Chapter 4
In that same instant, Syaoran lunged at the cat-beast. The scythe jerked away, dug into the ground only inches to the right of Sakura. She screamed and scrambled away, managing to climb to her feet.
She reached for the key at her neck, pulled it off its chain, and held it in the open palm of her right hand. Not knowing where the words came from, she began to chant, and the key began to glow.
"Key that hides the forces of darkness, reveal thy true from before me. I, Sakura, command thee under the contract. Release the seal!"
A strange wind began to blow, drowning out the sound of the beast's hissing. Sakura could barely hear Syaoran yell, "You know MAGIC?!"
The key lifted off her palm, glowing a brilliant pink. It began to spin in the air, slowly at first, then faster and faster until Sakura realized that it was growing, elongating, and yet keeping the same design of her key. Following a strange instinct, she grabbed the pink staff that now floated in the air before her. The wind and the glowing ceased. She looked at the staff, then glanced at the beast, then at Syaoran, who lay on the ground. The cat-beast must have thrown him there after he lunged at it. She looked back at the beast.
It was preparing to attack again!
On the same instinct that had caused Sakura to release the staff, she reached into the Clow Book and pulled out a card, somehow knowing what card it was before she even looked at it.
She threw the card into the air and touched it with the tip of her staff. "Windy! Become a chain and bind the beast! Release!"
The card glowed, and magical wind blew. Suddenly, from the card that floated in midair, a strange spirit-like creature emerged, resembling a woman, only white, glowing, and rather wispy, Sakura thought. The woman flew toward the cat-beast, then in circles around it, faster and faster until she was a blur. The wind she created effectively bound the beast. It cried out but could not move.
Syaoran, seeing his chance, picked himself up from the ground and ran at the beast. His sword penetrated the beast's chest. It screamed, then seemed to dissolve until nothing was left. The spirit of the Windy card became a card again and flew into Sakura's hand. She stared at it, the same image, peacefully resting in the card.
How on Earth did I do that?
Syaoran turned to her. "Why didn't you tell me you knew magic!" He looked... angry, Sakura thought. Not relieved or glad...
"Forget it," he snapped. "Let's go back and rest so we can keep going tomorrow."
Sakura nodded dumbly and mechanically followed Syaoran back to the place they had set up camp.
For the next several days, Sakura and Syaoran walked in silence through the never-changing landscape. There were ever trees on their left, the stream and valley to their right, and mountains ahead. The occasional birdcall could be heard; other than that, only the sound of Sakura and Syaoran's footsteps broke the silence.
Sakura could only guess at what Syaoran was thinking. He never spoke save to give her an order, usually when they stopped to rest right before the darkness became complete, or when it was time to continue as the first rays of sunshine pierced the darkness. And even then he had hardly looked at her. He acted as if nothing had happened. All traces of the emotion he had displayed when the beast had attacked them- his shock, his apparent anger- were gone.
This surprised Sakura. She had thought that he would demand more information about her magic, but he did not. She was relieved; she would not have been able to answer any of his questions, and that certainly would have made him angry.
Though she wished she had answers.
It was impossible for her to simply know those chants she had used to release her staff and the Windy Card, and yet she had known them. The words had come on their own. Using the magic seemed somehow... familiar. No, not really familiar, she thought. Comfortable. Natural. The warm feeling of the magic running through her had been exhilarating and wonderful. She had felt confident and powerful for the first time in her life. And it felt very right, as if she had found a necessary part of herself. She knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Clow Cards and the power they contained belonged to her, were under her control.
But somehow this new confidence did not visibly translate itself into her relationship, or lack thereof, with Syaoran. She found herself still mindlessly following his orders. However, she began defying him in small ways, such as gathering only a little firewood so that he lost his patience and went to get more himself. Other times she would pretend to be asleep long after she awoke, forcing him to wake her instead of vice versa. Never before would she have dared to do such things.
One such night, when they stopped to rest, it was very windy. Sakura used this to pretend not to hear Syaoran's orders over the sound of the wind in the trees. He became frustrated and did the work himself. Sakura suppressed a smile. She enjoyed this small power she had.
Finally, they lay down to sleep. Syaoran had given up on starting a fire; every time he created a spark, the wind immediately blew it out. Sakura shivered under her thin blanket, staring at the sky. She could see no stars; it must be very cloudy. She wondered briefly if there was a storm coming; she then drifted off to sleep.
Author's Notes: Okay, I finally updated! Sorry it took so long. This chapter seems kinda short to me... I hope you guys like it. Things should start getting interesting from here on out... ^_~ Thanks so much to all of you who reviewed! Your encouragement means so much to me. I don't know how long chapter 5 will take, so I make no promises. Hopefully not too long, ne? Feel free to e-mail me, and of course, please please PLEASE review! Ja ne!
In that same instant, Syaoran lunged at the cat-beast. The scythe jerked away, dug into the ground only inches to the right of Sakura. She screamed and scrambled away, managing to climb to her feet.
She reached for the key at her neck, pulled it off its chain, and held it in the open palm of her right hand. Not knowing where the words came from, she began to chant, and the key began to glow.
"Key that hides the forces of darkness, reveal thy true from before me. I, Sakura, command thee under the contract. Release the seal!"
A strange wind began to blow, drowning out the sound of the beast's hissing. Sakura could barely hear Syaoran yell, "You know MAGIC?!"
The key lifted off her palm, glowing a brilliant pink. It began to spin in the air, slowly at first, then faster and faster until Sakura realized that it was growing, elongating, and yet keeping the same design of her key. Following a strange instinct, she grabbed the pink staff that now floated in the air before her. The wind and the glowing ceased. She looked at the staff, then glanced at the beast, then at Syaoran, who lay on the ground. The cat-beast must have thrown him there after he lunged at it. She looked back at the beast.
It was preparing to attack again!
On the same instinct that had caused Sakura to release the staff, she reached into the Clow Book and pulled out a card, somehow knowing what card it was before she even looked at it.
She threw the card into the air and touched it with the tip of her staff. "Windy! Become a chain and bind the beast! Release!"
The card glowed, and magical wind blew. Suddenly, from the card that floated in midair, a strange spirit-like creature emerged, resembling a woman, only white, glowing, and rather wispy, Sakura thought. The woman flew toward the cat-beast, then in circles around it, faster and faster until she was a blur. The wind she created effectively bound the beast. It cried out but could not move.
Syaoran, seeing his chance, picked himself up from the ground and ran at the beast. His sword penetrated the beast's chest. It screamed, then seemed to dissolve until nothing was left. The spirit of the Windy card became a card again and flew into Sakura's hand. She stared at it, the same image, peacefully resting in the card.
How on Earth did I do that?
Syaoran turned to her. "Why didn't you tell me you knew magic!" He looked... angry, Sakura thought. Not relieved or glad...
"Forget it," he snapped. "Let's go back and rest so we can keep going tomorrow."
Sakura nodded dumbly and mechanically followed Syaoran back to the place they had set up camp.
For the next several days, Sakura and Syaoran walked in silence through the never-changing landscape. There were ever trees on their left, the stream and valley to their right, and mountains ahead. The occasional birdcall could be heard; other than that, only the sound of Sakura and Syaoran's footsteps broke the silence.
Sakura could only guess at what Syaoran was thinking. He never spoke save to give her an order, usually when they stopped to rest right before the darkness became complete, or when it was time to continue as the first rays of sunshine pierced the darkness. And even then he had hardly looked at her. He acted as if nothing had happened. All traces of the emotion he had displayed when the beast had attacked them- his shock, his apparent anger- were gone.
This surprised Sakura. She had thought that he would demand more information about her magic, but he did not. She was relieved; she would not have been able to answer any of his questions, and that certainly would have made him angry.
Though she wished she had answers.
It was impossible for her to simply know those chants she had used to release her staff and the Windy Card, and yet she had known them. The words had come on their own. Using the magic seemed somehow... familiar. No, not really familiar, she thought. Comfortable. Natural. The warm feeling of the magic running through her had been exhilarating and wonderful. She had felt confident and powerful for the first time in her life. And it felt very right, as if she had found a necessary part of herself. She knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Clow Cards and the power they contained belonged to her, were under her control.
But somehow this new confidence did not visibly translate itself into her relationship, or lack thereof, with Syaoran. She found herself still mindlessly following his orders. However, she began defying him in small ways, such as gathering only a little firewood so that he lost his patience and went to get more himself. Other times she would pretend to be asleep long after she awoke, forcing him to wake her instead of vice versa. Never before would she have dared to do such things.
One such night, when they stopped to rest, it was very windy. Sakura used this to pretend not to hear Syaoran's orders over the sound of the wind in the trees. He became frustrated and did the work himself. Sakura suppressed a smile. She enjoyed this small power she had.
Finally, they lay down to sleep. Syaoran had given up on starting a fire; every time he created a spark, the wind immediately blew it out. Sakura shivered under her thin blanket, staring at the sky. She could see no stars; it must be very cloudy. She wondered briefly if there was a storm coming; she then drifted off to sleep.
Author's Notes: Okay, I finally updated! Sorry it took so long. This chapter seems kinda short to me... I hope you guys like it. Things should start getting interesting from here on out... ^_~ Thanks so much to all of you who reviewed! Your encouragement means so much to me. I don't know how long chapter 5 will take, so I make no promises. Hopefully not too long, ne? Feel free to e-mail me, and of course, please please PLEASE review! Ja ne!