Shadowmantle:The ElfinMage Saga

××Chapter Five××

Note: Every POV is Maria's unless I say it isn't.

Well, guess my stranger isn't here yet, I thought as I dropped my bag on the grassy ground. Some practice would do, glad he's not here yet, he'll only be a distraction.

Exhausted from all of the practice, I sat down on the ground "Damn it" I cursed. I wasn't as good as I expected to be today and I think it was because of him, I just couldn't focus, as much as I don't want to say this, I was thinking about him, he wasn't even there smh.

I screamed when something dropped down from the tree, oh wait it's a someone, Damon.

"What is wrong with you?" it was a rhetorical question so I asked another question before he could answer "What's with you and jumping from trees?" and another "How long have you been there?"

"Woah, chill" he said raising up his hands. "I didn't mean to scare you, I'm sorry"

"I wasn't scared, it was just unexpected" I wasn't about to let him think that I'm weak 'cause I'm not.

He smirked, you know that annoying smirk that says oh really before he said "About your question, I watched you practice not just that but I also watched you come here. Would you believe me when I tell you that I slept here?"

"That's insane" I said removing my armguard "This is a forest, not your house"

"You know nothing about me Maria, this here can be where I live, you just might not know" he was removing the arrows from the targets.

I joined him "Yeah, I know nothing about you but you're a human being not a wood nymph nor are you a wizard so I see no reason for you to live here"

He laughed, but I didn't say anything funny, did I?

"No, I'm nothing like that but maybe I'm something else, you know, something dangerous and blood thirsty"

"Something like what?" I collected the arrows from his hand and start to arrange them in the quiver.

"Expect the unexpected" he gave me a toothy grin.

"You're messing with me" I huffed, he was trying to scare me, but I'm not a scared little brat, not anymore.

"I might be but what if I'm not, huh?"
OK, he's starting to scare me now, I met him in a forest for goodness sake, what if he's one of Nigeria's evil spirits, they're very popular here.

I'm just going to change the topic "Do you know that there are wolves in this forest?" saying that now I felt like a fool, this is ridiculous, wolves in Nigeria? What, I'm insane.

"Wolves? have you seen any?" he asked, his eyes a little bit narrowed. He probably thinks I'm crazy.

"You know what, just forget about it" I carried my bag, getting ready to leave.

"I believe you" he said in a softer tone.

"What?" I asked, I was shocked.

"I believe you" he said again and from the look on his face I knew that he meant it. Glad to have someone to talk to about that, I kept my bag aside and sat down just across him.

"Thank you, but why do you be....." I started to say but he caught me off.

"Have you seen any?" he looks angered or is it fear, I don't really know.

"No, but I was in my room the other day, it was late, I wanted to go for a walk but then I heard the howl, a wolf's howl, uhhh it wasn't just one actually, they were many, I don't know how many"

"When was that?" he looks worried and concerned.

"The night before I met you"

He started laughing "Sorry, I didn't mean to.......it's just that I remembered something"