A Collection of Stuff

Leo

A/N hey I wrote this aGES ago and I just found this??

Leo woke with a start, cold sweat coating his forehead. He pushed himself back and up to rest against the wall as he had awoken. He took a sharp intake of breath as he pierced the wool blanket with his fingertips. He took a heavy breath as if he was about to cry. He blinked swiftly, looking out the window that was covered with tracks of rain the previous day's pouring rain. The moon cast a phantom of dull light onto the wooden floor in his room. There was a puddle next to the window, it had been opened a crack yesterday when the rain hadn't been blowing in; though it was forgotten in the chaos of having to climb to the roof and repair several large holes.
He released his harsh grip on the pale blue throw, pieces of loose thread clinging to his callused palms and fingertips. He looked to the right, where next to a small wooden table, was a door to the hallway. He looked back out the window then to the left, where his father's bow lay with a small quiver of arrows with bloodstains on the tips. Countless animals had been killed by their stone tip, all of them with a joined purpose; to feed the family.
His room was a small rectangle. The door was at the right on the back wall, a small bed sat in the middle. A blue fleece laid messed up on off white sheets that were probably too small of the mattress. There was a window aligned with the foot of his bed a few feet away at the other wall. There was a wooden table with a candle and box of matches on top. A small wardrobe without doors anymore stood solo in the left front corner.
Leo slowly peeled off the blanket and slid his legs over the edge of his bed. His sock covered feet hit the floor without a sound. He swiped up his small box of matches and struck the side of the matchbox briskly. He lit a small candle on his table and then blew out the match, placing it in a cup of water filled with other matches. He turned back to the bow and arrow and with a short and controlled flick of his fingers the bow and arrows lifted from the ground being circled by what looked like a number of see through blue sparkling string on the other side of the room.
His fingertips became hot as the same blue thread moved around his hand and the items on the far side of his bed followed where his hands pointed. They flew silently through the air, hovering close to the ground then above the edge of the bed. He flinched as a small stab of pain hit his temple. Quickly followed as another and another until he made a fist and let his hands rest by his sides and the bow and arrows quietly dropped to the bed top.
Leo sighed and rubbed his head with one hand as he tip toed to the bedside. He picked up a leather jacket at the foot off his bed. He opened it and stared at it with a ghost of a smile as he read: "Leonardo William Scott" on the name tag. He shifted it on slowly, the cool material made him shiver with anticipation while he slung the quiver over his head and gathered up the bow. Leo slowly edged his toes into leather boots at the foot of his bed where his jacket had lay.
He made a face as another pang of pain interjected his silent thoughts. He hadn't been thinking of anything in particular, the thoughts were all a jumble of stray sentences he was going to say or had said the previous day. Fragmented ideas about how to hide his unusual gift, lighting fast glimpses of his father being tortured and killed, pieces of fear as his step-father moved to hit him, utter panic upon waking from his nightmares. There were good things, his little sister's laugh, hunting in the forest with his father, using his gift before his fathers death without pain; but they were far and in between. He closed his eyes while he stood at the closed door of his bedroom.
He released his tensed arms, a habit he had started when he got upset, and let them rest by his side. He swallowed hard and tightened his grip on the bow, subsequently the box of matches started to lift into the air on the small table. His eyes grew wide as he scrambled to place the bow down gently on the floor and grab the box of matches; only to find it laying back on the table. With a glare at the box he leaned over and blew out the candle and swiped up the bow.
He slowly turned the brass doorknob then opened the door a bit further. It creaked slightly as it hung on the hinges. Immediately Leo let his pressure on the doorknob go slack. His mother was sleeping in the room opposite his in the hall. She rarely stole away long enough to sleep, trying to run a household as a single parent with a horrible, never home replacement spouse, a young daughter who needed care and frequently fell ill and a troublesome son who was often was forgotten and cursed at birth to have such an ungodly gift. Perhaps the widowed mother, Laurel, didn't think these things, but Leo was convinced that was what went through her mind.
Leo hiked up the quiver on his back letting out a breath he wasn't aware of holding. He slid through the door trying not to make a sound, silently congratulating himself when he stood in the hallway. He edged down the hallway and was nearly to the kitchen when he turned back, resting the quiver and bow on the floor. He took a nervous glance at his hands before opening his fingers and curved his palm dangling it and cupping his thigh but not touching it. The blue lines melted from the air from where is hand was then another group around the doorknob. He flexed his fingers flat and slowly the door moved forward. The doorknob turned slowly and it was almost closed...
A stab of pain hit his temples. He yelped, forcing shut his eyes, bringing his hands up to hold his head. He groaned quietly rocking his head forward and back minimally. He leaned over slowly at the waist, making the shape of the bow on the floor. Leo flicked his fingers in the direction of the door and didn't care in the slightest as he had before when it closed with a rather loud click. He opened his eyes and squinted at the floor, unclamping one hand from his head and picking up the quiver and slinging it over his shoulder. The grabbed the bow, still massaging his temple and glaring through partially closed eyes, and walked to the front door and exited.
Once on the porch he exhaled an audible sigh releasing his other hand. The sharp pain was now a dull pounding and it soon went away as he walked across the grass toward the woods. He switched the bow between his hands subconsciously as he walked trying to calm himself. He had a goal for the hunt today, at least two groundhogs. That would feed them for at least a week, and counting on he went hunting again, his sister would feel a full stomach as she battled yet another bought of illness.
Leo ran through the places he knew there were groundhogs, most of them were two miles away, but one location was just over a few hills in the forest and down into a dip. Wester-Mann Falls was a medium sized oval of land that had a large waterfall and a deep pool and shallow pool along with a stream branching off. Though in this oval there was lush green grass and tall green trees and a cave or two behind the waterfall.
Wester-Mann Falls was Leo's favorite place to go, it was the most beautiful and plentiful area in the forest yet no one ever seemed to venture close to it. Sure, the path to the falls was relatively treacherous, covered in brambles and tightly knit together trees; but he had never seen another soul come close to his hideout at all. When he had looked for it's map in the Library in the main town, he had been disappointed to find nothing but a fairy tale book is that described a place close to identical. The author of the book was rumored to a nature spirit, and everyone knows you can't trust them.
Leo ducked under a fallen tree and squeezed through a bush of nettle. He usually used his gift when navigating through the tough brush but because of the rough start in the morning held off. He pulled the leather jacket closer around him attempting to shield off another thicket brambles, grumbling under his breath when a spike scraped his hand holding the bow. He switched the bow to his left and brought up his right to suck on the back of his bleeding hand.
He crept forward shyly missing another snatch from the brier. He glanced up quickly, charting the path ahead and seeing how far he was until he reached Wester-Mann Falls. According the where the sun was it was roughly five in the morning and he had a few more difficult patches until he reached his final destination. Leo stood up straight for a moment to release the tension of being hunched over for the previous stretch of his trek.
Now came the weaving between trees and the dodging of the less coarse bushes of thorns and burrs. He dropped his hand from his face to his side again as he slipped between each tree and over and around bushes. His foot caught a vine once causing his almost to fall but he caught himself before he became a walking nettle bush. Leo stared father through the tree branches as he hear the rumbling of the waterfall. A grin appeared on his face as he rushed to get out of the dense woods.
There was still a few yards to go and he could see the glistening bright water, catching the first sun as it rose above the horizon. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath when he heard the loud pounding of one foot then three others quickly following. Branches snapped and he could hear several bushes being uprooted. Thrashing his head back toward where he came from he could see the shadow of a large figure coming charging in his direction.
He looked over toward Wester-Mann Falls and started to dash. Trying his best not to snag himself on any bushes or run headlong into a tree, he darted through the woods. He ducked and slid past then jumped over the obstacles as the large beast grew closer still. The  green grass was only a jump or two ahead, he continued to sprint reaching with one hand through the last of the dull brown trees and into the lush area.
With a final jump he made it and stared wide eyed at where he had emerged as he backed up toward a tree. He gulped the air as he looked over himself seeing if he was bleeding. A large branch snapped, bringing his attention back to the large creature. The line of thin light brown trees and dying grass the switched to rich green grass and dark brown trees that were thick in birth was split a moment later.
A large all white tiger the size of a tiger burst through. A white circle pulsed over him in a dome shape. On the back of the tiger was a girl with long white hair that matched the tiger with  a white dress that caught the wind on. She laughed loudly as she passed and rubbed the tiger on the neck. Leo stared up at the white circle pulsing from where the pair entered. Then back at the two white figures.
The girl had gotten off now and the tiger was looking around. Leo stared in awe at the duo. Suddenly the tiger started to growl and creep toward him. He slid behind a tree and stood without breathing until he heard the girl speak.
"Hush Storm." She cooed quietly, she had a British accent. The tiger immediately stopped. Leo let out a breath the released his arms from being held tensed to rest limp at his sides. He rested his head against the tree bark and closed his eyes. He readjusted his grip on his bow.
"I know you're there Leonardo, human boy." Leo's eye grew wide and he slowly swung himself around the trunk. The tiger growled again, but she silenced it with a look. He stood a reluctant step into the open. He looked down at himself then back at the girl and the tiger. "What's that?"' The girl asked looking questioningly at the quiver of arrows. Leo looked down and brought it around his neck.
"It's-" Suddenly he fell silent as the quiver floated through the air surrounded by red threads identical to the blue ones that surrounded the objects and his hand whenever he used his gift... His eyes shot up, he stared at the girl, who was muttering quickly under her breath.
"Oh, don't look at me like an idiot," She sighed. "It's a spell, obviously." He stared still transfixed. He glanced at his hands and made a face when remembering the pain, but lifted them anyway
His hands grew hot and the blue threads surrounded his hands and the quiver. The threads entangled and became purple. There was a loud boom and a shockwave similar to the pulsating white circles of the dome. Both Leo and the girl suddenly burst backwards and landed on their backs. He squinted his eyes open after a few long moments. He pushed himself to a sitting position and looked over at the girl who was already standing. She was holding the quiver with her hands moving around inside, playing with the arrows. He dropped it. He stumbled up.
"That's never happened before." She said making a face. Leo suddenly remembered why he had been lying on the ground.
"How-How did you do that?" He stuttered making fists at his side. The girl shrugged.
"I already told you, it was a spell." She looked at him. "Leonardo, I ask, how did you do that?" Leo was taken aback by the question. His usual confidence that held in the forest unlike it did at home diminished. He had never been asked about his gift. His mother had quietly accepted it when he was born, his sister knew nothing about it, and the step-father wasn't around or close enough to know. He racked his brain, he had had it since he was born, he wasn't cursed recently.
"I-I-" He cleared his throat looking up at the girl. "I... Don't know." Which was a relatively honest answer. He had no idea why he had his gift, just that he did and he couldn't use it without getting a pang of sharp pain... His eyes grew wide. "It didn't hurt!" He exclaimed.
"Boy Leonardo, I do not understand." The girl spoke with a questioning look.
"Whenever I use my gift, I get horrible headaches, it didn't happen this time!"
"I see, but I ask, does your gift come naturally?" Leo's smile fell for a moment before realizing he had no idea who or what this was. Was this girl a a trick of the forest? Was she a merely peasant girl? Was she some time of spirit?
"Who are you?" He asked, his voice sounding more wobbly than he intended.
"I asked you a question, but, I am Neve Weiss. This tiger is Storm." She held out her hand. Reluctantly he took it.
"Nice to meet you Neve, I'm-" Neve cut him off.
"Leonardo. Yes I know. Now answer the-" This time Leo cut her off.
"I go by Leo, thanks." It was her turn to look taken aback, seeing this gave Leo the slightest bit of confidence, knowing he had stunned this girl to silence with a relatively normal sentence. "To answer your ever important question, yes, it is natural." Neve looked up.
"That sounds a bit like me," She raised her hand and suddenly snowflakes started to appear from thin air. He gaped at her.
"How do you do that?" His curiosity got the best of him.
"I'm a nature spirit. I'd have thought you'd guessed it by now." Leo stared at her. Nature spirits weren't to be trusted. They played tricks on your mind and made you do horrible things. Even make you blurt your worst secrets. He backed away.
"Go away." His voice cold. Neve clearly didn't understand the dislike and tone of his voice so she just shrugged and smiled.
"Okay. Come on Storm." She started to walk away then grabbed a fistful of fur and snapped her fingers making another sphere of energy like when his gift and her spell intertwined. The blast forced Leo to the ground, though still sitting. He stared at where she had been, the tips of the blades of grass dusted in a thin layer of frost. He slowly got to his feet and gathered up the quiver and bow from the ground with a grim smile on his face.
He neared the water's edge and put his tools on the ground. Out of the quiver rolled a clear ball that looked like glass. He picked it up, it was freezing cold. Ice. He looked around it, it was big enough to sit perfectly in his palm. Suddenly it changed from clear to fogged and he could see Neve's face. She smiled at his shocked expression.
"Hello there, human boy. I see you've found my Ice-E-All." He shrieked a rather girly shriek he was glad no one could hear and threw the ball away. "Well, what a warm welcome. Anyways, shall we meet again soon to practice your gift? You have much potential." He couldn't see her face anymore, he could only hear her voice.
"No, thank you," He tried to sound polite and unafraid though he was quite scared.
"Too bad, I've already enchanted Wester-Mann Falls for no one to come it tomorrow morning." She laughed in the ball. "See you tomorrow then." The ball went clear again. He slowly stalked forward and picked up the ball. With a smug expression stowed it in the bottom of the quiver and made a mental note to come back to Wester-Mann Falls. Though they weren't to be trusted in normal circumstances, but Neve seemed different, and staying friends with her meant she wouldn't go blabbering about his gift to everyone that would listen.