First Contact

"Ah… that wasn't smart of us."

Lucian and Lilly were crouching next to the fruit Lilly had found yesterday. The sweet dripping juices had attracted visitors overnight.

Lucian threw a concerned look Lilly’s way.
"Don't say it."

"Come on, they haven't eaten that much yet! They're still busy with the top layer!" Lilly said, almost like she was trying to convince herself more than him.

Lucian glanced back at the conquered fruit, swarming with ants. His hunger beat out his disgust.
"Alright… but please be thorough."

"Leave it to me! Just make sure you hold onto it."

He held onto the fruit with his fingertips, not willing to give the ants more surface area to latch onto than necessary.

Lilly closed her eyes and stretched her arms toward the fruit. Her hands began glowing and her hair fluttered as a strong gust began blowing off the surprised ants, the others clamping down at the sudden calamity befalling them.
With fewer ants, Lucian now grabbed the fruit with both hands, making sure to look in the other direction to avoid dirt and dust getting in his eyes.

"More!"

Lilly twitched and, after a deep breath, escalated the gale.

Even after all that effort, they still had to brush and pick off a lot of the ants. Their hands sticky from the sugar were soon forgotten when they finally began munching in satisfaction. Byakko, who had been watching attentively up to this point, lost interest once they started eating, preferring to laze around in the pleasant morning sun.

"So—what was that about magic?" Lilly asked, gulping down her final piece.

Lucian followed her example while sorting his thoughts.
"Well, you know how I have good hearing, right?"

"Only when you want to," she mumbled under her breath.

Lucian overheard that. Intentionally proving her point.
"Anyway, when Byakko walks, his prints leave behind a strange noise. Unlike you, I can't just focus magic into existence. But I found out that I can manipulate that sound into magic instead!"

"Okay, sooo where did the cut come from?"

Lilly was as sharp as ever.
"From the spell? It must've appeared while I was casting it."

"And you're sure it wasn't from the Gnoll?"

Lucian was getting annoyed by her questions. Even more so because she was onto him. He had his eyes closed and was just going by logic and feel.

"Alright then. I'll just prove it to you."

He walked up to the print with the clearest hum. Just like before, he began feeling it out.
First static.
Then sharp rasping.
And next—

A rustle in the underbrush interrupted his performance. Byakko and Lucian noticed it at the same time. Something was there in the shadows, just out of sight.
Byakko let out a low growl. That was a bad sign. Byakko was always carefree. What could be so dangerous that he needed to intimidate it?

The thing realized it had been spotted. But instead of backing off, the rustling inched closer.
The small shadow revealed itself to be a man. A dark, elegant cloak with clear signs of wear hid his face beneath a hood.

The children were stunned. This was their first human encounter. On sleepless nights, they often fantasized about meeting others. And now, here stood one.

The cloaked figure seemed just as surprised. He pulled the hood down, careful not to agitate Byakko further.
If Lucian had to guess, he’d place him at around forty. His protruding nasal bone gave his face a distinct look. His hairline was receding, but still holding the line valiantly. His eyes were black or maybe a dark brown. Lucian was too far to tell.

What he could see, was the lack of fear in the eyes of a man staring at a tiger almost twice his size. And it wasn’t just the lack of fear that was off-putting. There was something else gleaming in them.

"Hello… kids. He won't eat me I presume?"

He greeted them without taking his eyes off Byakko. Lucian and Lilly exchanged quick glances.

"My name is Dumas. I presume you understand me?"

Lucian was hesitant. This guy reeked of suspicion. Still, he was the first human they met. He had to know more.
"I'm Lucian, and this is Lilly. Byakko is a picky eater, but he also hates it when things step onto the clearing, so you shouldn't test your luck."

"Byakko is his name, eh? That’s interesting. Very much so. And you take care of Byakko, I presume?"

Lilly had already strategically hidden herself behind Lucian. Her usual outgoing personality nowhere to be found, which made him uneasy as well.

"We... we take care of each other," he lied, knowing full well how one-sided the relationship was. But he didn’t have to know that.

Hearing this, the man shifted his attention onto Lucian. His stare was intense, almost as if he could see through to his most valued secrets.

"Do you now? Then tell me, how did you two get here? I don’t presume your parents offered you up to the beast, seeing as you are... able-bodied and talkative."

Lucian gulped. He actually didn’t know either. They both woke up here seemingly at random, and ever since, this had been their life.

"W.. what about you? Where did you come from?" Lucian blurted out the first thing that came to mind, curious and also not wanting to give the dubious man too much information.

"Trust me, my origin is of little meaning to you. Even if to humor you, I presume you wouldn’t be familiar with it regardless."

Lilly tugged on his shoulder. A glance was enough to tell how uncomfortable the man made her.
Dumas noticed as well.

"No need to be alarmed little ones. Despite what you may think of me, I'm a busy man. I presume it's in everyone’s best interest for me to be on my way now."

"Wait," Lucian said without knowing what to say next.

Dumas turned to face him again. The gemstone in his brooch reflected a distracting beam of sunlight in his direction.

"Where… are you going? Do you know if there's a town nearby?"

A raised eyebrow broke his wooden poker face. Confused, he took his time answering.

"Possibly. Though I'm unsure if I should share this knowledge with two children tending to a giant beast."

Byakko growled at his remark, and Dumas slightly bowed toward him as if apologizing for the misstep. He met Lucian’s gaze one last time before departing.

"We will meet again, friends."

Lucian could still hear him struggling against the thick flora when Lilly found her courage again.
"Should we follow him?"

"I don't think that's a smart idea. He seemed... dangerous. Did you see Byakko? Even he was agitated. He never does that!"

"But other humans also never come here."

Lilly was correct.

"I don't know what we should do. For now, I think the smartest thing is to—"

A deafening roar blew over them. Birds could be heard frantically scattering in the distance. The sound hostile to the point you could almost taste the aggression in the air.

Something out there was furious.
Something big.