Ch. 2: A New Life

Young: So here's the second chapter. I really like where I'm going with this story so far, so the chapters are just kind of flowing out of my hands. Though I wouldn't be surprised if things slow down later. After all, I start school in three weeks...
Lloyd: Oh don't feel too bad. I'm sure they'll understand.
Me: I hope so...xD Anyways, DISCLAIM ME MORTAL.
Lloyd: That implies that you are not mortal, which isn't true.
Me: Whatever! Just disclaim me.
Lloyd: Fine. D: Young doesn't own ToS or Namco.
Me: Onward!

The boy, Lloyd, followed closely behind the dwarf, the only reason being the fact that he smelt food. And cooked food was something of a luxury to him, so he enjoyed it when he could. Though in truth he did prefer things raw. But this scent was just so tantalizing that it couldn't be ignored. He paused, listening intently. For a moment, he'd thought he heard a howl. A sad, tortured howl. As he listened, however, he didn't hear anything. Shrugging it off as his oddness, he continued following the strange man. A few moments later, they arrived at what appeared to be some large, wooden creation.

"This is where ah live." The stranger stated, gesturing towards the house.

However, Lloyd's eyes were focused elsewhere. He stared towards the left side of the house. There was an odd stone structure. Looking at it made him feel...oddly nostalgic. He ignored the dwarf's words of explanation and moved towards the strange creation. He knelt, brown locks falling into his face. Pushing them away with a hand, he examined the stone. There were...things, symbols, carved into it that he couldn't make out. The surface was cool, and he found himself pressing his forehead against it.

"What're ye doin', Lloyd?" A voice spoke behind him.

He turned his gaze towards the stranger, who still hadn't told him his name. The brunette still couldn't quite understand what he was saying, but he could almost tell that it was a question. He pointed at the stone a questioning glint in his eyes. Removing his head from the surface, he looked down and noticed a strange, blue gem lying on the ground. He reached for it, and he only heard a shout before everything went black.

The dwarf moved to the boy, catching him before he hit the ground. Why did the exsphere...? Pushing his questions to the back of his mind, he gently lifted the teenager, for that's what he looked like, and moved towards his house. A loud bark shifted his attention from the male in his arms. His gaze drifted to the edge of the clearing. A strange, large green and white creature stood there, gazing intently at the boy.

"Ye know this child, Noishe?"

Another bark signaled that the answer was 'Yes'.

Nodding, the dwarf sighed and entered his house. Laying the boy on a nearby couch, he moved towards his forge and began digging through the various ores and tools that lay scattered about. It took a few minutes for him to find the object he was looking for. He held up a small circular trinket towards the light to make sure he had the right thing. Deciding that it would do, he moved back to the unconscious brunette and carefully lifted his left arm.

Sitting in the middle of the back of the boys hand was the blue exsphere that had been with the woman when he'd buried her. Her name was Anna, and he vaguely remembered a man named Kratos who had helped him with the task. Was Lloyd somehow involved with the apparent couple? He once again shrugged away the questions, but also silently remembered that Kratos hadn't come back to visit the grave, even though he'd promised. It was odd...

With a quiet grunt, the dwarf pushed the object in his hands onto the exsphere.

"That should do it." He murmured, before heading upstairs to get a blanket.

xXxXx

When Lloyd awoke next, he found himself feeling oddly numb. Not to mention, the room around him smelt off. He couldn't scent any of his pack-mates, and it didn't smell like he was outside either. He forced himself to remain calm, and then attempted to figure more about his surroundings while still feigning sleep. Finding nothing, he cracked one eye open, and found that he didn't have any idea where he was.

He shot up, pushed himself off the couch, and dashed for the window.

"Where do you think yer goin', boy?"

Lloyd's reaction was immediate. His entire body tensed, and he slowly turned himself to face the source of the voice. He vaguely remembered that it was the man who he'd met earlier, the one who he'd followed because the promise of food. Now that he was fully awake, adrenaline pumping through his veins, and his heart pounding, he could faintly pick out the smell of cooking food under the strong scent of dwarf.

"Don't worry. I'm not 'ere to hurt ye. I wanted to help ye." The dwarf stood, and held up his hands to show that he wasn't going to attempt anything. He could tell that this boy had been in the woods for some time, and that he had instincts that were most likely telling him to get the hell out of this place, "Mah name is Dirk. I'm a dwarf. I ain't goin' to hurt ye." With that, he turned and pointed towards the table, "Eat, if ye want."

Lloyd's eyes shifted from the man to the food. Before Dirk could react, the boy had sprinted to the table and began shoveling food into his face. Ignoring the silverware that sat next to the bowl, the brunette chose to instead lift the object to his face and slurp down all the soup he could. He wanted to eat before this stranger could attack him. He hadn't understood anything that the man had said, but it seemed as though he wasn't going to hurt Lloyd due to his lax nature. His mistake, of course. As soon as he was done here, the teen would go back to the woods. To his family. They were probably very worried.

Dirk watched the human eat, and then began to move towards the table. Slowly, and carefully, he sat across from the boy, and chose to examine him. His nature was completely like that of an animal. He would definitely need to be taught to speak again. And read, for that matter. It would be a difficult process, but the dwarf was determined to help this child. After all, he looked so much like the- That's when it hit him. He looked like the woman, Anna, that he'd buried all those years ago. Could...could it be? But Kratos hadn't said anything about a child...but the similarities were uncanny.

"Are ye done?" He questioned, when the child set the bowl down. Not receiving a response, he decided that the human probably was done, "Now, Lloyd, ah would like to ask ye some questions." When the other didn't seem to object, though it was likely that he didn't understand a word Dirk was saying, "Do ye remember yer mother?" Despite his lack of speaking, the brunette did seem to understand a few key words, so perhaps one of the words in his inquiry would set something off.

Lloyd's eyes snapped open at the word mother. That was the only one he'd gotten, anyways. But...he had one of those. The alpha's mate was his mother, yes...? Then why, why did he get images of a woman with long brown hair that looked almost exactly like his. A green dress...she wore a green dress. But it was stained with red. That was right. She'd been killed. Stabbed in the stomach. So why did he...why had he gone with the wolves? Where had his dad gone?

Seeing the realization flash in the boys eyes, Dirk continued, "Ah see. Was yer mother's name Anna?"

Another brief flash of recognition showed that Lloyd has somehow understood.

"In that case, that stone outside. It's yer mom's. She was killed." Despite the fact that the boy would not understand, Dirk knew that somehow the message would get through. There was a chance that Lloyd knew that his mother was dead, and if he did, then would probably get the fact that she had been buried. Though the chances were slim. Sliding his chair back, Dirk stood, "Well, let's get ye cleaned up, shall we?" With that, he motioned for Lloyd to follow him to the back door of the house.

Once outside, the dwarf gestured to the hot spring, "Clean up. Then we'll cut yer hair."

Lloyd stared curiously at the steaming water. His gaze flashed to Dirk for a moment, before refocusing on the spring. Was this some sort of...bathing spot? Normally he just washed his face, but...perhaps here he was supposed to go into the water? He crept forward, and placed one bare foot into the liquid. It was surprisingly warm. Glancing back towards the door, he found that the dwarf had gone back inside, but there was a white cloth on the ground. Ignoring that, he moved his other foot into the water.

During the bath, Lloyd had stared curiously at the strange object now apparently embedded into his hand. His eyes narrowed, and he placed a few fingers at its edges. To his dismay, it didn't come off. Was it some kind of thing that the dwarf had placed on him to keep him here? But...the man had seemed so nice, and he didn't feel bad or anything. A few cautious sniffs at himself and he found no injuries whatsoever. Shrugging, he decided to just leave it be.

Not much later, Lloyd found himself sitting calmly in the warm liquids, enjoying the way it felt on his skin. There was the sound of footsteps, and he jerked, his gaze flying to the doorway. Dirk stood there, holding some odd red thing in his hands. He set it on the ground and then pushed the white object towards the boy.

"Dry off with that, and then you can dress yourself in these." With that, the man was gone.

Lloyd stared questioningly at the red thing, and lifted himself from the warm water. The air was chilly, and the sun was just starting to dip below the horizon. Frowning, he picked up the white thing and found that it was rough, but soft. Dropping that, he lifted the red object, and out fell a pair of dark black pants, and a black tank top. That left the over-shirt in his hands. Tilting his head, he slipped the pants on and then held onto the other two items, thinking that maybe Dirk would want them back? Or something?

When he entered the house again, he found that the soft mass that had been covering him earlier was now back on the...the bed...? That he'd been laying on. Shrugging mentally, he entered the kitchen, seeing the dwarf standing by some odd stone object. He made a grunting noise, usually something that was a greeting, towards the man, attempting to get his attention. He didn't know what to do with the articles in his hand.

"Ye done?" Dirk turned to face the boy. Gesturing towards the objects in the boy's hands, he stated, "Those things go on yerself, boy." Seeing that Lloyd hadn't understood anything, he stepped forward and took the tank top and over-shirt. He stared questioningly at the younger for a moment, before lifting the black article and slipping it over the boy's head, "Yer arms go there...and, done! Now the over-shirt." He repeated his actions, and found that the boy looked relatively human now, "And now, for yer haircut."

Needless to say, Dirk suffered from various scratches that evening.

xXAbout 1 Year LaterXx

"Lloyd, breakfast!"

A shout awoke the sleeping boy. It was something that he'd gotten used to hearing. Something that he'd gotten to almost like hearing. Like it meant that he finally had someone to talk to. Not that he didn't miss his family. He'd tried running away few more times, but that strange creature named Noishe followed him every time, and managed to drag him back here, kicking and screaming and sometimes even crying. But...other than the ache in his heart, he was fine here. He...almost enjoyed living here.

Not only had he settled into something of what Dirk considered a normal life, but he also apparently looked more presentable now. He didn't really care about his appearance, but Dirk said he looked like less of a crazy man now, so that probably meant something good. Needless to say, his hair was shorter, and styled so that it stuck up everywhere, and his nails had been trimmed. After the fiasco with the first time he'd gotten his hair cut, Dirk had decided it was best his nails were clipped.

Pushing himself out of bed, he dressed himself in the clothes that were becoming increasingly familiar. He didn't like wearing them, for it made him feel constricted. Like if he had to run, he wouldn't be able to move as quickly, but Dirk insisted. Once again going on about him looking "presentable" and "human". Slipping on boots, another thing that bugged him intensely, he headed downstairs to eat.

"G'morning, Lloyd." The dwarf said from by the stove.

Lloyd nodded his head in greetings. Though he could understand most of the words people said now, and he could even speak a few himself, he couldn't get rid of the learned behavior that the wolves taught him. Sometimes, he even found himself growling at things, though most of the time he could avoid it. It was a habit, after all, and habits weren't easily broken.

Sitting down at the table, he looked at the plate in front of him and had to resist the urge to shove his face into it. Lately, his caretaker had been attempting to teach him manners, and to use silverware. It wasn't necessary in Lloyd's mind, but it was Dirk, and Dirk had been taking care of him this entire time, so he was willing to try. Picking up the fork, he stared at it for a moment before scooping some of the eggs up and shoveling them into his mouth.

"So, Lloyd, what do ye think 'bout starting school today? Ah've already enrolled ye."

Said teens gaze flashed to the dwarf, "S-school...?" He asked, having trouble forming the unfamiliar word.

Dirk nodded, "Tis a place where ye go to learn things. Like math. Remember that?" The dwarf sat down at the table across from the boy. Over the year they'd been together, Lloyd had become something of a son to him, and so he wanted to do everything he could to make the other more...well, more human. It used to frighten him when Lloyd would bark or growl, but now, he got used to it, and would gently chide the child and tell him that he'd done "it" again. It was like the brunette didn't even realize it when he did it.

"Learn?" Lloyd asked, curious now.

"Ya. They'll teach ye everythin' ah couldn't."

"S...sure..." Lloyd murmured, and then continued on with his breakfast.

Afterwards, he helped Dirk clean up, and then went upstairs to prepare himself for his first day of...school.

Me: So there you have it! I like this chapter. Well, mostly. xD I hope you did too. :3
Lloyd: So review. And stuffs. Cause you know you like this story. ;D
Me: Also, I would like to thank all those who reviewed on the last chapter. You make me smiles. :D Thanks! Bye bye!