The Key To Terra

Chapter Three

Both Marina and her attempted feline savior opened their eyes in surprise at the sound of a loud battle cry. The battle cry rang proudly in their ears. A tall and muscular man came bounding into the clearing with sword in hand. He wore light armor and scars on his face. The sword glowed just as brightly as the feline humanoid's palms had when she used her magic.

"Oh thank goodness..." the feline humanoid said in obvious relief. She released Marina from her protective hug and trotted over to help the mysterious man.

Marina shielded her eyes against the combined brightness of the magic and glowing sword. Tears welled up in her eyes despite her efforts. She started to wish that she had some sunglasses handy.

The man sliced the foul creatures with his sword upraised. Each slice expertly reaching its mark. Every creature struck by his sword dissipated into the air without a trace. The duo finally seemed to have the upper hand in the fight. One by one the creatures disappeared as mysteriously as they had appeared.

The pair clearly knew each other well. They made a great team. They had a level of teamwork only obtained from knowing each other for a long time. Whenever the feline humanoid needed a break to recover her magic, the armored man stepped in to cover for her. This allowed them to effectively keep the creatures at bay.

Once the last creature was gone the feline humanoid returned to Marina and plopped down onto her backside. The man sheathed his sword calmly before also coming closer.

Now that she could see him more clearly, Marina noticed that he was actually quite handsome despite the scars. Instead the scars seemed to only make his face look all the more masculine. Unkempt, light hair fell into ice cold blue eyes which he brushed away absently.

"Phew, that was close!" the feline humanoid laughed nervously, "my name is Momo by the way. I'm a healer. And this is my guardian, Kane." She reached out one hand for Marina to shake. Kane scowled in response to Momo's friendliness.

"I cannot believe you ran straight into a fight with a group of spectres over some civilian. Alone no less. What were you thinking?!" Momo retracted her hand immediately. Her ears and tail drooped at being chastised by Kane.

"I couldn't just let her die, Kane..." He ran a hand over his face in exasperation.

"Fine. What's done is done," then he addressed Marina, "and you. We'll escort you to the city but no more. Now let's go." Marina flinched at his coldness but nodded.

Momo fell into step beside Marina while Kane walked a few paces ahead. Arms raised and hands behind her head she appeared at ease. Only her ears flicking in response to the sounds of the forest were any indication that she was still alert.

"I'm sorry. Not about saving you. About Kane. He's just...not a huge fan of civilians. I don't think you are one though."

"You don't? Why? We were in trouble back there and I couldn't do anything," Marina looked down at her feet in embarrassment. Beetles skittered here and there to avoid their path.

"Well, right before Kane showed up...you began to glow." Momo smiled at her briefly before she trotted up to walk beside Kane instead. Being over a head shorter than Kane, it took Momo several strides to successfully match his pace.

She had glowed? Could it have had something to do with those whispers that she kept hearing? They had conveniently disappeared as the creatures, apparently called spectres, had. What on earth was going on and how was she going to get back?

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Momo left the human female to walk with Kane instead. She was grateful that he had showed up but a little annoyed that he disrupted her introduction. She still did not know the human female's name. Or how she was unaware of what her affinity was. Even a child knew how to do at least SOMETHING with their magic even if it was something small. And yet this human, an adolescent one based on her appearance, somehow knew nothing. She did not even know how to consciously release it. Momo could not help her feline curiosity. She wanted to know more about the stranger she helped.

Momo thought back to moments before Kane had showed up to help. Under the duress of likely death at the hands of those spectres, the human female's palms had begun to glow. It was faint but the magic wanting to escape was apparent to Momo as a fellow magic user. She clearly had an affinity of some kind. If only she knew how to control it.

She quietly addressed these thoughts to her appointed guardian. The two had a trust only obtained from spending years training together. Children with a magical affinity would travel to the well educated elves and hone their skills under elven care. Each one would be appointed a guardian to protect them and they would train together since childhood. Mages were very powerful but also considered very precious. Kane had learned over the years to trust in Momo's intincts. And they were telling her that the human female following behind them was more than she seemed. He nodded silently in agreement.

"We'll take her to the elves then." Her feline curiosity getting the best of her, Momo briefly glanced back at the human female once more. She was looking around in awe like she had never seen any of this before. But how was that possible? Forests like this one were so common. It was almost like she was somehow not from around here. Was there another land far away that she did not know about that the human female could have originated from? Maybe the elves would have all of the answers to the questions swirling in Momo's head.

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Marina examined her surroundings, attempting to ignore the whispers between Momo and Kane. They were obviously talking to each other about her. All she could hear though was when they decided to take her to the elves instead so she could learn about her supposed affinity. She looked ahead in time to see Kane nod in agreement. Of course he could not wait to he rid of her. But maybe that was for the best. She could learn how to protect herself and never find herself in the situation she was in earlier ever again. It still bothered her how defenseless she was. So she continued to obediently follow them.

The trees gave way to grassland and the structures of a city lay up ahead. A cobble stoned path led the way into the city. Twin light posts stood on either side of the city entrance while countless stars and a bright crescent moon lit up the night sky. The glow from the lights began attracting small insects that circled around.

People all over milled about even though it was late, humans and Chimera like Momo alike. Both races chattered away side by side despite the distinct height difference between the two. No one Chimera seemed to look alike. There were various different predatory animals present in their features. And every single one was barefoot just like Momo. Marina made a mental note to ask Momo as to why the Chimera were barefoot when she had the chance.

She also noticed that even though there were many people not a single one appeared to be an elf. Marina was about to ask Momo, since she was far friendlier than grumpy Kane, why that was when Momo turned towards her cheerfully.

"We're not far from the Citadel now," she pointed ahead presumably in the direction they would have to go and then turned her green feline gaze to Kane, "all that magic use has made me hungry though. Can we stop to eat first?"

"So long as its quick," Kane narrowed his eyes at both Momo and Marina before setting off again.

"Is he always so friendly?" Marina asked Momo sarcastically. Momo let out a soft chuckle.

"Yes actually," she began to walk and Marina followed alongside her, "but don't worry. If he hated you then he would've left you behind by now."

Marina sighed. She liked the idea of befriending Momo but perhaps them going their separate ways was a good idea. Despite what Momo said, Kane definitely did not seem to want Marina around. And the worst part is that she could not blame him. As far as Momo and Kane were concerned, she was just dead weight. She clearly could not defend herself and was just another mouth to worry about feeding.

Hopefully that would change soon though. Then maybe Kane would be nicer and the three of them could truly be friends. But until then she had to learn how to call upon and control the magic that Momo claimed that she had.

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While Momo and the human female had been chatting behind him he had stopped at a food stall nearby and grabbed them all a protein wrap, a wrap filled with roasted meats and mushrooms. They had been talking about him. He was not deaf and neither of them was being very quiet about it. He tried not to be annoyed by it. So he made a point to ignore it.

He handed them both a wrap once they caught up with him. Momo grabbed hers happily while the human female took hers cautiously. She seriously did not know what protein wraps are? They were such a common meal for travelers and the like to get a quick dose of energy while on the go.

It was like guiding a small child through the city. She glanced around at everything like she was seeing it all for the first time. Every once in a while she would get caught up in the sights and forget to keep walking. After a moment she would realize that she was falling behind and jog after him and Momo to catch up. It was becoming a bit annoying to be honest. The trip was taking longer than need be because she kept getting distracted.

However the human female did seem to get along well with Momo. Then again Momo was friendly to everyone and had more patience than he did when it came to people. It was just part of how the little feline Chimera was. She had always been that way even when they were both children first learning how to fight together as a team at the Citadel. He had not made it easy for her to befriend him when they first met but she was endlessly kind to him all the same. Over time he had warmed up to her little by little as they became closer. He smiled to himself at the memory.

Behind him he heard Momo and the human female both finally finish introducing themselves to each other. The human female had a name at last. Marina. It did not matter what the human female's name was though. This Marina would be with the elves soon. He would make sure of it. Marina just had to make it to the city safely and then she was not their problem anymore.