««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» AWAKENING CHAPTER 1 ««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» COPYRIGHT NOTICE This story and all characters herein copyright (c) 2000 Paul A. Hinchberger III. All rights reserved. All characters in this story are fictitious. Any similarities to anyone, either real or fictitious, are purely coincidental. Distribution is permitted as long as (1) no fee is charged for distribution (including charges for the medium this work is distributed upon) and (2) the content is not changed in any way. If the medium that the distribution occurs in is a mass medium and/or distribution is charged for, you must also obtain permission from the author prior to distribution. CONTENT NOTICE This work contains mild-to-strong language some may find offensive. (Oh well...) This work covers sensitive topics that may not be appropriate for all readers. (Again, oh well...) You are not being forced to read this. The author will not be held responsible for any damages, physical or psychological, that may result from anyone reading this as everyone has been forewarned. ««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» ROX GAZED OUT THE WINDOW he had just finished cleaning. The sky was mildly overcast, hiding the sun's light only slightly. The grass and trees glimmered with the light sprinkle of rain that had just let up this morning. "Only a few more days," Rox thought to himself as he flicked his tail. "This imposter, Simion, must be stopped. The savior the legends spoke of was to be a warrior who was to banish the scum of the Earth, and prevent them from plunging our world back into war. And here comes this boy and his clan, who feed him their lies, making him befriend the very souls he's supposed to vanquish!" Indeed, Rox and his faction of mages had been keeping tabs on the wolf and his journeys. They knew of the legends, and believed in them rigorously. They went so far as to hire informants, spread across the countryside. And wherever their the hired hands could not follow, their spells could. Day in and day out, in some form or another, Simion had been, and is still being, watched. Rox returned to the counter to look over the list of chores Terrance, owner of this shop, had given him to do. To complete all the chores back-to-back nonstop would take him about an hour. Rox's workdays were five hours long -- more than enough time. Terrance never burdened the lion-morph much with chores. He was quite easy-going and pleasant to work with. It was quite atypical of the people who run a business in Rox's eyes. Most others he had worked for were uptight, heavy-handed, and had tempers that matched their lack of intelligence. Rox never put up with it for long. Why should he? He was a 5th level mage! He didn't need to work -- it was all a ruse. All Rox wanted was to be discrete, but he didn't want it at the expense of isolation. Who would imagine some clerk at a shop to be a mage? The bell on the entrance door jingled as Rox looked over his list. Caught up in his own thoughts, the lion-morph didn't even notice. A young lady, same species as Rox, walked into the store. She was very dainty and petite, wearing a dress that accentuated her every feature, from her small perky breasts to her slender hips and things. "Is that how you greet all your customers?" the young lady asked of Rox. Rox turned around to find female lion-morph staring at his rear end. The lion morph quickly scooted behind the counter in embarrassment. "Can I help you with anything?" Rox asked as calmly as he could, given the situation. The lioness giggled at Rox's nervousness as she handed him a list. "Do you happen to have these in stock?" Rox scratched his head as head as looked over the list. With only a quick glance, Rox stated, "Geez, looks like you gonna make me walk all over the place!" The lioness shrugged. "Sorry!" "Nah, that's OK. At least it gives me something to do in this boring place." Rox looked over the list the lioness had given him. It contained some rather ordinary herbs and vegetables, but there were a couple that he stuck out in his mind. After some contemplation of the peculiar ingredients, Rox recognized them as common ingredients in witches' brews. Very odd, indeed, as he didn't know of any witches in this area. "Here, follow me," Rox stated as he led the lady threw the aisles to the east corner of the store. "So, what are you making here?" "Oh, it's just a stew. A recipe that's been handed down from generation to generation." "Really?" Rox asked as he retrieved the items from the shelves. "Yes!" "That must be a lot of pressure for you, Miss..." "Ra'lene," the lioness answered, completing Rox's sentence. "Ra'lene," Rox repeated with a smile as he led the lioness to the west corner of the store. "You should try it some time." "Really?" "Yes, it's so good! What are you doing tonight?" Oh shit, what the hell was he to say? There was to be a meeting tonight at the tower tonight, but he couldn't tell her that. He also couldn't point out his suspicion of her ingredients. How can he say no without seeming suspicious to this beautiful young lady? "Where's the party?" Rox reluctantly asked as he handed Ra'lene the herbs. Ra'lene giggled. "It's not quite a party, just a small family gathering. Tell you what: Meet me here at dusk and I'll take you there." "Great!" Rox exclaimed as Ra'lene handed him ten pirs. "Keep the change!" Ra'lene said, giggling and waving at Rox as she left the store. "Have a nice day!" "You too!" Rox waved back as Ra'lene left the store. "Just fucking great," he muttered as he looked down at the pirs in his hand and started counting them. "And there's a meeting at the tower tonight. How am I going to make it there in time?" ««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»