Mage sat on the bench with a black umbrella on her lap, waiting to see if anyone else was in need of help. No one so far.
The last man she saved was a strange one. He was clad in a suit, so he must be a business man. A detective, maybe? A lawyer? He certainly was a rather handsome man, but when she rescued him, she saw the outline of a wedding ring on his finger. She never understood that if he was married, he should probably wear a wedding ring.
"Happily married," she sighed, "Why is everyone I save happily married?"
Her train of thought was interrupted by a thunderous roar. One may expect her to be shocked, surprised, or even flinch, but she merely turned towards the source, as if she expected it. She sighed.
"I was hoping he would figure it out," Mage said as she stood, "I guess I was wrong." She grabbed her umbrella and ran through the muddy ground to find the source.
She only ran a few feet away before something jumped into her path, the ground nearly rumbling as it landed on the moist grass.
She stumbled and fell backwards onto her rear, ruining her skirt. The creature that stood before her was baffling to look at; its skin was a dark grey, there were spikes all over its body, its fingers were sharp like an eagle's talons, and its eyes were shining gold. To make matters worse, judging by the shreads of a shirt hanging on its shoulders and its torn pants, it used to be a human being.
"Oh mein Gott..." Mage said under her breath.
The creature growled.
She walked closer to it, a hand outstretched. It stepped back with a snarl on its face.
"Hey," she whispered, "It's okay." She made sure to speak her next words slowly so it would understand, "I will not hurt you."
The creature flinched as she touched its arm. "It's okay," she repeated. She then started to recite a German chant. The palm of her hand shined a white light as it made contact with the grey arm.
The creature calmly sighed. The spell was working.
It soon started to shrink. The grey color faded back to the peach skin tone. Its muscles deflated into their original size. Its black hair reverted back to a dark brown. The spikes disappeared. Most of all, the golden eyes changed to light blue. He was back.
He collapsed to his knees, covered in sweat and breathing heavily. Mage kneeled on a single knee. He looked at her in the eye.
"I never asked on our first meeting," she said, "What is your name?"
"Mark Hoffman," he panted as he placed a palm on his head, as if to recollect his thoughts, "What the hell happened?"
"You can't remember?"
Hoffman shook his head and said, "All I remember was I got home, looked in the shed, got out, and that's it."
Mage hesitated before asking, "Did you feel anything, emotion wise?"
"I..." he paused, as if he didn't want to answer, "I felt a little pissed off-"
"You did what?" she said, surprisingly, calmly.
"I was a little pissed," he repeated, "Didn't you hear me?"
"I did," she said, "And that's what concerns me."
"That you heard me?"
"Nein. It's your emotions."
"And that concerns you-how?"
Mage sighed before speaking, "The warning."
"The what?" Hoffman said, eyebrow raised.
"Warning. Because the creature in your orbs is so sensitive, it can't take the hightened pulse of an emotion."
"In other words?"
"You can't feel any powerful emotion; anger, sadness, fear, you name it. Once you do, one of your orbs break, causing the creature to go haywire."
"Are you sure?" Hoffman said, a hint of concern in his voice.
"Ja. Plus, as more orbs are broken, the creature becomes increasingly violent and ruthless."
"Oh, God," he said quietly, "I...I didn't hurt anyone, did I?"
"Nein. Everyone is fine."
Hoffman sighed in relief.
"However, there is one more warning I must inform you of," she said, "You must promise not to freak out."
Hoffman nodded.
"Okay," she said, "If all of your orbs break, it will be the end of you."
He stared, a look of disbelief on his face. "What?" he nearly stuttered, "I thought-"
"If all seven of the smaller orbs are broken, the eighth orb can break also."
"You're kidding," he said, "You've gotta be joking."
Mage shook her head.
"So..." he said, "So if all of the orbs break..."
"You will die," she finished.
His gaze wavered away from hers, as if he had a sudden realization. Mage refrained from speaking to allow him to let it soak in. Any more information or warnings could not only give him an information overload, but a nervous breakdown. And another broken orb.
"I'll give you something that might help you," she said as she reached into her pockets and rummaged them. It took a bit longer than expected, but she pulled out the item she was looking for: the mood ring. The silver metal glowed beneath the moon. The color on the circle on the ring wasn't present. "Give me your hand."
Hoffman obeyed, raising his right hand. She calmly took it and slid the ring on his finger.
"How's a mood ring gonna help?" he asked.
"This will warn you if an emotion will break an orb. You will know if this turns red. It isn't indestructable, so be careful. Orbs can break without warning, depending on the strength of the emotion."
She stood, saying, "This may be our last meeting, Mr. Hoffman," as she walked away.
"Be careful."