I Steal From Thieves

I started following those idiotic bandits.

They didn't even notice me, though that could be due to the care I took not to give away myself by snapping some twig.

Soon, we reached their hideout. It was pretty cleverly concealed, with ivy and grey-died cloth covering the entrance. Indeed, none could have found it unless they knew what they were looking for.

I waited until I heard snores from inside and went inside. The cave wasn't deep, but it was pretty wide. To the left and right were valuables; sacks for gold, chests for valuables and weapons and armor on the wall.

Whoa, I thought. If an Internal Tax Agency raided here, it would make headlines.

I shook my head, ridding myself of the thought. Time to work.

I went slowly to the left, taking care to check for traps. 

Aha.

There was a trap-a thin thread stretched taut and connected to the gong of a bell. I held the bell's back (where the gong was supposed to hit) and slowly untied the rope around it.

The bell didn't ring.

Phew.

I went on into the room and took a small leather backpack for travelling. I took some light armor and donned it, taking care to make as little noise as possible. Then, I took a shortsword and strapped it to my waist. I then took a longsword and strapped on my back. I then concealed a couple daggers under my sleeves, and took a longbow, a smaller recurve bow and two quivers full of arrows, all of which I stuffed inside by backpack, with two changes of clothes, a travel cloak, spares for all my weapons, a canteen, and container for storing food I find in the wild, if I do, along with an axe and a saxe knife. And then, I set off outside.

Yikes, this is heavy, I thought.

The bag was really heavy, so I decided to don my armor. I continued walking for a few hours, and went deep into the forest. I then stumbled upon clearing- nearly invisible from the outside, yet quite spacious.

All right, I decided.  I am going to live here.

I heard the howling of wolves. Yikes. I guess I better find a cave to stay in while I build a hut here.

Just then, a rabbit entered the clearing. I immediately saw that this wasn't a normal rabbit. It's ears had a bluish tinge to them, its feet were a little pinkish, and it had a long, golden tail. Its fur had a vermillion hue.

That's one heck of a cute animal! No...is it a monster? Or a magic beast?

I slowly went near it and pet it. It showed no fear- on the contrary, it felt like he was daring me to try and attack him-as though it were a fun game. It rubbed its head against me and I scooped it up, cradling in my arms. Somehow, the moment I scooped it up, I knew it was a 'he'.

"All right-I name you Matet!" He seemed to like the name. He rubbed his head against me affectionately once more, and jumped out of my arms. He ran to my bag, and somehow opened it. He pulled out a bow and a quiver full of arrows, and dropped them at my feet. he also brought out the protectors for my arms, and my wrist gauntlets.

"You want me to wear these gauntlets and start practicing my archery?"

He blinked once, as if saying 'yes'. I went on and put on all of the protectors and slung the bow on my back. I asked, "What now?"

He ran in circles, then stood up, then suddenly jerked back as if something hit him.

I shook my head, indicating that I didn't understand. He did the same thing again, this time pointing to me bow and arrows before running in circles.

"You want me to practice archery by shooting at you?" I realized.

He nodded.

"I appreciate it, but first I need to learn to shoot properly at a still target. And if I hit you, wouldn't you get hurt?"

He immediately went, took my saxe knife out of the bag, and stabbed himself. I reeled in shock. Blood began pouring out of his wound- but it stopped flowing almost a soon as it begun. When he turned to me, I saw a small scar receding from where he stabbed himself.

"You can heal very quickly, so you wouldn't be wounded?" He nodded. "Okay, then...Here I go?"

I shot at him but missed, even though he was standing still. My shot sailed two feet above where I aimed - right into a pouncing wolf.

"What the-"

Three more wolves bounded into the clearing. Matet slowly came and hid behind me. The wolves let out a low, threatening growl.

"Matet, can you do any other magic other than self regeneration?" I asked. He nodded and took in a huge breath. When he breathed out, the temperature shot don next to me until it became a little chilly.

If I felt cold, the wolf had it much worse. He froze - literally. He became a large wolf ice sculpture. Matet flicked his tail towards the other two wolves, and arrows of fire slammed into them. Slowly, those monsters started disintegrating. When they were done, I walked up till where they were killed and found what I had been looking for: drop items. I was in luck; they dropped no one but two items - a large wolf-fur coat and two long canines.

Well, I thought, let my adventure begin!