The Blackwell Pt. 01

Author's Note: This is Part One to a story that will be at least three parts, possibly up to six parts. This is my first time writing a serious piece, it's not a quick fix at all. This is a fantasy story, hugely based on the world and events, but having lesbian characters. There isn't sex in this part, but I'm developing the sparks, there will be in Part two though, so if you can hang steady with me until then, you will be rewarded! This will have a comic adaptation which I am currently working on with an Artist. So, more to come. I will post new installments at least once a month, and they will be long. But, depending on my strike of inspiration, it could be as soon as a week. Critique is appreciated.

*****

Chubby fingers tore into tender meat as the genial man spoke, his energy spiking.

"Never seen a beast like it. I'd say it were gorgeous if the size weren't terrifying. About 14 feet tall, strong limbs, probably the biggest bear on this planet! I watched its hulking form skulk through the through the Skyther Woods. Now, I wasn't the only one that witnessed this beast,"

He slammed his fist down on the table, taking a moment to chew his food with his mouth closed. His company, Raven Venor received temporary relief. Her own seemingly delicate fingers clutching the napkin she'd held the entire time and dabbing away specks of the spit that had crossed from his side of the table to her face. It was hard to remain respectful and not place a sealing spell on the man across from her so that he could never speak again. However, the amount of luceat he was offering for this job was a heavy incentive.

Raven observed as he devoured his food with impressive speed. How it was that he could have so much luceat and control any underground crime was a mystery to her, but that wasn't what she cared about. His brows knit tightly together and beads of sweat began to form, as though he was in battle, causing a smirk to play on Raven's lips as she took another bite of her own food, then pushed the plate to the side, only half eaten to then reach for her flask and take a swig. Inevitably he would start speaking again. The burning liquid eased away all the vile insults that got stuck in her throat and returned her to the calm state that would allow her to continue listening.

"What a fine meal, are you not going to eat that?! I'll have someone pack it up for you and you can take it on the road. Anyway, an arrow flew to the beast, and you wouldn't believe what happened then! Before my very eyes, I watched as its' large paw swiped the arrow in flight, snapping the damn thing in two. Perhaps the hunter thought it was just a coincidence, as another arrow flew toward the beast, and it did it again, suddenly going down to its' fours and letting out a thunderous roar, and then it bolted. It was fast, and then it was gone. It was agile and aware, no ordinary hunter could get it," the man smiles and reaches into his vest, pulling out a velvet red bag, and dumping its contents between them.

Raven dark eyes widen, it isn't often that she gets paid upfront, her brow quirks as she gives the man a skeptical look. He gives her a wide smile and nods his head.

"Of course, this isn't for the job... yet, I hear you're quite talented at cards, how about we play a game? Should I win, you do the job, you'll be paid after, and then you'll owe me another job of equal value, for free. This will be a contracted deal, so you're bound by your word," he gives her a look, expecting a response.

She shrugs, quite confident that she can beat this man anyhow, but the money is still a lot for such a simple job, it wouldn't be a horrible deal to do two.

"And if I win?"

"This money is yours upfront, whether or not you do the job would be in your hands, but should you do the job, the same amount will be rewarded to you after the work is done. So, you double your earnings."

Raven smiles her first genuine smile of the evening. Easy luceat is the best.

She plays passively, humoring the man, sometimes making him believe that he can win, and then as she grows bored, she switches her game and plays aggressively. The game ends in her triumph, and he begrudgingly watches as she collects all the luceat back into the bag and tucks it into her belt pocket.

She rises from the table and winks at him.

"Don't worry, I'm still very likely to go out and get that beast for you."

Those words would turn out to be a lie. There was no way she could bring the beast to him.

Her experienced feet cast no sound as she stalked her target, it had taken an entire three days of searching to find it, and she certainly wasn't going to allow it to get away. The beast truly was large, and oddly aware. It avoided paths that people may travel on and generally avoided other animals as well. However, it could not detect her. Raven was patient, waiting for the perfect moment to strike with her enchanted bow. And then it came, the beast had stepped in mud and let out a displeased huff and began to shake out its paw.

Should this not have been a job, the bounty hunter may have taken a shot at taming the beast, but there was a lot of luceat on the line. Her eyes narrowed in concentration as she aimed at the targets heart. She pulled back and released, a soundless arrow flew toward the target and pierced into its shoulder with the quick movement to dodge it.

It let out a deafening sound of pain and despair, almost enough to rattle Raven out of her concentration, but she persisted. Another arrow grazed the beasts side as it burst into a run. Raven pursued, changing her strategy as her right hand stretched out in front of her, with a clean swipe to the side, the ground in front of the beast rose to create a barrier, it crashed straight into it. The huntress believed this would be the death arrow for the beast, but as the arrow released from the bow, the target shrunk down, and the arrow hit the barrier. She tilted her head in astonishment as fur began to dissipate leaving behind a nude woman.

Raven cursed under her breath as her eyes scanned the unconscious form beneath her. Healing magic was the only magic she'd never bothered to try and master. After all, if her target dies before it can lay harm on her, what would've been the use? She mentally checked that off as a mistake and observed the wounds. The graze wound wasn't so bad, although ugly, the bleeding had already slowed immensely. The real worry was the shoulder. Raven was aware of the healing abilities of a shifter, however, with the arrow still lodged in her shoulder, it was certain not to heal.

She placed her thumb and pointer finger on the arrow, the energy pouring out of her finger tip burning through the wood till the back end fell off. Then, she gently rolled the girl onto her side, grabbed the front end and tactfully pulled it out. There was some bruising on her body as well from crashing into the wall, but that was already beginning to fade. Raven took out her flask and poured some of its contents on the girls' wounds. The liquid sizzled, showing that it was indeed working away at bacteria, when it came to a stop, the huntress gave the girl one more once over. She was down for the count, and by the looks of her tattoo, she was claimed by the Sylven family. That meant a very high reward the longer Raven keeps her away.

She smirked to herself as she took the hooded cloak off her shoulder and put it over the girl, scooping her up and over a shoulder. A deep sigh left the woman's mouth, it wasn't the first time she'd carried a naked woman, but usually it was for very different reasons and a much shorter distance.

She trudged along the woods into the town which she'd gotten her mission. It was a rather raunchy place. One she knew she wouldn't get arrested in for carrying a naked unconscious woman around, and where her name was known enough that an attack would be unlikely. As she made her way to the inn, she got countless offers for the girl she was carrying. Some were high enough that she considered taking the offer and then murdering them to retrieve her. But, that might ruin her reputation. So, she kindly deflected each one.

When she got to the inn, the bartender gave her a funny look.

"I thought ya' liked them sober and consenting," the bartender quipped, offering the woman a smirk.

Raven rolled her eyes. "She's just so tempting, anyway, let me get two room keys," she pulled a coin from her pouch and laid it on the table. "Keep the change, and I want a tab opened in my name."

"Sure! Room 27." The woman smiled as she pocketed the coin and handed Raven two keys.

Raven took them and went up the stairs. She gently placed the shifter on the bed and moved the cloak, observing the wounds again, she was no longer bleeding at all, but her healing barely progressed, why was she so slow at healing?

'She must not have healed herself very much,' the woman thought to herself as she grabbed the shifters wrists and put them together, performing a binding spell and doing the same with her ankles. She then brushed her fingers over the girls' lips in a temporary silencing spell. Now she could go out and find the girl some clothes and food without worrying about her escaping.

Upon Ravens' return to the inn, the girl was conscious and very upset, but didn't try to speak. Raven figured by now, she'd figured out that she'd been silenced. Upon more careful inspection, she realized that something about the girl was very familiar, but she couldn't quite tell what it was.

"Listen to me, the first thing I'm going to do is unbind your hands and ankles, do not try to attack me, I am not an enemy."

Raven was met with skeptical eyes as she approached and brushed her hand over the girls' wrists and ankles, reversing her spell. She proceeded to stretch, and to Raven's surprise, she didn't attack.

"Good girl, now I'm going to unsilence you, do not scream, or I'll just silence you again and you can listen, nod if you understand."

The shifter nodded, and Raven brushed her fingers over the girls' lips, undoing her silencing spell.

She was surprised that the girl did not speak immediately, she simply tested out her jaw muscles, opening and closing her mouth and making funny facial expressions. She hummed to confirm that her voice was back, but that was all, she simply looked at the huntress, her gray eyes expectant.

Raven stared at the girl in front of her. Not in a lecherous way, but now taking in the details, trying to identify the familiarity. While the Sylven crest on her was certainly important, it wasn't the reason- but something told her it had something to do with it.

Then, suddenly like a wave, realization dawned on the huntress. Brown skin, gray eyes, auburn hair, shifter- those were all traits of the clan Oelis, and the girl was the spitting image of the former clan head, Leron Oelis.

"What's your name?"

"What's yours?"

"Raven."

"What do you want?"

Raven's eyes narrowed on the girl, and then rolled.

"Listen, I'm the one asking questions here, I'm not going to hurt you, so relax."

"I beg to differ, you already have hurt me. Those arrows smell the same as the one that pierced my shoulder. Now, what do you want?"

The shifter was on edge, but not quite defensive yet, she wasn't in shape to be defensive anyway, still healing and possibly unable to shift.

"Your name," Raven smirked, she could play at this game of smart-ass right along with the shifter.

"Leah."

"Your full name."

"Leah Sylven."

Raven frowned with disapproval.

"No, your family name. Not the name of... er- your keepers?" She stumbled over the words, unsure of the girls' role with the Sylven family.

"I don't know. And they aren't my keepers. Only the mistress has any say so over me. And if you know what's good for you, you'll return me to her."

Raven smirked. "Oh, I intend to, I've gathered you're quite a nuisance, however," she gestures at the shifters wounds, "I will not return you in this condition. That's asking for a fight. So, I will wait for you to heal. The quicker you heal, the quicker you're back to Xilrora."

Leah glared at Raven, something about the woman ticked her off. Maybe it was how smug she was, or the fact that she used magic in such an intrusive way, or that she touched her. Xilrora had never allowed anyone else to touch the shifter. She didn't like it.

"That's mistress to you, not Xilrora," she turns away from the woman, unable to stand looking at her any longer.

In the shower, the shifter sobbed, and Raven could hear her from the bed. She took a deep breath and put the bag of clothes at the bathroom door. Inside, Leah let all the stress pour out of her. The wounds were painful, and she'd never been away from Xilrora this long. She promised herself that she'd never go on an adventure away from home again. She lied.

The small cat on Raven's belly began purring as it slept, causing the huntress to stir. When her eyes fluttered open, she felt warm and at peace, until her hand traveled to that warmth. The woman yelped in panic, clutching the fur beneath her fingers with wide eyes. She looked down and watched as cat ears twitched and formed back into the scalp of a human. The warmth on her body suddenly became far less comforting with the added weight. Gray eyes locked on brown, and Raven smirked.

"I should charge you for this kind of proximity,"

Leah raised a brow and then suddenly a rush of warmth radiated over her whole body when she became aware of her nudity. She ripped herself away from the other woman and ran straight into the bathroom.

The huntress snickered at the dramatic display.

"No need to be shy Leah! I carried you naked from the woods all the way here!"

Leah shouted back from the bathroom. "While I was unconscious, this is very different!"

"But we're both women, what have you got to be embarrassed about?"

"Plenty."

Raven let that statement register and found herself laughing at the other woman. "Well, next time just ask to sleep with me, so you can skip the embarrassment."

The shifter didn't answer her, instead she came out of the bathroom with a body suit hugging every curve she had from the neck down. It wasn't a normal body suit, but one of a thin armor, the shimmering iridescent black almost as eye catching as the woman's figure. Raven took in the contours of Leah's body. She'd seen her nude twice, but it was different. The first time was urgent, and the second time, Leah was panicking. Now, she had the first opportunity to appreciate how beautiful the girl was.

"Stop giving me that lecherous look," Leah glared, pulling Raven out of her reverie.

Raven shrugged. "Well, you're the only thing I've got to look at, lest you don't mind me having some overnight company."

Leah wrinkled her nose in disgust and rolled her eyes. "You're insufferable and I refuse to stay in this room all day, so take me out."

Raven's eyes shimmered with something sinister as she grinned. "Be careful what you ask for."

The Shape Shifter found herself staring up at the night sky, feeling things she'd never felt before from the strange smoke clouding around her. She passed the burning herb back to the bounty hunter and felt the heaviness of her back against the grass, then her whole body- she was sinking.

"Woah."

Raven smiled. Now the uptight girl could relax, she took a puff of her own and thought on the events of the day.

She'd taken the shifter to perform a bounty. Instead of paying in her typical acceptance of laceat, it paid in Skem herb, various rare potions, as well as her favorite fragrance. Madam Surrough always paid in the most interesting ways, but Raven had come to enjoy taking on her odd bounties.

This time, she was tasked with finding the woman's escaped dog- for the fourth time. It wasn't always the dog, but more than it should've been. Raven wondered if the elderly woman would sometimes forget to feed the dog resulting in his runaway habits. After all, Madam Surrough was old and possibly going senile. But that wasn't her business. A job was a job.

Leah was surprisingly helpful, for a shifter who didn't use her abilities much, she was surprisingly gifted at tracking scents, taking the scent from his bowl and finding the dog in no time.

Their next bounty was a bit more dangerous, but again, the girl was extremely helpful.

They'd traveled further into the town to find a man called Dusty. The task was to frame him so that the authorities would have a reason to arrest him. A bit shadier of a job, but the luceat for it was good. Anyone despised enough to be framed probably deserved it anyway. It turned out, the man didn't need to be framed after all. He was quite enthralled with the shape shifters exotic look, enthralled enough to attempt an assault.

He sat next to her in the tavern, drinking in her figure and offering a sleazy lick of his lips before addressing her.

"Name's Dusty, and you lovely?"

"No, close though, it's Laura."

Raven was surprised by both her tact and her smooth transition into lying.

"Let me buy you a drink," it was more of a demand than a question as he looked at the bartender expectantly. "Whatever she's having."

The bartender quickly brought her another sparkling water with lemon and winked at her, knowing her plight.

Leah took a sip and smiled.

"Oi, why don't we dance?" Dusty stood, looking at him, you could tell why the man wasn't usually used to taking no for an answer. He was quite handsome, standing at least 6'0 tall, blonde hair and hazel eyes, a short well kempt beard, and pleasant farmer's garbs.

"No thank you."

He frowned, but it was more than that, rage hid behind his eyes. Leah must have sensed it.

"I don't know how to dance," she added smoothly, bandaging the wound over his ego. Unfortunately, this gave him the leeway to persist. He offered his hand, and then grasped hers without asking, pulling her up.

"I'll teach you, don't worry about it."

He led her onto the dance floor, and Raven watched. Leah had lied, she did indeed know how to dance, her body had this natural fluidity to it, like she rode the waves of every sound the instruments made. However, you could still tell her hesitance as the man tried to force them closer. Raven wanted to intervene, she hadn't even meant to have Leah doing this job, it just sort of happened that way. However, if she intervened, the bounty would fail.

His hands, initially on her waist, continuously made descent to her rear. She tried again and again to deflect him, but he wouldn't read the signs.

"Please stop."

Raven clenched her fist as she listened to the girl plea and stood from her chair when he refused to relent.

"Come on, you don't have to play hard to get, I know you're into it," with his last two words, he pulled their bodies together, his last mistake for the night. As quickly as they'd made contact, was how quickly he wound up on the floor. The much smaller woman had lowered herself and then pulled him over her shoulders. For a moment, he was stunned by the shear force of her throw, but then he was up in a flash, moving to punch her before his hand was stopped by another man.

Raven let out a deep breath she hadn't known she was holding in. She'd gotten terribly close to the incident, close enough that if the man hadn't stopped Dusty, Raven would've, and it was going to be far less clean. She sheathed the dagger she'd taken from her belt.

"That's it, you're under arrest for sexual assault and battery. You're done Dusty."

Dusty's eyes went wide, as he tried to fight against the hand before getting clasped in cuffs.

The girl was so shaken up after the bounty that Raven decided to call it quits for the day. She was thankful for their original bounty so that she'd have a way to get the girl out of her thoughts.