Catching a fox to feed on for energy proved to be nearly impossible.

The sly beasts had escaped from the borrow after Brandon had let his senses lead him to his prey, and almost as if the predators sensed the threat he posed to them on a more supernatural level they fled from him, so after two hours of fruitlessly trying to run the elusive prey down, he turned his attention to the nest of snakes he had passed over.

A hissing mass of over twenty young snakes lay coiled beneath the rotted roots of a large loblolly pine tree. The beasts bit him, small fangs ripping holes in his hands that Brandon ignored because he knew he would heal quickly enough.

Many snakes and biting insects scattered as he moved to dig and disturb their warm hibernation spot. Every bug, root and living snake that he touched almost instantly became blacked as he let his hunger run loose on everything around him and that he could touch. He killed and feasted with a single-minded aggression that left no room for much thought or emotion.

The Druid needed no light even though the stars and moon light above did cut into the darkness at points, shafts of pale light dancing off the shifting trees in the woods, and Brandon himself glimmered like a white flame, ephemeral lights of the Druid Hunger and the Acris power dancing all over his being like the discharge from blazing star.

Brandon was still unnerved by his own powers but he no longer hesitated to use them or to indulge in them if their use could be a benefit to him and his desire to make it to Ishtar.

Eventually capturing a few corn and milk snakes and sucking each and every single one dry, until Brandons hand were caked with the charred blacked remains of dead snakes, Brandon realized that he had let too much time pass him by.

Somewhere after his 20th snake Brandon forced himself to stop...even though all he wanted to do was continue, everything in his ached and the devastating cutting hunger that tormented him had barely abated, but Brandon understood that not only was it futile for him to think that this pathetic feast would satisfy him, Brandon also had to pay heed to Anns words.

Its been almost three hours...

Brandon thought, as he made a stop beside a large pile of rotted leaves and diligently he began to rummage around so he could gather a few dozen hefty dry branches to carry back to camp as he had promised.

With all of this constant feeding Ive been having to do I’m sure the Brotherhood already knows I’m no longer in the Leopard Lands. It’s a miracle if they aren’t already on to me...there no way the Bane and my Father will miss the fact that I’m out here basically screaming for them to find me.

The travel back to the camp was uneventful and aside from the pain in his gut the Druid quickly backtracked, at times jogging or flat out sprinting across the dark shadowed woods. The woods melted away as Brandon broke the tree line and he came quickly into the dim glow of the camp fire.

Almost instantly his eyes were drawn to Ann, the Mana Users brown skin standing in stark contrast to the dancing warm flames on her white dress, while her head was laid in the palm of her hand and her eyes were closed. Sleeping.

Smirking as he felt his heart warmed for her as he realized how exhausted she had become after carrying him to a safe spot. Brandon started to move deeper into camp, moving as softly as he could so as not to startle her, his heart clenching with guilt the more he ruminated on just how exhausted Ann must have been.

Shes completely out of it...never seen her just fall off like this, normally shes all about keeping watch. But I cant really blame her, I guess. She drug me up to this ridge and nursed me. Then she probably kept watch this whole time...shes needs the sleep.

Brandon shook his head and internally he decided that he would take up watch for the next few hours and let the Alchemist rest...but even as Brandon came to this decision, a harsh and terrible “Snap!” cut across the soothing crackle of the camp fire. Brandon flinched and he watched as Ann jumped, her eyes flying open as her head whipped around. Towards the sound of a shuffled movement...and a malevolent giggle.

“Ann...move!” Brandon screamed just as he reached out with is Druids senses and he was smacked in the soul with pure terror as he sensed the dull twisted greasy energy of a Ghoul.

Ann shot to her feet and started to back up to the left, shifting her weight away from the shadows, but at that moment a large lumbering beastly shadow flew at her. A snarling screaming yelp tore the darkness, as yellow white talons nearly as long and thick as butchers blades went for Ann’s chest and neck.

NO!

“Ann duck!” Brandon didn’t waste the precious few moments he still had to speak again, instead he opened his arms, letting the pile of wood he was carrying crash into the earth, then before the clattering pile could settle he was moving forwards. Ann flinched at the noise and turned to him, but it was already to late for her to get away. Too late for her to save herself. And even as he watched the woman’s face dawn with the realization of death he made himself go faster.

With an eloquence born of both battle and his training, he charged, and spun and as he moved, chopping his arm out vertical of his right to left hip and as he completed the act he let the Mana around him flood deep across his core, he let it rush to his fingertips so quickly the sensation of burning frostbite and numbing cold bit into his senses releasing a fresh thrum of agony to join all the rest he held inside.

The air thickened and he felt like he was nearly floating. The darkness around them glimmered with pale white light, as his flesh became charged with the Mana coursing through him. And with deadly intent he fashioned the air before his body and cast it out/off his palm, in the form of a swath of lethal bladed hot air.

His shot was wide, and his manipulation of the Mana skewered by haste and fear which caused him to release a giant lash of Mana that was sure to take Ann down as much as kill the ghoul if it struck them.

Luckily Ann threw herself forwards over the camp fire and tumbled just in time to avoid the Ghoul and his attack. White bristling energy sliced outwards, like a floating knifes edge, striking the Ghoul in the side of the throat, and severing its head entirely from its shoulders in one fell sweep. Thick meaty claws, and a lifeless torso slammed into the earth, blood gushing from a slimy headless stump to paint the area with slimy black fluids. Silence engulfed the night, as the head thunk’ed into the soil seconds later the Ghouls hideous face and fangs twitching like a spiders, next to Ann at the fire.

“Shit...” Brandon breathed as he reached over to Ann and silently helped her to her feet. She let him pull her to a standing position then she pulled away and shook her head. Ann shot the dead body a glare and with a clear disgust she struck outwards with her foot and the rumble of the Ghouls disfigured head could be heard tumbling down the mountain slope, before the Alchemist looked down at herself and the ruined vestiges of what had once been a beautiful dress.

Brandon quietly begrudged the splotches of black red blood on her side from the Ghouls blood and the heavy coating of mud and dust that had stained the entire front of Glens Healers Dress.

Welll...I guess there’s no way I’m giving that thing back to Glen now, huh?

“Damn...it looks like the Hounds were on to us the moment we left the Barrier. Brandon we are running out of time...” Came a sudden and grim proclamation from Ann as she sighed, stopped and began dusting at the blood on her shoulder.

Then she stared off around at the darkness surrounding them with a critical eye. “I can only imagine the more you use your Alchemic power the more we reveal ourselves, so it won’t be long before we have more than Ghouls chasing after us. Hovel will sense you and send Brothers and Sister to claim you, if he doesnt come for you himself.”

Brandon shook his head and just said. “We knew this would happen soon enough. I think we are going to seriously have to consider the Wards as an option before its too late.”

“Wards are not an option! STOP pretending like you have any clue about what your are asking when you proposed using them, you stubborn fool of a Druid!” Anns cold glare cut him as his teacher snapped back.

Brandon groaned and steeped towards her in frustration. “I’m not a fool and Wards are a good solution. They will mute my Aurora from the Brotherhood and you know it!!”

“No! It’s a stupid idea and we already discussed using Wards before we left the Clan lands Brandon! For many a reason I told you days ago that we are not going to use them. Wards will not only cause you terrible agony, but they will weaken you. In your current state they could get you killed, do you understand me!? Good.” Ann tightened her fists at her hips as she sat her hands against her sides and rolled her eyes not caring if Brandon agreed with her at that point or not.

“Then don’t bring it up as an option to me again, because if you do I will drag you back to the Leopard Lands kicking and screaming if I must!”

Brandon shared her glare for a moment or two, wanting to challenge her, but in the end he just dropped his gaze and he gestured to her and changed the subject. “Fine...and what about you? Are you okay? Did any of my Mana strike you back there?”

Ann sniffed but sensing that Brandon wasn’t going to press the matter she dropped her glare and allowed him to change the conversation. With a thoughtless flick of her wrists she flexed her arms and nodded. “Im am perfectly fine, I came out of a very bad situation with my life, although it was you that nearly killed me boy...” She admonished, dusting at her clothes and shooting him a critical roll of her eyes.

Brandon sighed and he finally released his hold on his Mana. The space around them was instantly plunged back into darkness now that he was no longer going like a small star and all of the sharp intense sensation of feeling the buzz of Mana vibrating in his soul cut away leaving him feeling light and sick to the stomach all at once.

“Yes, I NEARLY killed you Ann, but I almost CERTAINLY just saved your life, so how about you praise me for once? Jezz, some teacher you are!? You would think you would praise your very gifted, VERY capable student just a little bit more?”

“Gifted? SMART!!? I AM BEYOND AMUSED!” Ann scoffed and shook her head. “Your manipulation of your own Mana is sloppy at best. Its like watching a Healer trying to sew up gashes with a gun. Not to mention that I despair of you and your unending desire to turn all Alchemy into some hammer to attack with. There are SO SO many uses for Mana and yet you just keep swinging your fists around like a boar. You must learn to have better focus and control or you will actually succeed and kill me the next time you move to save me!”

Taking her critical words to heart Brandon visibly deflated and shook his head “Aww....Sloppy? I guess I had hopped Id approved more than that.”

“Well you haven’t.” Ann said back, but then she was raising her eyebrow and leaning forwards. “But you are aware that I have only been training you for a week or 2 at most? Did you truly think you would be perfect at Alchemy so soon? Me thinks you are a bit too cocky if you want to be flawless so soon.” She seemed to tease now, her voice somewhat amused as she tilted her eyebrows up as if considering a shocking truth. “Or....were you trying to kill me and simply missed your chance back there?”

“Oh stop...” Brandon rolled his eyes at his impromptu teacher in frustration. “I wasn’t trying to kill you Ann. I saved your life and once again you aren’t being very nice to me for it.”

Ann smiled at him softly and folded her arms as she looked at the fires he was stirring to frail life, Ann dusted at her left arm and sighed after a moment and quietly said. “Well since that truth can’t be denied I will say this Brandon...we are even now. Aren’t we, life for a life?” Ann looked to him after he said this and Bandon didn’t even need the cool shiver of memory that cut across his mind to agree with her.

Yeah...If it hadn’t been for Ann...me and Ezekiel would never have survived the Base. I wouldn’t be here now so close to discovering the truth if she had let us both die.

“Yeah...were even I guess.” Brandon gently replied as he tossed the other Mana User a fond smile and nodded his head to show her that he understood and agreed.

“Now...lets get the fuck out of here and go set up camp about six miles to the north. This place isn’t safe...and I get the feeling were going to be wishing we took all the time we could to rest once we start scaling the side of those mountains off to the far east.”