Jolting awake, his heart pounding, Vestri reached for his knife as he eyed his surroundings. His small campfire was faintly glowing embers, the moon hanging low in the sky with the stars twinkling above the plains. He was near the ruins of a village, all the way at the edge of that map he was given months ago. Not a pair of green eyes in sight. He steadied his breath and tried to slow his heart. There were no green eyes anywhere he could see.

o0o0o
Even so far away, the memory was so fresh, so clear, so primal. He had never experienced a hunt like that. After finding the grove Skógerblóði was to be in, gathering with the other hunters – and Gisla and Vogel who had been chosen by Skógerblóði to join this hunt. The six of them, Njords all, to face this hunt. Vestri was so proud to stand with them, he felt they would be unable to even smell defeat.

How wrong he was, and yet, how right.
o0o0o

He turned his knife over in his hands, studying the blade carefully – its scratches so apparent in the dim, cold light of the moon. Slowly he ran his thumb along the flat of the blade, feeling them.

When they were surrounded, Vestri was the first to fall – his shame – the Father bringing him back to the fight, and then, when they scattered, hearing them descend on Gisla while he just fled. As he ran through the woods, no matter what direction he looked – another spawn, his lungs hot, he was far more sure of his step than he had any right to be, his legs carrying him back to where he remembered losing Gisla. And there was everyone… except Java. As Gisla got back on her feet and pointedly abandoned her shield, Vestri looked at Vogel. There was no need for words, they both understood. A nod, and Vogel went to face the spawn, and the rest charged into the woods – there was only one other place the spirit could be…

His heart was no longer pounding in his ears, his breathing regular. He took one deep breath and let out the heavy sigh, willing this nightmare to leave him in peace.

o0o0o
Carefully moving with Eskel as he ambushed the few pursuing spawn, he heard the call – and saw the single pair of eyes in the distance. It had to be The Horned one. Running up the hill to find Java, defiant, brandishing the knife she’d only been given perhaps a half hour before steeled his resolve. Charging in to face the spirit before it could do more harm to their mage friend. While they traded blows with the spirit, Gisla and Eskel almost being hit by a tree thrown by the spirit, Father Erasmus pelting it with arrows, Vestri himself desperately trying to break its hold on Gisla. After an eternity of fighting, Java, from behind and her knife leveled, finally silenced the spirit of the forest and its animals. Then a cry of triumph, battered though they were.
o0o0o

Putting his knife away properly, Vestri laid his head back down on his pack, and pulled his bedroll close to ward off the creeping chill of the late summer night. He stared blankly at the stars above him, his eyes open, but unseeing.

o0o0o
Calling for Vogel as they cleared a few lingering spawn in the woods, Vestri became increasingly anxious. How long had it been since they left him to hold off the spawn? Vogel had already been saved by the Father once, was he going to be alright? A glimpse of his cloak by a bush, and he and Gisla broke into a sprint. Vogel lay there, barely breathing with awful wounds and an empty quiver. The Father was quick to administer to him, and Vestri looked around – there were no arrows that missed their mark. What if they had given Vogel a knife? He offered a shoulder to help get Vogel back to town. He’d saved us all, saved this hunt. “It wouldn’t’ve been a bad way to die” he’d said to Vestri in a ragged breath with a wry smile.
o0o0o

Closing his eyes, he resolved he would find his way back to them. He would protect his friends, just as they had protected him. As the night deepened, Vestri found his resolve returning. He would not be defined by his fears; instead, he would rise above them, ready for whatever challenges lay ahead. He let sleep take him once again, this time into a dreamless slumber.