He Already Lost Too Much

[ALANOR]

It wasn't night yet, but he knew, he had been taught that hounds never let go of their prey. They never gave up food for anything else, and that was how well Alanor knew that the hound that had been beside him was still there.

"If night ever finds you out of Udrad my child, the hounds will already be out, so don't make a sound. Stay on higher grounds, they can't climb trees unless they turn to their human forms. Don't poke at them, it will make them angry and they may— they will kill you, my child.

"Don't do anything that may cause you harm" Kacy Wynter had told her son which was also why young Alanor was sure if he poked the hound, it would put an end to his misery. The animal was still there, carefully watching the kid, calculating his moves.

The hounds were wild beasts that looked like huge rabid dogs but could transform into human forms. In their true forms, the hounds were almost the same size as a fully grown lycan. The only difference between them and the lycans and werewolves, was that the hounds didn't have superspeed.

However, they made up for that with their super strength and agility. They could shift into and out of their forms freely, and were deadlier than the wolves of Acrod and even the lycans of Udrad. These creatures were ruled by their insatiable desire for blood and flesh and they would kill more than they would ever be able to show compassion.

Alanor looked at the animal, then looked at his parents' grave. It wasn't hard figuring out what was on his mind. He wanted to end his misery, ut was that a smart option or was it just happening at the moment?

The hound stared at the kid carefully, as if sure that this kid wasn't about to attack him. the stench of blood on Alanor was intense and that should have made the hound want to eat him up. However, the animal was not going anything.

Maybe the horror stories they had been told about the hounds were wrong, because this one had been beside him for a while now. Maybe if Alanotr poked him, the animal would lose its patience and give Alanor a deserving punishment.

"Hey! Hey! Do something you huge animal" Alanor said frustratedly, poking the hound with a stick he had picked up. It was huge and heavy for his hands, but he was ready to do anything to make the hound angry.

The animal just stared at the kid blankly, almost like he was telling Alanor that his plan wouldn't work. But then the young Wynter was determined. SO he poked and kept poking like he was being paid to.

He wanted an angry hound.

Having had enough of the kid's antics, the hound growled at Alanor as if warning the boy against trying to poke him because honestly, it was annoying.

"Hey" Alanor poked again and the hound just looked at him, as if the animal was warning him, but would young Alanor listen? He kept trying to poke at the animal, but each time, instead of doing anything, it just stood there.

As Alanor was doing his thing with the hound, a group of rowdy men passed by and spotted the hound and the young kid.

They looked like an irrational group of kids who were out to have fun, so they walked towards the hound and Alanor, but even before they could reach them, the hound let out a warning growl, before running after the group of boys.

Whatever was happening here, Alanor didn't know what to do. It wasn't part of his plans, but then he never had a plan anyway. So he sat next to his parents, waiting for what he wasn't even sure of.

Maybe tonight would be the night he would get to be with his parents.

Maybe it would be their reunion.

The Wynter house.

****

"I'm tired papa," Alanor said as he sat next to his parents' grave. He had lost count of the number of days he had been sitting here. But he knew for a fact that it had been a while since he had last eaten.

He wasn't sure whether the hound he had seen was a part of his dreams or everything is a reality. He wasn't sure if meeting Unar was also true or his brain had made all that up to make him feel better.

However, there was one thing that young Alanor was sure of. He was tired. Tired of fighting and trying to hold on. He was too hungry and too dehydrated. The sight of the forest made his eyes hurt, especially since he had spent most of his time mourning his parents and sleeping next to their grave.

If the hound he had seen had been real, then he was a lucky kid, because that hound had chased away a bunch of annoying children who were probably targeting him. Unsure of how many nights and days he had spent beside his parents, Alanor knew he wasn't going to survive like this.

He had tried everything possible to put himself in harm's way and find the easiest route to be with his parents, but it seemed like the fates didn't have that in the plan for him. He had failed, maybe because he was a child, or he had failed because it wasn't his time yet, maybe because he had an admission.

Then again, the young Wynter was alone and without anyone. He had no one to trust and no one to turn to. It did help that he wasn't sure about what the old man at the gates of Udrad had told him.

One thing was certain though, he was still alive for a reason and he couldn't let himself wither next to his parents. Maybe he needed to be alive to find out what had happened and why his parents were put to death by stoning.

Maybe there was more to the theories and maybe, Alanor just ended up opening his eyes and decided on avenging his parents. Whichever option there was, the young Alnor knew he had to find a place.

He needed to rejuvenate and get his strength back. He needed to be strong and ready to fight. Life wasn't always going to be easy and he knew that, so he would try and live it in the only way he knew how. He would survive.