To make up for the shortish chapter last time, I made this one a bit longer :3

Warnings: Gore, blood, deaths, violence

     ~Preston's P.O.V.~

     Groaning weakly, still in a daze, the first thing I'm aware of is the slightly painful sting of something weird and wet, repeatedly sliding across my face. And I immediately recognize what it is.

     "Nngh Silver, stop. That hurts." I croak, pushing away the fluffy dog standing worriedly over me, whimpering.

     Luckily her tongue isn't wet enough to actually cause any harm, but it still burns a little when she licks me. Wincing in pain as my head begins to throb, I weakly push myself into a sitting position, lacking the strength to actually sit up. Silver bounds into my lap, barking happily and wagging her tail so fast it's a blur. I manage a small chuckle, getting my bearings as I try to remember what happened. Let's see... There was the villagers throwing stuff at me and calling me names-like usual, then I came back here, there was this weird breeze, and then suddenly this weird white streak crashed into me. And then... I don't remember. But it looks like I passed out. I recall, furrowing my brows as the fuzzy memories start to come back. And then in the blink of an eye, I remember the dream.

     "Silver, you'll never believe the crazy dream I had." I begin, reaching a hand out to pat her head. "So it was- AHH!"

     As I catch sight of the gem resting on my hand, I actually jump back, my skin glowing in a momentary burst of heat. I stare at my gem, dumbfounded, with my jaw hanging open like an idiot. Silver barks in concern, tilting her head, having jumped back in my momentary flare of scalding heat. But at the moment, I really don't care, instead focusing all attention on my gem, which is no longer red. My gem... It's... It's white! But then, that means-

     "It... Wasn't a dream." I breathe, eyes going wide.

     It's at that very moment there's a huge commotion coming from the bushes behind me. Whipping around, I yell out on alarm, managing to dive roll away just in time, just narrowly avoiding the lashing hooves of the horse that thunders past. Muscles still tense, my breathing shallow and quiet, I watch in confusion as the grey horse crashes through the next line of bushes, disappearing once again into the forest. Forgetting the white gem on my hand for the moment, I cautiously stand up, swaying and staggering a bit as I fight to regain my balance. Using a nearby tree to support me, I turn to face the direction the horse came from, wondering what on earth could've spooked it so badly. And curiosity getting the better of me, I start walking in that direction, deciding to investigate. Silver trails a pace behind me, ears perked up and alert, nose to the ground as she sniffs enthusiastically.

     Although I don't find the source of whatever startled that horse, by the time I get to the tree line, I do see two shocking things. The first, is there's a guy, laying on his back, out cold in the middle of the field. There's a cut above his eye, still dripping with fresh blood, and his mocha skin is bruised up and covered in dirt. His black hair is disheveled, and from my vantage point I can't see the gem on his hand, which is currently hidden as his arm is bent at an awkward angle underneath himself. But the second thing is even more unsettling, and my breath instantly hitches in my throat. Because there, not thirty blocks away, is what looks like to be nearly the entire population of Oresville. The scary part is, they all carry weapons of some sort, ranging from torches to pitchforks to razor sharp swords. One of them, wearing a hoodie with dark and light grey stripes, is kneeling beside the guy that's knocked out. As his head raises, he just so happens to look my way, and I instantly freeze in terror as his eyebrows raise in surprise. And then quickly, they lower, and he casts a glare of pure hatred at me.

"There he is, in the treeline!" The blond shrieks, standing and jabbing a finger at me. "And he's injured Vikk!"

A ground-shaking roar of insults and boos rise from the people gathered there, and they all shove their weapons into the air. They think I hurt him! I realize in despair, taking an uncertain and shaky step back. Shaking my head frantically, being careful to hide my gem within the sleeve of my cloak, I desperately try to explain the situation to them.

"No, please! You don't understand, I-"
"LETS GET HIM!" Another man shouts, this one with a black beard, black hair and red glasses, pulling out a bow.

A chorus of angry cries rise from the crowd, and with adrenaline coursing through my veins, my survival instincts kick in and I turn and bolt back into the forest. I can hear the rumble of hundreds of feet giving chase, and nothing but panic clouds my mind, swiftly scooping up Silver into my arms when I notice she's falling behind.

I yelp in horror as there's a thunk, and an arrow imbeds itself into a tree, mere inches from my head. A second arrow glances off my calf, and I cry out, stumbling. But pushing through to pain, I quickly scramble back to my feet, tears springing to my eyes as I run for my life.

~~~

Branches whip into my face and body, and I frantically tuck my head in, charging through them. Behind me, even after s good few minutes of full out sprinting, I can still pick up the snapping twigs and pounding of the villagers stubbornly pursing me. I've gained a little ground on them, but by no means do I have enough space between me and them to hide, and worst of all, I can feel my pace starting to slow. My muscles are screaming in protest, and Silver suddenly seems like she weighs as much as a horse in my arms, whimpering in fear. My throat is bone dry, my lungs sear, and I'm tasking in ragged and shallow breaths, not getting nearly enough oxygen to sustain me.

"I-I can't run anymore!" I sob, bright orange tears dripping down my face.

Up ahead the trees are less densely packed, and the sunlight shines brighter. There's a momentary pang of hope in my heart as I recognize it as a clearing, but it soon vanishes as I realize a simple clearing won't do anything to help me right now. But still, giving one last push, I break past the tree line, clumsily tripping over a root as I do. My stomach drops and I clutch Sliver close as I twist and land ungracefully on my side, rolling for several blocks before coming to a skidding stop.

"I'm so s-s-sorry, girl." I blubber, releasing Silver from my arms.

She limps out, having sustained some injured during the fall, and shakes from head to tail in fear. Behind her I catch sight of some sort of tower, stretching high into the sky and built of stone bricks and oak logs. It's in the middle of the small clearing, not twenty blocks away. Tears falling, I weakly crawl towards the tower, seeking one last chance to save myself. Behind me I can hear the distant yet rapid advance of death, and know that they'll be here within minutes. But before I can even get ten blocks away, the spruce door is flying open, and a guy appears suddenly in the doorway. Crap! I panic, quickly pulling my cloaks hood down more to conceal my face. He wears a plain blue hoodie, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. A shite undershirt is visible peeking out from under his hoodie, and he wears black pants and shoes. A strip of black cloth is wrapped around his gem hand, hiding it. He has tawny brown hair, a stubbly beard, and warm brown eyes, which shift to me.

The man steps out, eyeing me with surprise and caution, and I scoot away. I notice the wisps of magic swirling around his fingers, and my heart sinks, knowing there's no chance of escape. Pulling Silver close, I hug her tightly, streams of tears falling down my cheeks as I sit shaking and defeated on the ground.

"P-please don't hurt me." I plea, lowering my head.
"Who are you?" The man interrogates, eyes narrowing. "Why are there so many people chasing you?" He adds, having seeming sensed the large party quickly heading this way.
"I-I-I'm... I'm a-a mutant. Th-they don't l-like me." I stammer, choking back a sob.
His eyes soften, and he steps towards me, tilting his head curiously. "Why don't they like you?" He asks gently.
"..."
"Let me see your gem."

      I shake my head slowly, hugging Silver tightly and burying my face into her soft fur. Letting out a small hhmph, he outstretched a hand.

     "N-no, please wait!"

But it's too late. Using magic, he takes a hold of my hand with only his mind, and forces me to stick my hand out so he can see the gem. I shake violently, unable to do a thing, and I hear a startled gasp escape his lips as he sees the white gem there. His magic falls away, and I quickly pull in my hand, hugging it close to my chest. Refusing to meet his gaze, I turn away, whimpering and shaking. He's about to say something, but his words are promptly cut off, as finally the citizens of Orseville arrive.

"There he is!" Someone shouts, everyone seeming to ignore the man standing behind me.
"Kill him!" Another demands, waving a torch around.

The man with the red glasses notches an arrow, and aims the bow directly at my head, promptly bringing back the bowstring. As his fingers release, I cry out, squeezing my eyes shut and tensing my muscles, bracing for excruciating pain to hit me at any moment.

But strangely, it never does.

Peeking open a cautious eye, both eyes widen suddenly in surprise, and I see the very same arrow that guy shot at me, suspended in mid air literally centimetres from my face. Suddenly it combusts into flame, and is flung to the side by and unseen force. Whipping around, my mouth hangs open in shock as my eyes lays sight on the Mage, hand outstretched and glaring at the man with the red glasses. But... Why?

"The Mage is protecting the mutant!" The blond guy yells, face flushed in anger. "Kill them both!"

Instantly the hundred some people swarm forward, a chorus of battle cries ringing out. Scooting back, Silver whimpers again in my arms as a majority of them advance towards me. In fact, all of them go towards me. They seem to want to deal with the Mage later. I hear a low growl of anger from behind me, and suddenly, just as the mob of people come within striking distance of me, a gust of incredibly strong wind literally knocks them all back. They fall like dominos, shouting in surprise.

"DON'T. TOUCH. HIM." The Mage bellows, eyes seeming to glow as white tendrils of magic weave through his fingertips.

As they all scramble to their feet, collecting dropped weapons and clustering together, the Mage steps around me, placing him self protectively between me and the mob of enraged villagers. Blond dude and glasses dude glance uncertainly at each other, but the with notable hesitation, the group begins to advance once again. I can sense the frown on the Mage's face, and he glances over his shoulders at me.

"You might wanna close your eyes." He suggests darkly, before turning to face his opponents.

Turning around, still shaking and panting and sobbing, I squeeze my eyes shut and bury my face into Silver as she leans into my, hugging her like a big teddy bear. Soon after and there are screams and cries of agony filling the air, along with the sickening crunch of bones snapping and the thump of bodies falling to the grass. Something whistles right over my head, probably and arrow, and I let out a soft whimper, breathing fast and shallow. A fwoosh reaches my ears and suddenly the stink of smoke reaches me, and there's a sickening burning smell that I don't even want to imagine what it might be coming from. Every sound I hear is beginning to sound more and more distant, even going as far as sounding echoey. Someone calls a frantic retreat, and I'm faintly aware of the loud pounding of footsteps, barley audible over my own heart.

     The screams and loud noises quickly diminish, but I still continue sobbing and clutching Silver, already mentally scared and afraid of what I might see if I open my eyes. But curiosity kills the cat they say, and against my better judgment, I crack open an eye to examine the aftermath.

     "Oh my Notch..."

     Scattered across the small clearing must be at least forty corpses, all in brutal and mauled conditions. The remainder of one man, holding the pieces of a bow, is covered in sweltering burns. Several trees lining the clearing have been snapped in half, have large chunks missing out of them, and some even have tongues of fire licking at their dry bark. The ground is an absolute mess, stained with pools of blood, the grass charred, and missing chunks of dirt everywhere. And in the midst of it all, there's the mage. Panting and bleeding from a number of wounds, he rises up from his kneeling position, chest heaving and face glistening with sweat as he turns to face me. My eyes widen as I see the arrow shaft sticking out of his upper arm, and the nasty gash tearing through his hoodie, cutting deeply into his stomach. And not to mention the other lesser wounds covering every other inch of his body.

     It's all I can do to gape and follow him with my eyes as he staggers forward, grimacing in the effort. Horrified, my gaze drops the the ground, and a small fit of shaking overtakes my body. Silver whines in concern, nuzzling into my chest. And then there's a shadow cast over me as the mage kneels down shakily, resting a hand on my shoulder.

     "Hey, it's a-alright... Y-you're fine." He stammers gently, in an attempt to calm me down. "Just... Take a deep breath."

     With a jerky nod, I comply, taking in a large breath of air. Holding it for a moment, reassured by the hand on my shoulder, I let out the breath slowly. I hadn't even realized I was hyperventilating.

     "T-thank y-y-you." I stutter, gazing up into his pain eyes gratefully.
      He squeezes my shoulder before pulling his hand back. "Of course. Now-" He lets out a grunt of pain as he stands, gripping with his good arm at his open stomach. "-I need to treat these wounds b-before I loose to much blood. Please... c-come inside." He insists, begging to limp towards the tower.

     But I barley register the words. Because all I'm paying attention to right now is the hand gripping his stomach. At sometime during the battle, the cloth over his hand had fallen off. And now, I can clearly see the white gem he bears.

~~~
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