CHAPTER NINETEEN. An Unexpected Visit.

Jaden's beast bolted across the fields. His long, lithe body tearing a clear straight path over the grass, tail swinging out behind him.

He felt like he was flying, his body moving of its own accord, the grass reduced to nothing but an unending sea of green.

His eyes were locked on the massive creature running ahead of him. Its short legs could only take it so far, but Jaden was familiar with the ways of the beast, learning the hard way that it could decide to change its course at any time and send him plummeting into the ground.

At the corner of his eyes, Jaden spotted a flash of green and there was his father, hot on the creature's other flank.

His father's full black mane had been flattened by the wind, his strong, powerful legs quickly closing the distance between them and the Lygon - a non-magical creature - large beasts that moved on long, thick legs, with a short tail, possessing a rather small head.

Their dark red stripes against pitch black skin served as a warning that this beast would attack if threatened. But it also made quite the profit once it got to the market. 

Butchers would be climbing all over themselves just to get a look at the beast. After all this had to be the largest herbivore the outskirts had to offer. 

Gregors were mainly carnivorous in nature, which was why hunting was a major occupation throughout the kingdom and also why it was considered a direct insult to feed a Gregor anything green.

However, they also possessed the ability to absorb and store energy from the sun. This helped to fuel their talents but did little when it came to beast control. 

Food kept a Gregor's beast under a tight leash, loose that for whatever reason and it wouldn't be long before such a Gregor lost control.

Not just any hunter could take down a Lygon. Usually, in order to ensure success, a band of four full grown hunters were needed.

But after what happened eight years ago, his family and their home were well avoided. Jaden couldn't remember the last time he had seen any of the hunters who had grouped with his father before the .... incident.

Arud had struggled on his own for most of those years. 

Until Jaden offered to help. 

He'd been only thirteen at the time, and the prince had been skeptical about his request, but had eventually agreed. 

It was no easy work, that much Jaden knew, and had been hard to master, but, at least he was helping out his family the best he could, though he was still far from repaying the debt he owed them after all he had put them through.

The years after that day had been less eventful.

The village avoided their house like they had the plague. 

Their parents had decided that the best way to maintain the peace was to avoid going out of their territory as much as possible. 

If they needed supplies they got them from the market under disguise so no one knew who they were. Otherwise, they did their best to avoid the villagers. 

They had been living this way for the past eight years, and Jaden didn't need a soothsayer to tell him whose fault it was.

'Get ready', his father's voice broke through his thoughts with their mind link. Jaden nodded inwardly, knowing just how important this moment was. One wrong step and it would be another failure.

Arud snapped at the beast, intimidating it so it had no way of darting to the side at the last minute.

Jaden did the same, nipping at the beast's legs but keeping just enough distance so he could move away in case things got dangerous.

Together they had begun leading it toward a particular part of the fields, a part where the grass level looked extremely low.

The beast was heading for it with full speed, snorting and groaning in obvious fear, desperately trying to widen the distance between them.

Then, when they were very near the edge of the area...

'Fall back, kid!'

Jaden drove his claws into the ground, bringing himself to a grinding halt.

Arud didn't do the same until he was dangerously near the trap.

Their prey ran into it blindly; a seemingly harmless patch of bare ground, covered in short coarse grass.

No sooner had the creature landed in it when a sharp twang rang in the air.

Massive black coils shot out of the earth, wrapping around the creature's left hind-leg, sending it staggering to the ground with a loud piercing cry.

Jaden's heart thumped against his chest loudly as his father made that leap. 

Unfortunately, the Lygon had sensed the attack and still managed to duck underneath Arud at the last minute. 

Arud landed, claws scrabbling against the grass, before propelling his body forward, heading for the creature once again.

Alas, it seemed their time had run out, as, with one violent jerk of its limb, the Lygon heaved itself off the ground and tore away from the groundstealer's - the black coils that held unto its leg - deadly grip. Dashing away from them at top speed. 

Jaden cursed, watching as his father did his best to slow the creature down.

It wasn't working.

'Screw this bull bird crap!'

With a growl, Jaden shifted back into human form.

Watching as his father struggled to slow the Lygon down. 

Already their plan was failing, and he knew he needed to do something now or all their hard work would have been for nothing.

With all the anger and frustration he could muster, the teenager slammed one foot down hard and aimed a quick upward jab at the air in the creature's direction.

The ground rose. Dust and earth were thrown into the air as a small earthquake shot out toward the beast, thundering as it did so.

The second it reached his target, the Lygon was immediately thrown off its feet, landing on its side so violently the ground shook in response. 

This gave Arud the chance to make the final move, finishing off their prey with one bite to the neck.

Jaden let out a deep breath in relief. They succeeded. 

They really succeeded.

Jaden wanted to laugh out loud, but his triumph was easily tempered by the fact that his dad wouldn't be too happy knowing Jaden had resorted to using a talent in the middle of a hunt. 

It was a hunters first rule and he had broken it. He just hoped the prince would let it go just this once. 

He walked over to his father who was busy examining their latest catch, ignoring the muscle pull in his legs he always got after running like this.

When he arrived, Arud's attention had shifted to the damage Jaden's talent had done to the fields.

"When did you learn to do that?" his father asked once he was close enough.

"A few days ago", Jaden answered simply.

"Impressive", Jaden just shrugged, his talents were a topic he didn't exactly like venturing into. 

They reminded him of what he was, of everything he didn't want to be.

"You broke the rules again", his father stated, shooting him a look he clearly understood.

Jaden sighed, " Yeah, I'm sorry about that, but this was our sixth attempt in two days! I had to at least do something. Why do we even have those rules in the first place?", Jaden complained.

"Talents tend to scare off prey. You keep using them like you're doing now and there won't be anything left to hunt", Arud explained. 

He walked towards Jaden, placing a hand over his shoulder. 

"Still, I can't say you didn't do your best. Just be careful next time, kid", Arud said. 

"Alright then, you can head home, we're done here", the prince declared, "I need to get to town, get ourselves a buy—".

At that moment, a loud screeching call interrupted his father, and they whirled toward the sound. 

A winged beast headed toward them, blowing the grass apart as it soared close to the ground.

Arud hastily pulled Jaden out of the way.

Maintaining a defensive position in front of him as the beast flew over them and landed several feet away.

It's golden wings seemed to glitter under the sun. It possessed a cat-like body, and a muzzle that ended in a broad, bone-tough beak.

It's tail switched from side to side as it turned slightly to reveal a human figure sitting across its back.

'Is that a ... Griffin?'

Another beast flew over them and landed beside the first. This one was covered in scales instead, with short legs and a long, broad tail. 

It's wings were covered in scaly black skin, much like the rest of its body. And it also carried a Gregor on its back.

'That's a dragon', Jaden thought, surprised. He'd never seen creatures like these before, especially not in a place like the outskirts, only heard of them in books Cherry usually read.

The griffins and dragons, collectively referred to as flybeasts, were used as a major source of transportation by the Gregors. 

They were quite expensive to manage, so only Royalty or wealthy Ordi-gregors could afford to keep them. As such, they weren't all that common.

The figure who sat above the griffin turned to them. Taking off his flight helmet, letting his long, blonde hair fall over his broad shoulders, was a middle-aged man who looked roughly around the same age as Arud, "we're sorry to bother you", the stranger called out to them in a deep, rich voice, "We were just wondering if you've seen someone who....". 

His words trailed off the moment he settled his gaze on his father. 

The man squinted his eyes as if he doubted his own sight. 

Hastily, he climbed down from the flybeast, the wind batting at his blonde hair. He moved to them, hesitating every few steps. 

Jaden heard his father's beast growl slightly at this.

"Arud", the stranger breathed all of a sudden, a large smile lighting up his face.

He took a few steps forward and this time Arud's growl was louder than before, "take one more step and I'll make sure you lose those hands!", he warned.

The stranger heeded his words, letting out an amused chuckle, "oh come on, you wouldn't do that to your big brother, would you?"

'Bro... WHAT?!'

Jaden barely had time to come to terms with what he had just heard, when his father straightened. All traces of aggression gone.

The teenager could see the same shock he felt plastered over Arud's face.

"Drex?", he asked.