Private Silk and Feathers, Iron and Blood

Kait

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The last week had lit a fire in Aranea's soul. Lebeda might have seen it in her - righteous fury. Barely contained rage. Perhaps even hunger. In the planning phases of this, with Lebeda, she had gone on a couple tangents about the people she would be using her brand new iron weapons on. Her emotions were on her sleeve.

Aranea wasn't doing this on anyone else's time but her own. She was not doing this rescue in a professional capacity as a scout - the scouts may not even know that this place existed. This gave her and Lebeda quite a bit of freedom she didn't normally get to enjoy.

Now, the two women had entered the fae realm where most of the kidnapped swan maiden slaves were kept. It was night-time. Aranea had found a wealthy fae home for them to target, home to a trio of enslaved maidens. Their owners, as these worms no doubt liked to think of themselves, could never have prepared themselves for what Aranea and Lebeda had in store for them.

Before they approached that home, Aranea turned to Lebeda. "Are you ready?"

 

Fox Tarts

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Lebeda tested the draw of her bow. The very same bow she practiced with daily, simple but strong. Today, however, she would not use her practice arrows, but ones cold iron tipped and terribly sharp. Throughout all of their planning, and Aranea's tangents, Lebeda was quiet. She held a serious and grim demeanor as she knew all to well the dangers and realities of this mission.

When Aranea asked if she was ready Lebeda did not hesitate. "Yes." She said, the look in her eyes was as hard as steel. Here, in the fae realm, she could feel the pain of the swan maidens. Their suffering a harsh wind that scraped Lebeda's very soul raw. Her heart yearned to cry for them, but she must be strong. I will be strong. "This way." Lebeda said, pointing towards a not too distant building. "I can sense swan maidens there."
 

Kait

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Aranea nodded. Following along and keeping her voice low, she asked: "Can you sense where their robes are being kept?"

The last time she had snuck into one of these places, she hadn't been able to find the robes, and she knew she wouldn't be able to leave without them. Her fear was that those robes would be held elsewhere, where they would be harder to find - and from what she understood, leaving without those robes might be a bad idea.

Aranea pulled out one of the iron knives she was carrying and quickly spun some a line of spider-silk to attach it to.

Either way, this wasn't a terrible place to start. "I'll go in through the front entrance. Watch the back. Don't let anyone out who isn't a swan maiden." Just like they'd talked about. If any of the fae got out, they might come back with friends. Aranea and Lebeda didn't want that.
 

Fox Tarts

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Where their robes are. . . Lebeda felt the maiden's pain, it was so intense. "N-no, I can only feel the maidens themselves. They might know where their robes are. . . I can sense where mine is when separated from it." For this mission Lebeda sought magic to keep her own robe secure around her shoulders. Lebeda shared Aranea's sentiments in that the robes should not be left behind.

"Let's move," Lebeda said and they were off. Aranea went to her position, and Lebeda took up her own at the back of the building. She nocked her bow and aimed it just to the left of the door frame. Any fae unfortunate enough to come running out will be quickly disabled by Lebeda's keen aim.
 

Kait

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Somebody was knocking on the front door. This was more than a little unsettling, because their magic didn't tell them they had a visitor. Of the elves who lived here, Aimar was the closest to the door, so he went to go check who their guest might be.

His hand was on the doorknob when it burst open, colliding directly with his face. He stumbled backwards and fell on his back, hands flying up to his now-bleeding nose. Now, he could feel it - the iron. This person was covered in iron. He looked up and saw her, four eyes filled with righteous fury, chitinous hands holding an iron knife attached to a line of silk.

"You owe the maidens a debt," she said.

Confusion and fear washed over Aimar. "W-what?" Still covering his nose, Aimar scooted backwards across the floor, trying to build distance between himself and this terrifying... woman? Monster?

"You've wronged them," the woman continued, "and we're here to collect."

She was on him before he could protest.

****** ****** ******​

They weren't ready to defend themselves from something like this. One of the fae men burst out through the back door. His unnaturally beautiful face was marred with an angrily bleeding gash. His hands were bleeding and burned from contact with something iron. His leg dripped blood as he limped. He fought through the pain, going as fast as he could.

Directly into Lebeda's line of sight.
 

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The back door burst open, a fae man emerged, bloody and injured. Lebeda released her iron arrow and her aim was true. The arrow lodged itself in his shoulder, and at this short distance the tip went deep and the momentum pushed him back through the doorway. Lebeda took a breath and nocked another arrow before she could think too much.

Through the open door she could hear the fighting within. She felt the maiden's panic, their fear. Don't be afraid, Lebeda wanted to shout. Don't be afraid, your goddess is here for you. The man was rolling on the ground, moaning in pain. Lebeda ignored him and focused her aim, ready for her next unfortunate target.
 
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