x.Not Dead Yet.x

[x.Wolf.x]

Even here, miles away from the battle area, sounds of the battle rang through the small meadow. The thunderous roar of a cannon with the following crash of a falling target. It seemed as if she'd never escape the sounds of that battle, nor the fact that the humans were forced to leave the village in the hands of the vampires. Crimson eyes narrowed in determination as she limped through the meadow, she will avenge those lost and she will get that village back! But first, she needed to find a place to heal herself. Yes, she had killed a vampire assassin but in the process, she was badly injured. Deep cuts on her arms, legs and one across her right cheek; along with the gaping hole in her stomach. Blood seeped over her hands and through her outfit, staining it a dark crimson color; blood that dripped from her suit landed in the grasses like raindriops, staining the grasses red and leaving a trail behind her.

Autumn paused, now in the middle of the meadow. She would have to rest and build up the rest of her strength to find a nearby village or town to see a healer in. Wincing as she sat down in the soft grasses of the Setuka Meadow, the look of determination still shining bright in her gaze. True she was weak and injured but she won't allow herself to die here...or today. She still had unfinished work to tend to and a bone to pick with Kamenwati. She was a mere human and she was determined to be the downfall of Kamenwati's reign of power. It was because of her human blood that she was now weak. The forest flanking the meadow to the right now became a dark green blur with the colors of the meadow mixing into one as her vision faltered. Was she really going to die this time or just faint? Either one, she disagreed with but she couldn't stop it. Using the last bit of her strength to sit up, she attempted to find any signs of a nearby village.

[xXPeterxX]

Snap! Twigs and dead leaves crunched under Peter's feet. Crackle. He sighed and rolled his eyes. How could silence be so freakin' loud? His long legs worked mechanically as he made his way through the dense trees, not exactly sure where he was going this time. Being a rogued vampire, and presumed dead, he had to keep up the act of hiding. And that meant a lot of moving around. He was lucky he had chosen the day before to travel to another town because he had found out only minutes ago that the village he had been in had been attacked. Now it was property of Kamenwati. He snorted, sick of the war. But that was all he knew. He'd grown up in the midst of it all. And he had a feeling it wasn't going to end anytime soon, no matter what battles were won. Humans and vampires would never back down to one another. The only way for the war to actually be declared over would be if the humans were to be wiped off the face of the earth compleatly.

Like that will ever happen. he said with a snort. Those things reproduce faster then a waterfall cascading over the ridge. Earlier that day the town he had just passed through had given birth to 15 different kids. And the town population was only 243. He wrinkled his nose in disgust at the thought of it all. Not just the children, but humans, and vampires, and the war. Too bad no one had the sense he had to see that the war would never end the way it was going now.

Crack! His back stiffened. That hadn't been him. He listened intently, but didn't hear anything else. Then the scent of blood hit his nostrils. His stomach moaned in longing. He clutched it, silently snarling for it to be quiet. He had long since given up drinking the blood of a human. Even though he was half-human it had still been harder then expected. Just the thought of actually sinking his teeth into someone's neck was enough to make him sick. But that didn't mean his body didn't object every chance it got.

Pulling his hood up and tight around his pale face, he followed the trail until he came to a row of rose bushes and trees. A clearing was obviously on the other side. He heard a small rustling sound and a couple of deep breaths that were slightly exagerated, meaning whoever it was, she was injured. She could tell it was a girl because of the quiet way she had slipped up upon him. Bracing himself against the pain that seered through his legs as the stickling thorns struck his legs, he peered beyond the trees to see a human girl around his age, maybe a little younger, suited up for battle. She was bleeding dangerously from her stomach as well as a scrape on her cheek. She seemed to be losing energy. He growled and cursed the kind heart he'd gotten stuck with. No matter how hard he tried, Peter could never leave someone who needed help.

As he stepped through the trees, his hood fell from his head. His thick black hair made him look like he had just gotten out of bed, and it fell into his gray eyes. His cloak hung down by his ankles. His clothes were a bit grungy, but for a guy living on the streets he was lucky to have any clothing at all. His clenched hands hung by his sides, and luckily he'd remembered to hide his teeth, which if you looked close enough were still as pearly white as they had been the day they had grown in. Clearing his throat, he asked, "Need a hand?"

[x.Wolf.x]

Earlier, in her attempt to escape this meadow with her life Autumn had been completely def to the noise coming from the forest, but now as she lay there she heard every bit of it. She heard the approaching footsteps, though from who was unknown to her. From the noise the being was making, she could tell it wasn't a soldier sent after her to finish off her life and if it was, the soldier was careless. Weak and injured she may be but she was always prepared. Silently, she fingered the hilt of her sword blood already dripping from it's blade.

It wasn't until the boy was almost next to her, did she count him as nearly harmless. His unkempt hair and clothing told her that he wasn't one of Kamenwait's. But he wasn't human was he? His skin much too pale to be that of a human and yet he showed no signs of a mindless bloodthirsty vampire. So which was it? Dark Angel was out of the question, being that he was missing the wings. Perhaps a hybrid? A mixture of two breeds?

His face, voice and attitude were all vaguely familiar, he wasn't a soldier so where could she have met him before? Maybe she had met him at a bar or some other public place, knowing him only by looks and not his name. Either way, she hadn't seen him as much of a threat, being that he was offering help.


Help. What could he do? The next village would be miles away so unless he was skilled in the art of healing he would be no help to her. Her vision blurred again, warning her she was close to actually fainting. "And what help could you give me?" Her voice defiant as usual and gaze burning up at the half-breed's.

[xXPeterxX]

Peter eyed the sword her hand laid on casually, frankly not caring that she was armed. He could take care of himself. And if she had planned on hurting him, she would have tried already. She obviously didn't view him a threat. Which was just as well and true. He couldn't blame her really. He knew what he looked like.

He didn't flinch at her accusing snarl. It didn't surprise him that she would have an attitude. Any teenage girl fighting in the war was bound to have one. For a moment he pondered her question, deciding carefully on his answer. He wasn't willing to show her his current hide out, which was used to stash anything he was able to dig up in town markets. But that was where he had some basic supplies used for injuries. He could always take her to the next closest village, but it might be too far. And since he didn't have anything with him, there was only one option.

Gazing at the ground, he spotted blood stains in the grass leading him back into the forest. He'd have to do something about her bleeding before he moved her. Letting his cloak fall to the ground, he pulled his sweat shirt over his head, and this his t-shirt, exposing his thin stomach. His abs rounded out to make him seem leaner then he was, but there was still no denying that he hadn't eaten a good meal for a long, long time. He kneeled down and didn't wait for the protest he was sure to get before tearing his shirt in half and pressing it to the girl's stomach. He held it there firmly for a few seconds before reaching around her back to grab the other end. He tied it in a tight knot, then did the same with the other half. Sliding his sweat shirt back over his head and replacing his cloak, he scooped her up off the ground and began walking back the way he came. He knew she couldn't possibly have enough strength to do more then struggle a bit, then settle for verbal assaults.

[x.Wolf.x]

The boy’s following actions startled her and nonetheless shocked her. She had expected some cocky reply along the lines of ‘if you don’t want my help…’ but he hadn’t even said a word. Really, she couldn’t do much other then watch in curiosity as he took his sweater off and then ripped his t-shirt under that. What could have been the only t-shirt the guy owned at the moment was now ruined to save her life. His actions confirmed her earlier guess on him being a human or even a half-breed. Thought most half-breeds side with Kamenwati and her demons to prove their strength, along with looking down on the human race because half of their blood wasn’t that of a mortal. She winced as the knot was tied tight to stop or slow the bleeding down a bit. Once her wound was covered, her gaze fell to the already blood soaked shirt. Her gaze rising to the boy once again to meet his gaze, trying to figure his next move, but her attempt was in vain. She couldn’t read a single emotion in the boy’s gaze, nor could she predict his next move. Maybe it was because she was injured and had lost a lot of blood or perhaps it was because she just couldn’t read the boy like she read the others. He was different from any human, vampire or half-breed she had ever met before.

As she was lifted, she winced once again as her gaze widened for a moment in sheer surprise. She hadn’t expected him to move her once he had helped with the bleeding let alone for him to lift her. Even if the guy was here to help, she objected to him carrying her with every inch of her body. Crimson eyes narrowed with a mixture of anger and pain. She could walk, injured or not she could walk. She couldn’t object by kicking around, or her wounds would be even greater and there was always the possibility that he’d just drop her. “Let me down! I could walk on my own you know!” Her reply came, eyes narrowed once again. She could walk couldn’t she? She could use her sword as a tool to help her as she found the next village! But was this her strength or arrogance speaking? She did value her life but she valued protecting her own life even more. She grew up alone and she intended to die alone as well. Her objection seemed to go unheard to the male as they neared the forest. Where was he taking her? No signs of a village could be seen, no smoke from chimneys, no humans wandering the fields and most of all no worn roads leading into the villages. Did he live somewhere near by? Again her gaze widened. Did he know who she was!? Did he know that she was an assassin; wanted by Kamenwati…if they found her at his house he would be slaughtered instantly. No. He was smarter then that…..wasn’t he? He would take her to some hidden village correct?

[xXPeterxX]

That was what he'd been expecting and almost waiting for. When she demanded to put her down, claiming she could walk just fine by herself, he rolled his eyes. Possibly the first bit of emotion he would have shown her was the look on his face that obviously said I highly doubt that. For a while he ignored her, and continued walking toward the hidden place where his supplies were.

As he neared it, he looked down at her. She was looking ahead of them with a questionly, yet still defiant, expression. He guessed she must be wondering where they were going, since there wasn't sign of a trail or a town nearby. Stubborn little army brat. But he kept his thoughts to himself as he halted and gently lowered her feet to the ground. When she was standing on her own two feet, he backed away and folded his arms over his chest as if to say, Fine, let's see you walk then. Then waited for her to stumble, even if only a little bit, and he would end up having to catch her balance and help her the rest of the way anyway. No one could walk with a fresh wound and bandage like that. If anything she's start getting dizzy from the blood loss.

[x.Wolf.x]

Eyes narrowed again as she was set on her own feet once agian, happy to be on her own feet finally but her balence soon gave way. Instead of waiting for him to catch her, she drove her sword in to the ground before her, using the hilt to keep her balance. Pain exploded through her body once again as she struggled against fainting. This body was giving in quickly, fading as more blood seeped through the make-shift bandage. Though, she was too stubborn to let herself faint in front of anyone. Her breathing became shallower and more ragged but fire still burned in her gaze. Her gaze rose to the boy again "Where were we then?" Her voice giving off the slightest 'I told you so' tune. She did it after all, she stood on her- no. She had to use her sword to keep herself up. She struggled to even to stand with the sword's help. Walking would be difficult but she's been raised in the middle of a war remember? She had been injured before and walked away and she was determined to do it now. But her human body had lost too much blood and eyes flickered closed agian. Her tight grip on the sword loosened completely and after a few attempts to catch herself, she fell forward. Eyes closed on her way down....she had lost to much blood to stay awake. Autumn had fainted. Her world black as Kamenwati's heart.....

[xXPeterxX]

She struggled. He watched. As she unsheathed her sword and struck it to the ground before her, he noticed her hands turning white as she gripped the sword's hilt. Peter just gazed at her skeptically as she spoke, and then when she began to swagger. When the girl fell, he darted forward to catch her. The brute shook his head slowly, seeing she was unconsious. With a grunt, Peter udjusted his grip and swung her legs off the ground to carry her the rest of the way.

It didn't take long to find the clearing he'd been hiding out in over the past few days. The boy lay her down on the ground gently, studying her face. She looked a bit familar. But since she had obviously come from the town that had just been attacked, they had more then likely bumped into each other once or twice on the street or in a diner. Even though she was awake, she still seemed to be alert. She might not know what's happening, but if someone unfamilar appeared, she'd probably know it.

Straightening up, he disappeared into a thicket only to reappear moments later with wrap bandages, a water bottle, and a torn piece of cloth as well as a few old but unused bandages for the girl's scrapped up cheek. Not enough to cure her wounds, but the essentials needed for getting her on her feet until she could see a doctor. Peter hasn't had time to try to find something to prevent infections yet. He's never really needed it. Living the way he did, he had a very good immune system. He set the few things in his hands beside him and knelt down beside the teen. Something was still clutched in his hand, but he slipped it into his pocket. Unscrewing the lid to the water bottle, he cautiously tipped it over her face in an attempt to wake her. He didn't feel exactly comforable doing something like this without her knowing what he was doing. Besides, maybe she'd learn a thing or two.

[x.Wolf.x]

Though unconscious, she heard the foot steps of the male as he had caught her. She heard everything from the moment her vision failed completely. Though she could hear everything that went on, she didn’t know exactly where she was at the moment but she did remember the boy’s face. The moment the cool water touched her burning skin, she sat up. As quick as ever, she pulled a dagger from her belt; the blade pressed to the throat of the half-breed. Though, not hard enough that it would pierce his pale skin….yet. Crimson eyes narrowed threatening him that if he moved, he’d be dead. It was then that the pain from her previous wound began to burn again. A small grunt of pain came from the teen, but her gaze showed no signs of pain. Her gaze returned to normal once she realized exactly who he was. He was the guy that helped her earlier while she was literally bleeding to death in the meadows. As quick as before, her dagger was returned to belt. He was no threat to her. In fact, he was helping her remember? Her gaze fell to her wound again with annoyance, she saw that she was still bleeding, not as bad as before but still bleeding. Annoyance pricked through her body again, she was a human and thus she healed slowly. Without muttering an apology she tried getting to her feet again but as before, her attempt was in vain. She had no choice but to sit down in the grasses again. This is getting pathetic. Her mind spat. Either way, she was completely indebted to him for saving her live. What kind of rescue is this if she didn’t even know her rescuer’s name? “So. I know you are kind enough to save other’s lives but your name is unknown to me.” She stated. Her gaze rising to meet his again.

[xXPeterxX]

The girl jumped when the water spilled over onto her face. A little too quickly, she pulled a knife on him and held it up to his throat as if she were going to slit it. He didn't wince, or pull away. He just stared at her, patiently waiting for her to recognize him and retreat. When she did, she started to struggle to her feet. Before she could fall again, he reached out and grabbed her arm to steady her as she lowered herself back to the ground. Setting the water bottle down, he grabbed the cloth from the earth's floor and folded it to a decent size. He didn't look up when she spoke. She hadn't directly asked his name. So he didn't answer. Atleast not right away.

"And yours," he said insted, pouring a little bit of water to the depressent before he turned his grey eyes upon her. "To me." he finished. He didn't know her name, why should she know his. Though it was logical, it was really only a space-filler. It bought him time to decide wheither or not he really wanted to tell her his name or not. "You're going to need to lay back." he instructed. He set the wet cloth on his knee, dry-side up, and reached for his torn t-shirt that was still wrapped around her. He undid the knots and pulled away the bloody make-shifts. The returned to the wound.

"And you're going to need to trust me." Peter said, knowing it wouldn't be an easy thing for her to do. His fingers closed around the edge of her own shirt. "And don't worry," he said, replying to what he knew she must be thinking. "I'm not a pervert or or anything." Carefully and slowly, he rolled the bloody tank that covered her stomach up until it reached her breast-line. He let go of her shirt and placed the depressent over the wound before she could protest even more. "I'm going to have to press on this to try to stop the bleeding. It'll hurt." He didn't bother telling her that it wasn't going to hurt, or that it would only sting for a second. He wasn't a doctor, and she wasn't a kid. Peter wasn't in the possition to tell her anything wouldn't hurt. "Ready?" he asked, waiting for her cue so she could brace herself from the pain before he leaned his weight onto the oozing gash.

[x.Wolf.x]

Her gaze turned over to him with protest as he helped her back to the ground. She hated depending on anyone for help, she had been raised to trust herself and herself alone and not only that. She had been alone since day one, remember? She had learned to care for only herself and now he was telling her to trust him? His reply to her statement about his name wasn’t the answer she had expected either, his reply replaced with another question of her own name. What harm could be done if he knew her name? She was faced with that question every day, being an assassin she wasn’t allowed to tell many her real name. But what harm could he do even if he knew her name? She knew from his looks that he was running from either side of the war. But still, she had asked first didn’t she? “I asked you first” Deep in her reply hid humor, something Autumn rarely used unless she was truely in company that she half trusted.

Trust him? Eyes narrowed again at this. Why should she trust him, yes he did save her life but who’s to say he could turn against her when Kamenwati attacked? She didn't even know his name or breed for that matter, so many things she didn't know and now she was being told to trust him. Before she could reply to his trust comment, he grabbed her shirt. Eyes narrowed dangerously at first, but after his pervert comment, she sighed and looked away. “I trust you enough…”You know that if you made any move like that….that I would have your head on that ground. Her thoughts had finished that sentence for her but she didn’t put it to voice. Again, he had warned her about his next move. With that comment, she rolled her eyes and braced herself for the oncoming pain. She was glad that he hadn’t pussy-footed around it and told her the truth. Good. So he was to the point. While she waited, she slowly came up with some way of repaying him for this. After all, he had saved her life and for that she owed him something….

[xXPeterxX]

He nodded as she laid back and replied. Placing his hands over the depressent on her stomach, he felt her body go rigid. Then finally deciding it didn't matter if she knew his name or not. They'd never see each other again anyway, and she had no reason to track him down later on since he'd obviously made his point that he wasn't part of the war. "It's Peter." he said before shifting his weight into his fore-arms and onto her small body. He stayed alert for any possible movement beneath his palms incase he pressed against an organ or bone. After all, he was trying to help her, not make it worse.

1... 2... 3... 4... he counted in his head. Peter would hold it there until he'd counted a full minute before checking to see if the bleeding had stopped yet. Listening for any groans or moans that might tell him if he was too heavy. He did this twice before he was conviced that most of the blood oozing from her stomach had stopped. He sat back on the balls of his feet and looked down at the bloody piece of fabric he set on the ground. Then picked up the bandage wrapped and began unraveling it.

[xXPeterxX]

See, who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? He had finally revealed his name to her, but that was it. He still had failed to mention what he was and it annoyed her that she couldn't tell. She now knew it wasn't the wound that affected her judgement, perhaps he was just unreadable or she wasn't trying hard enough. Either one, he'd tell her later....if she was still around. She would have to leave Peter as soon as she could walk away on her own....she couldn't risk getting him in trouble with Kamenwati and him finding out that she was an assassin for Jasiri. As pressure was applied to the compress, her eyes narrowed and the pain forced her to grit her teeth to keep from letting out any sound that would make him apply less pressure. She was treated like a man on the battlefeilds so why not here? She felt the weight push down onto the compress again and then, with a moment's pause, released as Peter focused on the bandages. Her gaze turned to the small set of supplies beside her, though lacking anything to help with pain and infection, it held the essiancals(sp?) to the basic wound covering. That would do for now.

Through this time, she realized he had revealed his name and now it would be her turn to speak. But again, should she speak of her real name? She saw him as no threat no but what about later when she returned to her duties and left him behind? She could easily run into the wanderer again and he'd speak her name....such things could ruin an entire mission. With a small sigh, she rised her gaze to Peter once again "I go by Autumn"

[xXPeterxX]

Peter nodded and returned to the wrap. Satisfied with the length, he reached around her to wrap it first around her waist, then up her stomach, stopping where her shirt was rolled up into a bloody heap before her chest. He tied it tightly to make sure that it would help pressure the wound so it wouldn't start bleeding beneath it. Then reached for the regular bandaids. He wet the other side of the compress and gently wiped her bloody cheek, too obsourbed in his work to care if she complained. Tearing the wrappers from the clear bandages, he carefully placed three of them over the scrap.

Grabbing the water bottle, he stood and disappeared into the thicket again where he couldn't be seen. Peter reached into his pocket to pull out whatever he had early stashed away. He opened his hand to reveil two small pills. Clenching his fists, he crushed the pills into powder and poured it into the half empty water bottle. Grabbing another one, he refilled the bottle and shook it until the powder desolved. They were sleeping pills. He was planning on giving them to her so she would rest. God knows she needed it from the shadows under her eyes. And if he didn't give them to her, she'd try to leave before she'd had any. Returning to the clearing, he handed her the water bottle and waited.

[xXPeterxX]

She thought nothing of it when Peter disappeared behind the brush and then returned. After all, he could have just been disposing of the dirty bandages. But when he handed her the water, she didn't drink it at first, only replied with a suspicious glare. On the field, she would have never accepted a drink that she hadn't mixed herself...especially since his little disappearing act. Crimson gaze locked on to his face for a moment before turning her gaze back to the bottled water. Finally deciding that Peter wasn't here to kill her, she took the water from his hands. But before taking a drink, she looked it over again to check for any left over powder or pills before returning her stare back to Peter. I trust him enough........don't I? She questioned herself. Of course, he had already saved her life and if he had just saved her life why would he throw all that 'bonding' time away by killing her now? A sigh escaped her lips before pressing the bottle to her lips. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she would regret this but she pushed that thought away and took a deep drink from the bottle. Letting the water sit for moment on her tongue before actually swallowing it. At least it tasted clear.

Unfortunately, her fears were confirmed, Peter had tampered with the water. Now a little less then half the bottle remained and the pills were just starting to take affect. A moment ago she felt as if she could get up and leave this place now, in fact she had planned to leave in the next hour or so but now? Now she felt as if she had been wiped of all her energy. Drowsiness swept over her entire body, her eyelids drooping slightly as her gaze turned to Peter agian. "That was a dirty trick" She scowled before acutally laying down. She knew from the affects of this that it was a sleeping pill and not some posion to kill her. Her only choice now was to sleep it out and seek her revenge when she awoke once again.


Hours later, she snapped into a sitting position from where she lay sleeping "Flying Sandpaper!!!" Her words slurred together to make the sound of one word, but what could one expect waking from a drug induced sleep. Peter was no where to be seen in the clearing, but there was a worn path that lead away from the clearing to an unknown location. Her eyes narrowed further as she rose to her feet. Though, still dizzy from the pills she would find him. She would teach him to trick her like that! See, she finally trusts a stanger and look what happens! He had put her down with sleeping pills. Yes, he would pay for this. Using her sword as a walking stick, she headed down that worn path that must have lead to Peter.

On her way there, she had remained completely oblivious to the sounds of rustling leaves and the soft crunch of twigs under foot. Her mind whirring from the affects of the pills and the returned pain in her. Besides, she had revenge to take care of...that alone was enough to block out the sounds of the forests surrounding her.