Happy New Year !
So I decided to continue the story. So here is my new year's gift :)
Thanks again to Tenshi7Nalata and Elogan for their review, you two really motived me ^^
( English is not my first language so I'm very sorry if you find any mistakes ! )
Enjoy ~
The next morning, Mana awoke by the feeling of Allen moving in his arms. He opened one eye and looked at the little boy, watching him stretch and slowly rubbing his eyes. The still tired creature didn't move, closing his eyes while pretending to sleep.
The red-haired boy now awake, moved energetically from the beast's arms. Mana groaned with discomfort as the boy pushed his grip away. The boy got up with difficulty on his two little legs, his right leg still shaking from his wound the night before, leaving the heat of Mana's body to begin his further exploration of the cave.
He took a few hesitant steps in the cavern very simply decorated.
By observing more carefully, only a few objects were strewed on the ground. And apart a few stones and other small sticks the cave of the child's adoptive father was relatively clean. The little boy patted on the simple furniture of raw wood getting acquainted with his new environment.
Seeking something for playing, Allen's eyes stopped on a pile of furs heaped at the bottom of the stone floor. With interest he approached and ran his fingers over the soft fur, laughing of the pleasant sensation.
The species to which Mana belonged wasn't as evolved as human beings. Advanced technology is unknown for a species still at a primitive stage and living rather simply. But the creature was no less intelligent, cunning, and thinking. The wooden tools and other decorated and carved stone weapons testified to this.
Once tired of furs. The little boy continued his exploration on the opposite side of the still dark cave discovering a pile of bones exposed in the shady corner. The creature used to keep the skulls and other long bones of its prey once cleaned.
Allen got closer to one of the skulls that came from a small animal and took it in his chubby hands, turning it over to inspect it, running his fingers against the raw bone cleaned of all flesh. Amused by this strange object, the boy laughed softly and began to play with the skull, making somes grimaces on a small scenario of his imagination.
Mana listening to the boy's strange noises, yawned and finally opened his eyes to find Allen, kneeling in the cave, playing with the bones of his old hunting trophies.
The half-asleep beast straightened up his numb body, stretching, before raising his head, sniffing the moisture still in the air. It was early. Dawn had just risen and it was still dark inside the cave, the faint light of the sun penetrating slowly. A slight white haze embraced tree branches that seemed unreal.
Seeing his guardian awake, the boy's face lit up with a big smile.
"Man Man !" Exclaimed the child, who put down the small bone with which he was playing to running toward the beast.
Still tired Mana shook his head before feeling two small arms hug his leg. He looked down to see his protégé hug him. Amused, he wrapped his arms around the boy's little body, hoisting him on his lap, then smiled at him.
"Hello Allen." He let the boy lean against his chest as he kissed the child's head. "I hope you slept well."
In response, the little boy held out his little hands towards him again trying to catch the long black hair.
After another kiss, Mana turned his head to see Allen's little improvised bone toys. "What did you find ?" Asked the creature to the child. The young child move away for a moment, looking for the little skull to show his discovery to the native.
"Grrrr!" He said pointing the pointed canines of the skeleton's head to his guardian.
Mana laughed, a broad smile forming on his face. "Yes, he has big teeth." He complimented the boy, amused by the child's actions.
Before starting the day, he grabbed and turned the boy on his stomach to check his bandage, which seemed to have resisted well at this first night. "Your leg looks better, it's a good thing."
Mana changed the bandage again by applying the ointment. The new one finished, he put the kid on the stone floor, then turned away from the child to go further into the cave to look for a piece of wood and long dry grass. He made his way to the small fire pit, but felt a weight attached to his tail. He turned around and saw Allen pull on his tail to get his attention.
"Mmh, what do you want ?"
The little boy looked at him nervously before saying something, gesturing to his stomach while opening his mouth. Mana watched all the incomprehensible facial expression, trying to decipher the signs of the young child before a gurgling noise was heard.
The beast raised his eyebrows and chuckled. "Oh I know, you must be hungry, isn't it ?" The boy continued to tap his little belly looking at the native. "Okay, okay, I understand."
The creature thinks, what could a little human eat ? Allen must be old enough to eat solid foods other than breast milk. He might be able to eat fruits or vegetables or even meat like him.
Deciding to go outside get something to feed the child, he doubted for a moment to take the boy with him. Thinking that the safety of the cave was perhaps better for the human ... But the little boy couldn't stay alone in the cave. At his age, all the children were very curious and could easily do silly things. Alone, Allen could get hurt or even worse fell off the cliff. He finally decided to take the boy with him. He grabbed the child then left the cave carefully descending the steep wall with the boy perched on his strong shoulders.
Once downstairs, Mana moved Allen against his chest, holding him tight, then uttered a loud growl to signal his presence to any predators that might be nearby. Knowing that his smell alone would keep the carnivores away, he finally entered the dense forest, but remained cautious.
In the undergrowth the branches of the trees swayed with the wind that rustled the leaves and various exotic plants dotting the soil. The earth was wet and the green grass was dancing with the breeze.
Unlike the Earth this planet had much longer seasons. It was summer and the warmth of the sun warming the ground allowed life to grow and evolve in this fertile land. The humid climate prevailed in summer, tinted all the vegetation in a deep green color.
The rain was often present, the days of sun like this one being rare. Mana stepped into the lush jungle, mading his way through the rocks and bushes, the chirping of the birds echoing through the forest around them.
Amazed by this new environment, Allen was pointing in all directions, trying to show the beast all these new things, which amused his wearer who wore a cheerful smile.
Deciding to let the child explore under his watching, Mana gently placed the little boy on the wet forest floor, letting him stretch his legs. He let Allen explore nearby, never letting him go too far. The child went to caress the foliage of the bushes having fun to tear small handfuls of leaves of the poor branches.
Finally, Mana pushed Allen slightly forward, urging him to walk deeper into the forest. The beast opened the step in the dense undergrowth, the boy trotting behind him. They sometimes stopped when Allen found it fun to walk in puddles or try to catch insects.
Mana stopped when a sound in the grass caught his attention. He looked closely at a kind of little white rabbit but with horns, jumped from a thicket right in front of them.
The creature too small to actually provide him with a substantial meal, he made no move to attack it.
The boy with the red hair, curious, observed this new creature with wondering eyes. He pointed at her, trying to show it to his guardian, then left Mana's side and started to get closer to the rabbit. The beast let the child do it, knowing that the wild animal was no danger to his little human.
Allen slowly moved closer and then reached out to touch the animal. Suddenly, the rabbit quickly jumped into the dense vegetation out of reach of the child and Allen, surprised by the sudden movement, stumbled and fell backward.
The creature burst out laughing as the little boy tried to get up with difficulty. He helped him to get up then and continued his way further into the woods, the little boy next behind him.
After a few minutes walking, Mana found a tree with yellow fruits. Deciding to try feeding his child with the edible food, he left Allen at the foot of the trunk and began his ascent. Allen watched as Mana climbed the tree with agility, his claws sinking into the bark rising effortlessly. He arrived quickly at the top, his weight cracking the thin branches that bent under his weight. He stretched out his arms, picking some round, fruit, before going down again, dropping easily to his feet.
He placed the few fruits next to the child and then took one in his clawed hands to begin peeling it, removing the smooth skin to reveal the juicy and tender flesh. Finally he used his claws, cutting the fruit in thin slices so that the little boy could eat them easily.
Mana, proud of his work, offered the slices of fruit to Allen putting one of the slices in his little hands.
The little boy observed the strange fruit given by the beast, running his fingers over the smooth skin before chewing it to taste it.
He watched Allen quickly swallow the first fruit easily, and once finished reaching out his hands toward him demanding more. He gave him a second one that was swallowed just as quickly.
"Gently, don't choke yourself ..." Mana murmured.
The beast concludes that the fruits could be added to Allen's diet.
From there, he took the boy in his arms and sniffed at him before frowning. The native scowled at the strong odor of the human.
"You need a bath."
After eating the sun was high in the sky, the beast brought them to their next destination, a small river.
Arriving on the shore, Mana sniffed the muddy ground lined with prints of wild animals that had come to drink.
The beast walked slowly, making sure no creatures were nearby. Once his patrol was over, Mana checked the temperature of the water, making sure the it wasn't too cold, placing the boy in the shallower part of the little stream.
Letting Allen play in the river, the creature dragged itself on the edge watching the boy splash all around him.
Mana scrutinized the surroundings with suspicion. The water points were landmarks for predators it was always necessary to be careful not to be caught by surprise. The beast was cautious, never letting Allen go more than a few feet away from him.
"Oh !" He turned his attention to Allen, who was screaming incomprehensible words. The little boy trotted toward him, bringing back some small colored pebbles placing them in his hand, looking at him with his shining gray eyes. "For you !" He said excitedly.
Mana embarrassed, blushed, not knowing what to do with small stones and answered. "Well thank you..." Satisfied, the boy went back into the water. The creature sighed, and relaxed, lying comfortably.
Relaxing in the sun, the native watched his adopted son play lazily. The sun was turning with the passing hours. While he was drowsing, Mana's fine sense of smell, smelled a close animal.
Suddenly, a crackle was heard, something stirring in the bushes along the edge of the forest. Mana stood up, alert, his muscles tense, listening intently. His acute senses alerting him to a danger, he grunted and without hesitation rushed into the bushes leaping on the hidden creature, the two bodies bumping into each other with a brief snap.
Just as quickly, shrill yelp echoed in the jungle. Grunts and howls of pain followed, the thudding sounds of crackling bones.
Allen, frozen, stopped playing in the water, listening attentively to the battle.
And as quickly as it happened everything stopped. A groan, long and almost inaudible finally resounding in the silent jungle that now had a heavy atmosphere. No more noise could be heard, not even a bird.
The boy leaned over the thorn bushes trying to see something before swallowing and calling softly. "Man ?"
Mana reappeared quickly through the branches dragging something behind him in his right hand. He lifted the corpse by one of the hind legs pulling it out of the tall grass and then dropped the now dead animal, licking his fingers with a blue tongue to clean the flowing black blood.
Mana was a carnivorous creature with powerful musculature, teeth and sharp claws. The other animal barely half his size had no chance.
Pleased with the return of his guardian, Allen smiles, rushing to catch the creature's leg in a hug.
"Man !"
Mana smiled at the child before patting the child's red hair.
Leaning to one side, Allen watched the dead creature.
The animal resembled a kind of light blue canine but with six legs, sharp fangs protruding from the mouth and each limb provided with sharp claws. The fur was pierced in places exposing the flesh where Mana had scratched and bitten. Finally the black blood flowed from the wounds slowly staining the ground in a small puddle under the flaccid body.
Even dead he was scary.
Allen tightened his hold on the leg between his arms to comfort himself, letting out a frightened whine.
"Scawy."
"Scawy ?" Mana repeated before understanding the meaning of the word. "Oh, you were scared, are you ?"
He hoisted the little boy in his arms whispering softly. "You don't have to be afraid, I'm here." He gently squeezed his long arms around the abdomen of the child, kissing him on the cheek.
As the sun waned, they made their way back to the cave where Mana was staying at this time of year, dragging the carcass of the dead animal. Orienting with the smells the humanoid creature found the way home without difficulty.
They went back to the cave and Mana started to prepare the evening meal. Allen curious, carefully watched the creature skinning the body of the animal, cutting the skin with its grabbed claws removing a small piece of raw flesh. The beast seeing that Allen was attentive handed the piece of meat to the boy, who winced at the smell, turning his head to the opposite side.
The beast burst out laughing at the child's reaction. "Don't you like meat ?"
The little boy, understanding the question despite the language barrier, pouted. "No !"
Mana lit a small fire with herbs, then cooked the meat.
Meanwhile, seeing that the boy was bored Mana gave the child his bones and other skulls as toys for waiting.
After a while, the cooked meat ready he cut into cubes for Allen who ate it. Once his belly full, tired of all the events of the day Allen yawned, dozing gently.
The creature lay the child on the shared bed. Catching a fur, he wrapped it around the little boy's body as a blanket. Then he extinguished the fire, ensuring that the embers were going out properly and then going to bed curling around the boy again.
Both went to bed to spend the night warm.
And so the days passed. The same routine slowly settled between the boy and the beast. Allen now accustomed to the language of the creature began to repeat the words of his adoptive father. Slowly forgetting human language and its origins, the language barrier was less and less of a problem, as the little boy managed to make himself understood by body language.
Mana's first priority was to teach Allen the dangers of the outside world. Still very young, the little boy couldn't defend himself. He needed the permanent presence of Mana at his side for not hurt himself.
And the native understood quickly that young children like Allen had, unlike him, need to eat and drink several times a day. But the creature, eating meat, also needed to feed. Hunting was a dangerous thing and he could not keep the boy with him and hunt for food at the same time. He had to find a solution.
Hide the child.
He taught Allen to stay in a little hiding place for the period of time he was looking for the meal. There were unfortunately a few incidents, the first few times being difficult for Allen to understand that he had to stay hidden where Mana had dropped him. But apart from some scratches, nothing too serious.
But on that day when the weather was a little rainy, the gray clouds spreading across the sky, watering the jungle, everything went differently.
Mana, in search of a meal for him and the child, had hidden Allen in a bush leaving his human with his small bone toy to occupy him.
The beast doesn't come back as quickly as usual. And the time was long for the child who didn't see the beast coming back, getting impatient. Suddenly, he saw a little mouse with a bluish fur that had sprung up from a thicket, attracting his attention. Captivated, he watched the little creature hopping farther away into the jungle. Unconscious of the danger, Allen got up from his hideout trying to follow the animal leaping between the bushes.
Disobeying Mana, he sank deeper into the forest before stumbling into the grass. The mouse, fast, disappeared quickly in the vegetation leaving the little boy alone in the silent jungle.
Suddenly alone, the trees seemed intimidating and dark, the silence of the forest being oppressive for the little boy who hesitated to go further. He turned, trying to find the familiar place where the humanoid creature had deposited him, but he found nothing.
Fearing, he quietly called the name of his guardian, having no idea that these groans could at any time attracted a predator.
A crackle echoed behind him. Before he could react, Allen was knocked down, painfully squeezed by a large clawed paw. Looking up at his aggressor, he was facing another creature like Mana standing above him. But it wasn't his guardian. This creature had shorter, slightly curly black hair tied in a ponytail with what appeared to be a rope. He had a mole under his left eye with a scar running through his chest. The same gray skin ran through his body and golden eyes stared at him darkly.
By fear, he began squirming trying to get away from claws. The creature watched in amusement as the little human struggled in his grip, sneering at his feeble attempts.
The little one having trouble breathing he began to panic, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. The creature's face split into a grim smile, as she drew her sharp teeth to the boy's neck.
At the moment of closing his jaw, the monster was violently pulled back, and struck a blow in the chest, forced to release its prey. He found himself thrown to the ground by Mana groaning loudly, his lips rolled up showing his teeth. The other creature, still sounded, quickly get up angrily, advancing menacingly towards Mana who placed herself and Allen in a protective manner.
Mana launched the first attack, sending a violent scratch to the face of his opponent who dodged skillfully. The other creature retaliated, hitting his stomach before pinning him firmly against a nearby tree. To get away, Mana turned his head and closed his jaws on the left arm of the black-haired beast, tearing the flesh. He screamed in pain before hitting Mana in the face making him let go.
Allen frozen, trembling with fear as he watched the two great creatures fight with apprehension. The two beasts threw themselves on each other, sending powerful punches, grunting and snapping their teeth to try to intimidate the opponent.
After a moment, exhausted, the two creatures separated in retreat.
The black beast got out of reach of a new attack, holding his injured arm against his chest. Mana blew light pain, several scratches and bruises running through his body. They stared at each other for a few minutes, growling and hissing, gauging the opponent.
The other humanoid creature narrowed his eyes and spoke to Mana. "You ... Traitor ! Why do you save this human ? I saw him first, it's up to me to kill him !"
The guardian of the child let out a low growl. "The child is mine, and you or one of the others will never put a finger on him !"
The rival beast's eyes widened in surprise, staring intently at Allen half-hidden behind Mana's imposing form, before giggling. "And you think you'll be able to protect him from the Earl ?" A thrilled thrill Mana has the mention of the 'Earl'.
"I wonder what he would think if he learned that one of our family members is keeping a human." Mana narrowed his eyes but didn't respond to the provocation. A heavy silence followed his words.
The other creature hesitated a moment but continued to speak. "Come back home ... We can discuss all of this and take care your ... Problem ..."
Mana grimaced, his long tail whipping with frustration.
"As I said ... The child is mine! And I have no reason to come back ... Now leave !" He grunted, putting himself in the attack position and moved angrily towards the other creature who backed slightly knowing that he didn't have the advantage with his injured arm.
He took a few steps back, then spoke one last time. "It's not over ... You know we'll come back !" The black beast turned away and disappeared into the dense jungle.
Mana was on his guard for a few more minutes, making sure his rival was gone, then rushed to the crying boy on the floor.
He took him in his arms and checked first that he wasn't hurt. Fortunately, at first sight, there was no real damage. Just a strong emotional shock.
"Shhhhh, shhhh ..." He began to rocked him gently, muttering comforting words. The boy calmed down as soon he gripped Mana's chest. They stayed like that for long minutes trying to reassure themselves in a comforting embrace.
"Mana." Whispered the little boy, his face against the chest of the tallest creature. Mana raised his head surprised that his name was pronounced correctly. Then smiles tenderly, caressing the child's ginger hair, placing his head against the child's one in a gesture of affection.
"It will soon be dark, let's go home."
Hehe I wonder who this new beast might be ... :) Thank you for reading !