Light and Shadow✔️

Witch

Over the next week, I had taken to call her Neva, after the ancient patron goddess of my tribe. I couldn't put my finger on why, but it seemed to fit. Neva and I fell into a trot. Her paw healed faster than I thought, leaving her to hound me and play with me all day long. She had to be about the same age as me but was a lot more playful than me. She loved to scare me by jumping out of different hiding places while we were out looking for food. 

Neva went hunting alone. She had brought me a rabbit the first night she had slept in the cave, but upon seeing my appalled and concerned face when I inspected her wonderful hunting trophy, she had taken it away and never again brought me something dead. While we were the Forest, she would show me where she had found a plant she didn't know, I would explain what its name and use was.

Neva understood fast what I could eat and what would make me sick, or kill me. She slept at the entrance of the cave, always alert, only leaving my side when she went hunting. I had seen no other animals beside her, no family, nothing. So very soon she felt like family to me. 

We lived like that for a while, maybe three weeks. I had lost count of the days, they somehow seemed to flow together out here.

On a particularly sunny day, I had decided to go back to the cave earlier than most days, Neva had gone hunting. 

I sorted through the roots I had found today. More than normally since yesterday I had the great idea to plant a garden. I wouldn't have to take from the forest anymore and I could accompany Neva on her hunts. We could maybe even go a bit further than only a day's walk from the cave. Flying had proven to be useless when searching for food, since spotting the hidden plants was almost impossible from high up. I couldn't fly very low, since the trees were to narrow, so walking it was. But that didn't mean I stopped flying entirely. I never strayed far from the cave, but still, flying was flying. 

Even though she didn't show any signs it had to be boring to go hunting in the same area every day. It had to get more difficult too since her prey had to know that something dangerous was on the prowl here.

But not too difficult. In front of me, a branch broke. I had to restrain myself not to shake my head, normally she was more careful. Normally I wouldn't hear her until she snapped at my foot or something, or nudged me in the back, throwing me into the river. I had, of course promptly retaliated by showering her with as much water as I could manage. 

I had to snicker when I thought of that day. Neva had made my life a lot more colorful. I never would've thought that I would find a friend out here.

I bit my lip, maybe I should just call her out, then I could tell her about my garden. I would need her to dig with me since her paws were about as wide as my underarm.

But before I could open my mouth something stepped out into the open. Or maybe I should say someone.

I went rigid my back froze up, my heart beating faster and louder than normal. All my weapons were in the cave behind me, I didn't need them when Neva was here, her claws were deadlier than the sharpest knife.

In front of me stood, arrogant, his face cold, an Illyrian male. He was broad-shouldered, jet black hair, his face could've been handsome if it wouldn't have been misshapen by this sneer. His head was cocked, a bow loosely in his hands. Behind him, two others stepped into the light of the clearing. The two others didn't look as cold. They looked like younglings, barely older than I was. Both of them had the olive skin typical of Illyrians, they weren't as handsome since they both looked a bit stupid, but that was compensated by their sheer mass of muscles.

A mean grin spread over the face of the last one to come into my view. All in all, they were three, armed to the teeth. All of them seemed to already have their Rite behind them since each one of them had a Siphon gleam at their palms.