Tales Of A Shifter (B6) - The Child Of Sun & Moon

Chapter 10 - Novice & Teacher (2)

Chapter 10

Ann responded to his inquiry with another soft smirk as she poked the fire before her, the soft cascade of golden orange embers broke off in the winds and dies into the darkness as she spoke.

“Novice training was seen as a honorable venture Druid, only men and women who could touch and manipulate Mana were even considered as potential students and initiates into the Brotherhood by other Mana Users. So being chosen was of course seen as a right of prestige and power long before the Brotherhood because the shadow organization it later grew to be.”

Brandon laughed as he finished tying on his shoe’s, stood back up, tapped the toes of his feet on the stone to make sure they were nice and tight before he looked at Ann and said. “So what I’m getting form this little history story is that I should be very humbled and grateful that you took me on as a Novice?”

Ann tilted her head and she slightly frowned. “Why do you sound so dismissive? I’m not. I am grateful and humbled that I have taken you on as my Novice...and just as in the old days I promise to support and share knowledge if I am asked too.” she confessed her words sincere, soft and so surprising that they struck Brandon wordless seeing as he had been about to make a joke or play off the seriousness of what she had been telling him until that very moment.

Stuck for a second in uncertainty Brandon soon cleared his throat and slightly bowed his head to Ann before he respectfully replied. “I...I am grateful too Ann.”

Brandon brought his head up, as a soft curing hiss broke free and Brandon clutched his chest as a lash of pure infuriated desire to feed nearly made him black out again. He felt his legs try to buckle, but he locked his knees and held steady “s**t! Ann...Ill be...back soon. I can sense a small burrow of foxes and snakes to the west, it should be easy to catch some and loop back this way.”

Ann nodded and said. “You are weakening fast between the feedings its clear you are going to get sicker if you go for longer then this. Go, but be weary. The more you use your powers, the more easily the Bane, Ghouls and other Mana Users will start to pin point our locations. In fact I wouldnt be surprised if we dont start running into enemies soon...”

Brandon hid a chill at the dire warning, smirked and turned away. “Ill bring back fire wood.”

He offered over his shoulder as he stalked off into the darkness beyond the warm fires glow of their makeshift camp.

***

Catching a fox to feed on for energy proved to be nearly impossible.

The sly beasts had escaped from the borrow after Brandon had let his senses lead him to his prey, and almost as if the predators sensed the threat he posed to them on a more supernatural level they fled from him, so after two hours of fruitlessly trying to run the elusive prey down, he turned his attention to the nest of snakes he had passed over.

A hissing mass of over twenty young snakes lay coiled beneath the rotted roots of a large loblolly pine tree. The beasts bit him, small fangs ripping holes in his hands that Brandon ignored because he knew he would heal quickly enough.

Many snakes and biting insects scattered as he moved to dig and disturb their warm hibernation spot. Every bug, root and living snake that he touched almost instantly became blacked as he let his hunger run loose on everything around him and that he could touch. He killed and feasted with a single-minded aggression that left no room for much thought or emotion.

The Druid needed no light even though the stars and moon light above did cut into the darkness at points, shafts of pale light dancing off the shifting trees in the woods, and Brandon himself glimmered like a white flame, ephemeral lights of the Druid Hunger and the Acris power dancing all over his being like the discharge from blazing star.

Brandon was still unnerved by his own powers but he no longer hesitated to use them or to indulge in them if their use could be a benefit to him and his desire to make it to Ishtar.

Eventually capturing a few corn and milk snakes and sucking each and every single one dry, until Brandons hand were caked with the charred blacked remains of dead snakes, Brandon realized that he had let too much time pass him by.

Somewhere after his 20th snake Brandon forced himself to stop...even though all he wanted to do was continue, everything in his ached and the devastating cutting hunger that tormented him had barely abated, but Brandon understood that not only was it futile for him to think that this pathetic feast would satisfy him, Brandon also had to pay heed to Anns words.

Its been almost three hours...

Brandon thought, as he made a stop beside a large pile of rotted leaves and diligently he began to rummage around so he could gather a few dozen hefty dry branches to carry back to camp as he had promised.

With all of this constant feeding Ive been having to do I’m sure the Brotherhood already knows I’m no longer in the Leopard Lands. It’s a miracle if they aren’t already on to me...there no way the Bane and my Father will miss the fact that I’m out here basically screaming for them to find me.

The travel back to the camp was uneventful and aside from the pain in his gut the Druid quickly backtracked, at times jogging or flat out sprinting across the dark shadowed woods. The woods melted away as Brandon broke the tree line and he came quickly into the dim glow of the camp fire.

Almost instantly his eyes were drawn to Ann, the Mana Users brown skin standing in stark contrast to the dancing warm flames on her white dress, while her head was laid in the palm of her hand and her eyes were closed. Sleeping.

Smirking as he felt his heart warmed for her as he realized how exhausted she had become after carrying him to a safe spot. Brandon started to move deeper into camp, moving as softly as he could so as not to startle her, his heart clenching with guilt the more he ruminated on just how exhausted Ann must have been.

Shes completely out of it...never seen her just fall off like this, normally shes all about keeping watch. But I cant really blame her, I guess. She drug me up to this ridge and nursed me. Then she probably kept watch this whole time...shes needs the sleep.

Brandon shook his head and internally he decided that he would take up watch for the next few hours and let the Alchemist rest...but even as Brandon came to this decision, a harsh and terrible “Snap!” cut across the soothing crackle of the camp fire. Brandon flinched and he watched as Ann jumped, her eyes flying open as her head whipped around. Towards the sound of a shuffled movement...and a malevolent giggle.

“Ann...move!” Brandon screamed just as he reached out with is Druids senses and he was smacked in the soul with pure terror as he sensed the dull twisted greasy energy of a Ghoul.