The village looked like it had once been pretty and cozy, but now it was destroyed, corpses everywhere, both men and children, women and animals, mostly monsters and humans. Rex steps on something and looks at the ground, it was someone's severed hand, he looks where the blood trail leaves, and sees a little girl with her eyes open, she looked like she's been dead for a long time, her face rotten and half-eaten, his bones were already very apparent from the decomposition, Rex watches her paralyzed.
—Millyn…-He says so low that only Shiro can hear him and looks at his friend worried about what visiting that village meant for Rex.
Meanwhile, the others didn't seem concerned, the twins found corpses and started playing with them.
—-Hey! You two, stop it, it's disrespectful!-Says Lepus, calling their attention.
—This man was the baker, his name was Jon, he ran the village orphanage. -Rex says looking at the two who felt that the fun of playing with the corpse was gone.—He would find it funny.-Says Rex walking back.
Caerula and Lepus look at each other worried about the pain of Rex's tone of voice, they follow him, Rex takes them to the center of the village where there was a big house, they enter and see a little girl with a pink dress that was now a rotten corpse, she had a pair of wings and her face was not human but a lizard.
—Wow, what is this thing?-Magi asks, moving the wing.
Rex is silent, he stared at the double stairs transfixed. In her eyes, he saw as if reality and memories merged, Children playing there, a girl playing flying, and two identical twins trying to catch her, very much like Rex.
—You won't catch me! - Says the girl flying, with a fourth boy jumps from the stairs making her fall.—AH!-She says feeling the weight.
It was a boy with the ears and tail of a cat who starts to laugh.
—What did you say, Elena?!-He says laughing.
—Rex?-Shiro calls him to reality, Rex breathes hard as he comes to.
—It's on the third floor, probably.-He says moving on.
Everyone follows him, the place was dirty, covered with cobwebs, and covered in blood everywhere, Rex arrives at the library, Lepus is enchanted by the variety of books there.
—HOU! Amazing! There are so many!-He says visibly delighted.
Magi and Bellator look at each other and the two leave to explore the place, Caerula goes to rummage through the things, going to a desk in the center, where there were pictures, notepads, and pens. He moves the papers on the table and sees a photo, where there was a big tall man, dressed as a soldier from the neighboring kingdom, beside him a half-dragon woman, in the center the little girl they saw dead, but more full of life and smiling, beside her holding her arm as if they were good friends a boy whose looks are appreciated by Rex, and on the other side another boy also identical to the friend who was leaning on the shoulder of his apparently moaning brother, in the middle of the two a third boy who was smiling, one of the twins looked at him instead of looking at the camera, and beside him joining the photo as a very close friend of the twins she held his arm and smiled, Caerula is surprised and immediately recognizes the girl who beat him up.
—Things must have been difficult for you...-Says Caerula approaching Rex and handing the photo, Rex takes it and looks at it, Shiro looks over his shoulder curious to know what it was.
—HE?! The Taigar, you were really their friend?! - Says Shiro irritated.
—I didn't know what coming back here meant to you, was this the place you grew up? - Caerula question trying not to intrude too much but still curious.
—Not exactly, this was the lord's home, this place wasn't perfect, but it was the closest place to it... -He says looking at the photo.—Here the law was clear, everyone is equal. Obviously, the A-humans didn't agree with that, but they still had to live with monsters and humans, it was a peaceful place…
—I don't understand, Dragoness don't attack places like that.-Says Caerula confused.
—Well, here was also a place where they trained A-humans for the king's army, I think they didn't mind killing some monsters and humans if they were to catch A-humans that would be a threat in the future.-He says keeping the photo for inside the cover.
—I understand, I'm sorry.-Says Caerula seeing that Rex was not well.
—Get what you need, they won't need the books anymore, will they? I'll meet them at the city gate in half an hour ok?-Says Rex leaving there.
Caerula gets worried, he looks at Lepus, magi, and Bellator who seemed delighted with the books, and then looks at Shiro.
—Go with him, he needs you.-Says caerula touching his shoulder.
—Humpf! I don't need him to tell me this, I know he needs me! -He says going after Rex.
Rex leaves the house, he looks at the photo. "Why just me?" he asks thinking and as he passed through the streets he was remembering the cause during the attack, people running, dragon soldiers killing mercilessly, creaking spears in the backs of children who were now still on the ground, soldiers cutting heads were still there. Shiro goes silently after Rex, Rex stops in front of a wooden house with a forge in front.
—That was my house.-He says touching the house.
Shiro notes that there was a sword stuck in the door, he was going to ask but Rex starts walking into the alley, he looks at Rex who is still.
—It's not here.-He says to a big smear of dried blood.
—What?-Shiro asks, Rex starts to shake, his fury unleashed a black wave coming out of him.
—They took him…his corpse…they left them all…but they took him.-Says Rex looking at that.
—An animal may have eaten or taken it.- Shiro says trying to calm him down.
Rex crouches where the blood was, he lowers his head.
—Do you smell any animal?
Shiro swallowed hard, knowing it hadn't been an animal.
—That's what I thought.
Rex gets up he walks into the house, entering the back, Shiro is faced with the statue of a centaur who held a sword engraved on his chest. Rex goes up the stairs and takes a book, he goes down and looks at Shiro who was messing with the statue.
—He's my father.-Says Rex simply.
—It's?! Serious?! He doesn't look like you!-He says surprised.
—Hum. -Rex closes his eyes taking a deep breath and leaves, Shiro goes after him and they go to the gate where they wait for their friends to return.
Shiro sits in the snow waiting, Rex leans on the pillar at the entrance the two are silent.
—You and the taigar were very good friends, weren't you?- Shiro asks, seeming to be quite annoyed about it.
—Hum.-Rex puts his hand inside the cloak and shows a necklace, the same necklace that when Shiro met him he already owned, and which he never took off.—Feles gave it to me before taigar was attacked by the dragoness.- Rex says with regret in his voice.—He said he would protect me.
He puts it back on the cover.
—He should have been more worried about himself than me. After all, I'm an A-human, he was just a hybrid.-Shiro feels a twinge in his chest when he hears that.
—hm...Hybrids are...weak compared to you.-Says Shiro admitting.
—Are.-Says Rex coldly.—So don't do the same stupid thing he did, I can't... Bear losing you too.-Says Rex turning his face when he says that.
Shiro smiles under his mask.
—I'm not an idiot taigar!- He says smiling.
Rex smiles under his mask. "I lost a lot of things that day…" he thinks remembering him running into the forest and finding the clearing. "But also, I gained a lot because of that." he thinks remembering the good times he had with his friends. "I may have lost my family here, but now…I have a new one, and this one…. This one I will protect! With everything I have!" he thinks standing up straight when he sees his friends coming back. Shiro jumps up, wiping his snow-spattered ass.
"I will protect them!"
"even if it costs my life! I will definitely protect my new family!"