Half of this chapter was not written in the first version.
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His life with a drae around was not that different from normal. He would wake every morning, have breakfast, and would either spend the day fixing his gear and traps or hunting in the forest. The difference is that breakfast was hearing loud munching and squelching as said drae ate its meal. Fixing his gear meant having an assistant that would give him the tools he pointed out, or having said tools hidden from him when the creature wanted his attention. Hunting meant having a large hulking figure watching him from afar, as it waited for him to catch prey. It also meant large carcasses of creatures from the forest suddenly dropped in front of his feet when he turned around. Only sometimes though, for the creature preferred to laze around and sleep.
This damn leech, he thought as he glared at it. The drae had the audacity to tilt its head in an innocent and helpless way, that Alec knew was not so innocent and helpless at all. For some reason the 20-foot long beast wanted to be babied...or thought of him like a servant or something.
You don't exactly hate it. It's only been two weeks, but you adore this drae. Hurry up and give it a name! He ignored his inner voice once again, and nudged the lazy creature with his foot. "Get up and hunt your own food. I'm not going to the forest today, because a caravan is coming to town today. I need some supplies from there." Since it would be extremely difficult to gather supplies from the town itself.
The creature opened one eye, and regarded him with a look of curiosity.
"No," he said. "You can't come with me. The people there hate me. There's a huge chance you will not like them, and they will not like you in return. I don't want things to get bloody." Like years before.
The creature let out a dissatisfied grumble before lifting its large body off the ground. It nuzzled his head, before turning and flying towards the forest. A small smile tugged at Alec's lips. It disappeared the moment he thought of heading to town. He sighed.
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He walked down the streets of Gelun, shoulders raised, ignoring the glares and whispers of the crowd he passed. With his hood up, and a mask covering the lower half of his face, he looked intimidating enough that no one dared to approach. He maintained an even pace until he reached the square. All around the area, numerous people from the caravan had set up tents and stalls, displaying their products for anyone interested. The townspeople milled about from stall to stall. Shouts and haggling could be heard all around him, as he ignored most of the stalls. His purpose was the only stall that allowed him to buy and sell from.
"Welcome, Alec," said an aged voice. Alec looked up at the tall old woman leaning lightly on a black wooden cane. "I heard you won the hunting competition in Kasak, with the head of an adult silver bear. I guess congratulations are in order?"
"It's no big deal, Granny Rey," he said. "I just happen to stumble on one that woke up in the middle of its hibernation."
"A weakened silver bear, is still a silver bear that can take on ten grown men, boy. I heard you cut off its head and dropped its bleeding head on top of a competitor's pile of carcasses. Quite vicious." Granny Rey said. "Humility only works in certain situations."
He only joined the competition out of spite and to give a warning to the other hunters in Gelun to not mess with him. He was not expecting the story to be going around like this. Alec decided to change the subject.
"I need a new set of hunting knives and some rope," he said. "I'd like to see your other wares. Maybe something will catch my eye."
Granny Rey gave him a knowing look, but dropped the topic. "Feel free to look around. I'll have someone get the knives and rope." The old lady walked away to talk to another customer.
Alec let out a small sigh. He turned to look at the wares and his eyes caught sigth of some earrings. The earrings were not meant for humans, judging from the size. It was meant for an adult drae. His gaze was drawn towards a silver earring with a small gem. The gem was same light blue color as his eyes.
He smiled. Alec had noticed that his new friend liked shiny things. It would make a perfect gift for the drae. He turned to ask one of Granny Rey's helpers to wrap the earring and asked for sweet dried fruits and meat.
Granny Rey noticed his purchase, and raised a brow. She looked like she was about to ask him something but held back. Instead, she gave a small smile and nodded at him.
Alec had no idea what to make of it.
Soon enough, Alec left the stall with his purchases. As he walked, he noticed a group of people gathered near the mouth of the square. Two of them were having quite a loud conversation near the outside of the square.
"Why are we in this blasted place?" A man with blonde hair and brown eyes said.
"You have the audacity to complain? You were the one who insisted on coming along, even though your subordinates were enough," The second man, black haired and green-eyed said.
The rest, probably the subordinates mentioned, had fed up looks in their eyes. It looked like it wasn't the first time the two men had the same conversation.
Alec glanced at them for a moment more, before passing by, heading for his home.
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Hours 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 the last couple of weeks. The drae was still nowhere to be seen.
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 scrunching noises on the 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 fell into a run, following the tracks.
Minutes passed, his worry growing, 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 at first glance.
"Shit," 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.
"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 the man 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 from his boots. 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 pulling out a dagger from his waist. With consecutive strokes from right to left, he parried the knives that aimed at his shoulders, knees, and stomach. While he was 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. He did not feel his attacker's presence at all, like how he did not notice the brow-eyed man. Clear green eyes stared at him with an odd mix of suspicion and curiosity.
It's the bickering men from earlier this morning, he realized.
He watched as the green-eyed man frowned, before darkness embraced his mind.
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Alec, meet CHAOS DUO!