Blades of metal lashed out at the Hunter from all sides, barely even denting its thick hide. It roared, a tremendous sound that made its assailants stagger backwards, momentarily stunned. It lunged forwards and grabbed one of the humans and smashed its head in, blood splattering onto the Hunter’s body. An arrow struck its horns and shattered. The Hunter turned, vanishing. Confused murmurs broke out, which shortly ceased as one mighty fist pounded an archer into a mass of flesh and metal.

The Hunter, a towering and formidable creature, stood amidst the chaos, its breaths heavy. The scent of fresh blood only fueled its determination to eradicate all who dared challenge its dominance. With each strike, the Hunter effortlessly dispatched its feeble adversaries, leaving a circle of battered and torn bodies. None of them got a chance to scream before they were killed.

A twisted blade struck the hunter’s horn, getting caught slightly. The Hunter’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. A strike from his claws, and the blade was no more, though a few scales on its hand was blemished from the blow. A few of the other humans held similar blades, and, faintly wary of them, it approached rapidly and dispatched them quickly, stomping their weapons into oblivion. Finally noticing that harming the Hunter was nigh impossible, the remaining few humans fled, leaving behind their weapons and fallen fellows.

As the remaining humans fled, their fear and desperation evident in their hasty retreat, the Hunter stood amidst the aftermath of the battle, its eyes scanning the scene. The scent of blood hung heavy in the air and corpses and weapons littered the field. The Hunter rumbled with disappointment, knowing that it had to clean up the mess. Though their weapons were pathetic, the quality increased with each attack, the new blades managing to nick the Hunter’s horn

Unfazed by the escape of the humans, the Hunter had no intention of giving chase. It knew that its display of power had struck fear into their hearts, effectively dissuading the ferrous tribe from challenging its might again, for a short time, at least. It seemed weird that they would launch an attack immediately after the travelers left. Were they cooperating? The humans had proven themselves to be a nuisance, their intentions tainted with evil. The Hunter had no sympathy for such beings. With a sigh that sounded more like a roar, it got to work.

After all the bodies had been buried and the metallic weapons ground into dust, all that was left was the blood. Streaks of partially absorbed crimson blood stained the earth, mingling with the soil. The Hunter stared at the field for a few moments, then left. Only the Water lass could have washed that off. It couldn’t.

The Hunter growled. It left and flew into a forest, seeking food. It heeded the rabbits and foxes no mind, them not being enough to sate him.

It approached a massive tree and tore off a clawful of berries, tearing into them with its powerful fangs. The name given to it by the humans did not reflect its actual habits. A long period of time had passed since the Hunter stopped hunting for meals. Why should the protector of the wilderness use animals for food? Fruit was good.

A lot of fruit was missing from the tree when the Hunter finished its meal. It rumbled with satisfaction and could already see some branches starting to regrow their fruit. It flew off, back to its dwelling place.

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The next morning, when the Hunter woke up, it felt a need to visit the travelers. It seemed that the thought appeared in its mind overnight. It felt... wrong. It was as if something had stuffed it into its head. A sense of unease permeated its being, as though something beyond its understanding was at play. It banged its clawed fists onto a tree, then glared in frustration as the tree splintered and toppled. It didn’t like having things it didn’t understand, at least to a certain extent.

Wish a whoosh, the Hunter flew into the distance, where the desert was. After all, that was where the Fire boy told it that they would be going to.

The echoing mountains passed quickly, and the Hunter, knowing his home, navigated through it easily. It did notice a group of people below, though. It didn’t descend from where it flew, invisible in the sky, and decimate them, for the sake of time. As it flew through the plains in between the desert and its home mountains, it noticed two familiar shapes, one fire red and one icy blue. It was surprised when there were only the two of them, though.

It rumbled a greeting to Riley and Luna, who greeted it back with some surprise but happiness as well. When it asked them where Flint and Willow were, they said that they had already gone into the desert for around half a day. They asked if it could fly into the sands to find them and check on their progress. The Hunter agreed; of course, it had been his original plan. He would need to search for a bit to find them, though.

The sharp wind that carried grains of sand and pebbles lashed at the Hunter’s scales, failing to do anything. It flew through the wind without any perturbation. Nothing caught its eye in the desert’s sands.

After batting away a few strange birds with protruding feather crests, the Hunter found one of the two people. It was Flint, the Fire boy. He was digging through the sand, trying to find something. It landed next to him. He jumped, but quickly resumed digging after

Is your girlfriend amiss?

“Hunter, can you please help me? A load of sand buried Willow.”

Without any more casual conversation and immediately realizing the dangers the Water girl faced, the Hunter flapped its large wings violently. A large gust of wind blew away most of the sand, revealing the Water girl.

“Finally, I’m out-is that the Hunter?!” Said Hunter chortled.

It is me. I felt a need to visit the two of you, and it seems that I have come at the right time. By the way, you might be slightly dehydrated, Willow.

Willow’s necklace sprayed out snow all over Willow, which melted almost instantly. The Hunter looked on curiously and cocked its head.

So that is what your necklace does. You have never told me about it. Will you be kind enough to share-oh. Now is not a good time, is it?

At Willow's negative response, the Hunter picked Flint and Willow up, and started flying in the opposite direction of where they came from.

Now explain to me, why is it that you two chose to leave your friends behind? Will they be stuck behind after you finish your trip in the desert?

As the Hunter carried Flint and Willow through the air, they exchanged glances before Willow spoke up. "We didn't exactly leave them behind," she explained. "Flint and I went ahead to travel this desert and then summon Luna and Riley. We can do that through our bond"

Flint nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it was a strategic decision. We thought it would be more efficient this way and reduce the unnecessary amount of energy spent."

I see. That is a wise decision.

Willow smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Hunter. We just wanted to minimize any risks."

I understand your concern. Safety should always be a priority.

The Hunter gently set them down on a rocky outcrop at the edge of the vast desert landscape, another piece of lush land just ahead. It turned to face them.

I will be heading back now. Stay safe and remember to call your friends back. I may visit you once or twice but won’t be able to if you go too far away. We will meet again. Farewell.

With a mighty flap of wings the Hunter flew away, leaving Flint and Willow standing on the outcrop.