The Hound's Moon

Shadowy Forthcoming

--Chapter 21--
Shadowy Forthcoming

The emerald-eyed female waited at her apartment from early morning to midways of the afternoon, hoping to eventually see her companion return. With no way but the pendant to contact him, she could only sit and wait... if that was the case for her.

Instead, she went back to her study room, trying multiple combinations of runes to either magnify the intensity of it or increase its range. Some blew up in her face while others worked successfully. Her mind wandered back to what the red-cloaked male had said. "Yuuki Satou. The rumored specialized healer with a hint of floral aroma."

She, for sure, knew that she specialized in healing components of magic but what caused him to say floral aroma? Yeah, she worked as a florist but the scent doesn't necessarily rub off her on. She never had the thought to use flowers as a way to actually recover or heal before... only a way of tracking or locating. The way he also said that made her quite curious about his history.

From what she had read through her father's notes, historical heroes were based from the past. 'What if... just what if, he is a hero from the future? Is it a coincidence as to why he had that familiarity towards me then? Is it even possible for someone who currently doesn't exist in the present time to appear from the future?' She frowned, unsure of the possibility. She would ask him, but that wouldn't be a wise choice especially with the possible choice of being turned against. In the end, she chose to ignore her endless thoughts and continued to experiment with combinations for some hours.

She paused for a moment to gaze at her surroundings. Her study room, once was neat, was now a cluttered mess once again. She sighed, remembering the moment with the Celtic walking in on her with the mess. It was only a few hours without him but to the raven, it felt like days. His interactions with her were just that precious for the female to recall quite clearly. 'I'm running low on materials again... I do hope the antique shop over that bridge is open again. They had quite an amount of items that interested me.'

She tidied her study room before grabbing a shoulder bag. Yuuki packed a small plastic bag with flower petals as a precaution for any magic she would possibly use as components. She took hold of her staff and held it tightly. She concentrated her magic onto the item as a hue of silver formed around the weapon. Her brows knitted together as the wooden staff's material component began to change, eventually compacting itself to merely a palm-sized stick. The silver lighting dissipated as she exhaled deeply. 'That... took a bit out of me.' She placed her miniature-sized weapon into her bag and took a look out the window for a split second. The raven grabbed her waterproof jacket and left her apartment.

The pitter-patter of the liquid droplets fell from the neverending sky as she walked toward the bridge. Not many people were walking on the streets... after all, it was raining. The raven listened to the serene peace coming from the rain. It wasn't unusual for days like this to occur. Even she somewhat needed the serene atmosphere once in a while. Her mind was always in distraught ever since Cú re-appeared in her life. Whether it was a coincidence or not, she doesn't regret it. If he never appeared, she would've continued living the way she did... Being alone and secretly helping the innocent bystanders from afar until the day of her last breath.

She continued to walk until she sensed a suspicious presence tailing behind her. She stopped and the presence followed suit. She quickly glanced behind her, no one of doubtful existence was around. '... Could it be a servant? The only one that would tail me like this would be mo ridire but it's not...' Emerald eyes scanned the surroundings—shopping stores within a few feet away, a couple of vehicles on the road and the bridge not too far from where she stood. 'I think it's best to leave the crowded areas. Riverbank it is then.'

The resumed her walking pace, not to alert whoever was following them. She sighed at the situation she was in. 'Why me?' Eventually, she reached the river bank and hid under an open area with a roof. She took a seat at the bench, closing her eyes as she exhaled. "Who is it that's tailing me? I know you are right around me."

The person eventually dematerialized as they leaned against the frame of the structure with their arms folded. "Keen about your location aren't you, Satou." The raven opened her eyes as her emerald orbs eventually met up with the onyx-like spheres. "I know my way around Shinto City, thank you very much, Archer. Mind if I ask why you are following me again?"

"I have my reasons not to tell you." Her eyes rolled as she heard his reply. "Reasons you say? Then I can assume that it is not an order from your Master." She frowned at the male who casually stood before her. "The same with your reasons concealing the fact you're not a Master anymore but still in contact with one of the servants." Her brows knitted together. "How'd you..."

"As I said, I have my reasons and I'm not obliged to tell you." He scoffed as he closed one of his eyes and a slight curvature appeared on his lips. "Were you spying on me? That is very rude and that it invades my privacy." He pushed off the pole, taking a step forward. "Who said I was spying. I was just merely gathering information for increasing my chance at victory."

The raven jeered at the white-haired male. "Increasing your chance? By snooping around me? There is nothing useful within my disposal for you whatsoever." She folded her arms as she tried to figure out what the hell he is trying to pry on. "You are quite worthy to be considered useful for us. Just not at the right time." Emerald eyes fiercely glared at the red-cloak being. "Your stares do not affect me, Satou. If looks could kill, then I would've been dead long ago."

Unable to rebuttal against this cynical male, she sighed as she waved her hands in the air. "Okay, Archer. Whatever you say. So what is the real reason you came to track me down? It's something personal, am I wrong?" Archer took a seat on the opposite side of where the female had sat. "I want to confirm something." Her brow rose curiously. "And that would be...?"

"I wanted to ask ifㅡ" The male sudden stood up as he was just to answer the raven. "...Archer?" He glared at the red bridge in disdain. "I'll tell you later. Something's up." He materialized his black bow and aimed it at the structure. "W-Wait, what are you doing?! Don't be destroying the overpass now...!" The male ignored her plea and shot piercing red arrows at the arch, only for it to hit something before the structure itself. "Huh? A... Bounded Field?"

The male continued to shoot at the field with multiple arrows. "Correct. Something's amiss. Either you stay out of it or help, even with your lack of attack power you can do something." A tick-like mark appeared on the raven's forehead as she stood up angrily. "Oh shut up with that attitude, Archer!" She grabbed a few petals from within her bag and held it in her hand. "I, very well, can do something you sarcastic bastard."

She motioned her hand with rune symbols appearing in mid-air before she crushed the petals, letting it go. As it fell, the petals became more angular and lit in a fire-like light before it shot straight at the field as well. "Ho? Raidho-Sowilo combination? I'm impressed." He smirked as he repeatedly beat the field down with his rain of arrows. "How'd you know what I wrote?" He looked away. "...From someone that I know. Anyways, continue what you're doing."

And that she did. Actually, the crushed petals didn't actually disappear after the first try. The raven was able to control the magic and let it repeatedly hit the Bounded Field in a circular motion. It was quite tasking for her; she wasn't used to the constant magic generation for attacks. After all, she was more of someone who worked with defenses and supports.

After quite some time, a large crack appeared onto the Bounded Field. The servant leaped from their location and disappeared into the crack. The raven watched the situation unfold, unsure of what was happening at the bridge. As she waited, a sudden hot sting ran through her left ear. She quickly covered it, wincing as the silver banding lit up. 'Wh-What's going on now... Cú, are you okay...?'

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AN: Sorry for more of the random Archer scenarios. I know this is supposed to be more oriented toward our adorable puppy... He'll show up again, no doubt about it. :)

Raidho is Travel, both in physical terms and those of lifestyle direction. In this case, Yuuki used it as a way for her magic to travel in a certain direction. With

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