2 Their Kind

Three Weeks Later

Himitsu travels through an empty field, his skin now tan and sun-burnt from travelling for so long in the sun. His old clothes and backpack have been replaced. He wears a white tunic, brown pants, and matching brown boots. A leather bag is draped over his shoulders, Leon sleeping comfortably inside the main pocket. A belt keeping his pants up is tied tightly around his waist, a sheath, with a medium length iron sword resting inside it, attached on the left side. A riverside village isn't too far away.

As he enters the town, he hears a commotion coming from the town square.

"Help, please, someone!" A young girl cries.

"Get outta here!"

"No one wants your kind!"

"You flew here, go fly somewhere else kid!"

Himitsu enters the square, a large fountain in the center. A group of men surround a young girl, a little younger than Leon, with black hair. She's sitting by the fountain. One of the men kicks her in the side, making her fall to the ground. She starts crying.

"Look at it, crying as if it's human!" One of the men state with disgust.

"Hey!" Himitsu shouts, catching their attention. The men all turn around to face nothing more than a boy, "Why the, fuck, did you kick that child!?" He asks, looking at them with disdain.

"This ain't no child, it's one of those, therian, freaks,"

"And how do you know that?"

"We just saw it fly down as a bird, then poof it turns into what looks like a child,"

Himitsu glares at them before he draws his sword.

"Get away from her, now," He threatens, not caring about how outnumbered he is. Onlookers start to chat away.

"What, are you one too?" One of the men asks, all of them looking down at him as if he's not even a person, "What are you really? A rat? Maybe a Rabbit?"

"I'm a human, you dumb ass," He replies. The man gets angry.

"Todd, stop this!" A woman shouts as she runs up to the men, "What are you doing?!"

"Me and the boys were just teaching this thing a lesson when this kid comes up threatening me," The woman glances down at the crying girl.

"Oh, you poor child," The woman says sorrowfully as she pushes her way through the men and kneels down by the girl, "Are you alright?" She taps on the girls shoulder and there's a sudden flash. A small crow suddenly flies off away from the town.

"Wait!" The woman exclaims. Himitsu quickly takes off after the bird. Meanwhile the woman turns to her husband, disgusted. She then slaps him across the face.

"You should be ashamed of yourself," She states before she hurries off in the same direction as Himitsu.

"Hey, Cindy, wait up!" Todd shouts as he runs after her. The young girl doesn't make it far, coming back down to the ground and rolling when she hits the ground. She turns back to human, stumbling back up onto her feet, her side still hurting from the kick. Himitsu spots the girl, finally getting a chance to catch his breath as he walks up to her.

"Hey, kid," He says through winded breath, "You alright?" The girl backs away from him as he tries to walk up to her. He stops, "I'm not gonna hurt you. Look," He reaches into his bag, pulling a tired lion cub. He puts the cub on the ground and with a bright flash, turns into a kid who yawns and rubs his eyes.

"Is it dinner time already?" Leon asks as he looks around. He finds himself staring at a young girl a little younger than him, looking at him in awe, "You're not Himitsu," He says groggily.

"Little girl?! Little girl where are you?" A woman's voice calls out. The girl quickly runs to Himitsu's side, holding onto his shirt tightly.

"What's going on?" Leon asks as he gets up, stretching his arms.

"Little girl!? Little-" The woman spots the three of them, then hurries over to them, "I'm so glad you're alright," She states relieved, "Are you alright? Did those men do anything to you?" She asks with concern. The girl just cowers behind Himitsu.

"Cindy?! Cinder where are you!?"

"Young man, what's your name?" She asks.

"Himitsu,"

"Himitsu, do you know where Dusho is?"

"Never heard of it,"

"Just keep heading north. You'll either reach it, or reach a giant river. If you reach the river, follow it to the west, you hear me? It's the only place therians are safe,"

"...Thanks," He replies.

"No problem. You need to get going, before Todd finds you. Himitsu nods in response.

"Leon, get in the bag," He states with a bit of urgency. Leon turns back into a lion, slumping down onto the ground. Himitsu quickly picks it up by the scruff, throwing him into the bag. He opens up a separate, smaller pocket. The girl looks at it, then at the woman, then at Himitsu, "Come on, we're heading to Dusho," She turns into a bird, flying into the pocket. Himitsu closes the pocket, then tightens the straps of the bag before he takes off.

…

As the sun starts to set, Himitsu makes a small campfire. He sits down on the ground.

"Alright, come on out you two," He says as he takes the bag off his back.. The girl quickly comes flying out of the bag, Leon still sound asleep. Himitsu pulls him out, placing him on the ground. Leon simply rolls over to the other side.

"The name's Himitsu. His is Leon," He gestures to the sleeping fur ball, "What's your's?" He asks with a gentle voice as the girl huddles up by the fire.

"Helena…" She responds.

"Alright, Helena, I'm gonna go find us something to eat, so stay here, and make sure Leon doesn't go anywhere, alright?' Helena nods, "I'll be back, I promise," He reassures her before taking off. Helena sits there, looking at the warm fire. Leon rolling over again catches her attention. She gets up and walks over to him, kneeling down. She slowly lowers a hand, gently placing it on the cub. His fur is a bit rough, but it feels nice. It reminds her of the kitten back home. A single teardrop falls from her chin onto the ground below as she sits down, petting Leon.

Himitsu comes back, a rabbit in hand, and sees Helena giving Leon a belly rub.

"Looks like you two are getting along nicely," Himitsu comments as he walks up to the fire.

Leon turns back to human upon seeing Himitsu put the rabbit over the fire.

"Rabbit, my favorite!" He exclaims as he gets up and hurries over to the fire.

…

With their stomachs full, and the full moon over their heads, Himitsu and Helena sit on the ground, watching the fire as Leon snores away.

"...Did you run away too?" Himitsu asks as he gazes up at the moon.

"Hm?"

"Leon here ran away," He glances down at Leon, sprawled out on the dirt ground, "Cause his family couldn't deal with him being a therian. What about you?"

"I, didn't runaway...I escaped, thanks to my parents…"

"Escaped? Were you being hunted?" Helena shakes her head before looking down at the ground.

"No. Some strangers in black came. They, they started hurting everyone, and houses were burning. I wanted to stay, but my parents made me flee," She tucks in her knees, wrapping her arms around them tightly, "I hope they made it out okay," Himitsu stares at her for a solid minute before speaking.

"I'm sure they are," He states before laying down and staring up at the moon, "And I'll help you find them, wherever they are,".

Helena glances up, looking at him, a smile blooming on her face. She lets out a yawn, and decides to call it a night, laying down on her side.

…

Helena wakes up to the sound of scratching. She opens her eyes, seeing its still night time. She can just barely make out an outline on the other side of where the fire use to be. They're shaking. Quick, short breaths can be heard. She wants to get up and do something, but drowsiness quickly takes over and she falls back asleep.