Blood In The Water | Pillarmen x Fem!Reader

3 | I Spy

(very sorry for the short chapter, i've had a horrible week and hope you understand)

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The sun rises high into the clouds, wafting the earth with its heat. Sweat rolls down (Y/n)s face in droves, leaving thick glistening streaks-- evidence of her struggle against the environment. 

The knife in her hand will do but a needles damage to the foaming beast in front of her, a panther with scars too many to count, and a hunger insatiable. Her pride caught her by her tongue as she pondered whether or not to call to the man she met but a few days earlier; shout for his help. But because she has never needed such a thing, she keeps herself quiet. 

Pale eyes reflect the hue of the sky, and the depth of the sea. They're sharp and unwavering, studying, set and locked onto its prey who is so sure of herself, so positive that she may survive. 

Beneath the scorching sun, as she was slashing her way through the underbrush, (Y/n) encountered something she wasn't prepared to face, and that was the true inhabitants of this islands jungle. Not the men that taunted her, the crabs that would pinch at her skin, or the snake that writhed along the trees' body; It was the true hunter, one of the apex predators, a leopard.

On the off chance she lives, (Y/n) will walk away with a new addition to this wild story she will one day tell, and an obsidian pelt to show for it. However, if she are to die, that cat will get one filling meal...

But no one is ready to die, and though everyone accepts the idea of the release from existence, the sensation of what freedom may truly be, no one wants to go through with it, because existence is an experience, and a privilege. (Y/n) is like any other, and because of that, she refuses to let this be where she falls.

"You'll lose if you fight with me, you nasty thing." She snarls, as though it could even understand a lick of what she was saying. "Every outcome, every ending this might have, you will die. But I suppose you don't really care, do you?"

It lunges at her, without warning, and the struggle begins. There's no way a human could ever hope to survive an attack like this, even with the slight chance of success. It's one of those things where whether you live or not is out of the question. Death should be ones mindset, and acceptance the key.

But when the panther cries out in a roar, stumbling and tilting, crashing on its side in fleeting breaths, (Y/n) reminds herself that fear is the silent killer. To give into it's tempting call to be afraid, is to surrender like a coward. 

Crimson blood leaks out of the gash in its side like ichor, and as it attempts to get up again, it's stabbed once more. Then again. Then again. Then so many times that the only movement that the panther makes is not of its own accord, and instead by the force of the knife ripping in and out of its flesh. 

The bite in her forearm is the least of her worries, (Y/n) knows, as the bigger threat is an infection finding its way into the wound. For now, she'll harvest and use what she can of the beasts corpse, and hopefully show that its death was not a waste. 

The bones can be sharpened into knives, daggers, and arrows. The pelt, fashioned into more clothes or even a blanket. Its teeth, turned to jewelry, and its fat and muscle, the perfect bait for fish.

Nothing will be left to be called garbage, because here, anything cast aside could mean failure of survival.

"I'm surprised that a human could take down one of the most dangerous things in this jungle on their own." A voice laughs from the shade between leaves; a many feet away, though dangerously close. "I'm impressed. You have my respect."

"Your respect means nothing to me, whoever you are." (Y/n) hisses, left to shakily grip her only hope of defense, the knife she used on the panther, in an arm that could barely function. If she was even a fracture weaker, she wouldn't be able to curl her fingers to hold the blade. 

"You will come to appreciate it in time. Has fighting these monsters always been a breeze for you?"

"The only monsters I've fought was other people; This was a first."

"I see... You interest me, you know. It could be that there hasn't been other life on this island for years, it could be that I'm lonesome here, but the reason doesn't much matter. I've been watching you for a while now, and fortunately for you, you've seemed to grow on me."

This was the man she had debated about calling to, the one she was sure would be one of the biggest bother here. Kars.

And something told her, something in the back of her cold and calculated mind, that he wasn't going to leave her be.