Draeyer Academy (First Ver.)

Chapter 2-The Hunter and The Drae

"Another sleepless night, huh?" he whispered to the sky. Even with the chilling wind that blew through his porch, he made no move to get back inside. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the serenity of the surroundings, and a small smile formed on his lips. His smile faltered though, as he reached a hand up to clutch his chest.

"I miss you Alen," he said.

He sighed as he realized a stray tear escaped one of his eyes. With some haste, he wiped it away with the sleeve of his shirt. He leaned on a post as he continued staring outside.

Memories of him and Alen playing and rolling on the snow flooded his mind. He remembered how they tossed snowballs at each other, until their faces turned red from the cold. He remembered when Alen first taught him how to use the bow and arrow. He hit the center of the target on his second try, and his mind never forgot how he looked at him with excitement and how pride seeped through his eyes.

A small laugh escaped him when he remembered the time he taught him how to throw a knife. Alen barked lectures at him telling him that trying to aim for his knees was not part of the lesson. He was chuckling inside for the entire two-hour lecture, while he had on an innocent tearful and sorry look on his face.

He shook his head at himself for reminiscing about those old childhood memories. A pained smile fitted his chapped lips, as he recalled his last memory of him.

"Don't cry when I die or I'll seriously kill you," he had said on his deathbed. It was supposed to make him laugh but it made him wail like the child he was eight years ago.

"One day, when life gives you a chance to do something please do not hesitate to do it," Alen added as seriousness fell over his face.

Alec pushed himself off the post and heaved in the cold air. He glanced at the game he caught earlier hanging on the tree, before he decided to go back inside, and attempted to at least get some sleep.

―――

Alec fell off the bed at the sound of a loud roar. His head hit the wooden floor hard enough to earn a groan from him. With a grunt, he forced himself up, and leaned his back on the bed. He drew one knee up to his cheek, with the other leg sprawled out while he rubbed the sleep and pain away from himself.

He strained his ears again for the irritating roar that ruined his sleep. Hearing nothing but the twittering of the Arktis birds, he got up and readied himself. He decided to butcher the deer today and sell half of it and the rabbits in town.

After eating a light meal of meat and cold soup, he dressed himself in his black wool and furs and put on his hunting boots. He took his bow and quiver of arrows, and tucked numerous knives in the hidden compartments of his boots. 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 in shock. He rushed towards it, and jerked down to his knee and grabbed hold of the broken rope that he tied on his game yesterday.

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 in confusion.

"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. But that was the first time that the trail led to somewhere else, instead of toward the town. With curiosity gnawing at him, he decided to follow it. His attention focused on the trail so much that he failed to notice the big prints of the animal which the trail barely hid from his view.

Less than half an hour later, Alec caught sight of the Edge. He gulped, and moved closer to the clump of large grey rocks. 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 endless clusters of clouds that floated by below the skyland of Arktis. The clouds obscured his view of the bottom, but it was not like he was going to actually see the bottom of this world they called Kosmiks.

Nobody never even knew if the infinite sky actually had a bottom. And those who dived below with their Draes to find out, never returned again.

A growl made his head snap away from the infinite sky, and turn to his left. It came from behind two large flat rocks. With soundless footsteps, he reached the rock 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.

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 outlines on 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 nine feet long.

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.

"Wild Drae," he said as a practically ran. "Too dangerous...."

But right after he said that, 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 make a move.

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. To Alec's surprise, its sharp teeth retracted back into its gums. The Drae's forehead creased, as it tilted its head, regarding him with confusion. 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 inched forward towards him.

A sigh of awe and relief came from Alec, as the Drae pressed his snout to his hand. It was rough, and he could feel the heat of the creature, giving him a bit of warmth that he sought 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.