Irrational Impulse

"Give me your phone!" I said and came forth aggressively. It could easily be mistaken for an assault; actually, who was I kidding, it was outright a legitimate assault. A theft, if I had to explain it in a direct way.

I swiftly took his phone, I couldn't remember how, and pushed him aside while doing so. But then again, I was faced with a password protection. It took me some time to locate the 'emergency call' button.

"Technology..."

Something diverted my focus away from the phone... a kick. A well placed, well timed kick. Strong enough to keep me from taking defensive action as a consequence, but weak enough to not cause any notable lasting damage. The phone flew out of my hand, and my body fell on the ground simultaneously.

The student immediately took his broken phone from the ground, checked the damage quickly and started running away like he should've done a while ago.

I knew he meant no harm, I knew he was right to take the actions he just did. If I were him, I would probably react in a similar manner. This whole thing was my fault - only mine. Attacking an innocent passerby citizen, with no provocation at all; I could end up getting some jail time or a punishment equally displeasing.

Of course this would be all true if we were living in a city center, back where I used to live before I came here to get my university education. However, here; a small village that's still standing mostly because of an oddly placed university... An isolated settlement whose only feature of any importance was the fact that it housed and served some university staff and students... You could say things were a little different.

Yuvakaya was, perhaps not in it's entire history but at least in the modern times, almost a crime-free neighborhood. It could be because of the very old average age of the local residents, or the sense of discipline from having a serious education center right next to it (rather than 'in' it); but no matter the cause, it just contributed to Yuvakaya's isolation. Not having to deal with security issues meant the village had much less to ask for from external governing bodies. But, as a result, any crime that would happen in Yuvakaya was more likely to succeed and less likely to see proper justice in the aftermath.

And those facts, at the moment, were the only things I trusted. The choice was risky, and I was aware of it. It was selfish, and I was aware of it.

I ran. Northwards, continuously. Until I could no longer see the village.

The choice was wrong, and I was aware of it.

Was it adrenaline? Was it fear? Or... was it for a greater purpose? Maybe I was under control of something else; entirely possible. What I knew was that it was wrong, but I had done it anyway.

The inclination increased as I got closer to the mountain. It was, needless to say, a long, very long way to go. I was going to hide in the mountain enclosure, with people who could actually understand and help me.

At least this is what I hoped for. I hoped that they would help someone who acknowledged his wrong actions, not afterwards, but before the choice was made - yet still chose to do the wrong thing somehow.

It was stupid. I was.

While I was running uphill, a voice stopped me.

"Stop."

The instruction was clear enough, and I felt an obligation to follow it. Again, it could be fear; or it could just happen to be the way to avoid a conflict.

I looked up. Ahead of me was the woman with a black coat (now in the morning, I could surely say that the coat was indeed black rather than a dark tint of any color). THAT woman.

I instinctively tried to feel a wand in my hand for defense - there was none, however.

"You won't need it." said the woman, making me feel insecure. My thoughts were laying out in the open. It wouldn't be far from the truth if I said that she was reading my mind.

I didn't say anything to her. Any word, any intention to take immediate action could show my weaknesses. It was like a desperate game of chess from my side - if I had my queen in check just once, I could be forced to a certain defeat.

"I am not your enemy..." she said, as a response to my thoughts. "...yet." she added. She waited long for an answer, which didn't come. She took a deep breath, and continued.

"You just happen to have something I want, and I simply want to negotiate... a deal. Yes, a deal."

"I am not interested." I said.

"You didn't even care to hear it." she said.

"Right, I don't intend to."

"You know, that's something enemies would prefer to do, rather than friends." she said. "If you want it to be that way-"

"Okay, okay, I get what you mean. Let's negotiate." I said. I couldn't risk antagonizing such a superior force. I didn't know how I did it the first time, but never again would I ever do it. If no other miracle was to come, which I think wouldn't, I had to agree to her terms.

"You are in possession of a few aura crystals. I want you to hand them over." she said. "Ah, and in return, you will get the last portion of your necessary training."

Something... Something obvious was telling me that this training was not the one I was looking forward to.

"How about we leave the training part out, and you just let me go?" I suggested.

"You don't know just how valuable you are, do you?" she said. "Alright, fine. So be it."

After walking around silently for a while, she spoke again.

"Forget the deal." she said. "Here, I demand that you surrender and make it easy for yourself. Hand yourself and the crystals over."

"There is no way."

She sighed.

"Look, I don't NEED your cooperation to get what I want. I am simply trying to make it easier for you. Oh wait, who am I kidding, I am just trying to make it easier for me. Ha-ha!"