Chapter 3
It seems like I can still write this story if I write in longhand, though my writing's awfully hard to read once I get off the bus. The funny thing about this story is that I know the beginning and the end. The middle's still a little murky so I don't know how long it'll take me to put up another chapter.
Title: Residual Hate
Chapter summary: Hitori does some defensive magic and Adeliva finally meets Faylin and Kamatari.
Chapter 3
Adeliva was a girl who grew up on a farm in the country. The population of Farmshead was a little less than 100 people, most of whom were spread out through the countryside. That is why she found herself staring through the open doors of Meiron with her mouth wide open. No matter where she looked, there were people. Dancers in bright colours entertaining the crowd with their acrobatics, street vendors screaming over each other to gain a customer’s attention, children running barefoot through the crowd playing games. The noise was intense and festive, and the smell of candy and other sweets made Adeliva’s stomach rumble.
“So… warm…” She whispered in awe not noticing Hitori’s sharp look. She felt the thoughts press around her, pushing and pulling trying to get her to join them. Her grip on Hitori’s hand tightened unconsciously as she fought to keep herself centered.
‘I knew she wasn’t paying attention to her mediation!’ Hitori thought sourly putting her free hand onto the child’s head. Concentrating, she removed the veil over her magical vision (a necessity if she had to pay attention to her physical surroundings). Without the veil to dampen its glow, Adeliva’s magic blazed brightly in the afternoon sun, pouring out of the girl’s body. The dark purple cloud went from its source into the crowd, clinging to people’s heads and the space above their hearts. Hitori saw a nearby child’s expression go as blank as Adeliva’s, his vitality smothered in an instant.
Hitori called forth her own magic, weaving the silver threads of power into a great net with her mind. The pattern became brighter as it grew, fed by her magic and its own protective design, each thread working to seal any holes that may have been created. She slowly passed the net through the crowd, going from the outer rim of people and pulling the net towards herself, watching carefully as it passed through people to collect the purple clouds of magic.
Once she couldn’t sense any of Adeliva’s magic out there, she secured her net around Adeliva, placing a powerful seal over it that would degrade as Adeliva gained control over her own powers. Little wisps of purple still managed to escape her net, but they were few and thus very weak.
Adeliva shuddered as she came back to herself, her gray eyes observing her surroundings quickly before focusing on Hitori. She couldn’t remember when Hitori had put her hand on her forehead, nor why the woman’s golden eyes seemed to blaze with some type of silver fire. As she watched, the blaze died down and she released the breath she had been holding. ‘She has so much power!’ The girl thought, somewhat awed. “What did you do?”
“I put your magic into a net until you can control yourself.” Hitori said firmly, and Adeliva knew that Hitori was not amused by her lack of control. “If you lose control of it like that again, I might not be around to save you. People have died from letting their magic control them.”
“Sorry.” Adeliva looked towards the ground, unable to face Hitori anymore.
“Just don’t do it again Ryu.” Hitori said lightly, patting her charge on the head before walking forward into the crowd. She waited a moment for Adeliva to catch up, and then took her hand.
“Yes ma’am.” Adeliva said, deciding to just ignore the people around her in favour of watching Hitori for now.
That is why she noticed how her companion’s eyes wandered to the dancers. After a few seconds of observation, Hitori’s would suddenly look away as she blushed, before her attention would be drawn inevitably back to the dancer. Adeliva watched curiously as Hitori became redder and redder in the face, her mental probes bouncing off Hitori’s shield harmlessly.
Finally, she grew impatient enough to wave a hand in front of Hitori’s reddened face when she stopped suddenly. “What’s wrong with you? You’re all red.”
Hitori jumped as if she had been poked with a heated blacksmith’s brand and became even redder, surprising Adeliva who wasn’t aware that such a colour existed. Then the weaver mage actually squeaked.
“Oi! Hitori~ii”A man called from the doorway of a large wooden building. A signpost was driven into the ground to his left, displaying a lion’s head and a few words that Adeliva could not read. The inn was about the size of four regular houses, and every second-story room had at least a window or a balcony.
Shaking her head, she looked at the waving man. She hadn’t seen such fine clothes since a lord had ridden through the village, collecting tax money as he went. Unlike the tax man, the one in front of her was light of built, with golden hair and sky-blue eyes that seemed to see through her in an instant. A golden pendant in the shape of a feather hung from a necklace, clearly visible between the folds of his open dress shirt. His happy smile became slightly impish when he noticed Hitori’s blush. “Is that what took you so long?”
“Faylin!” Hitori scolded, walking resolutely towards the man. Adeliva was a little surprised to feel happiness radiate from her mentor. “I should undo the seams of your trousers for thinking like that?”
“Yes, but that would make everyone around us start thinking with their crotch.” The man called Faylin made a dismissive gesture, smiling at a woman who was observing them curiously. She gave him a contemplative look, blushed, and turned her attention back to her male companion. “Though it might save me some time…” He added to himself.
“Faylin!” Hitori groaned, pushing the man inside the building and closing the door behind them. “How’s the inn?”
“The service is excellent.” Faylin answered, cocking his head to the side slightly as he looked down at Adeliva. “And I suppose she’s the reason why you’re late and hurt.”
Hitori winced, fingering the high collar that hid the bruises left behind by Kyu. She should have known that Faylin would be able to hear the slight difference between her usual voice and her healing one. “It wasn’t her fault.”
“I’m sorry.” Adeliva said guiltily at the same time.
“You’ll have to tell me about it over supper.” Faylin bent his knees a little until he was almost eye-level with Adeliva (he was a very tall man and the girl’s head was almost level with his abdomen). “What’s your name sweetie?”
“Adeliva.” She answered shyly, feeling calmer suddenly. His voice was gently and kind, the type that would inspire trust and devotion; but something inside her told her to be on her guard, that he was dangerous and the kindness was just an act. He shook her hand politely, eyes narrowing slightly before returning to normal. It happened so fast that Adeliva wasn’t quite sure she hadn’t imagined the whole thing.
“Where’s Kamatari?” Hitori asked, oblivious to the subconscious tension between the two. Instead, she was looked around the lobby, noting the stairs to the second level, the bar room to the left, and the door labeled ‘kitchen to the right.
“All the rooms are upstairs.” Faylin straightened, letting go of Adeliva’s hand in favor of hugging Hitori from behind. “’Tari’s pouting in ours.”
“’Tari doesn’t pout.” Hitori answered slowly, looking at Faylin with narrowed eyes. “What did you do?”
“Nothing really.” Faylin beamed.
A throwing dagger came flying down from the second floor, passing millimeters form Faylin’s happy face on its way to the ground. The man jumped back slightly, the smile never leaving his face as he dodged the second dagger. “O~oh, he’s having a tantrum.”
“Shut up you rich brat!” Kamatari snarled, jumping over the railing in one smooth motion, landing in a crouch a few feet away from Hitori and Adeliva. He straightened quickly, eyes never leaving Hitori’s face. “You’re late.”
“She needed my help.” Hitori shrugged, laying a hand on Adeliva’s shoulder from behind. “And she’s not used to traveling far.”
“Didn’t you bring in enough strays already?” Kamatari grumbled, giving Adeliva a quick once over, unimpressed. “It’s bad enough you let him follow you around.”
“Be nice.” Hitori warned.
Kamatari ignored her. “You already have a student. Do you really want two? I can smell your magic all over her so she’s already been a problem.”
“She hasn’t been a problem.” Hitori said quickly, sensing that Adeliva was about to apologize again. “Faylin’s gotten very good at controlling his song magic so I’ll have more time to teach her the basics. She needs to be taught Kamatari, her magic’s very strong.”
“Strong enough to choke you?” Kamatari asked archly, crossing his arms. “You already saved her life, why train her?”
“She’ll die without it.” Hitori said flatly, meeting the swordsman’s eyes without flinching. “He was taking it from her for so long so she didn’t have time to adapt to her growing power levels. She is my ward Kamatari, whether you like it or not.”
Adeliva starred at Kamatari, using Hitori’s resolve to meet his unreadable black eyes. After a moment of silence, the swordsman uncrossed his arms and snorted. “If you’re going to be pigheaded about it… What’s your name kid?”
“Adeliva, sir.” She answered, and Kamatari’s eyebrow twitched.
“I guess it’s unlikely that she’d be more annoying than that one.” He gestured towards Faylin irritably. The song mage smiled angelically in return, keeping his silence for the moment. He had been watching the exchange thoughtfully, and was still leaning against a nearby wall with a relaxed posture.
“Faylin’s not that bad.” Hitori disagreed mildly, smiling at her protector thankfully. He had found her wandering around the streets of Kazoul when she was a child, had trained her to survive in the wild and civilizations, had even introduced her to the one who had taught her how to channel her magic.
“You’re going to have to work if you want me to like you.” He told Adeliva simply. “Never interrupt me while I’m practicing with my swords, ask questions if you want to know something because I hate it when people think I can read minds. Listen to Hitori and don’t listen to a word that brat says.”
“’Tari!”
“Next time you try to put a barrier to keep me somewhere, put more power into it.” Kamatari told Faylin, walking towards the inn’s door. “Any less than your full power is both insulting and useless.”
“Yes sir!” Faylin saluted the other man, an unabashed smile on his face.
Kamatari left them without another word.
Prologue ^-^-^ Chapter 1 ^-^-^ Chapter 2 ^-^-^ Chapter 3 ^-^-^ Chapter 4 ^-^-^ Chapter 5 ^-^-^ Chapter 6
Title: Residual Hate
Chapter summary: Hitori does some defensive magic and Adeliva finally meets Faylin and Kamatari.
Chapter 3
Adeliva was a girl who grew up on a farm in the country. The population of Farmshead was a little less than 100 people, most of whom were spread out through the countryside. That is why she found herself staring through the open doors of Meiron with her mouth wide open. No matter where she looked, there were people. Dancers in bright colours entertaining the crowd with their acrobatics, street vendors screaming over each other to gain a customer’s attention, children running barefoot through the crowd playing games. The noise was intense and festive, and the smell of candy and other sweets made Adeliva’s stomach rumble.
“So… warm…” She whispered in awe not noticing Hitori’s sharp look. She felt the thoughts press around her, pushing and pulling trying to get her to join them. Her grip on Hitori’s hand tightened unconsciously as she fought to keep herself centered.
‘I knew she wasn’t paying attention to her mediation!’ Hitori thought sourly putting her free hand onto the child’s head. Concentrating, she removed the veil over her magical vision (a necessity if she had to pay attention to her physical surroundings). Without the veil to dampen its glow, Adeliva’s magic blazed brightly in the afternoon sun, pouring out of the girl’s body. The dark purple cloud went from its source into the crowd, clinging to people’s heads and the space above their hearts. Hitori saw a nearby child’s expression go as blank as Adeliva’s, his vitality smothered in an instant.
Hitori called forth her own magic, weaving the silver threads of power into a great net with her mind. The pattern became brighter as it grew, fed by her magic and its own protective design, each thread working to seal any holes that may have been created. She slowly passed the net through the crowd, going from the outer rim of people and pulling the net towards herself, watching carefully as it passed through people to collect the purple clouds of magic.
Once she couldn’t sense any of Adeliva’s magic out there, she secured her net around Adeliva, placing a powerful seal over it that would degrade as Adeliva gained control over her own powers. Little wisps of purple still managed to escape her net, but they were few and thus very weak.
Adeliva shuddered as she came back to herself, her gray eyes observing her surroundings quickly before focusing on Hitori. She couldn’t remember when Hitori had put her hand on her forehead, nor why the woman’s golden eyes seemed to blaze with some type of silver fire. As she watched, the blaze died down and she released the breath she had been holding. ‘She has so much power!’ The girl thought, somewhat awed. “What did you do?”
“I put your magic into a net until you can control yourself.” Hitori said firmly, and Adeliva knew that Hitori was not amused by her lack of control. “If you lose control of it like that again, I might not be around to save you. People have died from letting their magic control them.”
“Sorry.” Adeliva looked towards the ground, unable to face Hitori anymore.
“Just don’t do it again Ryu.” Hitori said lightly, patting her charge on the head before walking forward into the crowd. She waited a moment for Adeliva to catch up, and then took her hand.
“Yes ma’am.” Adeliva said, deciding to just ignore the people around her in favour of watching Hitori for now.
That is why she noticed how her companion’s eyes wandered to the dancers. After a few seconds of observation, Hitori’s would suddenly look away as she blushed, before her attention would be drawn inevitably back to the dancer. Adeliva watched curiously as Hitori became redder and redder in the face, her mental probes bouncing off Hitori’s shield harmlessly.
Finally, she grew impatient enough to wave a hand in front of Hitori’s reddened face when she stopped suddenly. “What’s wrong with you? You’re all red.”
Hitori jumped as if she had been poked with a heated blacksmith’s brand and became even redder, surprising Adeliva who wasn’t aware that such a colour existed. Then the weaver mage actually squeaked.
“Oi! Hitori~ii”A man called from the doorway of a large wooden building. A signpost was driven into the ground to his left, displaying a lion’s head and a few words that Adeliva could not read. The inn was about the size of four regular houses, and every second-story room had at least a window or a balcony.
Shaking her head, she looked at the waving man. She hadn’t seen such fine clothes since a lord had ridden through the village, collecting tax money as he went. Unlike the tax man, the one in front of her was light of built, with golden hair and sky-blue eyes that seemed to see through her in an instant. A golden pendant in the shape of a feather hung from a necklace, clearly visible between the folds of his open dress shirt. His happy smile became slightly impish when he noticed Hitori’s blush. “Is that what took you so long?”
“Faylin!” Hitori scolded, walking resolutely towards the man. Adeliva was a little surprised to feel happiness radiate from her mentor. “I should undo the seams of your trousers for thinking like that?”
“Yes, but that would make everyone around us start thinking with their crotch.” The man called Faylin made a dismissive gesture, smiling at a woman who was observing them curiously. She gave him a contemplative look, blushed, and turned her attention back to her male companion. “Though it might save me some time…” He added to himself.
“Faylin!” Hitori groaned, pushing the man inside the building and closing the door behind them. “How’s the inn?”
“The service is excellent.” Faylin answered, cocking his head to the side slightly as he looked down at Adeliva. “And I suppose she’s the reason why you’re late and hurt.”
Hitori winced, fingering the high collar that hid the bruises left behind by Kyu. She should have known that Faylin would be able to hear the slight difference between her usual voice and her healing one. “It wasn’t her fault.”
“I’m sorry.” Adeliva said guiltily at the same time.
“You’ll have to tell me about it over supper.” Faylin bent his knees a little until he was almost eye-level with Adeliva (he was a very tall man and the girl’s head was almost level with his abdomen). “What’s your name sweetie?”
“Adeliva.” She answered shyly, feeling calmer suddenly. His voice was gently and kind, the type that would inspire trust and devotion; but something inside her told her to be on her guard, that he was dangerous and the kindness was just an act. He shook her hand politely, eyes narrowing slightly before returning to normal. It happened so fast that Adeliva wasn’t quite sure she hadn’t imagined the whole thing.
“Where’s Kamatari?” Hitori asked, oblivious to the subconscious tension between the two. Instead, she was looked around the lobby, noting the stairs to the second level, the bar room to the left, and the door labeled ‘kitchen to the right.
“All the rooms are upstairs.” Faylin straightened, letting go of Adeliva’s hand in favor of hugging Hitori from behind. “’Tari’s pouting in ours.”
“’Tari doesn’t pout.” Hitori answered slowly, looking at Faylin with narrowed eyes. “What did you do?”
“Nothing really.” Faylin beamed.
A throwing dagger came flying down from the second floor, passing millimeters form Faylin’s happy face on its way to the ground. The man jumped back slightly, the smile never leaving his face as he dodged the second dagger. “O~oh, he’s having a tantrum.”
“Shut up you rich brat!” Kamatari snarled, jumping over the railing in one smooth motion, landing in a crouch a few feet away from Hitori and Adeliva. He straightened quickly, eyes never leaving Hitori’s face. “You’re late.”
“She needed my help.” Hitori shrugged, laying a hand on Adeliva’s shoulder from behind. “And she’s not used to traveling far.”
“Didn’t you bring in enough strays already?” Kamatari grumbled, giving Adeliva a quick once over, unimpressed. “It’s bad enough you let him follow you around.”
“Be nice.” Hitori warned.
Kamatari ignored her. “You already have a student. Do you really want two? I can smell your magic all over her so she’s already been a problem.”
“She hasn’t been a problem.” Hitori said quickly, sensing that Adeliva was about to apologize again. “Faylin’s gotten very good at controlling his song magic so I’ll have more time to teach her the basics. She needs to be taught Kamatari, her magic’s very strong.”
“Strong enough to choke you?” Kamatari asked archly, crossing his arms. “You already saved her life, why train her?”
“She’ll die without it.” Hitori said flatly, meeting the swordsman’s eyes without flinching. “He was taking it from her for so long so she didn’t have time to adapt to her growing power levels. She is my ward Kamatari, whether you like it or not.”
Adeliva starred at Kamatari, using Hitori’s resolve to meet his unreadable black eyes. After a moment of silence, the swordsman uncrossed his arms and snorted. “If you’re going to be pigheaded about it… What’s your name kid?”
“Adeliva, sir.” She answered, and Kamatari’s eyebrow twitched.
“I guess it’s unlikely that she’d be more annoying than that one.” He gestured towards Faylin irritably. The song mage smiled angelically in return, keeping his silence for the moment. He had been watching the exchange thoughtfully, and was still leaning against a nearby wall with a relaxed posture.
“Faylin’s not that bad.” Hitori disagreed mildly, smiling at her protector thankfully. He had found her wandering around the streets of Kazoul when she was a child, had trained her to survive in the wild and civilizations, had even introduced her to the one who had taught her how to channel her magic.
“You’re going to have to work if you want me to like you.” He told Adeliva simply. “Never interrupt me while I’m practicing with my swords, ask questions if you want to know something because I hate it when people think I can read minds. Listen to Hitori and don’t listen to a word that brat says.”
“’Tari!”
“Next time you try to put a barrier to keep me somewhere, put more power into it.” Kamatari told Faylin, walking towards the inn’s door. “Any less than your full power is both insulting and useless.”
“Yes sir!” Faylin saluted the other man, an unabashed smile on his face.
Kamatari left them without another word.
Prologue ^-^-^ Chapter 1 ^-^-^ Chapter 2 ^-^-^ Chapter 3 ^-^-^ Chapter 4 ^-^-^ Chapter 5 ^-^-^ Chapter 6