My Collection of Short Stories

Trust

My breath came in puffs as my feet carried me to the forest. I heard the shouts of my attackers behind me, prompting me to run faster. I didn't dare look back. I needed to hide. I needed a place to recover and lay low for a few days. The forest was my safe house. It provided everything I needed to get away from bounty hunters. I narrowly dodged an arrow, but still did not turn around. If I could just get to the tree line, I would be safe. I could fly up into the branches and hunker down. They would never be able to find me in there. A smirk found its way onto my face as I propelled myself into the tree's awaiting arms.

"She disappeared!" one of them growled.

"That's impossible, her kind aren't able to camouflage," the leader of the three replied.

"Should we go after her?" the timid one asked.

"No, this forest is dangerous for us humans. There are more creatures like her in there than anywhere else on the land. We failed," the leader turned and left with the other two following behind. I watched them from my perch as they went back to their camp. When I knew they were gone, I jumped down from my hiding place. I stood there for a moment, listening to the sounds of the forest. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so I decided to unfurl my wings. I stretched them out and let the wind caress their feathers. I was getting tired of running and hiding. My kind just so happened to be one of the rarest creatures out there. My wings gave a heavy price on the market. This wasn't my first time dealing with bounty hunters, but this had been a close call. Clearly I needed to be more careful, which meant hiding out in this forest for longer than a week.

I wiggled my toes through the dirt and grass, smiling at the feeling. I was lucky enough to still have my freedom, unlike others of my kind. With that thought in mind, I started walking deeper into the forest. My home was close enough to the tree line for me to travel, but deep enough in the forest that bounty hunters couldn't find me. I found the spot when I was just a small girl. It was right after the tragedy, and I was smart enough to make it into a home. Ever since then, I've been traveling around the land, just trying to survive. I sighed and looked around me. Everything was so peaceful here. This was the forest where all creatures hunted by bounty hunters hide out until they're safe. Some have been here all of their lives, while others have been here for a week or so.

It was sad, really. Creatures like me didn't have the freedom that humans or elves did. I wish it was different. Suddenly, I picked up on a strange noise, breaking me from my thoughts. I narrowed my eyes and crouched, dashing from tree to tree. That noise came from my home. I flattened myself against the boulder that marked my territory and peeked out from behind it. There was a man in my home! He was looking through my belongings. How did a human get in here? Usually humans were too scared to even step a foot into this forest. Wait, maybe he wasn't a human. His ears were pointed like an elf's, just not as long. What was I going to do? I could defend myself, yes, but I wasn't that skilled. Maybe I could frighten him off. Yeah, that seemed like a good enough plan.

I flared my wings and jumped out to face him. "Who are you and what are you doing in my house?" I tried to make myself look intimidating. To my surprise, the man raised his hands in surrender, not even pulling out a weapon.

"I'm terribly sorry, I had no idea someone lived here," he explained. However, I didn't buy it.

"Yeah right, you were going through my belongings. The house is clearly lived in, unless you're just that stupid." He chuckled and slowly lowered his hands.

"Your stance is all wrong, you know," he said cheekily. "If you really want to hurt me, you should work on your skills." This was strange. He wasn't at all intimidated by my presence and didn't even comment on my wings. It didn't look like he had any weapons on him, and if he truly wanted to hurt me he would've done so by now. Still, I wasn't about to trust him just like that.

"You didn't answer my question," I puffed out my feathers.

"Technically, you asked two questions," he smirked. Okay, he was starting to get on my nerves. I growled and sauntered up to him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.

"Listen you punk, this is my home, not yours. I came here to hide from people like you, not joke around with them. If you think my suffering is funny, that's on you, but I don't need a pathetic excuse for an elf wandering around this forest. So you better tell me who you are and where you came from before I get even more angry." He surprised me once again by grabbing my wrist and twisting my arm behind me. He leaned in close to whisper in my ear.

"And I shall remind you again to work on your stance. If you truly want to survive out here, you need to learn how to defend yourself. As for why I am here, all you need to know is that I am like you. I am seeking a hiding place and I just happened to come across your home." I wiggled out of his grasp and looked him up and down. He certainly didn't look like any of the creatures I've come across. He looked human, except for his unusually pale skin and slightly pointed ears.

"I'm not sure I believe you," I narrowed my eyes again.

"You don't trust easily, do you?" he rolled his eyes. "I am a shapeshifter." 

"What? But that's impossible, shapeshifters went extinct over a hundred years ago!"

"And yet here I am," he spread his arms out and smirked. I stepped a bit closer to him, still wary of his presence. 

"Prove it," I crossed my arms. 

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, prove to me that you're really a shapeshifter."

"Fine," he frowned and closed his eyes. In a flash of light, the man was gone. In his place, stood a black pegasus. He blew air in my face, as if to say 'I told you so.' In another flash of light, he was back as a man.

"Woah," was all I could say.

"Are you going to tell me your name?" he asked with a charming smile. Well, he certainly wasn't a bounty hunter. Although he was strange, he was just trying to hide out like I was. Would it be so bad to give away part of my identity? 

"Aria, my name is Aria."