A Most Unusual Partner

A woman clothed in scarlet desert attire walked towards a stone tower on a hill. The waxing moon was high in the sky, casting dappled light on the ground through wispy clouds. Her hand rested on her magika-infused sword, ready to strike if the moment called for it. Despite being a supernatural, she always kept her wards and weaves topped off with her magika. A prepared feral hunter was an alive feral hunter.

Her violet eyes glinted in the moonlight, scanning the surrounding area. There were several hidden traps and spells that she sidestepped and dispelled when necessary. Unlocking the door to the tower with a wave of her hand, she continued to scan the unassuming lair.

Cobwebs littered the place and a thin layer of dust coated the uneven stones. It was hard to believe anyone lived here, but Kala Ryu’s information was never wrong. A smirk appeared on her lips when she found what she was looking for: a protection spell placed on a well-hidden and locked hatch in the floor.

She bent down, resting a hand on the handle, beginning to undo the magic. She was nearly done when something dug into the small of her back. She was now quite aware of a large, foreboding presence behind her. She gritted her teeth, placing her hand on her weapon.

“Don’t. It’ll only make me drive this knife into your back,” a gruff male’s voice growled. She sighed, lifting her hands off her weapon and into the air in a form of surrender.

“I’ve never been good at sensing concealment spells,” she sighed. “Did I miss some spell of yours?”

“Aye, but I saw you from the lookout. Feral hunter?” he asked. She nodded curtly.

“Aye. Vanessa Brightspark—”

“Where’s your creature partner?”

“I don’t travel—”

“Why are you here? You shouldn’t be here. I’ve attended all my evaluations,” he growled. Vanessa looked up at the ceiling with a huff before slowly turning around. The man let her, as she suspected, although she still kept her hands up for his peace of mind. He looked just like he did in his ID portrait and a quick scan with her eyes revealed his magika to her, the classic silver of werecreatures mixed with a hint of orange, further confirming his identity.

“And passed, supernatural 1-4-8, Jax of the White Tower. But that’s not why—”

“I’m not feral,” Jax hissed.

“Oh?” she asked, teasing him slightly.

“Eleven full moons have passed without incident. I know. I’ve read the papers,” he said, narrowing his eyes, daring her to refute his statement. So she did.

“Papers aren’t omniscient. Besides, eleven moons aren’t that many—”

“I’ve also taken precautions,” he snapped. Her eyes gleamed as she thought back to all the spells and traps.

“Such as?” she asked playfully. A heady scent of sandalwood and vanilla wafted over to her as he shook his head in frustration.

“Hah! So you can use them against me? I think not,” he scoffed. “Just tell me why you’re here, Brightspark.”

“A girl went missing,” she said, slowly taking the request form out of her pocket, unfurling it.

“A girl?” Jax looked shocked, tensing at her movements.

“Thirty clicks from your location, in the village of Isthador, a girl of eight was abducted from her home. The exterior wall was torn open,” she informed, reading the report. He looked down.

“Let me guess. The inside of the room was covered in claw marks?” Vanessa nodded.

“Aye. Including the wall’s destruction, the bed was cleft in two and gouges four inches wide and two inches deep were left in the floor.” He bristled.

“You think I did that?”

“No. There was no blood, according to the report. Feral werecreatures tend to leave traces of themselves and their victim at the scene of the crime. Besides, the full moon was last week,” she said simply. Jax’s eyebrows knit together in confusion as he lowered his blade. His guard was still up, though, so she lowered her arms slowly, clasping them together in front of her instead of resting them on her sword. “I don’t believe you are feral, Jax.”

“Then… why are you here?” he asked. She huffed in annoyance.

“You’re one of the only werecreatures left in Calvarna. Despite the nature of your curse, you’ve never turned feral. You’ve never harmed anyone,” she admitted.

“You didn’t come all this way to tell me that,” he growled.

“No. I came to recruit you. Help me find the girl and whoever did this.” Deeper lines appeared on his brow as his confusion grew. “I could use the help. I’m not a detective. This job should’ve clearly been given to an investigative hunter, based on the report. But my handler sent me here anyway.” She paused, trying to guess his thoughts.

“And?” he asked, prompting her to continue.

“Well, the state of the room certainly points to your kind,” she began. “And if it is, no wonder I was sent. But nothing in the report contains concrete evidence for the involvement of any known supernatural in the Kala Ryu division. A werecreature should be able to tell if a werecreature did this or not. Hence, needing your help.”

“That would require trust. You want to trust a werecreature?” he asked, eyeing her suspiciously, fiddling with his blade.

“I shouldn’t. Werecreatures are the most pitiful of the supernaturals despite being the most powerful,” she sighed, shifting her weight slightly. “Cursed to sit halfway between their supernatural state and a facsimile of a natural, losing themselves in the process. So many of your kind kill on the night of their first transformation. You’re the only alive and free werecreature in our country, Jax.” He inclined his head in a knowing way.

“I’ve impressed you,” he prompted. She rolled her eyes.

“Aye. An elder werecreature is quite impressive.”

“Elder? I haven’t even reached a century.”

“Oh, please. You know supernaturals live longer than naturals. Feral hunters do too, despite most of their lives being cut short in combat. I’m only saying you’ve exceeded your life expectancy,” she said before adopting a teasing tone. “But you don’t look a day over twenty.” He looked away while gripping his blade tightly.

“Be honest. This is a trick to keep me in check. Someone doubts my innocence.” She shrugged.

“Maybe, but I’m just doing my job. I’m to check on supernatural 1-4-8, evaluate the crime scene, locate the girl and the feral, killing the latter,” she relayed. After a beat of silence she added, “I wasn’t told to recruit you. I was actually told to send you back to the capital for holding while I conduct my business. Would you rather that?”

“No,” he groaned. “Fine! I’ll help. But only on one condition.” Vanessa raised an eyebrow.

“And what’s that?”

“If we find her, I don’t want to have to travel to the capital to be evaluated anymore. I’ve more than proved my ability to keep myself in check and the walk is long.” Her eyes narrowed.

“You know I can’t grant that. I don’t have the authority.” He crossed his arms.

“Then… grant me a travel ring. At least shorten the time I’m out of my wards when I’m summoned.” Vanessa opened her mouth to speak before he quickly added, “And I want to be paid.” She pursed her lips.

“That’s two conditions.”

“It’s of equal value to my first request,” he responded. Vanessa chewed the inside of her cheek, mulling over his request. She couldn’t find a good enough reason to deny it, so she sighed.

“Fine. I’ll grant you a travel ring and fair wages for this job but only if you help me find the girl and kill the feral. Quit before the job’s done and you’ll get nothing,” she said reluctantly. Jax nodded brusquely.

“Deal,” he said with equal reluctance, putting away his blade. “When do we leave?” 

“Now. I’d rather be in town when the sun rises than wait around and be there with you when night falls,” she admitted. No one would cooperate if she showed up with a known werecreature at night, even if the full moon was days ago.

“Fine. Just let me prepare first,” he said, bending down and lifting the hatch in the floor.

“But—”

“You’ll be safer if I do.”

“Fine,” she conceded. “Just be quick about it.”

“Aye,” he responded, descending into the floor, closing the hatch behind him. She pinched her brow before staring up at the ceiling. She never wanted to be here, not in the lair of the weretiger Jax, but her work always brought her to the most dangerous of places. Her thoughts drifted to his sandalwood scent and his groomed but wild appearance. She felt heat rise to her cheeks and removed a pouch from her sash in frustration, drinking the cool water to reset her senses.

“Do you think a natural could’ve kidnapped the girl?” Jax called up through the slats of the hatch.

“No!” she yelled back, crouching low so he could hear her. “We both know they don’t have magika.”

“There are a number of illegal magika tools that can be purchased nowadays, Brightspark. Don’t tell me your knowledge of the underground has waned in your old age.”

“Watch it, stripes,” she growled. “I know of the illegal trinkets, but they leave visible traces of their use. Disgraced feral hunters and despicable supernaturals don’t have the wherewithal to make true magika tools and naturals never use them correctly.” Vanessa stood back up as the hatch reopened. Jax now had a small pack and a pendant around his neck.

“And you really think I can help?”

“Maybe. I believe just being a werecreature could be useful,” she replied. “Or maybe you won’t be useful at all. I haven’t actually been to the crime scene.”

“Wonderful.”

“I’d say so. Are you ready?” she asked. He nodded, leading her to the door. He flinched as he felt the moonlight before starting down the sandy hill.

“I can see why you didn’t bring a creature partner.”

“Oh?”

“You strong-armed me into the job,” he said with a huff. She snorted.

“So I did,” she lilted. “Do a good job and I’ll put in a good word. Maybe you’ll be the first ever werecreature partner,” she teased.

“Yeah, right,” he responded.

***

Four hours later, as the sun crested the horizon, the two supernaturals entered the just waking town. Some paid them no mind due to Vanessa’s golden Kala Ryu crest on her chest, but many scurried back to their homes after seeing Jax.

As expected.

“Wow. I wasn’t expecting this,” Jax said with a low whistle. He was right, the damage was much worse than the report had described. “I’m not surprised they thought it was me.”

“Aye.” The room in the house at the far end of the town looked like a desert storm rolled through. Even so, the destruction stopped right at the door leading to the rest of the home. A quick scan of the room proved to her that no illegal tool was used. The magika imprint would’ve been visible to anyone, not just supernaturals. 

Jax entered first, going straight to the bed. “Do you see something?” He easily pushed one half of the bed to the side, peering around the other side. Vanessa huffed, frustrated that he was ignoring her, before crouching next to one of the gouges in the wooden floor. She touched them gingerly with bare hands, noting the jolt of magika she felt from it. Two jolts. Her brow furrowed in confusion when she heard Jax grunt.

“This wasn’t a werecreature,” he said.

“Explain.”

“The lack of blood is one, but everything I’ve seen so far looks… calculated. The marks in the room are sparse and abruptly end, the bed is torn in two but otherwise intact, and there’s no smell.” Vanessa eyed him. “Transformed werecreatures have a smell and I only smell the girl. This wasn’t a werecreature—”

“I agree.”

“What? You do?”

“Aye. Obviously I don’t have the nose you do, but I noticed the only real chaotic destruction was the window wall. Also, there are two magika traces left in this room. One is a sullen, muddled green, the other a vibrant, sapphire white.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’ve never felt the vibrant magika before. I’ve been trained in all the groups of magika registered in this country, so whatever supernatural produced it has never lived in Calvarna. The second… is a magika tool.”

“But you said—”

“Not illegal. There was no trace of it until I touched the damage on the floor,” she explained. “I… think it was used to conceal the other supernatural and point to werecreatures, but why?” she asked. Jax placed his hands on his hips before looking around. Vanessa did the same, letting her eyes wander trying to make sense of the situation. If sanctioned magika tools were used, then this was a calculated attack. 

Not some feral. 

But the other supernatural magika muddled the facts further. She definitely was not the right person for this job.

She let out a long breath before she saw a shimmer of magika to her right when the sun finally shone through the gaping hole in the room. The concealment spell was so good that she would’ve missed it if the light hadn’t hit it just right. She reached out into nothingness, but the moment her fingers brushed up against the object, it revealed itself. She pulled a chunk of azure fur, soft as silk, from a splinter in the wall.

“Brightspark!” Vanessa jumped as Jax suddenly called her name.

“What?” she snapped, embarrassed that he scared her.

“That! I’ve seen that fur before!” He grabbed it from her hand, smelling it. “This is the girl… and the other supernatural.”

“The girl? But how! We’ve had no reports of a cursed or changing natural!”

“These supernaturals develop suddenly, in the middle of the night. I’ve seen it before, only once, when I was in the country of Ulndar… extremely rare, high levels of magika… they’re coveted by every possible government division because of it—”

“And I’m sure the criminal underworld as well.”

“Aye, along with supernaturals that crave magika.”

“So you’re saying the one with the magika tool could be anyone, but what supernatural is this?”

“A kitsune.” Vanessa gaped at this information. She remembered reading about them in her studies, knowing that these supernaturals are only surpassed in rarity by unicorns, although they are benevolent spirits instead of accursed demons, and they’re extremely powerful. 

“But the last known kitsune died nearly two centuries ago!” Vanessa exclaimed. “How could you know of it?”

“Her magika and fur are still being used in the feral evaluation process,” he admitted.

“I… didn’t know that.”

“Why should you? Feral hunters can’t ever go feral, even though you’re also supernaturals. I’m sure you’ve never even been near the evaluation center,” he said with a hint of disdain in his voice. She glossed past it.

“So, a newborn kitsune tore apart her room in the midst of her transformation, most likely fleeing, judging by the fur left behind and lack of blood. Some individual came by with a true magika tool and covered her tracks, trying to frame a werecreature. But why?”

“If the government got a hold of her, they’re probably trying to keep her existence hidden.”

“That doesn’t explain framing a werecreature. They could’ve used mind-altering spells on the town or simply enlisted her with no further explanation.”

“So you think someone found her and framed a werecreature to cover their tracks and keep her nature a secret?”

“I’m not an investigative hunter.”

“But that’s what you think.”

“I… aye. That’s what I think.”

“That makes everything much worse,” he said.

“I know.”

“She might not be alive even if we do find her.”

“I know.”

“Then we’ve no time to waste,” Jax said decisively, stepping out of the room.

“Aye,” she said thoughtfully, following the guy who was now sniffing the air. “Just remember who’s in charge, though,” she replied. He looked over at her.

“The detective, right?” he teased. She glared at him. “Alright, alright. Your orders, Ms. Brightspark?”

“Continue sniffing out your kitsune, stripes, but try doing it that way,” she said, pointing in the opposite direction toward the woods. “That’s where the traces of magika are leading.”

“Do you truly need me?”

“You don’t want that travel ring?”

“Brightspark.”

“Just do a good job, Jax. I’m not one to go back on a deal just because I’m saddled with another creature partner I don’t need,” she replied. His eyes narrowed but he didn’t push the matter any further. Instead, he stalked off to the woods, leading the two of them into a job much more interesting than just killing a feral.