A sharp beam of purple light crashed through reality. It tore a hole so massive yet so weak, as though reality itself arrived to anchor it back into place. In its wake, the boar stumbled. Although, not because it was in pain, for there was no pain left to feel.
The beam of pure energy pierced a hole through the boar's entire length. From its head, to its back. There was no blood, the sheer heat of the attack seared through the open wound and evaporated it all. The beast fell to its side with a loud thud.
"Whew, I didn't know it was gonna fall apart that quickly," She spun the wand around her hand like it was nothing more than a pen. Then, it dissipated into the air as purple dust. She tilted her head at the boar and began muttering words, perhaps spells, that I couldn't hear clearly at all. She closed her eyes for a moment, as if deep in thought, then, "Aha! Right. It should be nearby."
I tried to stand up, sword firmly gripped in my hands. I used the sword to push my heavy body off the ground as I kept my eyes on her. She walked around the boar, her nose sniffing all around it, as though she was using her nose to sniff out the mana surrounding it.
"Excuse me?" I called her.
She didn't even notice me at first, even though our eyes made contact earlier and she had been showing off for me. Did she have attention span issues? Nevermind that, after a while of sniffing around, she turned to me.
"Oh? You… are you from around here?" She asked, even though the answer to the question was strangely obvious, "It's not that obvious, you know. I'm not familiar here," Did she just read my mind? Whatever.
"Yes, yes I am. You shouldn't be here, it's dangerous," I tried to posture up, but the exhaustion in my body refused to give me my wish. Instead, she giggled, as if seeing right through me. Then again, what was there to see through? If I had a wall to hide my exhaustion, it would be made out of glass.
"Okay, but I should be here. I need to get rid of this boar's nest before I take that village," She tilted her head as her index finger, pointing up, tilted beside her. She stated it so matter of factly that it felt like it was past tense.
So matter-of-factly, that it took me a while to even comprehend the second part of her statement, "Wait, what do you mean take that village? I live there!" I pulled a stance with my sword, a technique I learned with my uncle back then. I hold it above my head with my sword hand, while my left hand holds out towards her. That way, if she ever charges at me, I can push her away and I can slice down at full length.
Of course, she was a witch, she can just blast me open with a thought. She opened her eyes, a deep purple that felt as though it would carry me away into the land of dreams. Then, she laughed, a melodic sound that reverberated across the entire forest, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" It was cruel, it was loud, "What are you doing stanced up like that? You look like an idiot."
"Can't you at least answer my question!?" I kept my stance. This was a pride thing now, I had to show her that I knew something cool before she blasted me to oblivion, even if she thought it was unbelievably lame.
She giggled, "Fine. I'll answer that question after I'm done with this fat old thing," She kicked the boar who remained motionless on the ground. It was four sizes bigger than her, and despite that, it felt as though she held a far more immense power over that boar than anything else in this forest ever had.
Then, as if she finally found her answer. She turned her entire body towards a part of the forest, and immediately rushed towards it. I didn't want to lose her in such a critical junction of the village's future—and because I found her quite beautiful. So, I chased after her.
The forest after that clearing was filled with denser and denser foliage. Despite the whole she made running straight towards her interest, it was slowly getting refilled. If I was any more stupid, I would lose her completely. In fact, with the canopy getting thicker, it was also getting quite dark.
Sooner or later, I would lose her in this forest. I would, in turn, be lost in this forest. With only my sword and ragged breathing, it felt as though I was going to die immediately. But I never did. The forest was still quiet around me, but I could faintly hear the sound of birds chirping in the distance. I turned everywhere but couldn't find a trace of that witch, as though she disappeared from reality.
Then, "You there," a male voice called up to me. I didn't recognize it, or rather if I did I would be more frightened for them considering we'd both be lost in this forest. I turned to look everywhere but didn't find the source of the voice, "Up here." I looked above me and saw him sitting on a branch. He was a boy with white hair, ears like that of a feline, and a tail that swung rhythmically behind him. The tail had two stripes at its end, something that I vaguely recognized but couldn't quite name. He smiled at me, a cheeky grin that exposed a single sharp tooth, "Are you looking for that purple lady too?"
He leapt down the branch with a certain grace. As he landed, it was as though he didn't even disturb the grass. Truly a feline, "Yes, did you see her? I'm kinda lost without her," I admitted rather pathetically. I didn't trust this boy one bit, but if he could help me then who am I to argue?
Instead, he scoffed, "You're so lame," That one stung, "Anyways, that lady smelled vaguely of lavenders and some form of chamomile tea. I would say, it's a scent that's foreign to these lands," Admittedly, they were rather expensive scents. To a village like Soleil, it might as well be completely foreign, "She'll be easy to track, but it's not like she'll be easy to catch."
"Well, she's looking for a nest."
"Well that's good, that means she'll have to stop eventually," He began to walk away without a word. I suppose he expected me to follow him, well luckily for him, I will. I was lost in these woods and I needed to be with at least one person that didn't seem to mind being here.
"Why are you even looking for her?" I had to ask.
"It's simple," He grinned, baring his feline teeth for a moment. I then saw the glint of his dagger, swaying on his belt, "I'm going to kill her."