Epilogue

With a happy sigh, Amber pocketed her left-over quapas and rose from the cafe table.

Bright morning sun was carefully guarded away from all who sat at the tiny, outdoor tables by a large, white awning overhead, allowing visitors a shaded look out into the wide, open fields that surrounded T'arquin. The golden grass was alive with the breeze that swept over the plains, and it swirl and spun like waves in an ocean before her eyes.

It had been a week since her adventure to claim her lost pay, throw Barclay in jail, and visit Circum Siete. It had also been that long since she'd seen her brother.

Almost the moment they'd stepped foot back in T'arquin, Cougar had left for Kolnae with a nod and wave of cloak, saying he needed to get back to Kolnaes' governor with a good explanation as to the ruined state of his prized Tristan sword.

After seeing all that the Tristan blade was capable of, Amber wasn't sorry to see it go.

Her step-brother, however, was a slightly different story. After a week without his company, she had to admit, she missed his guarding, strong presence. She didn't realize how secure she'd felt until he was gone. It was as if, without being told, Cougar guarded her back while he guarded his own. It was, admittedly, a little odd to think of Cougar guarding her back, instead of shadowing it and attempting to apprehend her. But the strangeness of it was overrun with the very real feeling of security his protection offered. It was comforting. It was . . . missed.

She wandered into the streets of T'arquin, soaking up the feeling of the warm morning sun. The uncharacteristic summer-like weather on this autumn day was a welcome relief.

A warm breakfast of biscuit and eggs also aided in her sleepy reverie; she could still smell the aroma of batter and butter wafting from the cafe she'd just left.

She stopped her aimless walk near the horse corrals, smiling at her trusty roan, which lifted his head and snuffled a welcome in her direction, his tiny ears swiveling to hear her approach. He too appreciated the long break after that unscheduled mountain trek. His strong, nimble frame gleamed in the light of the sun as he contentedly went back to his meal.

Resting her arms against the wooden poles that composed the fencing, Amber allowed herself to drown in her thoughts for a moment, still having a hard time placing everything correctly in her head after such an exciting ordeal.

By now, the money for her mothers medicines would have arrived in Faehil, along with a letter assuring her that Amber was alright and in perfect health (minus a few bumps and scrapes, but explaining them would have launched Amber into a conversation no simple piece of writing stationary would have the capacity to hold). She promised her mother she had many stories to tell once she got home.

She smiled even at the thought and lazily scruffed her hand through her thick, golden-red hair. Funny, how she wished the stories could have been even longer.

As it was, could she really tell her mother all that had happened? Her meeting with Cougar? Amber had never told her mother that she knew of Cougar's whereabouts. Doing so would result in her mother's realization of her not-so-upstanding job as a smuggler. It could also possibly send her mother to an early grave to learn her dead husband’s son was alive and well. Er. Amber smirked at the thought. Alive yes? 'Well' could be subject of debate. . .

The Cougar parts of the story might have undergo some editing, and any other drastic details Amber deemed too much for her mother's weakened state to handle. But still, she practically bubbled over with the desire to tell anyone, everyone, about her adventures.

The thought of flying head first into yet another journey such as the one she'd just taken a week ago didn't scare her as much as it might have back when she was just a lowly smuggler working for Barclay. It was almost addictive. Good thing you couldn't get drunk on such a thing.

Well, for now, all there was left to do was savor the feeling of glassy, red quapas jingling in her pocket and take her roan out for a ride. While finding a job in T'aqrquin would mean she be quite a distance from her mother, Amber was eager to start afresh, leave her smuggling days with Barclay behind her; And with T'arquin's friendly atmosphere, it seemed the best place to start.

However, after a long ride through the streets of T'arquin, it was becoming apparent that almost every good, honest job required experience.

Defeated, Amber double-checked her belongings in her saddle packs and struck out for home.

Her horse's hooves clopped rhythmically on the hard, orange dirt, while Amber looked ahead. The sky was dark, cloudless blue, and the gold fields waving over hill and valley blazed against the sky like feathered gold.

T'arquin was behind her, and behind that, the lonely Circum Siete, nestling its beautiful, strange mistress away in the dark mountains.

As much as she wished it wasn't so, Amber knew it was time to go home.

It was nearing late afternoon, and long shadows from the increasing population of trees along her path, stretched across the fork in the dirt road she was traveling on.

Amber tugged at her red cloak, rolling it up to her elbows as she eased her horse to a standstill, squinting at the wooden signs hammered into the soft earth.

The crossroads between Kolnae and Faehil.

One dirt path stretched out in a lonely sprawl through the bronzing trees that marked home, while the other path turned left toward the city where this whole journey had started.

It weaved through the thick field, and from here, Amber could almost make out the thin, black line indicating rooftops far in the distance, outlined against the cerulean sky.

Cougar was somewhere down that field-woven path, and for a brief moment, Amber wished he was closer.

She shook her head with a roll of her glittering stormy eyes.

It was probably a good thing he wasn't here. By now, he'd forgotten there entire journey, forgotten just how closely they'd worked. He’d be back to business as usual and preparing to arrest her for crossing over this miniscule Kolnae territory into Faehil.

Regardless, Amber sent a silent goodbye across the waving fields to her stepbrother, wherever he was, and clucked to her horse to move onward, over the crossing paths, toward Faehil.

"Are you . . . sure about that?"

Amber jarred with a small shriek, and then swung herself out the saddle as fast as she could, her horse caught mid-stride and snorting suddenly at her strange behavior. She hit the ground running as fast as her wobbly legs could carry her, dashing into the owner of that unforgettable voice with all her might.

Laughing out lout, Amber did her best to crush Cougar's ribcage in a tight hug, eliciting a grunt from the unflappable mutant, who stood still, eyes relaying just a slight concern for Amber's sanity.

"I knew it!" Amber giggled up at his inhuman eyes, "I just knew you'd be here!"

She'd managed to tug Cougar around in a half-circle with her exuberance, kicking up a swirl of dust. He was dressed exactly as he'd left, in his big black cape and gold decorated armor. He looked cleaner, rested and more weirdly handsome then ever, his thick brown hair blown in loose strands over his blazing right eye and his lips tightly pressed against her act of affection. Never in a million years would Amber have imagined being so happy to see him. Never in years stretching on into eternity did she think she’d be hugging him in such a fashion, either.

His bracer clad arms were partially raised, either to return the gesture or push her away, but either way, Amber stood back to regard him, hands planted on her hips.

Cougar squinted at the bright sun assaulting his face outlining every handsome aspect of his face as he moved back as well, black cloak rippling , arms resting back at his sides.

“I’d better be here." He replied shortly, "You're crossing the border."

Despite his frown and the fierce glow of his cat-like eyes, there was less aggression in his tone then Amber recalled. He seemed less the Hunter apprehending the criminal, and more the big brother catching his little sister in the act.

This news only snuffed Amber's excitement for a minute. Maybe she really had gone crazy; was she so happy to see him that suddenly, a jail sentence didn't mean anything?

"Yeah, well, I figured that's what you'd say." Amber shrugged amiably,

"What's a couple months in the local slammer?"

Cougar gave her a nonchalant shrug and walking past her, toward the path that led to Kolnae, brown bangs billowing,

“Actually, I might be able to . . . alter . . . that arrangement." His deep, smoother than liquid silk voice was muffled slightly by his steps crunching on the loose dirt, but Amber was almost certain she heard a suggestion forming in his words.

She stared at his broad shoulders from behind as he added quietly, "And a job." He turned to look at her over his shoulder, a single yellow eye boring into hers with it's usual ferocity. But his lips just barely managed a smirk.

"Huh?" Amber came forward, causing Cougar to turn away silently and quickly once more and start walking.

"A job?! Are you serious?" She called. He didn't reply, just kept his head down and his gait surely crossing over the worn and traveled path toward Kolnae.

Amber hesitated, biting her lip as she watched him go, eyes following the wave and curl of his cape in the breeze.

A job? Just what was that supposed to mean? Probably just a job working for community service as payment for her bad behavior. But hadn't his voice sounded just a little bit more promising? It wouldn't be a smuggling job; that went against everything Cougar worked for.

An auburn eyebrow quirked over a stormy colored eye. Maybe that was it. A job working at the Guild of the Elite?

Maybe, possibly, working with him?

Never had an idea excited her more!

Her past week with Cougar had been so full of happenings and purpose. She'd lost an enemy and gained a friend, a brother, even.

What could possibly make him think she wouldn't be interested in such a proposal?

She held herself back from dashing after him though, tugging uncertainly at the hem of her cloak as she studied his silhouette against the clear sky, growing slowly smaller and smaller in her vision. What if he was lying? What if there was no job; and he was just attempting to lure her into Kolnae so he could carry out his original duty and arrest her?

She weighed the chances but couldn't get any farther past the idea of being a Hunter with her step-brother. She decided rather rashly that the risk was worth it.

Amber bounced suddenly off the balls of her feet with her decision, as if energy had been gathering all this time somewhere inside her faded leather boots; energy that apparently knew what she wanted better than herself, and was just waiting to send her off in the direction Cougar was heading.

"Hey! Wait!" She shouted after him, not stopping to see if he listened or not. She grabbed hold of her horse reigns and guided the animal along with her as she trotted after her step-brother. . . .

The two silhouettes emblazoned against the jeweled blue sky reunite as the smaller reaches the taller. A chortling laugh from the smaller warbles through the air as it walks close to the other, a stark contrast against the smaller's spritely frame, it resounds strength and assuredness, it's thick cape casting a long shadow onto the ground. It sidesteps with unnatural speed as the horse in tow attempts to bump him in the shoulder.

Words are exchanged, and the smaller of the two takes hold of the strong hand of the other, giving it a hearty, affirming shake, their strides never slowing midst the waves of the field grass. A deeply toned murmur, barely echoes across the open space as the taller of the two accepts the smaller's handshake.

With this grasp of hands a bond is created and an agreement sealed, as the two silhouettes walk on into the setting sun, toward Kolnae; two lives once so opposed to each other, now bound by fate, and heading into a future marked with danger, happiness, and assuredly, trials and sorrow.

One adventure may lie behind them, but very soon they will face another. One marked with treachery and deceit.

These are their journeys, through the world, through the path of life they have chosen, and through the hardships that have and will be their ready companion.

These are the Hunter Chronicles.

Fini

Authors Note

I’m a lazy bum, I know, I know! But hey, at least I did finally finish it right?!

Thank you so much to all my readers! If I can get my lazy butt in gear, the second book in the series, ‘Fox Hunt’, will be viewable soon on FictionPress.

Thank you again!! Your guys are the fuel for my fire!