Crimson Shadow

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

*Unedited*

I surveyed the town from my perch atop the hill, the suns shining down on sweaty face. Their positions indicated the time to be slightly after seven, and I knew that darkness would soon fall. People swarmed the streets, bumping into one another as they tried to make their way to their destination. An animal was hovering outside of the small butcher shop, its skinny figure begging to be fed. From my position it looked like a Frut, an animal mix of the human rabbit and dog. Its ears stood tall, a bushy tail at the end of its long body as it paced back and forth. The owner shooed it away and small wings unfurled from it back, something that surprised me as I looked across the edge of the city.

It disappeared from sight as a little girl gestured excitedly to it, trying to capture her mother’s attention whom was talking to a man. He was waving his hands exaggeratedly around in the air, making her laugh as a puff of smoke billowed from his mouth. A simple Magyck trick; even I, with enough practice, could pull it off. His skin was a light purple, his eyes that of a cat. The little girl tucked her light pink hair behind a pointed ear, proving her to be a Faerie.

The buildings here were very short, proving it to be one of the poorest parts of the city. Farther north, where the richer people inhabited, the typical buildings were taller than the tallest skyscraper in Earth. They reached up and touched the clouds, and when I zoomed in with my binoculars, I could see every little detail, from people walking around inside the glass walled buildings to a bird perched a window frame, cleaning its white and blue feathers.

My leather sack sat next to me, several cans of beans and soup resting in it from our raid. We had been chased out of the store when the shopkeeper came back, yelling words in another language that did not sound too friendly, and we had no time to grab any more. It would last for now, but we would need to go back for more before we moved to find another place to set up camp.

Setting the binoculars down I set the last piece of dried fruit in my mouth, moaning when the delicious fruit exploded on my tongue. I reached my hand back, feeling around for the bag that contained the last few of the precious food. Grunting when my hand could not find I turned around, my eyes honing in on the white fox sitting just outside of the forest, a small bag dangling from her mouth. She tilted her head and got to her feet, prancing back and forth as if saying I dare you to chase me for them!

“Nat, just give me the fruit.” I said, letting the warning ring in my voice. She shook her head slightly, a movement that caused the bag to swing in the air. She lifted her head high, her nose pointed up.

Come and get it. She taunted, knowing damn well I could never catch her. Her white-grey fur was dirtied from her previous roll in the dirt, the hair matted in several places. Foxes are quite vain creatures, especially Nat.

“You got a little dirt in your fur, there. Maybe you should wash it off?” I asked innocently, watching as her head flung around to inspect her back. I made my move, flinging myself forward. My fingertips touched the fur at her feet just as se frolicked away, her eyes filled with mischief.

Well, at least I have a soul! She shot back and I growled, glaring at her as she pranced back and forth, her tail curled up. She looked at me with her strange eyes, her blue and brown peering at me like she was thinking hard. Then, within a second, she dashed towards the trees, disappearing almost instantly. Groaning, I picked up the bag of food and heaved it over my tired shoulder, knowing I had to follow. The ground crunched slightly underneath my feet as I entered the vast forest, thinking of the day when I saved her life as she was drowning.

When I was twelve years old I was out hunting, and I came across a lake while tracking a deer like creature. The sound of splashing scared it off, and I knew I would not be able to track her down again. at first I assumed it was Blains soldiers, but when I peeked out from the bush I had hidden in I realized that it was an animal trapped in the water somehow. When I went to help her she growled at me, but with some persistence she let me near enough to free her. Her hind legs had been caught in a bundle of orange seaweed- which I later found out is edible, and actually doesn’t taste that bad- and she said that she knew no way to repay me, so she kept me company for a while. Soon enough we became friends, and haven’t parted since. She was the first contact I had with a living thing for four years, and the only contact I have had for six years now.