Hunter

Location: Futto Mountain Range: Near Vosa City; Kai and Hars

“Hars, watch your damn six!” Kai snarled, a snap of her magic bursting out of her hand blasted straight towards the Skeletal Daemon’s venomous scorpion tail knocking it away from where it was seconds from sinking into Hars’ exposed back. Although Skeletal Daemon’s were mostly impervious to magic attacks, the blast was strong enough to send the large bony skeletal body flying a couple feet back from Hars. The smell that emanated from these specific monsters grew even more pungent as the daemon monster screeched loudly. Kai and Hars ears rang at the sound. The scent was so foul and putrid that even their masks, made out of Tarragon scales lined with Blue Beastly fur, couldn’t help them escape from it. 

Kai snarled again as she dodged to the side, bringing up the katana in her right hand to parr with the claws of the Skeletal Daemon she was fighting. The sound of metal meeting bone clashed through the small clearing Hars, Kai and the monsters were in. She gritted her teeth as the monster wrapped its long bony black dipped claws around the blade snarling at her. With a quick move, Kai swung her other blade down at the hand. A sickening crunch of bone separated the hand from the Skeletal Daemon, and with a swift flick of her blade the severed hand fell to the ground.

Kai steadied herself for a moment before flipping backwards, just barely missing the charging Skeletal Daemon she had blasted from Hars. As she landed she couldn’t help but chuckle seeing how it had run right into its den-mate. That chuckle turned into laughter as the monsters had both been striking at her with their scorpion tails and both of them had lodged into the disgusting pulsating, glowing purple heart of each other. With a warble, both of them fell down dead. She had learned from her father and papa that Skeletal Daemons surprisingly enough weren’t impervious to their own venom but she had never thought she’d get a chance to see two of the daemon monsters take each other out. 

“Hunt in Futto Mountain Range, she said… It will be fun, she said…” Harry snapped through pants at Kai as he shoved his own sword blade through the heart of the last Skeletal Daemon, dropping the last of the monsters they were hunting. His silver-peach dragon scales shifted on his face, running down his neck and presumably the rest of his body as his dragon-clawed hands dug into the sword hilt. With a twist of his wrist and a kick to the dead bony Skeletal Daemon, the monster slid off his sword onto the ground with a thud. 

Kai sneered, glaring at him as she holstered her two katanas into their sheath on her back. A wince left her as she eyed the way his claws were digging into his sword hilt before sighing. They would need to get that repaired soon. “Come off it, Hars. I didn’t say it was fun. I said it was necessary.” She told him, shaking her head.

Hars rolled his eyes, “Well, I hope you’re happy. We’ve killed enough Skeletal Daemons to last us a lifetime. I swear, if we don’t find something more interesting to hunt soon, I’m going to lose it.” He grumbled, sheathing his own sword before reaching up to readjust his mask properly. 

“Not enough to last a lifetime, but it will give us quite a bit of gold when we go into a city or town next. As I said, necessary. And what is more interesting than monsters that come out of the Red Egresses?” Kai asked, moving over towards the nearest Skeletal Daemon. 

Hars grumbled under his breath as he joined Kai in walking towards the pile of dead monsters. “Necessary my ass,” he muttered. “I could have been back in the city, living in luxury, but instead, I’m out here in the middle of nowhere, risking my life on a daily basis.”

Kai rolled her eyes, knowing full well that Hars was just blowing off some steam. “We both know that’s not true. You were never cut out for the luxurious life, Hars. You’re a hunter, just like me. Or should I say Gheyo?” 

Hars huffed, but didn’t argue. He knew she was right. Hunting was quite literally in his blood, just like it was in Kai’s. But that didn’t mean he had to enjoy every grueling moment of it. Certainly didn’t mean he wanted to fight Red Egress daemon creatures for much longer. 

Kai hummed as she kneeled next to the dead Skeletal Daemon, rummaging through her bag, searching for something. “What are you looking for?” Hars asked, watching as she pulled out a small vial with a wide smirk on her face that instantly made him weary. It was never a good thing when Kai had that chaotic look on her face. There certainly was a reason why her Hunter's name meant Chaos, just like there was a reason Hars meant Little Death. At times like these, Kai reminded Hars of a pair of red haired twins he used to know back in Nevarah, but for the life of him he couldn’t remember. He couldn’t remember a lot of details about his life after he came back from being fully feral when he first was dropped in Ullilan. 

Kai ignored him for a moment as she picked up one of the scorpion tails, examining the barbs at the end before uncapping the vial and pushing the barb against the side of the glass. A triumphant purr left her lips as grey fluid began to drip into the vial. “These could come in handy for making poison-tipped arrows or even to put on our blades when we fight the larger monsters that are hard to put down only because of their size.” She mused, pulling back once the vial was half full before recapping it and grabbing another to continue the process.

Hars shook his head. “You and your obsession with poison.” He teased, but there was a hint of admiration in his voice. Kai was one of the deadliest Hunters he had ever met. She was always prepared for whatever they came across in the Outworld, and her mind was like an encyclopedia of information about the various monsters that plagued the Ullilan Kingdom, and the destroyed remains of the Sleopis Kingdom. Hars, himself, was nothing to scoff at. Under her guidance, and the guidance of their adoptive parents, he was steadily making a name for himself too. But there certainly was a reason Kai was as good as she was. 

“Yes, me and my poisons. Now be a dear and cut out the hearts of the Skeletal Daemons that weren’t killed by each other. They are good potion ingredients that the Potions Masters in the cities would kill to have, even the damaged ones, but with the poison in those two they’re less than worthless.” Kai ordered, already lamenting the fact that two of the hearts were worthless to them. They were worth a lot of money if you knew the right Potions Master's willing to pay top dollar for them, and Kai certainly did thanks to father and papa. 

Hars rolled his eyes, but did as he was told, using his sharp claws to expertly carve out the hearts of the dead Skeletal Daemons. He knew that had been the reason why they had stopped to kill these particular monsters but Kai always repeated herself. She said it was to make sure the knowledge stuck in his brain. As he worked, Kai continued to collect the venom from the scorpion tails, humming a tune that Hars didn’t recognize. He watched her for a moment, admiring the way she moved with a fluid grace that only came from years of training and experience. It was no wonder she was one of the most respected and well known Hunters in the Ullilan Kingdom, even if she was very rarely seen within one of the cities and towns, preferring to stick to the Outworlds and Hunt. 

“Hey, Kai,” Hars said, breaking the silence between them that was only filled with Kais’ hums and the sounds of the forest and monsters roaming nearby, unaware of the two Hunters. He paused, worrying his lip gently with his fangs wondering if he should continue with what he wanted to say. “Do you ever think about settling down? You know, finding someone to bond with and starting a family?” 

Kai looked away from the scorpion tails as she capped the last vial she had to fill with poison, tucking each filled vial into the poison potions kit she carried with her everywhere before tucking that back into her bag. “No. I mean, not really,” she admitted a moment later after thinking about it. It was something she knew was odd to most people, especially the few other Vefari like her in Ullilan. Vefari were very much like dragels in their want for a large gathering of people, bonded, that they called a circle. Though Vefari did call theirs a nest. They also had similar rankings. The maid triad being an Alpha, Beta, and Submissive pairing. Then there were the protectors, Pareya for Dragel. Verndari for Vefari. And the fighters, Gheyo for Dragel. Kappi for Vefari. Kai often thought of Hunters like herself and Harry like Kappi. Gheyo, Kappi, they fought. They loved it. It meant everything to them to be able to fight to protect their circle or nest. There were, of course, other rankings. Healers. Mages. Things of that sort that translated easily between Dragel and Vefari, just with different names. 

Using her knowledge of Vefari and Dragel terms, the Vefari ones she only learned from her Guild Leader who had come to Ullilan at a later point in life than she did, Kai knew she was a Kappi Elskaði, or Gheyo Submissive. That only made her twice as abnormal for not wanting a nest of her own. Gheyo Submissives needed a circle to ground themselves. To keep them from becoming feral. Though, it wasn’t like Kai really didn’t want a nest, but to find one of her own she would have to leave the Realm Ullilan resided in, and despite not being born in Ullilan, it was her home. And there was the fact that Kai didn’t even know if it was possible to leave this Realm to begin with. 

Kai had been dragged to Ullilan like many magical beings had. She was young, stolen away from her Home Realm in Nevarah, the same home Realm Hars was from, when a portal momentarily opened up and she was spat out of the other side. Kai had only been a child, barely four years old, unlike Hars who was twelve when he was forced here. The wonderful male bonded pair of Hunters that had adopted her had found her crying near an underwater Red Egress. They had immediately taken her in. Kai couldn’t even really remember her home world or her family. She knew she had lived underwater but she couldn’t remember anything else. Hars had been the one to tell her about the Dragels home world of Nevarah, and Kai had figured one of her three blood parents must have been a Vefari for her to end up as one. The only life Kai knew was being a Hunter, raised mostly in the Outworld hunting monsters. Her father and papa retired when Kai was only sixteen and she was left to run about the Outworld Hunting alone ever since. 

Or well, that had been the plan but three months into her solo journey, Kai had found Hars in a feral state and had brought him back. Since then she had been his trainer, like their adoptive parents were to her, and Hars a Gheyo Submissive Dragel quickly picked up everything she was teaching him so it hadn’t been much heartache to let the younger boy tag along with her. The companionship was nice, and now four years later, Kai truly thought of Hars as her younger brother. 

“To Hunt…” Kai paused again, mulling the word that meant a completely different thing to her than it did to Hars. Dragels hunted for bonded. To fill their circle. She hunted monsters to protect the people she had come to adopt as her own country men and women. “We would have to leave Ullilan. Go to Nevarah. And what would we do there, Hars? And you said something about The Hunt. Some eight week celebration for young dragels and other magical beings to hunt for bonded that only comes about every ten years. How would we even know if that was any time soon? If there even is a way out of this Realm to get to Nevarah in the first place.”

Hars nodded glumly. He understood that it might be impossible to leave this realm. The Egresses pulled things to Ullilan, not the other way around. But he couldn’t help but feel a sense of longing for a circle of his own. He had grown up seeing the way other dragels interacted with their bonded before he had been transported here against his will, and it was something he had always wanted for himself. Had always impatiently been waiting for the day he turned sixteen so he could join The Hunt. 

He could understand not only Kai’s reluctance to leave the only home she had ever known, but also her reluctance to even try to find out if there way a way off this hellscape of a Realm. But he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sadness at the thought of never finding an Alpha and Beta of his very own. Of never starting a family of his own. He had always dreamed of finding someone he could bond with, multiple someones, who would understand him in a way no one else could.

“But Kai,” Hars said softly, “don’t you ever feel lonely out here? I mean, it’s just the two of us. Don’t you ever wish you had someone else to share in the dangers and the victories?” 

Kai shrugged, not wanting to admit the truth and her fears to him. She knew he looked up to her as an older sister and a protector. To admit to him that she also wanted a nest of her very own. Bonded who would love her, even the darkest parts of her that she couldn’t love, was just not something she could do. “I’m used to it,” she said with a nonchalant wave of her hand. “Besides, we have each other. We make a good team. And we are family in all but blood, aren’t we? Can that be good enough for just a little bit longer?”

Hars nodded. They did make a good team, and he did think of her as his sister. But he still couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something missing in his life. Nor the ever looming feral state that wanted to overtake him, which he knew would only be held back with at the very least, an Alpha and Beta of his own, and the most a whole Gheyo Suite of his own. Their constant hunting of monsters held it at bay, but sometimes he would sink into a blood thirst feral haze that took Kai weeks to break him out of. Hars always snapped out of it eventually but each time he slipped under, he felt he lost a little more of his sanity. One day Hars feared he wouldn’t wake up and Kai would have to put him down, and he knew that would kill her. 

Kai sighed as she stood up, moving to collect the disgusting purple hearts of the Skeletal Daemons from where Hars had sat them on a slightly dirty cloth. Her heart burned seeing the look on his face, and she wished she could do nothing more than take that pain away from him. Shaking her head, Kai grabbed a clean cloth and a small wooden chest covered in runes out of her void stone necklace. With deft hands, she placed the hearts on the cloth within the chest before closing it. The locks clicked as they engaged and then Kai replaced the chest back into her void stone for safe keeping. The runes on the wooden chest would keep the hearts preserved, and with them being in her void stone they wouldn’t be jostled like they would if she placed the chest in one of her many pockets. Kai didn’t want to ruin the potion ingredients they worked so hard to collect if they ran into any more monsters. 

Kai’s eyes fell on Hars, and the dejected look on his face as he stared blankly at the dead Skeletal Daemon, a quiet desperate croon leaving his lips at whatever thoughts were going through his head. Even worse, Kai could feel his want and longing as Hars Empathy Affinity lashed out and wrapped tightly around her. She hated seeing her brother so despondent. 

“I’ll tell you what, Hars,” Kai spoke up, forcing a smile on her face even as her heart pounded in her chest at the mere thought of what she was going to suggest. They had talked about circles and nests before but this was the first time that Hars had ever outright said he wanted a circle of his own, even if he didn’t say that directly. She cursed her bleeding heart that always wanted to give Hars everything she could. 

Hars head snapped up to look at her. Those two vibrant green orbs staring at her with just a smidge of hope before that hope washed away which only farther tugged at Kai’s heart and solidified her will to go through with what she had decided. “What?” He asked, his tone solemn and sad. 

“Well, Vosa City is the second largest city in Ullilan, as you well know. And it has been a while since we’ve visited father and papa, and checked in with our Guild in person. Perhaps, we can ask father and papa if they know of anyone with the skills to Realm walk out of Ullilan, and if they know anything about Nevarah and their strange version of a Hunt,” She stated, clenching her hands into fists to stay calm amongst the flurry of emotions running through her. Both hers and Hars. Hars vibrant green eyes lit up instantly making Kai frown. “Don’t get your hopes up, Hars. It is a long shot but… For you I will. I’ll even come with you if we can find a way out of this realm to Nevarah, if you want me to.” Even if you don’t want me to, Kai added. There was no way she was going to let Hars go to another Realm on his own. She had sworn to protect him when she first met the feral-minded twelve year old she adopted as her brother, and she wasn’t about to break that. 

Hars couldn’t help the grin that formed on his face as gratitude and love filled him. He didn’t think Kai would ever be willing to sacrifice so much for him, just to help him find what he had been longing for. He also knew it was a long shot, but the fact that Kai was willing to help him find a circle made him feel a sense of warmth he hadn’t felt in a long time.

“Thank you, Kai,” Hars said, his voice thick with emotion as he blinked back the tears forming in his eyes. “I don’t know what to say. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

Kai smiled, a genuine smile that reached her eyes. “Don’t mention it, Hars. We’re family, remember? We’re in this together.” 

Hars thanked all the Immortals he knew silently. Thanking them for his luck to have found someone like Kai in this very dangerous world. He knew if any other Hunter found him, he would be dead. In his feral state, he was much like the mindless, bloodthirsty monsters that roamed Ullilan, and any other Hunter would have attempted to kill him for it. Not Kai though. Somehow she had known he wasn’t a monster, but rather a lost dragel who had gone feral being thrusted into a new situation with only a drive to survive the hellscape he found himself in. 

Hars knew that Kai could have easily killed him. Where other Hunters would probably have failed to fight against his feral dragel self, Kai would probably barely even break a sweat if she had wanted to end him. But instead, she stayed with him. Took care of him, and kept every other Hunter away by illegally blocking off the nearby area as a dangerous Red Egress area on the map, putting herself as the Primary Hunter for the area, and rejecting any offers from Hunters with a rank that would allow them to head to the area when they offered. Even though Hars had tried to kill her several times within his feral state, Kai didn’t hold it against him. And when he did come back, she didn’t berate him. She just gave him her warm smile, and told him that everything would be okay. She taught him about Ullilan and how to be a Hunter. Paid for everything he needed. Hars was even adopted by her adoptive family just because Kai had introduced him as her brother when they first paid them a visit in Vosa City. He knew he wouldn’t have survived as long as he did if it wasn’t due to Kai constantly being there for him. A part of him did feel bad that he was going to be pulling Kai along on this possible fruitless journey to find a way out of this realm and back to their home realm but he couldn’t help the larger part that longed for a circle.

As they packed up their belongings and prepared to make their way to Vosa City, Hars couldn’t help but feel a sense of excitement mixed with apprehension. He was thrilled at the possibility of finding an Alpha and Beta of his own, but he was also nervous about what lay ahead. If there was a way out of Ullilan’s realm, Hars knew it was probably littered with obstacles to overcome.

As they walked through the dense forest, Hars couldn't help but think about what it would be like to finally find his circle. To have someone to share in his victories and his defeats, to know that he wasn't alone in the world. The thought made him feel a sense of longing that was almost painful, but he pushed it aside, focusing instead on the task at hand.

They walked for miles, stopping only briefly to rest and gain back their energy. It was never for very long. The Futto Mountain Range was very dangerous and one always had to stay on guard. Hars couldn't help but let out a little cheer and a content purr as they walked out of the forest and saw the large City of Vosa standing proudly at the base of the Futto Mountain Range. He did send out a little prayer to the Immortals, wishing for good luck.

Kai watched Hars with a smile, shaking her head gently at the excited wiggle Hars made as he walked a couple steps in front of her. He had a pep to his step, and Kai knew his eyes were gleaming with happiness as his scales rippled over his skin to hide and his claws became hands once more. She also sent out a prayer to the Immortals, wishing to find what they needed to get to Nevarah so she wouldn't have to see and feel the devastation Hars would feel if her father and papa, and no one else within Vosa City, knew a way out of the Realm.