Chapter 4 [The Witch, The Guard And The Cat]

Millie was happily walking back towards Solstun. She could feel that the strange boy was starting to warm up to her though he was still a little shy. She would like to give him a proper bath and a meal once he trusted her.

   ‘Miss Millie! I finally found you.’

   Millie looked up and saw that three people had somehow made it this deep into the forest. And one of them seemed a little familiar.’

   ‘Umm, sorry. Who are you?’ Millie asked.

   ‘Its me. Dylan. You know we met like a month ago and went on a romantic walk together.’

   ‘Oh. You are the newcomer! Listen, I am sorry about what happened that day.’

   ‘Nonsense! I am the one who is sorry. I shouldn’t have left you in the forest.’

   ‘That’s all good then but Ari says I am not supposed to talk to you.’

   ‘Ah! That’s why you were avoiding me! Ignore her! Talk to me all you like.’

   ‘But why do you want to talk to me?’

   ‘Because, I love you! I have loved you si-’

   ‘Yeah, sorry to cut in like this.’ Millie said. ‘But you are not my type.’

   There was an awkward silence

   ‘I like brave, strong men.’ Millie elaborated.

   ‘I-I am brave and strong.’ Dylan stammered

   ‘I don’t think you are.’ Millie said as nicely as she could.

   ‘Bu-but-’

   ‘She is right, you know.’ Clara said. ‘No part of you can be described as brave or strong.’

   ‘You too!’ Dylan cried, tears welling up in his eyes. ‘Don’t talk to me!’ he yelled as he ran away from there.

   There was another awkward silence after he left. Millie was just glad that things didn’t escalate too much. She didn’t want them to scare that boy away from his spot.

   ‘Well that was a mess.’ Clara said. ‘Let’s follow after him.’

   ‘You go do that.’ Brian said.

   ‘What is it no-’ Clara didn’t finish her question. Something about Brian’s posture made her think he meant business.

   ‘You really should leave.’ He said.

   ‘No shot.’ Clara replied as she mentally prepared herself for a fight.

   Brian sighed and said, ‘Suit yourself. Hey, You. The one called Millie.’

   ‘Can I help you?’ She didn’t like where this was going.

   ‘Tell me. You have a bloodline ability, don’t you?’ He said.

   There was tense silence now. Millie finally asked.

   ‘How did you know that?’

   ‘Well let’s just say.’ Brian walked over to a big boulder nearby. Suddenly his right arm expanded like a big balloon letting him pick the boulder up like a pebble. ‘Freaks like us have a nose for one another.’

   Bloodline abilities, considered a curse by many, are powers passed down genetically from parents to children. Those who have such abilities choose to hide them since many fear and shun ability holders.

   ‘You have an ability like me?’

   Brian threw the boulder at her. It broke as it crashed into Millie. Despite the violent hit she just took, she shook it off like it was nothing.

   ‘I am nothing like you.’ He said. ‘I was once a member of the king’s guard. A protector of the realme. Don’t compare me to you.’

   ‘Point taken. I won’t do that again. Let’s just go our separate ways.’ Millie said.

   ‘Not so fast. I would suggest that you surrender yourself and come to Tallen with me.’

   ‘Why should I do that? Last I checked, having a bloodline ability is not a crime. You yourself have one.’

   ‘Well, yes you are correct. But you are no ordinary ability holder. I have been observing you over the last month. Especially the way ferocious animals avoid even coming near you.’

   ‘What about it?

   ‘Well to put it simply, that’s the hallmark of a superior bloodline ability.’

   ‘So?’

   ‘Nothing, just a superior power holder of your age. It just got me wondering. Would you happ-’

   Before he could finish that question Millie had lunged towards him, her fist aimed straight towards Brian’s chest. He didn’t waste any time as he pulled his arms together and expanded them to soften the blow. As her hand hit him, waves travelled up his arms like a water balloon before he got launched backwards.

   ‘BRIAN!!!’ Clara yelled.

   Brian walked back looking only slightly roughed up and said, ‘I will take that as a yes.’

   ‘Sorry about that.’ Millie said nervously. ‘I just lost my cool for a sec.’ She just said the understatement of the century as that punch could have made a hole in solid concrete. 

   ‘We don’t need to fight.’ she continued. ‘You have no reason to go after me.’

   ‘But I do. I was a soldier of the king. My pride won’t have me letting someone like you roam free.’

   Clara did not know what she had expected when she chose to stay here but this was not it. But despite that she still wanted to help Brian. So she grabbed a potion out of her satchel and handed it to Brian.

   ‘Drink it.’ She said, ‘It’s an enhancement potion.’

   He looked at her confused but drank it anyway. It seemed that the fight was unavoidable

   Brian’s bloodline ability is called Expansion. This ability pushes air into the ability holder’s muscles letting them grow parts or their whole body like a pufferfish. While this ability does help increase the subject’s strength slightly, its main use is typically as just an intimidation tactic. But Brian was anything but typical.

   He inflated his legs briefly before letting the air escape. This gave him a boast which rapidly accelerated him towards Millie. He filled and released air from his arm strategically to hit her as hard as he could. She couldn’t dodge his attack, he was too fast. The blow caused her to crash against a tree.

   Brian was not a king’s guard for nothing. He had trained his body since a young age and his ability had helped him gain inhumane strength through harsh training. He blew air into his body while also tightening his muscles. This created an immense amount of pressure inside his body. By selectively releasing that pressure he could achieve explosive motion.

   ‘I know you won’t go down that easily.’ He said as he pulled a medium sized tree out of the ground with his bare hands and swung it like a bat towards Millie. She quickly jumped over it causing the tree to explode violently as it collided with the tree behind her.

   Millie did not want to fight him directly. The boy was still nearby and Aria did tell her to avoid them. She had to run away.

   ‘Don’t forget, I am here too.’ Clara yelled as she threw a purple ornate ball towards the spot where Millie was about to land. The odd item exploded close to her and suddenly her movements slowed to a crawl as the air around her felt like molasses.

   ‘Magic item: slow ball.’ Clara thought, ‘When used time moves slowly for everything in a 3 meter radius around it. The effect lasts only for 5 seconds but that's more than enough.’

   Right outside the affected area brian had wound up a heavy slam by inflating both his arms to a large size and he launched the attack with all his might just as the effect of the magic item wore off. Millie had no time to prepare herself for the incoming attack as it hit her straight at the back of her head. She clashed into the ground face first.

   ‘No matter how powerful your bloodline ability is,’ Brian said, ‘Without training and discipline it's just a dull blade.’

   ‘Brian, What do we do now?’ Clara asked, ‘We just attacked a fellow pioneer. That's a death sentence worthy crime in a place like this.’

   ‘This was my fight. You didn’t need to butt in.’

   ‘Would it kill you to say thank you.’

   Millie somehow pulled herself up and leaned against a nearby tree. She was breathing heavily but somehow her face was still spotless.

   ‘How can she stand after that blow?’ Clara yelled

   ‘She can’t.’ Brian said, ‘She is barely keeping herself together. It's strange. You have the strength of a power type ability holder but that doesn’t explain your face. Just exactly what kind of freak are you?’

   ‘That word. Freak. Why do you keep using that?’ Millie asked.

   ‘What do you mean?’

   ‘I am just saying, it is very interesting for one ability holder to call another using that.’

   Brian inflated his arm. In a cold tone he said, ‘That is enough out of you.’

   He was about to hit her again but before he did someone interrupted him.

   Five years ago, a soul had been brought into this world. The ones that brought this soul over were scary to him. They called him Kinon and chased and pursued him from that labyrinthine structure into the dark unfamiliar forest.

   For years he had been hunted in that forest by many people. He had to run deeper and deeper into the forest to avoid them.

   Until one day, this random girl came into the forest and gave him food. At first, he thought this one was like all the others sent in after him but she didn't try to catch him.

   The next day, she came in again the next day and the day after. Everyday she came in and fed him.

   He didn't know what to think at first but slowly he began to look forward to her visits.

   Today was another such day until another group of people came and started fighting. Normally, he would run at the sight of a fight like this. But the thought of that girl never feeding him again, that made him angry.

   ‘Hiss.’

   All of them looked up and they saw the mysterious boy and he was glaring at them angrily. 

   ‘Run away. This isn't your fight.’ Millie yelled. She wondered what Brian would do to him. To her surprise, Brian seemed shocked at seeing him and perhaps a little scared.

   ‘It is you.’ He said. ‘How are you here?’

   Clara and Millie both stared at Brian now. They wondered how he could have possibly known that boy.

   Brian’s expression slowly shifted from surprise to anger.

   ‘For five long years, I have looked for you everywhere, trained everyday. Just so that I can pay you back for that day.’

   Brian now inflated his whole body to its limits and grew to a monstrous 10 feet tall form.

   ‘You took everything from me! After that day I was ousted from the king’s guard. I can no longer even use my real name.’

   ‘No! Please don't hurt him!’ Millie yelled 

   ‘Wait, Brian isn't your real name!’ Clara said.

   ‘I shall take you back to the king to restore my honor, Kinon.’ Brian said. ‘ And then I will reclaim my name of B-’

   Before he could finish his statement, in a move that aroused a sense of deja Vu from both combatants, Kinon pounced on Brian’s face with both his hands. In one second, the giant collapsed to the ground. 

   ‘BRIAN!’ Clara yelled.

   That was of no use. Brian was out cold.

   ‘Damn you!’ Clara said as she pulled out a spiral horn from her satchel. She blew into the narrower end of the horn and out of the other side a fireball shot out.

   Kinon dodged the attack as Clara aimed several more fireballs at him.

   ‘What do you think you are doing?’

   That was Millie. Clara had forgotten that she was still there and she had just closed the distance. Before Clara could react, Millie punched her in the stomach knocking her out.

   Millie collapsed on to a nearby tree. She saw that the mysterious boy was staring at her cautiously.

   ‘Hey there,’ She said weakly. ‘So your name is Kinon, yes? Thanks for helping me.’

   Kinon slowly walked towards Millie. In the five years that he had been in this world, this was his first time getting close to another human. 

   ‘Oh is there something you wa- hey that tickles?!’ Millie said as Kinon started to lick her face.

   She slowly patted his head. He was suspicious of her at first but then he closed his eyes and purred. This was the first time Millie was seeing him this closely. She noticed that he had a massive scar right over his chest.

   ‘Poor thing.’ Millie whispered as she pulled him into a hug. ‘You must have been so scared and so alone for so long.’

   Kinon could have easily run away whenever he wanted. But he didn't . Wrapped in the bosom of this woman he felt safe. He felt that he could trust her.