Page 54 of Hunters and Prey

Witch Me Not?

"Your eyes are still red," Roxas pointed out.

"Ugh. I wasn't crying over you," I grunted, rubbing at my eyes as if that would help them not be red from my crying moment.

Roxas walked back to me from the stone he'd been using to tie the laces of his magically created Converses. He stood before me and cradled my face in his hands, blowing a soft stream of wind in my face.

I didn't see how it would help, but I remained still, feeling a pick-up in the wind around us. He blew one more time; the flowing wind was warm and easy on my eyes.

"There." He looked pleased. "They're not red anymore."

"Are you sure?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes at him. He clapped his hands together and a mirror of water appeared in his hands. I gawked in shock at the sight of the water; the ripples in the middle of the water slowly faded, showing my reflection back at me.

My eyes were back to normal and my face didn't show any signs that I'd been crying. "It did work...and that's so cool," I complimented. "How are you able to use magic so fluently?"

"It's all about your mind," he replied, clapping his hands once more. The water disappeared in a flash. "Your mind is the key to all of this. If you want to protect yourself, envision it in your mind. Same thing with anything."

"Hmm," I replied.

"What? Accepting you're a witch now?"

"No," I argued.

"You seemed pretty accepting before," he pointed out.

"I'm just...following along. It's not like I've verbally agreed that I'm on board with all of this. It's going to take a lot more convincing and probably my mom too. Witch me not," I stubbornly declared, not wanting to admit I did want to learn a bit more about how to use magic.

If I was going to be some target, I didn't want to fall into a sticky situation.

"We'll train you," Roxas whispered. I looked up at him, meeting his serious gaze. "Whether you believe in magic or not, we'll train and protect you. We're still lacking in some areas, but we'll work on becoming stronger together."

I smiled before I gave him a confident smirk. "Who said I needed protection?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Um, you don't know how to use magic."

"Your point?" I inquired. "Doesn't mean I can't kick ass. I took self-defense classes."

"Are you listening to yourself?" he asked, looking dumbfounded.

"Yes. I sound way smarter and more realistic compared to you speaking about magic."

Roxas sighed. "I feel like you’re getting on my nerves on purpose."

"Maybe." I shrugged. "Still don't need your protection."

"Alright, independent woman. Let's go home. I'm tired."

"How did you even get into the tree house?" I questioned.

"I teleported," he replied.

"Why couldn't you teleport back when we were looking for you?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I didn't feel like going back yet. Plus, it's cool hopping around at night."

"You made us worried because you were caught up on how cool it looked," I concluded.

"Yes," he mumbled. "And it was easier to teleport to where you were, which was in the treehouse. It doesn't work when the person you're subconsciously thinking about is moving."

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