A year had quickly passed by.
Alicia turned six a few weeks ago and had no problem abusing her age. Acting mischievous, getting her way as she left home, exploring endlessly.
Today was no different.
Thick bushes relented with the push of big entities. A cross between lions with their manes, Siberian tiger heads, strong horse legs with powerful paws. Quite large as they came in at a rough height of 163 cm.
These large creatures, the Magna Feles, ran with exhaustion in their eyes, muscles taut with tension. Blazing a trail through the trees and brush.
They ran, ran fast not daring to look back.
The one in the lead, the leader, roared at her companions, as if commanding them not to give up.
A shadow whizzed by on the right.
The leader took heed of this, commanding her pack to make a hard left. Jumping from rock to rock, the leader fell back a ways, ramming its head into a large tree.
Fire burst out along the bark, exploding into dust and flames.
Snorting at her work, the leader took off, easily catching up with her pack.
They burst through the tree line, entering out into a rocky footing, bordering along the shore of a creek.
The Magna Feles pack rested by the waters, grooming down their fur that had ruffled due to the wind's brutal resistance.
Sheathing her edge, the leader let down her guard to drink from the creek, but regretted it soon after. Swiftly as the wind carried a scent to her nose.
She looked up in shock. Standing her ground, she swirled her horse-like tail, slamming it upon the ground with huge thumps.
A giggle echoed along the waters.
Sitting proud atop the boulder across the creek, was a beast even larger than the Magna Feles.
Sitting at a shocking height of 183 cm, was a black wolf. Its fur flickered with lilac, glowing eerily along with its lilac eyes lined in crimson.
"Done already?" Sitting atop the beast was Alicia, faking a pout. "So the game of hide and seek is over, here I thought it'd last longer."
The Magna Feles leader groans as she plops her butt down, thumping her tail louder on the ground. "What longer? Anymore master, and my legs will fall off."
Her voice echoed in Alicia's head, groaning with indignation, pleading for sympathy.
Alicia laughed once more as she leaped down, stroking the leader's pouting head.
"Come on Nox, if it were before, I'm sure you could have gone on much longer." Alicia ruffled Noxuria's cheeks playfully, "Face it, you've gotten lazy and needed the exercise. You and your pack."
Noxuria groaned looking towards her exhausted pack. Glancing up she looked forward with sad, tear inducing eyes as she whimpered.
"Alright, alright, no more for today." Alicia laughed indulgently, "I've had my fun already."
Noxuria roared in happiness as she rubbed her head against Alicia like a big cat wanting its owner's attention.
Alicia complied as she ruffled Noxuria's fur. What could be done? She was a sucker for puppy dog eyes and cute balls of fluff.
Alicia indulged in petting her oversize cat as it purred like an engine, humming and waiting to be sent into overdrive.
Shocking how this creature who was twice her size was so obedient in front of her right?
Hey, don't you start thinking she used some cheat or what not. That big fellow who was acting like a house cat, had been hell bent on killing her once upon a time.
Despite discovering the talent of communication with nonhuman creatures, it wasn't like stupid cinderella's story. Just because they know you understand them, doesn't mean they won't still try to kill you.
Once upon a time, she mischievously snuck into the woods and nearly got herself killed many times. Yet, Alicia foolishly kept returning out of stubborness.
This wasn't because of some foolish thoughts of taming the wild. No nothing like that at all.
It's because Alicia is a glutton.
Since she is a glutton, what fuels gluttons to go out of their way? Food!
Some of Alicia's favorite foods were modern creations that just did not exist in this world. For example, her favorite comfort food, pizza.
Bastard god, she still curses him to this day for this.
And so her curiosity to find ingredients which match modern ingredients was just as strong as it was stubborn.
So the story went like this.
The glutton and the beast kept crossing paths. After many rounds of beatings and chasings, the glutton learned how to fight. Soon it was the beast getting chased.
So both the glutton and her wolf, inadvertently became the lords of the forest.
Story over.
Licking his paw, the nightingale wolf Ash abruptly stopped. He stood tall, turning his big head and growled into the woods behind him.
"Something not right." He snarled.
Alicia reacted quickly, jumped upon Ash's back, and they took off through the brush.
Noxuria and her pack follow soon after, with exhaustion all but gone.
* * *
"Restrain the beast!" The commander roared.
With hands behind his back, his gaze was cold as he glanced over his men.
The royal guard straightened their backs as they dared not to slacken in their jobs. Even though they were facing death itself, they did not falter.
"GRAWL!" A deafening roar pierced their ears, as they tried to keep themselves up right.
They'd been fighting this dragon for half a day, sending them through forests, fields, leading them in circles as it finally started showing signs of exhaustion.
Standing at the ready, the guards pointed their swords, holding up their shields.
Magic ignited behind the dragon, signaling the success of their pincer attack.
Yet they didn't let down their guards for a second. Not with the king of beasts staring them down.
* * *
Not too far from the action, Alicia heard this roar. Yet to her it wasn't growls nor deep guttural sounds, but words with obvious meaning.
"You filthy humans are all the same!" Vindictive, full of exhaustion and hatred, this voice shook Alicia to the core.
"Ash faster!" Alicia urged her nightingale wolf as she leaned down, avoiding air resistance to help increase their momentum.
Ash complied as his paws lite up with lilac magic, increasing his pace and agility
It was hard for Noxuria and her pack to keep up, since nightingale wolves were some of the fastest creatures in the lands of Eumus.
Her sight was sharp, so despite losing Ash and Alicia, Noxuria could still determine their location with ease.
Ash followed the sounds of fighting as he made his way up the steep hill. Climbing up a large pagoda tree for easy camouflage, he and Alicia had full view of what was happening below.
Mountain terrain sloped down into a gorge. Trees and grass turned into rocks and gravel with some small streams flowing between.
Few trees could be seen on the ground, but they no longer stood tall as they were either broken in half or up rooted along with the ground still stubbornly clinging to it's old friends.
"Still resisting. Even now? Only death awaits you and you know it." Alicia shot her eyes to that cold voice with contempt.
She knew who that was even from afar.
Commander Vision, her aunt's, the empress's brother who didn't deserve the name Vision. For he himself was a blind fool in Alicia's opinion.
She'd only met the man twice, but that was one too many.
The man soaked in arrogant pride and his lips were laced in poison as he hated her father, the duke. Spewing curses every chance he got.
She had no doubt of her impression of him, and seems she was right on the money.
Truly a blind fool.
Dragons are vindictive and prideful, doesn't he know about the grave he's dug? Walking right in as if it were a treasure vault, is he?
She'd be more than happy to watch this drama unfold if she hadn't noticed a crucial detail.
Alicia narrowed her eyes at the men running across the cliff on her side of the gorge and on the other. Readying their weapons, charging their spells as they awaited orders from below.
Her gaze fell on the dragon cornered in the depths of the gorge.
Beautiful was an understatement for this majestic creature. Instead of scales, ripe plum colored fur covered its body as gentle lilac creased underneath, from its chin to tail, coating its paws and inside its wings.
Proud horns donned its head, stretching back as the most beautiful stubborn sky blue eyes Alicia had ever seen, lit up its face.
It's beauty, though undeniable, was not what caught her attention. Storms raged in Alicia's eyes as she stared at the dragon's protruding stomach.
"Indeed, humans never change."
Glancing to her right, Alicia gave a signal. Noxuria and her pack who had arrived moments ago, vanished as Noxuria flashed a viscous, blood thirsty grin.
Alicia ran her eyes over the surroundings until they narrowed at a cliff swallowed in vines.
With a pat from Alicia, Ash and her vanished as well.
The dragon raised her head high, her eyes inadvertently landed near where Alicia had been mere moments ago but quickly shifted back without anyone's notice.
The fighting continued to rage on. Spells flew through the air as the men at the end of the pincer attack were swept away by the dragon's tail.
They tried to protect themselves, but it was futile as they were burned to a crisp by her searing fire.
Those who survived, ran into battle as if their lives meant nothing, charging in with their swords blazing.
Stabbing into the dragon, they self ignited! Shocked, the dragon fell in a crouch.
Further angered, she twisted around, broke apart the ground, picking it up as if it were nothing.
She threw a small mountain sized boulder with her tail, crushing those beneath its weight.
The pincer attack was completely destroyed. None survived the wrath of this dragon as she was mercilessly accurate.
Vision squinted at the mountain of dust swallowing the area, covering his face with his sleeve as he refused to blink.
Soon the dust settled, the air became more clear as the damage came to light.
Standing her ground, the dragon roared once more in exhaustion, the blood on fur burning, evaporating away.
Vision maliciously grinned at the sight. "Your time has come beast."
As if a switch had been flipped, the royal guard took a stance, banging their swords on their shields.
They then stabbed their blades into the ground and took up a defensive position. Their helmets fell down over their faces as a barrier of light appeared.
Magic soared in the sky above the gorge, mages readied their weapons of choice as they aimed towards the dragon.
"Do you believe me now, beast? It's over."
»»————- ✼ ————-««
Author's note: In case of theft. This is an original -English- novel done by yours truly [MyKataren]. This author will state here and now, oh ye thief of old, thanks for the free advertisement!
Original : www.tinyurl.com/MVPGAwebnovel