Page 22 of Scarred

Suni leaned over and turned the meat. “I am happy you feel safe. A female should always feel that way. Can you just hold onto the weapon for me?”

“I will.” She placed it on the log next to her.

“Thank you. The food is almost finished. Do you need anything for your cave?”

“No, I’ve become accustomed to this area pretty fast.”

Suni’s attention snapped to something behind her. “What are those?”

Amma turned to find Sam and Mike had gotten over their fear of the males and were tumbling around in a ball of fur. “Oh, those are two of my friends from my world.” She laughed when they forgot their play in a race to be the first one in her lap. “Sam is the chunkier one, and Mike is his brother. I’ve raised them since they were kits. When I dropped into this world, they came along. I’m surprised they are doing so well. I had been afraid the food wouldn’t agree with them, but Sam is getting chunkier and Mike is putting on weight too.”

Is it safe now? Astro raced from the forest and dived into her lap, upsetting the brothers. They are big.

Suni’s eyes widened. “You have befriended a hukua.”

“Is that what Astro is?” She stroked behind Astro’s ears.

“Yes. Have you seen an adult of his species?” he asked. “They are as tall as my knees and weigh almost the same as a calf. Their diet is heavy in meat.”

“Are you serious?” Amma gazed down at Astro in amazement. “He’s going to get massive. How old do you think he is right now?”

“A few seasons,” Suni answered. “He is too young to be away from his dam. They usually stay in their family group for six solars.”

“Do you think he will have trouble growing up without his family?” Amma hated to think Astro would be adversely affected because she was raising him.

“Not if you allow him to be himself. His instincts should help him learn some of the more important things he needs.”

“I hope so. I want him to have the best life.”

I have the best life. Astro yelled.

“Yes, you do,” Amma agreed. “You are going to grow up big and strong.”

Suni glanced between her and Astro. “You can hear him? He talks to you?”

“Yes. That is a very simplified definition of my magic. Any witch can be magically bonded with an animal. That animal is called a ‘familiar’. My magic goes a step further. Any animal can be my familiar, or several can at once. And there doesn’t have to even be a bond for me to talk to an animal.”

“Seems like very useful magic. Something that cannot be used for black magic, right?” Suni smiled.

“All magic has its dark side,” Amma explained. “While my family only deals with white magic, there are a few witches who dedicate their life to the dark arts. I took a vow to do no harm when my magic manifested.”

“I still cannot see how talking to animals could be turned into black magic.”

“While influencing one animal can seem safe, I can influence multiple animals at the same time. Let’s take Astro, for example. You said that he will grow to basically be a fighting machine. If I came across a group of adults, I could control all of them to do my bidding. When I was younger, I was told about one of my ancestors whose daughter was executed for being a witch a few hundred years ago. The mother was so distraught that she called up every animal in the forest to attack the villagers. When the sun rose, no one remained. To this day there are stories told about what really happened, but only my family knows the answer. This is why I must keep my magic under control when my emotions are high.”

“I see nothing wrong with protecting or avenging your family from those who wish to destroy them.” Suni’s ears flicked. “Family is sacred.”

“While that’s true, innocents can be hurt in the crossfire.” Amma shook her head.

“A warrior never harms innocents. It is disgraceful.” Rown said. “Warriors face each other on the battlefield with bravery and honor.”

“Why is your family being hunted?” Gar asked. “Is that normal?”

“Not really,” Amma stopped to get her thoughts in order. “Like I said, people believe magic is fake or new age, in my world. For the most part, we are left alone, but there are a few who know magic is real. They want to harness its power and use it to better their lives in ways that magic should not be used in. They are jealous and fearful of my family. Since they can’t have what we have, they want to destroy it.”

“I can understand. We are raised to fear witches and the power they wield. It was a witch who took away our ability to leave our planet. We do not hunt them. Instead, they live on a mountain away from us.”

“You have witches in your species?” Amma was starting to think her mother and the others of her generation were smart sending them here.

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