His Hybrid Archer

3 - Unusual Friends

Snow 

    The forest creatures took such a liking to me that I acquired a few pets.  Jazzy was my favorite.  She was a red fox who hardly left my side.  She would even sleep beside me on the bed.  She would curl up in a ball with her fluffy white tail covering her eyes, and it was so adorable.  

    Whenever I sat down to eat at the dining table, Jazzy would lie down at my feet and not move until I finished eating.  When I went out hunting for rogues, she remained by my side the whole time.  

    Dart was my second favorite.  He was a falcon that would perch on my shoulder when I was hunting the rogues.  

    Whenever I took rogues down with my arrows, Dart would soar through the air and dive bomb the rogues.  After making sure they were dead, he would retrieve my arrow and bring it back to me.  He was definitely helpful in that regard.

    There was also an owl that would fly ahead of us and use it's big eyes to scan the area.  If she saw a rogue, she would hoot to give us a little warning.  I named her Amber, because her eyes were the color of real amber.  

    I found it was easy to talk to the animals and give them praise for helping me.  I hoped that would help me find the courage to actually talk to a real person.  It was something I would eventually have to do if I didn't want to live a lonely life.

    Sure, I had the awesome creatures from the forest to keep me company, but they couldn't talk to me.  I couldn't get advice from there.  I craved the chance to talk with somebody around my age.

    It had been awhile since I sat in a tree near the border.  I wanted to watch the werecat cubs again, so I decided to go see if any of them were still hanging around that area.

    When I got there, I could hear some laughter nearby and that made me feel excited.  I quickly got myself perched on the usual tree limb, then I looked around until my eyes landed on them.

    Right away, I noticed those pretty eyes.  It had been close to a year since I laid eyes on that cute werecat.  I couldn't believe how much he had changed.  He had bulked up a lot, and he was quite a bit taller.  

    He still had those mesmerizing eyes and shiny black hair.  Not to mention, those full lips that I had been dreaming about kissing.  I didn't understand why I was thinking those thoughts about him, but I couldn't stop myself.  Something about him made me feel like there were butterflies in my stomach.

    Sometimes I would find myself sniffing the air in hopes of smelling his scent.  That just confused me even more.  I had never actively tried to scent somebody, unless I was scenting for rogues or looking for my parents.

    Unfortunately, I was always too far away to pick up any of the werecat's scents.  Sometimes that would frustrate me.  Not just because I couldn't smell them.  Also, because I couldn't find the courage to talk to them.

    It was so easy for me to talk to the forest creatures.  Why couldn't it be as easy for me to talk to the werecats.  It's not like they would be able to scent me and know what I was.  Thanks to my mom.  

    She taught me how to make a special elixir to drink.  The elixir would completely mask my scent so shapeshifters wouldn't know I was a witch.  However, if I crossed paths with another witch, it wouldn't be hard for them to sense my strong witch aura.    

    Luckily, the chances of that happening were very slim.  Me and my mom were the only witches living on the free territory.  The few times other witches had ventured there, they never stayed long because of the abundance of rogues.

    I stayed perched on that limb and simply watched the cubs.  Of course, my eyes stayed focused on the cute one who always caught my attention.  He appeared to be showing the other cubs fighting techniques, and I thought that was awesome.  I even learned a few things just from watching them.

    I didn't make any attempt to leave that limb until I heard Amber hoot not far from where I was sitting.  I knew right away what that hoot meant and wasted no time jumping to the ground with ease.  I had always been surprisingly agile and able to easily jump down from high places.

    A second later, I heard her hoot again, and I could tell she was closer.  That meant the rogues were also closer.  I didn't want them seeing the cubs on the other side of the border, so I was quick to pull an arrow out of my quiver.  

    After I pulled the arrow back to a shooting position, I slowly advanced until three rogues came into my line of sight.  Right away, I shot a ball of fire to the end of the arrow and aimed it at the middle rogue, then I released the arrow.

    It soared straight through the air and pierced through the rogue's chest.  Within seconds, I pulled another flamed arrow back and aimed it at the rogue on the right.  It had the same result, and I wasted no time sending a third arrow at the rogue on the left.

    As soon as he went down, Dart pushed himself off my shoulder and soared through the air, then he dive bombed the first rogue I took down.  After he retrieved my arrow, he flew back two more times and also brought those arrows back to me.

    After I returned the arrows to my quiver, I affectionately nuzzled my nose against Dart's beak and whispered, "Good job, Dart."

    When I got back to my favorite tree, the werecat cubs were nowhere in sight.  That made me a little sad, but there wasn't anything I could do about it.

    I sat there for a few minutes in case they came back.  Once I was sure they wouldn't be back, I jumped off the limb and headed home.  I didn't stay sad for very long.  I was too excited about the new battle techniques I learned.  I couldn't wait to show them to my dad.