The Sorcerer and the Fighter

Notice: This story is an ongoing role-play I have with a friend of mine. Characters copyrighted to their respective owners (MoonSilver to Champagne, 2008. Dominic to Dante, year unknown.)

Also, my thanks to CatSleek for her editing of the writing.

MoonSilver loped through the woods, her pace an easy one as she was not expecting anything to happen. She couldn't understand why her family insisted on having her check the woods. No one ever came through them to see her family. In fact, her family was practically outcasts after everything they had done to save the people and prevent the throne from changing hands. Little did she know that her family had actually fought on the side of those trying to steal the throne, but it had happened before her birth. So for now, she was stuck out here in the woods, making sure no one came through them.

Stopping suddenly, she lifted her muzzle, a faint hint of a scent hanging in the air. She found the direction the strongest concentration of the scent came from, and headed that way, picking her way through the woods carefully, not making any sounds as she neared an area that was rocky, a cave set back into the side of the hills. She used to play in this cave when she was younger, but that was before it got dangerous for her to be out alone as a pup. Now that she was older, and well trained in the use of the weapons she carried, she was able to run this route daily. Nothing had been at the cave the day before, and her hackles went up. Knowing there wasn't much room in the cave, she pulled both of her daggers out and held them ready as she entered the cave.

Dominic was...well, not exactly a loner, but he just wasn't often comfortable around others in large numbers. He avoided cities, only ever stopped off in smaller communities and traded with few. He was something of an outcast himself. Not because he practiced magic which was common enough but because he was a sorcerer, a natural wizard from birth. As far back as he remembered he could draw in the elements to his call or move things with his mind. He was in touch with the universe from the day of his birth and it left its mark on him. People were naturally uncomfortable around him, they couldn't help it. Once a court mage had picked up on what he was and sought him out, he ended up being run out of the city as an aberration. In a sense he was, he was, after all, a magical abnormality, a one-in-a-generation freak of magical chance. That didn't mean he didn't think or feel like everyone else but, like other magical abnormalities, it made his life hard. In the last year, he'd picked up with a couple of adventuring bands and made his living out of it, but it wasn't easy. He was still young after all, barely having seen more then 23 summers.

How he had come to this cave? Well, he needed a place to stay away from everyone, at least for a little while. He knew the woods were technically forbidden but since everyone saw him as so different, he chose from time to time to put himself above the rules. Besides, he was a sorcerer, which meant he could defend himself easily enough and wipe the floor with anything that came his way within reason. He sat in the cave next to a fire that was currently out with his back against a rock facing away from the entrance of the cave. A wooden staff capped with metal lay next to him on the stone ground and he hummed to himself quietly as he fiddled with whittling something out of wood. He knew he wasn't alone though. Out of Moon's view, he glanced ahead of himself, his eyes flickering silver for a second as he triggered the magical signal he had put on the cave entrance. He didn't move though, didn't act any differently because he didn't want to give away that he knew someone or something was there.

Moon stopped just inside the entrance way to the cave and just stood there, letting her eyes adjust to the dimmer light of the cave after the bright sunlight outside. While the woods had dimmed the brightness of the sunlight, it was still a lot brighter out there as compared to inside the cave. It was also cooler in the cave, since the rocks that forms the cave held the coolness of the deep earth and not the sun-baked heat of the rocks outside. Soon her molten silver eyes had adjusted completely, and she silently moved deeper into the cave.

She had only taken a few more steps into the cave when she caught his scent, seemingly from everywhere around her. She knew that it was not possible for him to be surrounding her completely, but this was a small cave, and it was possible for his scent to fill the cave. But she knew she hadn't passed him over the few steps she had taken, and the cave did not open up to the sides of her, so he must still be ahead of her. Her eyes narrowed as she looked deeper into the cave, trying to spot him, though she was having trouble. Her eyesight wasn't as good as it would have been had she been born a hundred years earlier.

Her fur did not lend itself to hiding in shadows as well as it would have done had it been black, but since it was a mixture of colors: silver, grey, brown and black, parts of her blended into the darkness, and the rest clashed with the darkness of the cave. Her upper lip peeled back as she got closer to the scent, a low growl finally slipping from her throat. Well, since she had given away her position there in the cave, she might as well speak to him. "Who are you and why are you here in my family's land?"

"I needed shelter and this cave has provided me with it. As far as I was aware this was a woods, not owned by deed by any individual or family."

His voice echoed though not from ahead of her but all around her instead. It was a simple enough spell, speaking into his hands cupped over his muzzle; his voice was cast from several different directions at once with merely an extension of his will. He smiled behind his cupped hands and continued to speak then, his tone even and friendly, after all he had no real desire for conflict.

"Forgive me for saying so, but is it not more dangerous that your family would send you alone out to scout these woods? I hear that nearer the road that passes itself through this forest, a band of brigands have set up. I don't doubt you are likely very capable but you alone against a large group? I fear what harm might befall you."

With that he removed his hands from in front of his muzzle and reached for his staff. Planting the capped end against the floor, he pushed himself to his feet and turned to face her, the silver fading from his eyes as he turned to face her in the deeper darkness of the cave. Lifting a paw, he ignited a soft glowing ball of magical light in his palm to illuminate himself, smiling plainly at her as he stood before her in a black leather jerkin and black spun pants. When she saw him likely she'd start to get that odd feeling that something was off about him, that something wasn't quite right. That was the curse of him being a sorcerer after all. Whether she knew that feeling for what it was or not was another story.

"You can call me Dominic, for now. It's not much of a name, but it's what I go by in these parts."

Speaking without magic now there was something slightly of the northern people in his accent but it was difficult to say for certain what area.

MoonSilver tilted her head as her amber eyes studied him. "These woods are on my family's lands. But if shelter is what you need, why not come up to the house? Why stay in a cave? It's not that comfortable in a cave, and at the house we have soft beds and the rooms are warmer than a cave."

She felt the strange feeling washing over her, and shook herself to get rid of that feeling. She didn't know why she got that sudden feeling, but she had. "As for that rabble that is banding together up by the road, I might be unable to take them all on at once, but then who said I was stupid enough to do that? Personally, I would scout them first, see how many are in that group, and how I can take some of them out before having to get the rest of my family involved. My weapons are not just for show. I do know how to use them."

Her head tilted the other way, her eyes still on him. "I'm MoonSilver. It's nice to meet you, Dominic." Sheathing one of her daggers, she moved closer to him, her free hand rising from her side, palm up, showing that she just wanted to shake hands. His scent caught her attention again, and she had difficulty hiding her reaction, though she was able to cover it up some with her movements.

He covered his surprise that she actually moved forward to greet him in such a friendly fashion but then he assumed living in this wood perhaps she wouldn't know what he was or why she might get that odd feeling that he thought likely she would have done by now. The strange sensation was stronger closer to him but that was just the way it was. He couldn't change it or hide it sadly. His smile broadening just a little as he reached out and took her hands at the wrist, a definite northern greeting as he clasped then released. He regarded her now, a bit more closely in the light generated by the magical energy ball he still held. She was most definitely a very lovely creature. Such a shame that she was wasted wandering these woods. She'd have her pick in the city, he wagered to himself slightly lost in thought. He caught a whiff of her scent and for a moment had to lick his dry lips. Had it really been that long? Probably.

"Well, MoonSilver, if my presence is a problem in your family's lands then I can move on. I mean no harm but I cannot very well stay in the city. My condition makes it difficult for others to be around me," he offered.

He moved back to the rock he'd been leaning against then and dropped his staff to the stony earth. In doing so he flicked the ball of light energy up into the air where it stayed hovering, providing illumination from above. He then sat down next to his small pack and started rummaging in it.

"Tell me though, how do you and your family come to be out here living? An attractive female like yourself is wasted on the local shrubbery and banditry in these parts."

She ducked her head at his compliment, the odd sensation racing over her body even more, now that she was closer to him, sending shivers down her spine. "I grew up out here. This is the only life I've ever known. Out in the wild woods. I used to play in this cave when I was younger. And your presence isn't a problem. My family's been treated like outcasts as long as I can remember. I don't know why, since my family has never done anything to deserve this treatment we've gotten from others. And the house is not in the city, but only a little further into the woods."

She looked up at the light ball, wondering how he had made it since she hadn't heard any arcane words spoken to create it, and wasn't that the only way to do magic? To verbalize the spell? It wasn't like she actually knew the differences between types of magic. She didn't even know much about it in the first place, being so far from the city and other people.

Sheathing her other dagger, she moved to sit down as she was used to the stone of the cave. "Where do you come from Dominic? As I said, I've never left these woods, so I don't know much about what life is like anywhere but here, and I'm more than a little curious about cities, and other people like us. The only people I know are my own family."

"I come from a city called Aretrra very, very far to the north, wherein the plains meet the cold mountains and the snowed tundras. It is not an easy place to grow up. The northern lands are tainted and spawn many oddities and horrors of which I am one of such." He said, quite plainly and covering the sadness in his tone.

Even accepting what you were was hard when you were such an anomaly that you couldn't even go to a far off land without everyone knowing what you were just by being around you. Tales spread far and wide via traders and travelers. He was one such tale...or at least his kind were.

"I suppose in a sense we are kin. Though I know why I am shunned. I am magical down to my very core, more so then even the finest wizards in the world. They take minutes of incanting to do what I can do with a thought and a few seconds. They spend a day preparing a spell to knock down a fortress wall and I do it in an hour with my force of will. I am known as Kalach-Vha. A sorcerer to other peoples. Likely you feel odd around me or perturbed. It's a taint in my very nature which all pick up on but you wouldn't know what it was unless you had been told."

He turned his gaze to her then, letting the magic in his blood show in his eyes which turned from blue to glistening liquid silver in an instant. That luminescent glow in his eyes was almost hypnotic, like the flow of quicksilver.

"The lands beyond the woods are hard and full of dangers but at the same time there are many beautiful things and wondrous places. Like the city of the magi, where magic is studied, floats on the air. Then there's the mountain citadels of the dragons in the far east. Such is the world beyond your borders."

His words enchanted her, creating a longing within her to see these far off lands, the floating city of the magi, the dragons, the snow, the mountains. But something about his words disturbed her. "Are they jealous that you can do magic more easily than them? It doesn't bother me at all. I mean, I feel slightly odd, but it's not really uncomfortable. It's just a shiver down my spine. And no, my hackles haven't risen because of the sensation. It's just different."

She leaned towards him, something in her telling her that he was hiding how he felt about being shunned, probably not wanting to add to her own feelings about it. "Dominic, you are not a horror. Not to me, at least. If you'd like, I'll stand by your side no matter what. Will you be my friend?"

"I would...I would like that I have to say, MoonSilver. I am not sure how long I can stay in your woods, however. I am possessed of a wanderlust that I have known all my life and the lands beyond call me. I fear I cannot stop over too long."

He said then for a moment fell into thought as he regarded her. A hands came up and he rubbed his chin as he considered the situation. He could see in her eyes that word of the land beyond had affected her, that glisten that some had when they wanted to know or see more, when they weren't quite content with their lot in life. He had known that look much growing up and it had been mirrored on his face a thousand times or more.

"Unless...unless you fancy coming with me? I understand you have a responsibility to the woods and to your family but perhaps they can be reasoned with to let you join me. You should know of a world beyond the tree line as any should and I know enough of the lands beyond to guide you far."

It was, of course, a large offer to make and a dangerous one. The lands beyond were not friendly but he trusted that she could defend herself and he would always be nearby. The one obstacle would, indeed, be her family and what they would feel about her leaving, let alone being allowed to leave in the company of a young male wolf.

"Oh...and do not worry about how I feel about what I am. Enough years and you get used to being what you are when you know you cannot change it."

She nearly yipped with excitement, her eyes shining in anticipation. Not only had she made a friend, her first friend, today, but he wanted to take her with him, show her the world beyond the woods. "I would love to, Dominic. And I know just how to word our request to get my family to agree."

Her mind was already forming her request to her parents, knowing that two of her brothers had come home, while the others were missing, at least as far as she knew. But then again, her parents tended to shield her from the uglier parts of life. If her family was labeled as outcasts, and most of her brothers were missing, then something had probably happened to them, and her parents didn't want to let her know. She might be young, but she wasn't a child, and it was time they faced that fact. And she might be the only chance her family had to have any children, since neither of her brothers that had come home were mated to anyone.

"Dominic, come up to the house with me. You can meet my family, and that should also help our case. Otherwise, they will think I'm making you up."

"I suppose I could. Just give me a few minutes to grab my things from here and we can get moving." He then bent back down to his pack again, gathering up the few bits that were on the floor and putting them away carefully. It seemed he traveled light and due to the minimal amount of supplies had either been living off the land or hadn't had a good meal in the while. Noticing that he didn't look exactly starving, it was likely the former was the case. He shouldered his pack at last then and picked up his staff, smiling at her as he turned back around to face her.

"Very well then, I have everything I need so lead the way."

He followed her carefully as he made his way with her through the woods but he was also careful to watch the tree line and remember the path they would take. After all he may need to come back here some day for whatever reason and the cave gave him a directional point of reference as did the sun through the trees overhead.

She led the way back to her family home, and as they left the woods and entered a small clearing, a modest house could be seen. It looked like it had started it's life as a woodman's cottage and had been added on to by different people over the years. Her father was outside cutting wood as they approached the house, his fur a mix of black and silver. He looked up as they drew near, then grabbed his sword, coming to intercept them.

"Daddy! Put that away!" MoonSilver called to him, but his eyes never left the male wolf by his only daughter. Her words brought the rest of her family out of the house, both of her brothers moving up behind her father, her mother standing by the door, her eyes locked on her daughter. If that male had touched her daughter...

Dominic froze as they were approached and with one hand on the staff, the other he showed was open holding no other weapon. At the same moment however the wind whipped about his feet in a perfect circle and around him sprang up a barrier of magical energy, a defensive field designed to take physical energy and direct it back on an attacker. Essentially if someone hit it with a sword hard the shield would shove them backwards with equal force on the moment of impact. It was a precautionary measure really, though against archers it was generally more effective as it flung the arrow back at the firer with the force at which it had been shot.

"I mean no harm to you or your daughter and I come in peace at her behest. Please put the weapons away." he said aloud, his voice carrying clearly amongst the trees. Of course there was the off chance with the show of magic her parents might no what he was but it couldn't be helped, he had no desire to be stabbed or shot at all really.

The males of her family kept moving closer, and MoonSilver growled at them, finally getting them to stop. Her father looked at her, then at the young male behind her. The magic the young male commanded did let him and his mate know what he was, though the younger males didn't, they followed their father's lead. They stopped behind him, looking at each other worriedly, then back at MoonSilver.

"Daddy. He's my friend. Please put away your sword." Her words got to him, and he lowered his sword as her amber eyes turned to her two brothers. Moving past her father, she cuffed them both upside their heads. "You two as well. Put them away before I take you both down. And you know I can put you both out cold for a couple hours when I have to."