The Forest Guardians

18. YSH Chapter 4

Omen's POV

I stared at the violet eyed girl with untameable, flaming red hair who looked no older than me.

Would you believe me if I said my actual age was around 200 years old? Now, that would be a story to tell; an ancient soul in a teenage looking body that was constructed out of magic.

The girl stared right back.

You might be wondering why we are having this odd staring contest.

Or a more common question would be...

Who is she?

Well, readers, this is Virginia Crowe, daughter of Amyus Crowe, an excellent horse rider and... I feel like I missed out a detail.

Never mind.

Amyus wanted Sherlock and me to meet in his cottage. So I'm here with Virginia while waiting for him to come back with Sherlock.

I broke off the awkward staring contest and decided to gawk at the insides of the house. It was albeit a bit untidy as I saw a pile of letters skewered into the wooden mantelpiece with a knife. There was a map of the local area attached to the wall with drawing pins where there were markings of circles and lines drawn in random patterns. I wonder if they were for figuring out the locations of people that Amyus wanted to track down since he is a hunter and tracker for criminals.

"You're a girl."

I nodded my head, a little absentmindedly.

"You're not going to deny it?"

I turned to her and blinked. Meanwhile, my mind was processing for an agreeable answer.

Then I shrugged, replying with indifference, "I figured I would be found out anytime soon. Your father must have known my actual gender but didn't say it. Besides, don't you agree that these clothes are a lot easier to move in?"

I winked at her. She grinned back.

"Mind introducing me the person who made your clothes?"

"Sure!"

That, my readers, was how you make a friend.

The door suddenly swung outwards to reveal the tall American with a boy next to him.

"Sherlock!"

Virginia stood up and flung herself to the boy, hugging him.

Ah right.

That's the missing detail. Virginia and Sherlock liked each other but I am not sure where they stand in terms of relationship. They never clarified nor even spoken about it... yet.

Amyus winced while looking at the two.

"Not sure if Ah should be happy or sad..." He muttered lowly.

Sherlock stood there for a moment before tentatively hugging her. I frowned at this, something about him had changed. Was it due to the accident?

"Virginia, you might want to step back a bit. Sherlock... isn't like before." Amyus advised.

Virginia stepped back when she heard those words. There was an unsure look plus a tinge of hurt when her hug wasn't similarly reciprocated.

"Sherlock?"

He took a step back from the intimidating gaze in her eyes.

"Um..." He gave a small cough in an attempt to break up the awkward atmosphere. "Have we... I mean, are we friends?"

Virginia stood rooted to the spot. Her eyes glimmered as a storm took place in there. She took a moment to gather herself before cracking a forceful smile.