Broken Antlers

"Teal of sea stained blood."

- Unknown

Neil:
"I'll be back before sundown~" Tianee's voice sounded out. Her voice was the only thing I paid attention to, as we left the place she called 'home'. It wasn't the same, weekly trip in the woods like we always used to do, with the potentially unpleasant sights and smells that I'd grown familiar with. Instead of her usually sharp equipment wrapped in a tight piece of cloth, I only had a single rod and a basket strapped next to my saddle.

"Head to the lake, Neil." She said, pointing at a different route from inside the forest, closer to the mountain. Picking up the pace, I obediently followed the direction she wished to reach, moving faster than I normally would.

Snow crumbled under my hooves as she slightly pulled on my reins. The cold breeze was rather relaxing, as was the change of scenery. Wide open space, the sound of the river flowing; all the way from the mountain in the distance to the sea near town, and the plenty of frost-covered fields with lakes covered in thin ice.

The best part? There wasn't a single being around the two of us!

Slightly stepping back as Tianee unstrapped the basket, I tilted my head and gave her a slight nuzzle on her cheek--which she returned with a giggle--before kneeling down to pluck some of the grass below. A reward I could only expect from her and no one else.

"Don't wander too far, Neil." Tianee said, her grip on my antlers firm yet gentle while she pressed her forehead on my own, before eventually letting go.

o0o

She was breaking the ice with a strange tool (human equipment always catches me off guard, one way or another), stabbing the ice several times before using her foot to kick the pieces off. From where I stood, she looked so small compared to the taller trees behind her, but she was quite a bit stronger than she looked.

She was just as strong as a grown up doe. Other humans just didn't see that in her.

Kneeling down on the snow, I plucked some grass from the ground and chewed on it, watching her closely. She was looking down into the water, holding onto the rod with a thin string connected between it and the water's surface.

There was a small tug.

Jerking my head up, I was more than ready to charge in if something went wrong, but as she gave it a strong pull, my ears flopped unconsciously at the sight of a harmless fish attached to the other end of the string. Such wet, slippery creatures, bleh...

But then again, there are always the annoying rabbits...

o0o

"What do you think?" She said, showing me the basket. What was empty before was now filled with wet, squirming fishes. Snorting loudly, I turned away, hooves taping on the ice in a disapproving manner. She giggled and reached out to groom my messy mane, before closing the basket and going to fetch the rod.

The unfamiliar, unpleasant scent had started to bug me. At first I thought it belonged to a wolf or a bear, and ignored it, thinking that whatever it was, it wouldn't attack if it wasn't provoked. But this scent was new, something I had yet to come across before.

Come to think of it, Tianee had never brought me here before.

Crying out loud, I gave her a strong push to the back, urging her to climb onto my back so we could get away from the place. It didn't feel safe! She was surprised by my actions, starting to scold me while continuing to catch more fishes. What was so interesting about fish anyways?!

The scent was getting stronger and stronger, and it made me uneasy. But Tianee hadn't paid attention until a loud roar sounded out from inside the forest.

Tianee:
It went completely unexpected, unpredictable.

The giant bear came out of nowhere - it looks nothing like normal bear! Black fur from head to toe, making the frost on its body stood out, along with the white mask and spikes down its back. But the most noticeable trait is the blood red marks on the mark, and the red eyes that sent hateful glare toward me.

Having no time to fetch the basket, I pushed myself away from where I was standing, using the slippery ice to slide away from the creature. My back met the hard snow behind it as I watched the bear knocked the basket down, the fishes flopped on thin ice - some of them managed to get back in the lake.

"How dare you!" I was weaponless, carried only a craving knife with me, but all of that was thrown away at the sight of how my hard work gone down the drain. The creature turned its attention at me - completely ignored the reindeer on the other side of the frozen lake.

The bear roared again before charged forward. Turning on my heels, I ran as fast as I could into the wood - the opposite direction to where Neviah was.

And Neil was nowhere to be seen.

'Now is not the time for it!' Mumbled to myself, I spotted a low branch ahead. With a short jump, I used both of my hands to grab on it, the snow was shaken off when I position myself on it, waiting for the bear to come closer...

o0o

It doesn't bleed, no matter how many times I stabbed and splashed it. Instead, all I received was black smoke, with an unpleasant smell coming from the several wounds. No matter how far I led it, the bear just didn't seem to be giving up, and I was wearing out.

''This wasn't just for territory protecting anymore. The beast wouldn't settle down for anything less than a kill.''

Rolled over to dodge another swing coming from the bear, I sliced the knife across its stomach. The smoke was expected, but I never knew it could burst directly at my face and blinded my sight. Nor the attack coming from my side.

Grunted when my back met the hard tree trunk, I blinked slowly and looked down: There was blood, dripping down from along my side, stained both my dress and the snow underneath. Everything seemed blurry, and the only I could hear is the bear's heavy breathing, getting closer and closer each second...

And then there was a loud clanking noise, followed closely by the ramming sound.

o0o

I could feel something wet being pressed on my cheek - it felt so familiar and comforting.

Blinked slowly, I shifted myself to a more comfortable position and looked up to see Neil in front of me, licking my cheek - trying to wake me up. However, something seemed off, and it wasn't until he knelt down that I noticed one of his antlers was broken, lied flatly next to the stunned beast.

"Ugh..." Gritted my teeth, I looked around to find the knife - this is getting personal! Instead of the old, dull bladed knife, I found my weapon - my Ocean Thorn by my side.

First you ruined my fishing trip, now you hurt Neil!

With a loud bang, the claw was sent flying toward the bear - stumbling to get up on its hind legs, and wrapped tightly around its neck. Didn't even need to yank it forward, I charged, growled loudly when I pressed on the same button one more time, letting the withdrawing chain dragged me toward to the beast.

Aimed a strong kick directly at the wound on its belly, I felt satisfied as more smoke came out from it - this thing, whatever it it, has black smoke instead of blood. Another loud bang to push myself up in the air as it growled in pain, the claw released its grip around the bear's neck and I aimed for its back - more specifically, its lungs.

Remember Tianee, you can only use this function when you really have to kill, for the sake of killing...

Metal sleathing sound can be heard when the golden colored blade unsleathed from the shalf, making it shaped exactly like a trident. And with a loud growl followed by the trident prong embedded itself deeply in its lung, I switched it on.

It started spinning, tearing flesh from the very within of the beast, sending small pieces flying all over the place, a huge amount of black smoke emitted from the gapping hole my weapon left deep inside the bear's body. Fell over as it collasped, I panted and back away - my body was at its limit.

Neil was just as worn out when I collasped next to him and gave him a light scratch behind his ear. Slowly dug out the piece of broken antler with shaky hand, I buried mh face on his soft mane:

"How about a short nap ? What do you say, boy ?" His only answer was a weak lick on my cheek, and all I can managed to do was giggled before I fell into unconsciousness.

Epilogue:
"She's fine. So does the reindeer." Said the older Huntress as the little girl was placed down on the couch, "The wounds aren't life threatening, but they will leave scar."

"Just what is that thing ?" The young adult male pointed at the body of the dead bear after the hunters has managed to drag it back to town - it still continued to emit black smoke as the town people gathering around it.

"An Ursa. The report came in late, otherwise we would've been here sooner." Said the other Huntsman as he placed the broken piece of antler on the wooden table, "Your sister was holding onto this when we found her."

"What's the point ? They will grow back sooner of later." Snorted, the older sibling picked it up and going to toss it in the trashcan, but was stopped by his sister's weak protest.

"No... G-give it to m-..."

Another blanket was thrown over her, and Tatonga Musk scolded: "Be quiet and rest already Shorty. You're lucky that you didn't d-"

"Tatonga!" Their mother - a tall woman dressed in brown and white stood straight by the door frame with a hot bowl of water and a towel inside, a first aid bag dangling from her elbow, "If your sister wants to have it, give it to her."

The roughly 6'5 male grumbled something about special treatment before placed the object down in his younger sister's open hand, which she returned with a smile. The door was closed after he left the house, heading toward to the dead body of the Ursa to help their father moving it.

o0o

"Make yourself comfortable." Two cups of hot chocolate were placed on the table by the older woman as she smile gratefully at the two people who has helped bringing her daughter back home. The Huntress flashed a smile back before taking a sip from her cup, while her partner was focus on the girl lying on the couch in front of him.

"Tianee, is it ?" Received a weak nod from the girl, he slightly leaned back on the chair, "Have you ever gone to a combat school before ?"

"C-combat school ?" Shaking her head, the young girl replied, "Sorry, but we only have public school here in Neviah."

They both mused, seems to be in deep thoughts, before explained it to Tianee. Much to her surprise, there is another schooling system - one that taught how to fight. More specifically, how to fight Grimm, the monster that is similar to the one she encountered.

"So, what do you think, Tianee ?" The cup of steaming chocolate was placed back down, "You have potential, do you want to further polish it at Beacon ?"