Innocent Midnight

IM 11

The arm thick branch smashed into a tree trunk, Russ had been heading back toward the village and was all but furious with himself. He should of never let Ember go into that dank forest all alone, she looked so pale at the sight of those hideous trees. And he’d just let her go, stupid so stupid he was. Going through the stages of emotions Russ had already sulked about her absents while growing mad that Ember hadn’t asked for him to come, now he was furious with himself for not being the better man he was and accompanying her.

That undying anger only grew when he came upon the village once more, he was really starting to hate this place more then he thought. Maybe a drink could ale his nerves in the whole matter. Pushing open the small stink bar doors Russ took a seat at a broken bar stool, half the back was missing and instead of getting a new one the owner had simply added a roll of silver tape to keep it.

        “What a ya have?” The burly man with a fowl odor asked, had Russ not of wanted that drink so bad he’d of moved on.
        “Somethin strong”  Tossing a coin on the counter, it spun a few times before whispering to a stand still. Swiping it a cup was sat down before being filled with a dark yellow liquid, don’t ask he thought to himself as he raised the glass to his lips.

Tingles spread the length of his neck reaching down to his arms, they suddenly felt so heavy and worthless. Poison. He’d been snuffed, no drink ever did him in this fast.

        “Yea should of stayed out of town, bloody mix breed” A voice so close to his face Russ could smell the nasty un-tooth brushed teeth, managing to swivel his head to the man Russ smirked. It had to be him or all people, the same stupid ass who had gone and made his little Ember all fired up.
        “You…are…a coooow” He half mooed before falling out of his seat, yea that was going to hurt. Thick fingers wrapped around his throat bringing Russ to his wobbly feet, eye to eye with the boar of a man Russ chuckled. Damn this shit was good.

        “Where’s the female?” He sneered shaking Russ a bit, it only caused him to bubble a laugh. Poking the man’s nose Russ made a ‘boop’ sound, then began chuckling even more.

        “Damn it Joe what’d you give the punk?” Glaring at the bartender who growled, his hands cleaning a glass.
        “He wanted something strong, ain’t my fault the man can’t take a drink” Fingers tightened a little more as they shook Russ violently, his head started spinning while he counted the cute little birdies.

        “Where’s the woman? Where is she?” Russ eyed the man blinking heavily before snorting out a laugh.
        “Yea like the lil Ember?” Russ asked making his face pale, it was enough to cause Russ to laugh harder.


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Another step on a path less traveled, it was no surprise since the forest floor shifted with every step you took. Len had left the tranquil little house after Ember had gone in search, something didn’t sit right with him after watching her leave. Then like clock work wolves started showing up by the droves, their scent was everywhere clinging to almost every tree and rock.

They were in search of something, though Len didn’t know what exactly he had a stinking suspicious. You don’t just leave your other half out to fend for themselves, its not only dangerous but beyond stupid. Ember had said she’d met hers and he’d rejected her, just the thought of him denying her grew Len’s temper.

Len had already gotten to be with his other half, when she passed on she’d left him her half of the soul. It was a reminder to keep moving onward, but each day seemed to bring more and more sadness. It wasn’t till he found Ember’s mother half alive that something in him kicked in and he found that Ember had been his new lease on life, she was always getting into something and asked billions of questions.

But not just childish questions, real adult like ones and even some he couldn’t find the answers to. She was a smart child even when fast learning how to talk, picking up on small details was a natural ability for her. Len marveled at the simplify of her being, Ember was a gem and didn’t even know it. She was content in the life he gave her and that bothered him, Ember deserved so much more.

Without her knowledge Len had taken pictures of her growing up, a woman at a small book store had said it would make a good gift. Something personal she could carry with her forever, he liked that idea. When a passer by would look at Ember he’d become protective, being that Len had never had a child of his own he wasn’t sure what this emotion meant. Love was part of it, but not the kind he had felt for his other half. Different.

The same woman at the book store had made a giggle of a comment, and Len had taken it to heart.

        “Your daughter is quite smart” She said causing Ember to peek up, it was the light hearted smile she had that made Len understand his feelings. He’d started to consider her family, his own child and blood. It shouldn’t of been a surprise, he had given her powers in which only a kin of his should of gotten. But Len’s inner being had driven him closer to Ember then anyone else, and it was something he took very seriously.

Breaking through the path Len huffed tugging his oversized bag up higher, he’d grabbed the more important items and left. When the wolves grew closer to the house he’d wanted to move out, they’d stop at nothing to find what they were looking for. And if he happen to be in the veracity of them, they’d surly take him to their master. Not handling the on slaughter of being man handled Len choose to flee-for now- no reason to start a fight with creatures you didn’t want to deal with in the first place.

The town reeked of low lives and washed up magic users, he’d been through a few towns that came close. But this one took the cake. An array of beings eyed him from a far, not daring to come to close incase he was more powerful then they had taken him for. Which he was. When double doors burst open and a dark green man had been tossed from the dank bar Len rolled his eyes, a habit he’d picked up from Ember over the years.

        “Damn it where’s the woman?” He was big, not nearly as big as Len- but still. A face not even his mother could love daggered beady little eyes to the green man on the ground, to a response of laughter and a pointed finger.
        “She’s mine, you can’t have her” Len sighed, this was the most ridicules thing he’d ever seen in his life. And that included the time Ember went fishing and pissed off a mother grizzle, half screaming while laughing in a dead run from her.

        “Screw it I’ll just kill yea and look for her my damn self” Stomping to the still grounded man, Len couldn’t help but watch there was something weird about this whole scene.
        “No. You tried to kill her fuzzy little rodent friend.” Len’s eyes widened a little, not many beings kept pets- certainly not rodents. Picking him off the ground a fist connected to the green man’s face, causing his neck to rack violently. Something was clearly wrong with the man as he began laughing crazily, stepping around a tree Len leaned on it.

He wasn’t quite sure about this whole show, but something was tickling the back of his mind. That greenish man grumbled before his eyes started to roll to the back of his head, if Len wanted him to talk about what he was talking about he was going to have to save the mans ass. The only other time Len ever used his powers in the public eye was when Ember got into a jam, and even then he tried to teach her how to fix her own mess.

Needing this man was something Len wasn’t pleased about, but he wanted to know if the woman he spoke of was his Ember. Flicking a finger Len called to his powers, vines cracked making the forest around the village come to life. Villagers gasped moving away from the moving earth, that larger man dropped Len’s target taking a few steps back. Wiggling like a snake Len hand the vines worm their way around before finding the passed out individual, snapping around his wrist and ankles they tugged him to the forest.

Making it appear he was both confused and concerned Len walked away heading to the far side of town, once out of sight Len walked over a fallen tree and deeper into the woods. Setting up his camp for the night he checked the area to see if anyone had followed, when he felt confident enough that no one had he motioned for the vines to bring forth the man.

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