Faith felt the strange sensation of his body being expelled from the forest as his being was transported to the point of entry. He found himself back in front of the gate with the two guards on stand by seeing a crowd of very glum and downtrodden children.
'I guess these guys all failed' - Faith thought seeing droves of children ranging from 5 to 10 starring at him with slight hope.
After all, if the prince himself hadn't got a familiar then it wasn't that they were untalented, the task was simply too hard. Their hopes were dashed however when on Faith's shoulder appeared a miniaturised Luna, her silver eyes surveying the world outside her home for the first time.
'are all events usual filled with crying children in your culture?' - Luna asked a bit fearful of these demons that really earned their name.
'Nah its generally not this bad… I think' - Faith replied not sure whether demons always acted like this or not.
Among the children, Faith couldn't spot Krus anywhere so he decided to wait calmly but not before waving to his mother who tried to hide her relieved expression at the sight of her son alright.
Little did she know the struggles he'd gone through to be fine.
Meanwhile, though everyone else at the event was in horror staring at their prince who had a silver Rexel on his shoulder, no doubt the same species as the one that guarded the forest itself. What kind of a monster was this child? It was another kick in the gut for the royals and a great story for all the lower class demons to spread around. About how grand their prince was to have obtained a familiar at five years old.
However Among the thoughts of grandeur and glory, one reigned supreme in most of the adult demons present. This child had done something that only their leading historical figure had done before. So a question was posed to them.
Was Faith the next Exodus, destined to lead the demon race to glory once again?
Of course, the boy in question was just quietly waiting for Krus to back since he had Faith that the boy would gain a familiar. He was older and just as talented as Faith, well at least he thought so. Soon though Faith's gaze wandered, towards a group of younger demons in particular.
The only thing that stuck out about this group on a first glance was the girl who sent him a hateful gaze earlier, on closer inspection though Faith noticed another thing that sealed the deal. One of the older members of the group, a male demon, was limping and unable able to bend one of his knees which had taken quite the hit.
'Cheeky little fucks' - Faith thought, his gaze growing a hint colder as he stared at them.
The girl he recognised turned around in response and then froze on the spot when their eyes met. It was a natural reaction when one peered into the eyes of a dragon to want to pull back but she couldn't. He wouldn't let her. These people were the ones that attacked him, Faith was sure of it.
The demons around Faith that were already a few metres away since he was royalty and no one dared to talk to him felt a chill run down their backs as the surrounding started dropping in temperature by the second.
The stronger of them felt their knees give out while the weaker felt the full weight of his killing intent and passed out on the spot.
The one the killing intent was aimed at jumped back a few feet as she felt cold sweat start to trickle down her forehead, she drew her weapon with shaky hands gaining the full-blown attention of the adults around her who were wondering what the hell was happening.
Faith only moved his gaze back when he felt the presence of his new target for friendship, losing interest in the girl as quickly as he gained it. He wouldn't let her spoil his mood.
'What was that about? Do you know her?' - Luna asked, not recognising the girl.
'she tried to kill me and no I don't know her' - Faith replied, looking towards the portal.
He didn't notice but just for a second an even greater killing intent emitted from the Rexel as she gazed at the little demon who dared to harm her bond, her blood pact. Luna added the girl's face to her memory.
Faith watched the portal as it wavered a bit and then without a second of delay an olive-skinned elf with purple hair fell out. His face was contorted in disappoint. Krus's ragged breath and bruised body spoke volumes to how hard the Dark elf had tried.
He could barely stand and had to lean against the pillar, showing that even though he was a mage he'd participated in intense physical activity. From his body language, the boy was plainly disappointed in himself and his failure to get a familiar.
"You alright?" - Faith asked rushing over and bending down to offer Krus a hand.
Krus was still convinced that Faith was just acting in order to manipulate those around him but he accepted the hand all the same, though he did cringe a little when he noticed the silver Rexel perched on Faith's shoulder.
"I guess you beat me" - Krus said, lamenting his lost chance to at least one-up his junior.
"Nah I just got lucky" - Faith said with genuine honestly, his luck had been terrible today but It had also been amazing, strangely evening out at the end.
"Well I still lost" - Krus replied not willing to take that answer.
Faith looked at him with a slightly estranged expression as if Krus had said something completely out of the blue before replying.
"When was it a competition" - Faith said, confused to when they'd made this event a race to get a familiar.
Krus was stunned at these words but the more he thought about it the more they made sense. It wasn't a competition, Faith was in a different league then himself, to begin with. He already knew that but still hearing Faith bluntly say it didn't make it much better.
"haha… yeah I guess you're right" - Krus laughed wearily, unsure how to take the blow to his self-esteem.
"Well now that you're out of your rut I can introduce you, Luna this is Kurs, Krus this is Luna" - Faith said, pointing back and forth between Luna and Krus.
The Rexel stared inquisitively at the new arrival while the Dark Elf had his own failure shoved in his face yet again souring his mood even further. Luna was still gazing at Krus when she felt a soft hand patting her head.
'What are you doing?' - Luna asked looking towards the owner of the hand who had an enthralled expression as he slowly stroked the top of her head.
'Your so soft!!!" - Faith replied tearing the Luna off his shoulder and cuddling her with pure joy.
Stuck between his arms and chest Luna could only struggle with all her might but eventually just settle into it. After losing her father the only family she had Faith's kind cuddles felt nice and warm.
It didn't take long for karma to kick in as Faith himself was tackled into a cuddle by what could only be described as a man with looks akin to a Greek god.
Just as Faith had cuddled Luna he took was stuck in an embrace he had no chance of escaping from behind as he saw Krus gawking gaze filled with utter horror.
"How's my little one doing?" - The hugging man asked as he ruffed Faith's hair with one hand and hugged with the other.
He had perfectly placed black hair as smooth as silk, adorned in a black and silver suit that would put kings to shame with multiple badges and accessories adorning it. He was as handsome as a Greek god but the thing that stood out was his pure red iris and slitted pupils.
It was, of course, Alzeor the king of dragons.
"I'm awesome dad!!" - Faith said enjoying being pampered by the father he saw only on occasions.
It was partly because of the racial tides between demons and dragons and partly because as old as dragons were that was just natural for them. Faith and Alzeor leaned for to the first option though because they wanted to see each other a lot more then most dragons would.
Alzeor was middle-aged for a dragon but he still felt ancient and ruling his kingdom was a hassle. Time he could better spend teaching and playing with Faith. Alas in a time where peace was coming to a proper start he simply had too much to do. Managing all dragonkin meant everyone thing with even an ounce of dragon blood was his subject.
"Well, that's just fantastic little one, did you get your hands on a familiar" - Alzeor asked, making most females Dark elves and demons blush deeply with his perfect smile.
"Yeah I did, here see her names Luna" - Faith said holding up the Rexel, shocking his father quite a bit.
Faith had a lot to ask his father about dragons but seeing a woman behind him almost as perfect as himself, with soft features, a rather generous height and very well endowed he stopped himself. To be honest, Faith had to admit that she came very close to his mother in terms of looks and that was with Faith's opinion that Eshir was genuinely a goddess come to save him from damnation.
As a dragon, this woman challenged the pride he had for his mother with her aquamarine hair and eyes falling on Faith himself.
He noticed a hint of envy in her eyes but most certainly a sense of pride in something else as she sized Faith up.
'is she looking for a fight?' - He wondered, noticing a small moving figure hiding behind her legs just a little bit after.