Now older, the young woman ventures into the forest with her brother. Cyrene took on a much more mature appearance. She had short, somewhat messy hair. The wound she received twelve years ago formed into a scar that ran from underneath her left eye to the underside of her jaw. The mantle Cyrus once wore was passed down to her, albeit it was now mostly worn out and tattered. The cloth was draped around her neck and covered past her chest. Underneath her mantle was a short-sleeved cobalt blue jacket; the tail end stopped flowing past her backside; the jacket itself concealing most of her figure. Her jacket has two front silver zippers. While the top zipper was concealed behind her mantle, the bottom zipper was pulled up slightly to reveal charcoal-dyed clothing peeking from underneath her jacket. Her long pants and laced boots were dark as night.  

Cyrus now wore a long-sleeved black coat with four yellow buttons situated at each corner of his abdomen. The coat was embellished with a yellow embroidery running along the edge of his sleeves. His pants were dyed a sandy hue and his boots an earthy brown. His brown scabbard was wrapped securely around his hip, sheathing his sword within. Both brother and sister wore black fingerless gloves. 

One afternoon, treading down similar thicket grounds, the hunters were on the prowl. The sunlight beams onto their bodies; their legs brushing past tall grass as they cautiously proceed forward with their blades sheathed at their hips. With a sharp gaze in both of their eyes, the huntress lags behind the hunter, surveying the area diligently. Suddenly, Cyrus stops in his tracks. He holds his hand out in front of his sister, causing her to screech to a halt. He looks around the environment once more. 

“Careful…” He whispers. 

Cyrene grew curious and surveyed the area as well. She swiftly notices a small indent poking out of the dark green grass. Deviating from him, she guides herself through the tall grass to investigate, all the while, drawing her sword. Her blade was showing wear and tear along its steel. Pulling the grass apart, her eyes widen as she discovers a Tripwire mutilated into pieces. It lay in a pool of its blood, and the jagged parts of its body were scattered across the ground. She jumps backward, alerting her brother who was a fair distance away. 

“Something’s here!”   

Too busy looking out for abnormalities, Cyrene ends up stumbling, tripping over herself, and falling flat on her back. 

“Ah!” 

She grunts as her body hits the ground, her eyes shutting from the slight discomfort. When she opens her eyes again, she is suddenly greeted by a reptilian monster; its body in the middle of a pounce; it became more visible as it inched closer. Her paralyzation from fear prevented her from attacking the monster.  

SWING

In no time Cyrus appears by her side. He intercepted the attack and sliced the beast cleanly in half, blood and carcass hitting the ground. He held his sword up again, as a swarm of similar beasts jumped out from the shadows, circling the two.

“Monsters are advancing! Eyes open!” 

He extends his arm out, helping the woman to her feet. Back to back, the two look about as they become encompassed by a pack of monsters. Yellow, frothing saliva oozed in between their edged teeth and poured onto the earth. Cyrene took a cautious step backward from the creature while Cyrus took a step forward, gripping his sword tighter. 

“Ugh! These things are the worst,” She scoffs. “Such a pain in the ass...” 

“No time for complaining! We need to slay these creatures, posthaste!”

“Right…!” 

The hunters were surrounded by a pack of new adversaries. Alongside the Tripwires were the hunched reptilians known as Shades. The Shades appeared taller when standing on their hind legs. They had narrow heads with scaly, slim, and unusually toned greenish bodies with spindly digits. Their hands and feet can be extended and used to wrap themselves around their target and prevent them from escaping. Although they have the power of camouflage, their primal tendencies to slaughter almost nullifies this ability, as the Shade’s unhinged urge to kill causes them to make guttural noises when they approach too close to their target. 

A sudden buzzing from above gave warning to the two hunters of another beast variant, the flying arachnid known as the Reaper. These three-foot-tall black soaring insects have scorpion-like stingers, can shoot venom from their mouths, and have traces of poison on all twelve of their limbs. Coming into physical contact with their poison may take some time for the substance to inflict substantial damage. Each breath they take gradually flashes the venom they have stored on their backs.   

The enemies began to make their way around their prey, prowling and encircling them. The hunters stare intently at the monstrosities, awaiting their first move. The hunters adjusted their stance, firmly planting their feet into the ground. The grass shuffles as the winds carry the soft blades of greenery. The Tripwires scatter, taking to the air and dashing across the grounds. 

Cyrene is the first to engage in combat, as one of the Tripwire lunges at her. She steps to the side quickly and swipes her sword into the animal; her blade is unable to pierce completely. The attack wounds the creature, but it dashes back for more. The huntress slashes at its wound a second time, finishing off her target. The next Tripwire lunges at her with headbutts. She blocks the attacks with her sword but is pushed slightly back in the process. The monster attempts to bite her, but the swordswoman slashes at its throat, killing it in one clean hit. Another enemy joins the fray, attempting to take a bite at her leg, but the huntress dodges to the side and performs a spinning kick, sending it a ways away. She breathes heavily, looking around for her next target. 

Meanwhile, Cyrus engaged very offensively. He allowed the Shade he fought to attack him first before parrying. He throws a horizontal swing at the reptile, but it jumps back. A Tripwire attempted to intervene in their fight but was cut along Cyrus’s path to the Shade. The hunter threw out another swing to push back the reptilian. Flying overhead, the Reaper zooms in, trying to get a few stabs with its stinger. Moving in all directions in a swift pattern, its sudden agility forced Cyrus to block its attacks.

CLINK CLANG CLINK

The impact of its tail clanged against the steel of his sword. The hunter peeks over to check on the Shade, but it has disappeared. Cyrus’s eyes dive into a deep fury, as he can spot the tall grass beside his sister shuffling abnormally. The moment he takes his eyes off of the Reaper, the insect manages to sting Cyrus on his left arm, sending him faltering back. With the hunter pushed back, the Reaper flees to target the huntress. Cyrus calls to his sister. 

“Behind you!”   

Cyrene finishes killing one tripwire and swiftly reacts to the sound of her brother’s voice. She snaps her attention behind her but sees nothing.

Grrrraughrk

The huntress' ears perk at the sound of the Shade's guttural moans. She drifts her attention to the side, just in time to see the Shade drifting out of its invisibility. She reacts quickly and slashes vertically in its direction, taking its right flying arm off. Though blood poured from its wound,  the reptile continued its onslaught and launched its spindly fingers at the huntress, wrapping themselves around her arms and pinning her to a tree, with the Reaper closing in. As she struggles to burst out of its hold, the lizard opens its mouth and lunges at the woman’s neck. In the nick of time, Cyrene’s right arm manages to break free and in a panic, she holds up her sword to block the blow. 

CRACK

The Shade chomps down on her sword and the strength of its bite shatters the weapon, scattering the metal shards onto the field and into its mouth. 

ZZZRT

The sound of the Reaper grew louder, drawing the attention of the huntress. As she turned her head, the Shade went in for a second bite, with blood and metal coated in its jaws. Cyrene’s heart began to pick up speed, and a feeling of dread showered her body. But a miracle managed to fly by her, in the form of Cyrus’s sword. The hunter’s blade impales the Reaper into the tree behind his sister. Immediately, she grabs the blade and pulls it out of the bark, with the insect's body falling to the ground. She drives the blade through the Shade’s head, and the monster goes completely limp. It falls to the ground while releasing its grasp on her.  

Cyrene tries to catch her breath as she moves away from their dead targets. She exhales and wipes beads of sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. She brings her hands closer to her face. They trembled with her brother’s blade in her left hand and her broken sword in her right. With the encounter finished, the huntress plants her brother’s sword into the ground and sighs. She hunches over, resting her forehead on the weapon's pommel. She picks her head up and looks around at all of the slain targets, then back to her brother, who was approaching her. 

“You all right?” She asks, still gasping for breath.   

“I should be asking you that.” 

“I’ll be fine," she breathes, "I’m just catching my breath.”