Mine were black, dominant on my pale skin, but glowed purple and blue when I reached for my magic. Pretty, and even a little goblin like me appreciated pretty things.
The only thing even remotely similar about the two of us was our hair, and even that was a stretch. Her hair was thick, pulled back in a series of thin braids around her head like a crown, whereas mine was much finer, coiling down my back in a single long braid that rested naturally between my shoulder blades.
But the biggest difference were the streaks of silver in my hair, shining like moonlight amidst the darkness of the rest of it.
I lifted my head to sniff the air, and Ehuna's grip tightened on the back of my neck, making me cringe. Her long fingers dug into my flesh almost hard enough to bruise, the cool metal of her gauntlet brushing against my neck.
She would not let me go anywhere, and she was strong enough to stop me with little effort. Our difference in size was rather ominous, and I knew for a fact that she could manhandle me if she wanted to. Thankfully, she hadn’t yet decided that was necessary.
Not yet, at least.
Unlike me, Ehuna was left-handed, so the gauntlet on her left wrist was for attacking, with the one on the right as a shield, the opposite of the way I wore mine.
Or would have, if I'd had a proper gauntlet for the left, instead of a thin leather bracelet studded with glowing stones. A little bit better than nothing, I supposed.
"I know you're hungry, but we're busy. You can get something to eat at the barracks once we've finished with our meeting."
I shook my head, thankful her grip on me allowed me to do that. “It’s not that. I mean, I am hungry, but food isn’t what I’m smelling.”
Ehuna stopped, pulling me with her. Her brown eyes narrowed down at me. She turned her head, tension in every line of her body as she looked to the tower.
I was only mostly sure that was where we were going for whatever important meeting she dragged me along to since nobody bothered to tell me anything. I was expected to show up and follow Ehuna to wherever we were going without question, although that second part didn't always happen.
Still, not knowing whatever important meeting we were going to gave me an edge because I didn't care where we were going. I only knew that I smelled magic, and I wanted to find it.
The scent of magic grew stronger by the second. It smelled not quite right, but it was hard to put exactly what was wrong with it into words.
"Are you sure?"
I frowned. "Sure about what?"
Apparently, that was the wrong answer because her hand tightened on my neck, hard enough that the leather of my armor creaked.
"Yes, I'm very sure it's magic." I could also smell sticky buns and cooking meat, but everyone could smell that.
I was the only human who could smell magic, as far as I knew, and much more accurate than any dog could ever be. Hence the reason why half-feral little me was allowed to runroughshod in the military. I was useful, and right now, I shook with anticipation.
"We have a meeting," Ehuna muttered under her breath.
She was clearly talking to herself, not to me.
"Say it's my fault. We both know they're going to blame me anyway," I pointed out.
"They" being whichever important military folk Ehuna was taking me to meet. Most everyone as high ranking as Ehuna thought I was a terrible soldier, which I was, and hated me. If I were to be blamed, I might as well get to track down the magic I could smell, that hummed in my bones, that called to my own magic. I shoved it down with something verging on panic.
The shouts of playing children drowned out what Ehuna said next, and she dragged me toward an awning out of the main path before she repeated herself.
"Can you tell if it's ours?"
I shook my head, resisting the urge to cross my arms. She still had me by the neck, and if I mouthed off, she would shake me like a terrier with a rat. She already knew the answer to this question, so why bother asking?
"You know I can't. But I know it's magic," I said.
A particularly strong gust of wind blew the scent of magic into my nostrils, and her hand tightened like I would pull free of her grip and give chase.
I frowned. "I can't tell you whose it is, but it smells strange. Musty, like it's been bottled or something. Not fresh."
Bottled magic wasn’t uncommon, but it was rare enough that it would warrant a bit of attention. Magic was so rare that it was constantly in use, so the fact that it had sat long enough to smell musty to me seemed suspicious.
