That ranger is a stupid head.

Chapter 1 - Part 5 - Start from beginning

-----

Three days went by, and Vainard's promise to show me more had failed to come up. I'm not sure if he was doing this on purpose, because he wanted company or just making fun of me, somehow, but my skills remained the same, my inventory bags were filled with pointless claws and old shoes he instructed me on taking off of thieves we killed, and I wasn't feeling accomplished. At all.

When the night would come, we would feast on deer and rabbit meat at a fire Vainard would build. He was brilliant at making campfires and insisted on starting the fire by himself, without the use of any of my spells. I think he was making everything harder than it should have been. I tried to know exactly what went on in his head but couldn't figure him out, at all. When we would sit at the fire, I would eat the juicy and tender rabbit meat, but I would be staring at him still. Something about him that made me feel... suspicious.

"I can give you a picture, if you want." I jumped at his words and shifted my eyes to the burning fire, my cheeks blushing a soft red. I hope he didn't notice, it was dark enough at night, but showing weakness would be a downfall. And anyways, why was I blushing?! Because he saw me staring? Trying to figure out what went on in his tiny man-brain?! "I wasn't staring" I lied, "I was... spaced out." He took a bite into his rabbit meat. The juices flowed between his fingers and onto the ground at his feet. His white wolf would lick at the ground, tasting the greasy, slimy texture, and it made me shudder.

His mouth full of delicious protein, he continued. "Shpashed out?" he swallowed the rest loudly, "Stop lying, you were staring! Tell me what's bothering you. My charming looks? The way my beautiful hair compliment my skin? Or is it my pearly white teeth?" He grinned, exposing his teeth. Okay, they were pearly white, but I didn't care about his stupid teeth, so I answered him with a disgusted face and stood up. "Urgh!" Dusting my pants off with one hand, I took my staff with the other. "You're so conceited, Mr. -let me show you everything but I know nothing-!" I spat out. Halfear stood on his strong white paws and lowered his upper body, sending a warning growl to me. "Didn't I show you how to kill a massive beast?" he asked. "That was three days ago! Where's the new skills you promised? Where are the treasures you were talking to me about? Why are you taking so long to show me -anything?-" My right hand gripped at my staff while the other waved frantically by my side, showing exasperation and despair.

I was screaming. Calling him names. I was venting mostly. I couldn't focus. I hated him for making me lose my time; by now I could have found treasures by myself, I could have explored the caves we went by while he refused to go inside. It's too dangerous for now, he'd say. But I wanted to see. I wanted to feel. I wanted to experience what it felt like, exploring those caves, seeing what those growls were, who - or what- the were coming from. I had based my expectations on the single fact that I had learnt a skill, three days ago, and it seemed now like he was toying with me.

He stood up, calmly picked up his tools and weapons, placed them in their proper sheathes, and started walking towards me. His wolf padded behind him, still waiting for me to do a move so he could tore my limbs off. And Vainard walked. Closer. Closer. Too close. And somehow my legs were frozen. I couldn't move. His face got closer to mine as he leaned in, his eyes closed half way and a seductive smirk plastered his face. And my anger disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. This was it. My first kiss. My long awaited, very first kiss! So I closed my eyes, lifted my head and... That's when the pain blasted through my whole being.

With a push of his hands, Vainard had shoved me backwards with both his hands with strength. My body fell backwards, my head hit the -thankfully- soft ground and my eyes opened to see stars up there in the night sky. But they weren't actual stars, they were my eyes' reaction to a hit. The blood rushed through me, anger rising again, with a higher intensity this time and I laid there for a moment, trying to process what just happened. And he was laughing. The stupid head was laughing! He had fooled me, he had played me, and now he was mocking me! My whole body felt warm - no, not warm... It was burning with anger. And with some unknown force, I stood up, rage filling my veins. This feeling again. All I had to do was raise a hand, fingers aiming towards my pray which had been my companion for the past few days, and a scream escaped my lips, allowing the madness to erupt from my body.

"AAAARRGGHHH!!!" There was no words. Just a scream. Just one, to sum up my furious state.

It happened within seconds; me standing, my rage crashing, my blood boiling, and flames bursted out of my hand, and towards Vainard. Literally bursted from my fingertips. "WHOA!" was all he could scream before he turned and shielded himself with his back, lowering himself into a ball. His clothes caught fire at that instant and that's when Halfear jumped on him to extinguish the flames. Both wolf and master were rolling on the ground, covering the spots where the fire had hit.

"Flame burst..." I whispered, once again falling to my knees as I processed the fact that I had learnt a new spell. "Well, THAT took long enough!" Vainard shouted at me, still extinguishing the fire.

And that's when I thought that Vainard didn't forget about his promise. He was just teaching me in his own way.

And what was I thinking, kissing him?! He's just a Stupid head, that ranger!