The morning’s sun shone on Ava’s face, letting her know that the day had just started. She groggily sat up from her bed of grass, internally cursing. She would have liked to sleep for a few more hours. Sleep was the only activity that regularly gave her some relief, nowadays. She wasn’t much looking forward to starting this new day, since she knew what kind of a day it was going to be. A crappy one. Just like all the others that came before it.

Some time has passed since Ava had left her village. It lessened her pain somewhat. She stopped having regular nightmares and now only experienced the occasional bout of nightly terror. Her thoughts had started to revolve about things other than her sins and her guilt. Again, only occasionally. To say that she was better would have been a stretch, but she was at least not getting worse.

Now, fully awake, she fished in her pouch for something to eat. Only a few pieces of dry jerky, which she made by herself. They weren’t much and tasted like a ripped up old boot, but it was food. Since leaving her village, Ava picked up her old trade, in the hope of defying her new Class. She put together a crude bow and arrows, which while shoddy, allowed her to hit her targets. Most of the time. But, no matter how much she tried, her |Archer| Class never leveled up. And she did try. She hunted everything, from birds to big game, such as boar and deer. She even took up target practice, aiming at distant branches. She challenged herself. Yet nothing changed.

Her |Outcast| Class saw to that. That miserable, Gods forsaken Class was worthy of its name. It truly did make her an outcast. Oh, it prevented her from leveling up her most beloved Class, the one she fought hard to keep. But that wasn’t the only thing it did. One of its Skills, |Foe on Sight|, made her life unbearable. Everywhere she went, she was chased away. Everyone she met shunned her. It was always the same.

“What are you?”

“I don’t give food to someone like you, girl!”

“You just want to steal my coins, don’t you?”

“Go away!”

She tried talking. She tried bartering. She even lowered herself enough to beg. Nothing worked. Oh, some were more wary than others. There were those who hated her on sight, though nothing came close to her own kind’s reactions. Some were just suspicious of her, but it was enough to make them not want to make contact. Only the rare few gave her the time of day and sometimes even gave her some scraps of food, but even they looked like they wanted nothing more than to stop talking to her.

Humans were the worst. In almost every case so far, humans instantly insulted her, going far above simple fear. She didn’t know exactly how the Skill worked, but she did know that it affected some more than others.

Still, she tried to look at the silver lining of it. If it could be called that. Her |Sense Intent| Skill would have been useful, to any other person. To her, it always told her mostly the same things. People harbored ill-intent towards her. Go figure. Still, she supposed it was nice to know if someone would have just liked to punch her, if there was no one else in sight or if one would have just punched her on approach.

The |Concealed Presence| Skill she used most often. It was good, in that it allowed her to come and go more easily and even allowed her to dodge unwanted attention. It was bad, in that if her Skill failed to work, she would suddenly pop into attention, looking like she was just skulking around. Which was when the |Foe on Sight| Skill worked its magic.

She sighed.

All of that contributed to her misery. It was also why she became so desperate, because her Class acted like a self-fulfilling prophecy. She could hunt, but she couldn’t just travel through forests alone. She was still a Satyr. She yearned for contact. That made her travel by road and through settlements, which in turn meant she needed food other than what she could make on her own. Since she couldn’t approach most she met for bartering, she was forced to steal. After her third theft, she was offered the |Thief| Class. She refused it, naturally, but then calamity struck.

Her |Outcast| Class leveled. She was now a Level 9 |Outcast|. Ava wasn’t sure if it was the thieving or just generally being… cast out by those she met, that contributed to her Level up, but she was sour about it in any case. And that was how the day had found her, sun in her face and clouds in her thoughts.

What if I just don’t get up? Burry my head in the ground and sleep for the rest of the day.

Her stomach grumbled audibly.

Right.

She stood up and started walking. Sleeping a small distance away from a road became her habit. Even as much as she was disliked by others right now, she was just as much desperate for contact. She never thought she’d miss talking with annoying people.

No one on the road, today. Just my luck.

On a good day, she might get two or three ‘Hello’s back. On a phenomenal day, someone might even give her directions. And she needed directions. Because as helpful as Ban had been, he hadn’t been helpful enough.

She was heading for the sanctuary he had told her about. She knew it was north-west from her village. Which had been fine at the start of her journey. It wasn’t fine now, since she had no idea where her village, herself or the sanctuary was.

And no one was willing to talk to her.

Can’t I get like a |Wanderer| Class? Or |Seeker|? Are those even Classes?

That was how her day went. Walking and thinking. And shooting any animal that came in her sight. She always had furs or feathers in her pouch for trading, but even in the rare occasions when it happened, she was forced to give an entire week’s worth of work away for a finger pointed in a direction or a grumbled word like ‘North’.

And what do I do when I see a turn in the road? Where’s North after that? I’m an |Archer|, not a compass!

It must be said that while Ava was a Satyr, she was somewhat of a spoiled Satyr.

She walked and thought like that for a few more hours, until the sun almost reached its peak in the sky. She would have given all her collected feathers for a straw hat, but those didn’t tend to sit too well on her horns. She did try.

Ava was considering whether dumping all her water on her face would be considered dumb or acceptable under these conditions, when she spotted something. It was quite far away, but she still had her |Archer| Class, along with its Skills. |Enhanced Vision| allowed her to see much farther than most people could. Which is how she laid eyes on the event before her.

Up along the road there was a house. It looked like a farm house, which was only natural, since it was sitting on a farm. Outside the house there was a man, gesturing wildly. On the road and next to the man’s fence, was a group of men, also gesturing wildly.

That definitely looked like trouble, but Ava was bored. Also, desperate to hear people speak. So, she hurried along, trusting in her |Concealed Presence| Skill to hide her from sight. Besides, it looked like everyone was more interested in arguing, than they would be in yelling at her.

She made her way up the road, until she was perhaps thirty feet away from the group and hid in some bushes. Taking out another piece of dry jerky from pouch, she sat down and prepared for the spectacle.

It should be said that, even before her shunning, Ava was a nosy Satyr.

“You have no right to say that! And you’re all drunk!” the man standing in front of the house shouted.

“Aye, we’re drunk, but she’s beautiful!” one of the men from the group, shouted back.

The others laughed at that, before another one of them piped up.

“Too beautiful for an old bull like you!”

They’re fighting about a woman? This should be good.

“Boy, that’s my wife you’re-“

“Who’re you calling a boy, you old fart?”

“Old man, give her here. Your wife’s young, she needs young steeds.” One tried to be reasonable.

Though, given the way he slurred his speech, it only served to make the ‘husband’ even redder in the face.

Wait, ‘wife’?

“You’re all a bunch of drunkards! Get out of here!” he shouted.

“And what are you going to do if we don’t?” one laughed. “There’s five of us and one of you. And we’re not farmers!”

“I’m living away from the city, but I’m a respected member of it. I’m a |Farmer|. I have the Class! And I’ll put the guards on you.”

“Oh, you’re a |Farmer| are you? You got yourself a Class? Well, guess what, so did we! Berek here has a Class too, don’t you Berek?”

Ava noticed that while they were all drunk, only one of the five wasn’t shouting or jeering. It was the one who looked the toughest.

“I do. |Raider|, Level 6. Why don’t you just hand her over, old man?”

The man paled at hearing that, but he stood his ground.

“I will not! She is my wife! And if you come any closer, you’ll deal with me!” he shouted at them and brandished a hatchet, previously dangling from his belt.

Damn it, shouldn’t have done that.

As one, the others stopped laughing. Some were still smiling, but in a crueler way now.

“We don’t need to do this the hard way.” One said. “You don’t look like you have much coin. It’s only your wife that we’re after. Give her here and we’ll let you live.”

“And not burn your farm to the ground.” Another added, trying to be helpful.

The old man stood his ground, but didn’t say anything else.

“Have it your way, old man. We’d have given her back after we were done. Now, it’ll cost you everything.” Berek said and motioned to the others.

Drunk as they were, they started climbing and hopping over the fence.

Oh shit. The old man’s done for. And his wife…

As a woman, she would have taken those drunkards’ lives just for what they said. But there were five of them and one even had a Class. A fighting Class.

The old man stepped back, until his back was to the door and pulled out a knife in his other hand.

This is not my fight. Don’t be stupid, Ava.

She stood up from the bushes, good mood evaporated long ago. She was an |Outcast|. Why should she help others?

The raiders had, by now, encircled the older man and were staring him down. To his credit, he refused to back down.

Don’t be stupid Ava. You have to get to the sanctuary. Don’t be stupid.

“FUCK IT!”

One of the men fell. An arrow was sticking out from the back of his head. The remaining men swiveled their heads, first to look at their downed comrade, then to look directly at her.

Damn. Guess I said that out loud, didn’t I? So much for my concealment Skill.

The good part was that only two of the four men came after her. The bad part was that Berek was among the two. And he looked pissed!

Ava jumped to the side, when an axe flew spinning through the air towards her. It embedded itself in the ground, right where she stood a second before. The man who threw it looked shocked that he missed, but she wasn’t a Satyr for nothing.

“That furry legged woman dodged it!” he exclaimed.

Not the brightest around, are you?

Berek, meanwhile, closed the distance to Ava and got into a fighting position. Unlike the others, he wasn’t holding a sword or an axe. She didn’t see any bow on his back or daggers hidden on his person, either.

A Mage?

His fist caught her in the chest even as she dodged, propelling her back a good three feet.

Not a Mage. Not the brightest around, but maybe the strongest?

She nocked an arrow and aimed at him, but had to scamper out of the way of his second fist. Berek fought like a brawler, closing the distance to her, each and every time she tried to get away and swung his fists each time she tried to take aim.

If she knew what he was capable of and if she had taken the time to think before getting into the fight, things might have looked differently. As they stood, she was caught on the back foot. It didn’t help matters that Berek’s goon was after her as well. Even when she managed to outdistance Berek, his friend threw his axe at her, making her abandon her aim.

This sucks. I’m an |Archer|. I don’t do close combat.

While running around, she glimpsed the old man trying to fight off his attackers. Judging by the cut on his cheek, in wasn’t going well. And she couldn’t help him either, not while having these two chasing her.

Wait.

Switching tactics, she ran for it. Not away, mind you, she wasn’t heartless. She ran towards the house. Specifically, towards the other two drunkards, who had their backs to her.

“Boys, the antlered woman is coming at you!” the axe-throwing man called out.

“They’re horns, dipshit!” Ava yelled out, body-checking the thug in front of her.

Say what you will about Satyrs having a frail constitution, but their legs are built for jumping. She was worried she’d dislocated her shoulder for a second, it ached that much. Still, one of the thugs was now on the ground and she was standing next to the old man.

“Who’re you?” he grunted.

“Your savior.” She said, giving him her best approximation of a smile.

“Little early to call yourself that, lass.”

Ava was internally relieved when the older man didn’t shun her on the spot. She was less relieved when an axe came flying at her and embedded itself in the door behind her.

Too close.

“You bitch! You killed one of us. Berek’s going to have you on all fours, you hairy whore!”

“I will not.” Berek said.

Ava’s sigh of relief came a little too soon.

“But I will kill her.” He said, coming at them, fists raised.

The fight that ensued wasn’t exactly elegant. There were no perfectly executed swings of the sword, nor any arrows fired just in the nick of time. There were a lot of punches being thrown about and Ava using her bow as a makeshift club.

She guessed she should consider herself lucky. She only had Berek after her, while the old man was being assailed by the other three, all at once.

If I don’t finish this, he’s done for. …damn it, I hope this works.

“|Piercing Shot|, |Rapid Reload|, |Piercing Shot|” she yelled, while firing her arrows.

The first, she aimed at one of the raiders beating on the old man. He got hit straight in the head. The second she aimed at Berek, who actually managed to dodge, though the arrow still cut his ear a bit.

Ava felt like laying down. It took all of her self-control not to sway.

The raiders left the old man and came to stand by Berek. There were only three left now, a fact they seemed to know all too well, given that they were no longer advancing. They didn’t even look drunk anymore.

She tried to project an air of confidence about her, hoping against hope they wouldn’t call her bluff. Because you couldn’t call her projected confidence anything else, but a bluff. She used two Skills in quick succession. One of which, she used twice. It felt like she had just finished running a lap around the mountain.

“You know this man?” Berek asked.

“No.”

“Then what’s it to you?”

“You wanted to rape his wife. That’s reason enough.”

“Well, maybe she wanted-“ of the raiders started, before Berek silenced him.

“You’re still going to fight us?”

“I will.”

“There’s three of us.”

“And there were five of you.”

The |Raider| gave her a long look. She knew he hadn’t used any Skills. And she knew she couldn’t use any more right now. But he didn’t know that.

Please go away, please go away.

“We’re leaving.” Berek said. “Shut up! No complaints. Grab their bodies. Go!”

He waited until the others grabbed the bodies of those who’d fallen, staring at Ava all the while, before departing himself. She waited until they were completely out of sight, before allowing herself to fall to her knees.

She didn’t know what ‘hyperventilate’ meant, but she did know that she was breathing much too quickly for it to be healthy.

“You okay, lass?”

“Yeah. Just… catching my breath.”

She looked up and saw that that the old man… maybe wasn’t that old. He looked to be in his early forties, early fifties. But the way he dressed and the way he talked made him seem much older. He was also hurting. His face was bruised up, cut in places and he was holding on to his stomach.

“Why’d you help me?”

“I just heard what they were saying. Thought you needed help.”

“I did. They were bad sorts.”

“Yeah, they looked like they were.”

He paused for a second, before speaking again.

“You know, you look like a bad sort yourself.”

Ah shit, here we go.

“You here to rob me?” the man suddenly asked.

“No, sir, I just tried to help.”

“Yeah? And you want something for this ‘help’, don’t ‘ya?”

“No, sir, I-“

“Spit it out! What do you want from me?” he yelled.

“Ian!” a voice called out.

A woman’s voice.

Looking at the house, Ava saw a hooded figure approaching. Judging by the frame, it was definitely a woman, but she had a robe on, complete with a hood and long sleeves. Not one part of her body was visible.

“Why are you yelling at this poor girl?”

“She’s out to get us, Yva! Look at her, she’s still got her hand on her bow!”

Reflexively, Ava placed the bow back on her back. Which turned out to be a mistake.

“Don’t try to hide it, you… what are you?”

“I’m a Satyr.” Ava said, growing angry herself.

I fucking hate this Skill.

“Are you now? And what are you doing around these parts? Looking for no good, eh?”

“Are we judging people by their species now, Ian?” Yva asked.

“Wh- No! Come now, Yva, you know that’s not what I meant. But… look at her!”

“I am looking at her. I also looked at her until now. And all I saw was a young woman who put herself in harm’s way. All to save you and me.”

So said, Yva turned to Ava. It was hard to tell, but Ava though she saw a smile, underneath that hood.

“I know you must think him mad, but my husband is a gentle soul. That he should act like this towards you… Is there any affliction you suffer from, child?”

“Uhm… affliction?”

“A curse? Something that would make others hate you? I confess, I feel the pull of something myself, when I look at you. But such things matter less to me, than to others.”

“Oh, I got a Skill. |Foe on Sight|. It makes people distrust me. Sorry, I should have led with that. It’s just… people don’t normally believe me when I tell it to them.”

“I see. I’ve never heard of such a Skill, but I know of other things that have similar effects.” She said, before turning to her husband. “Ian, your feelings for this girl have been affected. Try to act normally around her. It might wear off.”

“…if you say so, Yva.”

“My name is Yva, as you heard. This is Ian. Might we know the name of our… ‘savior’, as you put it?” she asked and the amusement was clear in her tone.

That’s great, Ava, really managed to shove your hoof in your mouth. Again.

“My name is Ava, ma’am.”

“Just Yva will do.”

“You can still call me ‘sir’.” Ian added.

“You can call him Ian. Now, come. You look tired and hungry and we were just about to have lunch, when those… men appeared.” She said and strolled towards the house.

Sharing a look of slight bewilderment with Ian, they followed.

Entering the house, Ava took a moment to look around. It wasn’t a huge house. Honestly, their barn was bigger than the house itself. But it was cozy. Almost everything looked handmade, from the chairs, to the table, to the house itself.

She inhaled the scents of cooked food and almost teared up. How long had it been since she ate something somebody other than herself had made? No, never mind that. How long had it been since she was treated with kindness?

“Are you hungry? Don’t lie, my husband already eats large portions. Our pantry is stock full?”

“Uhm, yes, I’m quite hungry. Sorry to be a bo… ther…”

Satyrs are quite renowned for their instincts. Their communities often face enemies and Satyrs themselves are wired for quick thinking and quick acting. When faced with danger, they will normally either flee or fight. For a Satyr to become frozen in place, a truly unexpected thing had to occur.

Such as Yva.

She had taken off her cloak and was now only wearing a long tunic. Farmer’s clothes. Nothing peculiar about that. The rest of her was. Her hair was black enough that it didn’t look like it had any texture until it moved. Her skin was ashen, between white and grey. All of that was nothing compared to her eyes. They were completely black. The entire eye. The fact that she was smiling, when Ava met her eyes, didn’t help the situation in the slightest.

She was also mind-bogglingly beautiful. Not pretty or buxom. Beautiful.

Ava had no idea what she was, but the only creatures that had eyes like that were the great monsters she remembered from her childhood stories. And even they didn’t smile.

“Ava… are you alright?”

“…yes?”

The smile vanished from Yva’s face and out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Ian tensing up again.

“Oh dear, I forgot the reactions some people have. I just though… with you being a species other than human… but you must not have travelled the world either, have you? I’m sorry, child-“

“No.” Ava said, mind catching up to her.

Why did you freeze, you idiot? You have horns, she has an abyss in her eyes. Are you a human?

“No, sorry. I don’t know why I reacted like that. But, yeah, you’re right, I haven’t been out of my village much… until recently. Sorry, it’s just… I’ve never met a member of your kind before.” She said.

It wasn’t much of an apology, but Ian went back to his normal, grumpy self again and Yva’s smile came back to her face.

“Not to worry. I get that every time.” She said.

“Is that why you wear a hood?”

How are you this THICK?

To her surprise, Yva didn’t frown, but laughed instead.

“Oh no, I’m afraid my good looks are imposing enough for most to get over my peculiar nature. As you saw with those men outside. Thank you for that, again.” She smiled.

“No problem.”

“Now, I confess that though I do know of Satyrs, I am not most up to date with their culinary preferences. Do you like meat, Ava?”

“I love it!”

“Lovely! Then my cottage pie will be well received. I’ll give you a double portion of it, just like I give Ian, for helping us before. I’ll even serve you another one, if you manage to eat it before Ian eats his.”

“That’ll be the day.” He grumbled, as he walked past them.

Looking at his back, Ava smiled internally.

I don’t care how much you eat, ‘old man’. I’ve been starving for days.

She sat down after that and was served a portion of meaty, savory, delicious cottage pie. And then another. And since she did manage to finish it before Ian did his, to his grudging appreciation, she received a third. She ate all that, without stopping to say anything else but ‘Yes’ and ‘Thank you’.

By the time she was finished, about an hour must have passed. For the first time in as long as she could remember, Ava was stuffed. She could barely think, let alone speak. She would remember the next day, in some hazy recollections, how an amused Yva pointed her to their barn, telling her that she could sleep there for the night, if she wished to.

Ian only told her that that if she was going to throw up, only do it after she was far away from the house.

As she lay down, in a heap of straw, Ava managed her last coherent thoughts of the day. She was so thankful for how the day turned out. Sure, she almost got her horns broken off, but she managed to save a nice enough man and his wife, earned their friendship, which came attached with a warm meal and a roof over her head and got to meet a member of a new species.

Slowly, she drifted off to sleep. It was the best day she had in quite a long time.

Shit, I forgot to ask what species she is!