Raven

Raven was no stranger to the stench of death; the cries of war were something she and her team had long been accustomed to hearing. That was the cost of war, of living in a world ruled by monsters, the cost of being human. Raven had learned long ago never to look an enemy in the eye while pulling a blade from their chest or slicing their throat.

She had learned to focus on the sound of her own breathing rather than that of lifeless bodies thudding to the ground or soldiers screaming as they watched their friends fall. Raven had learned never to wonder if those she had killed on the battlefield had families at home, wives, husbands or children praying for their return.

There were some sounds of war, however, that Raven had begun to enjoy hearing. Something of a quick relief from the desperation to curl inside herself and shut out the broken world around her.

“Four!” a tall man yelled as he swung his blade through the throat of a solider in red.

He moved with grace and precision across the battlefield. His white hair was stained pink from blood and his usual stunning blue eyes were now darkened in exhaustion.

Though Raven would never say it out loud, even in his exhausted state Theo was still wonderfully a handsome teammate.

“Seven!” Raven heard a women’s voice yell across to Theo as she sent an arrow flying straight past his head and through the eye of a soldier.

Theo spun around to watch the solider fall just inches behind him.

Raven could have sworn the look on his face resembled that of shock, but it was quickly replaced with his usual, playful grin.

It would appear that some of her team had been keeping score of how many times they had saved each other on the battlefield. As inappropriate as it seemed at first, Raven had grown to love the games that Theo and Ezra played while at war. Sometimes it was the only thing that kept her alive.

“That doesn’t count, I had it,” Theo complained as he prepared for his next challenger.

“Maybe someone should have rested last night rather than hitting on everything that moved, maybe then he wouldn't be so sloppy with his sword today.” the woman spat in response as she fired another arrow hitting a woman twenty metres across the field.

“Oh love, I'm never sloppy with my sword.”

“Slut.”

“Prude.”

As much as they fought with each other, Raven couldn’t help but admire the way Ezra and Theo fought together. They were like ballroom dancers following perfect choreography, always knowing not only what their next five moves were, but also their partners.

“Would both of you shut up, now is not the time!” a deep voice growled. Raven didn’t have to look to know the voice belonged to their team captain, Zayne. Raven had never seen someone fight with such grace and efficiency. Zayne planned ahead as he fought, knowing where he would be in ten movements at all times. He was the team mastermind, the grand chess player, the leader, their Commander.

“Well aren’t you just a bucket of laughs,” Theo remarked as he dodged an arrow flying past his head, lunging towards his prey.

“Alright, this has been fun and all”, Theo mused as he swung his

blade clashing with his opponents.

“But I’m ready to hit the pub so how about we get this shit finished,”

he pushed his opponent's sword off of his and sliced through the mans abdomen.

The team had been fighting for what felt like days; Raven was sure she had seen the sun set over the mountain at least twice since this battle began. One thing was for sure, she had lost track of how many lives she had taken. They had learned on their first mission together that it was best not to count the dead.

Slowly the number of opponents on the field began to decrease until the few left decided to retreat.

Raven spun her sword and walked up to the last solider who had refused to retreat with his team.

“You filthy scum!” the man spat as she approached.

“You think I’m afraid of you lot? I’ve heard tales of you four, the mighty team Mortem. You’re all lowly human pigs! Murderous, filthy pigs, you hear me? I’m not afraid of you-”

before he could finish an arrow pierced his skull, the man's body hit the floor with a mighty thud!

Raven turned to see Ezra holding her bow, having fired the killing shot.

“You should be,” Ezra said quietly, her usual playful tone absent.

The look in her eyes sent a chill down Raven’s spin. It was a look of shame and grief.

“Home”, Zayne said as he placed a hand on Ezra’s bow, lowering it slowly to the ground, almost as if to reassure her that this battle was over.

“Home”, Raven smiled to herself at the sound of it.