Meeting Unar

The silence that followed was comfortable and Alanor fell asleep again. He was phasing in and out of sleep because he was suffering from fatigue and mental exhaustion.

He had been crying the whole time, but since he heard the hunters, he could only hope that he didn't sniffle because then, the humans would know there was someone else, and they would probably shoot at him.

For a boy who had lost everything and didn't have anything more to lose, for a kid that didn't care about so many things, he sure cared about the final goodbye to his parents. He cared about the closure he would get by going to them.

He cared about the possibility of being beside them. He wanted to know where they were. He needed to know.

The young Wynter didn't know what happened next after that because when he woke up, it was morning again. Or maybe he was just hallucinating.

Getting up, he decided to continue his journey to his parents, hunger making him feel like he was being poked by hundreds of thorns. No matter what happened to him, nothing would stop Alanor from saying his final goodbyes.

He would walk on air if need be, but he knew his only destination would be his parents' graves.

Maybe he was being stupid, going out there and alone, but what else was there for him? He had lost more than he ever thought he would. He was a child, and to everyone right now, he looked like an extra mouth to feed, and no one wanted that.

Even if they took him in, he couldn't trust anyone.

"Oh, hey you!" A voice interrupted Alanor's thinking, almost making the boy jump out of his skin. He hadn't been paying attention to his surrounding, and that was a mistake that could have cost him his life.

If he wanted to go to his parents and actually reach them, Alanor had to be very careful with how he worked his way around the forest that was home to all the creatures of the world. just because everyone was scared of the hounds, never meant that the hounds were the only creatures here.

It only meant that they were more beastly and had more inhumane tendencies compared to the other animals.

'Great, another obstacle' Alanor said as he waited for the harsh voice to come at him and do whatever they wanted with him.

At this point, he didn't care anymore, and honestly, nothing surprised him. While waiting, Alanor took a good look at himself. His clothes were dirty and there was a stench coming off of him. He smelled like the blood of his parents, the mix of the harsh sun and the thought nights.

He looked like he had walked out of hell, with the good thing being that his bruises had healed. However, for the first time, he wondered how he hadn't been tracked y the hounds. He was considered in blood and there was nothing those creatures loved more than blood.

They never cared whose blood it was, as long as it was blood.

His bruises had healed, the only evidence of his hurt, being the dried bloodstains.

His feet were still hurting, probably because he had started walking on the harsh forest floor again. His hands were dirty, though he had no memory of how that happened, but it wasn't like he was about to ask anyone anyway.

"Hey!" the voice said again.

"If you're going to kill me, get on with it, or let me see my parents' graves. Whichever voice you make, please be quick, I don't have the whole day" Alanor said defeatedly, not even caring to look back at the voice. If he wanted to talk, then the person needed to come in front of Alanor.

The only energy the young Wynter had left, was meant for him to go and see his parents. From there, he would decide whether to go to Greroth or just walk back to Urdad and meet the same fate as his parents.

Nothing scared him anymore.

No one could hurt him anymore.

He was numb to the pain.

"Are you okay?" The voice asked, and that was all Alanor needed to know that the voice wasn't dangerous. If he had been keen earlier, he would have known that the voice belonged to a boy probably a year younger than him.

"Go away," Alanor said to the kid who didn't seem to get any of the hints that the young Wynter was giving him. He hadn't even turned to see who the kid was, but then Alaor wasn't here to make friends. All he had with him was pain and grief. He had lost so much and so many times in one day.

He had to rethink everything and consider all the reasons he was here. He had no idea why his parents had been subjected to that cruel fate, but he wished he had answers. maybe then, he would have known that there was more to life than just a kingdom.

There were truths hidden from him, and he knew it. maybe when he grew older, he would find them.

But did Alanor want to grow older?

"Wait," the boy said.

"What?" Alanor answered irritatedly, finally turning back to see the annoying kid who was determined to not give him peace.

The kid was a little younger than him, probably nine years old. He had beautiful hair that was in a bun carefully tied to his back. He wasn't clean but compared to the young Wynter, this strange kid was clean.

Oh his feet, he was missing a sandal. and he looked naughty.

"I'm Unar," the boy said, his face lighting up happily with a smile. He looked so cute when he smiled, and Alanor could have told him if their circumstances of meeting were different, but then that was just impossible right now.

He wasn't happy himself, so positive vibes were just not Alanor's cup of tea.

"Good for you, now goodbye, and don't follow me," Alanor said to Unar as he continued his journey, only to be interrupted by the boy again.

"Here, I can tell you're hungry. You can have my food, and if you return it, I'll pester you till you reach your destination," Unar said and Alanor considered his options. He didn't want someone nagging him, so he took the food.

He didn't care that it was probably poisoned. He was hungry and if Unar was going to be the end of him, then that would be unfortunate. But for now, he needed to think as he walked to his destination.

"Thank you," Alanor said, smiling at Unar before they went separate ways.

Alanor was thankful for a lot of things. For starters, it was the food he was given by Unar. He was really hungry and even though he didn't want to show it, this food right here was the best thing that had happened to him in the past sixteen hours.

he was also thankful for the fact that Unar, despite seeing the state Alanor was in, didn't ask what had happened. Anyone could tell that Alanor was in pain, and Unar had respected that. Any kid could have been curious, but instead of all that, Unar had respected his grief.

Even the people that Unar was with hadn't said a thing, and that made Alanor wonder who the kid was. However, he knew he had o time to think of others. He had a pair of graves to get to, and goodbyes to formalize.