The Adventures of the Barbarian . . . and Friends!
__________V The Hunt__________
Now, at last, the barbarian's attention was sparked and he began to listen with deep dedication to the tale of battle as it unfolded. Like an overly eager child, one fur-lined boot after the other stepped in front of the fox to halt his wandering as the huge man leaned forward with wide-eyes and open ears.
That familiar look of distinguished importance only royalty could carry washed over the sleek, red body of the little fox as he stopped his pace and continued his story at full speed, seeming to breath in the attention. But just as the two became comfortable and in good story-telling/listening mood, their ears were disturbed by the sounds of a shriek of terror.
"Chirp?" the blue jay asked as it shook awake from its furry nest under the barbarian's chin while the man and the fox both went slack-jawed, looking in the direction of the sound's origin.
"A woman in trouble," the barbarian stepped forth, ready to investigate.
"Not a woman. That, my friend, is the distinct mating call of a young virgin maiden!" the fox explained as his little sable paws dashed forward, carrying him like a little red streak across the forest floor past the large man.
"Mating call?" the barbarian questioned as he stormed forward, cupping one hand over the crying baby bird once again to make sure it didn't fall down. He followed the little white tail-tip as it darted around bushes and over rocks.
"Yes, she screams and a potential mate comes to the rescue staking his claim on her hand in marriage. Just watch the master in action and take notes."
Their journey was not long, and the fox hid himself easily under the leaves of a bush at a clearing's edge while the barbarian stooped behind it and they beheld a frightening sight. A terrified maiden sat upon the grass pressing her hands to her mouth; in her lap sat the sleeping head of their unicorn friend who's curled up body lay tucked up next to the girl, in fact he looked rather peaceful and comfortable as he slept in complete naivety to the situation around him. For looming over the trembling maiden were four men in dark cloaks, swords at hand as they readied to strike the slumbering beast.
The barbarian felt rather odd in the fact that his hand had not yet pulled his sword, instead he remained knelt behind the bush watching the men from between leafy branches. Indeed, the curse had been lifted because even the glint of waning moonlight off the blades did not send him into a berserkering rage.
"Pity neither of us are magicians . . . " the fox whispered from his crouch near the roots of the brush, "Or then one of us could change the unicorn into a prince and his horn into a sword, sit back and watch him take out these guys only to end up marrying the poor girl. Oh well, suppose we'll just have to do with a distraction instead. I was thinking we could start with a--"
Before the fox could finish his plan, however, the barbarian had already pulled his sword, standing to his full height, elbow swinging like a hinge. The blade flew forth causing a large spark and loud clash of metal as it struck one of the men's raised weapons, swiping it clean out of his grasp. And before the other men could so much as gasp in reaction, the un-cursed berserker's sword landed at the base of a large branch, slicing it from the trunk and causing it to topple down upon the heads of the unsuspecting attackers gathered next to the unicorn and the girl.
"--Or we can do that . . . " the fox dashed forward, bravely scampering up to the last man standing, the men struggling under their leafy prison, the frightened virgin, and the napping white beast.
The attacker who had lost his sword glared from beneath the shadow of his deep hood as his gaze locked with that of the barbarian. Then, his eyes parted from the stare long enough to glance at the sleeping beast, the speechless maiden, and his broken sword until his gaze passed his struggling companions and met the huge blade stabbing into the nearby tree.
"Men are not allowed here in Unicorn's Forest! Be gone!" the barbarian bellowed, his heavy steps carried him loudly forward in only a few strides as he approached the man, lifted his boulder of a fist, and shot his knuckle forward to drive a deep punch into the face of the hunter who's inferior body-mass collapsed backwards upon the attack's landing. As his back hit the grass with a skidding thud, the unicorn's potential executioner slid a few feet before going limp.
Meanwhile, as the barbarian stood menacingly over the whimpering woman and the horned stag, the three other men had been wrestling their freedom from beneath the branch, lifting their swords in revenge for their fallen companion.
But as the humans were stumbling to their feet, the fox had reached his destination, confidently winking at the fair maiden in reassurance, "Fear not, m'lady, I, Prince Ernil Astaldo, shall allow no harm to come to you . . . Nap-time's over, buddy, wake up!" With that, his rows of sharp little teeth closed around the long, slender tail of the white beast causing a violent shudder to race up the velvety skin of the unicorn from the bitten spot all the way to his flared nostrils.
"Ow! Wha--?" Cloudy lids lifted to reveal a deep, dreamy gaze of shadowy-violet as the unicorn's muscles tensed, slender legs curled and cloven hooves leapt weightlessly from the ground as he danced to a stand.
"Don't just stand there and look pretty; that's her job!" the fox scolded as he immediately took the place of the unicorn's head upon the maiden's lap, "Forgive him, m'lady, he's a bit new at this. But do not worry yourself, for I am not." Sable ears sliding back as he curled to a sit, tucking his bushy tail around himself. The prince smoothly turned his pointed snout up to face the maiden, gaining her attention with his calm, soothing words.
As two long ears lifted and swivelled around, the unicorn stumbled to gain his composure as confusing sounds filled the air around him. With the grace of a new fawn, he tripped to the side swinging his gaze about to notice the barbarian charging towards him. Heavy footsteps and the crazed cawing of a terrified chick radiated from that direction while the violent rustling of leaves, snapping wood, and ringing metal sounded at the enchanted beast's rear.
With the thick fur cloak billowing behind him in the wind of his own charge, the barbarian galloped up beside his little white friend and swung his fist once more catching a man's chest as his sword was pulled back in mid-swing.
And in a simultaneous action, the unicorn leapt up to his hind legs, arcing his long neck around until horn met steel, holding the hunter from stumbling aside with the barbarian's punch and instead, directing his fall into the path of an approaching attacker at his heels.
As one man stumbled into the path of an other, knocking aside the rhythm of their attack, the barbarian continued forward and closed his grasp around the third man, squeezing the sword from his hand.
In a balletic twirl, the unicorn swung around to face the stumbling would-be unicorn hunters and stabbed forth in a very practised charge, driving the coiling lance of ivory through the soft flesh of the mortals, pinning the back of the rear-most man to a tree while the chest of the other hugged tightly to the base of his horn. The men gurgled and writhed, their limbs shaking, bodies shuddering as a stream of red gushed onto the forehead of the Forest Guardian as he held his place, taking the lives of the trespassers. Gradually the strength of the man's grasp as his hands desperately clutched the unicorn's skull, and the force of shuffling feet kicking in agony at the ground began to fade.
Holding the unarmed man by the neck as the tips of the hunter's boots helplessly scraped the ground, the barbarian turned to look at what the unicorn was doing. He couldn't help but feel slightly disturbed as he watched the human-ka-bobs struggling weakly as their strength ran out and blood streamed down the snow white face of his friend. As he listened to the dying squeals coming from the two, he winced a little before turning to face the man in his grasp whose face had begun to turn colours and fingers desperately tugged at the barbarian's grip. As the loud, piercing bursts of noise erupting from the tiny bird's wide mouth continued at a constant pace, the barbarian simply brought his free hand up, balled into a fist, and slammed it down atop the cloaked man's skull to quicken his death. And letting the limp body fall in rhythm with the two parting from the unicorn's horn, he couldn't help but twist his face into a sour expression realizing that a horn to the chest could have been his own fate.
The air had began to turn gold with the new light which shimmered off the unicorn's perfect coat, only causing greater contrast to the deep crimson coating his muzzle as he lifted his face to the large man once again.
With a nod to the enchanted beast, he lifted his large hand to the crying bird once again and attempted to soothe its temper, chin lowered and breaths forced into "shh"ing sounds.
But before any words could be spoken to signify their victories, their attentions were suddenly drawn to a painful yelp and a streak of a red body flailing its sable limbs helplessly through the air. There was a loud, twig-snapping swish as the prince found himself landed in the bush he had previously used as cover, "He's getting away!" and brisk steps carried the first hunter away with a squealing maiden thrown over one shoulder.
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