Lost and Afraid

"Crya!.....Cryaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!.." Cinaed called out, looking around for his sister in the forest. 

Cinaed called and searched for his sister but there was no response or sign of her anywhere. The worst part about it…It was starting to get dark. Cinaed was starting to get sleepy but didnt know where he was.

Suddenly, Cinaed heard rustling in the bushes. He knew he was being watched. Cinaed decided to walk towards it.

"H-hello?.." Cinaed asked, tilting his head as he got closer to the bush.

Cinaed gasped and fell back when a person stood up from the bush. It was a Neko. He was tall and looked like he was dressed in a ringmasters uniform and he looked down at Cinaed.

"Oh dear, hello there young chap, are you alright?" the neko man asked Cinaed, stepping out of the bush and holding his hand out to help him up.

"...u-um…yes…" Cinaed scooted back,he was afraid of the neko man and he stood up on his own carefully.

"Ah. Where are my manners? My name is Thomas. What is your name, little one?" Thomas asked, kneeling to be on Cinaed's level.

"...C-Cinaed…" he said, fidgeting with his hands.

Thomas looks amused and his tail flicks behind him.

"Well Cinaed, what are you doing out here all by yourself?" Thomas said, wrapping his tail around Cinaed's waist. 

"I-I'm looking for my sister…i lost her…" Cinaed said, ashamed that he couldn't protect his sister. 

Thomas smirked and lifted Cinaed up with his tail, making Cinaed yelp and shiver as he lost the feeling of the ground beneath him.

"Well with the help of the forest and me here to guide you, I'm sure we will find your sister in no time~" Thomas said in a hypnotic way which made Cinaed uncomfortable.

"The forest can..help?" Cinaed asked, very confused and skeptical of everything Thomas was saying.

"Yes. just…let me into your mind~" Thomas said, hypnotically.

In that instant, Thomas's eyes turned into spirals that started to turn. Cinaed starts getting dizzy but shakes his head and throws a fireball at Thomas, making Thomas drop him and pat the fire away, frantically. Cinaed grunted when he hit the ground and started to try and make a run for it. Due to the hypnosis, Cinaed's vision was distorted and blurry as he ran. Suddenly, Cinaed stepped into a trap and yelped as he got hung upside down from his foot. 

"There we go, you little shit. Let me into your mind." Thomas said approaching.

Despite Cinaed's struggles and resistance, he couldn't get out of the trap and before he knew it, Thomas was in front of him. Thomas grabbed both of Cinaed's arms and held him in place.

"You'll be safe under my control. Stay still. Let me into your mind." Thomas said, forcing Cinaed to look into his spiraling eyes and despite Cinaed's struggles, Cinaed slowly lost his mind.

His vision got blurry and he grew numb and went limp as he was finally hypnotized.

"There we go, you fucking brat." Thomas said with annoyance.

He cut Cinaed down from the trap and held him with his tail.

"I wonder how much I would get for sacrificing a dragon to Sir Hago." Thomas said, looking down at Cinaed. "Alright kid, let's go. The sooner I get rid of you, the better." Thomas started dragging Cinaed through the forest.

Cinaed was completely gone as if he was just an empty vessel and his mind was shut off. As they walked deeper into the forest, they stumbled upon a frozen lake. Thomas didn't realize he let go of Cinaed and Cinaed followed him over the ice. Things were going fine until nature started coming into play. Dragons are like natural born heaters so as Cinaed walked, the ice beneath him got thinner and thinner until eventually it broke and he fell into the freezing cold water and snapped out of hypnosis. 

Cinaed panicked and quickly tried to swim to the surface before something grabbed his tail and quickly started dragging him down deeper into the water. Cinaed struggled to break hold his breath but was slowly running out of air. His fire was useless under the water and there was nothing he could do. He eventually passes out from the cold water. 

After a few hours, Cinaed opened his eyes and gasped as he quickly sat up and looked around, he was wrapped in moss and he coughed up some water but he was on dry land again. He took the moss off of himself and stood up when he heard shouting. Cinaed went to investigate and peeked from behind a bush. It was Thomas but there was something off about him. He looked to be a bit…unhinged…

"That fucking brat!!! Can't even follow instructions when mind controlled! I can't wait to ust be rid of him and watch Sir Hago devour him!" Thomas shouted, his voice deep and distorted, unlike how it formerly was. His appearance was also off. He was hunched over and his limbs were extended. It became deathly clear that Thomas was not just a neko man. He was something more monstrous….something more evil.

Cinaed watched and listened in fear and horror as he realized just how dangerous this situation really was. He slowly backed up, trying to sneak away when he stepped on a twig and it snapped. Thomas turned his head and his haunting laugh echoed.

"HAHAHA! Look who decided to wake up!" Thomas shouted loudly before charging and chasing after Cinaed. 

Cinaed yelped and started running for his dear life.

"SOMEBODY!! ANYBODY!!! HELP MEEEEE!!!" Cinaed shouted and cried for help but the only response he heard was from behind him.

"You're making this so much more difficult than it has to be~ just let me into your mind and your death will be quick and painless. Just let me in, dragon boy." Thomas said close behind Cinaed.

Suddenly, Thomas's extended arm reached out and snatched Cinaed up.

"Just let me in." Thomas said, holding Cinaed up above a ledge.

"NEVER!!" Cinaed shouted in protest before summoning a fireball and throwing it at Thomas's eyes.

Thomas screeched and bellowed in pain as he dropped Cinaed and patted down his face. Cinaed yelped and grunts as he's dropped from the ledge and rolls down the steep cliff, hitting rocks, twigs and falling in the mud. Cinaed was battered and bruised but he got up and hobbled away quickly to hide. Cinaed had very little time. Thomas had already started his descent down the cliff as Cinaed quickly looked for a place to hide. Cinaed saw an opening to a tree and quickly ran and hid inside of it, covering his mouth to suppress the sound of his breathing. Thomas was now in his true nightmarish form. He was a Wendigo and his long extended limbs looked like bug legs as he was on all fours and walking along to find Cinaed.

"Oh I love playing hide and seek with my offerings. Listen here dragon boy, your sacrifice will be honorable. Your death will feed so many of us monsters. All you have to do is come out and let me control your mind so you don't feel any pain~." Thomas said, walking past Cinaed's tree.

After a few minutes it grew quiet and Cinaed let out a breath of relief.

"Found you~" Suddenly the tree got chopped down and Thomas found Cinaed.

Cinaed screamed and ran as fast as he could once again.

"HELP!!!!!! SOMEBODY!!!! IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE?!?!?! PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!" Cinaed shouted and screamed as he cried for help before instantly yelping as he tripped on a tree root and fell.

When Cinaed looked behind him and scooted back against a tree, he saw Thomas charging full speed at him and Cinaed covered himself with his arms and screamed loudly.

"I got you no-!" Thomas shouted before getting cut off.

Suddenly, rapid footsteps could be heard approaching and before anyone knew it, a cloaked figure with a sword jumped and sliced Thomas clean in half, his blood spilling all over the grass and his guts pouring out his body. Cinaed looked in fear and terror as the figure walked to him, covered in blood from Thomas's dead body.

"W-wait! P-please!" Cinaed said, holding his hand up panicking as he was expecting the worst.

"Hey…relax, you're safe now…" the figure said. Their voice was smooth and gentle, almost motherly. "Nothing can hurt you anymore".

The figure took off their cloak and smiled softly. It was a wolf lady with big wavy hair and quite muscular.

"I'm Aconia. Are you alright, kid?" Aconia asked, carefully wrapping her cloak around Cinaed.

Cinaed was shivering and he bursted out crying.

"I wanna go home! I miss my mama and dada! I want my sister!" Cinaed cries loudly. 

Aconia ears twitch as she was shocked but she carefully scoops Cinaed up and holds him close and protectively.

"Oh, you poor child…where are your parents?" She asked, looking around then looking down at him.

"T-the diamond kingdom…." Cinaed said, sniffling as he curled up in her arms.

Aconia's eyes widen and her expression turns from surprise and shock into sadness and concern.

"Sweetheart…the diamond kingdom has fallen…the king and queen were announced dead…" Aconia said, looking down at Cinaed.

Cinaed's pupils shrank and more tears rolled down his face.

"D-dead?...n-no…they can't be…" Cinaed's voice was breaking with every word and as Aconia looked into his eyes, he knew she was serious and she saw his heart breaking.

Cinaed slowly starts sobbing again and his scales, hair and eyes change color to a darker blue. Aconia saw his pain and sighs softly, holding him in her arms.

"I can take care of you…come with me, I'll keep you safe and who knows? You could even make some friends…that sounds nice doesn't it?" Aconia asked, smiling gently and rubbing Cinaed's back as he calmed down. 

Cinaed sniffles and nods, his features going back to their light blue color as he relaxes a bit.

"Good, let me carry you there since you probably had a long day." Aconia said, standing up with Cinaed in her arms.

Cinaed nodded and snuggled against her as she started carrying him out of the forest to his new home. Lumea Iadului, also known as the Spade Kingdom.