her skin. However, no matter how deep she tried to bury it, she couldn't forget it.