They were everywhere. Winged like eagles, with faces like men and four legs, he front ones like those of an eagle as well, with the hind legs like a lion's, powering them through the air and the ground at equally terrifying speed. And she was the only one that could stop them. She ducked under a sweeping claw that would have crushed her skull, and she quickly nocked an arrow to her bow and letting loose in a single, smooth motion. The barbed shaft whistled through the air, taking a second creature through the eye, before taking off at a sprint again. Her legs worked furiously, moving easily under the leather clothes that Pappa had made for her, sliding underneath a fallen log, rolling and coming up again, bow pointed at her assailants. Another arrow flew, this time downing the creature as it punctured the neck. It tumbled in midair, falling on the log that she had just come out from under, snapping it in two.
She looked up just in time as claws flared for her face. She ducked again, pulling a skinning knife from her pocket and slashing easily through the taloned fingers. The blow was countered by a pain-filled shriek and she complemented it by shoving the knife up into the creature's belly, cutting roughly upwards, disemboweling the creature. The air filled with the stink of it's innards and she backed away, spinning to run again but catching her right foot in a root. She tumbled down the hill, coming up a few yards from the pool that she swam in sometimes. Her bow had fallen a bit to her left and she stood, picking it up and brushing the dead leaves and twigs that had been caught in her long brown hair. She liked imagining that she was fighting monsters. Those in particular had been ones that Pappa had told her about the night previous, how the Great Hero Helram and his troop of archers had stood against the invading Harpy Army, taking many losses, but eventually killing the queen and forcing the beasts back to their mountain caves, where they were never seen or heard from again. She liked it when Pappe told stories. When she was young she just enjoyed hearing his strong, deep voice sounding comforting to the young child's ears. As she began to understand the stories themselves, she took an interest in his tales of monsters and dragons, great lords and princes fighting for the honor of beautiful damsels. She just didn't like the damsels. If she was ever princess, she would make sure that that dragon would be fighting two people and not just one.
She smiled at the thought, spinning around and drawing her empty bow. Pappa told her that she shouldn't be pulling it without need, and that when she wasn't using it she should unstring it. He had bought it for her a couple months ago for her birthday, making the arrows and heads himself, along with the skinning knife.
She let out a soft squeal as she saw someone there, near her little pool. There weren't many strangers up here, and apart from the odd hunter, trapper or trader that had business with Pappa, fewer still even bothered coming up this high in the forested mountains. She reached into her quiver and pulled out an arrow. These were bodkin arrows, thin and smooth, used to hunt deer without having to tear flesh as you pulled the arrow out. Pappa had the barbed arrows, but he never let her use them.
She pulled the bow back like she had been taught, and called out," You there.... who be you, and what you in my forest?" Her voice was thin and she wasn't exactly intimidating. Barely three feet tall now, her long brown hair was mussled up and had the odd leaf sticking out of it, her skin ruddy and there were freckles on her nose. But she was strong, not an ounce of fat in her, and had been trained well, along with being able to his an apple at 30 paces. She lacked not for confidence.