• tab Hooves thump the floor in the speedy chase. Men gripped their teeth tight; weapon in hand, the other hand on the leash of their horse. All ten of guards and regular town citizens shouted out threats or roared with determination. The one they pursued was a boy—a man—in dark cloak, the hood up to cover his identity. He wasn’t riding a horse like the others; instead, he rode on a black panther, a very large one. It was a female with smooth, slick fur that gleamed under the setting sun. She was very exotic, her left eye a luminous silver while her right is a flaming red.
    tab One of the men got frustrated. “Hurry, he’s getting away!” he shouts to the others.
    tab It was true. The black panther is too fast for the horses to keep up with. The cloaked man smirked at his pathetic pursuers. He looked to his left and saw a lot of trees that would deepen into a dense forest. Instantly, the panther turned and went into the forest, knowing exactly where its rider wants to go.
    tab The thicker the trees got, the harder it was for the horses to run. They were in a tight pack, and when one stumbles, it causes all of them to stumble. Vegetation covers rocks and holes. It was easy for the panther to run because she has been through this forest everyday. She knows it from top to bottom, and also knows that if she takes a turn left, she’ll fall into a trap that hunters put a long time ago but have forgotten about it. And what she did was take that very turn, but took a long leap over the trap that has yet to be sprung. Then the first dozen horses followed and fell. The trap was a deep hole that was covered by flowers and giant leaves.
    tab “Whoaaa” a man yelps as his horse raises its front legs in fear. It caused the other horses to stop too, refusing to go on any further.
    tab The cloaked man and the black panther had escaped. They went farther away, until the screams of men were nothing but silence. A waterfall was nearby so they decided to stop there.
    tab “Weaklings” the cloaked man says as he got off the panther.
    tab “Yes, they were such a nuisance” the panther says, not opening her mouth but saying it from her mind.
    tab “You’re faster than before, Kilne” that was the panther’s name. The cloaked man pulled back his hood, revealing his orange-brown hair and a blond streak.
    tab “I’ve been preparing unlike you, Allester” Kilne smirks. “You’re hair is shameful”
    tab It was Allester’s turn to return the smirk, “I think it looks quite good”
    tab Kilne chuckles. “I know as well as you do that you’re ashamed of it” she jumped onto a boulder and turned to face him again, her tail swishing. “I have found someone worthy”
    tab That made Allester go tense. He took a step forward and said, “Who?”
    tab She purred at his sudden interest. “A man by the name of Seifern”
    tab He laughed at that. “Seifern? Him? I don’t plan to bring your hopes down but he is a Slayer, Kilne. You’ll never get him”
    tab She hopped off the boulder and started to walk away. “I will get him to cooperate. It will be simple because he is a man of power” she looks over her shoulder. “I see Ania has already chosen her companion. Who have you chosen?”
    tab Allester narrowed his eye. “There’s no one of worth to me”
    tab “Then you can stand by and watch the rest of us” that was the last thing she said before disappearing behind the trees.
    tab Allester clicked his tongue in annoyance, partly towards Kilne but mostly towards him. The others are finding they’re own users. And then there’s me, he thinks to himself. I’m never going to find one good enough. Humans are all weaklings that are not worth of my presence.
    tab But he knows like everyone else that he needs a user, or else he’s the one of no worth.

    to be continued
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