Chapter 2 - Partner

Everything was silent. No wind, no wolves, no insects, not even the sound of my breath and this strangers - mingling in the crisp morning air. I had bolted upright from my sleeping position to face the intruder, trying to judge whether they were a friend or a foe. My 48 hours weren't up yet; the rising sun made that point clear to me so the stranger couldn't be from my village but I knew that the hunters were not under any restrictions and could be surrounding me as I thought. The stranger approached my frozen form slowly, hands raised in a defensive manner as if to show no threat. They edged forward into the moonlight, revealing their true appearance to my wary eyes.

It was a girl. She had light skin, bright turquoise eyes that glowed in the dawn light and long hair. The hair cascaded down her back - a dark blue at the bottom, lightening in colour until it reached the top where it was a light sky blue. White flecks were scattered throughout, reminding me of the stars that I used to look to in my darker times - they were the only things that I loved in the world, the only things that seemed to care. However her natural appearance was disrupted quite quickly when you took a closer look; she had cat ears peeking out through her hair line and a tail could be seen swaying slowly behind her back with the same colour style as her hair. She seemed so innocent, so kind and she was next to me. I backed away quickly.

'Get away from me!'

She merely shook her head and continued to approach me, mouth opening to speak and hands out as if to calm a wounded animal.

'Calm down. I am not going to hurt you.'

'Don't you know who I am?'

'Yes. Caitlin Shadownius Mystic. Wanted across the realm for the use of dark magic and vengeance for the slaughter of 78 people. Given 48 hours safety from the residents of your village but a bounty of 60000 rupees from the hunters - dead or alive.'

'Then why haven't you run.'

'You aren't the only one who is hunted. My name is Star. As you can see I am not normal and to answer your unspoken question I do have magic. You aren't alone against these hunters.'

'But I'm a murderer. I could kill you! I am a cruel being who kills for joy? Why won't you run?'

Star merely shook her head and sat down next to the lakeside, looking out over the still water merely observing as I paced back and forth, my hands clenching and unclenching - small pieces of darkness flickering out of them like sparks. My mind whirled in an attempt to understand her chain of logic, in the presence of a murderer someone who had even the slightest ounce of common sense would turn and run in the other direction yet this girl did not! Was she stupid? Did her range of magic limit the basic function of a fight or flight instinct or was her curiosity about to live up to the phrase ‘Curiosity killed the cat.’ I glanced over at her calm form, completely comfortable in my presence - no fear or anxiety, just plain curiosity and concern. It didn’t make any sense at all!

The level of self-loathing that I felt towards myself was uncontrollable. I knew what I had done, whether it was Shadow’s action or my own it was still my body which had caused the misery and the bloodshed. The burden was on my shoulders and that was something I would have to live with for the short lifetime I had remaining. The huge bounty was an odd comfort to me, at least some people understood the magnitude of my actions however the stories and rumours about the mage hunters sparked fear deep inside me. Those who were captured by the hunters were tortured, broken down into crumpled balls of pain and fear, ready to do anything just to escape the agony for mere moments or to end it all in one swift blow. Personally the idea of ending me was more attractive than the prospect of being captured or even publicly executed and honestly the guilt would eat me alive before the trial could be held.

What confused me still was the fact I had been outcast instead of executed. We all knew the law and even a decent price from the hunters wouldn’t be good enough reason to stop the council from obliterating the town for disobeying the laws. Maybe this girl was working for the hunters? A scout sent out to gain my trust and then leak my locations, plans and knowledge back to them in order for the perfect plan to be created and brought into action. I paced back over to her, about to interrupt her silence with an accusation when the water began to move in sync with her hands.

Star twisted her hands around in circles, curling them around one another which forced the water to rise out of the water and join the ring like iron filings to a magnet. The water roared with power, droplets flying everywhere and splattering all over her face as well as my own - causing a shiver to run down my spine. Star's eyes glowed brighter in the dawn light, the turquoise sharpening with every spin of the ring, creating an aura of light around her as it grew in strength.

Eventually the water was raging, the raw power exuding itself immensely and causing a shadow of doubt to appear in my mind - was she going to attack me now? But my thoughts were proved wrong as Star turned and grinned at me before launching her water missile at a nearby tree - slicing it clean in two and continuing to destroy all the trees within a 3 metre radius of the ring. My jaw dropped, the sheer volume of power that she possessed was terrifying yet she had not used it against me?

'Can you control your powers? Or is it just in its rawest form.'

Star's question got me thinking. Honestly all I knew of my power was that it culminated during peaks of high emotion or if I truly focused. I had no trigger to disable and enable it when needed but from the destruction Shadow had caused I knew that the capabilities were there. I shook my head in reply to Star's question and sat down next to her, accepting that if she wanted to kill me or take me in she would've done it by now.

'Why do you care? Like about me, not about what I've done or what I could do?'

A light chuckle came from Star at that question, confusion colouring parts of her tone as she spoke again.

'I've suffered at the hands of others throughout my life. A social reject, eventually forced into becoming an outcast, just like you. If I can help one more misunderstood person in my lifetime than is caught and captured by the hunters, then I can die happy no matter at whose hands my fate is sealed.'

The utter selflessness of that statement astonished me. She would risk her life for someone like me; a murderer, an outcast, someone whom our realm had deemed dangerous and necessary to slaughter on sight - even for large sums of money. It disgusted me; the measures people would go to just to ensure their own safety. Sighing, I stood up and walked over to where my backpack was still sitting and began to look through it - curious as to what had been packed for my so called 'outcast' status.

There was water, food, blankets, a Swiss Army knife, a set of clothes, a lighter and a book with a note attached to the front. I grabbed the food and chucked a slice of bread over to Star before packing up my stuff and heading towards the forest. Just as I had slung the backpack over my shoulder I heard a rustling sound and a wolf emerged from the trees. I stepped backwards, reaching for the Swiss Army knife at the top of my pack as it approached me but it merely rubbed itself around my legs whining and looking hungry. Glancing over at Star with a confused look, I grabbed a chunk of cooked chicken from my backpack and chucked it over at the wolf causing it to bark with what I presumed was delight as it tucked into its morsel. I backed away slowly, gesturing for Star to skirt around the wolf and make her way out of the area but the wolf kept following me - constantly sitting next to my feet every time I stopped.

'He likes you. Maybe you should keep him. As like a companion. Did you ever have pets? Give him a name.'

'No I never had pets. And yeah, company would be good. Hmm. How about Fenris. Yeah that suits you. I'll be on my way then. Thanks for the talk.'

I jogged away from the lakeside, heading out onto the nearby road that I knew lead in the opposite direction to civilization - exactly where'd they'd expect me to go. Despite my guilt and grief, I wasn't stupid and the hunters weren't going to give me any second chances if I screwed up at the first hurdle. Fenris jogged at my heels, seeming content just to follow me from place to place - he'd probably be good for hunting later on as well. However his footfalls sounded far too heavy for the average wolf, almost as if someone was running behind me - trying to time their footfalls exactly so that I wouldn't detect them. I stopped suddenly and turned to see Star still following me despite my obvious dislike of any human company.

'Why are you following me?'

'Firstly, you are in a pretty bad place right now and leaving you alone during that is very cruel and inhumane thing to do. Secondly, you obviously need training and I highly doubt you are going to find anyone who is both willing to help you and knowledgeable about your types of powers. Thirdly, you look like you've never had a friend in your life and honestly I haven't met someone nice in years of being on the run.'

I sighed and thought about what she had said, all of it reasonable and tugging at my already fragile heartstrings. As much as I knew Fenris and I would be a good team alone, I had always wished for a friend to have my back and to actually have someone to talk to instead of speaking aloud at inanimate objects or just having conversations with Shadow in my head. Plus the training would be vital since I doubted I could spend my whole time as an outcast avoiding hunters and angry mobs. What harm could she do? 

'Fine. You can come. Just pull your own weight alright? I know you've been all solo survivor up until this point but now we make decisions together and for one another's sake's. You ready to head out?'

And with that we jogged down the road, leaving behind the ruined village and the past. Simply living our lives together as friends and as partners. All seemed well. For the moment.