Warning: This story is constantly under revision, and I have a weird way of doing so. It consists of revising one part of the story multiple times until I am satisfied that it is good enough to leave alone. This means that the version that you are reading now is likely to be different by this time next week. Oh yeah, and there’s mentions of homosexuality. I invite you kindly to deal with it. Please review.

Kit ran past the wrought iron gate, and skidded around the corner, laughing uproariously. She bent double, giggling much quieter now, hand over her mouth as she ducked into an alcove and attempted to stifle her laughter. After a moment, she managed to be completely silent and fade almost completely into the shade, in her own peculiar way.

The gang following her ran past her, and her fingers twitched and her ‘invisibility’ disappeared. She prayed they hadn’t looked behind them as she ran back around the corner, back tracking and following her own steps, step for step each overlapping, until she had run about a block. She looked over her shoulder, still running through the semi-deserted streets, trusting instinct to guide her away from people when she slammed into the person.

She looked up, up, and up again to see the imposing shape of a well-built man, too close for her to make out anything with the sun behind him as he was. “Sorry!” she gasped out and corrected her path, planning on running around him and onwards. His hand reached out, huge compared to her dainty figure, and grabbed her shoulders, stopping her with a deceiving gentleness.

“Mister, I said I was sorry. You gotta let me go before the Reds figure out they passed me already.” She said, push at his hand, trying to get away from it. He tightened his grip, a subtle warning to cease and she heeded it, not wanting to get hurt. It was hard enough staying alive, as it was, her being a girl and all. If someone decided to pick her up, like she had heard happened to little girls on the streets, than she doubted she survive at all. She preferred even a starving freedom to a well-fed cage.

“Come with me, and they shall not have you, nor will you ever need to deal with them again.” He told her, voice gravelly and rough to her ears. She looked up at him and shrugged, letting him stir her in the right direction. Instinct, or rather, what she could remember of magic, said she would be safe with him, even if he wasn’t showing up on her radar of people. She didn’t particularly care why, but she would trust this stranger.

“You got it mister!”

Kit Wildburr, for she had taken the name of the man who had found her on the streets, was sewing two pieces of leather together, patiently. She was making her own outfit at the moment, under her foster father’s direction. It would be a simple leather top and leather slit skirt. She had made the leather herself, even skinned the hide of the deer it had been taken from. She had also helped hunt the deer, as she tried to learn how to survive in this environment.

No one could say the girl hadn’t matured and learned quickly. It had only been a year since she was brought into this wilderness, and yet she was learning to thrive there. Master Wildburr had tamed the little city girl and managed to get her to love the wild land. She didn’t think the big man had brought her out here for no reason though. Something was up and she was determined to find out what.

“You can’t make me!” Kit yelled at her foster father, hands on hips. She was being exceedingly stubborn about such a simple matter. “I won’t go!”

“Kit, please, you grew up in the city. And you’ve made such nice furs and supple leather too. We have too much of it for the two of us. It would only be until they were sold.” He said, wondering if he hadn’t taught the city girl to love these woods a bit too much. Still, maybe the matter wasn’t with the location, but the items they were selling. “Look, you can keep your first fur, I promise. You’ve done such a nice job, I think others should be allowed to see them and own them. Don’t you?”

“I won’t do it.” She said, hands on her nine-year-old hips. Of course, being as she was only nine, and very much a lightweight, she was easily made to go. As Kit sat, pouting, on the bench of their hired cart, Master Wildburr sighed and drove on to the nearest town, where they would be selling their wares. Kit glared at the leather cord that was keeping her from jumping off, something she had done twice already, and huffed.

“There’s no use in that. You can go ahead and untie yourself, seeing as we’re almost there. Just around this next corner is the town we’re selling our things. It’s small, so you won’t be trying anything, I trust.”

Kit nodded mutely, untying herself and staying on the cart. It had been humiliating enough being tied to it for the hour she had been. She wasn’t getting tied to the back of it where they would be selling the furs and leathers. That would be the ultimate humiliation.

“Kit, I’ve a question for you.” Master Wildburr spoke softly, his usual rumble gone. She wasn’t used to him being so gentle, or really talking. In fact, had you asked her, which of course no one did, his voice rumbled normally because he didn’t talk much. By that logic, he must have been practicing what he had to say this time quite a bit. He did seem a tad nervous. Kit wondered what he wanted.

“Yes?” She looked back at him, having gotten better at not using slang. She still struggled with yes and yeah, wanting desperately to leave off the final consonant, but not wanting to recite all day long, as she knew she would have to if she used slang.

“Will you allow me to adopt you?” It was only a month after they had gone to market. He was still uncertain if she was pouting. Females, young and old, were difficult to measure.

“Can I call you Dad?” Her own voice, normally confident, had dropped to a shy whisper. She would gladly go ahead ad be adopted, instead of just have taken his last name as any foundling would.

“Of course!” He said, and Kit hugged him happily, still not reaching the giant man’s waist. He had a feeling she would never grow very tall. It did make it entertaining when they stood next to each other though.

“Dad! Dad!” Kit ran down one of the paths, searching frantically for her father. “Dad!” Finally, she spotted his large figure, cutting down a tree for their fire. “Dad, our house!” The panic was clear in her voice.

Henry Wildburr turned and saw his daughter, scooping her up when she hugged him tightly. “What is it, sweetie? What happened?” He was worried now; Kit never panicked.

“Dad, the house burnt down. I tried to stop it, I really did!” She was sobbing now, and Henry sighed and rubbed her back. This wasn’t a god situation, but they would get through it.

“Shh, shh…It’s okay Kit, I promise. We’ll salvage what we can from the remains, and sleep in the cave with the furs until we can build a new one. I promise, all will be okay, and you do not need to worry.”

When he went to see what was left of their one room hut, he was proud that Kit had done all she could. In truth, the roof was gone, along with the upper bits of the wall, but his anti-fire wards had held up against the onslaught, and many things were saved.

When he checked to see how well the wards that remained were, he was surprised to find bits of Kit’s magic mixed in with his. She had obviously not wanted the house to burn down at all. The only problem was that she wasn’t technically supposed to know how to use her magic yet.

Well, he’d deal with that problem later. Hopefully she wouldn’t ask any questions about it. If she did, he would simply have to change the subject, or give the most evasive answer ever.

Kit cheerfully dragged a log over to the beginnings of the new Wildburr family cabin, with help from one of the village boys. They were moving out of the cave and into the new cabin that they were building. It was to be a fancy three room cabin, with a room for her and her dad each. She was so excited!

It sounded so much better than the one room hut they had previously shared. Dad had even managed to hire the mason to build a fireplace for their cabin. It wasn’t, of course, comparable with the grand home that Kit had the vaguest memory of once living in, but she didn’ remember that as well, but she loved it better than anywhere else she had ever lived. After all, how many people could claim that they had built their own house?

As she and the village lad placed the log where it needed to be, seeing as they were still able to do that, and the cabin walls weren’t half as high as they would be right now, Kit smiled happily. She knew she was going to love her new home.

Henry sighed as he looked in on his sleeping charge. He wondered how he would tell her what was happening tomorrow and if he could handle getting her there without pouting. She didn’t like to travel much, and expressed a deep dislike for formal schooling. Well, at least he’d have all morning to get her into her initiation robes, and try and coerce her to go with him.

The next morning proved as difficult as he expected it would. Kit, once she had heard the plan, had promptly scrambled up the ladder, taken the ladder up with her, and was now glaring down at him form the roof beams.

“I won’t do it. Why can’t you just teach me, Dad? I don’t need to go to some school.” She declared, clearly not planning on getting down anytime soon.

“Kit…you must go to this school, it is required. I will not take on a young girl for my apprentice. It is unseemly, especially since we live in the woods. Can you imagine what people would say?”

“I’m your daughter, so they can just go away. You wouldn’t do a thing to harm me, not ever.” She said, arms crossed, and sitting there in stubborn childishness. She was normally more mature than this, but sometimes, she could be a real brat.

“Kit, if you don’t get down there this instant, I shall spank you, and you shall have to go anyway.” Kit scrambled down and sighed, taking the ugly robe from him and marching into her room. She hated the idea of going, but she hated being spanked more.

Finally, after a long day of arguing over whether Kit really had to go or not and at 11 years of age and some months, Kit Wildburr stood next to her father, waiting for her name to be called so that she could enter the ‘hallowed’ halls of the Institute. Her dad had rescued her from the streets and gang warfare, seeing a spark of the Earth inside the city girl. The only thing that remained was bringing out that spark and letting it grow.

Dad, at the time her master, and she went far out into the wilderness and spent three years there, foraging and hunting living off the land, and living in the land. Their home had been a hut that burned down before her adoption, and then a cave, and than a new cabin and she had gone barefoot in summer, clothed in leather and fur in the winter. All her food had been worked for and she had enjoyed the life and itched to return to it.

The ceremony came first of course. And before the ceremony, she had to attend the Institute of Higher Learning. And before she could do that, she had to go through an acceptance ceremony. I.H.L was where her dad had graduated and where she was now clothed to go. Not that the clothes didn’t feel weird. When she had worn clothes that past year, it had been restricted to a loin cloth and a covering for her chest during the summer and all over leather and fur during the winter. The furs had not seemed as clingy and light as this outfit did, and she fidgeted.

At the end of the only portion of the ceremony where Kit would have to participate, she would be renamed to reflect her new status. She was not excited about that, and had already decided that she would still respond to Kit no matter what. After all, the chances that she got to keep her first name were high, continuing their naming strategy. All the students had the names of various baby animals, drawn from some list or another, and several of the names repeated, causing some chaos. The middle name was usually some form of the student’s element, and the last name was pointed at in the dictionary, quite randomly.

Kit only hoped she didn’t get some flowery girly girl name that was her complete anti-thesis. She knew she would hate it with a passion.

Her dad put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a warning glance and she subsided. It would not do to dishonor the teachings of her sponsor to the school, Master Henry Wildburr. He had taken her off the streets and to his home in the wilderness and she intended to put the lessons he had taught her there to good use and to do him proud at this mysterious institute.

At last, the name of her Dad and sponsor was called and she would be allowed into the great hall before her. She ran a quick hand through her hair, to Master Wildburr’s amusement and straightened her maroon and grey robes that completely swamped her already slight figure, remembering that she wanted to look nice for this important ceremony. She sighed, and, looking up at him bleakly, made her way through the open doors in front of her, through which the professors and head had proceeded earlier.

“Master Henry Wildburr, we have acknowledged the rare treat of your presence during this, our opening day of the new school year. You have sent to us, to let us know that you have a new mage on your hands, and you have taught her control and to love her natural element. You have sponsored her through the most difficult part of her training, though you told her not what all she was learning. As in the past, we are willing to allow your foundling to join our school; will you sponsor her and tell us the truth of her powers?” An old woman stood in front of the room, hands on the podium in front of her. Her graying hair was held back in a tight bun, and she looked rather severe. Kit desperately hoped that she was not. Dad’s voice rumbled from deep in her chest, rarely used even with his foundling. He hadn’t spoken since he had ordered her too change, but she hadn’t expected him too. He wasn’t particularly mad at her, after all.

“I gladly sponsor my foundling of Earth to this honored institute. She has learned respect for herself, her element, and her magic, though she knew not what she was learning.” That wasn’t entirely true. Kit had found that out for certain about mid-way through her life in the wilderness. It was as difficult to do as some might think, either. She had known about magic her entire life, after all. Dad continued and she listened.

“She has learned to control both herself,” that was a stretch, but Kit would accept it, “and her powers, and I will gladly send her to the dorm of your choosing.” Kit glowed with pride at what her master had said of her, glad he could be so proud of her. She knew she hadn’t been the easiest of girls to raise, and had given him quite a bit of trouble. She recalled one particular incident that involved selling the furs she had so painstakingly skinned and finished. She didn’t even have to think farther back than this morning in all honesty to prove that to be true.

“Come foreword, foundling of the Earth. I can see that you will need to go to a dorm of your element, as there is no where else you would be able to fit.” That bit was ceremonial drivel. All students went into the dorm of their element. Kit, who had been warned how the ceremony would go, wasn’t overly surprised to hear it. Time honored traditions were pointless for the most part after all. “Of your element’s dorms, I see you must go to the most accepting of those until you have relearned society manners.” Now that wasn’t nice at all. She had regular society manners, and they were just fine. Besides, she wouldn’t be resorted ever, and the entire school knew that. This entire ceremony was drivel. “Welcome to the Institute of Higher Learning, Kit Terre Orchid of the Doe Dorm.”

Kit worked really hard on not seething. That was an exceedingly flowery name. It had a bloody flower in it. Oh, she was going to hurt whoever had chosen that last bit. The Terre she could live with, and she was more than glad to keep her first name, but Orchid?

Who decided she was an Orchid, and where did she need to go to find them and show them how un-flowerlike she was? She didn’t mind talking politics with them, especially not if she was allowed to show them the error of their ways. After all, it was clear that they had no clue what was really going on.

The heaviest clapping, and the occasional cat calls, let her know where to go, even without her mentor’s gaze focusing on the right table. She calmly walked over, and she smiled as she sat down. Society manners or not, all it would take was a bit of recall to remember her deportment lessons, drilled into her by parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents alike. Just because she never had a chance outside of her deceased family to use the manners, didn’t mean she had forgotten how. Besides, her dad had worked hard on reinstating her manners himself. She remembered just fine!

She grinned however, as the three last of the students were placed and dug in with a gusto. Maybe she did need some practice after all, and a few more lessons. Still, food she hadn’t had to cook or gather herself was a pleasure beyond reckoning, and she knew she could begin to enjoy life here, no matter what hardships were presented to her. Even if it was a bloody school, she could enjoy life here. Though she still didn’t look forward to being constantly surrounded by other girls. Boys were so much more fun to lay with!

The girl next to her smiled shyly and introduced herself quietly. “I’m Fawn Gaia Rose. You can call me Guy; everyone else here does.” Fawn spoke from experience. The people in Doe dorm had promptly nicknamed her Guy. Kit wrinkled her nose expressively at the idea. Her light brown skin and red rose hair testified to where her names had come from. Kit envied the girl who had been completely renamed. She herself had always gone by Kit, and had seen no reason to change that, nor had Master Wildburr. She did want to get away from those memories occasionally though.

“I’m Kit Terre Orchid, and have always had the wondrous name of Kit. I don’t have much else to call my own though; I hope you don’t mind.” Kit declared, happy to have already met a new person who wasn’t out to get her. “And I’ll call you Fawn. It sounds prettier.” There was no way she was going to call the other girl Guy. What on earth was the point of ruining a perfectly pretty name? Besides, Fawn suited her so much better than Guy ever would. Kit didn’t understand how the rest of the dorm thought Guy was a better name for her.

“I’m glad to see you new Does are getting along so well.” A boy from higher up the table called, and Kit frowned at him. “Especially since us Deer plan on squashing you like bugs in the points this year.” He guffawed and Kit’s eyebrows shot up. She knew who had said that, despite how long it had been. She had a memory for voices.

“Benny Ray, please tell me that is not your familiar and oh-so-detestable voice I hear. Need I remind you that I know all your embarrassing secrets from way back when?” Kit called out, grinning in glee. She knew it was he. She also knew he would recognize her voice. Just by calling him Benny Ray, he ought to have had a clue. At least, she hoped he wasn’t that dense. No one else had ever called him Benny Ray, after all.

“Kit? Oh, shit. Listen, I was just joking, okay? No offense meant; just a little teasing between friends.” He sounded unsure and frightened and Kit grinned, knowing her revenge for all his torments would soon be had. The best part was she wouldn’t have to lift a hand, not if things went the right way. If things went the wrong way, well, Kit really didn’t mind a bit of physical revenge on Benny.

“So Benny, do you still go by Rat-tail? Or is your name changed too?” She leaned back in her chair, full already. Living in the wild had shrunk her appetite. After all, hunting and gathering meant more work to get a large meal going. It was easier to eat less, than it was to hunt more. That might explain why she was always so tiny too.

“No, I have a new name now. I’m Joey Boue Thorn now.” The fear was beginning to soak his voice. The only reason he and the reds had ever been able to torment her was through sheer numbers. She couldn’t take on around 10 to her one, after all. She simply was big enough or strong enough to manage that feat quite yet.

“I think I’ll stick to Ratty. How’s that sound?” Her voice was deceptively casual and she knew it. He knew it too, which was the absolutely best part. She loved the feeling of power this gave her. She had so rarely had it while she lived on the streets.

“Oh yeah! Well, I think I’ll just call you Nick, 'cause that’s what you do for a living. That and whore yourself out. I have no doubt your sponsor—“

That was as far as he got. Without realizing she had even moved, Kit had him off the ground by his throat. Her anger showed in her voice, as she lost control of her accent. She hadn’t been this angry since she could remember, and she could literally feel her magic pulsing in angry waves around her. Forget staying unnoticed. Forget behaving herself decorously. He had just gone where no one should ever go. And he would pay, with blood and pain, if Kit had her way. And Kit almost always had her way. The only one who ever stood in her way was her dad, and that was his right.

“Ye shant be talkin’ bout Master Wil’bur in such a way, nor meself. Ye ought to watch yer tongue, ye flee bitten scoundrel, lest Aye be tempted to watch i’ for ye at the end of my blade. Aye’ve never touched a man nor a woman in such a manner, and Aye shant whore meself ever. Aye may have filched a few things once or twice, bu’ twas a matter or starvation an’ Aye need not do i’ e’er ‘gain. Now ye ‘pologize to me ‘n’ me Da’, or ye shant be able to ‘pologize t’ any’un e’er.”

Master Wildburr had taken a few longs strides to the table she was sitting at from his own, and put his hand around her wrist. He hadn’t heard what had been said, but he didn’t need to hear to see that Kit had lost her usually calm temper. She was normally so much more laidback. He led her hand down to where the boy’s feet were flat on the ground and calmly pulled her fingers away from the lad’s neck. He was surprised at the amount of force he had to use, though not overly shocked when he noticed a bruise quickly forming on the lad’s neck. Kit had become rapidly angry, and he knew how strong her anger could make her. He ignored the magic whipping around his daughter and addressed the lad, keeping Kit’s wrist tightly gripped.

“I know not what you said to anger her so, boy, but I advise apologizing and never saying such a thing again.” He rumbled and Joey’s eyes widened then narrowed and he took a breath. Kit began to struggle sensing that he was about to say something she could beat him up for, and Master Wildburr clamped his hand tighter about her wrist. He knew exactly how wild his daughter could be. He had raised her, after all.

“I’m sorry that I told the truth about Kit being a whore and you taking advantage of it. I’m sorry I was truthful about the fact that she’s a little thief!” He yelled and Kit broke free and lunged, tackling him to the ground. A great force lifted her off of him this time and she struggled and snarled the entire time, occasionally managing to rip free of her invisible captor in order to scratch at Joey, or land a hard kick.

The entire school had gone silent except for Kit’s furious struggle, and had focused in on the scene, even the ones who had ignored it before. As Kit continued to struggle against some teacher’s magic, Master Wildburr stood there, staring in shock at the young boy in front of him.

Joey seemed to have just realized the seriousness of what he had said. He glared at Kit, crossing his arms, and frowned. He wasn’t going to take back what he said, no matter how much it cost him. It was true. Kit was a whore and a thief, and he was going to make sure that everyone knew it.

“It’s true. Kit’s always been a little thieving whore!” He said only to add fire to Kit’s struggles. He felt pretty safe her, since she couldn’t really hurt him stuck as she was. The most she could do was try and hit him. Right now, he was too far away from her arms to reach of legs to kick. So he felt more than reasonably safe from her. After all, she was just an A-year, and he was a D-year.

“You take that back you slime-infested, piece of gutter trash! You’re a miserable, lying snot, who’d sale his own Ma, if he thought he’d get anything out of it! Let me down! I’m wanna maul you! I’m gonna mess you up so bad, not even your own Ma will know it’s you. She’ll take one look at you and kick your ugly little face out!” Kit continued to roar threats and insults as Joey stood there with a smirk on his face. Oh how she wanted to wipe that smirk off his god-forsaken face. She planned on it too.

“God damn it! Let me go!” Kit broke free of the magical hold on her, and began to pound on Joey, tears in her eyes. The person who had the hold on her quickly pulled her off again, this time concentrating harder on holding her there.

Joey held his arm with a wail of pain. “She broke my arm! Did you see what she did to me? All cause I told the truth, she broke my arm! Did you see what she did? She’s a lying whore and a thief and tramp as well and she broke my arm!” Benny was wailing now, half in pain, half in anger.

Kit snorted and glared at him, giving up the struggle for now. “Did not, you little pussy! All I did was punch it, and it ain’t broken you little sissy. Fucking Mama’s boy.” She said, crossing her arms and sitting back. She couldn’t believe that he was trying to convince everyone of what he was saying. “Besides, I ain’t ever touched a man or a woman like that in my life!” She couldn’t deny the stealing part. No street rat could have denied the stealing part. Joey would have been hard pressed to lie on it too.

“Your master slept with you while you were out in the middle of nowhere, you thieving bitch!” Oh, a bitch, he was getting a bit more creative. He needed a new repertoire of insults; this was getting boring. He also repeated the term ‘thief’ too much.

“He’s my Dad, you little crab infested stinkbug! Get that through your head!” She shouted back at him, hands on her hips. Master Wildburr sighed and pulled her back, hoping he could keep her at least a bit more decorously behaved. Really, he understood her anger, but she needed to be calm when she dealt with fools like this Mr. Thorn.

Though he didn’t blame her for loosing her temper. He, himself, was getting very close to doing the same. The boy had crossed the invisible line from a simple insult to an attack on both Kit’s and his honor. That he would not stand by and take. He would see that something was done to punish the lad.

“Dad? Yeah right. He’s your god-damned pimp, and your his little whore. I bet you steal from whoever you fuck too.”

That was it, Kit was going to kill him.