I awoke several hours later, still in a daze from yesterday’s beating. I arose from the bed made from the leftover blanket. The slight sound of tiny bits of water pounding against the blanket can be heard outside. I poked my head out of the window and got a rush of the cool refreshing breeze. I felt a few drops of water crash into my hair. I pulled my head back feeling a little light headed. I move towards the pile of meat I took from the troll gently taking one in a shape of a drum stick. I held it up to lips and sunk my teeth into it. Ripping a piece off of it. The taste was a bit salty, and blood gushed out with every bite. Im guessing it wasn’t properly cooked. I didn’t care, infact I was use to the taste of meat cooked rare or not even cooked at all. I just hoped it wasn’t human I was eating.

I tossed the bone aside and wipe the leftover blood from my lips. I took what was left and wrapped it up. Which I placed it on the strap that held my blade and trimmed some of the cloth to form a hood. I walked out and pulled the hood over my head. I glanced towards north and marched. My body still hasn’t recovered yet. Pain surged through my body with each step. But, that didn’t stop me. Despite my injured leg, few other bruises inside my body and It was hard to breath from the cold air. I travel to the side of the flooded path staring down at the traveling water. Only if water could live and walk beside you when you needed someone. My chest expands and quickly falls. My breath was visible but rapidly disappeared. I sway my head back and forth. My eyes closed shut. Trailing back to my past.

How my mom died? Turned out she had some disease that she obtained recently. My mom was an elf. It didn’t mean she would survive it. She was coughing up blood, her fever was higher than anything I’ve seen. She died the day after I turned five. Tch some gift that was. My father was human and he too had the curse. Before my mother died. My dad patted me on the head and said he would be back. Yet, he didn’t…I started to think that he abandoned me cause of my blood. I…I was a half elf. Frankly were a despised race. We weren’t one, we were both. Why they hated us? I don’t know. We were ridiculed, beaten, turned to slaves, and occasionally, killed. I lived in a village known for their torturing of half elves. I manage to leave before they found me. They’ll have to be stupid to follow me into the forest. No one ever enters or leaves the forest due to the fact of the dangerous creatures that lurked in the woods.

The water on the path started to lower the farther I went. Still it was sprinkling tiny bolts of water. There was less water on the path, making It have more room to walk on. For some reason, I couldn’t shake this feeling that someone was following me.

The sounds of rustling bushes, leaves, branches. The sounds of twigs snapping were all around me. Someone was here…I just wished they showed themselves already. I grasped my sword hearing sounds of something running towards me. I unsheathed, turned around and strike. It parried with a dagger, it was a simple style. Nothing to complex. I got a good look at my opponent. It was a female. Most likely from the beast clan.

The beast clan are people who are half human and half beast. It’s either half human half wolf, or half human half cat. The Beast clan doesn’t really care for the other races. Always think their superior than everyone. This particular one wore a brown cloak, her right arm was completely bandaged up. She wore a black shirt like vest that only covered her front and back part of her chest. Her face was masked by a fox masks. Preventing me from seeing her face. Before I even had a to examine her legs. She swung her other dagger. What!?! Two daggers?! She’s a dual wielder?!? Damn! I got careless! I jumped back before the blade made contact. I was lucky. A second later and I would have ended up with another hemorrhagic wound on my neck. I firmly landed on the ground, blade still in hand. Instead of me making a move, she did. She charged at me with both daggers. I raised my blade only to parry with one of her daggers. Unfortunately I couldn’t get the other dagger. Damn! Theres no way I can beat someone that outclasses me in strength. Sure Im more agile than her, but that doesn’t help me with anything. She made attempt to do the same thing as before, and again I dodged it. Only this time I ducked. Now was my chance! I pulled my blade back and thrust.

The last thing I saw was my blade flying out of my reach. What happened?!? Whatever happened I had to retreat. Im in no condition to fight if im disarmed and already wounded. Then it would make thing a hell of a lot easier for her. That was a mistake. As I pulled back I felt a sharp sudden pain rush in my back, just near my spine…she missed. Or that’s what I hoped. The weird thing was. I felt spike of pain but after awhile I didn’t feel anything. Actually, I didn’t feel anything else after that. It was like my entire body went numb. “Like it?” she asked in a tough tone. “no matter how hard you try. You can’t resist this poison.” She finally allowed me to fall to the ground. “Don’t worry this poison won’t kill you. It’ll just cease your muscles in your arms, legs, and neck from moving. You’ll still be able to breath, talk and blink. But that’s it.”

That was her plan just to cease me from moving? She spent the last ten minutes just so I can’t move? What the hell! She sheathed her daggers and walked over to my blade. “You know this isn’t a bad sword.” She lifts it out of the ground and examines it. “Yet it wouldn’t even make a penny on the market.” Great, Im being mugged. She turns to me. “What’s the matter? Are you a mute?” I would have turned my head if I was able to move. “At least you could answer me.” she said directly over my head. I knew she wouldn’t quit unless I say something, so I replied.

“Im not a mute.” It was hard to tell what was going under that mask of her’s, but somehow…I got the feeling that she was smiling. “That’s good. So…” She sat on my back near my wound. Of coarse I didn’t feel her. “What’s a half elf like you doing here?” She asked. I didn’t want to reply but who knows. She might be on the same quest or might not be a bad person.

“Im heading north.”

“north? Now why would you travel north by yourself?” Now this conversation was just getting stupid. Why would I go north, duh!

“To get this curse removed.”

She seem to pause for quiet awhile. I just have to lay here until the poison wears off. Which might be a long time. She finally said “you too?” in my opinion that was anti-climatic. She took that long just to reply? I sighed heavily only to reply “Yea, Im cursed.”

She picked me and plopped me on her shoulder. She was going to kill me later. Great, and yet again I was wrong. Ahead was a tent. Im guessing its her’s. She walked in and set me on mat of some sort. It wasn’t to complex, nor to simple. It was bigger than the one I made back at the forest. A few things were tucked in the corner. Most of the stuff looks like extras that she has now. Sleeping bag, clothes, and other stuff. She digged through that stuff and pull out a syringe and a bottle of purple liquid. What now!?! Im poisoned already! I don’t need more! She stuck the needle into the top and extract some of the liquid in the container. She then stuck the needle in to my neck, injecting it into my blood stream. I closed my eyes shut excepting the worse. My arms began to twitch…they were starting to move. My legs did the same. After five minutes of annoying twitching. I was finally able to move completely. Again my suspicions were wrong. It was the antidote. That’s when the pain poured back in. My back was in terrible stingy pain considering the fact that I was laying on it. As well as were most of muscles were. I refuse to cry, nor groan cause of it. I laid there doing my best to ignore the pain. I turned to the girl. She had her back turned to me. She was moving around abit. That’s when I realized she was taking off her cloak. I turned my head blushing, thinking she was getting undressed. Her cloak dropped to the ground as well as her mask. I glanced back and saw her shiny onyx black hair that reached past her shoulders. Her little ears that sat on top of her head were exposed. She had a lightly tanned arms and legs. Her wolf like tail hung right above her butt. She turned to me with both bandages and a bottle of clear liquid. Finally I could see her face. It was a normal human face. She had whiskers but no dog eyes, no dog nose, nothing that resembled . She flipped me over to my stomach and lifted up my shirt. I waited there wondering what she was doing. Something cold made contact on to my bare skin. A shiver was sent racing up my spine. Then another sharp pain. Her hand was gently placed on my back rubbing the liquid in my wounds. She pulled back the cloth, drenched in my blood. Tossing it aside into the water.

“Look” she said. “Im only doing this cause your useless to me if your injured.” Wouldn’t been injured if you didn’t stab me. “I need to head north as well, and everybody knows it’s a stupid decision if you go alone.”

“so your asking for my help?” I asked with a stuck up attitude.

“Hey! Be more grateful. I could have stolen your stuff and let you alone to die back there.” She replied. Thinking about what she just said.

“fine, I’ll come with you.” Not liking the idea of it. I could tell again she was smiling knowing that she won. “good, now what’s your name?”

My name? I haven’t told anyone about my name since…well never. No one really cared. But since she asked I couldn’t ignore it. I hate being the person I am.

“Kouken” Which meant Guardian in a different language.

“Kouken? Well I guess that’s a good name, not for you though. Mines Tenshi” Which of coarse meant angel.

“Tenshi uh? I like that name, but it doesn’t suit you.” I said grinning about my comment. I could tell were going to get along…yea, right. At that moment I wished that the poison actually killed me...