<span style="font-family:Philosopher">The girl wasn’t cooperating. Avi let out an irritated grunt and kept his body motionless, a scowl forming on his face as the hunter’s conversation reached his ears. Their voices sounded human, but there was an animalistic element to their timbres, as if their vocal chords were used to making </span><span style="font-family:font1522365474">bestial</span><span style="font-family:Philosopher">, more guttural sounds. Two of them sounded like this, but there was another voice. It was feminine and </span><span style="font-family:font1522365474">distinct from the others,</span><span style="font-family:Philosopher"> although there was a foreign, almost alien, aspect that he couldn’t place a finger on. That was best his human ears could make out before failing. He could hear the hunters, yes, but he could not understand what they were saying; the thrumming of his heart in his ears made sure of that. The fact that he couldn’t take deep breaths didn’t help either. Dozens of questions swirled around Avi’s brain, his logical and concrete mind shattering in the face of the unknown and unexplainable. </span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(179, 0, 0)"><span style="font-family:Philosopher"><i>Who were these hunters</i></span></span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(255, 255, 255)"><span style="font-family:Philosopher"><i>?</i></span></span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(179, 0, 0)"><span style="font-family:Philosopher"><i> Why are they after an elf</i></span></span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(255, 255, 255)"><span style="font-family:Philosopher"><i>?</i></span></span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(179, 0, 0)"><span style="font-family:Philosopher"><i> Are there still elves left in this world</i></span></span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(255, 255, 255)"><span style="font-family:Philosopher"><i>?</i></span></span><span style="font-family:Philosopher"> The mercenary let out a long, shallow breath, ridding himself of such useless thoughts. He had more prominent problems to deal with. A sound not far from the low mechanical hum of a water wheel reaches his ears before disappearing entirely. Avi clenched his jaw and slowly raised his head as he dared a peek.<br/>
<br/>
<i>Gone</i>. As if they vanished into thin air, the hunters were no longer there, only blue ethereal particles floating where they just stood. Avi made sure to add that to his “what the fuck did I look at” list of things that didn’t make any sense in his mind, right below who those people were, and who the Elf under him was.<br/>
<br/>
Slowly, he shifted his weight off of the girl. Dozens of questions flooded into his mind once more, clouding his already exhausted cognition as he struggled to articulate a sentence. If he recalled correctly, the Elves were extinct, their race and culture erased off the face of the earth. Yet here one was before his very eyes. This logic-defying view was only surpassed by one thing in his disoriented brain.<br/>
<br/>
Gorgeous. The Elf possessed a beauty far greater than any of the women he had encountered. It almost made him forget about the sheer absurdity he’d witnessed just a few moments ago.  So when the odd girl’s request reached his ears, the only thing that came out his mouth was a low grunt.<br/>
<br/>
“<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">Me</span>, <span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">want the elves dead</span>?” Avi chuckled, half at his inability to articulate words, half out of the ridiculousness of that statement. “<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">I</span>’<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">m sorry miss</span>,<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000"> but I haven</span>’<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">t seen an elf my entire life</span>. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">I have no reason to hate your kind</span>.” He learned about the genocide from word of mouth, not from school or anything of that sort. He knew that the elves were massacred, but for what reason, he didn’t know. That sort of knowledge was reserved for the rich aristocrats and their the pompous brats. While they were learning how to read, write, and ride horses, Avi was working in the forges or deep in the mines, making an income to keep both himself and his sister alive. There was no hatred deeply ingrained in his mind towards the elves. “<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">Have your people struck me across the face or murdered my family</span>?” He asked, bending down so that the girl’s eyes connected with his own. “<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">I</span>’<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">m not a literate or knowledgeable man</span>, <span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">but I know a kind soul when I see one</span>. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">I don</span>'<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">t believe that the actions of a father should apply his children</span>, <span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">be it oaths or allegiances</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff">.</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000"> Whatever happened between our ancestors doesn</span>'<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">t matter now</span>. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">They fought amongst themselves and died</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#ffffff">.</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000"> We are what remains</span>. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">What we choose to do is up to us and us alone</span>, <span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">even if that includes saving an elf</span>.” His voice was soft, almost sympathetic. Deep down inside, he knew that there were greater powers at work. This went deep, perhaps all the way to the Empire’s government. What was he, just a mercenary for hire, going to do in the face of inhuman entities with powers that were beyond his comprehension?<br/>
<br/>
Of course, claim blissful ignorance until this comes back to bite him in the ass.<br/>
<br/>
“<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">Besides</span>, <span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">even if I did turn you in to this overseer guy</span>, <span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">I</span>’<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">m not looking for money</span>.” He rubbed the tip of the elf’s ear between his fingers. Secretly, he’d hoped that she was just a human girl dressed up as an elf. Some brothels offered such fantasies. Even fewer men indulged in them. Upon realizing that this situation was real, that the utter clusterfuck of logical fallacies he witnessed were genuine, he stood back up. The witch was right. Magic does exist in this world.<br/>
<br/>
 “<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">I</span>’<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#b30000">m looking for a cure</span>.”</span>