Cold rain poured, and grey darkness filtered through the canopy.

It pattered over the runny, muddy forest ground. A figure, clad in a dark cloak, made her way through the forest, unperturbed. Her cloak, which covered her dark hair and bronze face, was warm, dry, and her expression was cold. Her face, however, was beautiful, in a way not quite human. Her sleek black gown almost touched the drenched soil. 

Almost.

She was halfway home, when the rhythm of the rain was disturbed by a harsher sound. As she glided through the forest, the sound sharpened into a wail. 

I shouldn't bother, she said to herself.

But the pressure of curiosity was perhaps greater than the fear of going home late. She trusted that her child would not be foolish enough to hurt herself in the time she had decided to waste. She turned, sailing against the wind, to the crying.

The trees grew gloomier. The fragrance of wet earth and rain was contaminated by something rotting. Thelda was even more curious, because she was traveling to the heart of the forest, a place the villagers marked as 'restricted' and told dire stories to their children about, every night. The wailing sharpened.

A stone's throw away, she saw a tiny being, and something disfigured behind it. Thelda willed earth from the forest floor to uproot and rise in level with her palm. She let her feet touch the ground, ignoring the mud running over her gown and shoes. Her senses were on high-alert as she approached...

A baby.

Crying. Helpless. Writhing.

Her dark eyes shifted to another form. Torn clothes, torn flesh, the gritty hair separated clean from the mauve skull. The rotting stench numbed her senses. She stepped back, letting the floating piece of earth sink back to the forest floor. She didn't need to attack anyone with it, yet.

 Then, she knelt down to the baby, whose cries were weakening. An emaciated infant, still blind.

How long has this child been here?

Carefully, Thelda placed her hand on the baby's cold, moist chest. A wave of mana drained from her body. Her wrist snapped away from the baby.

She grimaced. 'A human child,' she said, out loud, drowned by the rain's echoes.

Thelda stared at her hand.

But it was impossible. Thelda glanced at the corpse. It must have been over a week old. A human child would not survive that long....

She inhaled, and prepared herself. Gingerly, she placed her hand on the child's skin again. This time, her mana did not drain.

Half human... half sorcerer....

Thelda's stomach sank. She got up, and left. The baby's cry dwindled. 

***

Upon reaching her cottage further into the forest, Thelda was unsettled. She knocked on the door once- just to make sure her daughter remembered her warning. She waited for a few minutes, processing her thoughts. 

When the door did not open, she knocked again- five knocks. The door opened instantly.

A tiny girl beamed at her as she came into their warm house, and closed the door, cutting off the sounds of wind and rain.

'Mother, did you find a unicorn?'

'No dear, I was too busy to find one...'

She took off her cloak, which, strangely, was soaked. She must have gotten distracted and turned off the spell that kept water from touching her.

Her daughter pulled off a towel from a chair, and wrapped it over her. Smiling, Thelda patted her head.

'I will try extra hard to find you a unicorn.'

Thesseia grinned, showing off her one missing tooth.

After showering, washing her clothes and putting them to dry on chairs, Thelda went to the kitchen to prepare food. Thesseia was in the living room, drawing.

Thelda waved her hand, and cutlery floated towards her, and settled in their rightful places: the cauldron on the stove, the spoon laid out near the sink. She willed water to flow into the cauldron, and the knife to cut the vegetables.

'Mother, can I go and visit Akalyssa today?'

'But it's raining.'

'Her house is close, plus the trees cut off a lot of the rain. And I can control the water and stop it from hitting me!'

'I'd rather you take an umbrella, Thesseia. That spell will drain you too much.'

'But you do it all the time!'

'Yes... because I have practiced for years and I know how to not drain myself. I think you should wait until you formally learn that spell from the Academy.'

'But you already taught me!'

'Thesseia...' Thelda sighed. It was hard to argue with kids. They kept asking 'why' and giving excuses to do things they weren't supposed to. 'You should try something simpler first, then, if you can handle it, you can try the spell on the rain.'

'Good idea!'

Thesseia poured water from the pitcher to her mug and plopped down on the floor. It would interrupt her cooking- her daughter just sitting on the floor, she didn't have much space- but Thelda did not tell the child to move.

The stirring of spoons was punctuated by Thesseia's grunts as she tried to get the water to move from one mug to another. Thelda watched with the corner of her eye. Thesseia could make the water rise out of the mug, form a sloppy shape- but then it would be too much, and the water would fall back.

'Stupid water!'

'Don't say 'stupid', dear.'

'Sorry.'

The meal was prepared- deer meat, noodles from the human village, and vegetables. Distractedly, Thelda served them on plates, and put them on the table.

'Try next time, love. You should eat now.'

With one last punch to the floor, Thesseia got up and carried the mugs to the table. Thelda made sure to wash them again before either drank from the mugs. As they ate, Thesseia regaled her mother with stories of her adventures with the other children. Thelda loved hearing them... but on that day she was distracted. Something kept clawing at her.

'... Kenook's father was sick, so we went to see him and we read him stories!'

Thelda blinked. 'Come again?'

'Oh, don't you know, Mother? Kenook's father is sick. He has a fever, and he's coughing.'

'How did it happen?'

'Oh, you know, he likes to spend time at the human village, maybe that's how.'

'Did Kenook's mother say anything about a disease breaking out there?'

'She didn't really speak much... she was sick too- although her symptoms were milder.'

'Does she also spend time in the human village?'

The answer weighed on Thesseia.

'Thesseia?'

'I- I don't think so.'

'Why can't you just tell me the truth?'

'Kenook told me not to tell anyone, mother. He trusted me,' Thesseia said.

'Well, you already told me that Kenook's father spends time in the human village, so why can't you just tell me the rest?' The information was more important than a child of Thesseia's age would understand.

Thesseia, perhaps realizing her mistake of telling her mother too much, withered.

'Do you not trust me?'

'I do,' Thesseia blurted. 'But promise you won't tell anyone?'

'I won't tell anyone,' Thelda assured. 'But promise is a strong word.'

'Mother-'

'I won't tell anyone-'

'Promise!'

'I won't tell anyone, don't worry.' Her voice dropped. 'However, you must be careful not to tell anyone else. Has Kenook told his other friends his parents frequent the human village?'

'No, he just told me.'

'Good. Tell him, also, not to share this information with too many people. But do not tell him that I recommended it, in any way.'

'Of course, Mother.'

After they were done with their meal, Thesseia demanded they go to Akalyssa's house. Usually, Thelda trusted her child to go by herself- also, the house was close to theirs. But something compelled her to accompany Thesseia that day. They put on their cloaks, secured their house with a spell, and walked towards their neighbors' home. 

***

They passed through clusters of trees until they spotted a cottage, much like their own. The canopy blocked most of the rain, or perhaps the rain had thinned? Thesseia ran on seeing the house, and Thelda let go of her hand. The child knocked excitedly on the door.

'Five knocks, dear,' Thelda reminded.

Thesseia corrected her mistake, and knocked five times.

Surprisingly, it was not Akalyssa's mother that opened the door, but Kenook's. Her beautiful, dark face peered from behind the door, and smiled upon seeing Thesseia. They two Sorceresses were let in.

'Thess!' shouted two voices.

Two children were playing with clay on the floor of the cottage. The two mothers let them be, and settled in the kitchen.

'Would you like a tonic?' Kenook's mother asked, getting ready to prepare it.

'It's not necessary,' Thelda replied, rehearsing her next words.

She waited for Kenook's mother to settle down.

Kenook's mother prepared a tonic for herself, then sat across Thelda on the dining table. Her dark brown curls, and her jade gown, made her look like a forest elf.

'Where are Akalyssa's parents?'

'Oh, they have gone on an errand, I'm not sure what. I think something to do with the Academy? My husband has gone too; I'll make sure to ask him when he gets home.'

'I heard you and your husband were sick.'

'We were- but we're better now.'

'What was the illness?'

'Just cold. Nothing serious, although he was sicker than me.'

'Perhaps his habit of visiting the human village has prolonged his illness.'

The other sorcererss' dark eyes widened. But just as quickly, she regained composure.'He does need to go... to get human money in exchange for-'

'One item that we make returns a lot of human money, though. Why does he need to go so often?'

'I'm not very good at calculating how much groceries we need. That's why we need to send him so much-'

'I see,' Thelda said. 'Perhaps you should be more cautious, there is a disease spreading among humans.'

'How did you know?'

'I went to the village today, many of the citizens were sick. The shopkeeper himself almost sneezed into the flour.'

Kenook's mother stared into her cup of tonic. 'I will- try to cut village visits.'

Thelda was sure she was hiding something, but she was also sure that Kenook's mother would not betray their clan. At any rate, she was no powerful Sorceress - neither was her husband, some people even joked he was a half-sorcerer- ill humored people, of course- behind his back. However, he was a proficient Arithmetic teacher; his students adored him.

The two women heard the children laugh, and then whisper.

'I wonder what they are scheming,' Kenook's mother grinned.

'Children have all sorts of fanciful ideas.'

'You talk as if you were never a child.'

'I was- but I still have trouble understanding where Thesseia gets some of her ideas from.'

'I guess, before one doesn't understand what death is, their imagination runs wild.'

'Death...'

For some time, the two women sat silently. A shadowy thought nagged the back of Thelda's brain. I'm going to have a headache.

'Are you... afraid of dying?' asked Kenook's mother, suddenly.

Thelda tried to process her thoughts.

'You went quiet... after I mentioned death.'

An unsettling feeling sank to the bottom of her stomach. 'I... am afraid of what will happen after. I try the hardest not to get hurt... I'm not as adventurous as I used to be. I'm afraid-'

'You're afraid of what would happen to Thesseia.'

Thelda's eyes widened. Kenook's mother articulated her exact fear.

'It's not mind reading,' Kenook's mother assured. 'I fear the same myself. Perhaps it's a side-effect of being a parent?'

'It must be.'

Kenook's mother outstretched her arm, and her hand fell on Thelda's head. 'If that was bothering you so much, why couldn't you tell me?'

It's not the only thing bothering me.

'Thelda... if something happens to you- and I pray it never does- we will take care of Thesseia. Don't get ill worrying about that! There will... always be someone to protect children.'

Thelda's gaze dropped to our hands. 'What if... there isn't?' she murmured.

'There will be... always,' Kenook's mother assured

***

The forest was eerie, quieter, and darkest. The trees' shadows cast over the soil, over other trees. Thelda held a blue flame over her palm, and clutched Thesseia in her other hand. The squelch of their shoes cut through the forests' reticence, scratching her nerves.

'Mother, can you make the flame red now?'

Thelda sighed. 'I already changed its color four times, dear. Can't we just keep it blue?'

She had already made the mistake of staying too long at Akalyssa's house. It was past dusk... and human hunters may have sneaked into the forest. Although the forest was labelled 'dangerous' and 'Sorcerer Infested', that didn't stop some human hunters from venturing in with silly dreams of skinning Pegasi for coats.

'One last color?' Thesseia begged.

'Dear... when we go home?'

She didn't want humans to spot her changing the color of flames that she summoned over her palm. Humans, who had no such ability- they were dependent on wood for flame- would be scared to insanity. 

Besides, even if she could attack them with magic, they had ranged weapons- arrows, they called it- and Thesseia's magic was too weak.

If they were injured and ran back to the village, the other villagers, who never had enough to do and were much too gullible, would hunt down the rest of the Sorcerers. Even if she could- but she never would- kill them, she would have to bury them, so no one else could find them. But still, humans had one similarity with Sorcerers- family drove them to extremes. They would search the dead bodies for decades.

Every way, an encounter with humans would harm them.

They had magic... but humans were ten times more in number and they had weapons. They could also send word to neighboring villages.

And their clan had no contact with any other... even if more Sorcerer clans even existed.

'Someone's coming!' Thesseia whispered.

Thelda willed the flame in her palm to shrink. Someone with a torch was coming... Her stomach knotted.

'Thesseia, stay behind me.'

The man came closer. He held out his palm towards them, and flame levitated over his hand. 'Thelda.'

The orange flame illuminated the strong features on his face, the grey streaks in his dark hair and his drab brown robes. The rush of blood to Thelda's head eased. 'Ruford.'

Kenook's father.

'Hello!' Thesseia exclaimed, and bowed.

'How are you, child?' Ruford asked.

Thesseia answered that she was well, and before Ruford could prolong the conversation too far, Thelda interrupted. 'It's late, Ruford. Should you not be at home? Where were you all this time?'

Ruford's face molded into uneasiness. 'I was at the village.'

'For what reason?'

'To exchange a rare item for human money.'

Thesseia sensed his unease. 'I see. But be careful of flaunting your magic. You know humans sometimes come to the Forest at night.'

'Ah, they do! When do you think they'll give up on their whims to spot Pegasi here?'

'Likely never. Which is why we should be careful.'

'They're stupid idiots!' Thesseia chimed in.

'Mind your language, dear.' 

'Sorry.'

Ruford smiled. 'You're right, Thelda. I will practice more caution from now on.'

'Thank you.'

'I'll see you,' Ruford bowed,' and you-' Ruford touched his hand to Thesseia's head, '-soon.'

He was about to leave, when Thelda said, 'Ruford, would you lend me 1 silver coin?'

The Sorcerer stopped in his tracks, his back towards them. 'Silver?'

'You do have money, don't you? From the human village?'

Ruford went silent. The hoot of an owl echoed among the trees.

'I- I will need all the money for now, but I'd be delighted to lend you some coins later this week.'

'I see. Good night, then.'

And the Sorcerers parted ways.

***

After Thesseia was tucked into bed, Thelda felt more restless. The candle flame lulled over their dining table, casting dim orange over the house. Thelda's eyes lingered on the shadows under Thesseia's peaceful face.

There will always be someone to protect our children.

Thelda kissed Thesseia's forehead, and walked to their window.

The cool forest air seeped into their house. Relaxing, for her. But if someone was out in the cold... while the forest floor was still muddy... Her mind wrestled itself.

I can't bring a half human to my house... If the others found out... Such silly thoughts... I already have one child to take care of.

But if Thesseia was alone, blind and cold...

Why should I even bother?

Her headache suffocated her. She knew no herbal medicine would remedy it.

I'll just check... if someone already took care of it or not.

Fighting against rationale, Thelda walked to her daughter's bed, and shook her awake. 

Rubbing her eyes, Thesseia asked, 'This late at night?'

'I'll be back soon. Stay awake, until I return, please?'

'I can stay awake until midnight! Just like an adult!'

'Of course.'

Thelda wrapped a cloak around herself, bid her daughter goodbye, and went out into the cold night air.

She tried to remember the path, which seemed longer than it should have been. She kept her magic flame tiny, so people far enough away would not notice.

Apprehension clutched her heart. She placed her fingers to a tree, and shut her eyes. She spoke in an an ancient tongue, and her mana flowed outward through her fingertips.

When she opened her eyes, Thelda saw the world in dark blue, and specks of orange. Two tiny specks were in the distance... and one of the orange specks was ebbing. A wave of nausea, and Thelda fell on her knees. Her vision returned to normal.

She felt too weak to levitate... but it was the fastest way. Inhaling deeply, Thelda mustered her leftover mana. Her feet lifted off the ground. She envisioned her path through the forest, and glided forward.

Tree trunks, branches and shadows blurred past her. The wind chilled her skin. Levitation enervated her mana. Thelda ducked under branches, sometimes confusing shadows, and finally, she sensed life nearby. She sank to the ground.

Thelda magicked a stronger flame. A sphere of orange light fell over the forest. She searched the ground, her shoes slacking over the mud. She didn't see it. Panic inflated in her chest.

Another vision enhancing spell? She already felt too sapped.

Her feet landed on something softer than ground, and Thelda jumped back.

'No,' she breathed.

She knelt in front of the baby, and her flame lit its limp form. Thelda's shoe left a muddy mark on its stomach. She touched its dirty forehead, ice cold.

Thelda extinguished the flame in her palm. The forest plunged into darkness. She rested her hand on the baby's chest, and shut her eyes.

Mana drained from her blood, upwards and out through her palm, flowing into the baby. Its chest rose, and fell. Thelda's brain gyrated in her skull, but she held steady. When she almost reached the end of her Mana, she released the baby.

And fell, next to it, her eyes towards the sky.

A faint stench of rotting blood lingered in the air, overwhelmed by the fragrance of fresh leaves.

---

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TDA

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Effects: Rui, Ikeno

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Thank you for reading so far. Feel free to rip this book apart and roast my writing , all comments are appreciated!

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Thank you @UnravelAsha for getting me to write this story. (psst she has a horror story with a creepy as heck doll in it in her profile! Just sayin'. )

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*me trying to be professional instead of making dumb zaddy jokes like I do in my other books*