5 Chapter 5. Knowledge

Warning sadness in this chapter :[

My eyes widen as I heard what the boy said, my tail swished from side to side slowly as I still stared at the scared little boy.

My kind? What does he mean kill?

My eyes were still fixated on the boy, the boy averted his bright green eyes from My ocean blue eyes to the ground. He was shaking slightly, the boy had heard stories of the beasts that lurked in these woods but he never thought he would meet a were-beast.

"What do you mean my kind kills humans?"

The boy jumped slightly startled by My voice. The boy slowly looked up at Me, evident that he still feared Me.

"I-I've heard stories... From t-the villagers t-that more people a-are getting killed from Demi humans.."

the boys voice shook as his hand and shoulders continued to shake. My eyes widen.

Is that what I am?

I sighed softly as I looked at the boy and smiled. I held my hand in front of the boy causing the boy to press his back harder against the tree. The boy looked from My hand up at My face which still held a smile.

"My named James and I won't hurt you.. I promise."

My voice was soft making the boy relax a little, the boys shaking hand went up and gently grabbed My hand and shook it.

"I'm l-Leo.."

I ignored the little crack in the boys voice and continued to smile at him.

"You know what Leo means right?"

The boy tilted his head softly with curiosity this caused me to chuckled softly as I pulled my hand from Leo's.

"It means the light of the sun.. or also known as Lion."

I explained to Leo as I looked over at the berry bush that was still full of berries. Leo smiled lightly but it was quickly washed away when a noise could be heard coming from his stomach making Leo's cheeks flush softly. I looked over at Leo then laughed softly, I grabbed some berries in my hand then gently dropped them in Leo's waiting hand. Leo looked at the berries then gently plopped one in his mouth. His eyes lit up as he shoved more berries into his mouth getting juice on his hands and mouth. This made Me laugh.

"Slow down or you might choke.."

I grabbed some berries into my hand and ate them slowly since I already ate a lot before Leo came tumbling out of the bushes. Leo reached over Me and grabbed some more from the bush.

"Their so good and sweet!"

Leo's voice was full of satisfaction instead of fear which made me smile. After we filled our bellies full of berries I started to ask Leo questions. Question like where he came from? What his village is like? Or even about Demi humans? I found out Leo came from the village I seen before on top of the cliff. It's a well known trading and crop village. Many travelers go there to sell and buy merchandise. This made Me want to go visit the village but I decided against it since Leo did tell me humans didn't take to kindly to... my kind. Demi humans were very common in the slave industry's and infighting torments. They were used to kill prisoners and people for... entertainment. This made my blood boiled when Leo told me about the slave industry and Leo could see I was was quickly getting more angry by the second so he quickly added that some people buy slaves as companies to help take care of them and most of the time when people did that they took very good care of the Dani humans as if they were part of their family. They came in many different forms, some looked completely inhuman but could stand on two feet while others like me only have some distinct beast features. I sighed softly, I had learned so much. Leo at one time asked about the dirty rags, the scar over my eyes and the chain around my ankle. I didn't know how to answer so I just laughed and said it was a long and horrible story that he probably didn't want to hear. As I was still trying to process everything in my head, I continued to listen as Leo kept explaining what his town and family was like. He didn't have a mother or father so his grandfather had to take care of him. I could see a flash of sadness flow through Leo's eyes as he told Me how they died.

"My mother got sick when I was around 4 years old. It wasn't a bad sickness as long as you have the right medicine.. but we didn't have the money to afford that medicine so my father worked and worked and started to sell our stuff... but he was to late.. a-and now... my grandpa is sick... I came out here looking for herbs t-to help him."

Leo had soft tears dripping down his faces as he told the story. My eyes were wide as I watched the small boy cry silently. I gently wrapped my arms around the crying boy, This caused Leo to tense up but he slowly wrapped his arms around my chest as he continued to cry.

"It's okay..."

My hushed voice said softly as I gently rubbed his back trying to help him calm down. I stayed there with Leo until the boy finally fell asleep from exhaustion. I sighed softly as I got up with the light boy cradled in my arms. I looked around the dark forest but I jumped slightly when I heard loud yelling coming towards us. They smelled like Leo... human.. I looked down at the sleeping boy and I gently placed him on lushes green grass that acted as a pillow. I took one last look at Leo before running off in the opposite direction the loud yelling was coming from. As I ran I could see the huge lake up ahead with those giant roots acting as bridges. I smiled and ran towards one of the huge roots. I slowed down and steadily started to walk up the roots and across them. I held my arms out for balance but as I walked across I looked down at all the creatures swimming in the bright clear water. Some of them were glowing like the crystal in the cave. It was beautiful! I finally got across and sighed, I couldn't hear yelling anymore.

They probably found him.

I walked out of the clearing under the canopy of the huge bright green trees. I looked up watching as the sun decorated the leaves on the trees. I smiled softly as I kept walking, sometimes having to clime over huge tree roots.

Hopefully we meet again Leo...

I didn't know what to do next so I've got to wait till I can get some more inspiration!

Leo is of right now not a love interest :]