Knee Deep in Sheep [Aoi and Aoba]

Althea wasn’t exactly sure where she was going, but she was fairly sure she was going the same way the twins Yuno and Rino had disappeared off into.  Or was she?  Puffball seemed relatively too distressed to give the mage pointers, although it was doubtable it could at all, and Althea still only detected the lingering scents of the animals she had previously been fighting.  But Althea just reckoned that if she covered enough land in a short amount of time she would find them eventually, so she assumed a rather fast jog.  And eventually she somehow ended up making her way through the shrubbery into a grove containing the two sheep, the blonde never actually stopping her quickly paced jog.  She just headed straight for the blundering woolly creatures to finally wrap things up.  In fact, they seemed way more aggressive and disheveled than before, what did Yuno and Rino even do?

But there was no time to ponder too much on that subject because the ewe’s bloodshot eyes had found their way to the mage before going straight for her.  So, Althea found the sheep charging straight for her, something she didn’t really see coming, seeing as she was actually focusing on the ram who was still charging indiscriminately at any plant moved in the slightest by the wind.  As a pure reflex she ended up punching it in the face, causing it to reel back slightly as a result.  And by then the ram had also noticed the slayer’s presence, taking their aggression from trees and bushes to Althea, Puffball letting out a small squeal when the beefy creature began moving towards them to attack, only remaining perched on the water mage’s head because they were aware it would be more dangerous to be on the ground.  But Althea didn’t seem to even notice her new enemy, only staring at the ewe with a rather puzzled expression.  In fact, even while the sheep had collectively decided to charge right for her she seemed to still be focused on the ewe, jumping to avoid their pursuit once they got close enough and sending a wave of needle like drops of water from the sky, 5 hitting the ram while 4 hit the ewe.

But soon, things seemed to click for her, Althea landing on the ground and turning around to face the two woolly creatures.  Her magical power then seemed to swell and then deflate suddenly, not that the sheep could sense it in the slightest.  They simply tried their previous attack once more, but this time around Althea had decided to counter.  She sprinted forwards to meet them, elbowing the ewe into the earth before grabbing the ram’s horns and kneeing it in the chin.  The strength of Althea’s blows had increased exponentially due to several levels of enhancement spells focusing on only that.  She had reckoned that fighting them normally would take too much time and that her new way would be way faster.  And she was correct, each sheep haven sustained sizable damage from just her simple blows.  And as a follow up, Althea kicked the ram into a nearby tree trunk, around that time the ewe recovering from the surprisingly forceful hit and getting to her hooves, rearing up to batter the young girl with her hooves while she was focused on the ram.  Managing to weave away, Althea in turn punched the ewe right in their exposed gut, grabbing a flailing leg before the sheep could launch off.  She then proceeded to slam the ewe into the ground before kicking it with such force it flew away anyways.  “Pretty sure that one’s finished…”  The slayer remarked, watching the creature fade to nothing but a black spot in the distance.

But while she was busy staring off at the ewe the ram managed to have their horn find their way deeply embedded into Althea’s abdomen.  But, the young girl’s reaction to the blow was a bit slow and resulted her in simply staring at the ram like it was the weird one before reaching down and ripped the horn out.  “Hey, that really hurt!”  She practically sighed.  “Well, I gotta wrap this up now!”  The slayer said before raising her leg and bringing it down on its head and then bringing the same leg back to kick the woolly mass across the clearing.  Althea patted the hole in her side, “Yeah, this really stings… but pain usually helps me fight better, so thanks!”  She said while making her way towards the ram, the creature attempting to get to their hooves before Althea kicked it in the chin hard enough that the ram became airborne long enough to punch it into a nearby tree trunk, thrusting her leg into it’s stomach to pin it there.  “I should kill you like a proper hunter, right?  I mean, I don’t think you need to kill the sheep for the wool but I kinda just feel like it.”  A bow and arrow entirely made from water appeared in Althea’s grasp, the slayer drawing back the string and aiming straight for the ram’s face before letting it go and subsequently removing her leg.

Althea sighed, wiping the sweat from her face and surveying her handiwork.  “Phew, I guess we’re done here!  I’ll have a new blanket and Puffball for when I get back to Magnolia!”  She chirped, patting the hog that she had forgotten to remove from her head for the entirety of the fight.  “Oh wait,”  She said, turning towards Yuno and Rino before pointing at her abdomen, “Got anything to fix this?   I doubt it’s too deep since I was able to move around without too much interference.  Oh right, and just pretend you guys didn’t see me acting all weird, ‘kay?”

However, little did she know that would be the last time she ever saw that little pig.  To be honest, it was a bit pathetic to look at, imagine how the person writing this felt when they realized Althea was too much of a dumbass to notice or care about the feelings of some fauna? She probably forgot it was her pet and ended up eating, a sad yet fitting end for a creature she probably would've killed on the spot if she was in any worse of a mood.