[Jaykobell]

Akakios raised his head and opened his eyes, staring at the two tiny pills with curiosity. These didn't seem dangerous. He could even read -- well, the writing was tiny, so it was more like "see" than "read" -- the tiny letters that spelled a company's name, he assumed, on the capsule. So these would help him sleep, supposedly. Akakios thought about it. He was sitting in the basement right now. Was it comfortable enough for him to sleep in? Or would he better in his bed, under his covers? He did like his covers, after all. And... and the certain thing that came with it. But that a secret. Thinking about it, he figured that he couldn't let Navi get into his room. No matter; he would sleep in the basement, in the cell. There was a thin blanket in there, and while it was ripped and had holes, it would be good enough for the time being.

Akakios snatched the pills from Navi's hands and threw them into his mouth, swallowing his saliva to push the pills in his throat. He'd always hated pills for this very reason. Not only did they not taste anything, they were also a pain to eat. "You can't chew them, you have to swallow them whole," someone had told him once. He couldn't remember who. It was probably someone he didn't care for, so he dropped the matter. He got up and opened the door to the cell, slipping inside and curling on the damaged rag. Hopefully the pills would act soon.

[Jaykobell]

It didn't take long for the pills to work their magic. Soon enough, Navi could see the sleeping man in the cell, curled up on the that pitiful excuse of a blanket. He's going to catch a cold or something like that... was the first thing Navi thought as she got up. Now that Akakios was asleep, she could either wait in the basement for him to wake up, or she could escape. While the latter was most likely the sanest thing to do, Navi figured that she could get in trouble if she were to escape. This man seemed to know how to do his job. If she got on his nerves, she was certain that he wouldn't let her have her way. He'd chase her and finish his business. That was the feeling she got from him. Still, the idea of exploring beyond this room was very interesting. Quietly, trying her best not to make a sound, Navi walked towards the stairs leading to the first floor. She knew how strong the pills were, but if Akakios was sensitive to noises, then for her sake, she had to keep quiet. She eventually reached the rocky stairs, climbing them quickly, but quietly, stretching an a hand for the doorknob... So close, so close. Luckily for Navi, the door wasn't locked. While it was heavier than your average door (it was a door made out of steel, after all), she was able to open it up after pushing on it. She left the door open slightly, since she intended on going back downstairs in a little while.

Navi had expected to see more rock walls and more weapons hanging on the walls. Surprisingly enough, the house looked more like a manor. As soon as you were out of the basement, you could feel the carpet under your feet; red carpet, to be exact. Navi could see a short corridor to her right that lead to a white room; she could spot an oven and a big rectangular box, which she guessed was probably the refrigerator. To her left was another corridor, one that lead to multiple doors, and right beside the basement door was a stack of stairs that lead to the second floor. This wasn't the kind of house decoration Navi had expected from someone who seemed so close to being called a psychopath. Nonetheless, the decoration put her at ease, and just like a curious little kid, she started to explore, heading for this series of doors within the left corridor.

[Jaykobell]

The first room lead to a bathroom. The whole room was white, just like the kitchen at the other end of the first floor. Navi was about to close the door and continue her exploration when something caught her attention. Intrigued, Navi stepped inside the bathroom and walked towards the bathtub, wondering what this little item by the far end of the tub was. She bent down and stretched a hand for it, and once it was within her grasp, she blinked and stared at the tiny thing. "It's... It's a rubber duck," she said, talking out loud, well-aware that no one was around. Curious to find more, she put the rubber duck back where it was and turned to the small closet that was located under the sink. What would she find behind these doors? She gripped the knobs and pulled the twin doors open, and she gasped at what she found inside: the closet was filled with tiny rubber toys, each shaped like a certain animal. She could see a cat, a dog, a whale, a dolphin, a snake, a bird... There were more rubber animals than hair shampoos and soap bars. Was this house... actually Akakios's home? It was hard to believe after seeing this array of toys.

After leaving the bathroom, Navi checked the door that was right next to it. This room looked more like a bedroom, the kind of room she was looking for. There has to be a few blankets in this room, Navi thought as she walked over to the bed. There seemed to be at least two different blankets on the bed; this would be enough for Akakios, whom was still sleeping on the floor downstairs. Navi would pick these and bring them to Akakios; they could always bring them back upstairs when he awoke.

Navi gripped the blankets gently and pulled them towards her, wrapping them neatly so they would be easier to carry. She was about to leave the room when she spotted something again; leaning against the bed, she noticed that it was another animal-shaped object, although it wasn't a rubber toy this time, but a plush. It was a white duck plush that was in excellent condition; it was almost as big as the pillow. Was this Akakios's plush? His house had more toys than a kid's toybox, from what Navi could tell. What a strange man... yet this love for animal was somewhat attracting.

[Jaykobell]

"There we go. He should be comfortable enough now..."

Making this temporary resting place for Akakios had been quite a feat. She had placed the first blanket next to Akakios, whom she rolled around on it. She then used the second blanket to cover Akakios. As for the rag, she folded it in a rectangular shape and settled it under Akakios's head so it would act as a pillow. Once he was completely wrapped in blankets, Navi slipped the duck plush under the blanket, pressing it gently against Akakios's chest. While revising the steps made the whole ordeal sound easy enough, Akakios was much heavier and taller than Navi, not to mention that cell was just a little bigger than a bathtub, which made any movement rather difficult. But somehow, Navi had managed to do all that without hurting anyone and without waking Akakios. Now that he was comfortable, he'd probably have a good rest. Oh, there was one last detail... He was still wearing his glasses. Gently, Navi picked Akakios's glasses and folded them, putting them on the little bench that was hanging from the wall by the pair of chains, just like the benches you see in prison cells. Since he was facing the bench, Navi figured he wouldn't have to search for his glasses once he was awake. Thinking about it, Navi concluded that she could have tried to carry him upstairs and settled him in his bed, but then she remembered how he had carried her earlier to put her on the wooden table; she figured that she probably wouldn't be able to carry him beyond the stairs.

Well... What could she do now? There was no telling when Akakios would wake up, and it's not like she was out of the woods yet. What would happen to her once Akakios had rested? Would he go after her again or would he do something else? She was helping him now, but what would be his response to her help?

It was while she was trying to imagine the outcome of this puzzle that Navi heard noises coming from the first floor. Had someone trespassed? Was it a burglar? What was happening up there? Was it someone who had unfinished business with Akakios? So many questions, so little time, so much noise...

Leaving Akakios in the cell, Navi grabbed a small knife that was hanging from the wall and left the basement and headed for the nearest door, the one that lead to the bathroom. The noise seemed to come from there. Yet the noises coming from the room were... strange. They weren't noises a burglar or a thief would make; after all, weren't those kinds of robbers the silent types? Carefully, Navi opened the door...

[Jaykobell]

"It's... It's a duck."

Standing on the sink was an enormous white duck with a golden beak and legs. It flapped its wings as soon as it saw Navi come in, but despite the fact that it had "intruded," this duck seemed to know the room it was in. It hadn't sneaked into the closet and nothing was toppled over or dirty; the duck's prints lead immediately to the sink and nowhere else. Did that duck know what it was looking for? It seemed determined to open the glass door of the little medicine cabinet, but unfortunately for the duck, the door was locked and it was unable to open it. Nonetheless, this situation was quite... unusual.

Navi approached the duck carefully, heading for the door of the cabinet. It took but a short moment for Navi to unlock the door, and once the duck heard the tiny click, it rushed for what was inside, grabbing something even before Navi had the chance to look inside the cabinet. Grabbing what looked like a big roll of bandage, the duck flapped its small wings and dashed for the door, skipping away before Navi had the chance to make another move.

Well... That was special. But where had that duck come from? While Navi doubted that Akakios owned a farm or something similar, the duck had to have come from somewhere nearby. Not only that, it knew what it needed and what it wanted. This single duck was quite an interesting bird.

Intrigued by this unusual visitor, Navi left the bathroom and followed the prints of the duck, hoping she would have enough time to chase the bird and then come back without Akakios noticing...

[Jaykobell]

Considering she'd been held captive for months, Navi had no time what time it was, be it by season, month, day of the week, and general time. But quite honestly, she was unaware that ducks were birds that remained active during winter, and at night at that. Every breath would appear as a small white puff, and while it wasn't snowing, the wind was rather cold. Navi had no idea where that duck was going, nor how far it was going to go. Should she pick a coat to follow that duck...? This was no time to dash into the cold for no reason. She gripped her arms and felt her uniform. "It can't be that far..." Navi figured, and she supposed that her uniform would be enough to protect her. With the coat business taken care of, Navi dashed after the run-away duck thief.

She followed the prints around Akakios's home and into the small woods that were behind his house. It wasn't as big as a forest, but big enough to get lost if you didn't have a map. Just where could that duck be going? Maybe there was a cottage nearby or something similar to them to live in? Surely that duck wasn't living in the wild in this weather...? People had always told her that some birds, such as ducks, would migrate to some warm place for winter. Yet, here she was, chasing that enormous duck. There had to be someone to take care of them, or there had to be something that was warm enough to keep them safe from the weather. What an unusual situation she had gotten herself into...

[Jaykobell]

Well, Navi had to admit she hadn't expected this chase to take so much time. It felt like the forest path would never clear and that she had been running in these woods for the longest time. She had always been an active woman; but ever since she had had misfortunes with the army, and ever since she was kidnapped by Akakios, she had had no time to keep herself in good condition. Malnourished and unused to a physical activity, Navi found it hard to keep on running, not to mention the cold, the snow and the wind weren't helping her. Unfortunately, she didn't have a watch, so she couldn't even assume how long she'd been running, or what time it was. Right now, she was just following the duck's prints that it had left in the snow while running away with the bandage roll. It can't be much farther...! Navi thought, hoping that she was right and that the duck's destination wasn't too much farther.

Luckily for her, her assumption was right. After a few minutes, Navi finally saw the exit that lead out of the woods. She dashed for it, hoping, once again, that this was the destination that she had been running for; and was she glad when she saw the duck that had trespassed into Akakios's house when she left the woods. The sight that was awaiting was quite special. Navi stood there for a moment with her mouth opened, her eyes staring at the scenery in front of her. "So... So beautiful," she murmured, staring with glittering eyes.

The duck had lead her to what seemed to be a small beach. The water was splashing on the shore gently, the stars reflecting in the lake as the moon glowed right above it. It had been so long since Navi had the chance to see the outside world that even this simple sight was truly something to behold. "I... I envy him." While the walk to this lake was somewhat long, it was still rather close to Akakios's house; did this mean that he had the chance to come here and watch the stars and the sunset whenever he wanted? He didn't strike Navi as someone who would take his time to watch stars or sunsets, but somehow... Somehow, Navi felt like there was a reason why his house was located so conveniently close to this lake.

Truly, it was so beautiful to watch that Navi had completely forgotten that she had found the beach because she had chased the duck; but she was quickly brought back to reality as the duck poked her knee with its beak. "Quack, quack!" the bird piped at Navi, flapping its little wings. The noise (or rather, the fresh pain in her knee) brought the girl back to reality. "Ow! Ah...? Oh! Yes, the duck..."

[Jaykobell]

Indeed, the duck seemed quite accustomed to humans. After it heard Navi's voice, the duck waddled away, wagging its tiny tail. Navi stared at it, wondering how a wild animal, such as a duck, could feel so comfortable around humans. But the duck have her no time to think, for once it noticed that Navi wasn't following it, it quacked a few times and flapped its wings. Navi blinked as she saw the duck execute itself and followed it.

Just a little ways away was another duck, although this one was much smaller than the one Navi had encountered. The small one was lying on its belly, one of its legs outstretched. Navi could hear it quacking loudly, and she figured that the poor bird was probably in pain. When she got to check the duck from up close, she noticed that it was indeed injured; it seemed to have wounded its leg, and the pain was keeping the duck from moving comfortably. This was probably why the bigger duck had stolen the bandage roll; it was most likely trying to find something to relieve its friends. "So this is why you took the bandage roll from the bathroom... to help your friends." Navi wasn't quite sure, but the big duck seemed to be replying to her, although she had no idea how to decipher duck signs.

Navi picked up the bandage roll and unrolled a small portion. It seemed to be some sort of sticky bandage, and luckily for Navi and the ducks (for there were more than only two of them), it was easy to rip off. Navi ripped a small portion and, handling the duck's leg gingerly, gently applied the bandage around the injury, gripping it tightly once it was applied to fasten the layers together. "There we go. It should heal now," Navi said as she tapped the bandage lightly, the duck quacking with a happy flapping of its wings.

Navi was just done with the small duck when the bigger duck, which she figured was the leader of this little pack of ducks, poked her again and lead her to another duck. "Another one...?" Navi quickly followed the leader duck, and she caught up to it, she noticed that the little duck wasn't the only one that had been injured. A couple of ducks, no less than four, but no more than ten or eleven, were all injured and seemingly waiting for help. Just what had happened to these ducks...?

[Jaykobell]

Pretty much every injured duck had the same wound as the previous duck. They all had an injured leg; some even had a tight rope uncomfortably wrapped around their leg. Navi figured the ducks had probably fallen into traps; it would be easy to hide traps during winter. Speaking of winter, the cold wasn't an issue to Navi anymore. Running through the forest and going from one duck to another was keeping her warm, as well as the simple fact that she wasn't paying much attention to the cold anymore. What was on her mind right now was to watch over the ducks.

Navi was almost done tending to the injured ducks when she heard a gunshot in the distance. She looked over her shoulder and craned her neck. "A gunshot...? At this time?" Well, it was vague, what time it was. It was dark outside, so Navi had figured that it was nighttime; but considering it was winter, it was usually dark very early in the afternoon. It could be around five, as it could be around two in the morning. Nonetheless, who would go out and fire a gunshot at this time? Navi shook her head and turned back to the duck that was on the sand, petting it to try and calm it, for the Navi wasn't the only one who'd heard the gunshot. "It's okay, it's okay," she assured the injured duck and the ones that were around. "It was faraway, I'm sure it has nothing to do with you." Or so she hoped. She quickly took care of the injured duck, taking away the rope and applying the sticky bandage to the leg. Only a few left.

[Jaykobell]

The gunshot had probably been fired by a hunter. Navi didn't hear anything after the first fired shot, and she figured the gun had probably been fired by accident. Either way, it had been a while since the gunshot, and nothing had happened, and no one had appeared; Navi started to believe that there was really no danger for the ducks and herself. She grabbed the duck's leg and tightened her grip on it, gluing the bandage layers together. "There we go." Navi looked around to see if there were any more ducks that were injured, but every bird was now standing on its legs, although some of the wounded ducks were still lying down, but it looked like every duck was doing fine now.

As the last duck stood up, the other birds started to quack uncontrollably, and the big majority bumped into Navi, either poking her affectionately or jumping on her playfully; one of them, a small one, had managed to find a way to get onto Navi's head. Laughing and giggling as she pushed around, Navi picked up the small duck that had found its way onto her head, hugging it and petting it. She really did envy Akakios for being so close to this beach and this small family of ducks. She had never had the chance to have an animal of her own because of certain circumstances, but she'd always loved animals. Think back about Akakios, Navi wondered how long she had really been away. She had no idea how long the pills would last for Akakios, and she didn't want to try her luck with him, considering he had tried to open her up just earlier today. What if he wakes up and I'm not back? What then...? Navi thought, now getting somewhat scared at the thought.

Navi put the tiny duckling down beside the other ducks. She picked up the bandage roll (which was quite small now) and got up, dusting sand and snow from her uniform. "I'm going to go back now," she told the ducks as she petted the biggest bird, the one that had lead her to the beach. She was about to go back when she had a bad feeling. She could feel a presence nearby, someone walking towards them. Had Akakios woken up? Navi slowly looked over her shoulder, hoping it was him; she'd prefer Akakios over a stranger. At least she'd know who she was talking to. "A... Akakios?" she called, but it wasn't the blond-haired man that was standing behind her. It was a much bigger man, with a hunting gun in his hands.

[Jaykobell]

So maybe the gunshot from earlier meant trouble. It wasn't just a coincidence that Navi had heard a gunshot earlier and that she was now standing in front of a hunter. While it seemed unusual for someone like that to be out at this time, that was but a detail at the moment. What was important right now was that Navi was now facing an armed man, and while she did have the knife from Akakios's basement, she had to get to the hunter if she wanted to hurt him, while he had the gun, which was easy to use against someone, both from up-close or from afar. Navi was small, which could perhaps make it harder for the hunter to shoot her, but she had to keep in mind the man was probably no amateur. In other words, she was, we could say, in a little bit of trouble.

The man approached Navi and the ducks, a grin on his face. He was holding the gun tightly in his hands, ready to fire it at every moving thing. "So the trap didn't work, eh..." he grumbled as he stared at the ducks, noticing the bandages. He readied his gun and aimed the mouth at the small group of white birds. "Guess I need to take 'em down myself." Upon seeing the gun aimed at them, the ducks started to quack uncontrollably, some of them flapping their wings in terror as they tried to get away from the beach. As the hunter saw a fairly large one trying to get away, he redirected his aim and fired. Luckily, the duck was quick enough to avoid the bullet, the projectile sinking into the sand as it missed the bird. Grumbling, the hunter tried to take the duck down again.

But before the hunter had the chance to fire a second time, Navi lunged for him, clinging to the hunting gun. "Stop! They didn't do anything to you!" Navi was aware that, strength-wise, she was no match against such a man, but she had to try and protect the ducks. She had to.

[Jaykobell]

The moment he felt something clinging to his hunting gun, the hunter looked down to find Navi trying to keep him from firing his weapon at the ducks. The hunter proceeded to shake the gun furiously, with the hope that Navi would let go. "Get away, woman! Hunting's hunting! Don't get in my way!" he shouted as he shook the gun more.

Somehow, Navi held on, wrapping her arms around the gun, glad that it was one of those long hunting rifles; the length made it easier for Navi to cling to it. She let her feet slide through the sand as the hunter shook the gun; it was easier to hold onto the gun that way, focusing completely on holding the gun rather than focusing on keeping her equilibrium. One thing at a time, one thing at a time.

But the situation turned around when the hunter got frustrated and grabbed Navi by the collar of her blouse, pulling her as powerfully as he could, trying to force Navi to let go of his rifle. Navi held onto the gun as long as she could, but she eventually gave in; the man was much stronger than she was, it only took a few moments before Navi let go of the rifle, hurled away from the man and towards the lake. She skipped backwards as she tried to regain her balance, but Navi fell after a few steps, toppling over in the water. It wasn't frozen yet, but it was still extremely cold; Navi didn't try to figure out why it wasn't frozen even though it was winter. She had no time to think about something like that.

[Jaykobell]

"You should listen when we tell you to stay down, woman," the hunter told Navi as he turned to her, anger showing all over his face. "This is my prey, you get it? I don't care if they didn't anything, you hear? They're just ducks. There are tons of stupid ducks all over the place. You're not going to miss one or two, are you?" His speech done, the hunter turned back to the ducks, aiming at the bigger ones first.

With no time to think, Navi tried to act fast. She got back on her feet, grabbed the knife that was in her pocket and tried to aim as accurately as she could; then she threw the knife, hoping that any injury she could cause with it would keep the hunter from attacking the ducks. "I won't let you hurt them!" she yelled at the man, quite determined to keep him from approaching the ducks. No, they weren't just "dumb ducks," and there weren't ducks "all over the place." Although some creatures all look alike, no similar creatures are the same.

Navi's bet was a winner; the knife flew at the hunter, and the blade sank in the flesh of the man's arm. The hunter yelled from the sudden pain in his arm, but he didn't let go of the rifle. Instead, he turned around and glared at Navi, his eyes literally firing bullets at her. "You little wretch..." He then gripped his rifle tightly and aimed the barrel at Navi, and leaving the girl no time to escape, scoring a bullet in Navi's thigh.

Navi let out a scream when the bullet hit her, and with her leg no refusing to respond due to the pain, fell in the water again, blood dripping slowly in the water of the lake. Maybe... maybe trying to stop that man had been a mistake, after all, was Navi's thought as she saw the hunter walking towards her, his gun aimed at her still. "You see what happens when you don't listen?" She heard the man say as he tucked the knife out of his arm and threw it away, making sure to hurl it far enough so Navi couldn't grab it from where she was. She then heard a few clicking sounds, and she saw that the hunter was putting more bullets in his rifle. "If I can't take care of my duck business..." he started as he closed the rifle and aimed it at Navi. "Then I'll just get rid of the nuisance."

[Jaykobell]

When she saw the nose of the rifle aimed at her, Navi thought that this was going to be the end. There's no way I can run away or just avoid the bullet at this distance, she figured, panic slowly invading her. She wasn't afraid of guns, that's not what she was afraid of. It was just this one particular moment, it was this fact that she knew she was going to die right there and then. It was the wait, the unbearable seconds that went by as Navi stood there, expecting to hear the gun fire.

But the only thing Navi heard was the scream of the hunter, which followed a loud gunfire; one that wasn't from the hunter's rifle. She looked up to see the large figure of the man toppling down awkwardly onto the sand like a crumbling stand of cans. She crawled away from the tumbling figure as quickly as she could, and winced from the injury she had gotten from the bullet. She squeezed the spot where the bullet had sank into her thigh, and looked up again to see who had shot the hunter, and who, in the process, had saved her very life.

The person she saw, however, was not someone she'd expected to see. Navi stared and gasped when she saw the figure of her savior. There he stood, a man of a reasonable height, a hunting rifle in his hands, his long blond hair waving through the gentle breeze slowly as he stared at Navi and the corpse of the hunter with the calmest of composure. "A... Akakios!"

[Jaykobell]

Navi figured that, if Akakios was here, the pills' effects had worn out, or that Akakios had simply woken up. How he'd gotten to the beach, Navi figured he had probably followed the duck's prints -- along with hers -- that lead to the small lake. How long she'd been gone and how long Akakios had slept, Navi didn't know. And she didn't know what would come out of this awkward meeting, either. While she was grateful that he'd saved her life, he'd saved hers at the price of another. "Why...?" Navi managed to ask, lowering her eyes to look at the bleeding corpse of the hunter. "Was it necessary to kill him? Why not wound him instead?" Granted, this man had tried to kill her; but so had Akakios, and yet... And yet, while they appeared to be quite similar, they were different.

Akakios slid the gun around his torso before replying to Navi with a rather uncaring tone. "Wounding him would have increased his fury," he explained as he made a few steps towards the corpse of the hunter. "It was either you or him. He wouldn't have dropped his gun if I'd wounded him." While it was clear he hadn't come because he was particularly worried about Navi, it was obvious that the sleeping pills had pulled a good results on Akakios's state of mind. He didn't seem as out-there, he didn't seem as frightening as earlier.

Once he'd reached the corpse, Akakios grabbed the dead man by the collar and dragged him into the lake, leaving a pale trail of blood behind him. Once he was far enough from the shore, he hurled the body forward and let it sink into the depths of the black waters, letting the waves carry the corpse to regions unknown...