Feathers & a Dash of Magic

Chapter 27: That's... That's Not Good

CW: blood, gore, animal death, human death, sexist behavior, panic (this is probably one of the most intense chapters I've written in a while)

Virgil listened to the sound of running water with a smile as he drew a nearby bird that was pecking at the ground for bugs. It was pretty early in the morning, so he didn't know when Roman would arrive, but he didn't mind. That just gave him some time to himself to do whatever he would like.

So he was filling the pages in his sketchbook with whatever he found around him. Leaves, branches, animals, he already had a page full of all of it. He smiled when the bird looked up at him, only for it to drop in disappointment when it flew away. He hadn't finished drawing it yet!

Then he caught the scent of gunpowder. He looked behind him and strained his ears, managing to hear what sounded like leaves crunching from far away. He caught his breath, realizing it was getting louder, only to jump when he heard a gunshot.

He dropped his sketchbook, scrambling to his feet as he looked for somewhere to hide. Virgil's mind worked fast as it sounded like something galloping towards him, it was a deer. Oh stars, it could lead the hunters to him.

Glamour. He had to use his glamour, he would run too slow. But he can't cover that much space for long. What should he do?

The moment he heard barking, his hands worked before he knew what he was doing. He took off his cloak and ran to the nearest tree, putting the cloak over himself and using his glamour on it to make it look like it was part of the tree.

Footsteps came closer and through the glamour Virgil could see the deer. Dogs were chasing it and it took everything in the fairy to whimper in fear. He remembered the hunting dogs chasing him and his father through the dark woods.

One of the dogs bit onto the deer's leg, another jumped in front of it. The deer tripped and fell, the third and last dog jumping on it's back. There was a whistle and the dogs got out of the way as the deer tried to get up and run, but it was too slow.

Virgil closed his eyes as a gunshot from nearby, and he heard something big and heavy fall to the floor. There were four sets of boots, and the smell of gunpowder and blood filled the air. The fairy could feel his heart beating fast and sweat bead on his forehead. Please leave, go away, don't find him.

"Good job you three," one of the hunters said. Virgil heard clicking and assumed the dogs were put on leashes, which was almost relieving if it weren't for the fact that they were all still there. At least it sounded like they were on the other side of the tree he was hiding behind.

"Alright, who wants to carry this guy?" another hunter asked, making the others laugh. "I carried the last one, one of you three get to carry this one."

"Jake shot it, he should carry it!" one argued.

"Nuh uh, I ain't carrying shit. I killed it, someone else carries, and someone else skins," the other, presumably Jake, told them.

A dog barked and Virgil heard one of them say. "Quit it, what are you sniffing for?"

"Hey look at that, it looks like someone's book!" The fairy heard footsteps leading toward where he was last sitting. "It doesn't look like it was here long. Maybe someone's nearby?"

"Probably someone from that rotten village, Matela."

A man laughed, "Didn't Eric embarrass himself a while ago by getting in a fight there?"

"Shut your mouth, you wouldn't have won a fight with that guy by yourself either!" Eric shouted. Virgil had to hold his breath to keep himself from making a sound, tears forming in his eyes from fear.