A little wait

The Royal Blue-tipped falcon, also known as the Blue-tipped falcon or blue-tips, and historically as the Blue Royals in Udoris, is a rare bird of prey indigenous to the North-western part of Udoris. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a pure white plumage, tipped with blue feathers possessing a gold undertone, and a blue crown in females. The Blue king is renowned for its speed, reaching over 410 km/h during its characteristic hunting stoop (high-speed dive), making it the fastest bird in the world, as well as the fastest member of the animal kingdom. As is typical for raptors, Blue-tipped falcons are sexually dimorphic, with females being considerably larger than males.

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Evening,

Somewhere in the Windy fir woodlands forest.

....

"Walk faster!" A burly bandit growled at Sean who was being towed by a leash behind him.

The previous young master looked even more haggard than before.

His body was covered only with a few rags to prevent him from freezing to death. His skin looked bluish and sallow, his lips, ears and other extremities suffered from frostbite and his formerly lush blond hair was now full of dirt, leaves and probably parasites.

Sean trudged through the ankle-deep snow, his frail body trembling from exhaustion and the cold.

"Achoo!" He sneezed loudly, tripping over and falling face-first in the snow. But despite the exhaustion and pain wracking his mind he hurriedly got to his feet.

"What's your problem you bloody animal? Are you trying to slow us down?" The leader asked with a mocking light in his eyes. The rest of them also chuckled sinisterly.

"N-no." Sean stammered. It was evident his dread for the bandits greatly surpasses the pain he was experiencing.

The bandit leader smirked enjoying the look of fear in Sean's eyes towards him. Given Sean's previous status, he would have never even deigned to give these men a second glance.

Even if he was to do so it would be either to give them an order to carry out or worse, to execute them for their crimes as outlaws. But there he was cowering before such worthless low-lives like themselves.

The Bandit leader relished in this rare feeling of superiority over someone of aristocratic standing.

'They are all the same, bloody cowards that would cower before anyone with just enough persuasion.' He thought. Then glancing towards the shivering Sean he fell into contemplation.

"We are stopping here for the night." He ordered.

"But boss the main base is just a day away." Another one protested.

"Do you think this animal here can last a day? What would be the point if we arrive at the base and present a dead body to the master. Use your brains for once would you?"

"OK." The other bandit grumbled. "I will start a fire."

Walking past Sean the Bandit shoved him to the ground, venting out his aggression.

But unsurprisingly Sean silently endured. It was clear he had experienced worse situations than this repeatedly before hence he wasn't fazed.

Quietly he stood up and followed behind the bandits towards a small clearing amongst the trees.

There he watched with an eerie calculating gaze as the bandits started the fire.

"You sleep there." The leader ordered turning to Sean who was staring fearfully at him.

"Y-yes." Sean stammered a reply.

"Humph." The bandit snorted laying on a pile of rags.

Sean staggered slowly to his spot at the edge of the fire a closed. After piling up the few leaves and branches he could find he laid down and shut his eyes.

In the dark cold forest, only the weak crackle of burning wood could be heard.

Sean's eyes opened and he observed the bandits around him, the campfire casting a gloomy light on his face.

He sighed looking at the back of the drowsy lookout's sitting across from him

'They are still this vigilant?'.

With a sigh, he shut his eyes again.

'A little patience, a little wait. A bloodied face, a limp in my gait. That's my way to heaven's gate.' Whispering a mantra his state of mind stabilized. He eased his grip on the stone shard in his right palm.

Remembering Aden's reaction when he encountered bandits smuggling a 'peasant', the unusual cautiousness towards the incident, a smile formed on Sean's face.

'So that's how it is?' His smile turned slightly sinister with a hint of intrigue

Snuggling deeper into the pile of branches his eyes opened again a murderous light flashing in them.

'Just a bit more.' He muttered staring at the bandit struggling to stay awake.

'A little more and the world serves itself on a silver plate.'