The Beginning

"Mina was adopted by Bickslow's dad?" Evergreen stated dumbly to the hellhound sitting in front of her. Her jaw felt like a hinge had come loose. This was news to her! Ever had thought that she knew everything about Adamine's life. She knew Adam was a princess before anyone else had, but apparently there was even more to know about. Great.

"Yeah. The two of them grew up together in Kindred Spirit. Here. Let me just take it from the top."

Year X777

Kingdom of Lancet

Adamine shivered as she crept through the filthy streets of Wolfrun. Her face was covered in dust. She felt like there were cobwebs in her hair. She was cold. She was alone. She was starving. Her stomach had been empty ever since she'd wandered into this city.

In the city there were no birds to capture. There were no fish to catch. All that there were was rats. Large, naked tailed rats that Firmalione had warned her never to eat. She had curled her lips in disgust at them as they seemed to mock her with bits of food in their mouths.

Now, though, she was lost. Somehow, she had gotten lost amidst the strange structures built by human hands. She didn't know how to get back out and into nature. Her little fangs chewed on her pink bottom lip as she nervously darted her eyes around the column she hid behind.

She was so hungry. Her stomach growled at her like Firmalione's scolding. Adamine wasn't sure what she was going to do until a lovely scent wafted past her nose. Ah. It was meat. More precisely, venison.

Her mouth watered as she watched a woman in commoner's clothing swish her curvy hips towards an open air market. Adamine was so starved, so penniless. Her stomach moved her as she slipped from the Doric column and towards the woman carrying a platter of meats.

Through massive groups of common people she walked. Her big, green eyes took in the sights with awe. She'd never seen such strange structures. They were tall and multileveled like trees, but instead of having branches, they were clustered inwards. There were all kinds of people that looked like her.

They walked on two legs like she did. They spoke in Lance like she did. It was so strange to a girl who had lived amongst nature all her life. She missed the chattering squirrels and bickering raccoons.

Still, Adam didn't have time to worry with her lack of nature. Her eyes were still glued to the plate the woman held on a platter. Adamine nervously jumped from person to person, trying her hardest not to bump into anyone, and once the woman sat her plate down at a market stall, Adamine crouched down like a predator ready to strike.

Her eyes took in the oblivious customers. They chatted with the merchants and rested their hands on laughing children. Everyone was oblivious to the dirty girl wearing nothing but rags that fell off her young frame.

She leaned in closer, watching as other children began to take notice of her. One in particular grinned at her. He had slanted crimson eyes with swirls running inwards along either side of his nose. A paper doll shape was tattooed across his face. The marking matched his wildly spiked dark blue hair.

The boy with the facial tattoo motioned to the empty stall Adamine was stalking, and Adamine cast him a scowl. He had better not tell on her. She stuck her tongue out at him before leaping up to snag a piece of jerky off the plate.

As soon as she did, a loud screech came from the lips of the female merchant. "Catch that girl! Thief! Thief!"

Adamine stuck her tongue out at the merchant lady and kept running. Quickly, she shoved the food into her mouth, ripping it to pieces with her dragon fangs. People stared at her. Some merchants ran at her. It was utter chaos as Adamine slid between legs and jumped over market stalls. Her greedy hands reached out and snatched up more food to shove in her face while she escaped.

Her laughing face charged forward, but just when Adam was positive she was about to escape, her body flattened itself against a massive guard. The armored male took one glance at the jerky hanging from Adamine's lips and turned to snatch her up. Fear was evident in her eyes until something snagged her wrist. "This way!" a boy's voice called out. Another voice mimicked, "This way, this way!"

With the vise grip locked down around her wrist, it wasn't like Adamine could resist. Her feet shuffled up in a clumsy mess of tangling limbs before she ran hand in hand with the spiky haired boy that'd been grinning at her.

Side by side, they leaped over a fence, and into a field of sheep. The livestock squealed at their presence. Fluffy bodies dashed away hastily. "Catch them!" a farmer cried out, and Adamine gaped to see five guards had gathered to chase them.

"We're gunna get caught!" Adamine screeched.

"No, we aren't," the spiky haired boy snickered. "Go, my baby!"

Just then, Adamine noticed a small wooden doll hovered at the side of the boy's face. The doll let loose a blast of green magic that had Adamine's lips parting. Magic! Real magic! Adamine had never met another one other than herself that could use real magic!

Even as she stared at his doll in awe, the boy jumped off the side of a hill. Their bodies went tumbling into a mass of intertwining limbs before they crash landed into a small stream. Breathless, Adamine shoved herself to her feet. No, no, no! They were still being followed.

She snatched the tattooed boy's hand up. Her eyes scanned for an escape, and when she finally found a small hole in the side of a creek, she dove for it. Moss hung heavily over the burrowed animal home. Caked up mud made a cantilever to shield the dwelling, and it was just small enough for them to fit in. "Come on, come on!" Adamine chanted to the grinning boy.

Eagerly, he followed her through the tiny enclosure. They crawled and they crawled through wet mud and mushy foliage before finally coming upon an open area. Once inside, the two collapsed back against the dryer dirt walls.

Adam breathlessly said, "Thank you!" Her chest heaved from running what felt like miles, and her adrenaline still thrust her heart into overdrive.

"Not a… Not a… A problem," he heaved with that goofy grin still plastered to his face.

Overhead, the two of them could hear the guards trampling the ground.

"Where did they go?"

"I dunno. They just disappeared."

"Damn mages. First they steal our food then they attack us. They all deserve to be killed."

"Don't give up yet. They were young. I bet they didn't get too far."

Adamine's eyes grew wide. Killed? They… they wanted to kill them? Why? Humans didn't eat each other for survival. They had no reason to kill them. That was the only reason she ever killed anything.

The boy on the other hand just grinned at the coup they'd pulled off. His totem doll spun happily beside him, and once he thought that the guards were gone, his mouth erupted into a loud wave of the most evil laughter Adamine had ever heard.

It was loud and raspy like a cackling male witch. Still, Adam couldn't help but cracking a grin herself. Her lips bust open with a befanged smile, and she laughed until she snorted. Which only resulted in even more laughter.

"We totally won that! Didn't we, baby?" the boy asked of his doll. It cried, "Won that!"

Adamine gave a gentle grin. This was amazing. It was her first encounter with a real human ever since Firmalione disappeared. Adam didn't know whether to be scared or happy. Since they didn't get kidnapped, Adamine decided on happy. Still, her face flushed when the boy appeared inches before her.

His red eyes seemed to glow before they went into a vivid green. Adamine could only stare in astonishment as his grin grew impossibly wider. With a beet red face, he admitted, "You have the prettiest soul I've ever seen."

Flustered, Adamine scrambled, "Uh. Um. Eh. T-t-thanks. I think." She scratched at her wild hair and pulled down on the camo bandana that covered her face. The tattoo that she tried to hide from the world was revealed to the young boy, and she flinched when he reached for it.

It didn't deter him on the other hand. He reached up to trace the beautiful tribal dragon Adamine was cursed with. "Whoa. This is so cool. So, are you a Seith Mage like me?"

"S-Seith mage?"

"Yeah. I control souls. Like I can see yours, and Peppe is a soul. I can put him into things. Dad calls him a pol-polter-polstergiest No. That's not it. Poltergeist. Yeah! That's the word! So, if you aren't a Seith Mage, then what are you?" The boy tilted his head, and Adamine's blushed deepened.

She'd never talked to a human before. She wasn't sure what she should do. After biting her lip, Adamine admitted, "I'm a dragon slayer."

"Dragon Slayer? What's that? Sounds awesome!"

"I… uh… It's a… Um. Let me just show you." Adamine reached her hand out between them and flipped her scales over. They went from soft skin to hard adamant instantly, and the boy snatched her hand up hastily.

"That's so cool! I got to show you to my dad! He would think you were so cool!"

"Sh-show me? But, I-I…" Adamine glanced around in their muddy cave hide out. She looked for an alternate escape other than the one the boy was leading her through by her hand. Without another way of escape, she was forced to escape the muddy dwelling.

The boy didn't let her stop there though. With a firm grip on her hand, he started running towards a broken fence. "Come on! We have sheep! You'll wanna see them. Oh. My name's Bickslow by the way. Once we get to the guild, I want you to meet my dad. His name is Spyro. If you aren't a wimp, you might even be able to join us." His crimson eyes held a glint of wickedness within them, and it was a challenge the dragon in Adamine couldn't back down from.

With her own grin, Adamine responded, "I'm Adamine, and I bet I'm ten, no, a hundred times stronger than you!"

*blush* AH! I love little Mina and Bix. They are just so cute. I can't help myself and write about their past whenever possible. It's just so adorable. If anyone has some ideas or anything gimme a holler! Thank you for reading.