Private Tales On The Hunt

[Myrdin]

Myr was not the type to turn food away when it was put in front of him. He gladly began to eat some of the fruit that she offered him, taking it into his hands and beginning to dig at it with a surprising amount of precision and care.

He even took one of the pieces and began to roast it over the flames. "My magic."

Myr had never made a secret of his abilities, not to anyone. That lesson had been taught to him by his father after he'd killed his opponent in the tournament. There were no secrets to be kept, nothing to hide.

Not if you wanted to live.

"When a mage tries to effect me with their magic, my flesh absorbs it and it becomes these..." He didn't know what to call them. "Blotches."

They were painful, but never deadly to him.

 

[Skyler]

She stepped toward them, taking another bite of fruit. Close, the fire's warmth curling along her sides and back. Eyes peered at a splotch across his chest.

Fingers of one hand twitched at her side.

"May I take a closer look? I promise I won't touch hit. You mentioned I should be careful of them. How would they hurt me if I accidentally touched one?"

 

[Myrdin]

"You can look and touch all you want." Myr said with a shrug of his shoulders. "But doing the latter will be painful."

That was always his experience. No one could touch the marks without there being backlash.

"It depends on which one you touched, and what kind of magic was absorbed with it." He frowned a moment, eyes casting down at his own body as he searched through the different blotches until he found one in particular.

"This one will burn you." A pyromancer had given it to him. "This one will likely send a spark of lightning through your body."

He pointed to one on his ribs. "They all do different things, hurt in different ways."

 

[Skyler]

Rusty brows furrowed.

"Strange," she murmured. Fingertips lightly traced across his skin, stopping just at the edges of blue. Then they trailed to another patch, stopping before the ragged edges of blue. Eyes lifted again to meet his own.

"Is it only when magic is used directly against you?"

 

[Myrdin]

Goosebumps ran over his skin where her fingers touched.

Myr did not exactly look uncomfortable, but it was clear that no one had touched him in quite some time. There had always been too many concerned, too much fear. The Splotches were beyond dangerous, and many simply wanted nothing to do with him because of it.

"Yes." He said as he took in a breath. "Though I can also will them into being when touching a mage."

For a second he looked ashamed. "I learned that fairly early on."

 

[Skyler]

"Oh," she responded quietly but didn't draw her fingers away. Thumb lightly stroked his skin along his bicep, skirting the edge of another mark. She wondered what this one would do to her if she touched it. She imagined he would've done that to her if their first encounter hadn't gone as it had.

"I wonder what a mark from me would look like."

The magic through her veins was ancient and seemed to be tied moreso to her heritage. A dryad spirit. Eyes flickered to her ankle.

"Something happened when you carried me with the rain. I think the water healed my ankle."

Combined with her strange magic.

"Do the marks ever do anything good? Like if one pulled from a healer?"

 

[Myrdin]

Well that was something he supposed, not carrying her meant they could defend themselves better. "I'm not sure."

The only kind of magic that he'd ever had to face was the destructive kind. In his experience healers generally didn't tend to be the types with bounties on their heads or anything of the sort.

"Most of it is some sort of spell meant to kill." He told her. "They hurt, though not as badly as it would if the spell actually hit me."

For some reason that made him chuckle. "Perhaps a healers magic might actually feel nice."

Though he doubted it for some reason. Maybe because he'd never known magic not to hurt him once it caressed his flesh.

"I'm glad your ankle feels better though." He told her with a genuine smile.

 

[Skyler]

She withdrew her hands.

"Many mages have battled against you it seems," eyes tracked to the marks exposed as she finally stepped back. Her hair was nearly dry, the locks bouncing just over the curves of her chest.

"Does their strike on your immediately re-bound back to them?" Turning her back to him, she went to check on her clothing. Fingers pressing into the fabric.

It seemed nearly dried.

It meant she wouldn't need to sleep nearly nude. Not that she would've minded. Clothes had always seemed constricting on her skin.

 

[Myrdin]

Myr shook his head. "No, it doesn't work that way."

He couldn't throw the magic that he took back at anyone. It just that the spells didn't actually work on him, not in the way they should have anyway.

"The magic just sort of...gets eaten into my flesh." He explained, glancing down at one of the spots before looking up at her. His eyes lingered for a moment as her back was turned, but quickly moved on to her face.

He was a red blooded sea-elf, looking was normal.

"If I touch a mage and will it, I can take more of their magic." He explained. "Other than that...in truth I'm not really sure of what else I can do."

He'd never been brave enough to experiment.

 

[Skyler]

"Well, what happens if they keep trying to hit you with spells," she turned slowly, facing back to the man. Fingers rested on the curves of her bare hips, thumb brushing along her body tattoo.

Did his keep getting more marks? Did they go into the first one made?

"So to overpower a mage, you still need to get close to them? To either draw their magic into yourself or to...knock them out?" Lips twitched as she said it. Trying to imagine Myr tackling her to the ground when they'd first met. She doubted he would've even been able to catch her in the trees.

 

[Myrdin]

Myr watched her, clearly not at all distracted. "Pretty much."

As far as he knew he couldn't use his magic at any sort of distance. He'd tried once or twice, but it had never worked. Most of the time mages didn't ryna way from him though, they were too arrogant and wrapped up in their own little world of power.

People like that didn't run. "Usually they're surprised enough by the first spell not working that I can close the gap."

He explained.

"If not..." Myr shrugged his shoulders. "Guess it becomes a contest of who can endure more."

Usually it was him.

 

[Skyler]

"Well. I doubted you would've caught me up in that tree." She smirked. "It's a good thing I came down and made your job easier."

She wandered over to the small falls that were cascading down the rock wall that provided their little shelter. Fingers reached out, testing the strength of the water falling down. Other hand tucked dried ribbons of red beneath one ear.

"I wouldn't want your job," she said quietly and withdrew her hand, feeling the tug of magic with the water. Strange. The past few week her connection to the elements had strengthened.

Growing up it had just been earth.

Now she felt the magic with the water. It was scary. Would fire follow? Would air?

Teeth gnawed on the inside of her cheek.

 

[Myrdin]

"Good thing." He said as his eyes floated over her.

A part of him wished that he knew more of his own magic, wished that he could understand it and control it better, yet another piece was wholly terrified. He had killed a man once because he hadn't known, what would happen when he did?

Lips thinned for a moment, but he slowly shook his head. "Wasn't a bad decision though, was it?"

He smirked at her.

"It's not too bad." Myr said with a shrug. "Most of the time the people actually did whatever crime they're accused of."

Most of the time they weren't as pretty as her either.

 

[Skyler]

"Hmm," hands fell from her hips as she drank some of the water from the falls, using her other to cup it into her mouth. She turned back to face him and took a seat beneath that ledge of rock, crossing her legs.

Lips pursed and the twinkle in her eyes shifted between impish and seriousness.

"I suppose time will tell."

About it being a bad decision or not to come down. He'd already rescued her from another hunter. And who knew how many more they'd run into between here and the coast?

But she didn't like the idea of returning to Alliria. And even if she fled home, she doubted her family could protect her. The warmth from the fire and the excitement from earlier in the day made her yawn.

Arms stretched above her head.

"So you have run into others that were falsely accused?"

 

[Myrdin]

"Only one other." A frown touched his face. "He was accused of killing his wife and child."

A breath pulled into Myr's lungs.

It was clear that he didn't really enjoy speaking on the subject, but at the same time neither did he stop. She deserved to know what kind of person she was traveling with, whom she had trusted with her life and would be traveling with. "He didn't do it."

Frown deepened.

"It was a Vampire." The marks had all been there, and the same Vampire had come again for the man once Myr had captured him.

The fight had been a brutal one, and Myr would have lost if the creature hadn't grabbed him by the throat in it's rage.

 

[Skyler]

She lowered herself down on her back in the soft grass and laced her fingers behind her head, looking up at the rocky-ledge above that would protect against any further rain. She'd never met a vampire before. Nor did she want to. A part of her still wondered if they actually existed.

"I don't know much about vampires," she admitted. Ankles crossed from her outstretched legs. It was clear being mostly unclothed didn't bother her in the least.

"That poor man. To have lost so much and then be wrongly accused. To be hunted by the very thing that murdered his family. Did he survive?"

And if he did, she wondered if he wished he hadn't.

 

[Myrdin]

He shook his head. "Got bitten."

Myr said softly.

He didn't know if she knew what that meant. Being bitten was generally not a huge problem unless you were on your last leg, but if you already were...well then you had some problems. Turning was never pleasant, and he had accepted death as his only option in the very end.

His shoulder shrugged as he looked at her.

"It's not a pleasant thing." Myr offered, deciding to change the subject. "What about you?"

He asked. "Your magic is rather...unique."

 

[Skyler]

Eyes shifted up and over to him. Away from the rocky-roof. She still had so many more questions. What happened when a vampire bit you? Do you turn into one?

A frown tugged at her lower lip.

"It's strange," she admitted slowly. "I'm not sure how much of it is magic and how much of it is my heritage. Nature, the earth. It calls to me. I can feel the eb and flow of it." Right now, she knew two field mice were dying about five yards away while at the same time an eagle was gaining strength from eating it. Old, decaying trees were providing rich soil for the younger and growing buds.

"And when you were carrying me, for the first time ever, the water...well, you know what happened." She'd told him how she felt it healing her. She gnawed on the inside of her cheek.

"I wonder if I'll be able to feel all the elements soon."

The wonder was said quietly. Uncertainty. Perhaps with a bit of trepidation.

 

[Myrdin]

He frowned a moment. "I suppose that's one reason to get you to Elbion."

It was something he had been considering since she'd first brought up the Councilor and his true intent. If she was telling the truth, and he believed that she was, then there would be no point in bringing her there.

She couldn't prove her Innocence any more than he could.

Myr wasn't about to be the death sentence for her, but he wasn't about to just let her go either. If he walked away now...well he had seen her survival skills. She would do just fine in nature, of that he had absolutely no doubt, but the hunters? They would chase her over the spine and back.

Best he stick around until she got somewhere safe.

His honor demanded it. It had absolutely no reason to do with his current view, or the one before.

 

[Skyler]

"Wait," rusty-brows shot along her olive skin. Elbows propped her up so she could see his face better.

"Elbion?"

Those brows remained fairly high.

"That means you're not taking me back to Alliria?" Virbrant hues of verdant locked on the man's own eyes. Was he being serious? Or was this some sort of trick?

"What if the hunters find me there?"

It was clear she didn't like the idea of going to any city but this would still be better than Alliria where she imagined they'd hang her upon arrival. Or worse, they'd hand her over back to the man and then...," she shivered, picturing those iron chains touching her skin again and how they burned.

 

[Myrdin]

He shook his head. "The College protects its own."

A fact that Myr was well aware of because he'd once hunted a mage from Elbion. The College had made the whole thing exceedingly difficult and downright obnoxious. She would be safe once she was admitted to the College, most hunters wouldn't go near the place.

"You'll be safe there." Myr assured her. "And the path isn't too much farther than Alliria..."

He paused and frowned. "Though we'll still need to take a ship."

That was rather unavoidable at this point.

 

[Skyler]

Head tipped back, elbows still propping her up. Then lifted again.

"Well. I don't like big cities or ships so you might be dragging me onto one of them," she commented dryly. She eased herself back down, interlacing fingers behind her head once more. Toes wriggled.

"But how long would I have to stay in Elbion? Is that going to become my new prison?"

Voice was quiet, just heard above the small falls that was behind their campsite.

 

[Myrdin]

Myr shrugged his shoulders. "Elbion isn't a prison, it's a school."

Minaris had schools, though he supposed they had nothing of the sort for someone like her. A frown touched his lips for a brief moment, his head shaking in thought.

"They don't keep people there against their will." At least as far as he knew. "You can stay there until you know how to defend yourself."

Myr offered with a smile. "And then..."

Well then that was up to her.

"What would you rather do?" The Question was phrased softly, no accusation hanging in the words. If she could offer him a better suggestion, then he would take it. This was her life, not his. He would not control it.

 

[Skyler]

She sat up suddenly, pushing to her feet. Fingers brushed along bare skin, brushing away any excess dirt.

"I don't know," she stated plainly and walked back over to the clothing, plucking her pants from where they hung. Now dry.

"I'd almost rather take my chances out here." A hand motioned around them. "But. I like the idea of finding out more about my magic. At least, someone to teach me. If I can trust them."

A small frown as she began tugging on her pants.

One slender tall leg and then the other.

"And I realize staying out here might not be a viable option for the longrun." How many resources did the merchant have? How hell bent was he on summoning the greater demon with her blood? "But I'm tempted." She began pulling on her shirt, next.

 

[Myrdin]

Clothes.

Terrible inventions.

The thought drifted through Myr's mind for a few seconds, but he shook his head and decided that was not the topic that needed to be brought up right now. Things were a tad more serious than a few jestful jokes about clothing.

"You certainly seem fit for it." He admitted. "Though I am afraid the hunters will keep coming."

Lips thinned. "Vengeance is a powerful motivator."

Myr knew that better than most others.

"The decision is yours. If you wish to go to Elbion I will take you, if you wish to stay here..." He trailed off with a shrug.