Hunted

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Alex the Angel

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The sky darkened as ominous thunder clouds rolled overhead, casting a gloomy shadow over the palace. The women of the village adorned themselves in black dresses, while the men wore the nicest clothing they could afford. Children ceased their daily routine of laughter and play to cling to their mothers, while dawning the same clothing as their parents.
Angus Fletcher, one of the twelve Elder Dragon Riders, died peacefully in his sleep, along with his beloved Wyvern.
Immediately after his funeral, the village was thrown into a frenzy. Without all twelve Dragon Riders, the peace was not to last. After a town meeting, everyone decided that it was time to pick a new replacement. It was the only way to keep the land as prosperous as it had always been.
A poor nineteen-year-old boy by the name of Vincent was chosen entirely by Fate.
The kingdom rejoiced as the new Elder Dragon Rider was chosen, and the village waited patiently for the boy's would-be dragon companion to find him. However, Vincent was not so enthusiastic. He had heard a million times the stories of riders who were manipulated by their dragons to do evil. And unfortunately, it happened quite often.
In his fear and confusion, Vincent ran away, hoping to escape the possibility of being converted. Running wasn't as easy as he thought it would be, for he was pursued by something large....
And there was more than one of them.... many, many more...

Vincent tore through the forest as fast as he could, branches and vines scratching violently at his ankles. His heart thudded loudly within his chest, and he began to slow down. As soon as he stopped, he sank to one knee, breathing heavily. He had been running nonstop for three full days, and the exhaustion was beginning to settle in on him.
 
Izana was walking through the forrest at the same time as the thunder sounded, and he lets out a small sigh as his Sapphire scales feel the first few drops of the coming rain. Determining it prudent to find a cave to isolate himself in for the duration of the storm, He heads off for the mountainside at the other end of the forrest. as a Fire and Wind dragon, It is only natural for him to enjoy Flying and summer heat as much as the next guy, if not significantly more. However, it would also mean thst the poor Reptile tended to avoid rain whenever possible. It didn't aid him much in his Fire use, and flying in the middle of a rainstorm could be considered of the more dangerous of reckless activities. Having heard the gossip of the deaths of the dragon Rider and the steed, and Understanding that not only would a new one be selected but that one would have to find A dragon and make the pact with them, He feels a wave of sympathy. Whoever it is, They're about to have their life drastically altered, as well as have to locate and tame a dragon without being converted themselves. Letting out a Sigh, The Azure Fire beast determines that when the rain stops, He'll see if he can't find this person, If only to offer advice. In truth, the concept of being saddled and reigned both terrifies and draws out Izana's anxiety, on top of the plethora of other emotions he undergoes on a daily basis thanks to the travesty that happened to him as a Hatchling, Something the Human's nearby likely not only discovered but more than likely added to their history books, Yet Izana had been long gone at that point so it would have appeared there were no survivors.
 
Vincent stayed where he was for a few minutes longer, the exhaustion settling in on him. He took off the black fedora he wore and wiped the sweat from his brow, despite the air being otherwise cold. A few rain drops fell on his head and shoulders, causing him to shiver at the sudden coldness. He figured that now would be a good time to search for some type of shelter... It was near winter, but there was no snow on the ground due to being so far in the south. He tried to stand, but his knees collapsed underneath his weight. He tried to stand again, and was finally able to hold himself up. For a few minutes, he wandered through the forest until he happened upon a rather large cave. Without thinking, he limped inside, but due to the darkness, he ended up tripping over something rather large. He lay there, feeling too weak to get back up.
 
Izana stays there, Curled up, Using a Wing to shade his head from the sunlight and the winds entering the cave, Sighing. Winter. Snow or not, For a Fire dragon that couldn't afford the luxury of hibernation, it wasn't a good Scenario by any means. Moments later, He felt a sharp pain in his tail resulting in a pained Yelp and a yank of his tail back towards himself as he tries to see what caused the pain, Before his Sapphire peepers land in on a small Human laying there on the cold cave floor, Face down. Must have tripped. Izana goes cautiously walkimg up to him, and smiles. "Hey there, Little one. can I help you?" He offers a paw to the Human, trying to come across as friendly as he can.
 
Vincent's mind was in too much of a daze to peice everything together, so he unknowingly reached for the paw. "Ngh... Thanks..." He said, his voice hoarse. As soon as his hand touched the paw, his mind sparked with the realization of just who was in the cave with him. He froze for a moment, feeling the scales on his fingers, before letting out a startled gasp. He moved to get up, but due to his legs being so weak, he only succeeded in tumbling backwards. He squirmed to the other side of the cave, breathing heavily in fear. "No... No, no, no..." He said, his back against the wall. "S-stay back!" He reached for the curved dagger that hung from his leather belt.
 
Izana Watches his reaction and Whimpers, Stepping backwards himself in response. "I'm harmless little one..." It seems he is as afraid of Vincent's reaction as Vincent is of him, And he tries to calm the human down. Laying down, He sighs. "I'm not an Evil creature, Little one, I only wanna help..."
 
Okay, this was a rather different response than what Vincent was expecting. He had always been terrified of dragons, and to trust one so easily was not something he planned to do just yet. For all he knew, this dragon could only be trying to put on an act that would lure him into a false sense of security. However, the boy did feel guilty that he had reacted in such a way, and he cautiously moved his hand away from the dagger. "I... I'm sorry..." He said, letting out a sigh. "It's just... I've been so afraid of the evil dragons chasing me. I thought you were one of them."
 
He nods. "I understand. I had heard that There was a death in the Dragon Riders, And as bad as that is for both societies, I wanted to find the prospective new rider before they get snapped up by and evil dragon and manipulated.... Any Idea where I can look?" He doesn't seem to know you're the one they picked. "Please, Don't fear me, But I won't hurt you and I don't expect to merely be trusted. all I request is you don't harm me. I wish to earn the trust of my friends."
 
Again, Vincent let out a small gasp in surprise. So, this dragon was looking for him, but not as violently as all of the others were. This gave him a bit of comfort, but he still remained cautious, and he wondered if he should actually tell the dragon who he was. Vincent had only known him for a few minutes, but the dragon seemed rather... harmless. He let out a heavy sigh as he made up his mind. "You... Don't have to look far..." He said, taking off his black hat and revealing his face. "Name's Vincent."
 
Izana Looks at him and smiles, Breathing a Sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I'm Izana. Pleased to meet you. Correctly, Meet you, Rather." He smiles, offering his paw again, and notices how tired Vincent is. "Hey, you alright? Anything I could get you? Some food or water, Perhaps, Vincent?" His voice seems legitimately hopeful, and while they've only known each other for a few minutes, he knows Their lives will likely have drastic changes very soon. For Better, or for Worse, Changes will occurr. "What are you doing out here all alone? You know how important you are to your people, and how important the Dragon you choose will be to his or her own people. Why risk jeopardizing that? Were they trying to force you into this before you felt ready for it?" So many questions, yet not a one of them geared with any sort of hostile intentions.
 
Vincent groaned a bit and settled against the cold stone wall, the questions already giving him a headache... or was that just from the lack of food? Either way, he nodded. "More like the last one." He stated. "Becoming an Elder... It's a lot of responsibility to put on a nineteen-year-old kid from a broken home..." He rubbed his neck, it seemed his entire body was beginning to ache from all of the physical exertion. "Both food and water sounds nice right now, actually... I've been running non stop for three days straight." He said, nodding. Another gust of wind crept through the cave, causing him to shiver slightly. "Damn it..."
 
Izana smiles and nods, before looking at him again, from his glance outside the cave. "Do you wish to come with? I can grab it and leave you in here with a Fire to rest by if you'd like, or, I could give you some advice by taking you with me on my back. I don't mind either, way, and if you've really been going for 3 days non stop, I'd suggest you take the time to rest up. No one will venture into a dragon's cave without the creatures permission, unless of course it's a challenge or they didn't know it was inhabited." He smiles, in truth having not been in this cave more than about 10 or 15 minutes longer then Vincent had been, but it's still likely enough to give off the scent to other animals nearby.

"Anything you particularly like for food?" He inquires, attempting to be certain he grabs something Vincent will like.
 
At Izana's offer of allowing Vincent to ride on his back, his eyes widened a bit. He had never even been this close to a dragon before. And truth be told, he was not about to trust him completely just yet. "Y-yeah... I'll just stay here, thanks." He said, curling up a bit against the cave wall. In his opinion, winter sucked. He was just glad he did not reside with the poor sould that lived in the north. "I don't really have any specifications, to be honest... Other than the fact that I'm allergic to poisonous things." He said, chuckling a bit at his own joke. "Ow... Oh... Hurts to laugh..."
 
Izana nods. I understand. I'm not a fan of the winter either. Such are things when your main element has to do with Heat and warmth, but in any case, I'll find something non-poisonous for us both then." At this, he creates a Small campfire in the center of the cave to help you warm up, and heads out to hunt for food and drink, Hollowing out a Portion of a Trunk and then digging little claw holes in it to allow it to be a carryable water basin for the two, being out for an hour or so, and returning with a deer and a Trunkfull of water.
 
Vincent moved closer to the fire, savouring its warmth. He stayed where he was for a full hour, his mind thinking back on all of the events that had befallen him. By the time Izana had returned, he had built a spit and positioned it over the fire. "Nice..." He said once he noticed the size of the deer. He took out his curved dagger and began skinning the carcass. "I taught myself to do this when I was very young." He said, slicing up some of the meat and placing it on the spit. "A lot of the things I know I had to teach myself. No one else would teach it to me." He said, taking off his bloodied shirt, shivering as his skin was exposed to the cool air. He collapsed again by the fire, breathing heavily.
 
Izana nods, observing, and doing what he could to increase the warmth, Including binding some of the sticks from the fire to the walls as torches, Something he does to try and warm up the stone insulating them. Looking at Vincent again, he offers his Wing as a shield to the cold, blowing small flames nearby, still in attempt to increase the ambient temperatures by even several degrees. "Vincent, I'm the same as you, then. I was forced to witness the deathes of my family, the devouring of my friends, and the destruction of my home. Everything I know except for Flight, I had to learn myself." He smiles weakly, no longer feeling alone.
 
"Oh..." Vincent replied, looking down a bit. He always had sympathy for those who did not have the greatest childhood, and Izana would be no exception. "I... wouldn't say the same, though..." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I... Never really had a family. Mine abandoned me as a child, and I grew up in an orphanage." He said, sighing a bit. "I guess... I don't know what it's like to lose someone close, because I've never really had anyone close to me." He looked at Izana's outstretched wing for a moment, before nodding and moving to sit next to him. It was still cold despite the dragon's attempts to keep the cave warm.
 
He Smiles, Looking at the Human beside him, before looking back to the fire. "I can Understand that....Wow, Even if we aren't the same, We're similar enough we can adequately sympathize with each other. Besides, those in your town are probably worried sick. We should get you home tomorrow. you'd be warm and safe there, and then, if you did Choose me, I could keep you company, or if you didn't choose me, I could wither stick around if you wish or I'd leave and not bother you again. It's your choice, but for now, why not rest out the storm? its dry, if not warm enough. Could be worse." He smiles and relaxes some, doing everything he can to keep Vincent warm and comfortable.
 
Wow... Vincent knew that Izana was right. Even if their histories were not completely similar, they were both just as long and depressing, leaving mental scars that almost never seem to heal. Vincent nodded and curled up a bit, scooting closer to Izana. "But... I don't know if I can actually do it. Become an Elder, I mean. I'm just... I'm not ready..." He said, rubbing his eyes.

A few miles away, a dark colored dragon landed heavily, before sniffing a nearby tree. A twisted smile formed on her lips as she immediately recognized the scent. She had waited centuries for that old fool Angus to die, and now here was her chance. Her goal was to conquer the land, and call it her own while destroying all who opposed her. And with the boy by her side, she will be unstoppable. Even if Vincent refused to accept her, she could always choose him by force....
Because once a bond has been established, it can never be broken.
 
Wow... Vincent knew that Izana was right. Even if their histories were not completely similar, they were both just as long and depressing, leaving mental scars that almost never seem to heal. Vincent nodded and curled up a bit, scooting closer to Izana. "But... I don't know if I can actually do it. Become an Elder, I mean. I'm just... I'm not ready..." He said, rubbing his eyes.

A few miles away, a dark colored dragon landed heavily, before sniffing a nearby tree. A twisted smile formed on her lips as she immediately recognized the scent. She had waited centuries for that old fool Angus to die, and now here was her chance. Her goal was to conquer the land, and call it her own while destroying all who opposed her. And with the boy by her side, she will be unstoppable. Even if Vincent refused to accept her, she could always choose him by force....
Because once a bond has been established, it can never be broken.
 
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