Lovely (Ruby x Dyrroth)

one

It was a dark and silent night.

Ruby stood alone in the notorious Black Forest of the North Eastern Lands, shadowed by the tall trees that towered high above her.

It had been a long time since she'd last heard the howling of the wolves, but she wasn't about to be caught off guard. She had sworn that she would protect her village at all costs. The wolves were bloodthirsty and merciless, and without a trained fighter, the villagers wouldn't stand a chance.

If only Roger was back. Then she could relax for once, instead of having to be on maximum awareness at all times. It got tiring sometimes.

She heard the rustle of leaves from somewhere distant. Ruby instantly snapped to attention, her fingers inching towards the large crimson scythe that lay not far from her on the forest floor.

Just as her hand closed around the handle of the heavy scythe, she heard more rustles in the woods, this time coming from seemingly much nearer.

Damn it, she thought. For a moment, a hint of fear spiked through her. She would be rusty after several weeks of not battling wolves.

The constant rustling noises were followed swiftly by a familiar howling noise.

It seems I've got no choice.

Ruby stood up smoothly, holding her giant scythe in an iron grip. The howling was gradually getting louder, and she braced herself for the moment the moment the wolves would leap out from the dark depths of the forest.

She readied her stance, eyes scanning her surroundings, all senses alert.

She heard the faintest, most unnoticeable sounds of disturbed leaves from her left. Ruby jerked her head in that direction, wide-eyed.

Here goes nothing.

She spotted a pair of glowing scarlet eyes blinking at her from between two bushes, and she stiffened.

Another pair of eyes, peeking out from the darkness. A low and menacing growl sounded, and Ruby tensed for the attack.

A large and vicious figure suddenly leaped out at her, hissing through its clenched fangs, and Ruby swung her scythe back, hefting it with all her strength. Just as its open jaws were inches from her face, she sliced forwards, her blade sinking into the wolf's flesh and drawing an arc of blood.

The wolf whimpered and retreated, only a few steps.

The back of Ruby's neck prickled. She was being watched. Behind you...

She whirled around just as a vicious black shape flew at her, and as she dodged sideways, she caught the front of the wolf by the blade of her scythe and flung it away from her wildly. Her arms ached from the combined weight of the wolf and her scythe.

Ruby saw from the corner of her eye that the first wolf was about to pounce again and, not having enough time to ready her stance, she spun her scythe around her in two big circles, whirling around on her toes.

As the wolf leaped within a meter of her, it was knocked backwards by her spinning scythe, and Ruby was caught off balance by the impact.

Sometimes, her scythe really was a little oversized for her, as much as she didn't want to admit it.

Gritting her teeth and brushing several blonde locks out of her face, she jumped back upright and took off towards the injured wolf in a sprint, preparing to claim its life.

Once she had done that, she whipped her head back around to look at the other wolf, only to realise that while she was distracted, around four more vicious black wolves and joined the one from earlier.

Ruby sighed almost nonchalantly, twirling her scythe around in her right hand expertly. 'You guys are damn frustrating, you know that?' she muttered, meeting their bloodthirsty gazes.

This will not end well for you, monsters who killed my grandparents.