Whispers in the wind

The Mage put his hand palm to palm with the arms, he concluded that the victim was male. The hand had two of their fingers at different lengths, mainly the ring finger and the index finger, females would have them at a similar length and with this knowledge, the Mage told the crowd.

"This arm belongs to a man, if he did die then he died nearly three hours ago, that's just after sunset. If he wasn't dead when his arm was taken from him, he is most likely dead now if he didn't receive aid."

The Mage then wiped his hands on some grass nearby before walking back the mayor, the man's face mixed with a range of emotions ranging from fear, shock, happiness and something which the Mage didn't expect.

Guilt, the Mage couldn't tell why and he didn't like to jump to conclusions.

They stayed there for nearly an hour, no one owned up to murdering the victim.

*Drip*

The clouds started to spit upon the town, the mayor shook his head before leading everyone back into the town hall.

The guards surrounded the crowd the whole time, preventing anyone from leaving. No one had managed to slip past the guards.

Robin didn't look any different from when the Mage first found him, Robin stood on top of the inn and stood still since the Mage left the inn. His eyes watching the well.

The mayor once again stood on the stage, his face grim. He looked at the crowd before turning to talk to one of the guards, the Mage couldn't hear anything over the crowd but he could see the clear look of worry on the guard's face.

He soon walked away and started to order around the rest of the guards, they all followed his orders showing his rank in their numbers. The crowd got nervous as the guards slowly left the hall, leaving only two to guard the entrance.

The mayor walked up and faced the crowd, he cleared his throat before saying "Until the murderer is found, the town will be sealed off and no one will leave." The crowd went into an uproar.

'The chances of him being killed are quite higher than they were before today.' The Mage smirked while slowly making his way to the exits.

'I have all my stuff on me, I could just run but it's raining and it's dark too.' The Mage felt someone grab his arm.

The mother looked up at him before whispering "Don't go, it isn't safe at night." The Mage looked at her and couldn't tell if she was lying or not.

"Why?" The Mage said with the interest in his tone was evident to the mother as she shook her head.

"Stay with me and Sophie tonight," She said while pulling the Mage towards the exit before looking up to him and saying "I nearly forgot, my name is Emma." Emma kept walking towards the exit.

"Nice to meet you, Emma." The Mage said while letting her lead him.

The guards didn't stop her as she walked into the night, rain poured on them as they made their way through the village.

Soon Emma brought them to a little wooden house, the wooden walls were old but stood firm in the rainy weather.

Emma took out a metal key and placed it in the lock, the rust on both showed their age.

The Mage followed the pair into the house, above him was a thatch roof which kept out the rain and in the warm, a firepit sat next to the northern wall. The Mage heard the door lock behind him, Sophie ran to the fire and started to warm her hands.

The southern wall had various cupboards, a rocking chair and a desk. The east wall was bare with nothing against or near it while the west wall held the door and its frame.

The house was sparsely decorated, two beds sat to the right of the fire. The fire pit was surrounded by charred stones, stopping a fire spreading during the night.

The Mage pulled out a blanket from his backpack and lay it near the firepit, he moved his backpack to the end forming something to rest his head on. His cane staying in its sheath while his armour stayed on his body, he could kill them both of them but they could still attack him during the night.

The Mage lay down and closed his eyes, Robin had flown to the roof and stayed there.

He could hear the shuffling of fabric behind him occupied by a yawn.

He made sure that Robin stayed alert as he closed his eyes.

An hour passed like this before the Mage suddenly got the feeling of alarm. Robin was sharing his alarm, Robin was scared by something.

The Mage got out of his makeshift quietly, his cane already in his hand. Emma and Sophie slept in the same bed, both asleep. They were probably uncomfortable not being near each other while sharing their house with a stranger.

Robin slowly circled the sky above, his alarm still going through their bond.

The Mage walked to the door and kept his cane in his hand.

He couldn't hear anything on the other side of the door.

*Thud*

The door was pushed but the lock stopped it from opening.

*Thud*

The door was pushed harder, the hinges shook. The embers from the firepit were the only source of light, the Mage could see tiny cracks forming around the hinges.

The Mage backed away and watched the door get rammed a third time.

*Thud*

The moonlight from outside was blocked by a tall figure, its body taller than the frame and nearly as wide. Wide shoulders connected to bulging muscles, they stood there topless.

The Mage looked the figure up and down as it ducked and slowly fitted their figure through the frame.

'Large boots, strong legs, tail, bare ches- tail?'

The large figure entered the room, their tail swaying behind them as their pitch-black claws dug into the wooden door frame.