The Wandering Witch VOL. 1 - The Prelude Arc (COMPLETED)

3.2| A Thieving Crow

Such a cruel person..., Noct heard the people whisper warnigly. She's a monster, I heard. Her powers are too much.

There were countless of other identical rumors about The Snow Witch passed around, each turning more gruesome and crueler than the last. Noct knew better than to foolishly believe in all of them, however. With witch-related rumors, people never really knew which ones were real or which ones were simply exaggerated.

And that, my beloved audience, shows just how stupid and deceitful people would go in order to gain attention!, he joked to himself, laughing quietly.

... And also, this isn't really the time for this, he then added as an afterthought.

Noct made a slight shake of his head and focused back on his path, his thoughts once again returning to the cloaked girl and, most importantly, the prospect of his steal. She was still weaving her way uncertainly through the crowd, completely unaware of the fact that she was being followed and marked by a thief. For less than a moment, Noct almost felt a small tinge of pity for her. The next moment later, he scolded himself. Such emotions would only bring inconvenience, and it was not like this was his first steal anyway. He had done this countless of times before without even giving it a second thought. As a way to motivate him for what he was about to do, Noct imagined himself sitting in a tavern come nightfall, finally eating a delicious meal of meat after a long, long time. He imagined having a nice warm bed to sleep in for once instead of the seeping chill of the hard, dirt-trodden ground. The thought of food and proper rest unknowingly brought a thin smile on his lips. His stomach grumbled in approval.

"--Make way for Worick the Witch Hunter!"

Noct's grand illusion instantly melted away. A displeased frown formed on his face as he looked over the people's shoulders, catching sight of a commotion from up ahead.

"Great," he muttered. A dastardly witch hunter.

Wariness and uncertainty rose within him as he saw the girl retreat back into the pressing crowd, making way for the witch hunter to pass by. Noct did the same, slipping unnoticeably into the throng. People around them turned and roared with deafening cheers, raising their fists and calling the hunter's name. "Worick! Worick!"

Gullible idiots.

Noct camouflaged himself and watched on as Worick walked down the cleared path, looking as smug, powerful, impudent and cruel as he remembered. Worick was among the most famous and skilled hunters in the kingdom, and one of the few whom Noct had hated almost as equally as he did with the Witchfolk themselves. He had to resist the urge to throw a rock at his smug face. It took most of his willpower to simply stand there and watch, patiently waiting for the hunter to pass by. He had known from experience that it was best not to get involved with their group.

However, Noct was completely taken aback when an unexpected scene happened before him. Just as he passed her, Worick had suddenly decided to pause in front of the cloaked girl. He looked down, regarding her for a few seconds with a cold and cruel stare underneath her hood. Noct suddenly had a wary feeling that something was wrong. Worick wouldn't stop in the middle of the street for nothing. As he continued to observe them, the contrast between the two almost seemed hilarious; compared to the towering hunter, the girl almost seemed like a small child. All around them, the people continued to cheer, their voices a symphony of loud noise, unaware of the situation. Then, Worick suddenly raised a hand and took off her hood, finally revealing the girl's features in broad daylight.

Noct couldn't stop himself from thinking, Oh. It's a pretty one.

Moonlit hair tumbled down from the top of her expressionless, almost even doll-like face. Her skin was the color of old snow, a much lighter shade compared to Noct's. She had pale, almost dead-looking lips and long, white eyelashes. But what caught Noct's attention the most was her eyes. He had been right. She held a pair of silver, piercing eyes that glowed brightly, almost like the familiar hue of the moon at nighttime.

Noct felt a wave of uneasiness as he saw the way Worick continued to look at her suspiciously with the menacing, dark eyes that he was known to have. The hunter and the girl stared at each other tensely, silent and unmoving.

Then in that moment, Noct suddenly realized what he had to do. The perfect opportunity to introduce himself to her came to his mind in a quick and brilliant idea that to him seemed foolproof. Right then and there, Noct decided to do the first thing that came to his mind without giving it a spare of a second thought. He pushed right through the crowd around him, gave his crafty smile and spoke in a loud voice towards the both of them in order to be heard through the loud, deafening cheers.

"--Ah, there you are, Elise!"

----> thank you for reading!