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"The Summoning"

It was dark out and the woods were a lumbering mass of branches that waved about in the cold night wind; Yohei could hear the wood creaking above him as he walked, he shuddered and grasped the cloak, pulling it around his shoulders. It was much colder than normal this time of the year and the beast was not used to it. Despite his layer of fur, his lack of preparedness made him wish he had stayed in town with Zero and Albus. It was a rare treat that he meet with his old friends; Holdem being somewhat an exception with his pompous nature, getting more emboldened in direct relation to how much he had been drinking. He decided to step out as Zero grew more clingy toward the white-furred warrior; they were no longer bound my his contract to protect her, but he was in no way comfortable with her lack of modesty.

Yohei entered a wide open field that had been covered in a heavy snow; a temperature change hit him like a mallet, there was definitely an unnatural force at work here. As a wisp of fog exited his nostrils, he glanced around with his eyes; his head unmoving to the open area. "Witchcraft." He whispered after a long pause.

Slowly, the warrior swept his cloak back and slowly drew his large blade from its holster and made his way out into the field. He had learned his lesson from Zero and Albus that not all witches were evil, or had evil intentions; but old habits tended to die hard, and he was no exception to dying hard either. He let out a low rumbling growl; he could smell someone here, the scent was overpowering now and he approached a circle of stones at the very center. His eyes narrowed and with a slowly drawn breath, he swung his blade directly to his left, striking the very edge of the stone next to him and an audible gasp caught his ears.

Yohei opened his eyes and looked to his left to see the sliver of a man standing beside the stone; the sword strike landing only an inch from his head, he was frozen in terror and pressed so hard against the rock that he looked like he was about to meld into it completely. He had olive skin and green eyes with long curly black hair that dangled down past his shoulders. "Be careful." Yohei said. "I'd hate to give you a haircut with my sword. It looks like it's been growing for a while."

"You... you're Beastfallen, aren't you?"

Yohei raised an eyebrow. "You state the obvious, don't you?"

"Well, that's sort of my gift." He said with a smile. "I'm Zafus, by the way." He added, gently raising a trembling hand in greeting. But lowered it at the tiger's glazed stare.

"What do you mean it's your gift?"

"Well, not so much stating the obvious, but I can read people." He admitted. "My power allows me to see the desires of one's heart."

Yohei's eyes widened. "Desires?" He scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous."

Zafus' eyes flashed the color of a jade green that startled the beast. "You're a man of great pride I see." He said. "But also great loneliness. A solitary warrior that travels the world, free of emotional attachments. I can certainly aid you there..."

"For one who sees so much, you should be able to tell you aren't my type, witch."

Zafus' skin darkened as a blush flushed his cheeks. "I'm not talking about me you idiot!" He exclaimed, suddenly defensive. "I mean someone who could meet or even exceed your desires."

"You ain't making this any less confusing." Yohei said, rubbing the back of his his neck awkwardly.

Zafus grasped the beast's right hand and drew it to him, flattening the palm out and touching his finger to it. The flicker of green light became a flame that made him almost pull his hand back, but the witch had a surprising strength to his grip. He drew a pattern across the center of Yohei's palm and etched it outward to the ends of the surface. The fire that had ignited did not hurt the warrior and as soon as the finger left his hand, it snuffed out, leaving behind only a slight trail of smoke that faded as it crawled a few inches off his hand. Zafus smiled as he closed the beast's hand. "There, that should do it."

"What is this?"

"Hah. Simple. I have coalesced your desires into a spell and given them to you; you will know what to do."

Zafus grunted as Yohei grabbed the collar of his jacket. "You practice magic in a land without it; how? Why?"

The witch smiled and patted each of Yohei's hands with his own before evaporating in a show of spiraling jade colored lights. "Please enjoy the gift, beast. We may meet again..."

Yohei coughed on impulse as the lights reacted more like smoke to the beast's face, we waved his hand in front of him before even acknowledging that he was once again alone.

The snow had not stopped falling; likely the witch's presence hadn't started this, but the cold temperature causing his breath to fog reminded Yohei that he was out in the cold by himself and he continued on toward the forest in front of him. As he looked toward the trees, he felt his heart begin to race. He had the feeling of being dragged forward as the forest closed in around him and he could not explain why his legs simply continued to move. The forest's atmosphere seemed to warm up some as he entered the grove of trees; snowfall becoming non-existent as he walked. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but he knew he was headed the right direction. Peering through the trees now, he could make out a mound of rocks; a cave not far ahead slowly crept into his vision, he needed to step inside. There was something he needed to find there. As he entered the cave, he could see a shrine set out before him, candles lining the walls suddenly ignited, flooding the darkness with an ambient light. As he observed the shrine, he could see the symbol of a circle with a curved V through the center of it.

Suddenly, the image of a horned demon exploded in his eyes, forcing him to close them as it roared, engulfing his vision with fire.

"Mercenary? Yohei!" A familiar voice shook the beast from his sleep and he jolted awake, sitting straight up as Albus shrieked and fell off of him, crashing hard onto the floor under the bed. "Owwwww..." The young witch moaned as she looked up at Yohei. "Are you okay? You've been tossing and turning!"