"Because they kill Moles!" I hissed. "I don't have a fucking tail, so I'll use a gun!"
He nodded, accepting that. Then, "This way." And he pulled me into the gap beside one house and another. "The Moles will search the streets, trying to find anyone outside. They may break into houses, if they can. We need to push them out before anyone gets hurt, and time is running out."
"But Zasen..." I said, looking back towards where we'd come from.
"He'll be fine," Kanik promised. "Ayla, we need to get further down the street so we can push them out. If we kill enough, they always leave."
"I don't like shooting around the houses," I told him as I followed where he led. "Kanik, the bullets can go through the walls. I need to aim where it can't hit anything so no one dies."
"No one?" he asked.
"No one important," I corrected.
Together, Kanik and I made our way to the far end of the neighborhood, and then pushed our way back, slowly moving closer and closer to the city wall. The pops of gunshots were slowing down, but Kanik assured me there would always be a few stragglers waiting for someone to poke their head out of a house.
Like Zasen, Kanik used a set of krael. Unlike Zasen, his were shaped with more spike than blade. He also had a small bow across his body the same way I did, but his arrows had black feathers. As we walked, he hung his krael from his belt and pulled his bow away from his body, getting an arrow ready, just in case.
Quietly, we snuck around houses, looking in every corner for someone wearing black. He kept his tail up and ready the whole time. The very end of it was vibrantly purple. That shifted to dark brown quickly and his polka dots grew in size the closer to his torso they got.
He was lovely. I wasn't sure how I'd never noticed that before, but as I followed him through the eerily silent street, I was stuck staring at the rippling muscles of his back and legs. This man was the ultimate hunter. He was made to not be seen. Even his pretty coloration blended into the night, it seemed.
Step by step, we kept moving. When a gun fired only a few houses over, I had to struggle not to yelp in fear, but Kanik didn't have that problem. Following the sound, he ran, leaving me to belatedly chase after him.
Then a woman began screaming.
"I'm saving you," a man snarled in English, so I ran a little faster, coming around a house just as Kanik slammed into the hunter. His tail hit first, but he didn't stop to let the venom take effect. Kanik just hacked and slashed, spinning around like he was some kind of whirlwind.
Behind him, the woman was backing away. Her shirt was ripped at the shoulder, as if the hunter had been dragging her, but she was tailless! I hurried towards her, thinking I was helping, but the sight of me - or my gun - made her scream again.
The sound brought more of the Moles. While Kanik was busy dealing with the one man, another stepped into view with his weapon raised, but I spotted him first.
"Drop it!" I warned him in English, aiming my own at his head.
"What?" the man gasped, completely confused.
"Drop the gun," I ordered. "Step away from it. Guns are dangerous and these are people!"
Then he chuckled. "I remember you. You're that bitch we hung out, aren't you?"
"Ayla!" Kanik yelled.
I ignored him and pulled the trigger, knowing I had my shot lined up. Naturally, it missed, so I stopped trying and just shot. The hunter shot back, but before his gun could go off a second time, he dropped, one of my rounds finally connecting.
"Is everyone okay?" I asked in Vestrian, turning back to check on the woman.
Kanik was kneeling over the Mole he'd killed, but nodding. The woman was cowering against another house. I had no clue how she hadn't been shot, but I wasn't going to question that right now.
"You need to be inside," I told her.
The woman's eyes flicked over to me. For a moment, she just stared in fear, and then she ran. Beside me, Kanik pushed himself to his feet, but I saw a red mark across his arm.
"You're hit," I gasped.
"Cut," he corrected. "The man had a knife. It's okay. I'm okay," he promised.
Grabbing my arm, he pulled me forward, but as we passed the body of the hunter I'd shot, I saw the mess on the ground. A bloody, disgusting mess. No, that had been his head and brain. My stomach twisted in disgust, but I pushed it down, knowing I didn't have time for this. Sadly, my mind jumped back to why they were here.
Hunting.
Dragons.
Meat.
I couldn't stop. I couldn't allow myself to think about that - it made me too angry. I also couldn't hear any gunshots, so maybe it was already over?
"Are they gone?" I asked.
"I don't know," he said gently. "Probably not. Not yet."
I just nodded and started walking again.
"Ayla," he begged, jogging a step to catch up with me. "Let me take you to one of the houses. You'll be safe."
"No."
"Ayla..."
I turned to glare at him. "No! I can help, Kanik. I am helping. I'm also so shitting tired of being weak and helpless and.... I don't know!"
