How Not to Start a Fire

[Anonymous]

Ashtir whispered as sparks flickered on his fingertips. The night was cold and damp; it would be hard to start a fire. The flames danced down off of his hand onto the pile of wood. As they landed onto it, they quickly died out on the damp wood.

"Damn it..." he sat down on the ground with his elbows resting on his knees. The ground was wet and his pants were getting soaked, but he didn't care. Soon he heard the crunching of leaves and the snapping of twigs under someone's feet.

[Anonymous]

Benjamin hated damp weather, the wetness settling on everything. His bad arm—or bad foreleg, as it was in his lupine form—ached with every step. He moved more clumsily than usual through the forest, limping over branches and stones and any manner of obstacles that would lie on the ground in summer. He was glad there wasn't a carpet of dead leaves down there, too.

The fact that the solstice was approaching did nothing to help shrug off the chill of the night. The smells of rotting plant matter after the rain made his mind foggy, and the werewolf added to the odor with the reek of wet dog. It would be a long time before he could steal back into the village without drawing revulsion from the townspeople. He also didn't want to show his face without at least a few rabbits; food was so much cheaper to give to his comrades when he could simply hunt it himself.

The pale, dirty-colored wolf grunted in pain as he set his foot down, and he flinched when he heard the crackle of leaves and twigs fallen the last autumn. Any intelligent prey in the immediate area would have scurried off at that. Feeling miserable, Benjamin ambled toward the nearest clearing, hoping to find open sky that wouldn't drip water on him like overhanging branches.

He froze when he caught a whiff of human scent—well, almost human. There was a smoky edge to it that made his hair stand on end. Curious and cautious, he stalked forward into the vegetation, cursing silently as his tail rustled the leaves, and peered out at the redhead sitting on the ground. What was he doing all the way out here?

[Anonymous]

Ashtir whipped his head around to where the noise had come from. The bushes were slightly rusting, but then again it was windy. He whispered to summon flames upon his hand. He cautiously walked slowly over to the bushes, but not very close. The flames' light was reflected back in the animal's eyes. The flame quickly went out as he dove and tackled the animal in the bushes and pinned it to the ground.

"So are you just another starving wolf or can you talk?" Ashtir asked with a rough edge in his voice.

[Anonymous]

The stranger seemed to notice that something was up; their yellow eyes were deceptively alert. Benjamin was likewise tense; his moist off-white fur bristled and his ears lay back against his skull. He knew the situation could go a number of ways, with a fair fraction of them being painful. It was too late for him to run off, so he knew he might as well wait this out and pray to the nameless gods he wasn't seen.

A flame flickered in the redhead's hand; he had to be a mage or elemental of some sort. Stepping toward the bush, the younger man paused—and then the fire disappeared and he was leaping into the bush at the startled werewolf.

Benjamin couldn't hope to dodge in time with his bad leg, so he was painfully slammed to the ground as muscular arms snaked around him. He snarled and writhed until the redhead spoke roughly, and a flicker of amusement passed through the canine's black-blue eyes. He growled and then shifted shape.

Where a dirty-white wolf had once been underneath the stranger, there was now six feet of middle-aged knight. He rolled quickly, using the element of surprise to knock the slightly larger man off. He scrambled to his feet and rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, though otherwise his posture wasn't threatening. In fact, the ghost of a smile turned up the corners of his lips.

"I'd imagine I'm the talking sort," Sir Rely offered quietly.

[Anonymous]

"Second, what the hell are you doing?" asked Ashtir, who now had his hand on his knife holder. Even though he was now aware that this man was a werewolf, he was not that intimidated by him; he just kept his hand on his knife handle in its holder in case the werewolf tried to pull anything.

[Anonymous]

"What am I doing?" Benjamin repeated. His dark blue eyes flicked only briefly to the movement of the man's hand. Knowing the tenseness of the situation would only escalate if they kept showing off the fact they had weapons, he let his arm relax and his body fall into a more casual stance.

"I was hunting," the knight replied. "It's damn dreary, though, no weather for any sane folk to be wandering around in." He glanced politely and curiously at the redhead. "So what are you doing out here? And do you have a name?" While his very small smile was relatively friendly, his guard wasn't going to drop. This man could be an outlaw, or some other threat to Adela.

[Anonymous]

"Did I say I was sane? Anyway, I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours. I always keep promises, don't worry," said Ashtir, who was now more relaxed and acting like himself.

[Anonymous]

"Did I say I was sane?"

Benjamin would have chuckled if he were in a more comfortable place. Damp air moistened his leather clothing, and the vest of average-quality chainmail he wore was cold to the touch. A small noise that might have been a snort or a "humph" left him as he looked the muscular redhead over.

"I don't know many people who brag about insanity," he pointed out. "Usually they're the dangerous types." He wondered if the stranger would catch the hint; he probably thought he was being cute, but in all honesty any crazy person wandering the woods could easily pose a threat to the townspeople.

The stranger promised that he would offer his name after the other gave his, so the knight nodded and then inclined his head slightly. "I am Sir Benjamin Rely, of Adela."

[Anonymous]

"I'm Ashtir." He wondered why Benjamin was being so friendly, he had just tackled him a mintue ago and the man decided to give him his name? it was... interesting. Ashtir then heard yelling. it sounded like a few men yelling at someone.

"C'mon John move it, we gotta get to Adela before sundown tomorrow!" Ashtir saw two men shouting at a man who was pulling a cart.

John as they called him, only actually looked eighteen. John looked over at he Ben with an expression that was indescribable. it was filled with pain or plead, who knows. Ashtir knew he didn't like what he was seeing. He clenched his fists as he strode over to them.

"Heh, um, what are you doing?" Ashtir asked, wanting to punch the man he was talking to in the face.

"Getting supplies to Adela what do you think we're doing?" asked the man in a rough voice. Ashtir punched the man in the face. The man's nose was bleeding as he shouted in pain.

"Why you little..." the man drew his sword and tackled Ashtir to the ground as he pressed the sword tight against his neck, cause Ashtir to wince.

[Anonymous]

The fire-wielding stranger introduced himself as Ashtir, and Benjamin nodded. It was a name he didn't know, so this man likely wasn't some wanted criminal whose face was posted all over Ketra, but that didn't make him any less dangerous. The werewolf sighed internally and then turned his head at the sound of shouting.

He frowned as he spotted the men in the clearing, but the scowl deepened as Ashtir immediately stalked toward the men forcing the cart of supplies through the clearing. The knight put his hand on his sword hilt and followed at a distance, not sure of the redhead's intentions. His dark eyes widened when Ashtir confronted one of the men with a punch to the face. Quickly, he drew his sword and approached quickly.

"I'm a knight of Adela." Benjamin spoke sternly once he reached the men, gesturing for the one who'd pinned Ashtir to the ground to step back. "I'll take care of him; put away your blade. What do you have in that cart?" He snuck a peek to find nothing out of the ordinary—clothes, some tools, a few parcels of food. "They'll check that at the entrance to Ketra," he told the men offhandedly.

Once the man withdrew from Ashtir, Benjamin grabbed the man by the collar and whispered in his ear. "What's wrong with you? They aren't doing anything wrong—and even if they were smugglers, it's no concern of someone who has no allegiance."

His dark eyes flicked to the young man pulling the cart, and realization made him frown. He continued to speak quietly to Ashtir, his voice firm. "Don't get worked up over that kid. He's probably a slave—not uncommon to have slaves around these parts, especially former criminals. It's probably a part of his punishment to be a laborer."

[Anonymous]

Ashtir frowned deeply as Benjamin replied to his actions. His fists were still clenched.

"Do you see what they're doing to him? I spotted some whip marks on his arms. You have to be shitting me if you let them go like that without interrogating them," pointed out Ashtir angrily, slightly raising his voice.

[Anonymous]

Ashtir was still tense, and he responded with anger. However, there seemed to be little danger as long as he was restrained. As such, the knight kept one hand firmly on his arm. "I told you, he's probably a slave, and those whip marks could be old." One glance at them, however, and he could tell they were relatively fresh. It didn't really matter to him, if the young man was a captured outlaw; his duty was to Adela, not to outsiders who bristled at all of their ideals.

"Ask them yourself," Benjamin said simply, and he turned back to the others. "I'll escort you to the town."

[Anonymous]

Ashtir didn't know how to respond, so he unclenched his fists and walked with them. He lagged behind as the other men were walking way up front. John was also lagging behind. He looked Ashtir up and down until Ashtir turned and looked at him, then John turned quickly away. Ashtir sighed then put his arm in front of the boy and he stopped.

"So, why are you "working" for them?" asked Ashtir, wanting to know everything that those men did and will do later to him.

"That is classified information that I cannot tell under restriction of the men I work for," explained John quickly and without emmotion. John started walking again, but Ashtir held his arm there. The cart rattled loudly as John was stopped suddenly.

[Anonymous]

Benjamin led the men through the forest, occasionally rubbing his sore arm and checking the patches of black, clouded sky that appeared through the leaves. It was difficult to see, and some of the men cursed as they stumbled over twigs and stones. The werewolf had relatively decent night vision, but the others only had the glow from the lantern on the cart to go by. He was surprised the flame hadn't gone out in the damp air.

"Ashtir, stop harassing the cart boy. We need a light to see by; come up front with us."

He glanced over his shoulder and frowned, hoping that there wouldn't be violence he would have to deal with. He needed to get these folks to Ketra, and then they would be out of his hair.

[Anonymous]

Ashtir took one last look at the boy, sighed frustratedly, then walked up and lit flames that danced on his hand in the night. John's mouth was slightly open as he breathed heavily to catch up with the men who were so far ahead of him. Ashtir looked back at him and started to walk in his direction. The men which Ashtir confronted looked questioningly at each other.