Hunter and Prey

Chapter 13: Spellbound

The air around Kimata's ready stance surged to life. A fierce wind wove around him in the most unnatural way, curving tightly around him like a forceful barrier. Kimata's blue eyes glowed brightly as so did the rest of his markings. His hands became engulfed in blue electric fire and he spun on the spot to face a fairly sized boulder about 7 feet tall and a meter wide. He grinned and wound back his arms, flinging them both forward towards the boulder, almost in an attempted clapping motion and a bright blue flash emitted from his hand, hitting the boulder and blasting it to crumbling stone. A scream of surprise and aww came from Rose as she stared at him from the side, eyes alight with wonder and amazement. She smiled happily and her five tails curled tightly around her waste down to her legs in a tense state of anxiety and excitement. "Wow!" She shuddered and stepped forward to congratulate Kimata but yelped as her entwined tails tripped her and she fell to the ground with a loud thud, coughing in the dust. "Ow..." Kimata smiled as the glow of power dimmed softly and he kneeled by her, helping her stand again. "Those tails are mischievous little things are they not? Don't you know how to control them?" He giggled lightly and Rose blushed brightly in embarrassment. She looked away with her ears down, her tails twining around themselves tightly in a braided fashion, being the effects of her tense and shy state. "Not very well... They're great when I'm on the job as a thief, but sometimes I wish I just had one..." She glanced back at them and sighed softly, looking down about her clumsy slip-up in front of him. Kimata smiled softly and rested his hand on her shoulder, looking into her eyes softly. "Is that so?..." He watched her gaze as she looked into his eyes with a noticeable blush rising on her cheeks and he felt her body tense at the playful grin he gave her. He was surprised when her gaze averted his with a hint of fear riddled in her eyes. He decided it must be his lecherous grin and he softened his countenance into a gentle comforting smile, letting out an innocent and happy giggle, trying to regain her gaze again. She glanced back into his eyes but the same look of fear swam in her own and she looked away again uncomfortably.
He wondered if she was still uneasy with the last look he pulled but wouldn't she be annoyed rather than fearful of him for that? She pulled away from him and her tails untwined, keeping her gaze down. "Yeah... They're really annoying sometimes..." Her voice drifted off again, her thoughts seeming to be elsewhere. This had happened a few times since this morning. The sun hung high in the sky, a couple hours after noon and she'd still carried the same uneasy and distant look. He shuddered as his thoughts wandered back to this morning. The way she'd thrown every enraged word she could at him, letting him have it with no restraint. It was the most upset he'd ever seen her. He assumed she was still upset from this morning but he'd figured she would've blown off the who situation by now... She must've been mad that she'd been left all alone for all that time last night, especially left to defend herself from what he heard... Poor Rose... He wouldn't leave her defenseless this time. Especially up against the creatures that roamed in the night... He shuddered heavily and shook off the foreboding feeling that overwhelmed his senses for a moment. He'd try to take her mind off last night and give her something fun to think about and do. He smiled and glanced down at her wild weaving tails. That's a good place to start... "Well I can take care of that..." His voice nearly whispering, just enough for her to hear as he kneeled down behind her. He glanced up at her, watching the confused look on her face. "W-what are you doing?" He reached up and wrapped his hand around the bases of all five tails, grabbing around them firmly and smirking playfully. "Hold still~." Rose blushed deeply and yelped in confusion and fear, trying to pull away, only making him tighten his grip. "L-let go! You jerk, I said let go!" He didn't listen as his eyes started to glow brightly along with his hands as the blue flame engulfed them again. Rose screamed and tried to struggle away more, afraid the fire would burn, but no pain came and she slowly went still, watching him confused. "It's alright, I'm not trying anything, I'm just helping." As he spoke a bright flash of light emitted from where his hand gripped her tails, the lightly glowing brighter as he slowly started to drag his hand down over the length of all five tails gripped in his hand, Roses soft fur allowing his hand to glide easily down as she stood still, watching closely. The light stayed where his hand had been even as he continued, staying bright blue, seeming to pulse lightly. He smiled as his hand came over the tips of all her tails, finally letting go and watching the light pulse and glow, glancing at Roses puzzled and fearful expression. Finally the light started to fade gradually, the fur of her tailed completely in tact, not burnt in the slightest, glowing soft white and blue with her markings at the glow faded. Kimata heard her gasp in surprise as the light faded completely, revealing one long and fluffy tail, flicking elegantly from side to side as she examined it curiously. "I can't believe it..." She smiled and yipped happily, starting to dance around excitedly, skipping and jumping all around, seeming able to move much more freely without her multiple tails tripping her up. Kimata laughed and smiled as he watched her. "I see you like my gift, lass..." She smiled brightly and ran up to him, seeming much swifter and balanced than usual, coming short a foot in front of him, eyes bright. "Thank you Kimata, I love it! I can move!"
She laughed happily and launched at him, hugging him tightly and pulling away again, starting to dance around. Kimata smiled and noticed her blue markings starting to glow. "Hey Rose! I think you've built up some of that energy I was talking about." She shuddered and looked down at her glowing markings, eyes widening as she saw them, starting to glow more, smiling. "Oh my god! Yes!" Kimata giggled and walked towards her, standing in front of her and staying about 4 feet away. "Okay... Now give that attack I showed you before a try." He watched her nod confidently and close her eyes, the glow dimming to nearly no light as she stood in the stance he'd shown before with the boulder. Kimata frowned lightly and tilted his head. She must've done something wrong. She was standing in the ready stance with her head down, seeming to be in deep concentration with both her arms at her sides. "Rose, I don't think anythings going to work-...." Kimata cut off as all her blue markings lit up brightly, her hands becoming engulfed in the same blue fire he'd had before. Kimata stepped back in surprise, watching her as she opened her eyes, them glowing bright blue glow. The glow had the same tint as the flier, nearly glowing just as bright as she grinned and focused in on a boulder ahead of her. Her pupils shrunk as her focus refined. Raising both her arms up and backwards, giving them leverage as she concentrated. Kimata watched in shock as she leased both arms forward as he'd done, yelping loudly as she forward to stop her hands in the direction of the target, both her arms swinging to the sides, a blast of light flying out each side, one hitting a tree and blasting it to splinters, the other missing Kimata by a hair, blowing up another boulder behind him. Rose coughed as the dust started to clear, looking around for Kimata and spotting him a couple meters away. He wore a stunned and serious look on his face and Rose blushed, looking away, seeming ashamed she'd failed the spell. "Sorry... I guess my tailed weren't the only thing I can't control-..." Kimata cut her off as he walked towards her, smiling and grabbing her shoulders, looking at her proudly. "That was amazing Rose! You might need some work on your aim, but the amount of power you generated was outstanding for a first try! I might not be using all of my power when I show you, but I know that was more than I'd done on my first try..." He smiled and hugged her tightly, pulling back and getting into a different stance. Rose watched him curiously in wonder. "What stance is that?" Kimata closed his eyes and reached down to his sword, unsheathing it and holding the blade to his hand, pressing in the blade a bit, just enough to draw blood. Rose watched in concern and confusion. "Wait, Kimata? What are you doing?" He sheathed his sword again and opened his eyes, the glow from before returning but seeming more concentrated. He leveled his other hand over the cut, his palm glowing with blue light. Rose watched in sheer amazement as the cut on his hand slowly healed under the light.
Her eyes widened more as Kimata pulled away his hand, revealing the newly healed flesh of his previously cut hand. He smiled and chuckled lightly at her shocked expression. "Don't get too excited Rose... That spell took me two years to master, and it took me atleast 3 months to even get results from trying it... And I was previously experienced with magic beforehand... You won't be able to get a hold on it for a long while if you practice hard, but you'll get there if you set your mind to it." He smiled and walked over to her slowly, his magic Spellfire fading away. Rose was still staring in awe at what she'd witnessed. He grinned softly as he stopped before her, the shocked expression still plastered to her face. "Rose?... Hello....?..." He waved his hand in front of her face, trying to get her attention. She still stood there with a dazed look on her face. His eyes shone brightly as he looked into her soft sky blue eyes. She still held a dazed look of shock and envy, staring off blankly. He grinned softly to himself, reaching up his hand and softly cupping her cheek in it, leaning his face in closer to hers, closing his eyes slightly watching her with a lustful gaze. His hand on her cheek brought her back to reality as she watched his face get ever closer to hers, making her blush brightly and start to pull away lightly in confusion. "U-uhh... W-what're you-... D-doing?" He smirked softly and closed his eyes, bringing his mouth closer to hers with his lips drawing closer. Rose suddenly realized he was about to kiss her and her face flushed bright red. Her eyes widened and she tried to pull away, realizing she was backed up against the wall she'd been leaning against. His intent was still clear and he continued to get closer. "Stop it!" She screamed and pushed him away with a heavy shove to his chest, gaining some space and coming back with a hard loud slap across his cheek.
Kimata yelped loudly in pain and shock, knocked out of his attempted sensual moment. He looked up at her with a disappointed and confused look on his face, not daring to even try strike back. Rose was panting softly with her back against the wall, eyes wide, staying silent as she watched him with a look of shock, fear, and slight anger on her countenance. He stepped back, rubbing his cheek softly and watching her silently, seeming to acknowledge his mistake. "I... Apologize lass... I didn't mean-..." He cut off as he tried to think of the words to sum up his apology, his ears going down under her increasingly upset expression. Rose shook her head softly and glared at him and turned away, starting to climb up back towards the cave without a word. Kimata panicked lightly, not sure what to think or do about her reaction. He gathered his breath and followed after her, stuttering as he tried to explain himself. "R-Rose, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to try what I did, I misread the moment!" Rose had walked into the cave already as he walked up the side path. He came around the corner to see her sitting on her sleeping bag against the wall with her legs tucked up against her chest, hugging her knees. He stopped at the entrance as he observed her, seeing her ears go down more as he approached. She kept her gaze down and shuddered as he started to walk closer. He walked closer and stopped a couple feet short of her kneeling down to eye level, trying to attain her gaze but she looked away. He was surprised to see her blushing but she still look put off. He sighed softly and took off his wide-brimmed hat, setting it down on the boulder next to him, looking down shamefully. He'd thought she wouldn't oppose a nice kiss but... Perhaps that wasn't what she wanted... Or at least, not yet, judging by her flustered but angered reaction. If he made her uncomfortable, it only seemed fair to go at her speed if anything was ever to happen between them... "Rose..." He thought through his next words carefully, keeping his gaze down respectfully and kept his ears back lightly so not to give off an overwhelming appearance. "If it means anything to you... I won't try anything like that ever again miss... Or even touch you for that matter..." He watched her, seeing her blush more lightly, glancing at him softly with a confused expression. He nodded softly to her and stood up, starting to walk away to give her space. He headed towards the mouth of the cave, thinking about what to do with the time left in the day. There was maybe 2 or 3 hours left so maybe he'd actually collect wood for the fire tonight... He was stopped when Roses voice caught his attention. "Wait..." Kimata turned back and watched her, ears perked as he listened for her response quietly. "I-... Thank you... That's a very noble offer for you to make... I'm not opposed to your touch sir, I was just surprised and caught off guard by the thought of a... Kiss from a-..." She cut off, a look of slight fear and sadness in her eyes. Kimata's ears perked more, feeling confused. "Kiss from a...?" He asked inquisitively. She shuddered and looked away, ears down lightly. "... From a w-... A bounty hunter meant to kill me..." Kimata shuddered lightly at the force of her harsh comment. Regaining his mental balance and looking away, nodding softly.
"I understand milady... I apologize for my actions. I'm going to go fetch some firewood, I'll be back soon I promise..." With that he turned away again, walking out of the cave towards the forest below, becoming lost in thought. He'd become quite fond of the young girl who had become his canceled contract. He was her protector now, but he felt more than just protective over her... He wondered why. He also wondered why he never did kill her in the first place... Her stunning beauty?... Her kind heart?... His relation to her life as a loner?..... She was beautiful. She was kind hearted. And he could relate to her... Even so it boggled him that even that had stopped him from carrying out the deed... But now, he was glad it did. He was definitely much happier since having her tag along with him. He wondered just how much happier he might be with her... And what he would do if anything bad ever befell her...