Irreplacable

Chapter 2

"Blighted, damn, wretched forest!" Why was this happening now? Rain in the middle of a horrible day? Who could have guessed.

Slumping down underneath the root of a tree seems like a nice escape from it all for a moment. The rain gets worse by the minute and theres no sign of her master. He'd taken her in after the huge fire. "Where is that old bastard?" She grabs a makeshift dagger shed made last week for carving wood into traps and larger weapons and begins carving abstract designs into the bark of the root. Thunder cracks and booms through the forest, and moans of the local monsters loom around her as the sun sets, all these sounds becoming a sort of comfort for her.

"Evelyn what are you doing? I didn't say you could rest!" Erisson shouts, scaring away the hungry wild animals around them as he prowls up to her. His demonic wolf is so graceful beside him one would almost think it was harmless. However, one word from Erisson and it would snap, rip a throat out.. completely eradicate someone in the blink of an eye.

She slowly stands, carelessly swirling her small shiv around. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't come. You're late, Erisson." She accuses, pouting to annoy him.

"What have you learned out here, child?" He demands effortlessly, glancing around them carefully, suspecting.

"If you think we are in danger you must be losing your touch, old man. Only thing that's around here are feral wolves and monkeys, and gods, the bugs." She spits, then shivers, showing dirty browned teeth against nearly blackened, scarred skin. Her silver hair has been pulled back for so long she almost forgot about it. At this point it was so matted and crusty she just looked like some weird mountain man.

His eyes snap back to her, narrowing. "What have you learned, girl? Maybe I should leave you here to rot, should you insult me one more time." Erisson was harsh, but his methods gave results, which was exactly what they both needed.

"Learned about what, oh, dear master of mine? How to skin a wolf for its fur pelt? Or how about reading the stars for direction, should i even see them? Hm. No? Maybe you're talking about... my powers as a pyro?" She inquires, beginning to pick her teeth with the blade, smiling at him wolfishly. It makes him uncomfortable how much shes changed in the years he'd left her alone, but she is definitely sane, that much is true. He nods once and she slumps back down into the crevice of the old tree. "Nothing. Maybe it was just dumb luck, but nothing has happened to lead me to the thought of me being some kind of mage. Its impossible."

"No."

"What do you mean, 'no'?" She growls towards him.

"Its not impossible. Whats impossible is how you survived the worst fire on Wolfshaegan in millennia, where your family burned up into ashes, along with your memory, it seems."

A low, heinous laugh. "Why don't you ask someone who knows magic? A mage, maybe? Or the college in whatever city it is. I'm certain they've plenty of time on their hands and they will love to indulge in your obsession with you." She stands to match his height, coming short a couple of inches. He grabs her by the throat, crushing it without breaking a sweat would be so easy, he stares into her eyes.

If you're lying to me... is what his strong gaze said to her. She licks her lips, and catches him off guard with the flick of her ankle, ripping him away from her as he falls under her monstrous grip and delicate weight. Shes now straddling her master. Dominance. He grunts and she smiles at him, leaning closer to the old mans ear.

"I've learned many things on this island, survival and surprise being two of them. If you think i'd lie to you, then be my guest, leave me here i'd be more than happy to figure out more ways to gut bigger, scarier animals than you, master." She whispers into his ear, leaping out of her straddle position on him, standing at ease, she sighs wistfully; "Maybe, 

i'll even learn how to walk om water," with a snicker. He sits up, seemingly pleased. He hid his emotions well, but he was really impressed with her new skills. The ash from the fire that should have killed her thirteen years ago never washed from her hair, forever staining it a deep, silver white like no other hair color he'd seen before. She was impressive, even as a child, but the skill she'd shown was truly impressive.

He smiles at her now, standing. "I'm surprised that little shiv is the only weapon you possess, I sort of hoped you'd make something more impressive, but my eyes show me that you barely need a weapon to overcome someone or something, truly impressive, indeed." Erisson pats his wolf's head, then jerks his head towards where the water meets the sandy beach of the island, and begins to walk. His wolf follows behind him, and soon after, she does too, grinning with her dirty teeth like a madman.