She spun in a drop kick, and another hand grabbed her other arm and pulled her flush to a large body behind her. She struggled and kicked uselessly at her captor until she noticed how very pale the arms holding her were. A charmed vine rose by her power and rapidly wrapped around her attacker’s arms and torso, and they swiftly pulled apart to break her captor’s arms.
At his grunt of pain she laughed and turned to face him. “It hurts, doesn’t it,” she said. “Little woman all alone in the woods must be so weak,” she taunted, “But I guess you were wrong about that.” Another vine rose to twine about his ankle and pull at it so he fell on the ground. “See, I don’t like people attacking me. I tend to get pretty angry when that happens.” A briar hedge rapidly grew to encircle them like a green wall.
He merely glanced at the barrier in puzzlement. “It`s to fend off any friends you might be hiding nearby and deter any backup you may have,” she answered, another briar covering her from such attackers as well. Hers, however, had all its thorn on the outside, and not one on the inside, whereas he often winced with any tiny movement that brought the cruel blades bearing upon his flesh. “Now, what`s up with the stalking habit, Mr. Vamp?”
He just continued looking impressed at the greenery. “I wouldn’t have thought that witches could compel plants like this. I thought they normally just used them in their spells and potions,” he mused. “Maybe you are more charming in multiple ways then I first guessed,” he gave a roguish grin.
“Who said I was a witch,” she gasped. “There’s no need for insults like that. It’s an especially stupid act as it appears you tried to flirt with me,” she looked at him with a quelling and uniquely feminine derision. “Needless to say, with lines like that you are doomed to fail.”
He ticked the identifying points off his fingers. “Well, there’s no feeling of my helplessness to your enchanting beauty, so you obviously can’t be a nymph or sorceress or high fey woman.”
“I resent that commentary on my looks,” she frowned at him.
He blithely ignored her. “If you were a dragon your magic would have been done in the form of a flame, if you were a harpy you’d have wings and no skill at hiding them, daemons have horns, centaurs have horse parts, faeries and sprites have wings, and every other creature has distinguishing features of the scent of an illusion. I smell no illusions so this is clearly your true form so I know you must be a human. And yet you used a spell of some sort so you must not be a Mundane human. That means the only thing left is that you are a witch.” He paused. “I suppose you could be a rebel alchemist as well, but they tend to move in packs and their magic is a rather distinct scent of chaos from combining so many different magical traditions and you just smell rather plain.”
“Are you done insulting me?” she asked quietly, alarmingly sweet. She walked up to his imprisoned form, jabbing his still bloody nose with a finger. Ignoring his pained wince she continued, “Look, buddy. You`ve just insulted me, your captor, in every way that matters. What kind of idiot does that?”
“This kind,” he grinned mischievously. “Might I add, though, that I`ve only mentioned your appearance. I`m hoping your brain may be up to par, but I`ve gotta say this conversation doesn`t make that outcome seem to likely.”
Jackie actually growled. “Look buddy,” she poked a finger in his face, “Just because you are dense doesn’t mean I have to be. Vamps don’t necessarily know everything, you know. See that tree?” The tree obligingly waved its branch at them both. “If you were paying attention at all, you would have noticed I was talking to it. Since when have any kind of humans been able to talk to a tree? Heck, when has any type of anything been able to talk to a tree besides a nymph?”I don’t know of a single creature besides a Nymph who can talk to trees! It should be pretty obvious I am one.”
“The elves,” he said, wielding a smart-aleck grin.
“Their kind are extinct now,” she returned, “So they can`t be counted for the sake of any type of conversation that isn`t a history lesson,” she sniffed. “Besides, that`s not the point! I talked to a tree, ergo, I am a nymph,” she said decisively. “Idiot,” she huffed.
He just shook his head. “You smell all wrong. There’s too much fire in your scent, you couldn’t be one. You can’t be a dryad either, unless you managed to contract with the legendary Fire Lake’s spirit and that gave you some new powers?”
She shook her head. “So obviously you aren’t Nymph or Dryad.” He paused and smoothed his beard. “I suppose it could make sense if you weren’t pure in race though,” he mused. She crossed her arms and turned away from him. The movement made her hair shift to the side, revealing a tiny one inch long horn on the side of her head. Before she realized his intent he’d moved toward her and grasped it. She gasped and fell on the ground, weak and boneless. He released her and moved back to the other side faster than her eyes could track.
“Hmm.
