ManaChild (A Summoner Fan Fiction)

Explanations

Jewel yawned and stood, rustling some overhead leaves and sending a shower of tiny water droplets onto Fletcher and his demon. They immediately awoke with sounds of protest. Jewel laughed. "Sorry. Didn't mean to." She started pulling her long red hair into a ponytail, using a blade of grass as a hair tie. It was always a mess in the mornings. She would have to tame it at the next stream she came across.

Fletcher sat up, his hair sticking up all over the place. Ignatius, if she recalled the name correctly, scrambled onto his shoulder. "If you had meant that, it wouldn't be pretty." The threat was obviously playful, and most of it was obscured by a yawn. Dim light filtered through the waxy leaves overhead that had protected them from the storm the night before. Jewel got a good look at Fletcher for the first time in the dawning light, studying him a little suspiciously. His hair was dark, shaggy, and all over the place, with slightly sunken dark eyes. His face had a more harsher structure, with prominent cheekbones and an oval-shaped head. Fletcher had a wiry build and looked smaller than most, but seemed fit and healthy.

The demon was a bit different. A long red body curled around Fletcher's neck like a pillow, giving a slight chirp once in a while. Claws flexed in and out. Amber eyes glittered in the dark, taking in its surroundings instantly. It fixed its gaze on her, and she found herself taking a step back. It seemed quite powerful to her. But then again, it was the first demon she had ever seen.

Whilst she was coming to this conclusion, Fletcher was scrutinizing her in the same way. Suddenly feeling self-concious, Jewel stood and ducked her head outside. "Storm's easing," she reported. "You hungry?" She shrugged on her jacket.

"Starving."

"I'll go catch breakfast, then," she said nonchalantly, slinging her bow and quiver over her shoulder. She left before he could protest.

Signs of the night's storm were everywhere: trees were toppled; leaves, branches, and debris littered the ground; a boulder was smashed to pieces in the roots of an uprooted tree... evidence was everywhere. Not to mention the slippery, muddy ground that sucked her boots in with every step.

Jewel pushed the thoughts to the side, studying the ground for tracks, then closing her eyes and listening for the telltale rustle of paws on leaves.

Crack. Before the sound fully registered in her brain, she had pivoted like a gymnast, an arrow nocked and ready to pierce the heart of... something. It took her a moment to realize it was a deer, limping quite badly with dirt and leaves plastered onto its what used-to-be glossy coat. No harm had come to it in the terms of its flesh though. It lifted its head, looking around uncertainly. Jewel let loose the arrow. It buried itself in the deer's neck, and it promptly collapsed.

Feeling a slight pang of guilt for killing such a magnificent creature, she retrieved her arrow, careful not to damage it. Jewel shrugged. Food was food. She picked up the deer by the antlers and headed back to the shelter, along with several semi-dry sticks.

When she returned, she found Fletcher had gotten changed into some spare clothes he must have had. He was dipping his hands into a puddle and bringing it to his face to wash it. Jewel dropped the sticks into a pile in the middle, sat down, and began to skin the deer. "How you doing?" She asked as she worked.

"Better. Thanks again for last night."

"No problem." Jewel glanced at the wood. "Can your demon make a fire?"

Fletcher nodded, giving the wood a steely look that confused Jewel at first, but then made sense as a spurt of flame shot from the demon, lighting the fire easily. She jumped back, startled. "Handy trick." With a couple spare branches, Jewel fashioned a spit of some kind, and soon two sizable pieces of meat were roasting over the fire.