❝NEVER LOSE AN OPPORTUNITY OF SEEING ANYTHING BEAUTIFUL, FOR BEAUTY IS GOD'S HANDWRITING.❞

Sawyer stumbled in her stance as Clint pulled her to her feet, Gunner instinctively running back to his girl to try and understand the disturbance in his game. She swayed momentarily, brushing snow off of her body as her attention was drawn to Clint walking away from her, yanking his arrow out of the wooden trunk of the tree without effort.

He pulled it out, twisting over his shoulder to place it in his quiver as he stared back at Sawyer, "I'm also here to train you Sawyer," he added, turning back to walk to her, "seen as you're completely useless at defending yourself, am I right?" he added, Sawyer's gaze turning into a slight frown as his gaze hardened at her offense.

"You're offended by that right?" he detained a sudden urge to smirk, his expression softening, "well good, that's a start-" he suddenly wiped out his foot, hooking onto the back of her left converse before jolting his leg back, sending Sawyer falling abruptly backwards as she yelped in surprise at being tripped up.

Gunner sprinted foreword before slightly retrieving in his pace, glancing to the perpetrator as he held his hands up in defence, "she's not dead," he retorted boringly, the dog however ignoring his retort and approaching his grounded girl, curiously studying her as if for wounds whilst she drew out a defeated, exasperated breath.

"I wasn't ready-" she muttered, stroking her concerned dog before Clint interrupted.

"-If someone wants you dead, they're not going to ask you for what preferential moment you'd like to be killed," he sarcastically replied, his face void of expression as he held out his hand again for her to accept for assistance.

She stared at it for a moment before glancing up at Clint, who stared back, through her furrowed eyebrows before ignoring his gesture and defiantly climbing to her feet by herself, "yes thanks for that, otherwise I would have asked to reschedule all the occcasions that I've almost been killed," she chortled, Gunner sitting by her feet in assurance, "but maybe that's just my procrastination talking," she fired back, her tone eerily serious.

Clint stared back for a moment, unsure how to fire back a sass-full remark before evidently giving up and just hooking her by her ankle again, Sawyer yelping as he tripped her up for the second time. Gunner's tail slowly began to wag as though this was the beginning of a new game to replace the latter.

Sawyer grumbled, spitting out a mouthful of snow as she glanced up at the peculiar stranger who claimed to be both a trainer and babysitter, the distinctive line ,however, prominent between what one he naturally was. He simply shrugged at her annoyed expression, shuffling his quiver strap across his chest as she wiped some snow from her face, "well now I've just killed you twice."

⌁

Sawyer gazed in the mirror as she brushed her teeth, foam swirling in her mouth as the minty substance cleansed it. Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she turned on the tap and spat out the overwhelming build up of liquid before quickly turning the tap back off as she continued to brush her teeth for the remnants of toothpaste left.

Glancing to a figure at the back of her in the mirror, Sawyer instantly turned around and pointed to the bedroom at Gunner, "it's bed time now Gunner," she murmured with a toothbrush still in her mouth, her arm falling to her side as Gunner jumped in excitement, thriving on her attention whilst he sprinted into the bedroom, Sawyer playfully rolling her eyes and turning back around as he did so.

Turning on the tap again, she spat the last mouthful of toothpaste into the sink basin and rinsed her toothbrush, the bristles cleansed of foam before she glanced back up at the mirror only for a scream to immediately erupt from her as she stumbled back terrified, horror sketched across her face as she struggled to take her eyes off of it.

A thick layer of crimson blood smeared the glass of her mirror, dripping into the sink as her reflection was disfigured and barely recognisable; her hair matted and her eyes the reflection of death, lifeless and void of emotion.

She reached at the mirror, clenching her eyes shut as she wiped at it, the blood seeping onto her hands as she tried to clear her reflection, tears streaming down her trembling face as she opened her eyes.

To no avail, her reflection moved swiftly with her actions and the murderer in the glass was evidently her. She yelped in disbelief, stepping backwards as her hands flew to her eyes, shielding her sobbing face from the sight as the blood printed onto her face. Continuing to walk backwards, she suddenly froze as her leg hit something hard.

Peeling her hands from her face, Sawyer begrudgingly turned around to find a mutilated body stuffed into the bath, an arm dangling out of the basin as she whimpered, stumbling backwards before her head hit the glass of the shower, her sobs instantly falling silent as she smashed into the glass, her blood spluttering across the walls as she-

She jolted up in her bed, her breathing unsteady as she felt her blood pump furiously through her body with adrenaline. Gunner glanced to her, confused at her sudden awakening before she blinked hard, desperately reminding herself to decipher between reality and dream as she drew out a trembled breath.

Her nightmares had been eroding her sleep since arrival and as she felt around the bed, her sweat drenched sheets enveloping her, she knew that night would be no exception. She instantly threw the sheets off of her, rising to her feet as she glanced to her window, the colours of dawn painting the sky as Gunner let out a breath, sinking back into his sleeping position as Sawyer quietly avoided waking him as she made her way downstairs.

She needed a distraction and be it through writing, music or art, she was going to get one.