Meeting at the old Mill


The task was an easy one, just find the owl's deserter and bring her to face the magistrate and cash the bounty, easy like a hot knife thru butter right? That is what I thought at first when they summoned me to the dark room on the Archives, but for that amount of gold and crystals something was bound to be trickier. And as my tracking was pointing to the old Timber Mill, a place some of us hired assassins, spies and hunters knew to be a secret gathering point for the Paladins, the rebels commanded by the fair warrior known as Valera.

Snatching anyone from that place could cause a war, I really don't mind it, it just means more gold for my needy pockets, but any mistake and I would lose trust of the Paladins, their gold is as good as anyone's really. That or facing their crystal powered weapons, not a big fan of those to be honest.

Once I reached the rooftops of the wooden lumber shops, I used my vantage point to search for the Owl's apprentice, according to the client she is a well fit fighter specialized in long ranged assassination and weapons, her hair is shorter than mine and raven color, she has an aver… she is taller than myself, her skin light brown, cherry colored irises and a small scar near her left eye on her cheek.

To facilitate the search for said lady, I took out of my midnight coat a telescopic sight, a "gift" the client gave me when he was distracted, I got deft hands sort of speak. I gazed down to people working on the saws, cutting wood, transporting crates and some other boring activities the mill workers are used to. I was lucky enough to find the shade of a tree to protect me from the noon's heat, I still had taken my coat off to be more comfortable, and then, after some time a cool breeze started blowing and my sweaty skin felt relieved.

I still was not able to make visual contact with the target, but at least the wind was being gracious enough to make my stalking a tad more bearable. But then a bright blue light on my sight, was that a crystal powered transportation device, was that my target arriving at in the roof opposing my spot…

It was not.

It was a two inch radius snowflake, in a warm spring day. But, how? And why is it not melting? Is that perfume?

I turn over on the ground, and there standing next to me was a young girl in a sky blue and black outfit, her fingers covered by thin metallic gauntlets and black leather, her hair in pigtails and the same color as snow, purple shadow on her lids, cherry colored lips, black leather pants tight as a second skin to her legs, leather boots with protective metallic chins as well as the shoe, a blue bodice in a shiny looking material, a leather jacket on top covering her shoulders and clavicles with a mate color a cross her front a top the bodice scandalous cleavage and a Vulpin white fur collar.

"...Hello," she elongated the last syllable, "I asked if you were a pirate, little girl?"

She was smiling, it was not perverse, did she not know Maeve of Blades, the professional tracker, robber and assassin, the pink haired terror, the blue eyed mystery, the night bringer… Oh, then I should play along to avoid incarceration.

"Oh, yes lady, I am Maeve of… the Sea, the mighty adventurer, seeking for Crosswind's..." and before I could complete my imaginative narrative speech the young girl eyes went to a wide bright state, her mouth a gape and a singing gasp of joy interrupted me.

"Those canines, and, and the animistic colorful irises and pink hair, you," oh no, she recognized me, I'm done, she will call the guards and the Paladins, I'll be meeting the Immortal's Blade in the morning, "you are a Tigron! Oh dear me, it has been so long since I saw one of your kin in this lands. Whoa, must have been like a hundred years or so. You are as cute as I recall."

Wait, what?

What is she talking about? A Tigron? Anyway, how should I respond to that? Just say something already!

"I uh, well..." I trailed off not knowing how to continue that sentence.

"Oh this is so exciting. Wait where are your cute fluffy ears? Can you show me your tail?" she said while walking around me.

"My...tail? Tail!?" a rush of blood on my cheeks and ears, normal human ears by the way. But why?

Why was I so flustered for that ludicrous question?

"Oh, how rude of me, I have not even introduced myself, silly me." She said nonchalantly. "I am the greatest human elemental in this side of Crosswind Hold," she reached into her crystal decorated spell book, her whole arm going thru a page as if a portal to a pocket dimensional bubble and she pulls out a sphere o glass with dents all over its surface and throws it up in the air where it stood floating and rotating, the rays of sun passing thru it and creating dots of light over the white haired girl's body as the stars in the cosmos, "the Winter Witch, the Great Evie. At your service young lady." She finished with a bow as if she was in front of royals.

A witch!? Why is a witch on the Paladins side?, I thought Karne had used his position in the Hex's Circle as leverage to bring the warlocks and witches to the Magistrate lines.

"Well as I was saying before, I am Maeve, and I'm no Tigron, I am a normal wo… kid, you know a human, like you."

She did not look satisfied by that answer. "I could swear you were one, you even smell like them," she raised a brow high to show her distrust, "I mean no offense, but after two millennia I think I can tell a human from a cute little Tigron, like you."

Well, I don't think I can change her mind then, but, do I really smell and look like something rather than a normal person?

Am I human?


Author's Note: Hwllo, Hi, Hey there. I was checking some fanart of a game I have been playing called Paladins, and I came upon a thing called Flank trio week, the art attached and the prompts got me excited so I decided to take part on it.

Also, if my headcanon is somewhat different than yours... sucks but, that is the internet buddy.