Two opposites

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Speaking with Leilani somehow warmed the young man in a way he couldn't recognize. It had been such a long time since he had found someone that could listen to him and not freak out over his weird ability. While he hadn't actually spoken to anyone about himself before, some people had tried to use magic on him for different reasons just to notice it didn't work. He never got the chance to explain himself before they ran to the closest guard.

"I'm always careful." Jonathan smirked, not completely honest. He made some reckless decisions at times, but usually it didn't get him any closer to getting arrested. Once the guards were onto him, he made sure to not take a single misstep. "If I'm ever in town when getting hurt, I'll make sure to search you up." He then promised. Most likely it would never happen though. He needed to get out of town as fast as possible, otherwise both of them might get into a dangerous situation. Leaving immediately though might be even more dangerous considering the guards were everywhere trying to find him. He'd just have to wait until nightfall. That's when he could make himself somewhat invincible in the shadows of the street.

"I rarely go to the same place twice though. They would be too familiar with me if they noticed me again. So if nothing happens to me tonight, then I don't think I'll ever get the chance to see your expertise in action. But considering what you've already done for me, there's no way I can repay you even now. Thanks for the kind thought though." He told her honestly after some moments thinking. Maybe it was a bit blunt, but it was the truth. He couldn't stay because they would find him. He couldn't come back because they would know him.

"Is it okay if I stay until the dark falls? I don't think they will do another search on an already searched house. At least not before tomorrow." Jonathan asked. Leilani hadn't showed any signs of wanting him out of there yet, but at the very least he could ask before intruding even more on her private space. Especially when they were in a situation that could get them both arrested if they weren't careful enough.
 
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Hmm, yeah sure," she said with a small amused grin, not that she thought he was lying exactly but still. "Whenever someone says that, especially a guy, it seems to me they don't quite get the meaning of the word careful." Of course she couldn't judge how Jonathan handled the guards when chased or trying to go unnoticed but there was something about those words that always made her imagine the person who said them did not view the word careful like most others did. Then again he had made it without being caught for ten years and it could not just be luck.[/BCOLOR]

It wasn't so surprising that he prefered to not come back to a place twice, after all the guards knew his appearance so he could surely not hide for long after arriving in a town, and he couldn't exactly use magic to disguise himself, but at least he was not reckless enough to leave just yet. [BCOLOR=transparent]"Of course, it may be a bit boring though but you can stay until I close up for the night." After caring for all the plants, checking through inventory, putting plants out to dry and cleaning there really wasn't that much for her to do unless a customer came in or a plant started to wilt. Leilani wasn't sure exactly why but it didn't feel right to just let him run off alone without being able to help in any way, maybe it was the memory of the lost kid look with puppy eyes he'd pulled earlier or some other protective instinct that kicked in. "Do you want some dinner before you leave at least?" Being on the run all the time and never being able to feel truly safe Leilani couldn't imagine it gave many opportunities for eating or sleeping for that matter in peace or with the best quality.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Maybe it was hypocritical of her to feel like this, she like all others knew about those without magic but did nothing to aid them just like the government ignored them, but know when she had actually met one of them she felt it was not right to just let him continue on without helping. She'd always felt for them, not only had they no magic but also no support from society and yet she had never bothered to do anything to help them, she just went along with her life instead. Meeting Jonathan had opened her eyes to the differece between feeling sorry for someone but do nothing and to actually try to do something, no matter how small to be of help. "It's nothing much but I'd really like it if you wanted to, if you trust the cooking skills of a stranger that is." She said with a smile, she wasn't a bad cook but she wasn't overly fond of cooking food but living alone sort of forced you to learn how to make your own food.[/BCOLOR]
 
Boring, huh. One afternoon sitting quietly inside wasn't so bad. Usually he couldn't relax at all as he traveled or ate or worked or even slept. He always had to look over his shoulder. But now he was inside, with a person that knew who he was and still wouldn't report him. As long as he stayed in a room without windows, or at the very least stood or sat somewhere people couldn't see him from the outside, then he could relax and feel somewhat secure. Some people might find it boring to not have anything to do for a whole day, but Jonathan could only see it as an opportunity to regain his strength.

Then she said something that made his eyes big as plates. Dinner? A real meal? Sometimes he had been offered a fruit or leftovers, usually he just lived on bread and cheap food, it had been years since someone had offered him a real meal. He must have stared at her for five seconds before realizing he must look quite awkward and turning away his gaze. "Y..yeah. Dinner would be nice, if you don't mind me intruding." He replied with a slight blush on his cheeks. Gosh, did he have to embarrass himself like that? But who could blame him? He hadn't had much human interaction in ages. He might talk to people just to get a temporary job from them, or to buy food from them, or on rare occasions hide in their houses. Conversations and being offered help to this extent didn't happen too often.

"If you don't mind it, I might take a nap for some hours. I don't get much sleep and I probably won't have time to rest tonight, so I should probably take the chance now." He told her. Usually falling asleep with a stranger knowing where he was would never happen. But he was sure she wouldn't give him away to the authorities, she already had the chance and didn't take it. After his story she probably had much less reason to do something like that.
 
The pure shock visible on Jonathan's face drew a smile from her, she tried to hold it back but wasn't entirely successfull, it may not have been a laughing matter but she just couldn't help herself, it was like he had never been offered something before, which may have been true all things considered. "Not at all, I often eat alone so this will be a nice change of pace." She mostly didn't have her friends over and when she had it wasn't for dinner and her family lived in another city so they weren't over all that much either, Leilani didn't have the largest crowd of friends either, not that she was antisocial she just prefered a smaller circle of people aorund her.

"Oh, of course you can, it's more comfortable in the office but there's a window in there so I'm afraid the best place would be in the storage room." Leilani said. "But you should at least be able to find something soft to sleep on, and I cleaned in there recently so there shouldn't be too much dust." The relatively small room was lined with shelves and in them boxes and rows of pots were stacked, the floor was also pretty full with boxes, various tools and whatever could be useful when growing plants, sheets were also stored ther, they were mainly used as a cover against dust when needed or to protect fragile items when stored. "I'll come and get you when I close up unless you're up by then."

Leilani spent the rest of the time putting out a few more herbs to dry, most would be ground and sold as spices but some were also for medicinal purposes, although when they had dried sufficiently they would be infused with magic as well to increase their strength. She also took the time to prepare some enhanced fertilizer and a few sprouts to take home with her, she had a few empty pots at home and possibly some space to put them were the sprouts could grow. Ever since she was a child Leilani had wanted her own apartment that was filled with plants, both with flowers and without, now she had her green apartment but there always seemed to be room for one more.

Two customers came in but they were quickly taken care off and didn't stay to chat seeing as evening was drawing near and most people were starting to hurry home from work. Leilani put everything in order for the next day, she wasn't overly pedantic about it since she was working tomorrow as well, she was a lot more tidy when Jona was working the next day. Putting the bag with her supplies on the counter she went over to the storage room and knocked before opening the door and peaking inside. "Jonathan, are you awake, its time to leave."
 
"Don't worry about it. I'm used to sleeping on floors and grounds." He tried to reassure her before she left. He waved his hand slightly as she left the room, and then he was alone. Jonathan felt a knot in his stomach. It grew for every passing second. How could he have involved her like that ? What if someone saw him going in there and told the guards? Then she would be in trouble because the guards hadn't found him while searching, which meant they might suspect her of hiding him.

The guilt grew inside him. If anything happened to Leilani, it would be his fault for running into her shop. At least others didn't know what was going on when he did. But she did know everything. And they could use magic on her to make her talk. She couldn't lie to them. If they were uncertain of her honesty, they would prey the information out of her. He had to be careful when leaving. No one could see them together.

Jonathan was forced to push all those thoughts away. He needed to sleep, otherwise it would be a tough night to get through, especially since he only had gotten a few hours of sleep the previous night. Eventually he fell asleep on the floor, not having bothered to find something comfortable to lie on. Occasionally he woke up as he heard footsteps walking past the door, or a bell ringing. He always woke up for the smallest things. He had to, otherwise he might get caught. But every time he reminded himself that it only was Leilani and the shop door that opened and closed, then he was fast asleep again.

As he was awoken by a knock on the door, he sat up fast, making it seem as if he had been awake for a little while. Mainly so she wouldn't worry about him sleeping on the floor after having told him to find something soft. His bed hair might have been a dead giveaway though, as half of it was standing right up, while the other half curled down. It usually went back to normal within five, ten minutes without him having to do anything about it.

"I've been awake for forever." He smiled, not even knowing his hair was such a mess. It wasn't like he had access to mirrors on a daily basis. As he stood up and walked towards her, another thing gave him away too. A red mark on his right cheek after having laid on that side for a bit too long. "So what have you thought about cooking? If you've even decided yet." Jonathan asked, mainly to get a conversation going, but also because he was curious. Would it be something he remembered having eaten? Or something completely new? His first real meal in years, needles to say he was quite excited. Even if it only were pasta with meatballs he would still be overjoyed.
 
It didn't exactly look like he'd been up for very long judging by his ruffled hair that looked like it led its own life and his red cheek but Leilani bit back a grin but didn't say anything, it would just state the obvious anyway. "Well, how about chicken? I have some cream that needs to be used before it spoils and it doesn't take that long to do." Being one of her favourite meals she always had ingredients at home for it and the best parts was that you could eat pretty much anything with it pasta, rice, potatoes, salad or with nothing. "Of course if you don't like it I can make something else."

Grabbing the bag she had prepared from the counter she made sure the door to the office was locked before switching of the lights on her way to the front door, the evening wasn't pitch black yet and the faint light from streetlights lit up enough of the room so you could avoid walking into anything. "I don't live that far away from here," she said while waiting for Jonathan to leave the store so she could lock the door after them. "A bit outside the city center but there are a few alley's we can take were the lightning is bad and with few people around." The crime was low in this part of town so it was quite safe walking after dark but even if it wasn't a person could feel safe against robbers since magic made it so that everyone could defend themselves in some way. Except those without that luxury of course.

The road was empty and quiet at this hour, most people were already at home or was on their way there on the larger streets so Leilani felt relatively certain that no one saw her or especially Jonathan, with this dim light it would be hard to identify a person as well. After no more than twenty minutes they arrived at a small three story apartment building with a parking lot in front and a lawn with some trees and a playground facing the balconies around back. It was not the newest or most luxurious building but it was both cheap and comfortable. "I live on the second floor and unfortunately there is no elevator which made it a living hell to get the furniture up here." She said with a frown at the painful memory. "I'm telling you, I am not moving again, there is no way I'm going through that twice." Taking out her keys from her jeans pocket as she spoke Leilani opened the door leading to the stairwell, due to there being no elevator the stairs were at least quite wide.

On the second floor she unlocked her door and motioned for Jonathan to step inside, the two room apartment was nothing extraordinary from the door a hallway stretched out with a small bathroom at the end, with the emphasis on the word small, instantly to the right was a bedroom and opposite each other at the end of the hall was a kitchen to the right and a living room with a balcony to the left. "Make yourself at home, I'll just put this away and start dinner." Leilani kicked off her shoes and headed for the kitchen.
 
"Don't worry, I like everything." Jonathan confirmed, though that wasn't completely true. He ate everything and anything that wasn't poisonous for the human body, otherwise he wouldn't have survived for so long, but he didn't particularly like everything he ate. Chicken was one of his favorite meats though, so he didn't worry at all about not liking it, even if it would have a cream he was unfamiliar with. As long as it was food though, he would eat it. It wasn't often he got the chance to eat chicken. If he kept to the law, then this would be his first time since his mother's death. But he had stolen a chicken or two from farmers in the middle of the night at occasions and then cooked them himself. He didn't do it often, just once or twice per year. Around his birthday mainly, though this time he could consider Leilani's food an early birthday dinner.

Jonathan agreed on taking the alleyways back to her apartment, and before they got there, his hair was already back to normal. Even though it was dark, he kept looking around after guards and civilians, making sure no one would see him. If he had heard a single footsteps coming towards them, he would certainly have jumped down into the closest sewer, or been running up the closest fire stair.

But the trip went without incidents and soon they came to a nice little apartment. While Jonathan's home had been a rather big house when he lived with his parents, he still considered Leilani's home luxurious since his homes the past ten years had mostly consisted of grass and halm.

It took Jonathan a while before a thought hit him. "Didn't you use magic to move your furniture?" He asked while taking off his shoes. Magic didn't come natural to him, thus it took him a while to remember that other people used it on a daily basis. But he couldn't really see how awful it could be if she just used magic to move her things, he would have had a much harder time with it if he had been able to move into an apartment. And if she didn't use her magic, why hadn't she? Maybe people didn't depend so much on magic as he believed. At least he hoped they didn't. Non magic users would be considered even more like outcasts and unnecessary for society the more magic users relied on their magic. Eventually Jonathan and all of his sort wouldn't be able to get jobs at all because everything would turn magic based. Hopefully he would be dead and gone before it happened.

"Want help with something? I can cut vegetables if you want. I'm quite skilled with knives." He said as he came into the kitchen. Considering fish was the best free food he could get, he had gotten a lot of practice. Plus a bit of stolen vegetables and fruits from farmers. It wasn't as noticeable as the chickens at least, and they always laid the guilt on rabbits, or their own children if they had magic traps out for animals.
 
"Eh, well, it's a stupid reason actually," Leilani answered a bit flushed. "It's all my brother's fault, mostly at least. When I was moving in he said something along the lines that it was a good thing that I knew magic as I wouldn't have gotten my things up the stairs otherwise, with words like tiny and frail thrown in as well. I just had to prove him wrong, you have no idea how annoying he can be when he thinks he is right." The two siblings shared a quite common annoying older brother versus easily angered younger sister and while they had a strong bond it was well hidden beneath constant bickering that had grown less common as they aged but would probably always be there.

It was a stupid and irritating trait of hers, when someone said she couldn't do anything she just had to prove to everyone that she indeed could do it, even when logic said it was better to ignore it. "I didn't move everything up without magic, and I had help with the rest but even so it was hell. So maybe I should revise my statement, I will only move again if my brother does not help since I always fall for his teasing." Luckily for her he lived in another city so maybe that wouldn't be an issue if she ever were to move, although she was very fond of this apartment so unless something happened she would definitely stay here.

Opening the refridgerator to gather what she would need when preparing the chicken and placed it on the counter. "Well, if you want to then you could fix the salad. And do you mind having pasta with the chicken? It's fast and easy to make plus it goes surprisingly well with it." She picked out a pot from the cabinet by the oven and filled it with water, no matter what they picked it would need to be cooked anyway. Quickly she cut the chicken into small pieces with some scissors, normally people would have used a knife perhaps but Leilani was more skilled with scissors, placing the small pieces in a bowl, luckily she had not put the chicken in the freezer when she bought it recently or else it would have taken awhile to thaw it.

"Do you mind strong spices? Despite the cream it has a tendancy to be a bit hot when I'm in charge of the spices." She asked while washing her hands before heating a frying pan and tipped in the chicken, adding some salt and pepper, the point was to thouroughly fry the meat without making the surface hard. When it looked about right she poured in some soy sauce and meat stock before she added the cream, stirring it until everything was mixed and lowering the heat so it could simmer slightly. At this point she added chili paste and tarragon. "This just has to simmer awhile then it's done." She said and looked over to see Jonathan's progress.
 
So she had a brother. Jonathan smiled as she told him about her ordeal with the move. Even though Leilani was telling him about how annoying her brother was, he could still feel that she loved him a lot. He had met all kinds of people during the years. Most took their family for granted, or outright hated their close relatives. Especially the further into the bigger cities one came. Leilani and her brother didn't seem to be like that, though so far he had only heard a few sentences. But teasing and helping your sibling when they're moving, and on top of that going along with their siblings teasing instead of getting angry and tell them to leave. It sounded like a good sibling relationship to him. A little bit of sibling quarrel, but still helping out and loving each other.


"I don't mind pasta." Jonathan confirmed before he got the vegetables for the salad. He was skilled with a knife and did a quite quick job, though it might not look like a master chefs work. When living outside he never really thought about the aesthetics of food, it just had to fit into the mouth and had to be fast made. Though he did remember seeing bowls with salad a few times while walking past windows to both homes and restaurants. Usually things were in very small pieces, so he tried to keep that in mind. The pieces were very uneven when he was done with the lettuce, cucumber, onion, tomatoes and the other things he had gotten, but at least it wasn't too noticeable once they've been thrown into the salad bowl and shuffled it a bit.

"I don't know, I can't remember ever having eaten spicy food." The teen replied to the question. He didn't remember how anything from his mother tasted, and after he escaped the guards, spicing the food hadn't been much of an option. "Just do what you usually do. I'm sure it will be fine." He then told her. It was best to just go with the flow and see what happened.

"Maybe I cut up a bit too much." He mumbled after Leilani had told him it almost was done. Salad was usually only meant to be a little bit on the side, at least that was what he had seen on peoples plates in restaurants, but now they seemed to have enough for at least three full meals. Considering she hadn't told him how much of each she wanted him to cut up, he had instinctively just done the whole lettuce, the whole cucumber, and the whole of everything he had gotten. Afterwards he realized it might have been overkill. Oops.

"Seems like you'll have lots of salad for a few days." He chuckled before looking over at her achievements. "It looks delicious. And smells even better." He announced almost with a child's excitement. Considering he hadn't eaten a meal like that since he was eight, it was a bit of a nostalgic moment for him. He only remembered how the dishes his mother had made looked, the taste and smell had since long been forgotten.
 
Once the chicken as pretty much done and was simmering slightly on low heat Leilani took the pot from the stove and tipped the past in a strainer then she poured it back into the pot and added a bit of butter the keep it from becoming too sticky. "Well, it would have been eaten anyway," she said with a small laugh. "Besides I'm not always so good with remembering to cut up salad when I eat so chances are it will actually get eaten now that it's already prepared." From the cupboards she brought out glasses and some plates and placed them on the counter to be filled, she was not the type that put every dish in a special bowl on the table unless it was for something fancy or her grandparents were coming over. "What do you want to drink? There's water, of course, but there should be milk left in the fridge and there's soda." She sat down by the table when she had filled her plate, it was placed by the only window in the kitchen but since it was dark out and the second floor she didn't think anyone could see inside even if they were for some reason trying to.

It was a nice change to eat with someone, granted she hadn't known him for long, a few hours tops as he had slept for a large amount of the time, but it didn't feel as awkward as she would have thought. Harbouring a guy wanted for simply being immune felt pretty normal, unless she focused too much on the part where she had straight out lied to a guard, but she suspected she would feel even worse if she hadn't.

"I hope it will taste as good as it smells," she said, she hadn't tasted it herself yet instead she went for the salad first, never being so good with eating hot food. "It's something I do very often so it's a safe dish to make as a first impression." She added with smile, not only was it one of her favourite meals but it was also easy to do and could be kept in the fridge for a few days. Preparing quite large amounts of food and then keep them in the freezer or fridge was something Leilani did often since she was not overly fond of cooking so this way she avoided fast food and a diet of sandwiches but didn't have to cook every day.

She did have a hard time finding a topic though, she suspected Jonathan didn't really keep up to speed on more trivial stuff what with keeping away from guards and always being on the move, and she didn't want to pick a sensitive subject either, although the silence didn't feel uncomfortable, at least not to her. "Are you leaving town tonight?" It was perhaps not much of a subject but still. It did make sense to hide in the dark rather than leave during the day but it didn't feel alright to know he would continue to live on the run with her and the rest of the priviliged people could live normally.
 
Jonathan shuddered slightly at the mention of milk. That would definitely not be his choice of drink if he wanted to move on the same evening. Soda sounded interesting though, considering he had never tasted it before. But in the end he settled for water. He had tasted new things before that had been ridiculously good, and then been utterly disappointed when he couldn't get his hands on it again. Even if it was sold in normal chops, he still might not be able to afford it.

As he sat down he became slightly nervous. He usually didn't eat with a fork and a knife, and when he did it usually were in cheap bars, with questionable people whom wouldn't be suspicious of him, where manners didn't matter. Sitting in front of a quite beautiful girl with a good upbringing made the teen a bit unsure how to behave. But thanks to her relaxed tone, he fast felt at ease.

He nodded at her question. That was the only option for him. "I'm hoping to reach Quillos within the end of the week. Even if they realize I've escaped town, they won't be able to catch up to me if I take the forest route. Considering Leios is closer, they'll probably assume I will take that way and warn the guards in that town instead." Jonathan replied. The way he spoke probably sounded a lot like how an every day man would speak about plans for his job. Maybe it was stupid of him to mention where he was going, and he actually slapped himself mentally for that, but it had felt so natural to tell her now when there was someone to listen to him without judging him.

After a few blows on the food, Jonathan took the first bite on the chicken. "Mmm, it tastes delicious." He complimented Leilani, before starting to lay up some salad too. It was a bit strong however, and not used to it, his body soon reacted by giving him teary eyes and slightly blushed cheeks and ears. He didn't mind though. Sure, it was annoying, but the food was still really good.

"I'm actually hoping to find some people there. In Quillos I mean. It's just rumors, but I've heard that there are a group of non-magical humans that became so tired of the oppression so they decided to live underground away from all magicians. I've searched after them for years, but still hasn't been able to find any signs of them even existing, except for the rumors of course. If I find them, then maybe I can find a safe place for me to live." He spoke, hopeful. His father had heard about the group while he worked within the army, and shortly before he died he told Jonathan that they should try to find the group if they are out there somewhere. It would be the safest place for him.

"But I'm starting to believe it's just fairy tales. Even my father tried to find them with the help of magic, and still nothing. Maybe it was just rumors started by non-magicians to get some hope for something better. I guess I'm screwed in that case." He chuckled at the thought. It wasn't like that group was his only hope for a peaceful life. Even if it stopped being an alternative, he would still keep hoping for something better. And even if nothing better ever came, he would keep surviving and cherish every good moment he got. Like the one with Leilani right there and then.
 
Although she found it a bit difficult to imagine it certainly wasn't an impossibility, a group of non magical humans living far from the rest of the world, hiding to live in peace from a society that shuns them. It might be a bleak life underground if that were true but they would still be able to live with people like themselves and not feel inferior to the majority of the population. Leilani had never heard those rumors herself but Alyion was not the biggest city in the land so that was hardly surprising besides she was fairly sure that if the rumors were true those in hiding would want to keep it as much of a secret as possible to keep strangers, especially magical ones, away.

"Hmm, I guess it's possible that it is just a story," she said, nodding in agreement. "But it's not unheard of throughout history that people who doesn't fit into a strict, unfair society chose to live outside of it." It was perhaps not the best solution for an equal world but it sure was better than for people to live with prejudice and oppression.

She fell silent as she started on the chicken and pasta, fond of spices and used to them Leilani didn't notice them too much as she ate but it had perhaps not been so smart of her to choose water since it hardly removed the heat. But her mind kept turning around the idea that there could be a safe place for those without magic, perhaps even Jonathan could feel safe there, even if they too viewed immunity as something unnatural they could hardly throw magic at him all the time. The hard part was only to find the place if it existed and Leilani feared she could do very little to help Jonathan further and while it felt like a insignificant thing to offer some food perhaps it was enough.

"Maybe they have some way of shielding against magic? I have no idea if there is something that is strong enough to protect against a magic search as I have never really tried magic that focus on defense and shielding but maybe that's why it is hard to find them." She mused, always eager to see things more positively even against the odds, it was just depressing to always expect the worst so even if she saw the logic in a situation Leilani prefered the see the bright side of everything.
 
"Maybe." Jonathan nodded in agreement. It was always nice to get another persons opinion on the matter, even if that always was narrowed down to once in a lifetime for Jonathan. It wasn't like he had anyone to speak of those matters with during normal circumstances. Usually he spent his time talking loudly to himself, sometimes even ending up in a big fight with his other half. The positive against the negative. It almost always ended in a draw when he fought with himself.

"But the only thing we know can shield against magic is magic. They shouldn't be able to use that if they don't get help from a magical source." The teen pointed out. No science had so far produced something that could shield against magic, though some had put magic spells on items to produce such power. "But even if they got help from a magical item or a person, it shouldn't be enough to hide from the guards. They are not only trained to be better magicians than the general population, but if they take the power of ten guards to make a spell to find a group, then it should get through whatever shield they have. It must be something ridiculously strong if they won't even become a blip on the radar."

Jonathan took a mouthful of the salad, chewed and swallowed, giving him just enough time to think a bit extra on it before he continued. "On the other hand, I don't become a blip on the radar no matter how much power they use. So I guess it's possible that they possess something or someone that goes against the norm and can lend invincibility against magic to its surrounding."

It didn't sound very believable even for him. He was the the exception to the rule, and all other exceptions had been kidnapped by the government or were in hiding, even from their own kind. Even if there were people like him with the group he was searching for, they would be the only people invincible, they wouldn't make the rest of the group invincible. Or maybe he and his kin all had such powers, but it hadn't been realized yet. Maybe he could extend his invincibility to others. Now he got something to think about.

"Well, how they do it doesn't really matter before they're found and proven real. Right now they're just a fairy tale for us outlaws. It's just to hope that I can run into them along the way if they exist." He shrugged. It wasn't like he would stop running just because they didn't exist. Though their existence did make him go into slightly darker places. Underground tunnels, mountains, deep forests and such. Everywhere someone might hide a group of people without risking being found.
 
"Hmm, well you have a point." Leilani had to agree, maybe it was just foolishly optimistic hoping for a group of people capable of shielding against powerful search magic. Having a person with such magic and skill that it could surpass all the guards combined work to hide a secret home for the hunted and shunned, it was most likely as impossible as Jonathan said but it still was a thing to hope for and no one said hope had to be based on logic. At least not Leilani who always saw the most optimistic, however unrealistic, side.

Leilani scraped up some cream sauce with the spoon, the spices that had gathered there burning slightly in her mouth as she swallowed, before finishing her salad and thought over the problem. There was one possible solution where he could avoid the guards, although it may be a quite lonely and boring one, if no one could trace Jonathan with magic, only by traditional means, didn't that mean that if he managed to find a safe and secluded place he could live in peace? However that would as stated be a very lonely life that lacked any social interraction, the only conversation he'd have would be himself and an animal or two. No the better option would be a place with people like him, or at least people without magic since Jonathan's immunity was very rare, but there must be others like him and Leilani wondered if they were all caught or if some of them lived far away from civilization all alone to be left alone.

She wished there was something she could do to help him locate them, if they indeed existed, but besides her average magic her skill lay with plants, how to care for them and their usage in both medicine and food, not in tracking or surviving outside of cities and the luxuries of civilization. "Well, regardless I hope you find them," she said, pushing back her bangs that had fallen into her eyes. "I for one believe they are out there somewhere, in hiding, call me naive if you want to but I do." Sure she had just recently found out about those rumors but Leilani's conviction of their existance was only growing as her mind wanted to assign a peaceful life to all who were shunned by the magical society that ruled the country.

"The guards are probably not happy that they have not found you yet so be careful, it may be dark out but that is no guarantee." Not that she was one to talk, if the roles were reversed she would most likely have been found already, Jonathan had far more experience with keeping a lowprofile than her so he would surely manage to get away this time as well. Having finished her plate Leilani refilled her water glass, pulling water from the tap by the sink she directed it with her hand to her glass. Not until she was done did the thought hit her that it was maybe rude to flaunt her magic like this, but she didn't believe in hiding your true nature so instead she looked at him and smiled. "Do you also want a refill?"
 
The food seemed to disappear far too fast, and even though the small teen wanted to eat more, he was already starting to feel rather full. Considering he rarely got a proper meal, he wasn't used to eating a normal portion in one go. Even when he were able to get a lot of food, he always ate a little bit at a time and rested in between. It was extremely foolish to get the stomach used to normal sized portions while knowing that starving season could be right around the corner.

"You're not naive." Jonathan disagreed. "Just positive." He then added. "Dad always said to look at things from the bright side, because there always is at least one. I'm pretty sure they're out there somewhere too."

The teen put his knife and fork down on the plate, one facing left and one right. There were still a bit of rise and chicken left, but he had eaten all of the salad at least. "Don't worry, I know all their tricks by now. I'll sneak past them easily." He bragged. It was the same as always. They would forget themselves and use magic to find him in the dark. They would most likely use magical lights which would die out once they got too close to him. As long as he kept track of where the closest guards were, then he could keep just the right distance so that the lights didn't give him away by making a sudden dark spot. If they found him, they would most likely have nothing but their hands and feet if they hadn't gotten swords or some other weapon already. Either way, as long as he stayed at least an arm length away at all times, then they wouldn't be able to hurt him. Especially since archery would be impossible in the dark.

"No thanks." He rejected her offer for more water. "I should probably get going. The sooner the better as my dad used to say. I don't want to give them too much time to gather up a good strategy. I would probably beat it easily anyway, but I prefer no effort required." Jonathan smiled. "Thanks for the hospitality, the food and.. Well just listening I guess. It was nice. Make sure not to mention it to anyone though, you'll be in more trouble than me if someone finds out about it." He stood up as he spoke. He weren't really sure how to say a proper goodbye. He liked to talk to Leilani, and he knew that goodbye would mean that they never would see each other again. Somehow it was much harder than all the other times he had said goodbye to people. Maybe because they never really knew him, and he never really cared about them.
 
Leilani was calmed by his reassuring tone but a part of her ruled by compassion was worried even so but it surely would be nothing more dangerous than he had encountered before so intead she stood up as well. "I won't say a word, and not just to keep myself safe." She assured him, she was raised to not betray someone's trust and besides that her faith in the guards and the ruling council had not exactly been strengthened during this day. She followed Jonathan through the hall to the front door but neither seemed to find a proper good bye, it would be a final good bye and there was not much hope of another meeting and it felt like she had to say good bye to someone who could have been a good friend, despite the rather odd start of that friendship.

"If you ever need to or are in town again then you wouldn't dare to not find me just because it could be bad for me." She said, trying to sound stern but an askew smile destroyed that effort. He had made it clear that he most likely would not return to a place twice but you should never say never and she would hate it if she learned somehow that he had been back but not visited her, and in extension he certainly would hear about it if they met after that. "I know what you said about never going somewhere twice," she finally said, looking him in the eye, for once not having to look up at someone which, with her height, happened more often than she would like.

"But I'll see you later, because it's not a complete impossibility and, I quote here, there is always a positive side, you should remember that." Her last words coming out more serious. Had she known him better she would have been tempted to hug him, but it was a bit too friendly after this short time, and she was not the most physical person in the world so being spontane with hugs and other affectionate gestures was not something that came easily to her.

--

After he left the apartment felt a bit empty and quiet and to get out of her worry wart zone she headed back to the kitchen to clean up, spending sometime with the dishes and putting away the food that was over into the fridge. When she was done barely half an hour had passed but still having her plants to fix Leilani spread out a plastic sheet across the kitchen table and emptied the bag on it, lining the sprouts on one side and picked out a few pots from a cupboard, fetching some soil from the balcony as well.

Next she began filling some soil in a pot, moving the sprout into it and filling in more soil, adding a touch of fertilizer as well, the work was familiar and Leilani quickly worked through all the sprouts she had taken home. Washing the dirt from her hands, as always playing a bit with the water as she did so, a thing she had done since she was a child and noticed she was quite good with manipulating water, she then moved water over to each pot with a gentle wave of her hand. Her living room in a southern angle was best suited to house the young sprouts so Leilani placed them on the living room table for now, the windowsill would be too warm from the radiator and the direct sunlight. Done with that she headed back into the kitchen to clean away the spilled soil and put the supplies back in their place.
 
Jonathan did like her optimistic view, but in this case, he doubted it would matter much. There might be a slim chance that he would come back, but they were incredibly slim. It would be too dangerous for both of them. "If I ever come back, I'll make sure to search you up." He promised before leaving.

It was a quiet evening. Far too quiet. No matter where he went there were no guards to be seen. He couldn't see any use of magic either, nor feel it. When magic were about to touch him he always felt a strange tingling feeling for less than a second, so he was always warned when someone was trying to do something. He guessed it was because of his immunity. When the magic disappeared into thin air, that's when he felt it. But there was no search magic being absorbed by his body, nor light magic coming his way. No one tried to spy from the top of buildings, or if they did, they simply never put their eyes on him, because the magic they would need to use for night vision would give them away.

It was weird. They should still be searching. They should know that he could move around safest at night when no one could see him and thus use that as his time of moving. Still, no one was there. Why? Even though Jonathan knew they must have some kind of trap in store for him, what else could he do but to move forward? So he kept moving among the shadows until he came to the last building of the town. From there on he would have to get over an empty road, all the way to the forest. If they had a trap, it would probably be there. But he couldn't see anyone as of yet.

"What am I worried about?" He asked himself. "Even if they have a trap it will probably be magic based. They're just monkeys with half a brain after all." He chuckled. Talking to himself was completely normal for the young teen. He was the only company he got for most parts.

Jonathan took his chance and started to run. But very soon he felt something hit him in the back. He pulled something out of his skin. It looked like a needle. For a moment he had stopped. Confused he looked around, trying to see where it had come from. Men started to come out of the shadows. He hadn't noticed them... Invincibility magic? Possibly. If he didn't touch them, they could hide all they wanted. Other people appeared behind him out of nowhere. Invincibility no doubt.

Surrounded Jonathan started to look around after a possible exit. Those guys knew what they were doing. They only used the magic they knew they could use. And he had seen the uniforms before. The secret task force had apparently been called in this time.

A man he remembered well came out of the shadows. The general whom had come to take Jonathan away from his family all those years ago. The man who was responsible for his mother's death. Jonathan slowly backed, the guards didn't care much, they were surrounding him, where would he flee to? The man spoke while doing a hand gesture for his men to take handcuff him. "Jonathan Carter. You are hereby arrested for..." He didn't get further than that, and the guards didn't get more than two steps forward before Jonathan ducked down and forced open a sewer lid, then jumped down into it. At the very least the sewer path were too narrow for them all to rush after him. They could max send a few and then wait for him by all the exits.

He could already hear them run after him, but the sewers were like labyrinths, and he was fast. He soon outran them.

---


Somehow Jonathan were able to get out without being noticed and tried to keep himself as invincible as possible. Soon though he started to notice his health declining. He felt worse and worse. Dizzy. Ill. He couldn't breath properly any longer. So that was their plan. They poisoned him so he would give himself over for the antidote. That's why they didn't make bigger efforts in chasing him any longer. The teen stumbled forward until he reached a familiar shop. He weren't sure if he could actually walk all the way to her home, he just had to hope she would be the first person coming in the next morning. If he just survived until then, then maybe she could make him something. Sneaking to the front, as best he could when almost going unconscious, he picked the lock and walked in. Then he sat down out of sight for the windows, waiting, and eventually passing out.
 
The next morning arrived on a bright note, a clear sky and the rising sun shining down although the air was still too cool to call warm, the screaming alarm clock ripped Leilani from her sleep and she fumbled around for it half asleep still without luck and she had to force herself up and cross the room to her desk to shut it off. This had been her way off being sure she actually woke up, she was not a morning person and after shutting of the alarm and then going back to sleep one too many times had forced her to place the clock further from her bed. Stretching as she padded into the kitchen in her pyjamas she put on the coffee brewer she had prepared last night before taking a shower and hope the warm water would make stop wanting to return to her warm bed.

Eating a sandwich by the counter and emptying two cups of coffee Leilani was finally starting to wake fully, up until a few years ago she had hated everything resembling coffee but now she had gotten used to the odd taste and needed it to shake the sleep from her mind. Washing the cup Leilani grabbed her shoulderbag and stepped into her shoes, adjusting them as she locked her door and ran down the stairs, she was for once a bit early but that just meant she wouldn't have to hurry to prepare the shop before it opened. It didn't take more than twenty minutes to reach the shop, in the middle of the day with more traffik and people filling the streets it could drag out to more than half an hour but now, like in the evenings it was a relatively quick trip.

Reaching the shop she inserted the key but it wouldn't turn, confused she noticed the door was already unlocked and with a sinking feeling in her stomach she wondered if she had just been sloppy last night and forgotten to lock up, which she was almost certain she didn't do, or if someone had broken in. There was not much of value in there, if you didn't count some rare plants and more expensive herbal medicines but not the sort of things that tempted many thieves, not in this part of town at least. Carefully stepping inside, and while a quick glance around made it obvious nothing had been broken or stolen from the main room Leilani kept on guard as she closed the door behind her. Rounding a table her eyes fell on a familiar figure with a very odd shade of pale brown hair, lying slumped on the floor, unconscious judging by his shallow breathing and clammy skin.

"Jonathan!" After a few moments of shocked silence when she wondered if her coffee had been spiked somehow Leilani dropped her bag and ran over to him, kneeling down and tried to wake him, to tell her what had happened but he didn't seem to hear her or she didn't notice whatever small sign he may have shown. She had not expected him to show up again so soon, not at all actually but he seemed to be clearly ill and she wagered a guess that it was because of that he had returned. Gathering herself Leilani became more methodical, she was not a trained nurse or doctor of any kind but she knew a bit about healing still. He had a fever, sweat clinging to his pale skin, his lips had taken on a blueish hue like it had been freezing and his breathing was shallow and at times Leilani feared it had stopped entirely.

The suddenness of it all and together with the rest made her mind go to poison of some kind although she couldn't be sure, but this did not seem like any normal sickness to her. But she could not do anything unless she knew what had caused his symptoms, logic told her it was more likely for Jonathan to have been injected where his clothes wouldn't get in the way so she gently started checking his skin for any kind of abnormality. When she was about to give up she finally found something, a spot on his neck was red and hot to her touch, pushing away his pale hair Leilani could clearly see this must have been the point of injection, and Jonathan had been lucky, under the circumstances at least, a small piece of a needle was still attached to his skin. It must have broken off when pulled out or maybe it was designed weak so the victim would surely be poisoned even if they pulled the needle out, but with this Leilani had a bigger chance of finding out something to cure Jonathan.

It was not much to go on and the few remains of poison had been tainted by his blood but it was better than nothing at all, if Mrs. Oakley had been here she would probably have been able to identify it quite easily but Leilani was not so skilled with that part of medicine, or poison, making. But a faint, sweet scent lingered on the tip, carefully she lightly touched the needle to her tongue, it was almost not noticable but it left a faint bitter taste in her mouth. She couldn't be certain but it did leave out quite a few more common poisons, the mixture of sweet and bitter and that it apparently worked fast but not instantly deadly gave her some clues as of what to prepare. Hurrying over to some rarer plants in the store Leilani found a medium sized, unassuming plant with small pale flowers, it was related to the ginger plant and had been infused with magic since it was a sprout, this particular plant was just in the end of blooming and small berries was already growing. Picking a few of those Leilani hurried back to the counter where she shifted through all the available powders and ointments until she found what she was looking for, a salve used for treatment of stronger poisons, that too enhanced by magic.

The orange tinted berries she hurriedly mashed in a mortar, they contained more liquid than one would guess and it mixed well with a powder she had picked out that was designed to help against a lot of major poisons, the magic infused in the components holding an important part in its success, when finished she tipped the mixture into a glass of water spiked with some honey and sagebrush, the latter having a very strong, bitter taste. Bringing the stuff back to Jonathan, hoping he was still holding on, the salve she applied over the injection point, the ingredients would calm the skin and work its way down to try and neutralize the poison. Not wasting time on trying to wake him Leilani tilted Jonathan's head and carefully poured a small amount of liquid into his mouth, hoping his reflexes could get him to swallow it, or the taste and odro of the sagebrush would help wake him slightly.
 
A strange odor woke Jonathan up. He wasn't sure where he was nor whom the person in front of him were. Something was in his mouth. He swallowed without thinking about it. Was he dying? It definitely felt like it. He tried to focus on the person in front of him. She seemed familiar. Though it was hard to say when he barely saw at all. Everything were wrapped in shadows, the more he tried to move, the darker it became. How many more breath's could he take before it became his last?

Not knowing what the strange mixture he was drinking was, he drank it anyway. It couldn't possibly make him feel worse, right? It didn't have an instant reaction, but it didn't take long before his breathing became more even, and his vision started to return to him.

"Lei..lani?" He asked, wanting to confirm that he had the right person. He felt incredibly dizzy, but at least his memories started to become less foggy. He had been with a girl named Leilani the day before, and he had been chased by the guards. He remembered being shot with something, and that soon after he became sick. Poison.

"I think.. I'm poisoned." He mumbled before coughing slightly. He probably should have realized that she already knew about it, considering he just drank something rather weird tasting, but his mind couldn't follow the obvious red line just yet.

"I shouldn't have come.. They'll find me, and you..." He continued to mumble as he tried to stand up, but immediately fell back down. Of course he couldn't stand yet. No antidote in the world would work that fast. "Sorry.. I've put you in danger... again." Jonathan apologized. How could he have gone to her shop now when he was being chased by experts? Sure she could save him, but was it worth the prize if something were to happen to her? He wanted to hit himself, but he weren't sure if he would be able to do it justice when in such a weakened state.
 
Relief flowed through her when he swallowed instead of choked on the potion although he was not completely conscious yet, but however slowly, the concoction seemed to be working and soon his breathing returned to normal or at least close enough and his gaze became more focused. "Yes," she said, agreeing to both of his statements. "Thank god you managed to get to the store at least." Leilani wouldn't have been able to mix together anything that could help if against such a strong poison if he had managed to reach her apartment instead she had medicinal plants at home sure but none that were infused with such a strong magic it could have helped Jonathan, healing magic wasn't her forte.

Leilani caught his arm as a almost fell back down, stabalizing him as best as she could while still sitting down, it would do him no good if he fainted again after hitting his head against the floor. "You almost died, can you worry about yourself instead of me for once?" Her reprimand, while seriously meant, did not sound very harsh at all. "The chance of them finding you here is slim, besides your life is kind off important you know." She had the mindset of a healer despite her skills not being up to par, except when it came to herbal medicine, saving a life was a higher priority than herself in her opinion.

Having made him empty the glass with the antidote she motioned with her hand and drew water from the tap and poured it into the empty glass, not taking the time to actually go get it herself. "Here, try to drink more, at least this wont taste bad." He needed to regain the water he had lost during his fever, however short it had been the fever had been high, Leilani put her free hand against Jonathan's forhead, he still felt hot but it seemed the temperature was going down and the colour didn't resemble wax anymore. "How do you feel, any better?"
 
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