The Death Bridge

Raven looked at Axil and then she glanced around.

Not a single beast was alive.

"I-I…", Raven stammered. After a few moments, she regained her composure. "I just wasn't expecting that. I still need to get used to this...Shadow Jumping…thing", she said.

Axil released Raven's shoulder and c.o.c.ked an eyebrow. "I did tell you that I would handle them…", he said with a smug expression on his face.

"Yes well…I- Oh, wipe that smug look off your face!", Raven said, her face a light shade of pink. She turned around to look for Brongr. Spotting the big man, she walked over to him, eager to get away from Axil.

The silver eyes remained firmly fixed on her as the smug grin on Axil's face slowly turned into a soft smile.

***

After Raven explained to the dumbstruck Brongr what had happened, the trio looted whatever they could and returned to the shack. By the time they had reached the shack, the sun was already setting.

Raven went inside and retrieved a basket before going back outside and handing it to Brongr. As she passed him, she spoke to Axil. "Build a fire. Brongr and I are going to find something to eat"

Brongr looked at Raven, then at the basket that was unceremoniously stuffed into his hands, then at Axil whose gaze followed Raven, and then his gaze joined the white-haired man's as he too looked at Raven's disappearing back.

Raven suddenly stopped and turned around, her one hand resting on her hip. She lifted an eyebrow at Brongr. The latter, finally realising that he wasn't asked but told to follow, snapped from his slight daze and he hurriedly walked over to Raven. Seeing Brongr finally following her, Raven turned around as she let her gaze rest on Axil for a brief moment. And then she walked away.

After a while of searching and foraging, the basket that Brongr was carrying, was almost filled with Fireberries and Lushberries and they were slowly heading back.

They both walked in silence.

Brongr's eyes rested on the back of the woman walking in front of him as he walked, lost in thought. Something about her felt strangely familiar to him, yet he couldn't understand what it was or why it would seem familiar to him. He started to replay the events before and during the battle, focussing on Raven. As the images flashed in through his mind, he realised that the one thing that stood out the most was the look in Raven's eyes during the battle. The determination that brimmed in her eyes as she had fought the Shadow Beasts.

Throughout his entire life, he had only seen one other person with the same determination, the same fire in their eyes. He smiled as he remembered the woman that was beside his wife and daughter's bed. She never gave up on trying to save them.

Brongr softly chuckled at the memory. {"I wonder whit happened tae 'at lass? I wonder if they are livin' th' happy life she sometimes talked abit?"}

He looked down and sighed softly. {"Whit am I thinking…she is probably livin' happily in one ay th' villages wi' 'er husband an' a bunch ay children. She'd probably have 'er own healer's room, busyin' herself wi' helpin' an' healin' others."}

They neared the shack.

Brongr looked up and his eyes rested on Raven's back once more. {"I just wish I could see them again, 'at our paths would cross again. My debt is tay big an' life tay short. I know I made a promise tae them, tae her, but I would probably ne'er be able tae fulfil 'at promise. Nae as long as I'm here in thes place. I mean, whit are the chances…"}, his thoughts trailed off as they reached the shack.

The fire was already burning brightly when they returned. Raven immediately started preparing their meal.

Axil was sitting nearby, scroll in hand. He had looked up when Brongr and Raven returned but soon turned his attention back to the open scroll in his hands. He was seemingly lost in reading, but his thoughts were far away.

He was now certain that Raven was the person mentioned in the scrolls, the person he had been searching for. {"It cannot be otherwise…the scrolls won't be wrong. And the old man was so certain that the person would have the same power as the weapon. And he was never mistaken before…"}

He lowered the scroll in his hands and stared into the fire. {"I made the old man a promise, but…I don't know if I'll be able to keep it. He spoke of how difficult it would be, of the dangers that lie in the wait…"}

He looked up. {"But I don't think he could've foreseen this…"}, he thought, his eyes resting on Raven as she busied herself at the fire. {"That the Light Descendant would be a woman…and a stubborn, feisty one at that!"}

He felt a smile reaching his lips and quickly suppressed it.

{"But there's so much mystery surrounding her…so many things that just don't add up. What were her parents doing here? They certainly didn't come here for the scenery"}, he thought.

Raven suddenly looked up and her eyes met the silver ones. She frowned and tilted her head slightly to the side in confusion.

Noticing that Raven looked at him, Axil quickly lowered his gaze. {"With that look in her eyes, I know that asking about that, would be asking for an early and painful death"}, he thought as he sighed. {"I've never met someone whom I could call my equal…" }

He arched a brow at the thought.

{"Well, the old man did say that the Light Descendant would be my equal… and even better…But I'm not so sure. She knows next to nothing about magic. And training someone who would threaten you with a sword to your throat, for just looking at her, is going to be… difficult… "}

He sighed. {"If it wasn't for that promise… "}