The Licensed Mage

23 Hurt

        Claire and Raven made their way to the crime scene where Emily was found. Claire went and stood at the spot Emily was found and brought out her diary.

        “What’s that for?”

        Her fingers began to glow as she wrote glowing purple symbols on the book, “Both the dream catcher and this diary is closely connected to Emily so they should be connected to each other.”

        Smoke hung over Raven’s head as he dragged on one, “And you’re hoping to use that to…?”

        She turned the book over in her hands and drew more symbols on the back, “To find the connection, like a hook on a fishing line.”

        “Mm-hmm.”

        Raven fell silent as he continued smoking, watching Claire draw a glowing purple circle on the ground. She laid the book in the center and waved her hands over the book, chanting a few words. Finally she stepped back and stood next to Raven.

        “What are you doing now?”

        Claire crossed her arms as she watched the diary closely, “Now we wait. It has to pick up the signal it wants. It’s searching for it now and it may be awhile.”

        “Hmm,” Raven dragged one last puff of his cigarette and threw it out wishing he brought his coffee.

        His nose twitched as the smell of coffee filled the air and he turned his head to see Claire sipping from a thermos holding one to him, “Here. Figured you’ll want one.”

        “Thanks.” He took the cup and sipped the drink, tasting it. As always her coffee tasted like heaven and again he wondered just what it was that set hers apart, “How long do we have to wait?”

        Claire shrugged her shoulder as she sat in the chair she made. She gestured for Raven to do the same as she made one for him, “Don’t know. Could be a few minutes, could be hours. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

        Raven sat with a grunt, “Fun.”

        They sat in comfortable silence as they drained their cups, Claire refilling them when need be. Roughly two hours passed when finally Claire broke the silence, “Why won’t you teach me to shoot a gun?”

        Raven bit back the anger in the back of his throat, “Claire we’ve been through this-“

        “No we haven’t. You just out right refused and gave me no reason.”

        He threw a hand to her, “You’ve got your magic there’s no reason for you to learn.”

        “That’s not a reason why you won't teach me.”

        He turned to her angry, “Why do you even want me to teach you? If you’re so set on learning why don’t you just find someone else?”

         She glared at him as her own anger raised, “I want you to know my skills, so you can trust in them.”

        “I trust in your magic!”

        She threw her own hand, “But what if we run against rune bullets, anti-magic bullets?! My magic can’t even touch them!”

        “That’s what I’m there for! I’m there to protect you from those.”

        “Then let me protect you! Let me learn how to shot so I can protect you in those cases.”

        “You don’t need to, I’m your partner!”