Pupil 21: Zara and Her Little Friend

Zara was sure what she saw was a little girl just a second ago near the fountain but then she disappeared.

“Are you lookin’ for something?” she heard a childish voice from behind but as she turned around, nobody was there and she heard a giggle.

“I’m here,” she heard again, “Look down, damn it!”

“Oh, sorry,” Zara said as she looked down and noticed the small girl in front of her, “Are you lost? What’s your name little one?”

“Ah, once again,” the girl sighed, “I’m not a kid. I’m just ... vertically challenged.”

“Oh, then sorry, again,” Zara said awkwardly.

“I just want one day in this stupid course when somebody doesn’t mistake me for a child,” the girl sighed.

“Course?” Zara raised an eyebrow, “You are one of Aritimi’s pupils as well?”

“Yes,” the girl nodded, “Irish O’Neill, by the way.”

“Zara Cromwell,” she shook Irish’s small hand which disappeared in hers and then she examined the small girl.

Irish was a cute and attractive young girl, nearly Zara’s age but it wasn’t visible at first sight because of Irish’s 112 centimeters (3’8”) height. She had vibrant red hair which was cut into a short, wavy bob that bounced with every movement, framing her freckled face as if her head was on fire. Her bright green eyes were like two emerald marbles. Combined with her naturally rosy complexion and short stature, she reminded Zara of a female Leprechaun. Although, unlike typical dwarfism, Irish’s body was proportionally scaled down, making her look like a full-grown young woman who has been shrunk. As Zara took another glance at her, she could see Irish’s feminine curves and the way her tight-fitting t-shirt and jean shorts hugged her body, leaving no doubt about her age.

“You are pretty fast. I swear I saw you a second ago at the fountain,” Zara patted her head.

“Fast?” Irish smiled mischievously and then she ran to the bench and then to a tree and then back to Zara at high speed, her body was nothing but a small blur “I guess I am.”

“Neat,” Zara nodded, “Is that from a Quickling?”

“No, just from a Quick Qilin. An augmentation from a Quickling could be too much to handle for somebody like me,” Irish sighed.

“It’s a good one regardless,” Zara said.

“Ah, so cute,” they heard Aritimi appear near them, “You brought your little sister as well, Zara?” Aritimi asked with a smirk.

“You really have to say this every fuckin’ week?” Irish glared at her.

“Oh, don’t be so short-tempered. You are bigger than that,” Aritimi giggled. Irish rolled her eyes while Zara chortled a little.

“Fine, that was enough,” Aritimi said and opened a portal.

The place they found themselves at looked like a big old farm with a huge wooden house.

“Is that a haunted house?” Irish glanced around, “I can check the whole place within ten seconds if needed.”

“No, that’s the headquarters of the unit were are going to visit today,” Aritimi announced.

The front door of the building opened with a loud creek and stepped out someone that surprised both Zara and Irish. It was an Amish woman.

“Pupils, she is Hester Schwartz, the chief of the Agriculture Protection Unit,” Aritimi introduced the Amish woman with a wave of her hand.

Hester was a tall, strong-built woman with a stern yet kind face, and piercing gray eyes that seemed to see straight through any people. For a 50+ woman, she had an immaculate skin. Her dark brown hair, which was streaked with silver, was the only indicator to think that she was middle-aged. It was neatly braided and tucked under her white bonnet. She wore a traditional Amish dress: long, dark, and modest. But upon closer inspection, Zara noticed something. The fabric had a weird, unnatural texture.

“Welcome to the Agriculture Protection Unit,” Hester spoke in a firm yet gentle voice. Her English was fluent, “You look surprised I see.”

“I didn’t know Amish people were doing monster hunting,” Irish said.

“I know there’s an Amish community near Crowsend but I didn’t know any of them are HSA members,” Zara said.

“The HSA is everywhere,” Aritimi said, “And they have to. Agriculture is one of the biggest targets of the wild monsters. And the local Amish community provides the majority of the food supply here since Crowsend was built, so it’s only natural that the local branch protects them as much as possible.”

“I’m surprised an Amish would take a violent job like this,” Zara said.

“Well, we have to protect our lands and livelihoods,” Hester replied with a hint of pride, “But you are right. Most of us would rather work on the field instead of fighting with monsters. They had no issue with me taking care of this dangerous problem.”

“Your family is fine with that?” Irish asked, “My parent call me every single day to be sure I’m not dead,”

“My mother left the community during her Rumspringa and married my father. They moved to Florida recently because. I grew up here in Crowsend and joined the HSA,” Hester revealed.

“Wait. So you weren’t an Amish originally?” Zara asked.

“Yes. I chose to reconnect with my family here. The problem with the monsters got worse for my grandparents over the years. Grandpa almost died after he tried to protect the field from a flock of Dire Crows and Grandma had a stroke so they needed somebody to help. My mother didn’t care about them enough to give up her new life so I came to help them. I even joined the Agriculture Protection Unit to help more. I was originally in the Urban Surveillance Unit with Zoe.”

“I’m surprised that the community was okay with that,” Zara said.

“That’s a thing that is quite unique to each community depending on their strictness. There are some very strict ones like the Old Order Amish but luckily, that’s not one of those. Plus they were happy that someone from the community can help protect their livelihood, making them less reliant on the outsiders.”

“What are we going to do here? Are there any monsters to beat?” Irish asked excitedly.

“Yes, we always have something to do almost every day. My daughters, who are similar to me are also augmented, are patrolling the busiest places. We will check on them,” Hester replied.

“What does an average day look like here?” Irish asked.

“Most of the work is checking on the place to be sure that no herbivore monsters try to steal from the fields and no predators try to snack on the livestock. We have to cover multiple places and because of that, we always split into smaller groups, each one of them is overseen by one of my daughters. I have five of them so I can have my own little hunter team if needed,” Hester answered.

“Five?” Irish raised an eyebrow, “Isn’t that too much? I heard some people even find three more than enough.”

“Oh, if you think that’s a lot, then you should take a look at some of the other friends of Timi,” Hester chuckled.

“We will visit them the next week,” Aritimi said.

“If I remember well, you know where my daughters work, Timi. Just open a portal there to save some time,” Hester instructed Aritimi.

Aritimi nodded and opened a portal.

As the four huntresses stepped out of Aritimi’s portal, they found themselves standing in front of a massive plowed field stretching far into the distance.

They noticed that they were not alone as five Amish girls were waiting at the edge of the field. They were unmistakably Hester’s daughters.

“My pride and joy. My girls,” Hester said with a smile as she noticed them.

“She is my eldest, Anna,” Hester introduced the first woman. Anna, similarly to her mother, was a tall, broad-shouldered woman with dark brown hair neatly tied into a low bun. Her sharp, gray eyes were a spitting image of her mothers.

“My second oldest, Barbara,” she moved on to the next one. Barbara had a slightly softer build but shared her mother’s piercing gaze. Her hair was also dark brown but streaked with a few strands of silver.

“Judith, the middle one,” was the next. Judith was slightly shorter than her older siblings. Her auburn hair was pulled into a practical braid. She waved with a smile at the newcomers with her strong, calloused hands.

“The second youngest, Ruth,” came the next. Her dark eyes were full of intelligence and curiosity.

“And the last but not the least, Susanna,” she introduced the last one. Susanna had chestnut brown hair, setting her apart from her more dark-haired sisters. She also had a more youthful appearance as if there was a huge age gap between her and the others.

“Huh! Even with your greying hair, your immaculate skin makes you look more like Susanna’s slightly older sister rather than her mother,” Aritimi smirked as she examined them.

“That’s a side effect of my augmentation,” Hester chuckled at the remark.

Zara and Irish gave her a curious look, prompting Hester to elaborate.

“My powers come from a Leather Lobster skin graft. I can manipulate my own skin, reshape it, strengthen it, and look at this,” she lifted her arm, and before their eyes, the texture of her skin shifted slightly, forming ridges along her forearm like armored plates, “I can even grow protective layers when needed. Or other stuff.”

“So you basically have built-in armor?” Irish looked impressed.

“That, and a few other benefits. My skin is naturally more resistant to aging, aside from my hair graying over time,” Hester nodded.

“Wait ... your dress...?” Zara examined Hester.

“Yes. This dress isn’t made of fabric,” Hester smiled knowingly, and then she pinched the sleeve, pulling at it slightly, and to their surprise, the material stretched as if it were a part of her body, “I grew it myself.”

“That’s ... kinda freaky,” Irish took a step back.

Hester laughed, “It saves me a lot of trouble. Plus I can be naked all the time without actually being naked.”

“That’s a pretty nasty but cool power,” Zara nodded in awe.

“Khm khm,” Aritimi cleared her throat, “Now that introduction is over, let’s see what kind of trouble we can get into today,” she smiled, not knowing about the trouble she just spoke into existence.

The sound of an engine rumbled in the distance. They turned their heads just in time to see a large tour bus rolling down the dirt road. The vehicle then came to a stop near the field, a few meters away from the huntresses.

The bus’ double door hissed open, and a crowd of excited tourists poured out, chattering amongst themselves. Cameras clicked, and a few people pointed toward Hester and her daughters with eager expressions.

“What is going on here?” Zara asked.

Irish crossed her arms, equally confused.

Anna, still standing with her arms crossed, let out a small sigh, as if she had to answer this question very often.

“These folks are here to watch.”

“Watch what?” Zara raised an eyebrow.

Before Anna could answer, a distant, eerie cawing echoed from the nearby treeline. Zara turned toward the sound, spotting dark shapes circling in the sky. The black silhouettes moved as one, shifting like an ominous storm cloud preparing to descend upon the field.

“Dire Ravens,” Judith muttered.

“Big flock today,” Barbara adjusted the sleeves of her dress.

“Wait, you knew they were coming?” Zara blinked.

“We always know when they’re coming,” Anna nodded, “They nest deep in the forest, and they come out in swarms when food is scarce. They target crops, livestock ... and sometimes people. But we don’t let them get that far.”

“And tourists like to see it,” Susanna cracked her knuckles, grinning.

Irish let out a short laugh, but there was an edge of disbelief to it, “You’re tellin’ me these tourists come all the way out here just to watch you guys fight monsters?”

Anna gave a small shrug.

“The local tourist guides caught on to what we do. Started organizing trips where people can visit things like famous places where big fights happened against monsters. And sometimes they show them a few fights. We often fight here, and turns out, people will pay good money to see a bunch of girls beat the hell out of monsters.”

“It’s educational. Plus, the tourists are protected by hunters so we can’t tell them to go away,” Hester said.

“We can also show the people how the HSA can protect them,” Susanna added.

Zara watched as the tourists gathered near a marked-off section of the field, some of them pulling out binoculars while others set up their phones to record. She turned back to the approaching Dire Ravens, now growing closer, like an approaching storm.

“Alright. Let’s see what this hype’s all about then,” Zara said curiously.

The Dire Ravens descended, their enormous wings slicing through the air as they screeched. Their jagged beaks snapped hungrily, and their glowing red eyes locked onto the field below.

Anna moved first. She kicked herself away from the post of a wooden fence to launch herself into the air. Mid-flight, her fingernails elongated, hardening into massive, sword-like claws. With swift, controlled strikes, she raked her talons across the nearest ravens, grazing their wings and backs without cutting too deep. The injured birds shrieked and flailed, struggling to stay airborne as they veered off course.

Barbara followed immediately after. She opened her eyes, and then a burst of blindingly bright white light erupted from them. The energy was so intense that several Dire Ravens squawked in panic, their flight patterns breaking as they spun mid-air. Some crashed into each other, feathers scattering as they tumbled toward the ground before recovering at the last moment.

Judith stepped forward, her hand gripping the edge of her bonnet while her hair began to move on its own. The individual strands elongated and sharpened into pointy needles. With a quick move of her head, she launched a barrage of hair-needles at the incoming monster flock. Each strike sent a Dire Raven spiraling, their bodies jerking from the sudden sting before they flapped away in disarray.

Ruth inhaled strongly, her chest expanding before she unleashed a powerful gust of wind from her mighty lungs. The force blasted several of the incoming monstrous birds backward, sending them tumbling away from the crops. Some struggled against her power, but Ruth adjusted her stance and blew even harder, forcing them back where they came from.

In the end, Susanna opened her mouth to unleash an ear-splitting, stone-shattering scream, like a Banshee who just found the leg of the bed with her pinky toe. The sound cut through the battlefield like a shockwave. The remaining monster ravens were already tired, scared, and injured so immediately turned tail. They flapped desperately, scattering in all directions as they fled back toward the safety of the forest.

The battle barely lasted for five minutes at best.

As the last Dire Raven fled, the field fell silent until the tourists erupted into applause. Cheers and whistles filled the air as the crowd celebrated the Amish sisters.

Zara lowered her hands from shielding her ears.

Irish turned to Hester, arms crossed.

“I was expectin’ you girls to tear those things apart. Why’d you hold back?”

“We refrain from needless violence,” Hester smiled patiently.

“They were attackin’ your field,” Irish frowned.

“They were foraging for food,” Hester corrected, “Dire Ravens are a part of the ecosystem. If we wipe out an entire flock, it would create a power vacuum. Other, potentially more dangerous creatures would take their place. It’s better to scare them off.”

“It was fun to watch regardless,” Zara smirked.

“Alright, you two,” Aritimi clapped her hands together, drawing Zara’s and Irish’s attention, “We’ll be joining Anna on her patrol route to see how she works in the field. You will have to change into your training gear then. The rest of Hester’s daughters have other duties to attend to.”

Anna nodded, already preparing to move out. Barbara, Judith, Ruth, and Susanna were ready to leave. The tourists were also about to go back into the bus.

Just as Zara and Irish turned to follow Anna, a sharp yelp rang through the air.

Hester staggered, her hand flying to her neck. Her fingers clutched at something, a dart, its metal tip glistening in the sunlight.

“What the...?!” Irish took a step forward, but before anyone could react further, Hester’s body tensed. Her skin-clothes rippled unnaturally, like the surface of disturbed water.

“What’s wrong?” Aritimi’s gaze fell on Hester.

“I ... I can’t control my skin!” Hester gasped, her grip tightening around the dart.

A sickening, wet sound filled the air. Hester’s body trembled as the folds of her dress skin began to undulate and stretch. The layers of the skin clothing peeled apart, revealing Hester’s nude body beneath it to everyone. Her breasts were huge and sagged slightly with age, her stomach had stretch marks but was toned.

Then the skin continued to grow and expand outward quickly.

“That ain’t normal, right?” Zara took a cautious step back.

Before anyone could respond, Hester’s body lurched. The excess flesh pulsed and hardened, taking shape as it sprouted grotesquely from her form. Massive limbs unfurled, thick and sinewy, as her skin twisted and reshaped itself into something monstrous.

A towering humanoid figure rose from her body, standing at least ten meters tall. The skin golem’s surface was a patchwork of shifting textures. Some areas were smooth like silk, others rough and calloused. Its arms were absurdly long, fingers ending in thick, blunt claws. Its head, featureless and bulbous, carried the naked Hester on top like a grotesque crown, her body still tethered to the creature’s form.

“Oh, shit!” Zara said and her hands instinctively turned into wolf-heads.