Affinity

Chapter One

 "Come on, Nala!" I called out to my pup who had grown a lot in the past few months. I quickly stole an apple from a stand and walked towards the tattoo place. It was finally my seventeenth birthday and I knew exactly what I wanted to get.

"Hello, how may I help you?" A large man called out as the bell rang when I opened the door to the parlor.

"I'm here for a tattoo." I gave him a smile, showing off my sharp canines. He nodded and beckoned me over to a chair. I took a seat and gestured for Nala to come sit beside me.

"What would you like?" He asked, prepping his needles and some numbing cream.

"I want a copy of her paw right here." I pointed to my left shoulder. He nodded and applied the cream. I gripped Nala's paw softly so he could draw a sketch of it as the cream set.

After a few minutes, he showed me the drawing of her paw and it looked identical. I smiled at him and nodded, letting Nala's paw set back on the ground. After a few seconds, the man got to work. I took the time to look around at the many drawings he had around the room. His affinity must be drawing.

Soon he finished the tattoo and wrapped it in some type of plastic. I paid him with some coins I had stolen from the stands profit bag. It wasn't like they would need the small amount I had taken. I knew it was bad, but I had grown accustomed to stealing.

"How does it look?" He asked and smiled as I traced the paw that was now forever a part of me.

"I love it." I said, my voice in its natural hushed state. Nala made a noise of appreciation that I heard and understund.

*I love how it turned out* I heard her think to me and I smiled. Petting her fur I got ready to leave the parlor. After a few seconds, we were ready to go. As we passed through the town of Redro, I picked up quite a few items.

I managed to grab a bag, some coins, a pocket watch, and some kind of pendant. I slipped the watch into my pocket and the pendants chain over my head. As we reached the wooded area again and headed back to our den, I studied the pendant.

It was made of a silver metal and held a large blue crystal in the center. It rested just above the top of my white shirt and complemented my sky blue eyes perfectly. On the back, a wolf like tooth was engraved.

Nala nudged my hand slightly, *Tala, can we go over to Yulvic?* She asked, likely wanting to go see her home as I had promised. She couldn't remember much from before she was one month old and she loved to hear the story of when I found her.

"Of course. Let's go home to pack up what we have." I smiled as I spoke out loud. I knew she could hear me if I thought to her, but I preferred to physically speak. I had stopped caring what people thought of me long ago.

It only took us ten minutes to make it to our little den and even less time to pack our few possesions. All I had was some clothes, books, food, and some other odds and ends.

Nala didn't have much either; she had a simple grey bandana that she wore around her neck and a simple bear I had bought when I first found her five months ago. She also had a brown bag that I carried her in when she was much smaller.

Now that she is bigger, she will carry her stuff in the bag by her mouth. She's also just big enough the carry me on her back when my legs are too tired or is she simply feels like carrying me.

The trip to Yulvic would take around three days, so we stopped in the nearest town—Redro—in order to stock up on a little bit of food to take with us. If only I had someone with an affinity for fire to help me cook food that Nala could hunt so we didn't have to steal.