No one but Autumn.

Breathe in....

The Hedge holds me close as I crouch in a small copse, my bow resting in my hand, the weight familiar and comforting as the vines and thorns press against me like a eager lover. I look through the boughs watching the horrid creature as it feasts upon it's latest kill. My right hand moves back and feels the soft and comforting fletching of my arrows.

Breathe out...

These creatures have been my life since my "escape" from Arcadia. This Hedge is full of the foul beasts I now know as Briar Wolves. They hunt me endlessly, and I return the favor. We have both had victories and losses, I now bear more scars then I care to think of and their numbers dwindle day by day. It is just me and them and we cannot coexist.

Breathe in...

I draw the arrow ever so slowly, my own ears incapable of hearing the shaft as it is slides from my quiver. The Briar Wolf pauses in it's feast one ear flipping my direction. I freeze holding the breathe I just took in, my arm grasping the arrow slowly cramping as I focus on not moving. A tense and admittedly terrifying minute passes and the beast returns to it's meal.

Breathe out...

Through out these past months that consisted of nothing but hunting and being hunted, I have learned fear...fear in it's truest form. There is no such thing as conquering fear, it is a fallacy, a turn of phrase that makes people feel invincible, as if they have truly defeated something that is unbeatable. Fear will always be there, waiting, lurking, there is no conquering fear, there is only understanding fear. Once you know why you are afraid of something it is no longer a weapon against you, but a weapon for you.

Breathe in...

The Hedge, my true fear, reluctantly releases me from it's embrace, allowing my arm to bring the arrow about and notch the shaft. My feet slide across the soft ground bringing one knee to rest upon the ground stabilizing myself for the shot that was to come. The Briar Wolf stops it's feast and suddenly goes tense...

Breathe out...

Upon my understanding of fear I felt myself make a deal, someone or something unseen reached out to me it offered guidance and understanding. Asking in return for service on a level, and support of a belief structure on another. I somehow naturally understood what was being asked, and I agreed. That was the moment Autumn blessed me, and laid upon me the mantle of responsibility that has grown throughout these year.

Breathe in...

I drew my bow the tell tale creak of the bending wood echoing throughout the Hedge, as if the Hedge itself was announcing and approving the intent of the action. The Briar Wolf's tense body turns ever so slowly, bringing it's all to human eyes and bloodstained maw to face me. It stares at me hard, our eyes making contact and in this moment both she and I know how this is going to end.

Breathe out.