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                               AWAKENING CHAPTER 2

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                            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.

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ROX WAITED OUTSIDE THE FRONT entrance of the shop for Ra'lene. The
evening was a cool relief to the humid afternoon that had just passed.
Of all the days that Rox had to perform physical labor, he was glad
today was not one of them.

"I hope she doesn't show up," Rox thought to himself as he stood under
the candlelight. He had thought about not showing up. He had thought
about how easy it would be to blow her off. But for some reason, he
really didn't want to. Even with the implications that Ra'lene might be
a witch.

What if the entire neighborhood was a community of witches and warlocks?
This is where Rox was really concerned. He was quite confident that he
could take on a witch. A whole family of witches even! But an entire
neighborhood? Rox weighed his skills carefully. If they were all run-of-
the-mill witches and warlocks he might be able to easily overcome an
entire neighborhood. But if there were enough well-skilled witches, or
just one crafty one, he might not be able to escape.

"Hello!" Ra'lene called out down from the path. Rox looked down the path
to find Ra'lene. She was wearing a white dress that was certainly a lot
more comfortable than the red one she was wearing earlier that day. And
she looked just as beautiful as before.

Rox waived to acknowledge her. As he watched her come up the path, he
realized how much time he had to get away. Even with his suspicions,
though, it wasn't enough to turn him away. It was quite odd. He wasn't
under a spell or anything -- he would have been able to detect that.
What was it?

"How are you?" Ra'lene asked as she approached Rox and placed her arms
around him.

"Fine, I guess," Rox responded nervously.

Ra'lene giggled at Rox's response as she led him back down the path.
"So, any interesting customers? Besides me?"

"Nope," Rox replied with a smile. "Same old same old."

Ra'lene tittered a bit. "Where do you come from, anyway?" Ra'lene asked.

"I come from Mewt."

"The small settlement just north of here?"

"Yep."

"So, what brings you to Waccom?"

"Work," Rox stated bluntly.

"You can't tell me there's no work to be had in Mewt!"

"You're right. I can't. It's just that..." Rox paused, catching himself
before letting slip his real reasons for quitting. "I have a problem
with people who assert their authority, like they're superior to you or
something. Unfortunately it seems that every business owner in Mewt is
geared that way, so I started looking for work outside of the village.
That's when I found this shop. The owner's name is Terrance, and he
isn't like any of the other guys I've ever worked for. He still has the
business drive, but somehow he's still down to earth. Admittedly, he was
pretty much on my back for the first couple of weeks, and I can see
that. The thing that separates Terrance from the rest is the fact that
he lets up after you prove that you can do the job and you're not going
to pilfer from him."

"It must be nice to finally find a job you like. Especially with the
traveling you have to do to and from here." Ra'lene laughed, "You must
meet a lot of girls traveling back and forth between Mewt and Waccom."

"Heh, I wish!"

"Really?" Ra'lene asked, surprised someone as good-looking as Rox hasn't
had any offers. "You're not seeing anyone right now?"

"Well, now I am," Rox smiled.

Ra'lene snuggled up against Rox's arm. "That's what you think!" she
teased.

"Oh?" Rox teased back, "Then what the heck are you doing now?"

Rox and Ra'lene laughed and cuddled some way down the path until Rox's
curiosity brought forth a question he thought was safe to ask.

"Tell me, Ra'lene, where does you family come from?"

"Why?" Ra'lene asked, a little confused by the irregular question.

Rox smiled, trying to hold back his real motive behind the question. "I
just want to make sure I don't pull any major faux pas tonight."

"Oh, well, um," Ra'lene stuttered as she struggled to remember any
information relating to Rox's question. "I don't know actually. I've
never even thought to ask my parents about that."

"Oh?" Rox said with acute interest.

"I mean, I've been living here all my life. I've just never thought
about it" Ra'lene sighed. "I'm sorry."

Rox shrugged. "Nothing to be sorry about."

"As far as avoiding embarrassing moments goes, though, just be warned
that my grandmother is kinda strict."

"Really?" Rox asked as a sly look crossed his face. "Does she approve of
that dress, then?" Rox said with a smirk.

"W-Why?"

"I don't know. It's just that...you look kinda sexy in that dress."

"Oh!" Ra'lene said as she tried to hide her face as she blushed. "Why
don't you ask her? We're here!" Ra'lene exclaimed as she pointed to her
house.

What?! Already?! Rox looked around. He had been so pre-occupied with
Ra'lene that he had completely ignored his surroundings. Now he had no
idea where he was! Just great. Rox looked back to where Ra'lene was
pointing. What a house! And what a gathering! Ra'lene sure had a large
family, and a big plot of land to go with it.

"What's the matter?" Ra'lene asked, observing Rox's nervous expressions.

"Nothing, it's just that ... are you sure you want me to meet your
family already? "

"Oh come now, they're harmless!"

Rox chucked. "I know that! It's just ... we haven't even been on our
first date."

"Consider this our first date then!"

"If you wish!" Rox said as he pretended to shrug off concern. Rox took
Ra'lene's hand and joined in on the festivities.

"Ra'lene!" a big husky lion-morph shouted out as they walked into the
back yard. "Who do you have there?"

Rox looked inquisitively at Ra'lene. "It's my father," she whispered.

"Is this the young man you were talking to me about today?" Ra'lenes
father asked.

Rox tried to answer, but Ra'lene cut him off. "Yes, he is!"

"Well, you certainly know how to pick 'em! Hope you don't think my
daughter is being to forward, son. Just come right back here and take a
load of, will ya?"

"S ... sure."

"A little uptight aren't ya Rox? Hehe, just like my wife and her mother.
Well, anyway, I'll leave you two alone so you can get to know each
other. Have fun Rox!"

Rox watched as Ra'lene's father left, and then turned inquisitively to
Ra'lene.

"He's always like that," she answered his silent question. "Very
forthcoming and somewhat obnoxious."

"Yeah, well, he seems like a good man. So, shall we?"

For the most part, the two kept to themselves, using the time to get to
know each other better. Rox and Ra'lene in no way shied away from
Ra'lene's relatives. They happily entertained any and all questions,
although Ra'lene's uncle, Redsworth, only brother of her father, became
a bit of an annoyance with his suggestive questions. The two were just
getting to know each other, and albeit they fostered strong feelings for
one another, it was mutual that they were not going in that direction
for quite some time.

Thankfully, most of Ra'lenes relatives proved to be much more engaging
than Redsworth. Her uncle Kantse invited Rox to a game of Bull's Eye, in
which the idea was to hit the center of a target, called the Bull's Eye
for some reason, with sharp, short projectiles called flights. Rox had
always seen the game, but had never really played, thinking the game was
way too easy. Rox quickly found out how difficult it really was. Oh
sure, he could have guided the flight to the Bull's Eye, but why? It was
much more fun to see how he had to adjust his aim and strength, and to
keep those two parameters as constant as he could.

After an evening of talk and games, it came time for supper. Everyone
seemed eager for the stew Ra'lene had been talking about. Seemed as if
it was a family favorite. Rox and Ra'lene joined the line and waited
their turn for a bowl of the family stew.

"Ra'lene!" Ra'lene's grandmother called out.

"Hold my spot for me, dear?" Ra'lene asked of Rox. Rox nodded.

"Yes, Grandmother?"

"What the hell is he still doing here?" she loudly barked at her
daughter, making no effort to keep out of earshot of Rox. Rox hunched a
bit trying to hide himself.

"Grandma!"

"I told you he had to leave by supper time. This is a family picnic --
family only!!"

"Grandmother!"

Disgusted with the whole ordeal, Rox upped and left. He didn't need
this. And besides he was late for that meeting at the guild.

"Rox!" Ra'lene shouted as she followed Rox. "Rox, please!" Ra'lene
shouted after him as she tried to keep up after him.

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Ralene had given up trying to get Rox's attention. Obviously she wasn't
going to get it, and it would only alert Rox as to how closely she was
following him. She was determined to keep up with him, so she stayed in
the shadows, unknown to Rox, who was too busy trying to block out the
whole ordeal and get to his meeting at the guild.

Ra'lene followed Rox through the sparse city and into the woods. It was
already night, and that made it all the harder to keep up with Rox.
Ra'lene followed Rox through ill-trotten paths that lead to a clearing.
There, in the middle of the clearing, stood a tower that was twice as
tall as any castle Ra'lene had ever seen. She stayed in the shadows as
Rox walked up to the tower and disappeared into its walls.

"What the hell!" Ra'lene thought aloud. How did he do that? There were
neither doors nor windows to be seen on that thing, and Rox had just
walked through them like he was a ghost or something. Quite sure Rox was
not a ghost, Ra'lene cautiously walked up to the tower to inspect it.
The moon lit the ground in an eerie light, and Ra'lene knew that if
there was any way to see out of that tower, she would be spotted in a
minute.

Ra'lene touched the wall approximately where Rox disappeared. Her hand
went right through the wall! "A mirage!" she thought as she entered the
building.

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"We must stop him now and expose him for the fake that he is!"

"Calm, calm," Rox said as he gestured for Re'gar to sit back back down.
"We cannot go rushing into this. After all, it has been reported that
this Simion has special powers. All we know is that he is from some
place that is not of this world, and that he has already caused a great
disturbance. He calls himself a savior, but he has used his powers to
interfere with the laws of one village, and to save a felon that had
been terrorizing a few villages east of the Mid-Eastern Mountain Range."

"So what do you propose? That we sit here on our collective asses?"

"Far from it. This Simion is now in training. For what I don't know, but
my sources will come back to me soon with that information."

"The Mid Eastern Mountain Range is five days east of here. Your spy has
already been gone for one week. It will be two more week before he comes
back!"

"Would you risk using magic, only to have someone in their group detect
the spell being used? If this Simion requires training on his powers,
then surely they will have some mage or sorcerer powerful enough to do
just that."

The otter looked away in digust.

"Look, I'm not asking for your approval. I'm telling you that you can
either rush in and risk defeat, or you can get all your information up
front and know what you're up against."

The otter looked back up at Rox. "I...I suppose."

Rox turned his attention to the other members. "I do not like this
Simion any more than any of you. But if we..."

Achoo!

Rox's ears perked up. No one in the assembly had sneezed. Who was it?
Rox scanned the entire room, and finally the balcony, where Rox noticed
one drapery that seemed a bit out of place.

Rox moved his hand sideways, as if to move something out of the way. The
curtain against the wall of the balcony moved with his hand, revealing
the Ra'lene hiding behind them.

"An intruder!" one member uttered above the murmur of the gathering

"But how?" another member said.

"Indeed," Rox exclaimed as he pondered. "How did you?"

Rox recalled his first meeting with Ra'lene. The items on his list that
he was so worried about. She was a witch! But wait, no one at the family
gather she invited him to gave any evidence that there any witches in
the family whatsoever. And Ra'lene said she did not know where her
family came from. Could it be?

"She has the gift!" Rox muttered. The assembly began talking amongst
themselves.

"Sieze her!" someone yelled out.

"No!" Rox shouted. "She has the gift, but like the daddy long legs, her
family has forgotten how to use their natural abilities. She has no idea
of her family's past. I suspect that her ancestors hid their past and
told no one to save their own hide."

"What...what are you talking about, Rox?" Ra'lene asked in confusion.

"I'm sorry, I cannot tell you that until you swear to tell NO ONE about
us. Whether you decide to stay with us or not, you MUST agree to this
condition. Otherwise, I will wipe your memory of this day. Do you
agree?"

"As long as you're not some sick and twisted group."

Rox smiled. "I assure you, we are not. This place is a rogue guild for
sorcerers and wizards. We pretty much fight the system set up by other
guilds of sorcerers and wizards. Most of us are sick of the constant
bickering and self-centeredness of the two sides. Instead of using their
powers for good, they squander them on politics. That's why we are here.
To determine what we can do to help out.

"As for you getting into this building...this tower is protected by
magic. You need to have some sort of magic ability to see it, and quite
some skill to enter it. When I met you in the shop, and you asked me for
ingredients, I recognized those ingredients as being common elements in
potions used by a magic worker, particularly a witch. But curiously I
did not sense any magic ability. That, along with the facts that I did
not sense any magic at your family gathering and you don't know your
family history leads me to believe that your family does possess magic
abilities, but has suppressed the knowledge.

"Our latest adversary seems to be a wolf named Simion, as I'm sure
you've overheard. We have an informant spying on him right now. He
should be back in two weeks. In the meantime, I say we teach you to use
your powers. You can very well choose not to, that's up to you. But I
will warn you that untamed power can be quite devastating, and you may
risk prosecution for using them in a way you never intended to. Can you
come back here tomorrow morning?"

Ra'lene nodded.

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