2. Power Meets Power

Asteria blinked twice, stunned into silence. Her free hand wiped a thin trail of blood from her neck. Erebus had flown to a perch in a nearby tree but watched carefully, feathers puffed in silent fury. Asteria sat up, still shocked.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. She held out a hand to the strange woman with a shy smile. "We're only trying to help." The woman tried to back away from Asteria, propping herself up on her sabre, but she collapsed forwards with a groan into Asteria's outstretched hand.

For the second time that day, Asteria fell backwards with an undignified "oof? as the woman landed on her. They went sprawling across the grass, legs flying. Finally, Gram rolled away from her hand into the grass.

"You're really making a habit of this, aren't you?" Her grumble was muffled by a mouthful of the woman's long black hair as she tried to right them both. From there, she could see the arrow wound more closely. She reached out a gentle hand, pressing fingers to the raw wound. Where her fingertips touched the woman's skin, they glowed with a faint light. "Why would they do this to you?" All thoughts of the sword to her throat were forgotten as she saw the wound. The woman let out a cold chuckle.

"It's not my first run-in with hunters. But as always, it is the last time they will mistake me for a White Stag. But really, is the hope of good fortune and the thrill of the hunt really worth the promise of death?" Asteria shrugged and gently steadied the woman with both hands. Her shoulders tensed under Asteria's touch and for a moment her eyes widened in fear. Asteria just smiled.

"I've never hunted much of anything." Aster disentangled her legs from under the woman and rose unsteadily, brushing off strands of grass before holding out one hand to pull the woman to her feet. The woman hesitated a moment and then gingerly rested her hand in Aster's outstretched palm before allowing herself to be pulled up. She leaned heavily against Aster's side to keep from tumbling over. "I don't need your help. I would have been fine had you not gotten in the way," she grumbled as she tried to steady herself. Her knees buckled before Asteria grabbed her round the waist and helped her settle back to the ground. The woman looked up at her, brows furrowed. "Who goes chasing after wild things from the woods anyways" Are you looking to die?" Asteria's fingers trailed away from the woman's waist. The woman shivered as Asteria's fingertips brushed against the small of her back. Both looked to the ground, afraid to meet each other's gaze though they didn't quite know what they feared to see there.

"I wasn't chasing. You're the one who came shooting out of the forest like a land bound comet. Now stop struggling this instant before you bleed out on the ground." Asteria firmly pressed the woman back in the grass and knelt down next to her. "Trying to trample me isn't much of an introduction, so I thought we'd start again. I'm Asteria, and I'm going to take that arrow out of your shoulder." The woman tried to pedal away backwards on her hands and knees. She winced as another spurt of golden blood trickled down her bare shoulder.

"I'm Qirin, and no you most certainly are not."

"Unless your goal is to paint the forest gold with your blood, I'd sit still and stop complaining, you mangy fae," Erebus growled as he landed by Aster's side, dropping her discarded cloak. He glared at Qirin with burning eyes, puffing up his feathers till he seemed nothing more than a writhing ball of black. Maybe his witch could forgive a blade to her throat, but he couldn't. Asteria sighed and ruffled his feathers. She could see the fear in Qirin's eyes. Her mouth was set in the desperate snarl of a cornered beast and every time Asteria held out a hand to calm her, Qirin would freeze. Slowly, carefully Asteria held out her cloak to Qirin.

"Don't worry, I'm a witch. We'll have you fixed and free in no time." Qirin snatched the cloak from her hands and hurriedly wrapped it across her chest. She took a deep breath and brushed the long cascade of dark hair away from her injured shoulder. She grasped the shaft of the arrow with both hands and grimaced, preparing to wrench it from her flesh.

"No, no! Qirin please, let us help. You'll bleed out." Asteria pressed her hands to Qirin's, trying to calm her. She could feel Qirin's fingers shaking and her heartbeat thrumming against her chest like the fluttering of a desperate bird. "Please." "No tricks, witch. I know your kind. All you want is to chain and control." Asteria smiled and squeezed her hand gently.

"All I want is to help. Now, this might hurt a bit. Sorry." Without waiting for Qirin's response, she pushed Qirin's hands aside and pressed two fingers into the wound. Qirin shuddered under her and gasped. One hand clenched around Asteria's throat as she snarled up at her with the vicious fear known only by wild things. Asteria gasped down a shallow breath and pressed her fingers deeper into the wound, following the shaft until she could feel the tip of the arrowhead.

"I can't just pull it out by the shaft, see. The gut that wraps the arrowhead loosens when wet, and blood does happen to be wet you know. Pull the shaft and the arrowhead will dislodge, and then I'll really have to go digging." She chuckled halfheartedly but kept her tone soft and even. "You've done this before, have you witchling?" Asteria wouldn't meet her gaze.

"Well, um, I did read a book about it. But I promise, it was a very thorough description." That did not seem to soothe Qirin at all. But she loosened her grip around Asteria's throat. There was a curious tingle up her fingers as she felt the Power coursing through Qirin's blood. It felt familiar and alien all at once. It burned and froze, beckoned and threatened. She was cold fire and a boiling sea under Aster's touch. It was intoxicating and deliciously wrong to feel that Power so naked at her fingertips. Witches were used to Power in controlled, filtered bursts. But Qirin's Power was raw and vicious. It felt like Aster was seeing her naked all over again. She could stare right through her, down to her very core. Aster swallowed hard. "Well, um, good thing is I don't think it's caught on bone. I should just be able to ease it out now and you'll be on your way." Aster tried to slide her fingers to the tip of the arrowhead, but felt a sharp pain as she sliced a finger along its edge. It bit with the cold sting of iron.

And then, the world collapsed in on them. Asteria and Qirin both gasped as Aster's blood dripped into Qirin's shoulder. Power met Power, waves crashed against an inferno. Howling wind tore at glacial mountains. White hot light and dripping shadows seethed within them. Asteria could feel the stab of pain blossoming in Qirin's shoulder. Qirin could feel the pounding rush of voices clamoring in Aster's head. Asteria fell back, wrenching the arrow free.

They both lay there, gasping and shaking and clutching at their own skin to figure out where they ended and the world began. Asteria threw the arrow to the ground and clutched her knees to her chest. She screwed her eyes closed to block out the swimming silver fires she had seen. Her mouth tasted of blood and ash and something else that seemed to dance away the longer she focused on it.

Across from her, Qirin's chest heaved as she tried to gasp down air after a ravenous wind had stolen the very breath from her lungs. Her fingers rose shakily to press to the wound at her shoulder, but her golden blood had already hardened into a shimmering seal across the raw flesh. Her hand clutched at the arrow by her side. The sting of iron grounded her, pulling her back to this world. She tried to rise to her feet but felt the all-too-familiar tug deep in her chest. She was being called away. She was too weak to resist, and in a flurry of shimmering silver scales she disappeared. She took with her a cloak of stars and an arrow of iron, and left Asteria only with a mouthful of blood and a pounding head.

((Based off of a chat))

4. A Token of Thanks

Asteria wandered along the edge of the trees, dancing barefoot over fallen logs, skipping between stumps. Erebus bounded behind her, tail flicking in mock irritation. "All I'm saying is, you should be a little more careful. Look before you run after wild creatures." Asteria hummed and twirled.

"She was gorgeous wasn't she" Like nothing I've ever seen. She was like an avalanche." Erebus" tail puffed in frustration.

"She held a blade to your throat."

"I know." Asteria sighed. She bent to pick a wildflower and twirled it in her fingers, lost in thought. "And then she was just...gone."

"Probably for the best. She wore trouble like a cloak." With a giggle, Aster grabbed the cat and spun him around.

"You never want me to have any fun."

"I just don't understand why your idea of fun has to involve so many near-death experiences." They continued around the forest?s edge.

In the shadows of the trees, Qirin stalked silently through the underbrush. Her bare feet barely touched the leaves beneath them. She caught sight of a girl dancing on the sunlight's edge, where the field lapped at the forest. She watched, a length of fabric clutched in one hand. Maybe it was best if she just left it there and disappeared. She waited.

Asteria loosened her grip on the cat and he settled around her shoulders. They seemed bare without her deep blue cloak. But she held her head high, her eyes thrown to the wide blue sky. She seemed so far away today. Perhaps it was the foreign Power she still felt tingling in her fingertips. It was an exhilarating, almost forbidden breach of privacy to feel another's ghostly essence clinging to your skin. She had washed away the golden blood, but the energy remained like a whisper just beyond hearing.

"I can't stop thinking about her."

"Probably because she made off with your cloak of starlight and all its contents when she disappeared," Erebus grumbled. But she was too lost in reverie. She grabbed fistfuls of her skirt and waltzed between the rows of wildflowers.

"It'll find its way back. It always does. Stars always know the way."

From where she hid among the shadows, Qirin could see the demon hunched protectively around Aster's shoulders. She remembered his previous threat and hesitated. Really she could just leave it and melt back into the forest. No one would even realize she'd been there. One hand pressed gently to the wound at her shoulder, still raw and covered in a slick seal of golden blood. She moved forward, quietly and precisely. Debts must be repaid.

She paused at the forest?s edge with the bundle in her hands, unsure of what to say. The girl hadn't seemed to notice her, or anything else. But there was a jolt in her shoulder that shot straight through to her heart, an aftershock of Power that felt so familiar and so foreign. It seemed to beckon her forward. She took a deep breath and called out.

"The universe has a funny way of pulling things apart and bringing them back together." That wasn't what she'd wanted to say, but it was already too late. Asteria whirled around so quickly Erebus went flying from her shoulders with an undignified meow.

"I uh, you, um." All clever words had fled Asteria at the sight of her. She was clothed this time. A flowing tunic of sky blue was gathered at her waist by a belt of woven silver, her hair left in a loose sheet around her moon face. She glanced at the girl with sharp black eyes and held out the fabric in her hands.

"I wish to bring this back to you. I was pulled away. You gave me my life, and I will be beholden to no one. This is the least I can do." With that, she dropped the cloak into the girl's hands and faded farther back into the shadows.

"I never thought I'd see you again, I mean it again," Asteria mumbled before the cloak fell into her arms. And then, just as suddenly as Qirin had appeared, Aster was left alone. Asteria's head whipped around in confusion, her face flushed. She looked to the cloak and unfolded it gingerly. Pinpricks of light danced across its surface. As she whirled it across her shoulders and fastened it with a brooch, the myriad constellations seemed to whirl too, always mirroring their position in the sky no matter which way she faced. She could navigate even in the darkest storm with her own piece of the sky.

Qirin held back in the shadows. Her task was finished but still she watched. She waited, though she did not know why. There was another twinge of foreign Power tugging at her chest. She slipped a hand under her tunic and pressed her fingers against the bare skin of her shoulder. It was warmer than the rest of her skin, and she could feel a faint fluttering there that wasn't her own heartbeat.

Erebus popped his head out of a clump of wildflowers, spitting out a patch of moss he'd dislodged after his not so delicate landing. He bounded over to Asteria, shaking off his fur.

"There you go, cloak returned and this ridiculous business finally behind us." But Asteria just spun around, letting the cloak blossom around her. She could still feel the energy tingling there, just out of reach. Erebus shook his head with a sigh and turned towards the line of shadow at the edge of the forest. There was something there. He narrowed his eyes.

"What is it Erebus" You can't be mad at me, can you? It turned out alright, didn't it?" Aster paused. He seemed intent on the tree line. "Is everything alright?" He flicked an ear, but wouldn't take his eyes away from the shadows.

"For now. But choices must be made." With one final glare towards the trees, Erebus relaxed, turned to face Asteria, and curled up with his tail around his paws. "And who am I to make them?" He mumbled cryptically.

The demon had spoken right at Qirin before turning his back. The choice was hers. But the choice of what? The thrumming beat that wasn't her heart quickened under her fingers. Who was she to fear demons, or witchlings for that matter" She was a creature of the forest, and she would not hide in the shadows any longer. She stepped forward out of the darkness, hand on the hilt of her sabre. Asteria was facing away from the forest, but when she heard the snap of a twig she turned around. Qirin turned to the girl, one hand held out.

"What I said before, I was wrong. The debt has not been paid. You gave me my life, and deserve more than your own cloak in return." She opened her hand. A long arrowhead lay on her outstretched palm, etched with silver runes and stained with golden blood. "You are a silly thing. You run when you should walk, brandish a sword you will not use. You greet everything with an outstretched hand, not knowing if it will bite. But in kindness you plucked an arrow from my side, and I will not forget that." She dropped the arrowhead into the girl's hand. Asteria felt a jolt when the arrowhead hit her palm. It seemed to drain all warmth from her hand, and she shivered. For a second she was unable to speak.

"You don't owe me any debts." She closed her hand around the arrowhead and held it close to her chest. "I'm sure any traveler would have done the same." She stared down at the arrowhead for a second, tracing the runes with a finger before looking up with a deep frown. "Wait, did you call me silly?" A pointy grin spread across Erebus' face which he quickly tried to hide.

"I think what she means is thank you. Now you won't have to follow us through the forest anymore," he mused with a lopsided smile. So he had noticed her there in the shadows. Qirin's brows furrowed.

"Well, you should keep a closer watch on her. Waving swords around wildly and traipsing around like she's safely in her mother's garden. There are things in these woods that would eat her soon as look at her." Erebus stood, hackles raised.

"Says the creature that was almost a trophy mounted on a wall. You should learn where you're wanted. She doesn't need your help." Asteria stared between the two, dumbfounded. She couldn't help feeling small.

"Actually, um, thank you for watching over me." But her words were lost as the two argued.

"Well, you overgrown shadow, it wasn't as if you were doing a good job of it. You're so busy preening she could fall off a cliff and you wouldn't even notice." Qirin leaned forwards, hands on her hips, her eyes completely black.

"Oh, I'm the vain one here. You're the one who put on a fireworks show because someone shot you once. You're nothing but drama and hot air."

"I'm right here you know, and I'm fine. You don't have to talk about me like I'm some sort of statue on display," Asteria called, but they wouldn't listen. She balled her hands into fists and winced as the arrowhead bit into her palm. Both Qirin and Erebus turned on her, bristling with anger.

"Look what you've gone and done. What a stupid idea to hand her a spelled arrow like that. Do you know what it might do' Do you have two thoughts rumbling around in that empty head?" Erebus growled. "Probably not or they'd spark together and start a fire between your ears."

"Well you're the one who keeps lecturing her like a school teacher. You're a demon; she's a witch. You're supposed to obey." Blood welled up between Asteria's fingers and dripped onto the grass, but she hardly noticed. She could feel heat rising in her throat. The crackle of a fire roared in her ears. When she opened her mouth, her lips dripped with smoke.

"Quiet, both of you." They both fell silent, staring at her with wide eyes. "I'm not some trophy to be fought over, and I'm not some wayward child who needs a nurse. I'm a witch."

"Does she spit fire often, your little witch?" Qirin whispered to Erebus. They both stood dumbfounded. He wouldn't take his gaze off of Asteria, but shook his head slowly.

"No, I can't say that she does." He blinked and turned to Qirin with his tail fluffed in anger. "But I'm sure it's your fault. She was fine until you started following her around like a lost dog. And now look what you've done."

Asteria groaned and stalked off into the forest, leaving behind a spattering of blood that sizzled as it hit the grass. Behind her, she could hear them arguing as if they hadn't notice her leave at all.

((Based off of a chat))

6. Duty-Bound

Qirin kept an arrow nocked as she paced the thick underbrush. It didn't bode well to hunt impatient, but she had been growing reckless lately. She had wandered farther afield than normal, prowling the edge of the forest where man beat out order from the hungry chaos of the woods. The trees bore the scars of man's work, and she could smell the stink of iron and cloying ash of hearth-fire on the whisper of breeze. This was man's world, no place for fae. She shouldn't dare to hunt in their land, but time was running thin.

There she was, caught between two worlds again: the ravenous, inconstant realm of fae and the cold, controlling realm of men. Both were out for blood, and both had their teeth in her flesh. Best be done with it soon, or they'd tear her apart. The job would be easy if she stuck to the glen. She knew deep down that a prize above prizes was just within reach, but she forced herself away. Some prey didn't deserve the hunt. Some things were too wild for the chase.

So, she turned her sight on mundane dreams heralded by hearth-fires and the clanging toil of men. There was a snap of twigs, and Qirin spun on her heel, pulling the bowstring taut and scanning the trees in one smooth arc. Three figures buzzed in front of her, iridescent in the dappled light. "Remove your cursed feet from off these lands. I know what you are with your Unseelie brands." The three pixies hovered closer, clicking and hissing in insectoid rage. Qirin lowered the bow. No need to waste an arrow on pixie nuisances.

"Stop the rhyming act. You must spend too much time around gullible peasants if you think it'd impress one such as I, you disgraceful excuse for fae." In the light dancing between the leaves, the tiny fae sputtered through a series of colors, base emotions flitting over their tiny frames without an ounce of restraint.

"One such as thee, and what would that be" Kin-killer" Dream-chaser" I see only one disgracer." One pixie licked a row of fangs with a long tongue and flew closer, emboldened by numbers. Pixies were never known to level-headed creatures. It landed on the tip of her arrowhead, balancing there on one clawed foot. The others moved in behind it, raking jointed talons across the smooth wood of her bow with a sickening screech.

"We know just who you are. Last of your kind, and you"ve fallen so far. We know you"ve come to taint this land, and so we"re here to stay your hand." Qirin shook the bow in her hands, scattering the pixies to the air.

"If you've heard of me then you know what I can do. And still, you think you can stand before me and keep me from my duty. You must either be very brave, or very stupid." "Oh, so it is duty that brought you here" And where was that duty yesteryear" Was it duty drove you to kill your kin, or doom an empire to ruin"" Bright red spots flicked across its face as its venomous words emboldened the tiny fae. Behind it, the others buzzed in agreement.

"And of course "twas duty not shame, that sent you running to sell your name to any fae who could take away the pain and visions of the ones you"ve slain." Qirin clenched her jaw, daring herself not to move. They wouldn't goad her into attacking, not on their protected land.

"And now your master sets you loose to coax and steal, threaten and seduce. But the men of this town feed us blood and milk, to chase away all of your dark ilk. So take your curse and be gone, there"s no one here for you to prey upon." Try as she might, there was anger stirring in Qirin's blood. One wave of her hand and she could swat them away like flies. But then all righteous retribution would be theirs, and the horde of fellow pixies that doubtless waited nearby would swarm, ripping the Power and life from her bite by tiny bite. All they needed was an excuse. "My past has nothing to do with why I am here. It is nothing but dead ash. I broke free of my human chains, and you scorn me for it. Yet you're the ones begging for scraps at human doorways like lost mongrels. Are you proud for defending those who scorch and trample the land you once ruled" Does protecting sheep from wolves and finding lost stockings live up to the glory you once had" You're nothing but echoes, easily dispersed on the wind. I am a hunter. At least men still speak of me in hushed terms of respect and fear. Now leave me be." She flicked them away as she slung the bow over her shoulder and turned towards the dark depths of the forest and away from the lands of men. Though she spoke with pride, shame bubbled up in her. She had been a protector too once. She had looked at the hope and determination of men with fondness, and dreamed their dreams of progress. But now those dreams were nothing but murky nightmares swimming with the dead. Now she was nothing but another predator in the shadows. "I will leave your little hovels be, but do not mistake this as a victory. I don't fear the likes of you. I pity you, chained to iron and convention while we rule the night." And so she left them to their duty and she continued with her own, sinking back into the shadows of the forest.