People always seemed to fare better the second time around, at least that was what Alex had theorised. For some unbeknownst reason, not many of his friends were willing to traverse through the realm of shadows again. So when they emerged out of the darkness, a great deal of him wanted to observe his temporary companion’s reaction. Instead of retching up her breakfast, she only seemed a bit disoriented, stepping forward towards him and almost losing her balance, her forest green eyes momentarily unfocused. But he couldn’t help the big grin that etched itself over his face, tying to control himself as smugness filling him at the fact that his hypothesis had been proven right.

  Elyza took in a deep breath, closing her eyes and collecting herself before she continued on with her sentence, “–you dare do that again.” She let herself fall to the ground to regain herself, holding her head, trying to blink away the dizziness. Setting down the girl on the bed behind her, he gave her a moment before offering her a hand.

  Even as he pulled her to her feet, the questions had already begun, “Where are we?”

  Taking a moment to consider lying to her, his mind still doubtful on how far she was willing to go, he sighed as he remarked, “A safehouse, an hour away from the city.”

  “Okay…” Elyza remarked, still sounding a bit sceptical, her grip tight around his hand, “And what are you supposed to do after you ‘rescued’ her?”

  “First, you’re going to help me catch some fish.” Alex replied, dragging her outside the shack.

  The sun hung high in the sky, the river Fabru lazily flowing through the glade, its pristine water almost clear as air. He took in the smell of the flowing water, letting the sound of it flowing over the rocks let his mind calm, stopping at the edge of the river bank before he reached into his shadow. As his fingers rummaged around in the other dimension, he could feel Elyza’s gaze upon him, wondering what he was trying to do, but he was too busy trying to remember where he had stored them. His hand drifted in the cold darkness, searching for a familiar sensation, till he felt two wooden sticks wrapped together with a fine fishing line.

  Alex asked his new companion,“You’ve fished before, yes?” who followed up the question with a nod of affirmation, causing him to grin as he pulled out the two fishing rods, handing one of them to her as he added, “Good, because it's been a long time since I have,”

  Plopping himself onto the soft grass, he motioned her to follow his lead, casting his hook into the river, the ripples that followed, disturbing the many beings roaming above the river bed. She did as he did, but remained standing as she cast her line into the water, upstreams to her.

  “Why are you doing this?” she asked, her tone a blend of curiosity and intrigue.

  “Fishin?” He replied in a tone equalling hers, grinning as he manufactured a fishing hat out of shadows, placing it upon his head, tilted to shield his eyes.

  “Waiting,” Elyza replied exasperated, as she tried to reel in some sort of eel, “Who even hired you? Who wants to kill the earl and rescue his niece.”

  “I could tell you, if, let's just say, you were my partner. But since you are unequivocally not, and since my client is someone of a ‘higher’ social status, I can only divulge that they’ve chosen to delay their arrival. To ensure they aren’t tailed and to eliminate any suspicion, as one would” Alex rattled off, trying to wiggle his hook so that something would be tempted to try to bite it.

  The conversation stagnated after his words stopped echoing down the river bank, both of them deciding to enjoy the tranquillity of the river, the music of the water running over the rocks. The critters within the liquid seemed to steer clear of Alex’s hook, avoiding it as if it were the plague, annoyingly though, his companion’s bait seemed far more enticing to them, a flurry of fish poking at it curiously. But with each passing minute of stillness, Alex’s mind yearned for something more, his body mirroring its protests, his fingers tapping against the fishing rods to do something at least. He had got used to the feeling, having to live with it since his childhood, it didn’t stop him from despising it.

  Thankfully, his companion seemed to be of the curious sort. After her fifth failed attempt to land some dinner, clicking her tongue as the fish quickly escaped the hook, she asked without a hint of embarrassment or hesitation in her voice, “Are you an elf?”

  He was astonished at her accurate deduction, albeit a bit late since she had the advantage of being like him. To be fair to her, if one were to place him next to his mother’s relatives, they would have never arrived at such a conclusion. The only visual hint of Alex’s elven heritage was his slightly pointed ears, but his ancestry wasn't being a touchy topic, so he replied with a grin, “Yes. Half of one in fact. I do believe that’s something we both share common ground on.”

  He had countered her deduction with one of his own, but Elyza didn’t respond immediately, possibly contemplating if she should tell the truth now that he had figured it out, “What gave it away?”

  He hesitated, his mouth slamming shut, deciding to approach his theory with a bit more care, beginning, “Other than your hair being an unusual red for a forest elf, mostly just a gut feeling. That and the fact that you aren’t wearing any sort of clan insignia…” Reeling his line back, he dropped the rod down his shadow, standing up as he did, stretching his back as he decided that the day wasn’t good for fishing, “Some of them can be a bit… too traditional, though some tribes up north have integrated with each other to form a town. They have the best oranges in this realm of reality.”

  A look of surprise flashed across her face before she became stoic once again, handing the fishing rod back, not attempting to try again. “Is this all you do?” she inquired, her tone reflecting her previous question, clarifying her question, “I thought you were supposed to be some sort of…” trying to find the right word,

  “Altruistic?”

  “Altruistic assassin, but it seems to me that most of your time is spent loafing around, waiting for stuff to happen.”

  Alex simply smiled as he reached towards the ground, “For jobs such as this, patience is a necessary vice. Not every single one of my days are spent overthrowing kingdoms, fighting monsters, or cleaning up idiots.” Tendrils appeared from his shadows, stretching towards his fingers, almost appearing to be living.

  The umbra carried with them his bow, and a singular arrow, his hand grabbing both as he continued, “It’s not like I wait around for someone to ask for help. Most of my time is spent investigating strange phenomena and ensuring they aren’t connected to something more sinister or malevolent workings. If they are, I do what is necessary to stop them from coming to fruition, and, if, along the way, I see the requirement for it, I try to help as many people as I can, because why not, I’m already here, aren’t I?”

  Elyza attempted to interject, raising her hand to grab his attention, but he carried on, pointing towards the direction of Bakelv, “The reason I was visiting that city over there… was because of a rumour that a growing slave trade, led by its earl, who you took care for me ever so kindly, had connections to a disconcertingly big religious organization. I got sent here to confirm the rumour, and while I was planning his death, a client contacted me. Now, I’m waiting for her to contact me

  “I hope that answers your question?” He drew his bow, aiming at the river, waiting for an unfortunate fish to remain still for a moment.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  She went quiet for a moment, the only sound that reached him was the flow of the river, before abruptly commenting, “You love to hear your own voice, do you not?”

  “Who doesn’t?” Alex said, letting the arrow fly, which pierced the water without a splash, striking an over curious fish investigating where Elyza’s hook was supposed. He quickly waded into the river, wanting to reach the fish lest another reach it before him. Pinned to the river bed, the arrow had gone straight through the forelle’s eye, and as he removed the arrow, a grin etched across his face as he presented the catch to Elyza.

  “Nice shot.” She commented, helping him out on his way back to the riverbank. In his hand, he assessed the weight of the fish, deeming it more than enough to feed the three of them, tossing his weapons without a care in the world, returning his bow and arrow to the depths of his shadow. In return, tentacles carrying logs emerged, placing them in a shape similar to a log cabin till it reached two feet in height. Now came the part that Alex dreaded, closing his eyes for a moment to calm himself, preparing himself for the ordeal to come.

  “I’m guessing you know how to gut a fish?” he asked Elyza, to which she replied with a single nod. “Good.” He remarked as he tossed the trout towards her, “This may take some time.” His focus had shifted on to his greatest challenge – Creating a flame from absolutely nothing.

  Alex sat down next to the unlit campfire, uncertainty gnawing at his mind. Today could be another day when he failed, but the excitement of trying again overpowered the despair. Cupping his hands together, he focused his mana into them, like countless times before. Sparks erupted from his palms, congregating into a ball of electricity in the centre of the two. Gradually slowing the flow of mana caused it to dissipate safely. This outcome was expected, but it wasn’t what he was working towards.

  He calmed himself for another attempt, this time trying to call upon something else. Manipulating lightning was natural to him for as long as he could remember, however, certain recent events had led him to question the limits of his elemental affinity. Calling upon fire strained his body and mind, but he dismissed the feeling as soon as he felt a familiar tug. This was the moment where his attempts before had fallen flat, but still he kept a hold onto that latent power, trying to drag it out. Alex’s heart skipped a beat as he started to smell smoke, struggling to remain calm as he opened his eyes.

  His fingers were only just slightly smoking, no fire, no flames, not even a burn mark. Frustration took over Alex, having gotten so close this time. His emotions boiled over to anger, slamming into the ground as hard as he could.

  “You need some help?” Elyza’s voice weaselled into his mind, but he paid it no heed. Instead, he channelled the growing anger into his hand, the latter outstretching towards the pile of wood facing him. He tried to feel for that tug again, but with his mind unfocused and driven by the diminishing anger, he lost restraint. A streak of purple lightning erupted from his hand, striking the kindling, it took him a third of a second to wrestle control back, but it was enough. The campfire started to blaze to life, and his anger was quickly stamped out by annoyance.

  As he rose to his feet, his gaze fixed upon Elyza, Alex couldn’t help but notice that she had managed to set up another campfire already. He sighed, his annoyance being replaced by embarrassment. “How long did it take me?” he inquired, his tone tinged with chagrin.

  “Twenty or so minutes,” she replied, casually tossing another log to feed her fire, continuing flatly, “Creating fire is quite a difficult task.”

  “First time I’ve heard a hint of sarcasm from you.” he noted, kicking dirt onto his campfire, to smother the tiny flame, grinning as he continued, “But to preserve my ego, it’s time to partake in my favourite hobby, How do you like your fish cooked?” His shadows opened to ferry a table, a set of utensils already ready for him to use.

  Alex pushed open the door to the cabin, carefully balancing a plate of poached fish in his arms, his steps silent as he approached the sleeping silhouette on the bed. He was about to wake up his rescuee, but a slight movement under the sheets caught his attention, making him stop where he stood.

  He spoke as purely as he could, his voice wavering as he kicked the door close, “Before you get any funny ideas. I am carrying a plate of delicious and piping HOT food, that I will have no qualms spilling it on you, if you jump up and scare me.”

  There seemed to be a moment of hesitation, but the girl relented, throwing the sheet down to the floor as she sat up straight, allowing him to set down the plate of food beside her. He settled down on the other side, making sure to keep his distance, his tone civil as he clarified, “Just to clear things up, It has been pointed out by an acquaintance of mine, that this may seem like a kidnapping to you. Especially since the last thing you remember would be smoke quickly smothering everything in that carriage. It is unlikely that you may believe me, but I was hired to rescue you.”

  He waited for a reaction, but she kept silent, so he decided to continue, “Not by the group I know you’ve been supporting, may I add. They do pose a pivotal part in why I revealed myself to you, though, if it was up to me, I could’ve infiltrated your cell and left you with your family,”

  She finally spoke, her voice laced with scorn, “What family?”

  “Not him, dumb-dumb, I’ve heard he’s on the edge of living right about now” Alex replied, pulling out a fork from his shadow, handing it over as he continued, “To put it simply, I need to contact that group to exchange information, and it would be appreciated if you can help schedule… a meeting between us?”

  Liliana accepted the utensil, responding with a single word, “No.”

  He understood her reluctance, remarking, “Alright, oh, also,” Something in his mind popping up in importance, pulling out the necklace he had discovered in the earl’s vault, dangling it in front of her as he asked “Does this look familiar? To be honest, I didn’t know why I took it in the first place, but then it clicked. I remembered seeing your mother wearing this the last time we met,”

  That was a mistake. Without any hesitation, she plunged the fork into his hand, surprising both of them. He didn’t think she had it in her, the though she would do something so idiotic never crossing his mind, so the daring move caught him a bit off guard. However, Liliana was undoubtedly much more confused, since crying out in pain or striking back would have been the expected responses, yet, as Alex just looked at the fork impaling his hand with an almost casual indifference, his composed response momentarily froze Liliana.

  Alex sighed and, with a slight grin, raised his hand with the fork still embedded in it, remarking “You know how tricky it is to sterilise something covered in blood, be thankful my heart stopped pumping it years ago.” Another fork emerged from the shadows, handing itself to him, who then placed it next to the plate, pointing to his hand as he added, “I understand why you did… this, but if you do it again, I’m not giving you another one.” He placed the necklace in her lap before strolling out the cabin as if getting stabbed was a daily occurrence.

  It was a trick he had picked up from his early years, the ability to temporarily desensitise part of his body so that, if attacked first, he had a brief moment to focus on either escaping or fighting back. Alex let out a shaky breath, cringing at the pain that was to come. Slowly, feeling started to return to his hand, and it felt like it was engulfed in fire. He focused past the increasing discomfort, trying to figure out if any prongs had gone through his hand, or more importantly, if they had struck bone. Slowly starting to move his fingers, he winced in pain with each movement, but that proved to him that all was fine, except the fork was still stuck in his hand. Taking in quick breaths, he pulled it out as fast as he could, and almost instantly blood started to seep out of the wound.

  He sat down near the dying, smouldering campfire, facing Elyza as she hungrily picked her plate clean. Pulling out a small bottle, he poured the clear alcohol onto his hand, washing the blood away, a pained grunt involuntarily escaping his lips, drawing his companion’s attention away from her food.

  Staring at his bloody hand, she connected the dots, “I am guessing she did not want to talk to you,”

  “No, she did not.” he remarked, pulling out a leather tool bag which haphazardly stored a variety of vials, the liquids they contained mimicking the colours of the rainbow. Trying to change the topic, pulling out a strip of stark white cloth to dress his wound, he asked, “How’s the fish?”

  “It was good,” She answered, and a sense of pride welled up inside him. Silence followed the exchange, as Alex tried and failed horribly in wrapping the bandage using only his right hand. After five minutes of watching a grown man struggle with a strip of cloth, Elyza finally broke the silence.

  “I’ll help you,” she told him.

  “That’s not necessary,” Alex tried to protest, but she didn’t ask again, crouching in front of him, extending her hand, and he had no choice but to relent.

  “Strange wound,” Elyza observed as she began to skilfully swathe the wound. “What did she do, stab you with a fork?”

  Alex sighed and responded, “Yeah,”

  He waited for some witty remark, instead, Elyza seemed impressed, remarking as she finished bandaging his hand, “She’s resourceful.” He had to agree, moving his hand as much as he could bear, testing the constraints of the cloth.

  “Thank you, you’ve possibly saved me from having to cut off my hand.”

  She settled back in her spot, asking, “Just tell me how much longer this is going to take, unless this is your plan.”

  He stood up to stretch, checking his watch to come up for an answer, “You’re right, this is getting ridiculous. They should’ve been here by now. Let me see if I can-” Before he could finish his sentence, Alex felt the illusion he had set–up the night before, a barrier surrounding the area, shatter. “You know how many times this has happened? Just as I complain about someone being late, they show up,” he remarked, looking towards the direction of his guests.