Draeyer Academy (Rewrite)

Chapter 3- The Drae

A loud roar reverberated from outside. Alec shot up at once and scrambled towards the window. When he pulled back the curtains, what greeted him was the sight of typical Arktis morning. Pristine white snow covered his yard, causing him to look away. Through the window, he listened for more roars, but only heard the sound of birds frantically escaping to the sky. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, forcing himself to be more alert for the source of the roar.

Alec stood by the window, waiting for the creature. Minutes passed, but there was no sign of the source of the roar. He stared out the window for a moment more, before turning back to get ready for the day. He had to butcher the deer and rabbits, and sell some of it in town.

He ate a light meal of meat and warm soup, and then dressed himself in black wool furs and boots. He took his knives, tucking most of it in a bundle under his arm. The rest went to the hidden compartment in his boots. There was no telling if whatever creature woke him up was gone. He had to be prepared. Moments later, he stood outside and locked his door.

But when he turned to the tree where his deer and rabbits hung, his eyes widened. He rushed towards it, dropping on one knee as he grabbed hold of the rope that lay broken on the snow. The deer and rabbits where gone.

His eyes narrowed into slits as he noticed deep trails on the ground, like something was being dragged. He noticed flecks of blood on it too. His eyes followed the trail, as he stood. As his gaze continued to move, the one who stole his prize got farther and farther away, but closer to the Arktis Edge. He cocked his head to the side, as his brows knit.

"Why would he take it to the Edge?" he mumbled.

That wasn't the first time that somebody dared to steal one of his kills. The hunters in Gelun used to steal his prey when he was younger, before he set traps and unleased unholy Blazen upon them. The trails had always led to the town.

It was the first time that the trail did not lead towards Gelun. With curiosity gnawing at him, he looked closer at the trail. Aside from the deep drag marks, large clawed prints formed grooves on the snow. It was the first time he saw it, but Alec could take a guess on which creature it belonged to. It was a dangerous creature, but he was curious and so followed the trail. Your curiosity is going to put you in danger again,  his inner voice chided. Alec ignored it, like always.

Less than half an hour later, Alec caught sight of the Edge. He moved closer to the clump of large grey rocks, serving as the boundary of the skyland. A gust of wind whipped at his jet-black hair as he hopped on top of one. He looked over to the spot only a few feet away from him. There he saw the constant and endless clusters of clouds that floated by below the Arktis Skyland. The clouds obscured his view of the bottom, but it was not like he was going to actually see the bottom. Nobody even knew if the infinite sky actually had a bottom. Those who dived below with their draes to find out, never returned again.

Alec slowly moved away from the sight and turned back to where he came from. The moment he climbed down the rocky boundary, he felt a large presence to his right and stilled. A growl came from behind two large flat rocks. Found you, you thief, he thought.

With soundless footsteps, he reached the rocks and crouched low on top of one. As he inched closer to see where the growl came from, his eyes grew big, and his mouth hung open. He suspected that the prints on the snow belonged to this creature, but he was still surprised.

There, munching on the body of his buck, was one of the most magnificent and dangerous creatures of Kosmiks. Its inborn silver armor glistened in the early morning sun. It covered its spine to the tail, the bones of its wings, and its head. Hard scales almost as red as blood, peeked out from the said silver. The creature's length spanned to almost 20 feet long. If it opened its wings, the wingspan would probably reach double that.

Alec watched as its narrow head and snout devoured the deer, tearing its flesh piece by piece. He heard its grunts and growls, as it continued to feast. Time seemed to stop for Alec when the Drae stilled and stopped eating. It sniffed the air as if looking for a certain scent. Alec scrambled up from his spot and made a move to leave. Why is there a wild drae in the area? His thoughts echoed in his head as he as he ran.

Before he could get far, there was whoosh and a gust of air from behind him. A shadow flew above him. The next thing he knew, snow flew in the air when something landed in front of him.

"Holy Kosmos!" he said, as he took a step back.

Yellow eyes with slit black pupils met with his pale blue ones. The drae was so close that he could feel the creature's warm breath fanning his face. The scent of blood and flesh caused his nose to wrinkle, but Alec was too terrified to move a muscle.

He remained still as his gaze fell over the Drae. The silver plate wrapped around its head reflected the golden light of the sun. From there, the silver thinned and faded into the red scales that covered the rest of its head. Two grey horns bordered between the silver head plate, and red scales. The part that terrified him was the fact that it bore its sharp teeth at him. Its lips twitched as low growls escaped through his teeth.

The drae and the hunter remained in that position for only Kosmos knows when. Just when Alec was sure he would become its breakfast, it retracted its teeth back into its gums. To Alec's surprise, the draes eyes squinted, as it tilted its head, regarding him with confusion in its yellow eyes. Alec was unable to do anything but mirror its look. It pulled its head back and bent low and stared at one of his hands.

Alec had no idea why, but he lifted his hand towards the creature. The Drae jerked its head back, but as Alec's hand remained in the air, it went back to staring. Soon, very slowly, the drae's snout inched towards his outstretched hand.

A sigh of awe and relief came from Alec, as the as the drae's snout came into contact with his hand. Its scales were smooth to the touch, and he could feel the heat of the creature. It gave him a bit of that warmth that he sought for whenever he was out in the cold.

As he stared into its eyes, he saw a gleam of happiness in them as its pupils grew slightly big. That gleam seemed infectious, as Alec reflected the same in his eyes with a small smile on his lips.

With an excited purr, the drae pushed Alec down to the snow and nuzzled him. Caught off guard, Alec had no choice but to allow the creature to nuzzle his body, grimacing a bit at the blood and saliva on his clothes. He should be angry, but he was going to do the laundry today anyway. The fact that it was cute had nothing to do with his lack of anger. Definitely.

A whoosh from the drae's wings pushed his hair back and sprayed snow up to the air, covering his vision. When he sat up and looked to the direction of the drae, it was gone. Including the corpse of his deer.

Alec sat still for a moment. He soon palmed his forehead and glared at the blood the drae left behind.

"Thief!" he shouted.

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Me rewriting this arc: *putting my heart inside a steel box* *wrapping it in chains and locking it with numerous locks* Never again. Stay strong heart.