PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

Submerged in the hazy images that filled the landscape of his dreams, Desmond heard a voice different from those that used to haunt him in his nightmares or seduce him in his dreams but it was not until a strong feeling of weightlessness alerted his sense of alertness that Desmond managed to clear the mist that filled his mind and wake up.

Adjusting his sight a couple of times, Desmond found three familiar faces in front of him, taking into account that both girls practically slept on top of him it didn’t seem so strange that their faces were one of the first things he saw when he woke up; what he did not expect was to see the third face.

With a reptilian-looking face covered in smooth-looking immaculate white fur instead of scales, a pair of bright orange eyes, and a pair of bronze-colored ram’s horns; the face in front of Desmond was identical to that of the flying beast they saw yesterday.

Still slightly dazed from being awoken so abruptly Desmond commented with sleepy eyes and distracted demeanor: “Claire, a dragon crawled into the house.”

Who would have expected that it would be this majestic creature who would respond with a motherly female voice but a dismissive tone: “Don’t compare me to those selfish lizards.”

Listening to the maternal reprimand, Desmond ended up reflectingly responding: “You’re right, you’re much better than those selfish lizards.” and seeing the horrified faces of both Xiauyue and Mei; he understood that the situation was worse than it seemed.

Interrupting the chaotic thoughts of the trio, it was the turn of the bright-eyed creature to respond in that same motherly voice now filled with genuine appreciation: “You are a clever boy, of course, I am better than those horrible lizards, look at me; my fur is beautiful ”

It was only a moment but Desmond would swear he saw a flash of naive vanity shining in the creature’s eyes and had a strong feeling that this dominant looking and present entity at this moment only wanted to be praised.

.....

Swallowing hard, Desmond steeled himself and took a step forward in the direction of the creature’s face causing Xiauyue and Mei to almost have a heart attack; the creature on the other hand just watched carefully.

Taking another two steps, Desmond came to the front of the creature’s face, his face level with the creature’s glowing eyes, Desmond reached out his hand and stroked the soft white fur in front of him.

“You are right, your fur is beautiful as snow and softer than silk; certainly better than the scales of some stinky lizard “Desmond exclaimed with absolute sincerity and a hint of amazement at the feeling that his hands gave him when they caressed the creature’s fur.

“Normally I don’t let anyone touch me, but since you have such good taste I can make an exception, in exchange, how about you tell your two beautiful companions to stop looking at me like I’m going to eat them?” After giving a slight snort that ruffled Desmond’s dark hair, the same mature female voice expressed discontent at the attitude of Xiauyue and Mei who were still in a defensive posture with nervous expressions.

Nor is it that they could be blamed for reacting that way, in fact, that was the way most human beings would react if they woke up one morning and found a dragon right under their noses; in any case, it was Desmond who reacted abnormally.

Of course, Desmond had his reasons for reacting that way, for although at first, he was quite surprised, when he understood that the creature in front of him was a sentient being with intelligence; in Desmond’s mind this creature was no different from all the exotic beings he saw on his visits to the hunters’ association.

Of course, Desmond had also understood at that time that having the guard up against such a powerful creature would not make much difference and that if this creature had come with evil intent then they should already be dead.

Whatever the case, after hearing the complaint from the powerful entity in front of them, Xiauyue and Mei had no choice but to relax their posture as much as possible and try to appear less nervous.

Watching the awkward footsteps of the pair of beauties, the white beast made an extremely human gesture as he rolled his eyes in exasperation before turning his gaze to Desmond again.

“Well, since I showed up uninvited while you were sleeping, it’s understandable that you feel uncomfortable; so why don’t we start with some introductions? I suppose I should be the first, my name is Kryzsha and my species is known as the Astral aurora “Using the same mature motherly tone, Kryzsha expressed a kind apology before introducing herself.

Looking at the still restless Xiauyue and Mei, Desmond let out a helpless sigh before saying his part: “My name is Desmond Astryd, they are Miao Xiauyue and Mei Fei Long.”

“I see, so let me ask, what is a group of humans doing following me home? Just so you know, whether you live or die will depend on your answer. ” The maternal voice lost its warmth and gave a stern sensation as the beast’s aura oppressed everyone in the room.

Xiauyue tried to use her Ki to resist the pressure but it was useless, the difference in strength between her and this creature was abysmal; They weren’t even in the same league.

Desmond was the same although looking beyond the pressure that threatened to overwhelm him, Desmond had again that feeling of familiarity with this creature that he had the first time he saw her; Only this time he finally understood what it was for.

Of the three it was probably Mei who got the worst of it as the pressure exerted by this beast seemed to have a strange effect on her, with her eyes returning to her metallic and feline appearance; Strands of silver Ki continued to escape her body as she desperately tried to resist the pressure.

Seeing no other option but to answer the truth for himself, Desmond used every last drop of force in his body to squeeze out a few words: “You remind me of a friend.”

Not expecting this kind of response, Kryzsha stopped the pressure she was exerting on the trio and looked at Desmond with renewed interest, after looking deeply at him and sniffing him a couple of times a glint of understanding crossed Kryzsha’s eyes when she asked: “Oh, tell me; how is your friend?”

Thinking of that mischievous girl with amethyst eyes and blonde hair with a hint of purple who always flapped happily around him with a seductive smile, an expression of warmth showed on Desmond’s face as he commented, “She? She is a spoiled and whimsical girl, she loves to eat honey in a deceptively seductive way and spends almost half of the day sleeping when she is not playing a prank on someone ... she is also an extremely considerate girl who can be very mature and reliable when needed, she is probably the person who understands me the most in this world; she is my best friend. ”

“I can imagine that other way, you wouldn′t carry her essence in your aroma, we do not give our blessing to anyone and yet she seems to have given much more than just a blessing; she gave you a piece of her existence. ” Ignoring the sentimental details in Desmond’s statement, Kryzsha seemed to understand quite a bit about the person Desmond was talking about and even she spoke of herself as if she belonged to the same type of existence.

The only people in the place who didn’t seem to understand anything were Xiauyue and Mei but how should they know that Desmond was talking about Kyuru whom they had never met.

Ignoring the utterly stupefied look on the girls’ faces, Desmond nodded with a warm smile and commented, “I’m a lucky man.”

Kryzsha seemed to understand a little more from Desmond’s words as upon hearing him call himself lucky, she looked at the two girls in the room and nodded vehemently as she said, “Indeed, a lucky man.”

Sensing the hidden meaning in Kryzsha’s words, Xiauyue and Mei couldn’t help but blush a little now that they thought about how someone had seen them sleep hugging Desmond’s chest in such an intimate posture.

“This place is too small, my delicate body has begun to go numb from bending here; Come I will guide you to my lair “Kryzsha commented adjusting her posture allowing the trio to see a bit of her majestic and not at all delicate body that was beyond the cave entrance.

Unsure of what to do and feeling that the whole situation had gotten out of hand, Xiauyue and Mei could only look at Desmond for a clue on how to proceed, but Desmond instead of answering them simply kept talking to Kryzsha as he made his way going out of the cave.

Yet Xiauyue had the intellect and Mei the instincts to know that while Kryzsha seemed to have invited them cordially, they had no power of decision and could only obediently follow this seemingly vain creature.

Her only consolation was that while Kryzsha could be quite dominating in the way she presented herself, she didn’t seem to have bad intentions, and maybe that was just her way; at least Kryzsha didn’t seem at all intimidating when Desmond was stroking her white fur admiringly.