Kaede stirred his soda straw, his mind a whirlwind of dread. Days like this were usually good days. No school, the sun was shining but it wasn't too hot, Angel was visiting him, and he was eating out at his favorite restaurant. He should've known. Things we're a little too peaceful for too long.

"I think they're going to send me back."

"What makes you say that?" Angel said, his voice laced with a hint of amusement.

Kaede glared at him. "They've been acting weird. Giving me these pitying looks, like I'm some kind of... I don't know, a ticking time bomb."

"Well maybe you've been diagnosed with a terminal illness."

Kaede frowned at Angel. "I feel fine."

"Don't worry about it kid. Even if you do get sent back I'll always be there for you."

"Yeah, right. You're always traveling."

Always there was quite a relative term when it came to Angel. Did he always show up every few months? Yes. But he spent so much time traveling around it was always scattered and there were no designated dates. It was part of the reason why he wouldn't just adopt Kaede.

"Don't look so dejected."

"Whatever man. Where have you even been lately?"

"Oh you know Paris, Macau, Dubai." Angel replied nonchalantly.

Kaede shook his head. "I still don't understand what you do."

"I'm an ambassador of sorts. In fact I'm here on mission. I'm not supposed to be slacking off looking after you, but I still made time for you. Aren't you happy?"

"No."

Angel threw a fry at him. "Finish your food, you gotta get home soon. And by the way, be careful on your way back. I've been hearing strange things about strange attacks."

"Come on, you don't believe that right? Strange monsters roaming around the city? It sounds like something straight out of a fantasy novel."

"You never know." Angel said, raising his eyebrows.

A cell phone rang and Angel picked it up. "Already? I'm on break."

Angel rolled his eyes at whoever was on the phone. "Can't you deal with it for like five more minutes?"

Kaede sighed. "Just go man. I'll be fine."

Angel looked at him and then hung up the phone. "I don't know the next time I'll see you, but see you then."

He stood up and walked out the booth. "Oh and if you do end up getting sent back to the orphanage give me a call."

"See ya whenever then."

As Angel walked out the door Kaede couldn't help, but get a sense that maybe he should watch out on his way back home.

***

Kaede kicked at a loose stone, sending it skittering across the pavement. He'd been wandering the streets for hours, avoiding going home. His foster parents were probably frantic by now, but he didn't care. He was too used to being sent away.

Another home. Another failure. They always had some reason to send him back. Too loud, too rough, too... unacceptable. He'd tried so hard to fit in, to be the perfect kid. But it never worked. 

It was likely the last time he'd get adopted too. He was too old now. He'd just have to live his last two years of childhood out in the orphanage. And after that? He really didn't know. Maybe Angel could hook him up at whatever job he had. Traveling seemed nice.

CRASH

Kaede stopped in his tracks and turned to the source of the sound. It came from behind the building he was standing in front of. He felt a little wave of unwariness as Angel's words floated back into his mind.

CRASH

Kaede jumped and stepped back a few steps. Could it really be a monster back there?

He must be really tired. There could be lots of things that made that crashing noise. Like a stray cat or raccoon. But something about the way the crashes sounded, so deliberate, so violent, made him hesitate. No such things as monsters… right?

And now thinking about it really hard he didn't actually need to go back there and find out what that noise was. He'd just slowly walk backward and make sure nothing followed him.

CRASH

Kaede stepped back, but the faintest sound of a grunt echoed from behind the building.

What was that? A person? Kaede froze in his tracks.

CRASH

Kaede crept a little closer to the building and this time he heard it more clearly. Human grunts. And human curses too.

There really was someone back there. Without any more hesitation, Kaede dashed behind the building. No matter what was behind there he couldn't ignore it now that he'd heard it.

Kaede rounded the corner, his heart pounding in his chest. The sight that unfolded before him was nothing short of extraordinary. A young boy, no older than himself, was locked in a fierce battle with a creature that came straight out of a fantasy novel.

The creature standing in the alley was black and somewhat resembled a dog. Or a bear. Kaede wasn't really sure exactly what it was. It was bigger than any dog he had ever seen before, but looked way too small to a bear. And besides, bears usually had eyes and their maws didn't have a purple aura leaking out of it.

Against this monster, the boy held a large stick. Would that even be enough to fight this monster? He wanted to scream at this guy to get it together and just run.

However, the boy seemed oddly determined. He had clearly been hit a few times, but it wasn't going to stop him. He stretched out his free hand and a whip of purple light materialized out of it. 

Okay monsters and now magic. What next? A unicorn?

The boy pushed his hand forward and grabbed the monster's arm with the whip and started running around it. The monster shrieked and stumbled as the boy pulled it along with him. Then swiftly the boy smacked the monster's leg with his stick.

The monster stumbled forward and then wildly swung at the boy. The boy dashed back releasing the monster from the magic whip.

The monster turned quickly to face the boy again and it too summoned a whip of purple magic and shot it straight to the boy.

The boy dashed forward instantly and hit the monster with his stick two more times.

The monster roared loudly and then swatted the boy back into a row of garbage bins.

The source of the crashing noises had been revealed.

The boy groaned as he tried to get back to his feet, but the monster was already gearing up for another attack as it raised its fist over the boy.

Kaede finally snapped out of his daze. He didn't come back here to gape at danger! He quickly scanned his surroundings and then noticed a small brick lying on the ground. He picked it up and just as the monster was about to bring its fist down on the boy Kaede chucked the brick at it.

The brick made impact with the monster's head and although it didn't seem hurt by it, the monster did divert its attention to Kaede.

Wait. That was his only brick.

The monster growled at him and Kaede stumbled back a couple steps.

The boy, who had finally noticed him, looked quite bewildered.

"What are you doing?" He yelled at him.

"Helping you?"

The monster charged forward at Kaede and the boy shot two whips of purple energy at it, one wrapping around its ankle and the other around its arm.

The boy pulled back on the whips and the monster stumbled back. Kaede scrambled up and grabbed a steel pipe laying on the ground. Kaede swung the pipe, but it was like hitting a wall.

"Are you crazy? Run!" The boy said.

"Am I supposed to just leave you back here?" Kaede said, swinging at the monster again.

"You don't know what's going on," The boy said, pulling at the whips again. "Just run and I'll deal with this."

"You were just about to get clobbered!"

"I was-"

In a flash of lightning, the monster whipped around and smacked the boy back again sending him flying into the wall. The boy slumped down, motionless.

Kaede's eyes widened.

The monster turned back to Kaede and shot out two purple whips around his arm. The magic didn't hurt, but it felt like they were buzzing against his skin.

Kaede stumbled back and tried to release himself from its grip.

The monster swung its arm and sent Kaede flying across the alley. He crashed down into the garbage cans and the wind was knocked out of him. He coughed and struggled to get back up. He couldn't just get beat here. Was he going to die? Would the boy die because of him?

Kaede started crawling up.

No.

He refused to let it end this way. His life was crappy, but that didn't mean he wanted to lose it. He wasn't about to die after the most interesting thing had just happened to him.

If only he could do some of that magic. Maybe he could do something. He tried to focus on the memory of what it had felt when it was wrapped around his arm. Kaede reached out into the air and searched for that familiar buzzing feeling.

The monster ran over and hit Kaede on the back causing him to crash down again.

Kaede shakily raised his hand again and focused harder. The magic. It was there. He just had to reach out a little more. Kaede strained a little more and then…

There! He felt it! The buzzing feeling!

He grasped it and tried to mimic what the boy and the monster had done. 

A whip. He needed a whip. 

He thrust his hand out and a weak light of purple erupted from his hand. It didn't come out as strong, but it did startle the monster enough to back away for one second.

Kaede coughed and scrambled to stand in front of the boy. He wasn't sure if he could grab the magic again or even if the monster would be tricked by that folly again. He wouldn't give up though.

"Wow! That was actually quite impressive!"

"Angel?" Kaede said bewildered.

Angel had round the corner with a crazy smile on his face.

Of course. Of course he knew about this. He was the one who had warned him.

"I was beginning to think you couldn't use mana!"

"What?" Kaede coughed out.

The monster growled at Angel and started to charge forward. In one swift motion of his hand Angel summoned a blast of the purple energy and sliced the monster's head off. There was no blood or guts or gore. Just purple mist.

Kaede fell back in shock.

"It's not actually dead yet, but this will be fine for now." Angel sighed.

"What- You- Why? How?" Kaede stuttered.

"What am I?" Angel asked. "Same thing as you. A mage."