Feathers & a Dash of Magic

Chapter 16: Oh Let's Not

Patton followed the hunters gaze to Virgil, who had gone pale. "Vir-" he tried to say, but cut himself off the moment the fairy had turned and ran as fast as he could. His cloak flew in the wind, but Patton saw the glamour climb up the feathers as they were hidden from sight. "Virgil!"

The hunter ran after him, the other guys from Randsted shouting at him to stop and come back. Patton froze up, not sure what to do. He was confused, but that was quickly taken over by fear and he abandoned the stand, trying to chase after. But of course because of his wheelchair and people in the way, he wasn't sure if he would be there to help his brother in time.

Virgil ran around people, trying to not lose speed as he tried to lose the hunter. It felt like it did in the woods, but there was less space to run to and he could barely breathe because of the leather straps holding his wings down. His lungs burned and his legs felt weak, but he pushed on because he knew he would feel much worse if he got caught. Because of the fear and adrenaline coursing through him, he didn't feel that familiar tug in his chest.

What he did feel was something grab his cloak, yanking him back and choking him. He didn't have the time to see what grabbed it because he felt another hand grab his arm before he was shoved against something solid. He tried to throw up his hands to protect himself but the person let go of his arm, instead grabbing him by his neck and pressing him further into a wall.

There was shouting around him, but Virgil could barely decipher it over the ringing in his ears. He opened his eyes to see the hunter holding onto him, shouting in anger as the fingers squeezed his neck tighter.

"Let him go!" he heard someone shout, and saw Miss Kayda run into view. She grabbed the hunters arm and tried to pull his grip off of Virgil, other people around were shouting at the hunter.

"Back off!" the hunter told her, pushing her down before returning his grip on Virgil. The fairy whimpered in pain as he felt the nails dig into his skin. His head was starting to spin from the lack of oxygen, and he tried clawing at the hunter's arm but his grip wouldn't loosen. "This brat stole our traps!"

"She said let him go!" Someone else shouted, and Virgil's eyes widened as he saw a flash of red and a fist hit the hunter in the face.

The next thing he knew was he was on the ground, gasping and coughing for air after the hunter let him go. He flinched when he felt a hand touch him, but when he looked over he saw Miss Kayda. The older woman was looking at whoever punched the hunter, and Virgil looked up to see Roman blocking them from the hunter.

"Who the f-" the hunter tried to yell, but the witch interrupted him.

"Get out of here! If I see you try to hurt anyone else in this whole village, I'll personally hunt you down! And you'll receive much more than just a single punch!"

"I'm not scared of a little punk like you!" The hunter pulled out a small knife, making bystanders gasp and stand back.

"Why don't you try me then?" Roman stepped forward, still blocking him from Virgil and Miss Kayda.

"Ro-" Virgil tried to call, but he broke into coughing fits and had to wheeze for air. His wings were killing him, and he couldn't get enough air.

The hunter ran forward, raising his dagger high. Roman raised his arm to hit the hunter's wrist, but the knife still cut his cheek. The witch didn't flinch though, instead he grabbed the hunter's arm and twisted it till the dagger dropped. He kicked the hunter back, making him fall to his butt. Roman picked up the knife and pointed it at him.

"Wanna try again?" he asked, a smirk on his face as the cut started to drip some blood.

The hunter glared at him as he got up. "You better watch yourself. The next time I see you, you won't be so lucky," he warned.

"Yeah yeah, get out of here." The witch glared at him, resisting the urge to give the hunter a scare by flashing his eyes red.

Virgil flinched at the anger and hatred the two men held for each other, but the hunter turned and left without saying or doing anything else. Roman's anger melted away and was replaced with concern as he turned to Virgil and Kayda.

"Are you two okay?" he asked, coming closer.

The fairy nodded, not quite yet having caught his breath. Though, with a shaky hand he pointed to his own cheek where Roman had his cut.

"I'm fine, Virgil," the witch told him, pulling out a small handkerchief from a pocket and pressing it against the cut to stop the bleeding. "What about you, are you hurt?"

"I-" The fairy cleared his throat when his voice came out hoarse and scratchy. "I'm okay."

"Thank you so much dear," Mrs. Kayda said. "Those men from Randsted are horrible, and I can't thank you enough for helping us."

"It's no problem ma'am, I was just helping out a friend," Roman explained. "Besides, that guy was just awful. Here, let's get off the ground." He stood up and slipped his new dagger and the now bloody handkerchief into a bag that hung off his shoulder. The witch offered both Virgil and Kayda a hand, helping them stand up.

"We should get you to the Millers, they'll patch up that cut. And they could have something to help you too, Virgil."

"I'm okay," he told them. "I need to get back to-"

"Virgil!" The fairy looked over to see Patton, bystanders moving out of the way so he could get through. His eyes widened when he saw the cut on Roman's cheek, and the bruises forming on his brother's neck. "What happened? Are you guys okay?"

Virgil nodded, pulling his hood up. Now that the adrenaline was leaving, he started to feel tired but also embarrassed and awkward because of the staring from bystanders.

Patton seemed to notice, looking around for a bit as people started to leave, still whispering to each other. "Let's go to Logan's, you can explain there."

"What about the stand?" Virgil asked.

"I can go guard it to make sure no one steals anything," Kayda offered. "You three head on over, make sure everything's alright."

"Thank you, Miss Kayda," Patton told her. He turned to Virgil and Roman. "Come on, we need to get that cut taken care of and make sure everything else is okay."