Witch Hunt (Reserved for La_Reina)

[BravoSky]

THWACK! The sound of his axe resonated through the nearby trees in a slow, yet persistent rhythm, marking each blow of the heavy bladed tool. The air was cool, marking the end of summer and the transition into autumn, but his skin still glistened with sweat, a product of his exertion. He could take a break, slow down, even return to his warm bed for an hour or so, there was nobody watching, or relying on the fruits of his labor, but he wouldn't. There was too much work still to be done. He'd need a large store of wood when the snow began to fall, the goats still needed to be milked, the sheep sheared one last time, and he'd need one last good hunt to ensure food was plentiful.

THWACK! Again his axe fell, and the split timbers toppled to either side, adding to the growing pile. Only a few more logs to split, then he'd be able to begin the task of stacking the logs neatly under the eaves, so they'd stay dry. The silence of solitude, here in the countryside, allowed him to stay in tune with every sound. It's as if he heard the footsteps even before Tobias, but the hound was far quicker to react, leaping to it's feet and bellowing out an unnecessary warning. Nevertheless, he swung the heavy axe into the stump, lodging it there before turning and looking in the same direction the hound faced, straining his eyes through the trees. It was rare anyone came to visit him here, even more so since the death of his wife. Most had written him off as lost to depression and despair.

Drawing himself up to his full height, well over six feet, he flexed his well muscled chest before stretching his arms, a relief from the constant swings he'd put in over the last two hours.

"Who goes there?" He called out, putting a comforting hand on Tobias' back, where the fur had begun to stand on end.

Kazmir

.

 

[La_Reina]

Maya splashed in the river as she cleaned herself. She had just settled down at Cliff Lake Village. The people were more remote then most which meant they kept to themselves. She was finally thought of as one of them instead of the outsider on the edge of town. She tilted her head back letting the water cleanse the soap from her hair. She looked over out beyond the lake which was situated on the edge of a cliff, hence the name of the village. Very few climbed the mountain to come to the lake, especially when they village had a well where they could draw water for eating and bathing, but Maya just liked it out here. The sun was setting and the view was beautiful. She was a romantic at heart.

Maya finally got out of the water. She looked over at her clothes and cursed. She had forgotten a towel. She looked around and then used her fire magic mixed with her air magic to create a wind tunnel around her, drying her. Just as she finished she heard a gasp in the bushes. She glanced down and thought she saw eyes. She stepped forward and the eyes scrambled back. Aw, shit! Maya stepped again following the eyes.

"Hey, I don't know what you think you saw, but it was nothing." Magic was not a common thing in this world. She had been born different 85 years ago, though she still looked like she was in her young 20's. All the women in her family were. The women always gave birth to women, very rarely to men, and were always killed for this power. That's why Maya had decided to learn her craft, master her craft, and then never get caught using her craft. She had to use her craft or her magic would rage out of control.

"YOU'RE A MONSTER. I SAW IT. YOU'RE A WIND DEMON!"

OH FUCK! That was little Tommy's voice. The village chief's kid who had taken a liking to her. What was he doing out so late? "Tommy, it's not what it looks like."

The kid kept scrambling back. Maya's stomach dropped. "Tommy stop!" But he wasn't listening to her. He kept telling her to get away from him and calling her a demon. Maya stopped moving hoping that'll get him to stop, but he kept scooting backwards. . . to the edge of the cliff.

"Tommy!" Too late he went over. Maya ran and without thinking she stopped his decent using wind and then brought him back to her. She expected gratitude. She expected thanks. She expected him to at least understand she saved his life. But he had seen her use wind to dry herself, she had only managed to pull on a shirt to cover herself, then he had fallen off the cliff only to fly back up. He was panicked and his mind was not computing. He screamed and screamed and screamed. She couldn't get him to calm down. She could see torches in the distance coming this way attracted to the panicked cries of a child.

Maya ran. She ran to her hut and started packing her things. They were not going to listen to her. She had come so far. She threw everything that was near and dear to her heart and looked back at the rest. Nothing in that hut was going to point to her having used magic. She went out the door and started into the brush when she heard yelling, "Demon! Get the Demon!" She ran as fast as she could, using wind to help make her even faster.

Maya had been running on pure adrenaline for an hour straight. She knew she had crossed many miles and there was no chance any of them would catch up to her on foot. As soon as she thought she should be safe everything crashed. She had ran out of steam. she hadn't eaten wanting to take a bath first and she was famished. She was also tired, weary, exhausted, and scared. She didn't know this area and though she could defend herself it didn't mean she could outlast wolves or bears, especially since her magic was so low. She heard a sound, jumped and turned her head only to get smacked in the face by a tree branch. Her face was red and she had a small cut. She stumbled on slippery moss and some twigs caught on her clothes. She stopped and realized she had several tears in her clothes. In her haste she hadn't realized when her clothes had gotten caught and was pulled free. Her hair was windblown and wild and she literally looked like a woman on the run.

She stumbled out of the woods, into a small clearing to find a tall man. Much taller than her 5'6 height and a guard wolf. She just knew that huge monster had to be a wolf. Her eyes were wild with panic and she put her hands up in defense.

"Please. I mean no harm. I'll leave. I just ..." Maya turned her head slight left then right not facing away from the pair, ".. just a little lost." Suddenly the world went back and Maya started to fall. Just as suddenly it was back and she caught herself. Maya went down on one knee. "I'll .. go.. " she was trying to move blinking back the blurry vision.

 

[BravoSky]

Tobias' snarling lowered to a barely audible growl when it finally laid eyes on the figure that emerged from the trees.

"I mean no harm" the woman's first words seemed almost comically hollow as his eyes took in the lithe, petite form in front of him. Not only was she tiny in comparison, but she had the look of near deadly exhaustion on her face. His first instinct was to rush to her, help her up, and soothe her, but he restrained himself, for as vulnerable as she seemed, there was also something very strange about her. All of his adult life had been spent in the nearby village of Haverhill, and the countryside around it. He knew every face, young and old, man, woman and child. Certainly he'd recognize someone of such exquisite beauty, yet he'd never seen her before. No, he thought to himself, she's not from Haverhill. Yet, she was on foot. To have travelled from another town without the aid of horseback would be a great feat indeed. As she stumbled and dropped to a knee, his brow furrowed, angry at himself for his cautionary weakness.

"You're being a fool" he muttered to himself so low that not even the dog's ears could pick it up. He quickly strode across the yard, extending his large hand to take a firm hold of her arm, helping her up.

"I'm the one who should be easing your mind, you're safe here." He said, his free hand pulling bits of her torn clothes back into place over her bare skin, but not before his instincts led his eyes to take in the smooth, unblemished parts that had been revealed. His eyes met hers and he held them.

"My name is Kazmir."

 

[La_Reina]

Maya stood only for a wave of dizziness to crash over her again and she stumbled once more. She knew that she was so far that it would take at least weeks maybe months if winter came early before rumors of a demon with her appearance would reach this far. She was still too close to trust that rumors won't come this way. No, she had to keep going. This time she'll go south. She's never been south and by the time she returns here news of her would have been forgotten.

Maya heard his deep voice and she glanced up surprised. His voice sounded like velvet and she wanted to wrap herself in his voice. She nodded and gave a weak grateful smile that she was indeed finally safe. She felt his hand on her arm and she planted her hand out steadying herself. She realized her hand was on his stomach and it was muscle. She snatched her hand back as if burned. "I'm sorry," she mumbled weakly even as she wanted to run her hand higher and feel more of his body.

"I hate to ask. Do you have a barn or a place I can just rest for a moment please? Or could you tell me where a lake is so I can bathe. I'm starting to feel stiff and sore and..." Maya trailed off as she suddenly felt too tired to even speak and embarrassingly her knees began to give out. Her eyes wide in surprise.

 

[BravoSky]

Just as it seemed she'd be able to stand on her own, her body crumpled again, but this time he was in a better position to catch her. He still held one of her arms in his hand, and with the other, he wrapped around her body. He lifted her with ease, more thanks to his own strength than her frailty. In fact, she wasn't frail at all, not like someone should be after weeks of wandering the wilderness. He pushed down his suspicious thoughts though, no matter what circumstances brought her here, she was certainly in need of help now.

"I have a barn where you could rest, yes, and there is a stream just down the hill yonder where you could wash, but you won't be doing either of those things" he began as he pulled her close to his body and began carrying her toward his cabin. "Not while I have a warm bed and the ability to draw you a hot bath in the shelter of my home." He added with a smile that he hoped would calm her. Tobias trotted behind them, sniffing at the air, learning the scent of this newcomer that his companion now brought into their home.

Inside, the cabin was as cool as the outside air, he hadn't bothered to light a fire when he woke. The dark hearth was filled with only blackened cinders. He strode across the single room to the bed, adorned with animal furs and sheep's wool blankets, and there he laid her down.

"Better than a haypile?" he asked, straightening. As he did, his burly hands ran along her bare arms. He hadn't meant for them to linger so, but the touch of her skin was so inviting, it was an almost subconscious gesture.

 

[La_Reina]

Maya tried to nod her head as he mentioned the barn and a stream. Oh, how she wanted to get out of these dirty clothes. She started to push her legs down as though to jump down from his arms, but he mentioned a bed and a bath. Maya blinked in surprise. Were people still that kind? Was he truly offering her, a strange, his bed and bath? Maya had lived so long in solitude and then on the outskirts of various towns and villages she almost forgot what it was like for someone to be genuinely kind and not want anything in return. No sooner had she had that thought then she wondered if that was true. He was able to lift her so easily. Maybe this wasn't a kind gesture? Where was he leading her?

His smile was reassuring and Maya could only stare back in wonder as her body began to shiver in earnest. It was the adrenaline still leaving her body, along with the possibility of he being a bad guy, and the cool air of his home didn't help. Maya glanced around realizing no tour was needed in this one room home ... and no privacy. Made sense if you lived alone. He placed her down on the softest and warmest blankets and bed. Maya let out a long moan of contentment. "Yes, much better thank you." He can't be a bad guy with furs like these, right?!

Maya smiled warmly. "I'm Maya. I ... promise I won't stay long. I ... didn't have anywhere else to go." That was the truth. Maya looked around blankly almost as if at a lost for words. "I just ... if I could use your bath," Maya reached out and clasped his big hands in her tiny ones. She paused briefly noting his hands were quite large and slightly calloused, but strong. She briefly wondered what his hands would look like splayed across her thighs. It was only an instant, just the smallest thought, but her cheeks reddened slightly at her not so innocent thought. She gave her head a very tiny shake to clear the thought. "Uh, yes, if I could please use your bath, change clothes, and then I'll be on my way. I won't be any problems."

Just as the words died in the air and it was completely silent. Maya's stomach growled ... loud. Her cheeks reddened more in embarrassment as she closed her eyes slowly praying to the gods that they end her now.