Aisrin rushed blindly through the forest. There was pain and relief in his heart, though he couldn't understand why. Thinking he had gone far enough into the dense jungle of trees and vegetation, Aisrin stopped and sat in the crook at the roots of a tree.
He hugged his knees and put his head down on his arms.
"Well, that sucked. Maybe I should have fought them instead. At least I would have been seen as just a silent brute. Rather than a demon... I wonder why demons are hated here. Perhaps they are evil, like they're supposed to be, in this world." Aisrin pondered aloud.
"Red!" Aisrin heard his nickname called out. He chose to ignore it and activated stealth, erasing his presence entirely.
'I'd rather not. All I'm going to get is those horrid looks of contempt. I don't want to be despised by my family in this world. I think I've suffered enough as is in two lives.'
"You can hide your presence, but you can't mask your scent kid." Jira seemed to materialize before Aisrin, startling him enough to get a gasp.
"Why? Why bother searching for me if you're just going to despise me?" Aisrin replaced his head down.
"Despise? Why would I despise you? Sure, that was some scary magic, but you saved all of us with it. Besides, how can a family despise one of its members for protecting them? That's nonsensical. Come on, your mother would be livid if I returned without you." Jira held his hand out to Aisrin.
'This is too sappy for me.'
Aisrin took Jiras hand and stood up.
"I suppose she would huh?" Aisrin agreed.
"That's all you took from that?" Jira sighed.
"I'm not one to dwell too much." Aisrin stated in reply.
"That's fair I suppose. Nothing has changed from finding you the first time, save for your age and size. Still the same cold calculating look as always." Jira led Aisrin back to the clearing. The others sat around the boars and human corpses patiently. As soon as the two came into sight of them, Sira darted up and ran up to Aisrin and threw her arms around him, sobbing.
"I'm so sorry Red! I didn't mean to hurt you! Please don't leave!" Sira cried.
"Aisrin." Aisrin corrected her.
"Huh?" Sira sniffled, but still didn't stop holding him.
"My name is Aisrin, not Red." Aisrin answered.
"What a peculiar name. Did you decide on it?" Jira asked him.
"No, it's always been my name." Aisrin replied. Sira was now holding Aisrins hand, determined to not let him go.
"Aisrin... Do you know if you're human or not?" Jira questioned.
"I don't have an answer for you at the moment. I certainly don't look like they did, do I?" Aisrin responded with a question of his own.
"No, if anything you look more like a Demi-Human. But, your magic too closely resembles demons. But, demons don't look that human. Their skin is far darker, they have wings and tails. Horns too. They don't have white eyes or multi colored Irises. Their eyes are all black with red or yellow irises and their pupils are vertically slit like a dragon's.
You have the normal white eyes, your Irises are a stormy grey color, and you have round pupils. The only non human appearances are your hair, slightly pointed ears, and sharper features." Jira answered.
"Why does it matter how you look? You're still the same... Aisrin I grew up with!" Sira chimed in. The others pitched in.
"Alright, let's continue this later. We want to get out of this area as fast as possible. The humans may send a search out looking for these eight, and we want to be long gone before then. So let's head home." Jira told the chattering siblings.
They gathered up the boars and useful items from the eight men, as it was considered a part of gathering materials, and headed back to the cave. Once again after a few hours of trudging through the dense forest, they reached their destination.
As soon as they entered, Frill greeted them.
"How was the hunt?" Frill asked them.
"Pretty good. Aisrin killed eight men equipped with anti-mana imbued bows. It was quite the sight." Jira spilled the beans immediately.
"Aisrin? Who's that?" Frill inquired.
"I am." Aisrin replied. Frill looked at Aisrin. The fact that he just spoke to her for the first time, clearly processing in her otherwise expressionless face. As soon as it did her eyes grew wide and her mouth opened before a huge smile replaced it.
"Say something else!" Frill put her hands on his shoulders and beamed happily at him. For a moment Aisrin saw a mirage of Iri overlap Frill, and for the first time in what felt like a million years, tears came to Aisrin's eyes.
"I'm home... Mom." The only words Aisrin wanted to say. The words he never realized he had wished he been able to say. The pain reopened and he threw his arms around Frill and cried. Afterall, who wouldn't cry?
This response was so genuine and unexpected, it wasn't only Aisrin who was confused or surprised. But the feelings they felt from him were real. Frill gently embraced the sobbing child in her arms.
"Yes, welcome home, Aisrin." Frill answered softly. Jira turned away, trying not to show his own tears. His only thought was, 'How Peculiar.'. Soon all the kids were hugging Aisrin, unsure of why he was so sad, but only wanting to ease his pain.
Aisrin, having exerted alot of energy, physically, mentally, and emotionally, fell fast asleep in Frills arms. She laid him down and his siblings joined him. Frill approached Jira and began to help him with preparing the boars.
"He wasn't talking to me." Frill stated after awhile.
"I know." Jira answered.
"But, I don't care. Because in that moment, I was his mother. For some reason, that gives me huge comfort." Frill continued.
"Indeed. But, we're does such a young child hold such terrible pain... and why?" Jira pondered aloud.
"We all have secrets. Perhaps he's lived a prior life full of such hardships that he'd rather be distant than rusk further pain." Frill hit the issue on the head, spot on.
"Perhaps you are right. Then all we can do is make sure he doesn't experience that kind of hardship again..." Jira stated with conviction.