A New Life

Are all humans really so selfish? I just keep trying to get close to them, but every single time they turn out to be monsters. Or is it just that they can only show their love towards other human beings and not to a creature like me? Is it really impossible for someone like me to feel the warmth that the humans have to offer?

I try to stop thinking. I luckily manage to get out of that place for now, but I have to keep walking so they don't find me. Now that I broke the pact my powers have weakened a lot, besides because of them I am not really in a good shape anyways.

I drag my feet over the ground hoping to be able to get further and further away. I finally manage to get into the forest. Normally not a lot of humans are here, so I hope I can hide here for the day. After a bit of walking through the forest I reach the mountain. Humans always say this mountain is cursed. Whether they just say that to keep the children away of this place or whether this mountain really is cursed I don't know. I only know that it keeps humans away from this place and that is everything I need for now.

The wind is pretty cold today. I find a small cave in the mountain. It is not really worth the name "cave", it's just a small open space inside the mountain, but it could keep me warm enough for the night. I crawl inside the small cave and fall asleep there.

*Huff* *puff*.

How long have I been walking? I don't remember. My feet are killing me, and the cold wind makes me long for a warm and comfy bed. Either way, I can't stop now.  I'm almost at the final mark. I would be a waste to call it quits now. With the sun slowly descending I decide to call it a day I continue for the next day. The hike through the forest was though, but this mountain trail is downright brutal. There are no place to properly hide from the weather and with the wind blowing as it is, I doubt I can properly set a camp.

"I should have set up camp back when I was in the forest", I say in a soft voice, blaming myself for stubbornly refusing to set camp early. At this point I can't really go back, so all I can do for now is press forward.

As if the god of luck has blessed me I finally come across a more sheltered area inside the mountains. Filled with relief, I quickly get in and drop the heavy backpack to the ground, after which I quickly follow suits. Feeling completely drained for the day it takes a while for me to sook in the situation. It takes several minutes to notice I'm not alone. Seeing the other "thing" in the room I freak out crawling back to the wall. Before I came to the mountains I heared a few locals saying this mountain was cursed. Could it be...

A combination of fear and fatigue is preventing me from getting out here as quickly as possible. All I can do is shiver and hold on to my bag hoping it hasn't noticed me yet.

I have fallen in a deep sleep. I dream about all experiences I have had while dealing with humans. It aren't many good memories at all. Some people are nice in the beginning at least, but over time they change or it turns out they were lying from the beginning... Maybe I should just stay away from humans from now on.

While I am asleep I try to get my so called blanket, which is just a dirty, ripped piece of fabric, to cover me as much as possible. But it still feels a bit cold.

(She didn't notice anyone getting close to her.)

Minute's pass in suspended silence. I should be hearing the noise of the wind outside, but all I can hear is the sound of my own heart beating inside my chest. After noticing it hasn't moved much I finally start to calm down a bit. After wiping the sweat off my forehead I slowly get back to my feet. The sudden rush of adrenaline must have given me the strength to stand back up again as the fatigue from before seem gone. Warning signs are running wild inside my mind telling me to get out, but once again I'm overtaken by my curiosity.

Taking baby steps, like a cartoon character I approach the thing close by. It seems to be human. A girl to be exact. Seeing her sleeping like that I start to feel stupid for being that scared of her. In my mind, I sigh again in relief. As I take another look at her I notice how she is clearly unequipped to be sleeping out in open. Feeling a bit sorry for her I search my trusty backpack. After moving some stuff to the side I grab two sets of blankets. It is getting late and I doubt I will find another hideout as good as this one, I think as I take another look outside. I got lucky finding this place, so I might as well try my luck a little more here.

Trying my best not to wake her up I tug her in with the blanket before moving to a corner of the cave myself. Putting the bag between me and the wall I move the other blanket over myself. Let's see what tomorrow will bring. After humming my favorite tune, I slowly fall asleep, waiting for the for the sun to rise again.

The morning comes and I wake up from the small bit of sunlight that comes into the cave. And where should I go now? I can't stay on this mountain. It is rare for people to come here, but they still do every now and then, so I need to find a place where there are no humans at all. So until I find such a place I need to take care that no human sees me.

I should get ready to leave, but my "blanket" for some reason feels so warm that I don't want to get up. But I should get up. I grab my hat that fell off my head during my sleep. As I grab it I can hear the soft and gentle sound of the bells that are attached to the hat. It feels so calming. I would almost forget about everything. Sadly those bells can't get rid of all the memories...

I push the blanket off of me. Was that blanket that heavy yesterday? Now I only need to find a new place to live without being seen by any human. I stand up and turn to see the outside world, but before my eyes find the sunlight I find something else. What is this? On the ground I find a another blanket that clearly isn't mine. Wait! That blanket just moved. Blankets don't move on their own and they don't get into caves on their own either. This mountain is cursed, so maybe this is a monster living here! I have to do something. I grab a small stone from the ground as back-up weapon and with my hand I poke the blanket. After poking it I run a bit back as fast as I can and jump behind a bigger rock with the small rock in my hand, ready to throw if necessary.

The night goes by as many others. Although I didn't sleep comfortably, I know I had way worse. I tuck in quiet early yesterday so I've been sleeping for a while, but today I feel a bit lazy. Despite the sun graving me with its sunlight I can't help but keep my eyes closed for a bit longer.

Suddenly, I feel something tucking at me, disrupting my desire to stay put. Though brief the sudden poking brings me back to reality, as I slowly start to realize where I am. I wake up and notice the stony interior. It quickly comes back to me. How I ended up here to get some shelter from the cold outside. I get up to my feet, rubbing my eyes. "There was something else wasn't there", I think to myself, after which I start looking around the cave. Oh... I spot the girl I noticed here yesterday attempting to hide behind a rock. The fact that I'm still alive and that she looks somewhat scarred confirms my belief that she has probably nothing to do with the curse people were telling me about. I give myself a pad on the back for my instincts once again triumphing. She seemed ill-equipped to be here so she must quite hungry as well. Trying to ignore the rock she is holding I search my bag for cans of food. Finding two cans I open up one offering it the girl.

"Do you want to something to eat? I doubt you can find much up here in the mountains."

The blanket starts moving so I prepare myself for whatever is in there. I hold the small rock firmly in my hand until my hand becomes red. But as the creature comes out of the blanket I realize it is not a monster at all. It's a human! I should calm down, maybe he doesn't know who I am. But I have to get out quick.

Than he starts to speak. Food? I didn't think about that. And now that I think about it I haven't really eaten anything for the past three days and even when they gave me something to eat it was always just a bit and never really nutrious. I can't even remember haven gotten a decent meal. I might not need as much food as humans, but *rumble*. That was my stomach... But I can't take it. It wouldn't be the first time a human gave me poisoned food, but on the other hand a mountain isn't a good place to find food as he stated.

I look at his eyes hoping it would give me a hint about his intentions and whether he knows about me. Even if he knows about the rumors, or maybe calling them legends would be better, about me that doesn't mean he knows it is me. There are only a few people that know my name and appearance and most of them forget my name shortly after anyways as no one cares what I am called. But I can't find any evil intention in his eyes and I don't recognize him from the village I came from, so he shouldn't know what I look like.

What am I doing? I don't want to suspect everyone. I used to like humans so much, and I think I still do and even if he turns out evil I can't just go and think he is a bad person. It makes me feel like I am in the wrong. For now I should try to trust him and after this I will go somewhere without humans.

More easily said than done though. My body is very tense. I slowly move towards the boy. I probably look more like a starved, scared animal than like a human now because of the way I move and I might look like one as well after having been locked up for such a long time. I haven't really showered in a while and my clothes are a mess as well. Luckily I managed to protect my hat so at least that should still look good. I should try to not scare him away for now as that would be very rude.

"What is your name?"

"Huh, My name? My name is Atom."

The girl seems somewhat reluctant to receive the food I'm offering, despite her looking like that. Now that I can a better look at her, I notice how her clothes are pretty worn out. Despite that what really sticks out is the fact that her hat seems quite fine, compared to the rest of her clothes.

I put the can down next to me as I search my back for something else. After finding what I'm looking for, I pull out the bottle of water and put it next to the can of food on the ground. I slowly get up as I pull my own blanket away. Trying not to make it obvious I move a bit to the side to put my blanket away as well as giving the girl some space. After tucking my blanket away I sit back down again a bit removed from the food and water and start eating from the can I opened for myself.

The weather outside seems better than yesterday so I should be able to clear some distance today. I already start to make plans in my mind on what to do next, before turning back to the girl. With the thought of her being this mountain's curse already out of my mind, I start to wonder how to start a conversation. She seems somewhat distant and she doesn't look the part of a traveller by any mean. My bad habit of overanalysing things takes over and after several points, I finally come up with, in my mind, the best way to speak up:

"You have a nice hat there. I must be quite important to you. Where did you get it?"

Even though I want to trust him I notice that my body jumps or takes a step back every time he moves. Why can't I calm down? I shouldn't judge people like this.

After he asks about my hat I immediately grab it, holding it tight and I jumped back a little. Last time someone asked me about my hat they wanted to take it from me to sell it. I am willing to do anything people say, but my hat is something I can not give to anyone. But again I am judging him... I really can't let go of the past... I slowly try to let go of my hat to show that I trust him, but it makes me very nervous.

"I-it was a gift from my parents. T-the last thing I still have from them..."
"The rest was already stolen away by humans even my parents themselves..."

(The second part is said very softly as if she didn't notice that she was saying it out loud.)

My eyes go back to the food and the water that he placed on the ground. Is he really offering me something? I don't want to make assumptions and steal something away from him, so I point to it and then to myself as to ask if it really is meant for me.

My question seems to have the opposite effect as the girl seems rather defensive when I mentioned the hat. In a sad attempt to correct myself, I take a small bite out of the canned food I was holding while looking outside, to stop myself from staring. I hear the girl speak up, immediately realizing why she is so defensive.

"I'm sorry to hear that. That can't be easy..."

I somewhat regret bringing up the painful topic, as I look back at the girl, expressing I do feel sorry for her loss. Her attention then shifts back to the food again. I can't help but smile a bit because of her way of asking and then nod to show her she can take.

"Yes, you can take it. I bring an extra set of many things with me, so don't worry about it. After all, you never know what you come across when you travel."

I start looking outside again falling back to my last tactic hoping she will calm down a bit. I continue with my own food as I start rattling inside my head again wondering what I should bring up next.

I am taken aback a little after he said to feel sorry. Why would someone feel sorry for me? My emotions shouldn't matter to a human. It doesn't make any difference to a human how I feel. Whether I am happy or sad shouldn't change a thing.

"You really sure?"
I say as I approach the food and water.

(I am gonna assume your character will accept otherwise this will be a short post. If not for some reason than I will change this post.)

I still feel reluctant about it. It is really good food. Why would he waste that on me? But now that I look at the food I finally start to realize that my body is a mess and food and water would solve at least a part of it. The wounds that I have hidden under my clothes will just have to heal over time. If I don't eat and drink soon I won't be able to go anywhere. I would just collapse somewhere and someone will find me again and then I will be locked up for the next 20 years at the very least. I can't waste this opportunity now.

Very cautious I decide to accept the food and drink, but I keep an eye on Atom in case he changes his mind. But as he doesn't I decide too accept it. I haven't eaten anything remotely like this in a long time. It causes me to let my guard down and just enjoy the food. I immediately feel more refreshed. Now that I am noticing how badly I needed food and water I also start to wonder how I ever made it here. My body isn't human in the first place, so that might be an explanation. Human logic doesn't apply to me.

I should be doing something in return, but I don't have anything at all. So I start looking around. He was folding his blanket earlier. And only now I realize that he had put the same blanket over me. Why would he do that? But anyway I walk over to it and fold it the same way as he did and bring it to him. (It is very badly folded) I place it in front of him and get back to eating. Maybe I should try talking a bit as well. Although I don't really know how have a proper conversation. I haven't had a real conversation with someone in ages. So let's start easy.

"What are you doing here?"
(The way she says it sounds a bit rude, but her face is looking innocent, yet a bit scared.)

Slowly munching away my food, I give a smiling nod to show her she can have it. I then notice how the girl is now eating too. Considering how she looks it is a relief to see she is now eating. After eating in silence I suddenly hear the girl moving around. Curious as to what is going on I take a look, to see the girl picking up the blanket I gave her. I show a brief look of confusion after seeing trying to fold the blanket up, but I make sure to show a normal face after she walks up to me. Though it is a kind gesture, I can really put it back in my backpack the way it is folded.

"That is very kind of you, though you didn't have to go through the trouble to do that."

I place the blanket next to me, so I can fold it properly another time. After returning to eating, she suddenly speaks up again. That's a pretty direct question indeed.

"Hmm, at this point it would be to get back home. At this moment I'm on a mission of adulthood so to speak. Ah, maybe that is a bit confusing... Yeah, I'll start at the beginning. Basically where I'm from once you reach the age of 17 you are to travel the world and see as much of it as possible. The idea is that once you return you will have become a full grown adult, able to face the world. I ended up here, as the deadline was creeping up, so I started looking for some shortcuts, which is why I ended up here."

After finishing my breakfast I place the can next to me and get up to walk to the entrance embracing the morning sunlight entering.

"And with weather like this I might actually make it!"

"Back home..."

I walk to the opening of the cave as well, after placing the empty can and bottle beside Atom's and while still keeping some distance form him, and stare at the village where I came from. Is it really alright to just run away? Maybe I am the selfish one here...

As I stand there I notice that my glove slit down until a little under my elbow, causing all the scars and black, blue and red skin to be visible. A few fresh wounds are also still there. As I notice that Atom can see them now as well now that I am in the light I pull the glove quickly back up again.

"Maybe I should go home too..."

As I say that my body starts trembling and the expression on my face becomes dark as well.

"It is bad to walk away after all."
(This is again spoken in a soft voice.)

"So we can finish up and then both go to our homes."

I try to show a way too obvious fake smile. Which looks even worse as I am still trembling very badly to the point that I can barely stand. Before getting an answer I set foot outside, but at that moment the air suddenly becomes completely dark. So the curse was real after all.

I notice the girl slowly approaching as I keep tabs through the corner of my eyes. It hard to fully see her from where she is standing, but after adjusting as well as the morning sunlight illuminating her, I notice some serious injuries on her body. I'm quite shocked to see injuries that bad, but for now, I try to keep it cool and keep my face in place.

She speaks up again and quickly after that, her demeanour breaks down even further. Now realizing something is definitely wrong I turn towards her in an attempt to comfort her. Seeing how she's been acting so far, something inside me stops me from getting to her side. She speaks again, this time in a softer tone.  Did the idea of going home really trigger that bad of a response?

She clearly doesn't look alright and letting her go like won't sit right with me. She suddenly starts moving again after probably having something decided. The restraint, I had before, now disappears as I reach out to her, grabbing her shoulder to stop her.

"H-Hold up! You clearly don't look alright."

As it suddenly becomes dark I get a bit nervous. I have no idea what this mountain is hiding, but if I don't want Atom to get hurt I should get him out of this place and if I use my powers there is a chance he figures out who I am. I don't want him to realize that. That would ruin everything. The only possible explanation I have for his behaviour is that he doesn't know who I am. If he knew then I don't know what he would do.

As I move forward to try to move further Atom suddenly grabs my shoulders which causes me to jump back a little. Did he figure something out?! Wait few steps back, what did he actually say?

"I don't look alright. I am sorry for that I didn't have any opportunities to change my clothes or shower lately."

I feel a bit embarrassed to admit that and it makes me become quite red, but I try to smile to hide my embarrasement

"For now we need to get of this mountain safely for now."

I run forward a bit until I am reminded that a few days ago those guys did something to my ankles which prevents me from running, so I feel a shock of pain pretty quickly which causes me to fall. I quickly get back up and start walking and after a few meters I give a sign that Atom can follow me. And at the same time I look around for anything that might be suspicious.

She is joking, right? Change clothes? Shower? Is that really what she should be worrying about. Seeing her react like makes my worries even bigger as she doesn't seem to be willing to admit that she must be in pain. She runs off again and quickly topples over. She gets back up again as and starts walking as if nothing happened. Wondering where this will go she turn back to signals me to follow her. Knowing she isn't planning on simply running away I take a look at the sky, which suddenly turned dark. My mind is once again ringing all alarm bells, but at this point, I can't really turn back and run away.

"Wait there for a second"

I call out to her and get back into the cave to retrieve my stuff. Though it wasn't folded correctly I stuff the blanket into my backpack either way as well the empty cans of food and water. After securing my backpack I run out the gave towards the girl, who was waiting outside. While getting closer I look around wondering why the sky turned dark. I've seen a lot of weird stuff, during my travels and this seems like another one I can add to that list.

"Sorry to ask, but do you mind filling me in here? Do you know what is happening?"

This wasn't part of the plan... I didn't mind helping the girl out, but the sky randomly turning dark is something I can't really take into account.

"I have absolutely no clue as for why the sky is becoming dark. At least it doesn't seem natural and as the mountain is supposedly cursed the best course of action should be to get away from here, wouldn't it?"

I have no idea what would be the best course of action for now, but if worse comes to worse I can use my power and we see what will happen after that, but preferably not... Too bad I can't run yet, it would take one or two more days for it to heal as they did the same as always to my ankles.

I try to stay somewhat close to Atom. Even though my body can still not really relax when he is close, the idea of him getting attacked is worse, so I will have to accept it for now. After walking for a bit I hear some wild animals from the distance and they don't sound very happy.

"Let's just keep walking for now."

I have no clue about what to say to keep someone calm so I just say that and I try to give a reassuring smile to him. Although I don't know how to smile so that it is reassuring. (Which causes it to be a rather awkward smile.)

Interesting. She seems to know about a curse as well. I start to become curious about where she is from. We didn't cross paths when we moved up the mountain and I think I would have noticed her is she was walking around the last town I visited. Letting my mind run its course I simply follow the girl, who is leading the way. Compared to before she seems to have calmed down a bit which is reassuring. After some walking, I hear the sounds of animals in the distant. The girl probably heard it as well, but urges us to keep moving.

"Sure..."

Still following, I move the backpack in front of me pushing stuff aside with one hand, while holding the back in the other. It doesn't take long to find what I'm looking for as I pull out some small leaves, wrapped in a cloth. After placing the bag back to its place I unwrap the cloth and start rubbing the leaves against my cheeks and arms. After I'm finished I offer some of the unused once to the girl.

"Here take this. These leaves are like a repellent against most wild animals. Not only that but I think it smells pretty good too. Two bird birds with one stone"

With that last part, I smile trying to make light of the situation, as she still seems rather tense.

I look at the leaves he is holding. I didn't know leaves had that kind of effect. But I haven't been outside for longer than an hour the last couple of years and it is not like someone would explain something like that to me.

"Really that is really interesting I didn't know that!"

But if I have to put it on my arms I will have to remove my gloves... I don't know if that is smart. Atom looked a bit sad, maybe, last time he saw my arms as well. It is apparantly not something he wants to see. I shouldn't bother him with it. Putting it on my cheeks is not a problem, but when I remove gloves I am reminded about everything that happened as both my arms barely have any spot where you can still see normal skin. Most of it is blue, black and red and in some places there is barely any skin in the first. I try to stand in a position so Atom doesn't have to see it. But as I try to use the leaves I notice it stings on the fresher wounds. Which causes me to make a short sound of pain. I immediately close my mouth again.

"I am sorry!"

The people around me always say it is annoying when I make more sounds then necessary so I hope I didn't bother Atom with it. After that I just apply it around the wounds and even if I hit a wound I try to stay quiet.

"Can I put the gloves back on or does it not work then?"

But I suspect the animals have something to do with the curse and if that is true then I doubt it will work. But even if it works a little that would already help a lot.

"Pretty great right?! The world has a lot to offer if you are willing to learn it."

I hand over the leaves and give the girl some space to let her apply it. She seems to fidget with her clothes, but I soon realize it is most likely because those wounds she is carrying. After a while she suddenly yelps, catching me off guard. "Huh, for what", I ask wondering why she feels the need to apologize. She continues in silent as I grow more and more disturbed by the wounds over her arms. After she asks if she can put her gloves back on I get a bit closer and kneel down putting my back on the ground in front of me.

"No that's alright, the leaves leave a scent on your skin that works as a repellent. It should still smell when you wear those gloves, but before that do you mind? Those wounds look rather awful. I can't cure it like this, but I allow me to at the very least fix you up."

As I say that I once again search around the contents of my backpack, looking for some bandages and ointment.

After I apologize he doesn't seem to understand why I did that. Maybe he means it sarcastically as apologizing is more unnecessary noise? I don't know, better to not say anything about it anymore.

After that he states that he wants to "fix me up" while looking through his bag. I feel myself getting nervous as "fixing me up" never meant anything good, but I notice that what he gets from his bag are bandages and some small bottles, which I have no clue of what they are. But bandages can only mean two things, 1. he stated that my wounds look awful, so maybe he wants to hide them from his vision, but my gloves should be doing that as well. Especially as he hasn't said anything about the wounds on my legs or torso I don't think he should be able to see it as long as I wear something over it. 2. He thinks I am human and is wasting his good stuff on me because of that. Meaning I am just deceiving him... I can't tell him that I am not, but I can't let him waste more stuff than he already did on me. So to prevent him from doing so I just put my gloves back on.

"That isn't necessary. It is nothing."

I move my arms around to show that I am fine. The wounds don't really restrict me too much as I am used to them and because I am not human in the first place.

Then I start to hear more and more animals and they are getting closer.

"We should keep moving for now."

Hearing it's nothing isn't exactly reassuring as I heard the phrase many times before, which never ended well. At the same time, I can't really force it so I drop it for now. She moves her arms probably to show she is alright, but I'm not quite convinced. I reluctantly put my stuff back as I get back to my feet. Almost on cue the sound of animals can once again be heard. I look in the distance giving the expression that I know where the sound is coming from. I hear the girl once again urging to get moving. She must be quite uneasy to warn me twice, considering she hasn't said that much so far. I won't deny it is strange though and despite knowing these herbs have always helped me in past, my instinct is telling me it probably won't work out that good this time.

"Alright then let's go"

Decided to follow my instincts again, I start moving again, trying not to trip. With it being dark, it is getting harder to move around which is what I actually wanted to avoid.

After walking for a while I notice that the animals got even closer. In the corner of my eyes I see things moving. They just follow us for now, but I get more and more convinced that they are waiting to attack. I change my position after I notice them and position myself between the creatures and Atom in case they plan to sneak attack by jumping on us.

I keep walking for now while I keep an eye out, but after another short while they jump down and face us directly. I think I recoginize the creature, but I am not sure. I think I saw one in the village once before, but this one is much bigger and the one I saw before was white. This one is gray and it's eyes are bright red. And it seems to be grawling at us. Which isn't a good sign.

(It is a wolf, the thing she saw before in the village was a dog.)

I stand directly in front of Atom and take a defensive stance. I don't even care that I am that close to him now. Even if he wants to do something to me, that is alright now, but I won't let that thing get him. Something in me hopes that it will just run off, but it doesn't seem like it. The creature seems hesitant though. That might be because of those leaves, but I doubt it will stop him for long. After it walks back and forth a few times, while I stay in the position between him and Atom, it jumps out on us, meaning I have no other option than defend properly and I raise a barrier around both Atom and me. I avoid eye contact for the time being with Atom as I don't want to see his reaction. The creature bounces off of the barrier upon jumping at it, but it doesn't seem like that is enough to stop it. It starts howling to get it friends to come and three more appear. The four of them surround us.

But even that won't stop me now. I start attacking back as well and focuss my energy on one of them and I blow it back against the stone walle, so it loses conciousness. After that the rest jumps out of us as well but my response is the same and I force them all against the wall. Luckily they weren't that strong as I am not that strong without a pact as well. After that I grab Atom's hand and start walking as fast as I still can, but even now I dont look at him.

"Let's use this opportunity to go!"

(She will prevent Atom from fighting himself by keeping him close, but if he still manages to get out she will attack quicker to prevent Atom from getting in danger himself.)

(As for the legend about her that Atom might or might not know and might or might not link to her now or later: according to the legends there exists a creature with the shape of a human, even though it is not, that is created to grant humans every desire if you manage to catch it. According to rumors many high ranked aristocrats and even king and other royalty came as far as they did because they were in possession of this creature.)

Compared to my own walking pace we move slowly but considering the situation things are moving smoothly. It doesn't take long before the origin of the sound suddenly show itself, trying to hide in the shadows. I keep on eye on hoping things won't have to go that far, as I keep moving. With my eyes now, not on the road, I suddenly notice the girl walking in front me still leading the way. Her sudden change in positioning is rather odd, but I don't give it much attention. It's patient must be running thin as it suddenly decides to jump out in front of us.

"Great, terrific timing."


It seems to look like a wolf, though this one seems far more ferocious, then any I've ever come across. I take a step back as I reach out to the bottom of my backpack, to grab my knife. Almost immediately the girl standing next to me is now in between me and the sinister looking wolf. Y-You can't be serious. I brandish my knife, but before I can properly use it the girl in front creeps in closer prevent me from using it right. The wolf seems to take advantage of my inability and charges in.

Out of nowhere, a barrier is formed around us repelling the wolf's attack and pushing it back. Shocked I glace at the girl, who's back is turned. The same amount of relief I felt quickly disappears as a single cry calls even more wolfs. I once again stand ready, but before I can do anything the girl once again takes care of everything knocking those beasts without much of an effort.

(what types of attacks are you using? Can I even see it?)

I'm left speechless as I stare at the wolfs who are now unable to attack us. I'm pulled out of my short daydream as the girl suddenly grabs my hand dragging me along with her. The anxiety I felt before slowly fades, as I've seen first hand how she can fend for herself just fine.

"T-That was amazing!"

Afraid to look back at Atom to see his eyes I keep moving forward while staying alert on our surroundings. Until he suddenly he speaks up.

"A-amazing?"

I suddenly stop walking. Did he just say that? Did I hear that wrong? Or does that word have more meanings than I am aware of? Instinctively I turn around, but I then notice that we are being followed. I didn't notice it at all before. How did it get there? I quickly pull Atom back behind me, but the creature doesn't wait at all and jumps forward. Like last time I throw it against the walls, but unlike last time it stands up again and immediately jumps again, so I put up a barrier, but it pushes me back with barrier at all, forcing me to leave Atom's side and it takes it's place between Atom and me. I have to do something! I create a barrier between the creature and Atom so it can't reach him. It seems to notice and faces me again and jumps at me again. I can't use too much magic at the same time without a pact, so as it is facing me again I drop the barrier between him and Atom, but I keep my eyes on it so I can raise the barrier again if it decides to jump at him again. It then runs at me and I get ready to attack, but at that moment I get a blow from the side instead and end up rolling over the ground for a bit and before I can understand what happened it is standing over me. As I try to understand what happened I quickly notice there is a second one of them now. Where do they come from, I didn't even notice them getting close this time. The second one uses this opportunity to run at Atom. No! I can't let that happen! I stretch my hand out to it and with my power I create an invisible hand which I grab it's leg with, causing it to fall, but instead of rushing back at me it keeps trying to move towards Atom forcing me to keep holding it. Meaning I don't have the strenght left to push the one over me away. Did it know that? It then in a quick movement opens its mouth, ready to bite down at me. Instantly I raise a small barrier over my arm and put it in between my head and the creature's mouth. However the moment it grabs my arm I also notice that this isn't going to hold for long. It slowly bites through it. No doubt that it would instantly kill me if it wasn't for the barrier, but I keep my eyes on Atom and focus mostly on taking care that it can't reach him. There is nothing I can do now...

"Atom, you will have to run I can't hold them!"