Nexus

Lakota stood before us glaring at me, he was about my height and had a burly figure. His face was small for his figure with a pointy chin and a wispy beard. His muddy yellow eyes held an uncontrollable hatred and pierced daggers at me. I rarely came to the village and was never welcomed when I did, so this was a normal reaction.

"We found a stranger by the lake, I assumed you would want to see her but I am happy to leave with her if you would prefer?" I answered him monotonously. We both knew I would not leave and that he would not ask me to, but I couldn't help giving a snarky answer and the scowl on his face only gave me more satisfaction.

Before the situation could become any more strained Rogue stepped forward dragging the woman with him, she looked quite unhappy being treated like this her lips in a frown but by her demeanour, I could sense she was scared.

"I don't know what's going on but if you think I have somehow stepped into your land then I will gladly leave." She says her voice shaky and slightly out of breath, she does not seem used to travelling long distances but considering that the wilderness stretches for miles around us, that can not be true.

Lakota's gaze switches to her and on the holy dragon is he mad, such insubordination from an outsider has never been seen before. You should never speak to a village chief until they have spoken to you first. Even I respect that rule, albeit rather loosely. Rogue looks at her in shock.

"Missy, I do not know where you have come from but you must never speak to our chief unless he has spoken to you first." Rogue seems to give her the benefit of the doubt and assumes she does not know our customs and I can't help but agree.

This woman is beyond strange, her clothes do not fit our land and she wears no shoes, she is sure to bruise her feet soon and may eventually be unable to walk. What's even more strange is that she didn't die after touching my skin.

The sensation of her arms wrapped around me was mystical, my skin still feels the imprint of her arms. The expected scream did not come, she did not blacken and corrode until only a sludge was left, instead, I could see her standing right there and breathing as if nothing happened. That alone leads me to believe that I can not let her die here, not because I care for her, she is a stranger after all, but because she has given me the gift of surviving my touch. I do not know how she did it or what it means and I am not sure I want to know but for now, I can only focus on getting her through this meeting.

"Your disrespect is apparent, I should put an end to you right now. Nothing good can come from someone connected to Nexus, you're a waste of my time." Lakota's answer is cold and to the point. He has no warmth for outsiders and sees them as bad omens for the village, his tests are usually cruel and impossible.

"Now tell me, what is your name? What tribe do you belong to? This needs to be recorded in case someone comes looking for you." He fires the questions at her and when I look at her she looks very lost and sad, I cannot help but feel the urge to protect her in some way. But I say nothing. It is not my place and my help can only make her fate worse and so I watch from the sidelines.

"My name is Chrystal and I do not belong to any tribe. Please, just let me go, I am sure my brother would be willing to pay you any amount of money for my freedom." It seems the possibility of death has sunk in and her voice carries a hint of desperation but she still seems surprisingly sure of herself. But this 'money' thing she keeps mentioning will be of no use here.

"We have a woeful one on our hands then. Someone who doesn't belong anywhere. Chrystal, let me explain how this will work. Your test is very simple, touch Nexus and live. You will be allowed to stay here and be treated fairly unless you fail. If that happens, you die." Lakota's words shock me out of my thoughts, he can't mean that. This guarantees her death. Or does it, she has already survived it once. Perhaps she can do it again, but I don't want to imagine what might happen if that's not true.

"You can't mean that! No one has survived coming in contact with me, you're just sentencing her to death!" My words come out in a shout and when Lakota turns to me his eyes are burning with rage at my insubordination.

"Silence! You will participate in this and you will do so quietly or you and your herbalist friend will be outlawed from here and your new pet stranger will be killed immediately." His tone is severe and I know he means every word. I may have continued arguing if I was alone. He would never outlaw me but Rogue does not have the same protection I do.

"What are you guys talking about? All I need to do is touch him and you will let me go right?" Chrystal's voice draws everyone's attention and Lakota nods his head rather enthusiastically.

"You may proceed whenever you're ready," he says.

Her hand stretches out to me like she's about to give me a handshake and I can't help but feel a shameful amount of fear yet when I look into her confident eyes I feel some of that fear ebb away and I reluctantly reach out my hand.

Our fingers brush against each other and I go to pull away, this should be enough for Lakota but she grabs a hold of my hand and I feel her skin firmly against mine. I look at her in shock, still waiting for her to erupt in the usual black lines but she still looks as she did a few seconds ago and no sight has ever been more beautiful.