The Sorcerer And The Fighter Ch. 01

Her father looked at Dominic, asking a couple of the questions that he knew was on every one's mind. "Who are you, and why are you here?"

"I go by the name of Dominic and I'm guessing by your reaction, or lack thereof, you know more of who, or rather what, I am. As for the why of it, I was camping in a cave not to far from here and your daughter came across me resting there. I have no hostile intent to any of you, as I said before, so please, do not be concerned," he said, his gaze holding her father's unwaveringly. Dominic was after all used to hostility and he could stand tall in the face of those staring him down easily enough. Besides he had no desire to show her father weakness like this, especially as it was soon to be proposed that he was taking their daughter away as well.

He waved his hand then and the shield around him fell away, dispersing as if it had never been and to any who knew, it was more than obvious what he was now, his eyes shining silver again for a moment before returning to their normal blue. He moved then to stand by MoonSilver's side, letting her do the talking now since these were her parents and it was her that truly needed to put this forward first.

"Momma, Daddy. I know there are many things you wanted from me, but I need to find out just who I am, and where I belong in the world. Living out here, in the woods, with really no one to talk to but the family... well, it's been okay, but I need more. Dominic is passing through, and won't be here for long, but he has offered to take me with him, traveling through the world, giving me a chance to see more of it. But he wanted to make sure, before we head out, that it would be alright with you. If, by any chance, we happen to find any of the other boys, we can get them home." She knew more than anything, her parents wanted her mated and settled down, but there was no way for her to find a mate, stuck out here, with no males other than family around.

Her mother had moved forward when her sons had put away their weapons and she looked at MoonSilver, seeing in her daughter the same wanderlust that had overcome her when she was younger, and had met her mate, MoonSilver's father. She knew what her daughter had been missing her whole young life, and as she turned to look at her mate, nodded her agreement.

Her father looked at the two young wolves, his daughter and Dominic, and sighed. His mate's look had confirmed what he suspected. His mate would not attempt to stop them from going, and if he knew what was good for him, he would also allow MoonSilver to go with Dominic. But before he just gave into his daughter, he looked at Dominic, asking, "Can you protect her from bandits? Is there anyplace in particular you plan on taking my daughter, or just exploring the world?"

"Can I protect her from bandits?" He asked, chuckling to himself and shaking his head. The question itself was laughable really. Part of the reason everyone feared sorcerer wasn't because of an unpleasant sensation they got. It was because sorcerers were so lethally dangerous that you couldn't expect what would come of them. Dominic glanced over his shoulder then, sighting up a much smaller, younger tree. Feeling a need for a little demonstration he dropped his staff and pack for a moment then pressed his paws together in front of him as he turned to face the tree. He took a deep breath then, the air around him almost visibly vibrating as he drew in energy to his core then sent it down into his hands.

Suddenly he lashed out, making two striking motions at the tree which stood some twenty meters away and releasing the energy as he did. The first wave invisible wave struck the tree and sheared it in half from base to tip and the second struck it horizontally, cutting the tree neatly into three pieces two of which came crashing down sideways to the leafy earth. He then quite calmly bent down to pick up his things and turn back to face MoonSilver's father.

"I am more then capable of defending your daughter from the abyss itself if I have to sir. Have no fear of that and if we find any more of your kin, I shall send them back to you swiftly and with all care. You may take that as my blood oath. In doing so, I shall show your daughter the world. I already have a portal stone prepared to take as far as the city of the magi. From there we'll likely head south down the coast and then east."

Her father shook his head, knowing that he would give his little girl anything she wanted, and her eager eyes, perked ears, and gently wagging tail all told him that she wanted this, wanted to explore the world. He also knew that this would be her only chance to find a mate. Who knew, maybe this pup would be the one for his daughter. Looking at Dominic for a moment, he nodded.

"Before you leave, though, my daughter will need to pack some things, and you both should get a good home-cooked meal from my mate. And my name is Shadow of the Moon. My mate is SilverFire." He waited to see what Dominic's reaction to their names was, knowing that most wolves shied away from being near them after the fiasco that exiled them into the woods.

"Just Dominic or Dom will do for me, though I haven't used a tribal name in a long time," he responded. It seemed he had no idea of whatever fiasco had gotten this family exiled into the woods and in truth he really didn't know about it. If he had likely he might have chosen either to camp somewhere else or he would have come to them directly to find out and either try to help or greeted them as kindred. He moved closer at last now though, his body relaxing as he gathered there would be no more trouble. He glanced briefly at MoonSilver's brothers, smiling at them plainly as he came closer to the house and fell in with Moon herself, staying close to her since this wasn't his home and he would feel a little awkward otherwise.

MoonSilver chuckled as Dom looked at her brothers, whispering, just loud enough for the boys to hear, but not her mother or father, "If either of them gives you a hassle, just tell them you'll have me castrate them. Otherwise, they will try to walk all over you. They did it to me until I grabbed a knife and came at them with it. Since then, they haven't messed with me. But then again, I think with my father and mother accepting you as they have, they'd be idiots to try anything. Especially after you took down that tree."

Her paw slipped into his as she headed deeper into the house, tugging him behind her, either because she didn't want to let him out of her sight, or to keep her brothers away from him. She pushed open a door, and turned to him at the doorway. "This is my room. I'm just gonna pack a few things, so you can come in, or you can stay in the doorway, but I'd rather be close to you. I don't know what it is that I'm feeling, but I know that I don't want anyone else close to you. I guess I kinda feel possessive when it comes to you."

Dom chuckled as well at her talk of what she'd done to her brothers, flashing them a look that was full of silver before he entered the house with her and followed her to her room. Once they were in there he closed the door behind them and leaned against the inside of the frame with his arms folded over his chest and his staff trapped against his body. He watched her as she packed, smiling softly as he regarded her movements.

"Maybe its because you found me in the woods and your keeping me safe from your family. Plus I am your friend and all," he said.

Of course he knew more then he said, having considered her words and maybe thinking that she liked him a bit. He couldn't deny that he found her attractive, very much so. However they had just met and he'd like to get to know her before committing to anything in his own heart. Then again, as his gaze fell on her rear end, he couldn't deny certain urges in him...a certain desire for things to get very messy. He kept his paws to himself though, at least for now.

Going to the closet, she bent over, giving Dom a good view of her backside, though she didn't catch him looking at her as she picked up an old faded backpack that appeared to have seen better days. She held it close for a moment, then pulled another one out of the closet, a pure black furred backpack. Reaching into the closet, she pulled out a dress, a pair of breeches, a shirt and boots, all made of leather, and rolled them up, packing them into the backpack.

Going to her dresser, she picked up her brush that she used to keep her fur un-matted, and packed it as well. Picking up some jewelry from her dresser, she packed it as well, not wanting to lose the few pieces she had. Then she took a last look around her room and moved to Dom. Placing her paw on his arm, she smiled up at him, and said, "Well, you definitely are my friend, and I do want to keep you safe, at least from my brothers, since both of my parents have accepted you. And, Dom, thank you for offering to take me with you. I feel almost like a pup again. Let's go get that food and head out, okay?"

Dom smiled at her warmly and covered her paw on his arm with his own, holding it for a moment. His blue eyes met hers and held her gaze for a moment. She had pretty eyes as well, he thought, then he realized he was staring a little and he glanced down only to find himself looking at her chest and his gaze moved away quickly.

"It's quite alright, MoonSilver; in truth I'm happy for the company. The roads are long and lonely, even by trade caravan or horse back. We'll be portaling to Karazar, the city of the magi anyway to save us a few weeks journey," he explained.

He released her paw then on his arm and adjusted his pack and staff to follow her to get what food they could in them. "Don't be surprised when we get to the city if we get a wide berth though, I'm well known there and of course many would rather avoid me, even in a city full of wizards. We'll have an inn to stay in though for a couple of nights then we move on from there."

MoonSilver led Dom through the house to the kitchen, quickly moving to her mother's side and giving her a hug. "Thank you, Momma, for giving me your permission to go."

Her mother turned, her amber eyes meeting Dom's, the knowledge of what her daughter needed in them. "Just take good care of my baby, please. I know what MoonSilver's going through, because I went through it myself when I was her age. It was how I met my mate. Shadow was the one who took me out into the world, and showed me how things worked outside of my parents' home. And along the way, we fell in love, and mated. I'm not predicting that will happen between the two of you, but if it does, it's all for the better. And, Dominic, thank you."

"You needn't thank me, m'lady, I'm happy to take her along. Everyone deserves the right to see the world and I can keep her safe to do just that. Love and mating, well, I'm not ruling out anything but time will tell and the goddess's wishes will take precedence." He said in reply to MoonSilver's mother, smiling warmly as he did. He may not have been very old in years but his eyes showed experience and the way he spoke showed he knew the world for what it was, be it its beauty or its ugliness. He carried the scars within and without but he didn't let them affect him or colour what he was. He took a moment to stretch then before relaxing, his gaze turning on MoonSilver. He smiled at her then as he met her eyes.

"Best we grab some food then and make the portal jump before it gets dark. It would be better to arrive in the day when the authorities at the city are a little less jumpy, not that I expect trouble in that respect but I like to be careful."

MoonSilver smiled at Dominic, her eyes gleaming with a soft light. "Sounds like a good plan, Dominic. Momma, what do you have that we can take with us?" She rummaged through the kitchen, and found a few things she knew she loved and thought Dominic might like, tucking them deep into her pack, then turned back to find her mother offering a few things for them to take with them.

Dom gave her plenty of time to grab food to take with them and get herself all packed up before he gestured for her to follow him outside. Sitting down to eat could wait until they reached their destination and he had the way to do just that in short order. From his small bag he produced a stone about the size of his clenched fist which he held up facing a gap between two trees. Closing his eyes for a moment he focused on it, willed energy into it, then opened his now-silver eyes and intoned a few words that came out heavy with the flow of magic. As he spoke the words the stone began to glow and the air between the two trees distorted. It started as a small change in the air that began to spread, the air itself turning into a whirlpool that span and span growing larger by the second and every word Dom spoke. When the swirling portal touched the trees it stopped growing and it changed colour, the air itself turning into a swirl of colour to mark the space it occupied and in that moment, the stone in Dom's hand shattered. It was one use after all.

"Well, this is it," Dom said, then looked to those present of MoonSilver's family, "Thank you for your hospitality. I will take good care of her."

Moon quickly gave her mother and father a hug and kiss, then hugged her brothers. "I can't promise to write. I might be too busy, and I have no idea who to send a message to you with. But I will come back when I can to let you know what my trip was like. I promise!"

To Be Continued