Dawn carried Niphru through town, both of them noticing the wary gazes directed to the man beside them.  As they reached the gate, the guards opened it up, revealing the other twelve members of the Church of Conflict waiting outside.  They looked both amused and annoyed seeing Dawn there.  As they approached, the warriors nodded to the man beside them.

 

“Okay, now that we are all together, my men would like to see proof that you will be useful in the oncoming conflict.  If you cannot provide sufficient proof, they will ignore my orders and resume hunting you.  Dawn, could you please put him down so he can give an example?” the man said.

 

Dawn looked conflicted, but set Niphru down beside her.  He looked over and nudged her with his head before walking forwards towards the men.  As he approached, he flipped his foxfire back to illusion and spoke, “First off, does anyone have any minor wounds or is willing to cut themselves slightly?  I can do minor healing, but it is easy to claim that without proving it.”

 

One of the men stepped forward, grabbing his axe and lightly slashed his arm across the blade.  He then spoke up, “You had best not be lying, fox.” Arm cut, he shifted his grip on his axe.

 

Niphru replied, “Of course not.  Now this will look bad, I heal with my fire.  To prove it is harmless unless I choose…” and then flipped his illusion back into foxfire, throwing it at Dawn’s head.

 

Dawn was well aware from past experience it wouldn’t burn, and simply stood there with her eyes closed for a moment before stepping away unharmed.  The man snorted and held out his arm, maintaining his grip on the axe.  Niphru nodded at him and sent the foxfire over his arm.  The man jerked back as the fire approached before holding steady again, relaxing a moment after the fire reached his arm.

 

After a moment he pulled his arm back and rubbed it, revealing undamaged skin where the blood had been.  He then nodded at Niphru, returning his axe to his side and moving back to the others.

 

“Well, that was something I was unaware of, and quite useful.  Do you have any other tricks you didn’t show before?” the leader remarked.

 

Niphru flicked his foxfire back to illusion to reply, “Yes, I just figured out basic magic today before you came to get me.”

 

He then returned his foxfire and shot a light blast of air towards the men, then fire towards the ground to the side.  As the grass ignited, he moved his flame over it, extinguishing it.  He then spoke through illusion again, “And as you can see, I can put out fires with my own, as odd as it seems.”

 

Following this, he spun his foxfire back out into a ribbon, pulling it through intricate patterns in the air.  Done showing off its agility, he darted it around at the highest speed he could, leaving a trailing blur around himself.  He then dragged it through the grass, igniting a wide swath of it nearly instantly.

 

Niphru put out the fire before using the illusion to speak once again, “As you can see, I can burn things at will with a great deal of speed and control.  I was able to kill quite a few of the ants when I discovered them, and they fall quite quickly if struck properly with the flame.”

 

He then continued, “Though I don’t believe it will be useful, I can also use the illusion I’m speaking through to hide things, or produce things that are not there.”

 

Following his speech, he then wrapped himself in an illusion and vanished from sight, only to return a moment later as a giant bear, then a copy of Dawn before returning the illusion to foxfire.

 

“Now, does anyone think he won’t be able to provide aid during the battle?” the leader questioned his men.

 

The men thought for a moment before most of them shook their heads, one however stepped forward and spoke, “I don’t believe a mere beast is trustworthy, but if it sticks around and does actually help, I won’t argue.  If it runs, though, we should cut it down.”

 

Niphru spoke up to the man, “I can’t leave my friend Dawn here when she would be in danger!  I came back even knowing you people were here and I expected to have to run after giving my warning.  I’m not running unless it is the only option, and Dawn has to be safe first!”

 

The man chuckled before responding, “You certainly have guts to speak up like that.  We will have to see how things go for the rest of it.”

 

The man returned to the others as the leader nodded and spoke up, “I see that we are in agreement then.  Until after the battle, Niphru will be considered a fellow warrior, though he will not be staying with us.  Should he attempt to flee, he will be deemed a traitor as well as a beast.”

 

Niphru nodded at the man, then returned back to Dawn, noticing she was crying.  She promptly picked him up and hugged him again, burying her face in his fur, worry and relief flooding their link.

 

After a few moments, Dawn returned back to the village, the guards opening the gate for her.  Behind her, the warriors headed out into the forest.

 

As they arrived back at home, Niphru heard several voices inside, the door opening to reveal Amilya, Harold, Diara, Monti, and a few others he did not recognize.  When they entered, the conversation died down, Amilya turning to speak to them, “Welcome back, Dawn, Niphru, I hope you don’t mind the arrangement with Devon, but it was the best way to keep you safe, and we were both confident in your abilities.”

 

“I am okay with it, though I still don’t trust them,” Niphru replied, Dawn nodding as he spoke.

 

Amilya nodded before speaking again, “You can trust them, they are the good sort compared to the rest of the Church of Conflict.  Just don’t try to run and you will be fine.  Dawn, have you managed to figure out fire magic yet?”

 

“Yes, Mom, I haven’t practiced it much, though, since I don’t want to burn anything down,” she replied.

 

“Great!  Feel free to practice with Niphru, fire is going to be our best weapon when the Black Tide arrives.  I don’t want you to be in danger, but at the same time you will be more capable than most.  Now you should get going while we discuss what we can do to prepare,” Amilya exclaimed.

 

Niphru spoke up before anyone could get going, “I would like to speak with Monti for a while, I want to learn how to heal with magic rather than just my flame, if I can.”

 

Monti shrugged, turning from the group and walked towards them as he spoke, “Well, I already know the plan for myself, so I can spare some time.  Lets go to my home, Dawn, you too, we don’t want to bother the others.”

 

They headed out the door, Niphru hearing the conversation resume as the door closed behind them.  After a few moments, they arrived at Monti’s house and entered.  There were no injured present at the moment, and Monti sat down before explaining a bit about how healing magic worked.  After about an hour of explanation, he grabbed a knife and cut his arm slightly, asking Niphru to heal it.

 

Try as he might, he couldn’t figure it out, resorting to using his flame in the end.  Dawn sat and watched, interested in the proceedings.  After several more tries, Niphru decided to give up on it, before Monti reached over and sliced his side with the knife.  In shock, he jumped backwards, swinging his flame towards Monti, only to stop as Monti stayed where he was and began speaking.

 

“Now if you can’t heal others, how about yourself?  That is typically the way most healers begin, after all,” he said.

 

Dawn was crying and jumped forward, grabbing Niphru.  He felt an odd flow of mana rush through himself and found he wasn’t bleeding anymore.

 

“Well, that wasn’t what I intended, but I suppose I should congratulate you, Dawn.  You are now able to heal basic injuries as well.  But how to manage for Niphru…  Ah, right,” he exclaimed, before he threw the knife at Dawn, slicing across her leg.

 

Niphru yelped and hurled a blast of air at the man, knocking him from his feet, then struggled with his mana, pushing it towards Dawn with the intent of healing even as he moved his flame towards her.  With a sudden snap, things seemed to shift, and he watched her wound close before the flame could reach it.

 

“That was cruel!” he exclaimed, running over to Monti and biting his hand as hard as he could, feeling the bone crack before he let go and ran back to Dawn.  He jumped up onto her chest where she had fallen and nuzzled her face.

 

Monti simply sat back up, holding his hand for a moment before speaking, “I suppose I did deserve that, but two more healers is worth it.  Congratulations, both of you.  I hope you don’t need what you just learned.  And I am sorry for how I acted, but in light of the current situation, I have to do what is best for the village even if it pains me.”

 

Niphru stared at the man for a moment before finally giving in and replying, “Fine, I forgive you, but I am not happy with you!”

 

Dawn finally got over what had just happened, glaring at the man before grabbing Niphru and running out the door, heading towards the western gate.