A young boy was running through the streets of Daerin, towards the direction of his home. His boots, the bottom of his pants, as well as the uniform shirt he was wearing were all dusty.

“Yiiip yiiip yiiip...”

Soft whimpering noises were coming from the linen bag he had on his back, with slight movement coming from inside.

“Shush...” The young boy whispered. “I know you're hungry little fella, let's look for a place to hide you first before getting you some grub.”

“Yiiip...” The sounds coming from his bag quieted as if it understood what he had said.

Arriving at the front of his house, he didn't immediately enter and instead walked past it. He continued until he arrived at the foot of a large tree a few minutes away, with its base covered by large bushes and its roots lifting the trunk half a meter off the ground forming a cavity underneath.

The young boy unhooked the bag from his back and carried it on his stomach. He pulled on the straps, opening it slightly, and met with a pair of purple eyes staring at him from within. Reflecting the scant amount of light from the surroundings, they were about the only things visible inside the bag.

“You stay here little fella, I'll head home and get you something to eat.” The young man instructed, and placed his rustling bag inside of the cavity.

“Yiiip... Yiiip...” A pink tongue flashed from the bag and a shine had appeared on the wetted nose of the creature inside.

“Be good alright? I'll be right back.” The young man said, leaving the location of the tree and marching back home.

“Kyron, where were you?”

Arriving outside the front door, he was met with the cold stare of a young man— his elder brother. He was leaning on the door, wearing the same clothes as him, but looking worse for wear as his clothes were dusty all over, and even included a few tears and scratches.

“I only agreed to let you tag along if you stayed right behind our group.” He berated.

“Sorry, big bro. I got side-tracked and left early.” The young boy, Kyron, reasoned, looking down at the ground in guilt.

Letting out a soft sigh, his elder brother said, “Be thankful some of the people there had seen you go out of the tower, else we might have called for a search party. Come on, let's go inside and let everyone know that we're back.”

“Alright, big bro. Sorry again.” Kryon apologized. He wasn't pressed any further as his elder brother turned around and led the way into the house.

At the hallway, they ran into a young maid with light brown hair tied up into a ponytail, that was carrying a few folded articles of clothing. It seemed she was on her way up to the second floor to distribute the clothes to their respective rooms.

“Welcome back, young master Vigril. “ She greeted. “Young master Kyron, you were out late, the mistress has been looking for you.”

“He was waiting for my return at the entrance to the tower.” Vigril gave an excuse.

“Somehow, I doubt that was the case.” Was on the young maid's mind as she saw on Kyron's face a mischievous grin, while he brought his index finger to his nose.

“I won't tell, but you're on your own trying to explain this to the mistress.” She snorted.

“Thanks, Patty, I knew I could count on you!” Kyron teased.

The young maid, Patty, replied with a hmph, and made her way up the stairs to the second floor.

“I told you you should've informed her.” Vigril chuckled, enjoying the exchange between the two.

“Well, it wouldn't have taken long before she ratted me out to mother—“

*Click*

Kyron and Vigril both flinched and turned around. The sound of the door handle's mechanism turning and unlocking had startled them both. As the door was slowly swung open, the figure of their father had appeared in front of them.

“Before who ratted what out to your mother?” He inquired. His stern expression making it impossible for the two to bring up the excuses they had prepared earlier.

After being given an earful by their father, the two were instructed to wash up and change clothes, before being given another lecture by both their mother and father over dinner.

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“That took too long!” Kyron complained. “The small guy must be starving right about now. I hope he didn't run away.”

After making sure that there was nobody that had seen him, he quietly exited the house through the front door, holding a bag of leftover scraps from tonight's dinner. Just as he was about to be on his way, his heart had skipped a beat as the door behind him was opened again after he had closed it.

“Urie! Little brother! Don't scare me like that!” He exclaimed, before quickly bringing his hand up to cover his own mouth.

The one that had opened the door was a little boy five years of age, his younger brother, Urie.

“Second older brother, where are you going?” Urie asked, his eyes shining with innocent curiosity, wanting to know of his brother's plans this late in the evening.

“Keep it down, little Urie,” Kyron whispered while bringing his index finger to his nose like he showed Patty earlier. “I'm going out to play with a friend, keep it a secret for me okay?”

“Play?” Urie's eyes widened at the word. ”Can I come too?” He asked excitedly.

“No no no, sorry little brother, only big kids can go play outside at night.” Kyron hurriedly replied but was instantly hit with regret as he saw his younger brother's eyes well up with tears.

He dashed towards Urie, dropping the bag of scraps in his hands, and placed his hands on his younger brother's cheeks, wiping the tears on the corner of his eyes before they fell.

“Wait wait wait! How about this, we'll plan to go out for another day. You, me, and big bro Vigril. How's that?” He suggested.

Urie sniffled twice before discontinuing his tears. “Promise?” He asked.

“Promise,” Kyron answered. “Now go back inside yeah? And keep this a secret from mother and father.”

“Alright, see you later big brother.” Urie went back inside the house and closed the front door.

It was then that Kyron breathed a sigh of relief, before picking up the bag of scraps he had dropped on the ground and started running back to the large tree where he had left his linen bag.

“Little fella! You still there?” He shouted as he stopped at the foot of the large tree, just before the bushes. He stopped to listen, “Could it have left?” He thought, before having his lips curl up in elation as he heard whimpering sounds coming from the bushes.

Purple eyes could be seen from the bushes reflecting the moon's dim light. A small black nose peeked out from the foliage, wetted by a pink tongue flashing from a small mouth.

“You're still here, thank goodness!” Kyron exclaimed, and knelt down before the bushes, taking out the bag of scraps he had prepared. “Look here little fella, see what I got you. I'm sure you'll like it.”

Kyron placed his hand in the bag and took out a half-eaten slice of chicken, with a lot of meat still on the bone. He dangled it in front, trying to entice the creature within the bushes to come out of hiding.

With another lick of its tongue on its nose, the small creature hesitated to go out before losing to the urges of its stomach. It came out the bushes, lured by the aroma of the chicken.

Kyron chuckled as he watched the small creature fumble over its own paws, hurriedly making its way towards him.

“Poor fella, you must've been very hungry.” Kyron watched as the furry creature devoured chicken, gnawing with its tiny fangs to scrape the meat off the bone.

Kyron took out even more scraps of chicken from his bag, a flask of water, and a small wooden bowl.

“Don't eat too fast, even beasts can choke on food.” He said, as he poured the contents of the flask onto the bowl and set it down beside the pup.

“You must have been really hungry...” He whispered softly, his eyes looking sympathetically at the creature's malnourished appearance. Was it abandoned by its parents? He wondered.

A magic creature on all fours, with sharp fangs, claws, a bushy tail, and jet-black fur. It didn't look the slightest bit threatening chewing on the slices of chicken Kyron had set out.

“Don't worry, little fella—” Kyron said.

The small pup raised its head to towards him after hearing his gentle voice, silently staring straight into his eyes for a few seconds before placing its attention back to its meal.

“—As long as you stick with me, you won't ever go hungry again.” He continued, and vowed to keep this his little secret.

-Age Ten Kyron Loeth -

***

- Age Nineteen Kyron Loeth -

One fine evening, a carriage that had come from the Erden wall was entering the gates of the city of Daerin. Its wooden wheels transferring from a dirt road to the stone pavement of Daerin's streets, the sudden rattle of the carriage had awoken its passenger and interrupted his pleasant dream.

The passenger— A young man with ashen-grey hair and golden pupils— brought his fingers up to his face and touched the scar running from his cheek down to his neck, before turning his head to the window.

“I'm back...” He whispered. “I always dream of that little fella whenever I come back to this place.

The carriage made its way to a certain mansion residence, where the young man got off with his bags and went straight for the front door. Without knocking, he entered right away and announced his presence.

“I'M BACK!” He proclaimed, earning a loud cry of elation from the dining room.

“My dear son, welcome home!” A beautiful and mature-looking woman, with long blonde hair and blue eyes, had come running from where the cry had originated and leaped onto the young man's embrace.

“It's good to see you too, mother!” Kyron laughed.

He turned his attention towards the corridor leading to the dining room, “Little Red! Long time no see, you seem to be doing well!” He shouted, as he noticed crimson red eyes peeking out of the entrance of the corridor.

It felt good to be back home, Kyron thought, and looked forward to a relaxing week off from his duties on the wall.