Raveena looked ahead to see the imposing outline of the Skillion mountain range ahead of her. Raveena, Anna and Kate had been travelling for a week and the mountains still looked pretty far away. Raveena bent down and stroked Lavender’s neck, feeling a deep rumbling sound within her. Lavender must’ve been really tired, carrying her all this way. Heck, she was tired and aching from just sitting on the horse for so long. Raveena reached out to Lavender with her mind. She seemed okay, but it would be better not to push it too far.

“How long before we can stop?” Raveena asked.

“There’s a glade a little ways ahead. We can stop there for the night. We’ll get there in half an hour or so” said Anna with a smile.

“Why? tired already little Veena?” Kate asked with a teasing smile.

“That’s easy enough to say with your arse sat on a decade old, enhanced familiar” Raveena shot back at kate with a scowl

“Fair enough” Kate admitted with a smile.

Anna and Kate’s steeds had been with them for so long that they were magically enhanced to endure long distances and heavy loads. But, poor Lavender belonged to a relatively newly minted mage and was ill prepared to make such a long trek.

They were finally travelling to the Magicis collectio held on top of the peaks of the Skillion mountains. Raveena had been training furiously for the last few months and had finally managed to get to the stage where she could create birds and small mammals. Raveena had managed to make some improvements on the amount of nature energy she could harness, but was still unable to successfully infuse it into her creation magic. She didn’t want to look like a dunce in front of other mages her age who would be presented at the gathering.

Kate and Anna had repeatedly assured her that she could hold her own with any mage her age. Raveena was still rather doubtful as they had years of training on her.

Raveena shifted her weight uncomfortably. Her saddle sore thighs were bothering her a little as she cursed the stupid mage tradition of travelling to the gathering without using magical means. There were ways of magical travel that could get them to the gathering without leaving a bruise on her backside. But according to tradition, mages who were to be presented were supposed to make the journey the old fashioned way.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

They reached the glade a few minutes later like Anna promised. It was a really beautiful sight, stepping out from the thick woods to the open glade which was perfectly circular. Raveena was pretty sure that the glade was created by magical means. This kind of perfect symmetry simply didn’t happen in nature. The sun was sinking lower fast in the horizon when they went about setting up their tents in the ground. Kate and Anna’s horses were carrying the lion's share of equipment. Raveena helped Anna unload and set up their camp, while Kate went to rustle up some food.

It wasn't that they needed to hunt, they’d stocked enough preserved food to last them the journey. But Kate insisted on gathering fresh game and fruits whenever they were available.

‘A Prudent mage never takes anything for granted’ she had said. Kate was back with five rabbits, some root vegetables and berries just as they had finished setting up the camp.

There were wards placed around their camp so that wild animals couldn’t enter. It would be troublesome if a black bear showed up as an uninvited dinner guest.

Since they had a lot of vegetables, it was decided that tonight’s dinner would be rabbit stew. Kate was tending to the horses while Raveena helped Anna prepare the stew. They were almost done when Kate called their attention to the edge of the glade.

Two figures on horseback emerged from the treeline. They were slowly proceeding to the camp. Raveena saw Kate casually move toward the stump where she’d placed her staff and pick it up while Anna moved to the tent and did the same. Raveena stood rooted to the spot. This was the first time she was seeing someone other than Anna and Kate in months and she didn’t know if they were friendly. Technically their group outnumbered the newcomers, but Raveena wasn’t sure how useful she’d be in a fight.

Kate took a step forward while Anna remained by Raveena’s side. The riders came to a stop about fifty feet away from camp and dismounted. They walked towards the camp with slow, deliberate steps. Kate and Anna exchanged a glance when they were within twenty feet of the camp.

“That’s far enough” Kate said as she brought her staff to the ground with a dull thud.

“Now..now, don't go firing off spells on me” said a female voice from under the hood of the shorter figure as she removed her hood.

“Maggie” said Anna with palpable relief in her voice.

“You always were too dramatic for your own good Mags. You came this close to being buried underground just now” Kate said with a smile.

“And here I was hoping age would’ve made you wiser Kate.Still trigger happy as ever I see. It’s good to see you again Anna” Maggie said with a smile.

Kate scowled at Maggie for a moment before laughing and hugging her. Anna did the same. Raveena let out her breath in a huff. It seemed they were close enough acquaintances to be comfortably ribbing each other. It was at this moment that Raveena turned her attention to the second hooded figure. She had been so focused on the interaction of Anna and Kate with maggie that she’d forgotten the other person in the clearing.

The other person had also removed their hood by now. His eyes were locked on Raveena as he flashed a smile in her direction. Raveena’s breath got caught in her throat. It was a boy. The first one she’d seen since her transformation. They stood in the clearing, each with their eyes locked on the other, seemingly unable to look away.