He weaved through the crowd, trying to avoid bumping anyone and unheeding any yells of protest when he did. His hands trembled, and he held them tight to his chest as he tried to control his breathing. His ring blade was missing, it must have slid off when he pulled his hand free, but getting more coins was the furthest thought from his mind right now. 

Mages were here. Mages creeped him out to no end, their touch prickled his skin and oddly, they seemed to get zapped by him as well. His mother always said a mage’s touch hurts because of their hate. Mages hurt those they hate, and for some reason, mages always hated him.

He risked a quick glance over his shoulder. The group wasn’t chasing him. Nevertheless, he still had to find Asha and flee. He scanned the area, but there were too many people to spot her. He tried to calm down, panicking would only draw more attention. Pulling his hood low over his head, he shoved his hands in his pockets and searched the crowd.

She was by a produce cart in the distance. Her frizzy, black curls gave off a copper shine as they glistened in the sun. She spotted him and called out a greeting that soon changed in pitch as she pointed back. 

He whipped his head around. Dammit! They snitched! 

An officer of the Watch was coming up on him, and even if he wasn’t wearing his navy and crimson uniform, the man would stand out. The guy was big, blacken, and over half a head taller than most of the crowd. Yeah, not inconspicuous in the least!

Unlike Shilo, this guy’s blackness meant something. Now that hybryd powerhouse was headed his way. 

Shilo ran like hell.

He bolted out of the festival square just as the bells of the clock tower chimed, he had to get back to Asha before they went off again. He tried not to worry too much, he had given the Watch the slip plenty of times, this’ll be no different. Besides, she knew if she didn’t see him before too long to head back to their arranged meeting place, a shed in one of the farming fields surrounding the capital. She’ll be fine, he hoped, she blended in with people better than he did. 

He ran down another street, twisting his path, and fled through an alleyway. 

Only to slam into a figure stepping out of the back door of an alehouse. 

Strong hands caught him and held him upright as a male voice that only slightly smelled of hooch asked if he was okay. Shilo raised his head in acknowledgement, but at the sight, he was anything but okay. Another uniform was before him, only this one was dark violet with silver trim. Shilo’s eyes locked on a silver badge of the sun and moon overlapping in a stylized eclipse pinned to his jerkin. The man was an enforcer, the Mage Council’s version of the Watch. 

Shilo felt himself hyperventilating. He tried to wiggle free, but the mage’s hold around his arms was like iron.

“Hold there, son. What seems to be your…” His voice trailed off, and he gave the same odd look as the other mage earlier. He then touched Shilo’s forehead in the same spot, with the exact same results. 

The enforcer grabbed Shilo’s wrist, and started tugging off his glove. Shilo clenched his fingers into a fist, but the enforcer tightened his grip and sent a sharp zap of mana, stronger than the first time, through his touch. Shilo let out a sharp cry as his black glove was pulled free of his hand. 

The enforcer furrowed his brow and met Shilo’s wide eyes.

“Birth defect! It means nothing!”

“Enforcer,” a baritone voice called out. “Thanks for catching my little sneak thief.”

Shilo yelped. 

“No, officer, I don’t believe he will be going anywhere with you.”

“Seriously? Which of you is worse?”

The enforcer held Shilo by the elbow and pulled him in close. Shilo tried batting the man away one-handedly as the enforcer roughly wiped his face with his sleeve. The grease and ash smeared all over the enforcer’s neat, clean uniform, exposing the boy’s charcoal skin underneath all the gunk. 

“Hope that crap stains!” Shilo growled and tried to shove the enforcer away with his free hand.

Shilo let out another yelp as a jolt of pain flashed through his body. The damn mage zapped him. 

Now that most of his disguise was removed from his face, the enforcer whipped him around for the other officer to see. The officer paused, his eyes widened against his own charcoal skin as he cocked his head.  

“The boy was seen stealing. Badgering a human, no less. That could rekindle animosity between our races,” The big officer said, stepping up to the mage and towering over him. Staring the other down, he said in a voice that held no debate, “He’s wanted for questioning.”

“If that powder keg was going to spark again, I think it would take more than the theft of a few coins to ignite it. Unless, let’s say, the thief in question represented something more?” The enforcer said with a dismissive tone, but Shilo caught the Watch officer’s eyes widened as they fell briefly on him. 

“Any threats that threaten our peaceful coexistence, be it actual or implied, must be examined. I need to bring the boy in.”      

“True, true. But, you see, therein lies the rub. I have no intention of handing him to you. You see, he has sparked my interest, and thus, the interest of the Mage Council. He is to be brought in to answer our questions and when, and only when, we are done, he may be released into your department’s care.” 

The mage rolled his hand and said, “Unless, of course, you feel your pickpocketing has more authority than my jurisdiction?”  

“Are you implying—”

“Hey, can I say something here?” Shilo struggled against the mage’s grip. He let a yelp as a jolt of pain shot through him for his efforts, courtesy of the mage. 

Both men glared at each other. The dark grey mage stood almost a head shorter than the blacken officer and was less than half his girth. Which didn’t seem to bother him in the least, he even added a smirk to his glare. 

The Watch officer clenched his jaw, his tail flicking to the beat of his displeasure. A growl low rumbled deep in his throat that soon turned into a snort. He glared one last time before turning around and walking back the way he came.

 “Hey!” Shilo screeched. “You gonna let this scrawny ass man bully you? Squish him like a bug, dammit! Come on now, you crap happy son of a goat! He’s a runt! If you leave, I’ll make sure I only target human’s coin pouches from now on!” 

Yeah, I’d starve if I did that, Shilo thought with a sigh. Humans were only allowed in the capital a few times a year during festivals or trading week.

“Nice try, kid. I outrank him on this, and he knows it,” the enforcer taunted, smiling down at him. 

Shilo was getting real tired of all the condescending smirks of adults today. As the mage grinned, Shilo growled, and at the same time, pulled his leg back and kicked the mage in the shin. The enforcer cursed and lessened his hold enough for Shilo to jerk free. 

Shilo took off as if hell itself was chasing him, and for all he knew it was. Today had gone to hell after all.

“Halt!”

Yeah, like that’s going to… Shilo felt his body tingle and tighten. His legs buckled under him, and he fell hard to the ground. His muscles twitched, but he couldn’t move, his body refused to listen. Damn magic farting mage! 

The enforcer grabbed the back of his collar, coat and all, and jerked him upright. A jolt of pain went down his spine all the way to his tail, more magic. The mage pulled his coat off for no reason Shilo could see, other than to further expose him as the fluke he was in the whole damn hybryd color system. He tossed his coat back at him. Shilo clutched it to his chest; his long sleeved shirt had not survived his recent growth spurt, and much of the skin above his wrists was visible. 

The mage’s cold eyes gazed over him, as if inspecting the crud at the bottom of one’s shoe. It was a look Shilo got a lot whenever he was in the Orphan Wranglers’ hostel. He should be used to it by now, but it still hurts.

“My skin means nothing by the way,” Shilo grumbled through half numb lips. “I’m a freak.”

The mage nodded with a cruel grin. 

The mage fastened a hand to the back of Shilo’s neck and shoved him along. Shilo stumbled. His body tingled as if his nerves were waking up from being numb. The enforcer released his magic enough for Shilo to walk, but not enough for him to forget who held him captive. He had no choice but to keep pace. They trudged through the cobblestone streets, avoiding the larger crowds, and headed towards the Capital Seat, a grand oblong structure at the heart of the city, just past where the fair was held. Shilo shuddered, he knew where the enforcer was leading him. He was being dragged to the Mage Chapter of the citadel.