The Catch

It wasn't very dark in the woods this night, with the full moon glowing in the sky, along with the stars sparkling alongside it. An owl hooted, it's nocturnal eyes peering into the forest, searching for an unlucky rodent to tear up and dine on.. It's head cocked back and forth, searching.
A scuffling of leaves could be heard, not too far away, but the steps sounded heavy, too big for any prey. The owls head cocked to the side, watching where the sound was coming from, but it couldn't see anything, which puzzled the bird. Then suddenly a large figure burst from the bushes, and the owl fluttered away in fright. Not even bothering to see what it was, for it could be dangerous to hesitate.
Kaerth sprinted through the forest, hurrying as fast as his feet could carry him. He was following the track's of a bandit, one who was described as deceivingly frail; small, and skinny. His heist's were done in perfection- quick, precise, and effective. It was a wonder he hadn't made enough gold to live out the rest of his days.
However, this man made a mistake. He gained to much attention, claiming to many lives. "Knives" he was called, as that is what he used when he and his follower's appeared from the shadow's, and struck before anyone knew what was happening. He made another mistake as well.
         To have gained the attention of the Ranger of the East.
         He was known to be an excellent woodsman, armed with a longbow made of oak, and a longsword made by a dwarven forge, well known for steelwork. Kaerth was also a well known bounty-hunter, traveler, and mercenary.
         He wasn't far from his target, after this 'Knives' had fled when he realized he had been overly expected, even as far as to have been lured into a trap. Kaerth had organized it, when he was called upon by the Captain of the Guard. Filling a wagon with nothing more than armed soldiers, and prisoners who were promised freedom if they were to survive the initial ambush, under guise of mercenaries protecting the merchant wagon.
         Kaerth could hear the snapping of twigs up ahead, indicating that he was getting closer to the fleeing bandit, and that he wasn't experienced in the forest, as Kaerth made not a sound in his pursuit.
Suddenly, he pounced the bandit from the side, intercepting him and flooring the man to the ground, catching the bandit by surprise. They weren't kidding when they said this guy was frail, he was even shorter than expected. He couldn't make out the bandit's face, his head wrapped tightly in a hood, and his face covered by a mask.
         The bandit grunted as he was tackled, but quickly reacted, as he already had a knife in hand, and Kaerth had to grasp the bandits wrists in an attempt to not be gutted while they rolled on the ground, each attempting to gain the advantage over the other, grunting, and fighting to be on top. Kaerth managed to get on top simply because he was toned with muscle, whereas the bandit was light. He held the bandit's wrist, forcing the tip of the knife away from him and towards his bounty. He growled, slowly and surely inching the knife towards him- but there was something odd about his voice as he growled in the futile attempt of overpowering him. It was light, and perhaps, even...Feminine?
         He was confused, and apparently it was written on his face, because the bandit slugged him on the nose, taking the moment of opportunity. He wasn't the strongest, but he knew how to throw punch. Kaerth rolled, momentarily disoriented, but more out of the fact that the bandit took that advantage to roll on top, pushing the blade towards his pursuer.
Kaerth, now at the disadvantage, couldn't use his full weight on the bandit, and instead of fighting the blade, he let it come, but directing it to the side, the blade in the bandits right hand digging into the ground next to his head. He seized the moment, keeping his grasp on the knife and using his own right hand to reach past the bandit's neck and his palm gripped the back of it. He pushed the bandit to the side, so that the bandit was on his side, and Kaerth wrenched the knife from the bandit's grasp at that same moment.
He swiftly straddled himself on top of the bandit, and pushed the blade against his neck. He grinned wickedly at him.
"Well now, you're a tad more trouble than one can expect, ain't ya?" Kaerth asked, with a bit of a gloat in his voice, his accent seeming a mix of someone who talked frequently with high society people, and those at the lowest of the pyramid. "Now let's just have a look..." he muttered, grasping the hooded mask, and wrenching it off of his face, only to be shocked.
He was a woman- a beauty, even.
But why on earth did she look so familiar?