The Champion *ON HOLD*

Chapter 21- Channeling Virgin Magic

A/N: I don't really have any media for this chapter, so here's Leovar! Look at that face ;) Also, if any of you notice the name "Galen" any of the chapters from this point on, please let me know so I can fix it. Thanks! Anyway, enjoy chapter 21 of The Champion.

By the time the sun set and the moon rose, Avery had eaten a warm bowl of soup and a hunk of beef that she had shared with her dogs, despite having been given their own large portions for dinner, and Leovar still hadn't returned. Cian sat behind his desk, several books in front of him along with a writing journal and several loose sheets of paper. She had asked him what he was doing and his only reply had been "research," before going back to what he was doing. Avery had taken the hint to leave him alone.

Now it was fully dark and the moon shined brightly in the sky, creating a silvery, pseudo daylight. She chewed on her thumbnail, worried. It was as she sat there that she realized something. She cared about Leovar. Granted, she had only known him for less than a week, but for some reason, she cared about him.

Maybe it was the way he was constantly protecting her. Maybe it was because he helped her when he didn't have to. Maybe it was because he was too damn handsome for his own good and was charmingly sweet when he wanted to be.

Whatever the reason, she did care about him, and a part of her was left unsettled. How could she come to care about a person in such a short amount of time? Why did it matter? It was just so unlike Avery to develop strong feelings for a person in such a short time span.

With a sigh, Avery dropped her hand in her lap and stared off into space. She didn't love him, thankfully. That much was clear to her. But she did care about him and she really didn't want to think about the implications that went along with those feelings, especially if he didn't feel the same way.

Why would he? She was a stranger to him, someone he was helping because he felt obligated to. She knew how she felt, but because she didn't know how he felt, she didn't know what to do with those feelings. Avery sighed. She would just have to keep them to herself, then. Not that she would've acted on them to begin with, but it both made her feel better and worse that she decided to not show those emotions.

"Stop sighing; he will return when he is ready," Cian said, not looking up from his books. Avery cut a look at him before sighing again. She studied him for a moment, eying his tinsel-like hair, his glimmering skin with the swirling tattoos.

"Why is it when I first saw you, you looked normal, but now you look different?" Cian froze and looked up at her slowly, his tri-colored eyes piercing her before he spoke.

"You can see me?" Confused, Avery frowned.

"Uh, yeah, you're sitting right in front of me." Cian shook his head.

"No, I mean, you can see through my glamour?" Avery cocked an eyebrow.

"Uh, sure, I guess. What's glamour?" Cian let out an exasperated sigh and muttered some words that may have been something impolite.

"Glamour is a type of magic that allows Sidhe to change their appearance so what is seen is not actually what is."

After a moment Avery spoke, "So, like, you can change how you look?" Cian nodded.

"Aye, I can change how I look. It is a skill all Sidhe are born with and excel at. To be able to see through mine is...unnerving." He seemed uncomfortable about it. Avery shrugged.

"Why would you hide how you look? I mean, your hair is really pretty," Cian snorted, "and your tattoos are neat, and your eyes..." Avery trailed off, staring into his eyes for a moment before grinning. "Well, I'm sure you're aware of the effect your eyes have on people."