Time to Strike!
The bow felt incredibly light in her tiny hands, almost weightless compared to the heavy irons of responsibility she felt invisibly clasp around her wrists, neck and ankles. In all her wildest dreams, even after being introduced to the Quincy and recruited into their ranks as a loyal Soldat, she would have never thought her fight assignment would require her to hunt a man. No, she corrected herself, wiping dampness from her brow. No, not a man. A misguided soul aligned with the Shinigami, an unforgivable cur deserving of naught but the tip of her arrow. Could she fulfil such a vital duty as this? Take the after-life of an individual, banish them to nothingness without knowing so much as their name?
Perhaps it wasn't necessary. One did not stop to converse with the carrot before crunching down it; it would be a useless exercise in misplaced humility after all. The Shinigami were a far greater evil than anything she assumed she would face so early in her training. but she did recognized the necessity. Still... a man? Or woman? Or perhaps even... a child such as herself?
She scolded herself again, fist clenched around the slender reishi construct in her palm. It didn't matter how innocent the opposition looked. Who could say for sure just how many hollow had been needlessly revived as a plus soul with a smack on the back of the head and a meal ticket to a blameless afterlife? Pointless to even consider it, yes.
Her target turned out to be just as greenhorn as she herself, perhaps even more so in some respects. The girl she spied on from afar couldn't have been much older than she was, yet already she walked with a confident air of arrogance that left a sour taste at the back of her throat. Luckily, it seemed as this one only carried an asauchi, or what she assumed was one given her studies, for the blade was dull and lacklustre in design and had hardly any unique flair to it at all. Lillian caught herself before her smile could fully form. It would be unseemly to gain any pleasure from the hunt before it had even begun and before she was able to assure her success. She knew she was being watched by a Sternritter too. Somewhere out there, hidden in the dark folds of the evening sky, there was a ripple that was entirely absent unless you knew exactly where and how to look.
The girl she spied upon seemed to be in no great rush, and apparently hadn't detected the call of fate howling to her on the wind. So, she didn't know her name. So what? It was probably bad practice, but she couldn't keep referring to the Shinigami as 'her' in her head either. Wetting her chapped lips with a tongue that was almost as dry, she came to a decision. This one would be known as 'Shinigami #1'.
Still... her hands couldn't help but quiver until the bow in her hand fluctuated dangerously for a second. Her breathing was out of sync with the logical rhythm of her mind, and instead chased the flurry of her pounding heart. And, so, it was back to the most important question of the evening - could she just kill this soul without truly knowing their crimes?
An answer came. Muted, but with purpose. It whispered in her ear, surprising her with the tenderness of its tone and the reassurance of its warmth. "Of course you can do this, child. I promise we would not have given you a task you were not yet ready to see through. I understand the terrors of uncertainty but do not feel them myself this eve - you're capable, bright and have a good heart. You know what you must do. For YHWH."
YHWH.
She had not earned the absolute honour of meeting her kind's grandsire, but the name provoked a visceral flash of warmth throughout her, as though she had just been called to dinner with family who loved and cared for her, who provided safety and reassurance and unconditional trust. YHWH. Yes. She knew what she must do and steeled herself for the cause.
Her bow solidified with a subtle teal ripple of energy, responding to her confidence as easily as a bird takes to first flight from the nest. Fly? Glide? Or fall, to be absorbed by the great circle of life? Ah! At least if she did fail here she would know a great circle, rather than a sudden and complete stop. Better to die at the hands of a Shinigami than a hollow, after all.
"Child." The voice called to her again, and she felt the hidden Sternritter smile patiently. She had missed the lesson it seemed, but it was not too late to learn. "It is indeed better to die in the pursuit of the Shinigami, but you must remember, a single Soldatten can match lower seated officers of their ranks with embarrassing ease, and this one is a mere recruit. Before you, they are but a chick spied by the eye of a hawk and must obey inevitability accordingly. It is impossible to fight against the tides of circumstance as you well know, but this one will be granted a quick and painless death, heralded by the whistle of your arrow and the slow, creeping descent into tranquil dark."
This time, her smile broadened true, and she felt her reservations about her feelings start to waiver. Ah, but her hidden Sternritter guide was something of a poet, and his words soothed her conscience. It was easier to justify the taking of a life when an older, more experienced and far more trusted member of the Wandenreich guided your arrow! She raised her bow. She could almost feel the answering smile on his face - however it looked, anyway. For all she knew, it was a woman!
Shinigami #1 strode across the road to a nearby streetlight, unconcerned and just as blissfully unaware as she was when she had started her routine patrol three hours prior. She was the only Shinigami in a two mile radius, and her patrol had taken her through several busy streets and highways until she returned to the quieter start of her route. Lillian watched with eager interest as Shinigami #1 slumped against the light with a hopeless expression. No doubt bored to tears from the uneventful shift she had been assigned, but her hunter couldn’t empathise with that part of her at all. Lillian herself sat high above her, and though the sheer distance between the ledge she had crouched down on and the street cobble below had made her sickeningly dizzy to begin with, the cool night air restored her blood pressure and she found she could breathe easier than before. It was as though a burden had slipped from her shoulders.
She formed an arrow, watching as the trickling reishi made beautiful patterns in the dark. Shinigami #1 glanced around, suddenly uneasy. It wasn't a large amount of reishi, Lillian thought, focusing her aim as her Sternritter escort laughed quietly in her ear; this one must have some sort of undeveloped gift for the sensory arts.
"Go ahead. One arrow. Quick, painless, peaceful." the voice spoke seductively. Lillian's arrow shook for but a moment before she let it fly loose, and fly true it did with a musical, chime-like tinkling. Zipping through the night with speed enough to tear through any air resistance with shocking ease, it met its target with deadly accuracy a mere fraction of a second after it left her bow.
"A natural!" the hidden Sternritter applauded with quiet gusto. An image appeared in her mind, two disembodied hands clapping enthusiastically as though they had watched a particularly skillful shot in a game of golf. Lillian felt her cheeks redden at the attention - it was distraction enough for another Sternritter to appear in the street below, remove the body with practiced ease and vanish into shadow once more. She hadn't seen the result of her work first hand, for she had been incredibly flustered at the praise. As she took a second glance back however, all that remained was a startling shock of red against the grey pavement, droplets flung backwards from the point Shinigami #1 stained the ground. She shuddered, reality returning to her. She felt the blood drain from her face quickly, as though she had been turned on her head. A heavy hand clasped her shoulder and she almost jumped from her perch.
"Easy now little skylark. You've done very well. His highness will be pleased with your progress. Come, let us return to the Fortress of Solitide, I've prepared a hot cup of chocolate and some comfy pillows to ease your shaking."
She said not a word as she was steered into the void - somehow, there were none to express the guilt and horror.
[~fin]