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I’ve never had a friend, not really. Salomea doesn’t count. In fact, I’d ignored her at first. She was even smaller when she’d joined us, her dark coat more fur-like than mine, her gray eyes wide and staring and somber. I still don’t know where she came from - Niklas had just shown up one day with her, cocooned in his shadows in a deep sleep, despite the gentle bump-bump-bump of her body made as the demon drug his prize along the uneven ground. The purpose behind Niklas’ theft had been murky at first; she’d been too small, too weak. The thin spectre rarely bothers unless it benefits or amuses him and I could not see, not at first, how either could apply. It was only when she had been with us for months that I’d begun to pay attention, after she traded her baby fur for the deep black of her coat now. She is like a walking power source, a way to compound one’s own magic - a prize to be coveted by those with no qualms about using others for their own gains. I’d risked everything to free her, to give her - us - a chance at a real life, out from under their dark intentions.
I shift my weight, wincing slightly at the twinge in my hip. Salomea notices and furrows her brow. I can see the guilt lurking in her pale grey eyes and I tuck the pain away, tossing her a wink and shaking my mane out.
“Sort of. We’ve never really lived in any particular place. We stay here and there but,” I shrug, rolling my shoulders. “We know the best hidey places!” Salomea suddenly shouts, and I groan, nudging her none too gently. Ravin seems nice enough but we’ve both seen what can lurk just below the surface of a friendly smile and an open demeanor. I tilt my head back toward the winged boy, frowning just a little. “Your mom is right, though. Best stay on the biggest paths and steer clear of the darkest parts.” I lift my chin, gesturing in the general direction of where we’d last seen Niklas. Although, in all reality, the demon could be anywhere. I honestly don’t know why he’s left us alone. I’m not naive enough to think that my little display of power could scare the likes of him off permanently. My gaze flickers from the chattering, constantly-on-the-move Salomea back to Ravin. “Are there more like you, in the Gates?” I’m not sure what the Gates are but I’ve already shown this stranger enough of my ignorance for now, so I do my best to sound casual, gingerly shifting my weight again. "We don't live here, so much as survive here." I answer his question off-handedly, as if the admission does not carry the weight of all my fears and failures.
