We ran and hid behind a huge pine trunk,  peeping towards the source of the trouble.

Soon a tall figure came out of the grass. His body supported by his bulky muscular build and short black hairs. Trips of blood were leaking out of the right side of his abdomen. The man seemed unusually tired and weak, quite the opposite of how his looks suggested. And then it hit me. He was the same man who had saved me from those Bloodhounds my first night here.  I looked at Millia. She had a worried expression on her face, sharply contrasting with her merry look earlier.

"I know him.." I whispered.

"You do..??"

"Yeah, he was the one who saved me from three wolves my first night here and then brought me back. His name was...ummm.. Ryker,  yeah Ryker." I said.

"Should we help him, he seems injured." She asked. I remained silent. I wanted to help him but I was afraid that the one who attacked him might attack us too.

Then that man or Ryker fell on his knees and then to the ground.

"I think we should..." I suggested as I slowly slid through the pine trunk. Millia followed me.

As I got nearer Ryker, his features became more vivid. His build and hair are clear in my memories but his face had blurred in the darkness. But here in the broad daylight, his sharp jawline, thick red lips and manly tone was more clear. He also had a piercing in his lips and it kind of complimented his face.

Millia came forward and bent down in front of him.

"What are you doing??"  I asked.

"Turning him into a rat...Of course I am treating his wounds dumbass!!" She replied as she put on some of the medicinal portions she had on some cotton puff.

"He really has some muscles here..." Millia accepted.

"Oh, so this is the first thing you notice about your ripped patients, doctor" I mocked.  

She gave another 'whatever' type shrug and rubbed some of her portion on his wounds. Ryker immediately groaned with the burning sensation.

"This is weird.." Millia said, a bit confused.

"What is?"

"His wounds, it isn't deep enough but the strange thing is that it's healing itself.." She said. 

"Isn't healing normal for elf's bodies?"

"No, not many elf can perform healing techniques. Mostly higher sorcerers(who are extremely rare here) do it through good practice and experience, else there would be no need for doctors like me.." She explained.

I looked at his wound. It seemed like his blood itself was turning into skin and filling up his wounds.

"Could it be?" Millia exclaimed, a bit surprised.

"What?"

"This guy is a Soul Manipulator." She said mostly to herself.

"Huhh?" I said I was confused.

"I think we should leave.." she declared.

"Hahh??"

"Just come." She commanded.

"But we can't just leave him here." I protested.

"We can come back later with some help. After all, neither of us can take this guy on our shoulders" She said with an urgency in her voice. She did have a point so I gave a last look to that poor Ryker and left with Millia.

She was walking with quick steps. Her tension was on her face. And her tension made the situation even more difficult for me.

"Millia clear me this Soul Manipulator thing right now..." I declared as I jumped in front of her. She first gave me an annoyed look but then it was replaced with understanding.

"Soul Manipulators are a different type of Elf sorcerers who use their souls as the source of their magic unlike Elemental sorcerers who use nature' s elements as their source of magic." She explained.

"And??"

She sighed, knowing that I wasn't going to back down.

"The thing is that these Soul manipulators are rare and  are treated a bit differently than other elfs"

"Differently. How?" I asked.

"You see, about a thousand years ago, a great war occurred between the Angels and the Six great elemental clans on one side and the Demons and the Soul Manipulators on the other side. The battle lasted for fifty-two years and many warriors were killed on both sides but finally the Angels and the six clans emerged as the winning party. The Demons were banished in the Demonic Realm while the Soul Manipulators here were massacred on a huge scale. The ones who survived lived in fear of being found. Soul Manipulators are not easy to distinguish from the normal elfs with no magic. Since they absorb no magic from the elements they are not easy to locate. But due to the actions of their ancestors the soul manipulators of this era are still hated and subjected to prejudices. Some are  arrested and some are executed in the name of Justice here." She added, her voice getting more and more teary with each word.

I didn't ask for anything more as we walked back slowly to the house. My mind went on thinking what that Ryker guy must have gone through because of something he couldn't control. 'Different place, same problem.' I thought to myself.

"You know...."Millia said out of the blue.

"I am a soul manipulator too. I can have visions of the future."

"What!!" I exclaimed but got silent a moment later.

"So were you subjected to the same-"

"No. no one knows about this apart from dad and Zeo. They decided that it was for the best to keep this a secret."

"I see..." I said.

"You know, looking at that man I felt a pinch in my heart. The feeling of fear and regret engulfed me. And I ran away." She told me.

"I am really a coward." She muttered. I put my arms on my back, the highest part I could reach.

"You are not a coward. We all have our fears and there is nothing wrong about it. Now look at me, I am afraid of spiders. Silly right?" I tried to make her laugh. And it seems I was successful.

"You are afraid of spiders" she looked at me in disbelief.

Oh my god! I just gave a sword in hands of a monkey. 

"Don't you dare tease me about this. " I warned.  She gave me tongue and ran away.

"Hey! Come back here. I shouted as I ran behind her. The tag game continued till we reached her house. 

She abruptly stopped with the sight of the house. I almost crashed into her. 

"What happened now?" I asked.

"That's my dad's carriage" she said pointing towards a lavishly decorated carriage.

"Shouldn't you be happy right now?"

"I should, but just now, I had a vision and it somehow don't fit in."