Sooooooo~ as per the deal, I get to come with you because we got through the gateeeee cleanly~, Mhmmm~"

Currently there was an annoying butterfly fluttering across my face in front of me.

"So let me reintroduce myself. Hi, I'm called Shiara, hope we become good friends in the future."

Finally deciding to stop hopping and skipping around in front of me, she comes over and happily proffers a handshake.

I feel a frown on my forehead and I slowly have the urge to smack this annoying fly. So this is what people mean when they say you reap what you sow....Well, I guess introductions were necessary and the nicknames would just get annoying during our travels. *Cough* I reached out to grab her hand. The surprisingly soft and supple touch surprised me, but then I realised it was probably from constant usage of healing type magic on it. Word on the street, Mages specialised in healing magic tended to be that way. "Uh..Nice to meet you again I guess...my name's...

Va-xen. Hope~ we will be able to help each other out and have a good journey together, yeah."

I let go of her hand continued to walk forward ignoring her and her inquisitive gaze again. We had a long way to go to till we reached our destinations. Mine was Yang Ying Magic academy. I overheard some mercenaries chatting about it in the pub when I was younger and gathering Intel for one of my clients. I don't know where Shiara wanted to go, she wouldn't tell me...all she said was "I'll know I'm there when I get there." And "I'll just go with the flow."...I really starting to question her survival skills and how she survived so long in the slums. Maybe my thought processes were just different.

I felt a tug on my shoulder, nearly jerking my kitbag out of my hand. "What do you want now?!" I could feel my patience burning out.

"Hey, if we are gonna travel and work together I need to know several things. What magic do you specialise in, what are your combat skills and can you cook or hunt? Do you have any foraging skills? As you probably already know, I specialise in healing magic, and I know some self-defence close combat skills. Also, I can cook, so if you want I can do the cooking, you can just do all the chores like cleaning and getting firewood. Although, I don't know if it's a good idea to have a fire...hey you even listening?" She was droning, and croaking and rambling and in general being a very loud chatterbox...I guess I should give a reply to just shut her up.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"I have an affinity for both earth and wind magic. I'm a decent fight at close quarters, but I specialise in evasion and reconnaissance I guess...Also, I can cook, and nearly all orphans who survive in the slums can forage, including me. It's like the 1st thing many of us learn. So don't.....

I felt the ground tremble ever so slightly. Maybe it's because I've had a strong natural affinity to earth magic ever since I was young, but I have always been really sensitive to the vibrations in the ground. I immediately got on the ground and put my hands and ears on the ground. Yup, there it was. From the strength and sound it was probably a small convoy of horses with one or two heavily loaded carriages. The sound seemed to be echoing and elongated, so they probably had a scout and a sweeper, but no flanking guards or a screen. Most likely a merchant convoy I concluded.

I narrowed my eyes and suddenly got up pulling us off the path.

"Hey-"

"Shhhhhhhh." I felt bad for my sudden unexplained actions so I whispered "Horses coming."

The path we were taking wasn't the main road. That was to the east and had quite a bit of traffic. We were on a moderately forested path, so I pulled us behind a shrub into some prickly bushes. There were a tree and stump that hid us from the path as well. I felt that something was off. Normally, any groups with carriages and most with horses would take the main path, however for some reason the carriage was traveling at a fast pace from the sounds of it, and if my ears weren't lying, they were taking the walking path instead of the smooth, worn out main road, with no overhanging branches or trees.

We weren't disappointed. Before Shiara could even open her mouth again, we could hear the clatter of hooves on mud. They rounded over the crest moments later. First three horses, with guards atop, cantered cautiously over the hill. Seeing the area ahead clear, they did some hand signals and waving back. They started galloping again, quickly passing by us as another two carriages rounded over the crest followed by another guard of three. They continued their rapid pace until they rounded the next corner and the bushes blocked our line of sight. We both let out a sigh.

I got out from behind the peak and cautiously peaked both ways. They didn't look like they were related to the military of the country so there was probably no one else in the group like a sweeper. Bandits, thieves and underground organisations had one most of the time. I gradually stood back upright, stretching my back taut to release the stiffness and accumulated stress from trying to squash two people behind a small shrub.

"Who were they? And how did you know they were coming...don't tell me you actually heard them from so far away...." I felt a weird stare land on my ears....

"Nah, my ears may be slightly more sensitive then others, but that's not how I found out. Actually, I have a strong natural affinity with both the earth and wind element, which allows me to have a better grasp of the movement of both. "

"You what!!? BOTH EARTH and AIR?.. Wow, I'm envious. Even though I have an affinity for a unique type of magic, I still would of preferred being a dual. Ahhhh....you must have had a lot of good karma when you were born...." She looked at me with a small "O" "Ooops...sorry."

"Don't worry about-"

BOOM!!!

Before I could finish my sentence we both looked up. Anyone worth their salt would be able to feel the huge shockwave that flashed by. But what truly put me on alert were the unnatural fluctuation of mana in the air and the proximity of the explosion.