Chapter 1 : Late Evening

Anton stretched his arms out over his head and grunted in relief as the joint in one of his elbows made a faint popping sound. Bringing his arms back down, he gave himself a final look over in the bathroom mirror before turning out the lights and leaving the room. Dressed only in a pair of comfortable athletic shorts, he was more than ready to embrace the late evening hour and call it a night. With this resolution having been firmly established in his mind, he made a beeline for his bed, but couldn't help but to stop short as he entered the bedroom and caught sight of a merrily twirling female dark elf who appeared to be clad in nothing but a pair of panties and an oversized T-shirt.
With her back to Anton, Kianna had no idea she was being watched as she twisted her hips and shoulders in rhythm to a tune in her head and danced back and forth around the side of the large king-sized bed that sat in the center of the room. Hugging the oversized shirt to herself, and causing the hem to flutter about around her hips, the gleeful dark elf was inadvertently giving Anton brief, tantalizing glimpses of her round, panty-clad bottom as she bounced about in front of him.
Unable to help himself from appreciating the view, Anton crossed his arms, leaned his shoulder against the door-frame and settled in to quietly enjoy Kianna's little dance show.
It wasn't until she went to make a full twirl that Kianna became aware of Anton's presence. Seeing him grinning smugly she quickly turned her back to him so as to hide the deep, embarrassed blush that was spreading across her face.
“Well now! What do we have here?” teased Anton “That's an interesting looking shirt... Is that yours?”
“...No.” mumbled Kianna as she tugged down on the hem of the shirt “...It's, it's something I found.”
“Oh? You just found it, huh? Well that's a little funny. Because I think I have a shirt that looks just like that one...” continued Anton as he playfully tilted his head to the side “In fact. It's actually one of my favorites too. And I'm sure hoping no sneaky little somebody is trying to run off with it. Because I'd be oh so upset to find out it got stolen away from me!”
Kianna stayed still for a moment before suddenly ducking her head and turning towards the archway that led to the closet.
“I didn't know it was your favorite.” she mumbled as she kept her eyes on the floor and made to quickly move past Anton “I'll put it back.”
“Whoa! Hold on a second there!” exclaimed Anton as he reached out and took hold of her arm before pulling her in close “I'm only playing with you Kianna. That's not really my... Wait? What's wrong?”
Kianna laid her ears back submissively as she looked away from him in embarrassment.
“I wasn't trying to steal it... I swear!” she whimpered as her voice cracked a bit “I'm sorry, I should have asked you first. I'll just put it-!”
Kianna was cut short as Anton wrapped his arms around her and hugged her to his chest.
“Hold on! Where is this coming from Kianna?” he asked around a half smile “I know you're not trying to steal it. C'mon now, it's not... It's okay...”
Kianna had begun to tremble in his arms as she quietly sobbed.
“I'm sorry! I know we don't have this kind of relationship...” whispered the dark elf as she kept her face hidden from him “I just really wanted to try it though...”
“...What? What are you talking about, Kianna?” questioned Anton as he tried to look at her face “What do you mean by relationship? And what did you want to try?”
Kianna blinked up at him with misty eyes before looking away again.
“I wanted to just... Like in movies, and TV shows. Where a girl will wear her guys shirts or other cloths. I've always thought that was really cool. And I've always wanted to try that... But I never really had the chance...” explained Kianna “I'm really sorry! I should have asked you if-!”
Kianna was cut short as Anton hugged her back to his chest and held her tightly.
“Anything I have, Kianna. Whatever it is. You can wear it all, whenever you want. And for as long as you want to...” he whispered into her ear “You never have to ask, just enjoy it all...”
Kianna eyes went wide as she absorbed what he said. After a moment of hesitation she made a small sound and frantically wrapped her arms around him so as to return his embrace.
They stood together this way until Anton gently loosened his grip and with a whisper suggested they call it a night. Kianna agreed, but refused to release her hold on him, and so with a chuckle Anton scooped her up in his arms and carried her over to the bed. As they settled in, Kianna nuzzled her head in under Anton's chin and quickly fell asleep in his arms. Listening to the gentle sounds of her breathing, Anton laid there on the verge of sleep for some time before a light impact against his chin jarred him back to full alertness. Realization quickly dawned on him and he couldn't help but to chuckle quietly as the offending something again lightly slapped itself against his chin. Sighing into a thin smile he gave Kianna a gentle squeeze as he tried his best to ignore her sporadically twitching ear and drift off to sleep.

The next morning, Fiona yawned groggily as she made her way downstairs. Turning into the kitchen she stopped short and shook her head in annoyance as she took in her sister's appearance.
Standing next to Anton at the stove, Kianna was wearing an overly large t-shirt that had been tied up above her waist to leave her mid-drift fully exposed. Slung around her hips were a pair of boxers, and over these were a comfortable pair of athletic shorts. These two garments were apparently much too big in size to actually fit correctly around her slender frame. So in order to keep them from slipping off, she had shortened their waistbands by gathering up a handful of their lengths and tying them into large knots that then stuck out from the side of her waist. Sitting loosely atop her head was a baseball cap, while on her feet were a pair of ridiculously large socks that bunched up and hung slack around her ankles.
Everything that Kianna was wearing was obviously meant to be worn by men and there was little doubt about whether or not it was all clothing that was owned by Anton. Although Fiona would have liked to believe that this was Anton's sick way of making a claim on Kianna by forcing her to wear his clothes, she knew better than this, and correctly assumed that her idiot sister had made the stupid decision to dress herself this way on her own.
“Seriously, Kianna? Are you really going to start dressing like a hobo now...” stated Fiona by way of greeting.
“Huh? Oh, it's you. Good morning.” said Kianna as she glanced back at her sister.
Taking a sip from his mug of coffee, Anton chuckled and gave Fiona a nod before he and Kianna both focused back on the skillet in front of them.
“This doesn't look like bacon?” mumbled Kianna as she used a fork to lift a thin strip of meat out of an opened package “Are you sure this is right?”
“Yes, this is what bacon always looks like before you cook it.” laughed Anton as he watched her lay the strip down across the skillet and quickly follow it with another one.
When no more strips could fit in the skillet, he reached over and clicked on the burner.
“...So we really just let them lay there?” questioned Kianna as she stared down at the uncooked strips of bacon she had covered the skillet with “We don't need to do anything else?”
“No, not yet.” said Anton as he leaned back against the counter-top “Once they start to cook we'll flip them over. But it'll be a minute before they're ready for that.”
“...How will we know when they're ready?” asked Kianna.
“Oh, don't worry about that, we'll know.” grinned Anton as he took another sip from his mug.
Making her way to the refrigerator, Fiona poured herself a glass of orange juice before taking a seat at the table and settling in to wait for breakfast.
Kianna's ears were pointed straight upwards as she watched the strips of bacon. Her ears began to twitch excitedly as the faint sounds of sizzling started to rise out of the skillet. A hit of nervousness reached her eyes as a thin layer of grease seeped out of the bacon strips and began to pop and sizzle as it coated the bottom of the quickly warming skillet.
“...Hey! It's popping!” she exclaimed as she leaned away from the stove “Is it supposed to do that!?”
“Mm hm, that's normal.” smiled Anton as set his mug down and picked up a pair of long tongs “Don't worry. It's going to get a lot worse than this.”
Kianna glanced at him before focusing back on the quickly shriveling strips of bacon.
“What do you mean!? Why is it gonna get worse!?” she cried as she leaned further back.
“Because as the bacon strips shrivel up they're going to release even more grease.” explained Anton as his smile broadened “And with the more hot grease you have, the more popping you're going to get.”
“...Oh. Well that's not good!” mumbled Kianna as she lowered her ears and took a step back.
Anton's eyes were teasing as he watched the dark elf become more and more nervous as the sizzling grease grew louder and louder.
“...Alright. It looks like they're about ready to be flipped now.” he said as he reached out to hand her the pair of tongs “Now you just need to flip them over so the other side can cook.”
Kianna hesitated for a second before taking the tongs and approaching the stove.
“Okay...” she mumbled nervously as she held her arm out and went to lift a piece.
The moment the bacon left the skillet a large glob of grease popped loudly and Kianna dropped the bacon as she jumped back.
“It's gonna pop on me!” she cried as she laid her ears down flat behind her head and held the tongs out to Anton “Here! You do it!”
Anton chuckled as he took the tongs and moved to stand in front of the stove.
“It's okay, Kianna.” he smiled as he began to flip the bacon with a practiced hand “It's not going to hurt you. The grease is just being loud as it sizzles from the heat, it's not really going to explode on you or anything.”
“Are you sure!?” grumbled Kianna as she peeked around him and glared at the bacon “...It looks like it's throwing stuff in the air?”
“Well, it is. A little bit. But these larger globs are too heavy to travel very far before they end up falling back into the skillet. So as long as you don't get too close they won't land on you.” said Anton as he grinned back at her “So just don't stick your face near the skillet, and you'll be fine.”
Kianna turned her glare on him before going back to watching the sizzling bacon.
“Now, it's also true that as the grease bubbles and pops, tiny bits might sometimes fly out of the skillet. But these are going to be so small that they'll cool down as soon as they hit the open air. So even if they happen to land on you it isn't going to hurt. It'll just make a mess instead.” explained Anton.
Nodding in understanding, Kianna said nothing as she watched him shift the pieces of bacon about so that they would cook more evenly.
“Alright, while these are finishing up. Let's go ahead and get the eggs started.” said Anton.
“Okay!” exclaimed Kianna as she dashed to the refrigerator. By the time she returned with a carton of eggs Anton had already gotten a second skillet ready for them.
“Are scrambled eggs alright with you, Fiona?” asked Anton.
“Yeah. I'm good with that.” mumbled Fiona.
Nodding, Anton demonstrated the proper way to crack an egg to Kianna before letting her prepare the rest. The eager dark elf ended up crushing a few of them before finding the right level of finesse to crack them properly. When the second skillet was finally full of waiting eggs, Anton clicked on the burner and instructed Kianna on how to cook them.
As she watched her sister excitedly stir up the eggs, Fiona's ears began to twitch as an odd sensation suddenly took form in her head.
“Yo!” she exclaimed as she turned to look towards the front of the house “...I think the wards going off again!”
Anton and Kianna both turned to her a second before they too felt the wards internal warnings.
Narrowing his eyes, Anton reached over and clicked off both of the stoves burners before wiping his hands with a dish towel and making his way out of the kitchen. The two dark elves glanced at each other before quickly following him as he headed towards the front of the house.
“I doubt this will be our assassin...” mumbled Anton as he stepped into the front sitting room and gazed out the large bay window that overlooked the front of the property “Considering it's pretty rare for an assassin to be bold, or foolish, enough to attack during daylight hours...”
“Don't really expect an assassin to just drive right up in a white van either.” reasoned Fiona as said vehicle turned into the entryway and slowly came down the drive towards the house.
As the van rounded the bend of the circular drive and came to a stop, a bright logo reading “Realm Express Delivery Services” could be seen clearly as it ran down its side.
“Oh! It's my orders!” cried Kianna as her face lit up with excitement “That was fast!”
Tilting her head to the side, Fiona pointed her ears straight back as she focused on sensing the mana signatures coming from the vehicle.
“...There's one guy driving, and another one in the back.” she mused as she eyed the van with suspicion.
As they all watched, the driver, who appeared to be a halfling, looked over a tablet computer before ducking into the back of the van and out of sight. A moment later he reappeared with several boxes in his hands and hopped down from the van.

Standing at just over three feet tall, the halfling appeared human in almost every way, save for being, literally, only half the size of one. With dark, short cropped hair, a barely there goatee, large rounded ears and human-like proportions to his limbs and body. He could easily be mistaken for a human youth at first glance. His seemingly oversized feet, in proportion to the rest of his body, was the only feature of his anatomy that would clearly distinguished him for what he truly was.
Dressed in what appeared to be his uniform, the halfling wore a simple white, long-sleeved, button-up shirt adorned with his companies logo, khaki slacks and black trainers. Large sunglasses hid his eyes and a human-sized watch covered the entirety of his wrist. He had the sleeves of his shirt rolled up past his elbows and a healthy looking tan adorned the light-toned skin of his arms and head.

Seeing that he was making his way towards the front door, Kianna quickly dashed from the room and before the halfling was even a few paces away from his vehicle, she was coming to a stop just in front of him. After adding her signature to his device she excitedly took the packages from him and with a shouted thank you rushed back to the house.
Both Anton and Fiona narrowed their eyes in annoyance as they watched the halfling bite his lower lip and lean to the side while he blatantly gawked at Kianna's backside as she walked away from him. Once she was back in the house and out of his sight he turned around and with a new bounce in his step made his way back to his van.
“Little shit.” grumbled Fiona as she watched the halfling settle back into the driver's seat and again go over his tablet.
“Yes, he is...” agreed Anton as he crossed his arms.
They both turned away from the window as a giggling Kianna sped past the room's archway on her way back to the kitchen.
Chuckling in amusement, Anton moved to follow her and after taking one last look at the van Fiona did so as well.
When they reentered the kitchen they found Kianna standing over the pile of packages she had spread out across the table. Having already torn open one of the boxes, she was reading over an order list and verifying the contents in the box. A bright smile stretched across her face as she turned to them.
“Hey! No peeking!” she cried as she slammed the flaps of the box shut in a bid to playfully hide its contents “Especially not you! Master!”
Fiona groaned in annoyance as Anton made a show of quickly looking away.
“Sorry, sorry! Didn't mean to peek!” exclaimed Anton as he kept his eyes averted and made his way back to the stove “I'll just stay over here then!”
“Yeah, you better!” smiled Kianna a she went back to checking over her ordered items.
Her face still showing her irritation clearly, Fiona retook her seat and absently looked over the unopened boxes for a moment before her eyes narrowed in on one in particular.
“Hey, this one's actually for you.” she mumbled as she picked up the perfectly square box and turned to Anton.
“Oh really? Good. That was quick.” he said as he glanced back at her “Hopefully I won't actually need those, but it'll still be nice to have them just in case.”
“...What are they?” asked Fiona as she gave the box a light shake.
“Oh, you don't want to know.” smiled Anton as he turned back to the scrambled eggs.
Shaking her head, Fiona tossed the box back on the table with an annoyed sigh.
Noticing that Anton was now preparing the food on his own, Kianna quickly gathered her packages back into a pile.
“I'll be right back. I'm gonna take this stuff upstairs.” she cried as she picked up the stack of boxes and raced out of the room.
Fiona watched her go before slumping in her chair, after a moment of stillness she slowly turned her head towards the front of the house.
Still standing at the stove, Anton said nothing as he quietly flipped the now fluffy eggs. After a moment of stillness he too slowly turned his head towards the front of the house.
Fiona's ears gradually pointed themselves straight back behind her head as her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Turning to each other, she and Anton shared a knowing glance before they both turned back to stare at seemingly nothing.
Bouncing back into the room, Kianna stopped short as she took in their focused expressions.
“...What's, what's going on?” she asked as she pointed her ears straight upwards and looked from one to the other.
“...The delivery guy is leaving.” mumbled Fiona as she kept her eyes forward.
Shifting her attention towards the front of the house, Kianna too became aware of the quickly departing mana signature of the delivery driver as he supposedly drove away. She stopped short and widened her eyes to the fullest as she came to realize what Fiona and Anton had noticed already.
The second mana signature was still there, and it was not moving.
“...Hm, well now.” mumbled Anton as he leaned back against the counter-top and crossed his arms “Looks like this day might be about to get a little more interesting...”
Kianna glanced back at him before turning back to glare in the direction of the unknown intruder.
“I'll go check it out!” she growled as she pointed her ears straight back.
“No! You stay right there!” commanded Anton “We're the one's with the element of surprise right now. And if that is an enemy out there, then the last thing we want to do is let them know that we know they're there... Let's just wait for a moment, and see what it does next...”
Grimacing, Kianna set her jaw and waited. After a few moments the presence suddenly seemed to disappear from where it was and reappear several meters away and off to the side of the house.
“Whoa! What the fuck!?” cried Fiona as her head swiveled to where the presence now sat “What just happened!?”
“Oh! Looks like we might have a teleporter on our hands...” grumbled Anton as he cocked an eyebrow “That could be annoying...”
“Teleporter!?” exclaimed Kianna “...Does that mean it could get in here through the walls!?”
“If it is actually teleporting, which I'm pretty sure it is, then yes.” said Anton as he kept his eyes facing towards the presence “Now the question is whether or not its using a spell to do so?”
“...Why does that matter?” asked Fiona.
“Because, if its using a spell then it could be anything.” answered Anton “But if its using an ability then that will narrow down what species it could be...”
“...Is there a way to tell the difference?” asked Kianna.
“Possibly. If its an ability it can be used over and over again without any delay at all. A spell though, unless its been fully mastered, is going to have a pause whenever its being recast. ...So far whatever is out there has only moved once, so I can't-”
As he spoke the presence suddenly made two more jumps, one right after the other, and traveled both away from the house and around to the back side of it.
“...You were saying?” quipped Fiona.
“...I was saying-” started Anton before the presence made three more jumps and stopped out beyond the treeline behind the house “...That yeah! I'd say that whatever it is out there, its using an ability.”
“So now that you know that. Can you figure out what it is?” asked Kianna as she glared in the direction of the presence.
“Not yet. But like I said, it does narrow it down...” said Anton.
The room went silent for some time as the three of them all waited for the presence to make another move. As the time began to drag on, Anton turned to the stove and went back to cooking breakfast.
The two dark elves both glanced at him before looking at each other.
“What are you doing!?” questioned Kianna.
“I'm finishing up our breakfast.” explained Anton “I don't want it to burn.”
“...Uh! I think we've got something a little more important than that going on right now!” exclaimed Fiona.
Anton chuckled and shrugged as he kept his focus on what he was doing.
“It seems, that for the moment at least, our little friend out there is taking a break.” he said as he pulled a plate out of a cabinet and set it down next to the stove “So I see no reason why we can't do the same.”
The dark elves both looked at each other in confusion before turning back to Anton.
“Are you fucking serious right now!?” exclaimed Fiona as she threw her arm out towards the presence “We got a killer prowling around outside, right at this fucking moment! And you're just wanna ignore it!?”
“No, I'm not ignoring it at all.” said Anton as he began to move the bacon over to the plate “I'm actually paying very close attention to it. And right now at this moment, it doesn't seem to be doing anything.”
“...Well, wait!? Aren't, aren't we gonna go get it though!?” asked Kianna as she cocked one of her ears in a curious manner “I mean! What are we waiting for!?”
“We're waiting for it to come to us.” stated Anton “And we are going to wait, patiently, until it does.”
“Why!?” exclaimed both of the dark elves in unison.
“Because we still have the element of surprise.” said Anton as he switched off the stove “And if we go off and march out there ready for battle, we will lose that advantage immediately. Now, we have no reason to think that whoever is out there isn't going to come to us eventually. And when they do, we'll be ready for them.”
“...So, let me get this straight! Instead of going after it, and taking it out! You just want us to wait in here for it to pop in and kill us!? ...Cause that sounds like a fucking terrible idea!” stated Fiona.
“Try, to kill us.” declared Anton as he pointed his finger at her “Not kill us. Try, to kill us. Big difference.”
“Whatever!” exclaimed Fiona “It's still a terrible idea!”
“Oh really. And why would you think that?” asked Anton.
“Because! We're just sitting ducks in here! It could pop in at any second and just take us out!” exclaimed Fiona “I mean sure, we might know its coming, but that doesn't mean it still can't attack us!”
“We would know its coming. And right now it doesn't know that.” said Anton as he brought the pan of scrambled eggs to the table “And going out there and facing it isn't going to stop it from attacking us. All that's going to do is let it know that we have security measures in place. Its going to know its been found out and its going to try to escape so it can come back when its better prepared. I don't want that to happen. I don't want to let it get away.”
Fiona went still as she stared up him.
“I don't care if our little visitor friend out there is here to spy on us, steal from us or is actually going to try and kill us...” said Anton as he stared down at the pan of eggs and began to whisper “It has chosen to invade our home. And as such it is now threatening us. And I am going to make sure that it pays for that very poor decision...”
Kianna and Fiona said nothing as they watched Anton move back to the cabinets and begin to gather together sets of plates and silverware.
“Kianna, do you mind making us some toast, please?” he asked as he made his way back to the table and handed the plates and silverware to Fiona.
“Uh. Sure.” said Kianna as her eyes immediately darted to the toaster “I can do that.”
“Thank you.” said Anton as he made his way to the coffee maker and poured himself another mug.
Turning around and leaning back against the counter-top, he took a sip from his mug as he watched the two dark elves go about their tasks. Once Kianna was nearly finished with the toast, Anton picked up the plate of bacon and fell into step with her as they moved to the table together. With everything now in place they all sat down and began to serve themselves.
Though the food was delicious, the two dark elves couldn't help but to keep their focus on the unmoving presence outside, and as such the room stayed quiet for some time as they ate in silence and stared at the wall behind Anton.
“...Why isn't it moving!?” mumbled Fiona as she glared at an empty spot on the wall “What the Hell is it waiting for!?”
“More than likely its going to wait for nightfall to make its move.” answered Anton “Which is good, because that will give us some time to prepare ourselves. ...By the way, have you two ever seen that particular delivery man before?”
“Huh?” questioned Kianna as she turned to him “Yeah, he's been here before, a few times. Why?”
“Okay. It could very well be the case that he didn't know this person was in the van with him then... Which would mean that this being is either very small, or will have ways of concealing itself. We'll need to be ready for both possibilities...” explained Anton as he glanced over his shoulder towards where the presence was still sitting.
“Concealing itself?” asked Kianna.
“Mm hm. It could have something along the lines of invisibility. Or it may be capable of casting illusions.” said Anton “We'll just have to be ready for anything along those lines.”
“Oh, well that would just be fucking perfect...” mumbled Fiona “The damn things probably going to go invisible and pop in here to kill us in our sleep!”
“That could very well be its plan.” said Anton with a nod.
“So how are we going to be ready for that!?” asked Kianna “What's our plan going to be!?”
“Our plan is simple, really.” said Anton “We wait for our foe to attack us. And then I'll beat it up when it does.”
Going still for a moment, the two dark elves gave each other a look as they both grimaced in annoyance.
“Seriously!?” grumbled Fiona “That's really your plan!?”
“Mm hm.” nodded Anton “...I'll probably set up a few hexes as well. Just in case, you never know after all. I really, really don't want our little friend to get away from us.”
“Really!? Your plan is seriously just to beat it up!?” mocked Fiona “And what makes you think that's gonna work!?”
Anton shrugged as he gave her a smug grin.
“Well, it worked with you.” he stated.
Fiona narrowed her eyes and began to grumble incomprehensibly as she looked down at her food.
“I hate this plan!” exclaimed Kianna “This is dangerous!”
“It is, but don't worry Kianna.” said Anton as he gave her a reassuring smile “Preparation makes all the difference. And we'll be ready. As soon as we're done eating we'll set up the hexes, and then it's just a matter of waiting.”
Kianna stared at him for a moment before sighing loudly and continuing with her meal.

Once breakfast had been finished and cleaned away, Anton brought his jars of imbuing ingredients up from his desk in the dungeon and spread them out across the kitchen table.
Both of the dark elves were sitting quietly on the other side of the table as they divided their attention evenly between the books they were reading, what Anton was doing, and the presence that still lingered out behind the house.
While painting a seal across a thin slice of white colored wood, Anton suddenly paused before glancing back over his shoulder.
“The fuck?” whispered Fiona as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards “What's it doing now!?”
“...Its coming closer.” mumbled Kianna as she set Anton's book on dark elves down on the table and went to stand up.
“Stay right there!” commanded Anton “Don't move!”
Grimacing, Kianna eased herself back down into her seat and narrowed her eyes at the now slowly approaching presence.
As all three of them stared at the same empty space on the wall, their attention suddenly shifted to the side as the incoming being made several jumps and reappeared closer to the far side of the house.
Moving slowly again, the being made its way along the side of the house before pausing for several minutes and then continuing on and pausing again.
“...What the Hell is it doing now?” whispered Fiona.
“...I, I think?” questioned Anton as he cocked an eyebrow “...It might be looking in the windows?”
“Oh, that is so creepy!” grumbled Kianna as she pointed her ears straight back behind her head.
“...This doesn't make any sense.” mumbled Anton as he shook his head “It's still daylight out there. Why would it take the risk of being seen? ...What is it thinking?”
“Maybe its invisible?” offered Fiona as she mimicked her sister by pointing her own ears straight back.
“That... That might be the case... Still though...” said Anton as he shook his head again “I just can't believe it would be this... bold.”
As they waited, the being outside continued its slow path around the house before finally coming around to the side with the kitchen door.
“Holy shit!” exclaimed Fiona as she twisted in her seat and faced the windowed door “Its gonna see us!”
“Turn around! Stay sitting! Stay still!” demanded Anton as he let his gaze fall to the tabletop in front of him “Just act normal!”
“What!? Are you crazy!?” cried Kianna as she and Fiona both stood up “Its gonna see us!”
“Yes. And if we're lucky, I'll be able to tell what it is when it looks through that window.” explained Anton as he met her eyes “Now sit back down. And just act normal.”
Both of the dark elves glared at Anton as they felt the presence creep closer and closer to the door behind them.
“This is stupid!” hissed Fiona through her clenched teeth.
“No, this is an opportunity.” stated Anton “Now just relax, and sit back down.”
Glancing at each other, the two dark elves reluctantly took their seats and stared down at the table.
“Ears.” whispered Anton as he looked back and forth between them “Relax your ears.”
Scowling, the two dark elves both made conscious efforts to raise their ears back up to their resting positions.
“Good. Now just hold still.” whispered Anton “...Here it comes.”
In an effort to appear nonchalant himself, Anton feigned working on his seals as the presence crept up to the door.
Moving quickly, the presence peeked in through the window before ducking back down and hiding itself from sight.
Though he wasn't looking directly at the window, Anton had still been able to tell that whatever was outside, it was, at least currently, not invisible.
Unfortunately, whatever the presence was it had moved far to fast for him to make out any details beyond the fact that it had a solid form, and so taking a soft breath he began to softly whisper to the now trembling dark elves.
“Girls... Just relax... We don't want to scare it away...” he soothed as he reached over to his mug and took hold of its handle “Its not invisible... So now we have a chance to figure out what it is...”
“Wha? Seriously!? Then if we can see it!” hissed Kianna through her teeth “We should just try to get it right now!”
“Yeah! Fuck it! Let's just get it!” agreed Fiona in her own snarling whisper.
“No! Stop!” growled Anton as he felt the dark elves auras begin to seep out from their beings “You're going to give us away! Just wait a moment!”
As he spoke the presence again began to slowly move towards the doors windows and anticipating this, Anton went to lift his mug at the same time.
“Just wait! Just wait!” continued Anton as he brought the mug to his lips and gazed absently across the room.
Though he wouldn't dare to look directly at the presence, he was still able to discern a few of its features. Such as the fact that it appeared to be an average, if not slightly below average, sized being and that it apparently had pale skin and black colored hair on its head.
“Is it looking at us!?” hissed Kianna as her ears started to twitch in irritation.
“Fuck this!” growled Fiona as she gripped the edge of the table “Let's just go for it!”
“I said stay still!” snarled Anton “I'm not going to tell you again!”
Glancing at each other, the two dark elves narrowed their eyes in a silent agreement and slowly began to rise out of their seats in unison. Once fully standing they couldn't help but to stop short when they felt Anton's aura suddenly fill the area directly around them. Locking their eyes to him they both stiffened as they felt a cold fury take form in the surrounding aura.
“Girls... I am serious right now. This is not a game.” whispered Anton as he took another mock sip from his mug “If either one of you moves again, you will both regret it...”
Furious now, both Fiona and Kianna's eyes began to glow with a faint, angry red light. They both went to speak but were suddenly cut short. They grunted in surprise when their bloodgems began to glow and their collars started to tighten ominously around their necks.
Freezing where they stood, the two dark elves glared down at Anton as they remained completely still.
Behind them, the presence watched for several long moments before sinking down and out of sight.
As it moved to disappear, Anton took the chance to look at it directly. He only saw it for a split second and still wasn't able to discern much in the way of features, but one detail did stand out.
Whatever this being was, it appeared to have a short, shiny, black-colored point, rising out of its head.
Anton held his bated breath as he felt the presence make a jump away from, and then around the building. He breathed a sigh of relief when after several more jumps, it returned to the spot it had been occupying since that morning and went still again.
“Well!” he said as he stood up and loomed over the dark elves “That could have gone better!”
With his jaw set and his aura flaring, there was little doubt as to whether or not his anger was legitimate.
Their instincts getting the better of them, both Fiona and Kianna couldn't help but to submissively fold their ears down flat behind their heads as they looked up at him.
Gazing back at them for a moment, Anton sighed and slowly shook his head as he crossed his arms. Although the dark elves had preformed their little submissive gestures, they were both still glaring angrily at him and were clearly unapologetic.
“...Well. Go ahead. I can tell you both have something to say. So let's hear it!” he said.
Taken aback, the sisters glanced at each other before looking off to opposite sides of the room.
“...The fuck was that!?” grumbled Fiona “We could have taken that thing out if you'd just let us!”
“Oh really?” said Anton as he cocked an eyebrow “And how exactly would you have done that?”
“Easy! We have magic now!” declared Kianna as she turned her glare back to him “Magic that we could use to catch it! Or even kill it with!”
“Kill it?” said Anton as he blinked in surprise “And how do you know you can even kill it? You don't even know what it is! It could already be dead for all you know. And what then? How are you going to kill a spirit, Kianna? Rattle it to death with some chains!?”
Kianna hesitated for a moment before deepening her glare.
“It doesn't matter! I'll do whatever I have to do! I'm not helpless anymore! I can fight back!” she declared as thin tears of anger began to form in her eyes “I have magic now! Real magic! Magic that you taught me!”
“Magic doesn't make you invincible, Kianna. Even with all the power in the world, you can still lose!” exclaimed Anton as he glared right back at her “That's why you need to always be as prepared as possible! Especially when you're facing an unknown opponent! One who could very well be a trained assassin!”
Kianna said nothing as she stared up him.
“...Listen, both of you. There have been plenty of dark elves that have met their ends early purely because they were overconfident.” said Anton as he kept his gaze locked to Kianna's “And the same could easily happen to either one of you. You may have powerful abilities but that isn't enough to guarantee you victory. You need to understand that magic is just a tool. And that your real weapons are your minds.”
“...What do you mean?” mumbled Kianna.
“I mean exactly what I just said.” declared Anton “Your mind is your greatest weapon. Everything else is just a tool for you to use. And this is especially true for your magic. Knowing both what you can do and what your opponent can do will make all the difference in any fight. Look at what just happened to that sasquatch, Joel. He thought his natural strength would have been enough to seal his victory. And he was very, very wrong. His lack of knowledge and understanding of what he was truly up against, lead to a blunder that nearly cost him his life. Learn from his mistake! And don't assume you can win just because you're powerful. It's almost never that simple.”
“Sometimes it is though!” exclaimed Fiona “And how can you even tell what someone can do unless you fight them!? Huh!? It's not like you can just look at them and be able to tell! Anyone could know how to use spells!”
“True. And that's my point. You shouldn't go into a fight either assuming anything or relying on any single capability. Again, look at what happened to Joel. His strength failed him. And the same thing could easily happen to you with your magic.” stated Anton as he looked from one dark elf to the other “In all honesty, completely relying on magic in a fight is really the last thing you want to do.”
“...Why is that?” questioned Kianna.
“Because magic can be countered. Especially if you understand how any given ability works.” explained Anton “This is why you should always try your best to not let your opponent know what you can do. Rather than blasting your abilities out with wild abandon, you should instead think of them as secret weapons. Weapons that you only use when you really need to, or if you already know for sure that by using them, you can win.”
“Pfft! This is rich coming from you!” growled Fiona “You're using your magic all the time! And for stupid shit too!”
“Yes, that's true.” said Anton “But when I first met you, and we were still enemies, I hesitated to use any magic at all. And even now, I really only use my magic when I feel I need to. In fact, I still have plenty of skills that you two haven't even seen yet.”
“...Wait? You do!?” questioned Kianna as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards “Really!?”
“Oh yes.” said Anton as he turned to her “You've seen quite a bit of what I can do. But trust me. You two have no idea of what I'm really capable of.”
The two dark elves said nothing as they stared at him for a moment and then glanced at each other.
“And fortunately for us...” said Anton as he looked back over his shoulder “Neither does our little friend out there...”
“...Yeah, but we still don't know what it can do either.” mumbled Fiona.
“Actually, I've got a better idea of what to expect from it now.” said Anton as he dropped his aura and retook his seat “I'm not exactly a hundred percent sure about what I saw though...”
“Wait! You saw it!?” cried Kianna.
“What did you see!?” exclaimed Fiona.
“Well, like I said. I'm not completely sure. It could have been an ear, but I don't think it was...” said Anton as he reached across the table and picked up the small package he had received that morning “I think, what I saw was probably a horn...”
“A horn?” questioned Kianna as she cocked one of her ears in a curious manner.
“Well that doesn't narrow down shit!” declared Fiona “Lot's of things have horns!”
“True, there are quite a few different species that have horns.” nodded Anton “This being would have short, black horns though. And the ability to teleport. So that does narrow down the list, considerably.”
“Oh! So you do know what it is then!?” asked Kianna.
“No, not fully. I do have a pretty good idea of what it probably is though. And if I'm wrong, it should still be one of only a handful of things...” said Anton in an absent tone as he formed a glowing orange knife and slit open the box “In any case, if it is what I think it is. Then this will be a good opportunity to illustrate what I mean when I say that magic isn't necessarily always going to equal victory.”
“...And how are you going to “illustrate” that?” questioned Fiona.
“By not using any of course.” said Anton as he smiled up at them “And by not letting you two use any either.”
“...What!?” cried both of the dark elves in unison.
“Pretty lucky for me that these came in when they did...” said Anton as he opened the little box “Just in time for when I'd need them.”
“What are those?” questioned Kianna as she leaned over the table in an effort to get a better look.
“Oh, just a little something that's going to help us from having a repeat of this afternoon...” said Anton as he pulled a second smaller package out of the box and opened it for them to see “One of these days I hope you two will finally learn to control yourselves. But until then, I guess I'll just have to keep putting you two in timeout...”
“...Ah, fuck!” groaned Fiona as she and Kianna stared down at a brand new, white colored ballgag.