Fyre

2

Early Evening//Wynd Territory

Adrianna caught Nixi just a couple hours later. She held the herbs and special plant- a beautiful, flower-shaped piece of flora- behind her back as she walked up to the older Hunter.

Nixi was sharpening her scythe with a large rock, drawing it up and down the blade, sparks coming off at the friction. Adrianna gulped, already getting intimidated.

"Hunter Nixi," she greeted formally, praying that her voice was steady and confident.

Nixi hardly glanced up, but her cool eyes met Adrianna's. Adrianna shivered. With a skilled flick of Nixi's hand, she finished the sharpening of her blade with a satisfying shing! of the rock.

"You need something, girl?" Nixi asked, standing up. In a flourish, she twirled her scythe around her until it was in standby position, hovering just above the ground by her side.

Adrianna decided to get right to the point. She held out in front of her the herbs she had just spent the last hour preparing. "For you," she explained. "I thought these might help. This might be one of the hardest missions you'll face- I mean, you'll still succeed though, you never fail- but I just thought you could use these- the medicine. They help to heal wounds and preserve your stamina. We the Healers- well, now just I- give these to Hunters before dangerous missions. You may have taken them before on other missions- um, anyways- here." Adrianna's face flushed in embarrassment already, even though nothing really happened. She had just talked too much.

Nixi just stared down at the plants. Then, to the young Healer's relief, she smiled. Reaching out, the older Hunter delicately grabbed the leaves and flowers out of Adrianna's trembling hands. "Thank you," Nixi said. "You're really considerate."

"Oh, it's nothing," Adrianna responded.

She stood there awkwardly for another moment, before concluding that it probably would be best to leave Nixi alone.

"Um, good night," Adrianna said.

"Wait," Nixi commanded, making Adrianna freeze in her tracks. She turned around, and saw Nixi sit back down on the ground. She set her scythe and the plants off to the side, and patted the grass next to her. "Join me in conversation for a bit."

Adrianna sat down, not sure what to expect.

"First of all..." Nixi began. "My condolences for your loss. I truly am sorry that I wasn't around for the time of your mentor's death."

"Oh," Adrianna said, at a loss for words. "Thanks, I think."

"How have you been holding on?"

"Well, it's been over a month now, so I'm used to working without her already." Adrianna paused, then laughed softly- a type of tired, wistful laugh. "That doesn't sound very nice, does it? Well, but, it's the truth."

Nixi was nodding. "I understand. In these times..." she sighed, and shifted to look up at the stars. "... death comes often, and the survivor's future is secured based on how well they can recover from the loss of their loved ones."

"You... talk like you have experience with death," Adrianna stated cautiously.

Nixi exhaled slowly. "Haven't we all, in some way, during this pointless war?"

"Pointless?" Adrianna questioned. "What makes you say that?"

Nixi turned to Adrianna, and rested her head on her knees. The gaze in her eyes was sharp, and they seemed to stare into Adrianna's soul. "Tell me, girl," Nixi whispered, her eyes narrowing as the atmosphere of the conversation seemed to shift into something darker. "Have you ever seen a Hunting mission?"

"Well... I'm a Healer so... no," Adrianna confessed.

"The fact that you may not be a Hunter does not mean that you aren't allowed to view them," Nixi said. "You really haven't seen one? You haven't accidentally walked into one, or tagged along to a minor one?"

"No. I haven't. My mentor, she was always really adamant that I never collected herbs in the same place as a mission, or nearby one. I've also never really had much interest in watching one..." Adrianna admitted carefully.

Nixi shifted in place again, sprawling out this time, laying down on the grass. "That's normal for a Healer. Even a Defender. So I suppose you wouldn't know what really goes on during a hunt... unless you're part of it."

"What are they like?"

Nixi stared at the stars some more, taking her time, as if figuring out how best to answer Adrianna without giving too much away. "Terrible," she answered eventually. "Inhumane. If a hunt involves multiple dragons, it can be a massacre."

Adrianna inhaled sharply. "Why are you telling me this?"

Nixi stood up suddenly, then stared down at Adrianna. "Just... to warn you. Beware of Wynd. Milikra runs this place dangerously. Both sides are paying horrible prices for this meaningless fight- however, I'd say that the dragons are paying more than half as much as the humans. What we are doing to them... is not right. Terrible things are happening in this war, Adrianna. I want to you be aware."

Adrianna was stunned. Before tonight, Nixi had never even spoken much more of a simple greeting to her. "I..." she started, unsure of what to say in response.

Nixi grabbed her scythe and started walking off in the direction of the forest, away from the campsite, without even giving so much as a farewell.

"I-it's nice that you're thinking about both sides!" Adrianna blurted, rising quickly. "But... if you keep going like that, you're going to get suspected of being a dragon!"

Nixi froze. Adrianna then immediately wished she hadn't said that. Being suspected as a dragon is the worst possible insult that one can have. If a human is suspected of being a dragon, whether there is proof or not, there can be harsh punishments- especially in Wynd.
Adrianna knew the warnings, and she knew what to do and what not to do in order to evade suspicion. You play the part. You do your role, and you accept your position. You don't sympathize with the dragons. You don't question the actions of the Leader. If you do, you might be a dragon.

Instead of looking angry or scared, Nixi simply looked tired. "Sometimes... I wonder," Nixi said quietly, gazing just past Adrianna and into the stoned towers and lights of civilization, "With the way that humans are running things, if I'm proud to call myself one of them."

She turned to look back at the the young Healer, and the light in her eyes was haunted. It was a gaze the mix of terror, knowing, and acceptance. "Mass destruction will come, Adrianna."

And then she ran off, down the hillside, leaving Adrianna standing there, utterly confused and a little unsettled.

It took Adrianna some time before she realized that Nixi had left the herbs behind, just sitting in between blades of grass. She considered calling after her- Wait, you forgot the medicine!- but she decided against it. Instead, she bent down and scooped up the plants into the palm of her left hand. Adrianna stood on the hillside for a moment, watching Nixi's figure get smaller and smaller in the distance.

Then she sighed, and, shaking her head as if to brush off the uncertainty, turned swiftly and walked back toward the lights of the small contained fires and lanterns, toward the abundance of people training, eating, or talking, toward the mass of huts, tents and other strongholds, toward the Wynd campsite.