Dorian lies on the floor, battered. With a growl, he pushes himself to stand up on wobbly legs.
— Hey stalk' ! Can't kick the bucket a'ready, right ? Thought you'd do better !
He answers only with a low growl, unwilling to let her hear it once again. Last time he did, she cranked up her attacks. Seeing him standing, she grins.
— I knew you had it. Just a remember, y'know, but I'm far from the strongest of us, on'y the strongest here at the time.
*I. Fucking. Know ! It's only the fifth time you say it.*
He takes his wooden sword and readies himself once again. While his opponent could control it, she refrained from doing so for now, since if it was a real fight he wouldn't be using it. Aside from that, all's fair in this spar.
As she sees the deathly stare that he gives her, Margaret forces a haughty laugh, which gives him enough time to steady his form. Her mercy, however, stops here as she sends her arm in a whip-like move, in his direction. Dorian jumps to her without thinking as a root, following her guidance, slams the air where he was mere moments ago.
His jump, while allowing him to stay in the fight, leads him to stumble. Dorian rolls quickly on the floor before standing again with the momentum of his fall. Two of his birds attacked the witch at this time, distracting her long enough for him to end his move unimpeded.
After dissipating the birds with a well aimed needle to each, Margaret lifts her left hand, prompting the earth behind her to make a wall of dirt which block two blunt arrows, shot by his bandits. Dorian sprints to her while keeping his breath, unwilling to be once again incapacitated by her pollen. While he prepares his strike, a smirk on her face gives him pause and he jumps back hastily. From his shadow, however, the human-like wolf lunges at her only to be impaled by bark pikes growing from her dress.
— You're a shitstain to fight, you know that ? Fighting you is 'ike fighting an army !
Her smile contradicts the virulence of the words, as she breathes as easily as the beginning of their fight, while Dorian struggles to keep his own breathing steady. Knowing where he is, he charges at full speed, his weapon ready to strike. At the same time, all his shadows launch their attacks, even those which were dissipated, the birds and the wolf, reappear to attack in a black wave of beaks, claws and maws.
Less than a second later, the spar ends. Dorian lies on the floor, battered.
As the boy faintly tries to rise again, his opponent walks to him then sits near.
— You're rea''y surprising, you know ? When Sandra to'd me that you on'y had martial training with a warrior, hiding your powers, I thought that I would have to teach you everything… But… You're a rea' pain in the ass with your autonomous and conscious shadows…
— … Thanks…
She smiles warmly before standing up and walking away, while Dorian stays still in order to recuperate enough to move again. As he lays on his back, his shadow stirs until Gibbs gets out of it to nuzzle his master.
— Sorry, Gibbs… I'm weak.
The dog, unrelenting, continues while poking its head under Dorian's ribs, forcing him to giggle. Unbeknownst to both, they are watched.
— You're sure ?
— Yes. I received messages from other covens, none heard of a derivative of his. Poor boy will be alone for a long time.
— So… He'll forever be without ?
— On'y if he is adopted, or found his own.
The three women walk back to the woods, letting the boy blissfully unaware. If he asks, then they will tell him but, if he doesn't, they will let him believe that he simply didn't find a coven corresponding to his abilities. For now, his training is the only thing that matters, he needs to be able to end his own problem before anything else.
Feeling better, Dorian stands finally and goes to the clearing, the one where he met the council some days ago. He goes there because Mavina asked to talk to him. Now, without the guilt and fear that gnawed at him last time, he can look around more freely. Without surprise, nothing here seems to be man made, or more precisely everything is so perfectly blended within the forest that he can't tell the difference. The clearing in itself is so perfectly round that, if the trees weren't as wild as they are, one could believe that its border is regularly trimmed. And this is only the clearest hint about the witches' existence here.
Once arrived he stands and waits, less than a minute, for the elderly woman to come. Despite her apparent age, she walks as easily as a young woman in the forest. Should she disguise herself Dorian would be unable to find a hint. Seeing his gaze, she chuckles softly before sitting.
— Now boy, you don't need to be like this. I'm in a forest, she herself gives me strength.
With a nod, Dorian sits in front of her, he understands that this should be a lengthy talk. And lengthy it is. Mavina asks him about everything he knows regarding his powers. Every fact, oddity, and feeling become at a time an object of scrutiny. As Margaret stands in as practical instructor, she is the theoretical one.
— I… have a feeling, sometimes. Each time I want to go to any of my shadows faster, I feel something like a tugging on my being, nagging me but it never does anything else.
She arches an eyebrow at that.
— I… If I remember well, one of my elder sisters before I went to found this coven talked to me about a similar feeling. She felt a connection, for a long time, with an animal with which she did create a strong bond, until one day, sensing her familiar endangered, she… Simply shot, as if she was an arrow from a bow, then found herself near it.
Dorian smiles softly. Once again, an elder's knowledge saves his day. Sure, he still doesn't know what this feeling is but, at least, he can say that someone else lived a similar situation and that he is not simply becoming crazy.
As they continue to talk, time passes until the sun begins to disappear behind the forest. Both stand and nod at each other before going back silently. Now is the time for Dorian to ponder his experiences as he rides his horse until the settlement's outskirts. Going in, he is welcomed by an eager Gloria. For every villager save her mother, she is simply happy and developed a childish crush for her savior. Her mother, however, knows that he will stand in as a messenger with the coven as long as he stays, and the girl's eagerness is more about news of her new sisters than any crush on the man himself.
The witch hunter stays in this settlement for nearly half a year, making it his longest stay in any place, and rumors run that he finally found a woman to steal his heart, even if no one is able to tell who it can be. While the rumors continued to take root, as more and more villagers were searching who could have smitten the Stalker, one day, he disappeared.