Chapter 2: Lost

Kija's eyelids felt like there were lead weights on them. His throat hurt, but not as badly as the rest of his body. It felt like he was laying on pin and needles. Everything hurt. He wanted to cry out, but doing so would hurt as well. He could feel hot tears escape his eyes and drip down the side of his temples onto the soft bedding. A plus to his pain was that he was laying on something soft and he had something warm covering him.

He was dimly aware that he wasn't alone. On either side of him he had somebody. A smaller hand than his own was clutching his dragon hand. It was too small to be Baa Baa's hand. Suddenly a large hand picked his head up, forced his lips apart as a liquid was poured down his throat. It had a medicinal taste to it, so he knew it was medicine. Within minutes the world around him began to fade to black as the drugs made him go unconscious once more.

Mundok watched as Hak held the Hakuryuu boy's hand as he gave the boy medicine to make the pain go away. He could tell the boy was beginning to awaken, so when the drug took effect he could see the child's body relax. "Stay with him." he told Hak who gave a nod.

Walking out of the room, Mundok pulled the sliding doors shut behind him. To his side was Tae-kun, his second in command. The man was one of the most honorable men he knew; which was why he was put in charge of guarding the Hakuryuu boy. Giving him a nod, Mundok began walking away down the hall until he found himself outside in the back gardens. As the wind General, he had no choice but to tell King Joo-nam about his discovery, there wSnt a question that the King would believe him, it was Lord Yu-hon that worried him. The sky General and firstborn son of King Joo-nam had chased out the Priest's of the Dragon Temple only a few weeks ago after the Prophesy had been given concerning the newly born Princess Yona. The days following the destruction of the priesthood, Yu-hon had ordered that all books of the Foundation Myth to be destroyed. There had been bonfires for the books destruction. Now it turned out that the myth was no longer myth but truth. Yu-hon will want the young Hakuryuu's life extinguished immediately; something the wind tribe will never allow and the earth tribe will back the wind due to their own mythology saying that the first Hakuryuu created their tribe.

Looking up into the sky Mundok took a deep breath. Things will get complicated. he thought to himself. There will be a war over this, undoubtedly. He looked at the scroll in his hand that he had yet to send out. He rolled the scroll in his hand, debating if he truly should send it out. If the myth of the warriors was found to be true, not only would this boy's life be in danger, but so would the infant Prince Yona's.

For the first time in a long time, Mundok did not know what to do. His duty to his King and his heart were in conflict. He also want to drink very badly, but it was a very bad idea to drink in the daytime. Taking a deep breath he turned back towards the manor. A servant standing nearby, he handed the sealed scroll to the servant to be given to a messenger. If war is what the Kami wants in order to bring about a new age, then so be it. He needed to prepare for the worst, yet he hoped for the best.

Late that night a blond haired youth snuck into the wind chief manor. Sliding against a wall, the youth looked down the hall to see two guards near a door that he assumed held his young Hakuryuu brother in. His plan was to escape with the boy and return him home without incident, but with guards nearby he wasn't certain he'd be able to do it without hurting anybody.

Taking a dagger in his hand, he lifted his other hand and cut it several times until he began to feel the golden scales creep up his body. Taking a deep breath he rushed forward towards the two men. Kicking one in the chest, he swung his arm around and punched the other in the face. Both me flew against the opposite walls, and slid down them unconscious.

Pushing the door open, the blond was shocked when he was suddenly hit in the face by the butt end of a staff weapon. The dark haired man who had made the blond step back was none other than Commander Tae-kun. The man smiled at the intruder, the lantern above swinging slightly. When the blond lifted his head up Tae-kun's eyes widened when he saw the gold scales appear on the lad's face. "Well I'll be..." he said as he begun to chuckle. "Young Lord Ouryuu." He suddenly heard a creak in the floorboards, the blond's eyes following his to find Mundok along with four others standing there after having heard the commotion. On the other side of the hallway were five more warriors, all waiting to take the intruder down.

Mundok held his hand up and waved the newcomers to leave. The warriors bowed before doing as the General commanded. Mundok approached the blond who was ready to fight, if it was needed. "Follow me." he commanded the youth as he entered the room.

The blond boy eyed Tae-kun as he followed the wind General into the room. A small lantern was the only light source as two young boys slept oblivious of the adults in the room. The Ouryuu warrior saw how badly injured the white haired boy was, though the swelling on his face had gone down, the Hakuryuu child was still covered in bruises around his eyes and jawline. Large bruises covered his torso and left hand around his wrist. His breathing was ragged and his right arm was wrapped in white bandages. "He was quite damaged when I found him three days ago." Mundok whispered as he bent on his knee to cover the young boy up. Reaching over he pulled the covers over Hak as well. His grandson had yet to release the clawed hand of the older boy. "He had a fever for a day and a half; we thought we'd lose him." He touched the young boy's head. "He survived, much to our relief." he looked at the other boy and saw that the scales had begun to recede. "We won't hurt him, nor allow harm to befall him."

"Zeno isn't so much worried about the wind, for the wind was created by Hakuryuu's twin, brother Ryokuryuu." Zeno said not even bothering to introduce himself properly, but skipped to what he wanted to say. "However, Zeno knows that there are those who would like to either use him or kill him."

"We won't allow that to happen." Tae-kun tried to assure the youth.

"Zeno has to return him to where he belongs." Zeno told them. "He didn't expect to find him this badly hurt though."

"Stay then." Mundok told the young man. "When the boy awakens then let him decide where he wants to go."

Zeno stayed silent for a moment as he weighed his options. He knew that little Hakuryuu brother was in no condition to leave his bed for a very long time, but he also knew that danger lurked everywhere including in Fuuga. Sighing, he knew he could risk the boy's health. Nodding, he agreed to the conditions that the wind General had set. "Alright. Zeno agrees."

Mundok gave a nod. "He's a lost boy in the land." he stated. "But at least here he has a chance at a home."

"Even if it is a home filled with danger?" Zeno countered, his eyes meeting the General's gaze.

"This world is full of dangers." Mundok told the young man. "If you hide him away, he'll never survive the challenges that this world throws at you, but if you give him a chance here, I guarantee you that he will be able to face anything and everything thrown at him."

Zeno sighed as he realized how true those words were. "Zeno will wait for him to choose." he promised the older man before standing and leaving the room with both the wind commander and general following after him.

M-Angel: I wasn't planning on updating this story until later next month, but I couldn't help myself. I really liked this chapter idea.