“Come on, you’re falling behind again. We’ll never make it to Ravensbrook at this pace!” I was trying to be patient with the Torm- the little one following me, but it was still quite annoying how often I had to wait for her to catch up. Her breathing was ragged as she had to run over to me to catch up. “You… You’re just… too fast” She complained. My lips quirked up at the complaining. Usually it took rescued Torm-PEOPLE like her quite a while to build up any level of trust, but this one was following me like a lost duckling.

In answer, I simply reached down and ruffled her brown hair. “That’s exactly why you have to keep trying to catch up. It helps you become stronger - which means you’ll keep up with me in the future.” She looked up at me and frowned. I could almost see the annoyance behind her green eyes. “No fair! You are bigger than me. And your steps are too large, I have to run which is really tiring and you keep cheating - using that shadow thing of yours!”

That last comment gave me a pause. My eyes critically slid over her diminutive body. A young teen, probably twelve to fourteen. Thin and pale, wearing what could generously pass for a potato sack, possibly malnourished despite my best attempts the past few days since her rescue. She certainly had a long way to go before she was an adult yet… did she not discover the truth behind that power already? Probably an accident then. A fucking accident. The price of Fen’s life.

I clamped down on that line of thought, knowing nothing productive would come out of it right now. “About that.. Shadow thing as you put it, would you like to know how I do it?” I asked her and quickly received vigorous nodding in response. “Everyone is born with a certain ability.” I start, realizing how easily I’ve slipped back into my old lecturing habits. “This ability can be pretty much anything, but no matter what it is, it’s always part of the person.”

“Take me for an example.” I motion to myself as I continue speaking. “You’ve seen me drop into and jump out of shadows but my ability cannot be simply summarized as ‘Shadow Teleportation’ or whatever other oversimplification the simpletons at Merc’s would try to use.” I pause, seeing the frown on her face. “Merc’s… as in short for mercenary. Don’t worry about it for now, I’ll explain it when you see one of them.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

The little one sighs and looks frustrated for a moment, before coming to some sort of decision inside her mind and giving me a nod with a wide smile. “Okay!” Her smile stirs something deep within my soul, like a ray of sunshine. I feel my cheeks warm up ever so slightly though I do not let it show on my carefully schooled face.

“To simplify as much as possible while remaining accurate, I am a shadow. That is my ability.” I remove my black-and-blue glove and show my hand to the little thi-PERSON. And while she dutifully inspects it, she seems confused as to what she’s supposed to see. “What do you think a shadow is?” I ask her instead of clarifying. Her head tilts sideways and her eyes narrow. Her young mind working overtime to come up with a clever answer.

Half a minute later, she speaks. “The dark thing that happens when light shines at something. Umm… Reflection of that thing…? Sort of?” I give her a nod, deciding that the reply is worthy of commendation. “Not many people consider that question, so it’s understandable if you don’t know right away, but I like the answer. As you can see, powers are complicated because they’re tied to the individual. I’m sure that somewhere out there is someone else with a similar power, but if you put me and them side by side, each of us would go about things in a different manne-”

I pause, feeling the wretched sensation of irreality overcome me for a brief moment once again. My hand, still being inspected by the little one, fades out of reality. But that alone is enough to elicit a scream from her. She dives forward, holding onto the rest of my body while shaking.

I look down, observing her for a moment. Her face is buried inside my stomach as she weeps. The suddenness of her freak out, the speed at which she went from composed to a complete wreck stirs something within me. I close my eyes for a moment and focus on my breathing. In, out and thrice again. I close my fist, my muscles straining as they did many times before. The exercise grounds me, and I feel much better.

I open my eyes, and look down again, and realize something important.

That thing… the thing that I’m looking at. That’s just an innocent girl with a lot of issues. And I’d be the monster if I refused to help her. I reach down and hug her close to me.

“I won’t. You’ll never be alone again.”