Gelun Forest
Arktis Skyland
Northern Space

Alec grumbled curses under his breath as he shot his fifth rabbit for the day. Just like what happened to the deer's, its wings broke into light, and carried away by the wind.

Because a Drae ate his game yesterday, he had to go back hunting the next, and with his luck, only small creatures scampered around Gelun Forest. No deer, no hares, no large enough animals that could provide him sufficient food that would last for the next few weeks, and the small creatures he spotted where very few in numbers. The only choice for food was to go into town. He let out a groan at the thought of that.

His brows creased as he remembered the red Drae that flew off a few moments after it made contact with his hand. Wondering why there was a wild red Drae around Gelun in the first place, he tossed and turned on the bed until later that night.

I wonder where it went, he thought.

He sighed and secured the five rabbit carcasses around the necks with a rope. He slung his bow and quiver on his back, before he trudged out of the forest. Moments later, an unsettling feeling formed at the bottom of his stomach. He felt eyes watching him and he whipped his head to his left and to the right. He even turned around, but saw nothing but the white piles of snow, and the trunks of the leafless trees.

He berated himself in silence for his actions. There was no possible way somebody was here, since he was the only one who lived close by and hunted on these grounds on regular basis. He turned back to the original direction he was going in.

"Drae's dung!" he cursed as his eyes grew big. He let go of the rabbit remains in the process of falling onto his rear because of shock. A series of grunts and growls filled the air around him, which sounded more like laughter to his ears. He took deep breaths to calm the erratic beating of his heart as he saw the creature in front of him. Once his normal heartbeat returned, his eyes narrowed into slits at the big red beast.

"You think it's funny, scaring the Blazen out of me?" he said through gritted teeth. He watched as the beast let loose another round of laughter, which included wheezing sounds. It sat on its hind legs, with its front, a feet off the ground. Its big sharp claws glistened under the mid-afternoon sun, along with its natural silver armor.

With a scowl plastered on his face, he stood and grabbed the rabbit carcasses in the process. The Drae ceased its laughter and stared at the food that dangled in the young man's hold. Alec was quick to notice, and held up his hand.

"These," he gestured to the rabbits, "are mine. Go hunt your own. You're capable of doing that."

When the words left his mouth, his brows knit together, wondering why he was even talking to it. He was unable to fathom how he had the courage to talk to this wild Drae. It seemed after their contact yesterday, his fear for the beast vanished along with its hostility towards him.

As he made a move to pass its large form, it dropped on all fours and turned its head so their faces were only a few inches apart. It tilted its head to the side, and its pointy ears drooped. A whimper came out of his currently toothless mouth, as its yellow eye grew big with pleading.

"No," he said, "You ate my deer yesterday so I had to work hard all morning to catch these."

It leaned forward and nudged his torso with its snout, while keeping its gaze locked on his pale blue eyes. Alec's jaw hung open in shock at what it was doing. He was even more baffled why it seemed to be working on him. He cursed himself and his weakness for anything that looked at him with big puppyish eyes.

"Alright, fine," he said with a grumble. He took a small knife and cut one carcass off the rope. The Drae's ears perked up, and it hopped a meter away from him, with excitement showing in its eyes. Its front crouched low, while its lower body rose off the ground. Its tail wagged around like a happy dog.

A gust of wind pushed back Alec's hair when it spread its wings wide. At once, he took in the sight of it, which spanned a few feet longer than its body. Taking notice of its still excited state, he rolled his eyes and threw the rabbit towards him. Its sharp teeth protruded out devoured the entire body at once.

While it ate its snack, Alec moved around it and continued his walk home. Moments later, he stopped and turned around when he heard thuds on the ground following him. He raised an eyebrow at the Drae, who in turn, mirrored his action by raising one of its inexistent brows.

A chuckle erupted from his throat as he shook his head. A smile was etched on his face as he resumed walking, knowing full well that the Drae tried to make its steps quiet as it followed him home.

Later that night, after dinner, Alec sat on the stairs of his porch. Like the usual, he looked up starry sky and focused on the waning twin moons.

A smile formed on his lips as he heard the familiar thuds from earlier this afternoon. After one particular thump, which was louder than the rest, silence reigned around the area once more.

He looked down and spotted the red Drae lying on the white ground. Its head lay at his feet, as the creature also looked up at the blanket of stars above them.

With some hesitance, he leaned forward to run a hand over his silver encased head. Its head jerked upward to meet his before he could do so. Taking him by surprise, the Drae inched closer and settled its head on his lap. It was a bit heavy, but Alec felt comfortable, and softly ran a hand from its snout to its silver head.

An even bigger smile formed on his lips as he looked back up at the sky. For the first time, after years of nights like this, he felt a small amount of loneliness leaving his heart.

―――

Somewhere near Arktis Edge
Arktis Skyland
Northern Space

The next morning, Alec awoke from the light that passed through the small crack on his closed windows. He found himself smiling, as he opened them, and light filled his small home. He stretched his muscled arms over his head and yawned before he turned away from the white scene outside.

A frown formed on his face when he saw his table cluttered with all kinds of books that he found interest in reading. They piled high on the table, while some fell to the wooden floor because of the little space left on it. His gaze trailed over to the corner where piles of unwashed dishes lay. He sighed as he ran a hand through his disheveled hair.

"When was the last time I did some chores?" he said to himself as he got to work. His stomach protested though, as a low grumble resonated from it. He ignored it like the usual way every morning and continued organizing his books.

More than an hour later, he sat down on the edge of his still messy bed, and sighed. His attention went to the open window and stared at the white landscape, hoping to spot a familiar red that he had grown fond of in a span of a day.

He stood and dressed in his warm wool clothes, before heading out the door. He took his fur coat that hung next on it before he went out into the freezing air. He scanned the surroundings from left to right, before his boots made contact with the freezing snow.

Figuring that the Drae was near the Edge again, he decided to trudge up the snow covered path that led there. Once he was almost there, his eyes widened when he saw the Drae's large footprints. But, what surprised him the most was the blood that covered the snow with it. His brows knit in worry as he hastened his pace while he followed the tracks.

He almost ran, only to pause in his steps as his eyes grew big at the figure ahead of him. The red Drae lay on the cold ground as growls and hisses of pain escaped its mouth. He ran to it, and bent on one knee in front of its head. The creature peeled one of its scaly eyelids open to regard his presence.

"What's wrong?" Alec said. He reached a hand out and rubbed soothing patterns on its head and snout. The Drae's teeth retracted into its mouth as soft whines reverberated in its throat. It leaned into Alec's touch, as if trying to draw out comfort from his presence.

Alec turned his attention to the rest of its body, when it lifted one of its wings. His mouth fell open, as his brows knit in anger and worry. There on the spot, just below where its wings connected with its shoulder, a sword could be seen half-way buried through its flesh. Crimson blood kept flowing out of the creature. Its scale color made it hard for him to notice on first glance.

"I'll pull it out," he said to the beast. He stood and positioned himself so he faced the sword. As he reached out to touch it, he felt a presence behind him. Before he could do anything though, he felt cold thin metal pressed against the side of his neck.

"Go ahead and try to pull it out, kid," a low voice said, "I'll make sure to cut at least one limb off you."

Instead of tensing, Alec inhaled quietly and let his shoulders relax. He loosened his fingers when he noticed that they clenched into fists. As his form sagged, he felt the sword dig a bit more on his skin, almost enough to draw blood.

"You did this?" he said more than loud enough for him to hear. His voice came out hoarse from unused to speaking in such a high volume.

"So what if I did?" was the reply he received.

In one swift motion, Alec twisted and elbowed the man's sword arm. The weapon fell to the snow, earning a grunt of pain from its owner. He followed his attack with a kick at the man's gut, but he blocked it with his other hand. Even so, the force he used was great that the man stumbled a few feet away.

Alec spun once more, bending one knee, as the other stretched out behind him. In the process, he reached into his boots and pulled out five of his daggers. He thanked the Almighty Kosmos that he was too lazy to remove them yesterday. The knives whooshed through the air, as he aimed it at his target.

Alec saw how the older man's brown eyes grew big, before he produced a dagger from behind him. With consecutive strokes from right to left, he parried the knives that aimed at his shoulders, knees, and stomach. While he preoccupied with the blades, Alec reached for another dagger. As the man parried the fifth dagger, he failed to see the sixth one. His cry of pain rang through the air as the blade embedded itself on his shoulder.

"Bastard!" the man hissed at him.

Before Alec could say a word though, he felt an unimaginable amount of pain on his head. Black dots danced in his vision as his body went limp and fell to the snow.

"Gael, he was mine!" the brown-eyed man yelled to somebody behind him.

Even with the pain, Alec forced his head to turn to his other attacker, curious of who managed to sneak behind him. Clear green eyes stared at him with an odd mix of suspicion and curiosity. Unknowingly his lips stretched into smile as he spotted his favorite color, which he rarely saw in Arktis.

He watched as the green-eyed man frowned, before darkness embraced his mind.

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I edited chapter 1 and 2 to the best of my abilities...hehehe

Hope you're enjoying this story!