Chapter one
A life saved and debt’s paid
The very confused pony (I feel that he should be the one to tell you his name, after all, he IS the main character.) dragged himself through the dense foresty undergrowth steam rising from his coat, Okay. So I have no idea where I am or how in the name of Purity’s Spring I got here!
He cursed rather loudly as some leaves rubbed up against his bloodied side. Oh and there’s the small problem that I’m dying! Thank you White, you really helped me out! The Stallion wasn’t normally this cynical, but it’s amazing how being so close to death can really change your outlook on life.
“RAAAAAAWWWWWEEERRRRRR!!!” the sound cut through his thoughts like a razor edged sword.
Whatever made that sound is ether very angry or very sick, either way I should probably avoid it. He deduced quickly. He changed his mind a moment later when he heard a second sound. It was the screams of a young mare, the kind a mare only made when
a) Their life was in danger
b) When that “Mare” was indeed a stallion who had just been scared half to death, usually to the great amusement of his halfwit friends.
Our hero had of course never had any halfwit friends, nor for that matter, had he ever had many friends at all. So he, of course, assumed it was the first of the two options. This caused him to half gallop half stumble as fast as his badly injured legs could carry him towards the sounds.
He hardly noticed when his cloak and hat were taken by low hanging branches; even if he had, he probably wouldn’t have cared. Only one thing mattered, somepony was in danger. He could help.
The stallion burst through the underbrush just in time to see a tree get toppled by the tail of a massive purple dragon.
“You’ve got to joking” he muttered under his breath.
The dragon raised its head ready to torch whoever was trapped under the tree. Instinct took over.
“Hey Smoke Bag did your mother beat you when you were young, or were you born looking like a mud golem!”
***
Pinkie was in trouble. She had gone for a walk in the Everfree forest to visit her good buddy Zecora, when she’d run into a big, mean, ol’ dragon! She didn’t know why they had to be such grumps all the time! After all, she had just asked him for directions (she’d gotten lost, as always). Of course, she had broken one of his big gem stones on accident, but she’d said she was sorry! Besides, he had like a gazillion more just like it! But he was still mad! So the dragon had chased her all through the forest until a tree had fallen on her tail, pinning her. And so she sat there as the dragon got ready to turn her into a Pinkie flambé. Bracing herself for the end, Pinkie lowered herself to the ground and covered her head with her front hooves, ready for the oncoming flames.
They never came. She heard some noises coming from behind her, but her view was blocked by the fallen tree. There were lots of angry dragon noises, a couple of shouts that sounded like challenges, and… the sound of water?!? What the hay was going on back there?! There was one last roar of anger.
“WHAM!” the sound was followed by total silence.
A rather handsome looking stallion poked his head over the top of the fallen tree and said “We need to go; I don’t know how long it’ll be down for!” But Pinkie was a little too distracted by his deep blue coat and brilliant teal eyes that reminded Pinkie of the dragon’s gemstone she had broken a few minutes ago. He was badly injured; there was a rather nasty looking cut under his right eye that curved across the length of his face. His other eye was surrounded in a sickly looking purple-black bruise that had begun to swell.
“I can’t, my tail’s stuck under this tree!” Pinkie said, looking at the fallen log. The stallion looked concerned and walked over to carefully examine the fallen tree. When it had fallen, its trunk had snapped about two feet above the roots and come straight down on her tail. It was a miracle it hadn’t landed a few feet over and crushed her flank.
The handsome stallion without hesitation wedged himself under the side of the tree closest to the stump and lifted with all the strength he could muster. He trembled under the weight of the tree as it slowly lifted off the ground.
“GUAHHHH!” he yelled out, and putting one last burst of energy into it, the tree lifted just enough for Pinkie to pull her tail out from under it. As soon as she was clear, he threw himself out from under the huge evergreen, and collapsed onto the ground.
“Are you okay?” Pinkie asked. He looked really, really hurt as he lay there, breathing heavily. Dozens of wounds covered him from nose to hoof, most of which were bleeding. The sounds of the dragon stirring made the pony stand up, grimacing.
“We need to go NOW!” he shouted urgently, even though he swayed as he did so. Pinkie didn’t need to be told twice, and she galloped off in the direction of PonyVille with the stallion following closely behind.
“Augh!” she heard the blue pony cry. Looking back she saw him leaning heavily on a tree with an expression of extreme pain splayed across his face.
“Keep going! I’ll be fine!” he said after noticing that Pinkie was waiting for him. This did nothing to remedy Pinkie’s concern but the intensity in his voice made her keep galloping onwards.
Pinkie looked back a few more times during the minuets of galloping, but the handsome stallion didn’t stop again. Pinkie noticed his expression of grim determination, so she didn’t dare suggest stopping for rest.
Finally the trees began to clear and PonyVille came into view, Pinkie didn’t think she’d ever been so happy to see it in her whole life!
“Look there’s PonyVille!” she glanced back “we can stop running now.” Pinkie informed him seeing that he was having hard time breathing. They stopped for a moment
“Will you be safe there, are you hurt?” he managed to ask in-between gasping for air, his expression was a mix between both exhaustion and concern.
“Yeah PonyVille is super safe! And I’m doing okay,” Pinkie replied, marveling again at his many wounds. “We need to get you to a doctor.” But he didn’t hear her last comment. The second she said she was okay; immense relief crossed his face followed by a grimace of pain as he fell to the ground, unconscious.
Pinkie looked at him for only a split second before she picked him up on her back and headed towards the local clinic. He was surprisingly light.
***
The stallion came close to consciousness a few times over the next two weeks, and most of the time there was someone next to his bed. Either a nurse or the pink pony he had saved in the woods. Though he couldn’t make out a lot of the words that were said, a few pieces of dialog stood out.
“Will he be okay?” The light voice of the pink pony asked.
“I don’t know, he’s lost a lot of blood, and some of the wounds look infected. We’ll need to operate immediately.” Replied a deep male voice, “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave the room.” That voice is probably the doctor, he thought, albeit groggily.
The next exchange he recalled was the Doctor talking to the pink pony again.
“So what did you say happened again?” the Doctor asked.
“Like I told you yesterday, I was going for a walk in the woods to go see Zecora when I got lost! So I…“ At this point the stallion dropped off, but he came around in time to hear the last bit of Pinkie’s explanation. “-And then he lifted up the tree so I could get my tail out. And the dragon was waking up, so he followed me back to town. Then he fell over, he looked really hurt, so a picked him up and brought him here.” The stallion got the impression the Doctor was shaking his head.
“From what you’ve told me, and with the minor burns he has over a lot of his back and neck, it sounds like he fought the dragon that attacked you.” The doctor didn’t seem the least bit concerned that attacking a dragon was insane, “But a dragon of that size couldn’t have caused those cuts. They’re far too small, more like cuts one would get from a knife or small sharp object. I suppose they could be from dragon teeth,” the Doctor sighed, “except they would be puncture wounds, not long slashes.” He shook his head “You’re sure there’s nothing else you can tell me?”
“I’m sorry I don’t know anything else.” Pinkie replied crestfallenly.
“It’s alright; it’d just be nice to know what caused the wounds so we can better treat him.”
There was more to the conversation, but he couldn’t pick it up, he slipped back into the void that was his unconscious mind.
***
Rarity walked through the hospital with a slight grimace on her face. She knew they needed to keep a sterile environment, but did that mean everything had to be white? And the nurse uniforms, since when (if ever) was that light green color in style? Most unfabulous, but she wasn’t here to critique the hospital’s color choices. She done that before and they OBVIOUSLY hadn’t listened to her suggestions. No, she was here to bring food to her friend Pinkie Pie.
Since Pinkie had decided to stay at the hospital until she knew the strange blue pony was okay, her friends had decided take turns bringing her food every day. Most of the time it was either Twilight or Apple Jack who brought it, but both of them were busy today, and Rarity was free. Plus, AJ had told her that the stallion looked “Better than a hawk with binoculars,” which had piqued Rarity’s curiosity.
As she entered the small room she heard the end of a conversation between Pinkie and the Doctor.
“I’ve see a lot of things in my day, but nothing like this. It’s amazing! His wounds take the same amount of time to heal as everypony else, but they show no sign of scarring! I don’t know how his body does it!” said the Doctor, shaking his head from side to side with a look of shear astonishment on his face.
“Hmm… I guess he doesn’t look as bad as he should,” said Pinkie, looking quizzically at the pony lying in the hospital bed.
“Hello Pinkie, Hello Dr. Stich n’ Snip.” Rarity said, nodding to each pony in turn. “I brought some food.”
Dr. Stich n’ Snip and Pinkie Pie looked odd standing next to one another; one was a very old unicorn with a deep brown coat and a well-trimmed white beard and mane. The other had a bright pink frizzy mane with a tail to match. Her mane was a deeper pink that complemented her coat.
“OH GOODY!” shouted Pinkie, “I’m Starving!”
Rarity gave a dainty little laugh, putting the saddle bag full of food on the table next to the little black chair Pinkie was sitting in.
“Apple Jack put a few goodies in there for you.” Rarity said, exciting Pinkie Pie even more.
“So how’s he doing?” Rarity asked the Doctor, while Pinkie attacked the food.
“He’s on the mend. His injuries are healing up and he’s fought off the infections he got from those cuts, but he still hasn’t woken up, which is concerning,” he said, shaking his head. Then he turned towards the door. “I need to go check on another patient, but you’re welcome to stay as long as you like,” he said as he left the room.
Pinkie had now completely devoured the food and was now finishing off the apple juice, her straw making an annoying slurping sound as she sucked it up.
“That was DELICIOUS!” Pinkie yelled with a huge smile on her face. “Apple Jack always makes the best pies.”
“They are exquisite, aren’t they?” Rarity responded with a polite smile, “So this is the pony that saved you then?” she asked, turning towards the small hospital bed.
Just like Apple Jack had told her, the stallion was stunningly handsome; even with the many scabbed-over cuts covering his head and fore legs. Light filtered in through the window showcasing his sharp angular features, as well as a spray of white freckles under his eyes that contrasted with his beautiful deep blue coat, making the freckles look like sea foam. His mane changed color down the middle mid-way up his scalp. Half was Cyan, and the other was pure white. From what Rarity could tell using his front legs alone, he had a well-toned, strong body that made it clear that he exercised. A lot.
“Uh-huh,” said Pinkie, nodding her head. “And he was in way more trouble than me! Dr. Stich n’ Snip said that he probably had those cuts BEFORE he fought the dragon! Can you imagine? He must be super brave!” She shifted nervously in her chair before asking Rarity, “Do you think he’ll be okay?”
Rarity could tell that Pinkie was really worried about this stallion. Of course, she would be too, had he saved her life! At that thought, Rarity felt a pang of jealousy. How long had she wanted a stallion as handsome as this one to sweep her off her hooves and save her from danger? But she quickly shoved it down. She was just happy that he’d been around to save Pinkie.
“The Doctor said he’d be fine, remember?” Rarity said, giving Pinkie a hug.
“I know, it’s just he was so worried about me…” Pinkie said, turning towards the window. This much concern was unusual for Pinkie Pie, Most of the time she wasn’t worried about anything! Even when PonyVille faced complete disaster, she always managed to have fun. But now she looked really shaken.
“Why don’t you tell me about what happened?” Rarity asked, hoping that talking about it would help her friend. “A tree had just fallen on your tail so you couldn’t move, correct?” Rarity prompted.
“Yeah,” Pinkie turned towards her friend, brightening a bit at the opportunity to retell the story. “Then I got on the ground and covered my head, ‘cause I knew it was going to breath another big scary fire ball!” Pinkie got on the floor and covered her head, acting it out. “But it never came! I heard lots of mean sounds, but the tree kept me from seeing what was going on! Then there was this big BOOM!” Pinkie said, shouting the last part and waving her hooves in the air, which made Rarity jump.
“And then?” Rarity asked, after she had recovered. “What happened next?”
“Then it got REALLLLLY quiet,” Pinkie said, getting really close to Rarity, her voice little more than a whisper. “Then he,” she nodded towards the bed to punctuate, “poked his head over the top of the tree. He looked really, really hurt, and he said that we had to go, ‘cause the dragon might wake up soon, but my tail was stuck under the tree. So what did he do?” she paused “He lifted up the whole, GINORMOUS tree off the ground so I could get my tail out!” Pinkie then took a big breath. “And then he fell down ‘cause he was so tired and hurt, but then the mean ole’ dragon sounded like he would wake up, so he got to his hooves and told me that we had to go REALLY FAST! So I galloped towards PonyVille just as fast as I could. I was worried he couldn’t keep up, but he didn’t seem to have too hard of a time.” She paused to breathe again.
“And then you went to the clinic?” Rarity prompted. She was on the edge of her seat, or she would have been, had she been sitting. You have to admit… Pinkie Pie sure knows how to tell a story! Rarity thought.
“No, before that he asked me if I was okay!” Pinkie looked at the floor. “Even though he was hurt, he made sure I was okay,” she looked at Rarity at this point, “an-a-a-and then he just passed out! So I brought him here.” Pinkie finished as tears started forming in her eyes.
“It’s okay,” said Rarity, giving Pinkie another hug. “He’ll be fine.” Rarity squeezed even tighter, and she felt Pinkie squeeze back.
Tears were running down Pinkie’s face and onto Rarity’s shoulders. I’ll have to wash my coat when I get home… thought Rarity quietly.
“I was so scared.” Pinkie quietly gasped out between sobs.
They stayed like that, Rarity holding a sobbing Pinkie, until Pinkie Pie was able to compose herself. Then they both sat down and talked some more, Rarity telling her what she’d missed in the past few weeks, and Pinkie told Rarity about the fun she’d been having at the hospital. Throughout the conversation, Pinkie kept glancing over at the stallion, as if to make sure he was still there.
“-and that’s why I’m not allowed to go into the utility room anymore!” Pinkie said finishing her astounding story with a trade mark Pinkie smile on her face. Rarity laughed, partially because she didn’t know if anything else would be an appropriate reaction. Pinkie had told the story so quickly; Rarity had barely been able to make out any of it.
“Oommggph.” The almost inaudible noise stopped both ponies in their tracks. Pinkie’s head snapped towards the shifting figure in the small bed. It had just been a groan, but that was more then he’d done in the past two weeks!
***
The blue stallion came close to the surface of his mind again, being drawn out of the void by the sound of two ponies conversing.
“-and that’s why I’m not allowed to go in the utility room anymore!” The pink one finished.
He felt the groggy, sucking feeling pulling him back into the comforting void, like a mother caressing her child. It would be so easy to give in to that feeling, let it over take him, to never wake up. To never have to live with what he’d done.
A shadowy figure appeared next to his bed. ‘It’s Up To You.’ It stated in an impassive sort of way.
NO! ...I’ve gone through too much to give up now! He yelled in his mind, throwing off the caressing void like a blanket. He couldn’t give in, no matter how bad he wanted to, he’d promised. White that he’d not give in. and if nothing else, he owed the pony at least that much.
He opened his eyes, at first the light made his head spin like a drunken top, after blinking away the (also) spinning spots he was able to make out the room properly. (Even if it was spinning) It reminded him of some of the Inns he’d stayed at. A small, but very comfortable, bed dominated the space. It had a thick deep green blanket with two white pillows stacked on top, making it very clear, that this was the most important part of the room. Light was beaming down from an odd yellow circle in the ceiling, as well as floating through a rather small window. There was a small brown bedside table with a lamp and a drawer, as well as two identical black chairs that somepony had used to make the space a bit more comfortable.
He then began to wonder just how he’d gotten here.
Pain lanced through his head as his memories rushed back, he grimaced, not because his head hurt (although it DID feel like something small and evil was trying to hammer its way out of his skull) but the pain of all the recent experiences he’d gone through… and the past ones for that matter.
“You say he groaned?” echoed the deep gravelly voice of the Doctor from the hallway.
“Yes Pinkie and I were catching up when he made a rather troubled gro-.” An unfamiliar ladylike voice cut off; as the Doctor entered the room with two other ponies’ trailing closely behind.
The voice belonged to a rather regal looking mare with deep blue eyes and well groomed purple mane with a matching tail, that which contrasted rather well against her white coat. She looked out of place next to the purely practical, but extremely clean Doctor, and the curly chaotic mess that was the pink mare. (Come to think of it, they all stood out compared to each other)
“Oh my…” The Regal mare gasped staring him straight in the eyes. The stallion got that reaction a lot. Normally he got it when somepony recognized him, and when somepony recognized him… it usually ended in a fight. Not that he was afraid of being attacked here! This did after all; appear to be a medical center of some kind.
But still… it never hurt to be armed… and he was suddenly very aware of the fact that he WASN’T armed. That’s right; I put my bracelets in the bag after the dragon so I wouldn’t lose them. He remembered.
“OH MY GOSH YOUR AWAKE!” the pink one screamed startling him from his thoughts, “I waited and waited AND WAITED!” she jumped onto one of the chairs, “and now you’re finally awake!” she began hopping from one chair to the other, this along with the massive smile on her face made him wonder if she was entirely sane. It was quite overwhelming for the stallion; he hadn’t had any interaction of this kind with another living thing for a very long time.
“Good. You’re awake,” said the doctor stepping closer to the bed and giving a disarming smile, “My name is Dr. Snip N’ Stich, How are you feeling?” It took the stallion a while to sort through what to say, how did he feel? Guilty, sore, nervous, drained, tired, and he had a sudden unexplained anger towards trees, probably had something to do with his aching eye. But if he told all this to the doctor he got the feeling he’d be sent to the psychiatric wing.
“I have a head ache and my mouth is dry, other than that I feel fine.” He finally decided was the best answer.
“Drink some of this then,” the doctor gave him a small cup full of water “it should help.” The cup, and the odd red tube sticking out of it, was made out of a smooth light material he’d never seen before. He also couldn’t understand the purpose of the red tube, so he ignored it and took a small drink. It felt amazing to have the cool liquid run down his throat.
“Can I ask you a few questions?” the doctor asked with the same comforting smile he likely gave every one of his patents.
“I suppose so” the stallion said, he didn’t see any problem with giving an answer or two… this was the pony that had saved his life after all.
“First off,” Dr. Snip N’ Stich said picking up a clip board that had been hanging on the end of his bed, “Who are you?”
The blue pony knew this was a simple question, one that most could answer simply! Had you asked somepony in Perierat, you would’ve gotten many different answers: Black Smith, Traveler, Scholar, Wizard, Swords Master… Killer… but this was one question he’d never had time to answer for himself. Who was he?
“What’s your name?” The doctor reiterated, knocking the stallion from his thoughts.
“My name is Aqua.” That was a question he could answer, even if he put the one before that on hold for a while.
“Do you have any medical conditions?” asked the doctor who had begun writing on the clip board; Medical conditions? Does paranoia count? Cause I don’t feel safe unless I have a weapon within reach. Aqua thought with just a hint of sarcasm.
“Not that I know of,” Aqua said once again opting to stay out of the, “Special wing” he also noted that his words were coming faster and easier now.
“Hmmm” Dr. Snip N’ Stich wrote something else down thoughtfully “could you tell me how you got all banged up?” … no quite honestly he had no clue where all the cuts, bruises, sprains, and scrapes had all come from, he could give a general idea, they came from something that wanted him dead… however the doctor was probably looking for something more specific.
“I got the cuts from an old blade,” Aqua looked at the crisscrossing scabs all over his fore legs, most of them were from blades… he thought so any way. “I think I got the burns from the dragon,” he shook his head “but honestly it’s all a little fuzzy.”
“Alright,” Dr. Snip N’ Stitch was still writing things down “and what about that black eye of yours?” now THAT was something he remembered, when he’d gotten the stupid dragon to ram the already off kilter tree, the tree (in what Aqua was sure was a final act of vengeance) had thrown a rock up into his eye.
“When a tree fell on the dragon’s head it kicked up a rock and nailed me right in the eye.” Aqua answered lifting a hoof to touch the outside rim of his bruised eye lid. It still hurt a bit.
“How old were the cuts you had when you came to the hospital?” The doctor asked seeming to ignore the comment about the dragon.
“I’m not sure,” Aqua looked down thinking; “a few hours?” he asked more than he told the doctor; once again it had gone a little muggy.
“Hmmm…” The doctor finished writing all the information down. “Alright! It all checks out, Pinkie here has agreed to take care of you while you’re on the mend, so you’re free to go,” he turned to Pinkie “don’t let him do anything too physically taxing, make sure he eats well, and drinks about four cups of water a day.” And with those last words of medical advice He exited the room, leaving Aqua to think about how professional that all had been. The doctor hadn’t wanted to know any more then he’d needed to. Smart doctor Aqua had to think quietly
Minntist ran along the soot covered trail as fast as his paws allowed, he remembered this part of the forest rather well so it didn’t require much focus to gain a lead on his pursuers. He risked a glance up towards the red tinted overcast sky. Snow fell gently through the air. It was as pretty a sight he had to admit, even if it was ash that drifted through the air instead of actual snow. But Mint couldn’t be too picky about where he found beauty. In this world beauty was hard to come by.
Death however, death was everywhere you looked: bleached bones, burned out trees, and dried up rivers were everywhere you’re eyes had the displeasure of falling. As if some god of fire and ash had tired with the world and had decided to burn it to the ground. Perierat hadn’t always been this way; it used to be a planet overflowing with life and diversity. But then judgment day had come; the day the great spirits had taken all the righteous into the heavens, and then released demons to destroy the unworthy.
So now, the world belonged to demons, cut throats, and cultists.
And, unfortunately Minntist
He’d been left behind, forgotten. He’d like to say he didn’t know why, that it was likely just an oversight he’d been left, and that any second he’d ascend into heaven on a beam of light and a chorus of “sorry! Almost forgot you!”
But he could not.
Mint had spent his entire life being forgotten, being left behind. He’d dared to hope, that perhaps the gods would be able to see passed the curse that had branded our young fox his entire life.
They had not.
Mint was forced to stop for a moment, he leaned his side against a log as he panted. It wasn’t the sort of shrill quick pant that you get from doing a good bit of running; it was a long gasping pant you got when you were dying. Not to say that Mint was dying of course, no, he was just running for his life.
“Come’on little morsel, slow down and we’ll kill ya quick!” promised the vicious voice of a wolf.
“Awww… but Haws… I though you promised we’d give this one a good run!” another taunting voice pleaded with mock disappointment.
“Hmm…” Haws pretended to think on this for a moment. “Alright Jerry. Sorry Foxy boy! Sounds like Jerry’d rather have ya runnin’!”
Mint slowly pushed himself from the ash covered log he was leaning on, and turned slowly to face his pursuers
“Well shoot!” Jerry said with an evil cackle, “Looks like he’s plum tuckered out!”
“Guess we’ll just have to gut ‘em and eat ‘em!”
Minntist purple eyes took a quick evaluation of his foes. They were shadow hounds, (albeit pathetic ones) which were a lot like regular hounds only they could travel short distances through patches of darkness. That explains how they kept up. He thought with slight annoyance.
Minntist knew he’d have to be careful, shadow hounds occasionally knew a spell or two. Granted it didn’t look likethey knew any, other ways they would’ve used it to catch him earlier. But it never hurt to be careful.
The hounds began slowly circling Mint grinning sadistically. The young fox drew from his manna well and began casting a spell.
“What’s wrong little fox? Wolf got your tongue?” Haws asked smiling at his own joke.
“Yeah! And your teeth to?” Jerry asked stupidly.
Minntist had decided to go with one of his more simple spells. He summoned two malleable balls of mage steel.
“Shut up Jerry! Ye ruined the joke!” Haws said smacking Jerry with his tail.
“I must say I’m very impressed with you two, I don’t get caught very often.” Mint said evenly.
“Oh really, Ya here that Jer? We managed to impress a little fox!” they both had a good laugh at that.
That’s right, just keep talking Mint thought forming the unseen mage steel into two, four pointed throwing starts about the size of a table top.
“Do ya happen to know what we are little one?” Haws asked evilly.
Mint shrugged, “Wolves?”
Haws chuckled wickedly “Har har har!” he boomed. “We aint your everyday wolves kid!” he smiled, “Would you like to guess what makes us so special?”
“hmmm….” Minntist said feinting thoughtfulness, “You’re ugly, inbred, blighters with a hygiene problem?” Mint asked smiling dryly.
Haws looked stunned for a moment. Then he growled.
“Haws! We can’t let him talk about mama like that!” Jerry shouted angrily.
“SHUT UP!” Haws yelled turning furiously to his brother.
There was the sound of mage steel hitting flesh (which sounds a lot like regular steel hitting flesh, only with more glitter.) fallowed by the sound of a skull hitting the earth. Poor Jerry never got to hear the second sound though.
It’s difficult to hear much without a head.
Haws stared in horror as his brothers headless corpus fell to the ash covered earth. Minntist took Haw’s hesitance as a chance to launch his second blade. Haws, no newbie to fighting, threw himself sideways, letting Mint’s blade hit uselessly into a tree.
“YOU KILLED HIM!” Haws shouted accusingly.
Mint didn’t gratify him with an answer. Instead he leapt onto a nearby tree branch and began casting another spell. Haws ran into the shadow of a nearby tree, reappearing right bellow Minntist’s perch. Haws jumped towards Mint his jaws bit down hard, but his teeth hit only dead wood as the fox jumped to another tree.
“Ye can’t run forever!” Haws screamed pouncing towards his new target. To a normal wolf such a jump (well over 12 feet) would’ve been imposable, shadow hounds were not normal wolves.
Mint didn’t have time to think, so his instincts thought for him. Rather than bothering to forge the magic into a spell, he merely let it out in one powerful spread shot. Mint was blown from his newly obtained perch, and Haws’s lower jaw was blown from his head.
Haws let out a dying howl as mint pulled himself from an ash pile. Slowly, the white fox approached the dead forms of his enemies. His stomach growled.
Minntist sighed. He wished he could be picky about his food.
