The Kelpie's Cries (Completed)

Past Sins

Henry had been having the hardest time finding that girl. Even though he and her father were not working together anymore, even though they went their separate ways to create their own families years ago, he had told the man that if he would be there if he needed help concealing any secrets from anyone. Their occupation was cruel, he knew that and he had accepted the nature of the job but as the years passed he had become what other hunters would call 'soft'. Henry didn't have the heart to kill anymore unless it was to protect his own family. That child posed no threat, especially since she was mostly human, heck, she didn't even have shapeshifting abilities to fight back with; but his old pal had asked for his help and he wasn't one to not keep his word.

And so, he had set off to look for the girl and take her back to her father right after he had come to him. The man didn't want to get any blood on his hands. It was one favor to deal with and then he would go back to his normal life in Blue Peace. He still couldn't understand how he was accepted in the forest in the first place; it was supposed to be a sanctuary for fairies and other spirits, a safe haven for all beings magical to escape from a world reeking of humans and their ill intents. Maybe it was because Elizabeth, his wife, was a half blood witch but no one would approach him to confirm his thoughts. Elizabeth had told him that she didn't understand why no fairy had bothered to shoo them out of the forest; after all, Henry and the other man had murdered inhabitants of Blue Peace many times before. There was only one individual who despised him, who had tried to steal his son from him and kill him; he had not forgiven him for murdering part of his family yet. That individual was the white maned kelpie, the same one who had made friends with the girl.

They had managed to hunt down about four of those wicked water spirits in the forest back when they had first found it, they had been kicked from their home in Scotland and had found refuge in the first lake the two men encountered while they were wondering the gravel paths between the trees. Henry hadn't felt guilt about shooting those creatures back then and turning them into nothing but ashes with just one silver bullet right in front of their family members. However, after he married Elizabeth and having a son of his own; learning what having a family felt like, he couldn't help but feel disgusted by himself for what he had done to those the two men had poached. Quite often, guilt would flood his lungs since then and he felt like he couldn't breath, when all the memories were portrayed in his thoughts. Sometimes he thought that if he gave his Christian to the kelpie for him to do as he wished, that he would feel some sort of justice; that he would be liberated from the sins of his past. But he loved his wife and son, and he refused to let anything bad happen to them.

There were many more dryads moving through the paths than usual, he noticed. It was weird how all of them were moving around so fast, running away from something invisible to his eyes. Some had planted their roots in the ground to rest or to stay in the area but most didn't stop moving. Fairies were running around and the mockingbirds were abnormally loud with their croaks and their dragon immitations. Had something happened? And if so, what could have scared away dryads? Their trees would rarely be harmed whenever a fight would break out, since there was rarely any fire spewed in the battlefield and never had he caught sight of so many dryads migrating inland. It wasn't just trees, though.

Goldhorns, jackalopes, shapeshifters, evil and good spirits, some witches as well, were running with the trees. Some dryads even carried the children on their branches to make sure both them and their parents could make it to their destination. Amongst the crowd of creatures, there was a female elf who had greeted him once. She was travelling with seven children and a male elf who was probably her husband. All of them looked scared and a bit unsure about going any further so Henry approached them.

"Oi, elf!", he called and they all turned to look at him. The adults were about a leg tall, reaching up to his waist but the children were much smaller in size. The male growled at him and ushered the others forward along with the crowd, far away from the man. "What's happening?"

"Your kind is happening!", it was someone else who had spoken. The elf rushed to catch up with his family as Henry turned his head to find the source of the voice. It was a woman who had spoken. A woman atop the very kelpie that sought revenge on him. They had stopped just a meter away from him, the water spirit unsettled by the unexpected encounter and a girl sat in front of the woman on his back, trying to hide herself into the woman's robes. Wait a second! It was the child he was looking for. What is she doing with them? Oh right, her father had told him that she had mentioned the kelpie protecting her and other nonsense like that before when she had escaped him. Well, she was a child and she probably knew nothing of the kelpie's past for her to still be with him so, the man couldn't really blame her for anything. He shook his head slightly and then looked back at the woman. He had to learn about what was happening; now that he knew who she was with, it would be easy to retrieve her but keeping his family safe was a priority.

"What is happening?", he asked again in hopes of receiving an answer.
"Your kind has invaded the forest, they are killing all creatures their eyes can see. Go back to your wretched home and don't add yourself to the problem", were the woman's final words to him before she kicked the kelpie's sides to get him moving again.

Humans had invaded the forest but how was that possible? Had they followed someone in? Never had the forest opened its gates for no reason to humans. He had no idea why the forest had opened up to the two of them years ago but to allow an invasion that cause a massive migration? That was just unheard of.