hunter

fantastic and rough i follow the road ever running down the stream of breath and life and the scent of blood, I am tracking now, I seek the flesh of those wild, my instinct leads me off the beaten game trail, into the scraggy, dense, undergrowth.

close, wounded, and frightened my prey is near, slowing now as blood loss brings them surely toward the end, I want the meat fresh though, I want the last beat of the heart in my teeth, capturing their strength and soul.

I hear a shuffling in the branches, I wait gently sniffing the air for the strong metallic scent of blood on the breeze, as I slowly turn my head back towards my origin, that heady smell comes my way, and then a low rustle,

instantly my muscle contract and release and I am airborne sharp teeth ready for the kill and revel in the moment.

outsider

And here I am, blind in the soul of magic; struggling desperately for some kind of hold on the mystic arts they claimed everyone could use. Everyone but me.

My sister at the age of two could cast fire from her fingers. I would die to produce one spark.

Mother prattles over me, saying it will be okay, some just blossom later than others. I am not some stupid flower.

Father is ashamed even to look at me. I tend to avoid him now.

In school girls giggle as I pass, the boys torture me with the same three pranks; they can't even think of something original, and I'm the one who can't cast.

I have one friend, my pet frog, Charlie.

When I fall to sleep weeping, as I do often, I curse the name of the Magus.