The Fairyhunter

Part 8 

            Adrian crouched down, inspecting the box trap at his feet without really looking at it. Michael and the others had gone back yesterday morning with nearly every bit of their equipment ruined or in a state repair that would require more than a few days and far more than a few magic users. He couldn't help but laugh a little at how much damage one little sprite had managed to do to this hunting trip. Luckily, most of his own traps had been in the tent with him and not in the storage area near the other guys' stuff, so he still had quite a few options before he'd have to call it a season himself. But then, even had he only had one trap left, he knew he'd still be out here, working that trap until he'd come home with enough fairies to winter himself in the most expensive inn in Cairntree.

            Adrian had to admit, even to himself, that he'd always had an almost sixth sense about magic beings. He knew where sprites and fairies liked to hide and knew what they'd be trapped by. He even knew when they were around, somehow. The Fairyhunters Guild knew it, too, which was why they always told their young apprentices to watch his moves and hope they could become him one day. He hadn't ever bragged about himself the way some of the flashier guys did, but then, he didn't need to. He had skill, which spoke for itself with everyone he was around. Doesn't hurt that I got the looks, too, he grinned.

            He looked back at the trap in his hand again and shook his head. Strangely enough, as much as he felt a better sense of focus when he hunted alone, his mind was wandering today, just as it had been ever since the night before when he heard the sprite speak to him. There were quite a few topics it was fraught with, too. It began fairly simply…who the hell WAS she? God, she'd been beautiful, he had to admit. Not beautiful in that ethereal, fairylike sort of way, but more in that athletic, tomboyish way. The determination and attitude she sported had done nothing to hide her natural curves, her voluptuous little legs and that tight little…

            He gritted his teeth, trying to focus again as he placed a small sapphire inside the trap as bait. She was a BUG, for cryin' out loud, not a woman! She was prey, a gold piece or two and nothing more, regardless of how she looked or what she said.

            Which brought him to the hardest point to deal with…what she said. Or worse yet, the fact that he could understand what she said at all. There was no denying that she'd spoken to him. Even if she hadn't used human speech, he'dve had no problem catching her drift. He grinned, remembering how she'd threatened him, even as he stood above her, boot close enough to assure her messy demise. She'd even been cute then, he thought. Not a nervous little gnat like the flower sprites were, or a snarling animal, like the wild sprites and elemental sprites tended to be. She was…well, like he'd be if someone had captured him. Too proud to show any fear.

            He honestly hoped she was all right. Since he personally wasn't made wholly of magic like the Fae were, he'd never had the experience of crashing into a magic force field. He did, however, remember the stunned look on many a fairy and sprite face after having come in contact with it and knew it couldn't feel too good. In fact, he thought, if magic for them is like flesh and blood for us, it must be excruciatingly painful. The poor kid…!

            He sat back on the ground, a little harder than he'd intended. His own thoughts were stunning him at this point. How could he be this shaken up over a sprite? If he was going to get like this over every one of them, he'd never be able to catch one again. She was a bug, not a woman, he repeated to himself.

            He wondered how many times would he have to remind himself of that before he believed it again.

            A strange feeling that he was being watched hit him and he took a shot in the dark, hoping more than a little that he was right.

            "You're back," he said simply. There was a long silence before he got a response that made him smile.

            "Should I be impressed that you noticed?"

            "Yeah, you should," he grinned. "I'm fairly impressive." He turned to look in the direction of the tiny voice and waited. With a sigh, she appeared, sitting rather casually with the slightest of smirks on her face.

            "Not from this vantage point," she retorted, looking pointedly at him. Is she flirting with me?, he wondered. Let's find out…

            "That's not the opinion of most women," said he, knowingly.

            Her smile broadened, even softened a bit. "I'm not most women."

            Oh, yeah, she is, he smiled. He'd understood, after his head had cleared, that magic had been what was attracting him to her before, but none of that was present now. Something in him desperately wanted to talk to her more, to keep her sitting there flirting with him, almost like a preteen crush. "No," he finally answered, his smile softening a bit, too. "You're nothing like most women."

            His honesty seemed to unsettle her for a moment. "Well…yeah. I know that," she said, faltering a bit.

            They were both quiet a moment, until finally Adrian asked, "How are you talking? I mean, how can you understand me?"

            "What are you talking about?" she asked skeptically. "It's not like humans speak a real complex language."

            "I'd say it ranks higher than that babble you little bugs do," he retorted, just as disdainfully.

            "Oh, really? Then why can't YOU speak it?"

            Adrian stopped, thrown off again. "Because…because it's not a language. It's just little made up words and sounds and stuff. That's no language."

            "Not if you don't speak it," she smirked. "Isn't it sad that a fairy hunter as 'fairly impressive' as you has NO idea how to speak Faerie, a language older that his entire race of people? How truly inadequate you must feel. I know I'D feel pretty stupid if something so easy to catch was so hard to understand. What must they say about you at the guild meetings?"

            He looked at this little creature with a wry, yet steady gaze. Much as she was working his nerves, he had to admit she was right. Was he the first to find out sprites and fairies had a language, or just the slowest? "Ya done?" he asked.

            "Actually, not quite," she replied smugly. "While we're riding your case, you've been doing a pretty shoddy jobs setting those traps of yours lately."

            "And what would you know about it?" he growled. Calling him stupid was one thing, but mocking his work was another.

            "Everything! I've been tripping these things for years. Unlike a human, when I study things, I actually take the time to find out ALL about them." He blushed a bit, knowing she had a point. "How you and your crew stayed in business this long, I don't know, but I've already disarmed everything you've set today and it's barely noon! Where ARE the rest of your crew, anyway?"

            "You don't even know where all my traps ARE, mothwing," he snapped, ignoring her question.

            "How much you wanna bet?" she demanded, placing her hands on her hips defiantly.

            Adrian thought a moment. "Okay…okay, you show me where I put all my traps and I'll show you how to get out of a trap you've never seen before."

            "As if there's any traps I've never seen!"

            "And if you lose, you get to STAY in a trap you've never seen before."

            "What kinda bet is THAT?"

            "The kind you can't refuse because you KNOW you want to see this trap now. So, is it a bet or not?"

            She glared at him, the slightest hint of worry on her face and something in him melted a little. He was just about to offer to show her the gem trap in his pocket that he'd been working on without her having to prove anything when the brat in him spoke up. "Or are you too SCARED, little one?"

            "STARTING with the Alchemist's Aide box trap with the runic seal on the front and the ebony inlays on the sides that's under the tree limb about 10 feet from where you're standing, I disarmed that one about 5 minutes before I saw you. Moving on to the Merlin 480 gem back by the stream…." She fluttered up and headed toward the next trap, leaving him standing and watching her in surprise. He smiled a little again, watching her intently as he followed her. She was so sure of herself, this one, and judging from the way she was springing his traps, she had reason to be. This was definitely the sprite that everyone had been cursing about for years back in the guild. She was better than smart, too--she was sneaky, like himself. She knew where a fairy hunter's trapping instincts led him and was using that knowledge to do more than just spring traps. From what she was saying, she had been telling all the other sprites where the traps were at, making them avoid the area as if no Fae were around at all. This was better than rescuing them after they were trapped, since a trap that had been sprung meant your prey was about, but just smarter than the trap you'd placed. A good hunter knew to stay and just change traps in that case. But if you got nothing, you packed up and continued the hunt elsewhere.

            For a moment, he considered what an amazing catch she'd be, the trophy to end all trophies, a story that would make him even more legendary than he was in the guild. But as he listened to her confidently describing all the tricks of his trade, he realized what a waste capturing her now would be. I catch and sell her and it's a one shot deal, he thought, but if I keep her around and learn what she knows, maybe even tell her what I WANT her to know, she makes me MORE money. Besides, if I bring her back, they'll ALL know she talks and then she might like one of THEM…

            He shrugged off this last possessive thought, realizing it almost made her seem more human than sprite. Although, he thought, watching her bend over another trap, entertaining the idea might be rather…entertaining. He wasn't sure how entertaining she'd be later, but she HAD, after all, been flirting with him before. There wasn't much he could do about her size, but the thought of having that lithe little body running naked across his own with her little wings brushing up against him was enough to bring him to full attention…

            Again, he shook this thought off. He had to figure out a way to get this sprite on his side. With her helping him, there wouldn't be a safe winged person left in the woods.

            Not even her, he thought, watching her bend further over with a dreamy smile…

 

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