Author's Note:

Hey, it's been a good week and someone commented on me keeping to the schedule which was nice so here's a reward to you folks. Two chapters this week! Hope you like it!

Characters

Titles and Abilites

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The room was cast in a warm orange glow when Kirin left the cabin. His eyes looked over the discarded toys all around, posters hanging on the walls and shook his head. It was all so stupid.

Why was he stuck as a kid?

He remembered the tale his parents had told him while walking down the stairs. It had been the middle of the night when he had decided to come into this world. However, the room was in full light in the hospital and filled with nurses running back and forth to make sure everything went well.

His father said he hadn’t been more scared in his life before or after than in that moment. It lasted for hours and hours on end, making him go mad. When he didn’t think he could take it any more, the boy had decided to come out.

But the joy was short lived. At first he didn’t want to scream, his lungs not working exactly as expected. The nurses managed to make him breathe in time, the glorious wails of a newborn finally penetrating the air.

Yet he had been weak, unhealthy looking. The doctor instantly said it was doubtful he would live. That knowledge had been disastrous for his father. He hadn’t wanted a child but to lose one now would be too much. It was his own son!

He hadn’t told anything to mother for she needed rest. And before she woke up a stranger wearing a doctor’s cloak went it. He suggested trying a new drug. It was only a test model and wasn’t certain to save the boy but without it the baby was going to die for sure.

This chose everything for his father and Kirin was injected with the medicine that kept him alive. The man was then deemed saviour and the kid was told this story repeatedly to learn about the goodness of human heart. A stranger had saved him without any reason.

He had to be thankful for that.

Or was asked for that until the effect of the drug showed up. The news shocked his parents more than him back then. He had been young and stupid, not able to fully understand what it all meant.

Kirin laughed, almost tumbling down the stairs. He shook his head to focus on where he was. Death wasn’t in his agenda. Yet.

The psychologists that had been allowed to check on him all wondered why he didn’t want to end his life. They were all the best of the best, managing to see through his fake smiles but not able to get the answers he so wanted to keep inside. They were everything he had of his own.

And he never wanted to lose it.

How could they understand him anyway. It wasn’t like any of them had faced anything like him. Who but him was a child forever, one belonging to some magical story.

All he lacked were some powers to make him a mythical creature.

He walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. It was mostly empty but he didn’t want to go shopping. That would mean meeting people he didn’t want to see.

In the freezer he found a pizza and put it in the microwave. Ten minutes were probably going to be enough.

Food readying, he turned the TV on. His favourite channels weren’t showing anything interesting so he went to the one showing gaming news. As luck would have it, a show about happenings in Regal Dream was there.

“Are you sure about it? You want to say this is all a single person’s handiwork?” asked a female host with a horrified expression. Her partner, a clean-shaven middle aged man nodded as some footage from the game was put on screen.

From a hawk eye’s point of view the city at night was shown. At first nothing could be seen in the dark but once the video was fast-forwarded a creature moving in the shadows could be seen. He was entering each house and leaving couple minutes later.

Soon players intercepted him in his path and the footage slowed to normal speed. The camera zoomed in on the victims and the perpetrator. The guy was small of stature, with a hood over his head. When he raised his head to attack a wooden fox mask could be glimpsed underneath.

His weapon was a curved dagger that passed through any armour.

The victims tried to defend but they had no chance to win. It was obvious even to those that had little knowledge about the fights. The killer moved with grace and precision, his every move calculated to inflict the most damage while the poor players were just flailing around in comparison.

And on top of that the guy was flashing around. One moment he was stabbing the warrior and another behind the rogue, slashing his neck. There was just no way to catch him as he never stayed in one place for longer than a second or two.

The fight didn’t last long and a few more were shown until everything was fast-forwarded to the end when the sun rose. The monster was leaving the castle through the window and walking on air.

He moved to the roof and stood there facing the sun. His dark blue cloak was smeared with red and crimson covered his hands and face. It shone in the morning light, almost beautifully.

The mask hid most of the killer’s expression but there was a distinct smile on his face. It was small and cute, contagious if not for the fact on whose face it belonged.

A huge wing shaped amulet appeared in his hands and moving on air again he carried it to the highest spire. There he hanged it, letting the sun glisten on its silver surface.

Kirin watched it all with his eyes wide. He felt like a man being sentenced to death as the casters resumed their conversation.

“As you can see it was all done by the individual best known as Silver Wing. He was so elusive that many thought him a myth of Oradin kingdom, an exaggeration but this footage shows them false. There’s actually a person capable of something this horrendous and at first glance impossible.”

The female’s eyes lit up as she heard that. “Weren’t you one of the most opposed to the idea of the single killer leading to such tragedies? There’s evidence of you claiming it was just a delusion, a master plan of some guild.”

“I was and in my defence, I have to say it sounded like a tale.” The man laughed after his words, a friendly smile on his face. It made Kirin shiver. There was nothing happy or good about this situation.

“How could one man possibly do this much damage I always asked the victims. Yet none answered me in a convincing way. They talked about dancing shadows, knives in the dark and hits that passed all defences. Of a man faster than a bullet, unpredictable like a feather in the wind and scarier than a dragon. I heard some people who’d rather face those legendary unbeatable monsters than meet him again.

“It was hard to believe, sounding like someone’s imagination running wild. I always thought it was far-fetched. People wanting to rather increase the size of the enemy than to admit their own weakness but this clip proved me wrong.

“The way this person moves, approaches each situation and acts is a marvel to watch. I have seen many assassins, become an expert on their actions, that’s why I’m here also,” the man said, receiving a chuckle from the female hostess. “But I have to say I was never given the case of someone like him.

“The thing that separates him isn’t skill, though, as many might think.” This made Kirin and the hostess move closer. What was that? Wasn’t Silver Wing the scariest killer because he was the best at the business? “Ahh, it seems I caught your attention now.

“So let me explain myself. Yes, Silver Wing is very skilled. From the fights we could see him moving about at breakneck speed, jumping here and there, evading hits and landing his own without trying too hard. It was all done at leisure.

“But I’ve seen my share of fighters and I would say there are many that would best him. Maybe not many but there are. Yet all of them aren’t that well known. They’re mostly in the lower echelons, doing menial quests and that’s all. Why do you think that is?”

The female reeled back, unprepared for the question. She waited for a couple of moments before replying, unsure of her answer even when she said it. “Uhm... He’s in the less developed part of the continent?”

“That’s a good guess, but no,” the man said with a bright smile. Kirin wanted to punch it off his face but he knew better than to harm his TV. “If he had chosen a different country, I think he would have made even more chaos in the land. That he was stuck in Oradin for the most part of the game’s time is like a miracle to us all. We should thank the god for it.

“But I won’t torment you any longer. The answer to my question is very simple. They all lack the sight of the bigger picture. Those people are content with what they have. And even if they are not, they don’t dare to challenge the impossible. They are limited by their own mind.

“This kid, as I think it is one, hadn’t been introduced to the adult world yet. He doesn’t know that some things aren’t done or should be impossible. In real life they would be, but this is a game world. Here his, or her’s for all we know, creative thinking is an unrivalled strength.”

“So you want to say so many people were killed and outsmarted by a child?” the female asked in a tone that said she could hardly believe it.

The man smiled at her, his eyes shining with pride. He felt himself a prophet, one that could see more in this situation than anyone else. “Yes and you shouldn’t look so appalled by the thought. Children aren’t any less stupid than adults as many want to think. Such misconceptions come only from the fact that they lack worldly knowledge, they make mistakes.”

“Yet this one did none. How could you explain that?”

“Did none?” the man asked in a softer voice. Kirin knew what he was going to say even before the man did. It had been right before his eyes. He had screwed up, and horribly. All his careful planning and hiding had gone to naught in this one escapade.

He turned the channel off, his hands falling lifeless to his sides. How could he have been so thoughtless? It was almost like asking to be caught, giving a clue that even the blindest of people could understand.

Only wizards could fly.

And a kid seen all over Lasran and Vascas.

He had been using that method to travel around those two cities and even on the way to Arenan, the angel village. It was a quick way to move and would have been fine had he not done something really stupid.

Shadow Dash had separated into two abilities, one for light and another for dark. It was the best thing that could happen. One more way to differentiate between Ace and Silver Wing. It was perfect.

Until he went and fucked it all up.

Anger rose in him, crimson covering his eyes. But there was no one around to hit. He was all alone in the place that should have been his sanctuary.

“Deep breaths,” he whispered to himself. “Deep breaths. You don’t want to thrash this place.” It wasn’t true but whatever. There was simply no point in destroying everything around himself. He had to live here.

Stairs rushed under him as he moved upwards and to the cabin. He had just left it but tiredness and hunger receded quickly under the pressure of anger. And disgust.

He hated himself. It was no one’s fault but his. Who cared how they got that footage. It was his own mistake for being to careless. For not using his stupid brain.

The cabin doors closed, machines turning up. Kirin closed his eyes, entering the game.

His food left uneaten, bed not slept in.

Ace opened his eyes to find himself lying on the hill. Next to him was a small stone with the initials of FH, Froyan Harbert. He shifted his head more to the side and found a man with grey hair bowed over the stone, his face wrought by misery.

“You’re still here?”

The man raised his head to glare at him. “What have you done?”

“I avenged you,” Ace said without a second’s hesitation. “I’ve done what you’ve asked of me.”

“I never asked you to kill innocent people!” Skele hissed, his eyes glowing deeper red. “ I never asked that of you.

Ace shrugged. “You asked me to avenge, but never specified the details. If you wanted a different service, you should have looked for another person.” He glared himself now. “I’m only good at killing.”

The undead magician’s jaw opened as if he wanted to say something more but closed back up. He watched the kid for a while, noting his crimson soaked cloak and red dots on the mask. “You don’t care about them at all, do you?”

“Care about who?”

Skele shook his head at that, but his expression didn’t change. Ace no longer felt like this was a creation worth keeping and working on. He whispered a couple of words and once the white mist dissipated, a skeleton knelt near the grave.

“You don’t deserve to walk on this ground. You’re not human.”

Ace smiled at that. This was something he knew how to deal with. Disgust was an emotion all too familiar to him. “Sure. But what about my reward? I have done what was asked of me.”

There was little friendliness in the glowing red eyes but the skeleton stood up. Ace followed his lead and got up also, watching him. What was going to be the reward? Or would the guy decide he didn’t deserve one?

“You only bring sadness to this world but it is not your fault. The world is a place that gives birth to horrors rather that miracles. You fulfilled your end of the bargain even if I don’t agree to the methods you’ve used.”

He then whispered something and a bag appeared in his hand. It was a small non-descriptive one. The guy took out a book out of it and passed it to Ace. “This is what I have promised. May we never see each other again.”

Ace laughed. “That’s up to you.”

He then activated [Radiant Step] and moved away. The city was quiet like a grave and without his help. It was a nice atmosphere so he lowered to the ground.

The cobbled road was easy to walk on so he went around for a bit, without any purpose. It was a beautiful day and he had nowhere to be. Freedom had fallen on his shoulders so suddenly he had no idea what to do with it, where to go.

Then he remembered his old hole.

When he had come here first, he’d settled in a run down house. It should have been somewhere not far and still filled with bags of herbs. There was little chance someone had stolen them.

As he had expected the place was untouched, only rain water having went in and rotted some of Ace’s herbs. It was an unlucky thing but nothing too horrible. There were still more than five full bags left.

He sat down there then, enjoying the last of the sun’s light and opened the book. It was cowered in black leather with unknown symbols on its cover, etched in bronze.

And to Ace’s annoyance, the inside was exactly the same. Black with rusty letters. He wondered what they meant but there was no way to read a language he didn’t know. It was a useless book to him. Had the skeleton known that and given it to him on purpose?

The question had little purpose so Ace took out a couple of logs, sparked the flame with [Flare]’s burst and threw the book in. He didn’t really care about it either way. Reward was rarely the motivation behind his actions.

He opened the bags and after taking out a pot started mixing. There were more space in the room so he made more fires and boiled more elixirs. Most were going to end up as failures but he hoped a few poisons would show up too. He was going low on those.

In case none might, he made some old recipes he knew. It was boring but poison was half the assassin’s damage. He couldn’t just go without it. [Heart-seeker] had to be kept a secret.

Near midnight a message flashed before his eyes. He didn’t really want to talk with anyone but maybe it was something interesting.

/Are you still alive?/ L wrote. Ace thought for a moment. The answer was obvious but he doubted that was what the guy was asking. /What do you want?/

/I have something that will occupy you./ /Why do you think I’d be interested. I have a lot on my hands with your last quest./ It was an absolute lie but who cared. He didn’t really want to leave this place now that he thought about it.

There was some kind of roof over his head, a wall to hide from the wind and herbs enough to keep him busy for days. It would be the perfect place to hide away for a couple of weeks at least.

/Have you opened the TV in the last day? The place is buzzing with news about you./ /And that would interest me because?/ /Your cover has been blown. It’s obvious to everyone that the kid Ace is the notorious murderer Silver Wing. You have no place to return to./

Ace didn’t answer to that. He had had a feeling it would happen but he hadn’t expected for them to connect the dots so quickly. It was like a punch to the stomach, one he had mistimed. /Or do you think they will let you stay around?/

He burst out laughing at that, a cruel, bitter sound. /I’m not stupid if that is what you were implying. But why would I want to rush to you at this moment? You could be preparing a trap for me now that I’ve become useless./

“Useless?” The surprise in the guy’s voice sounded genuine as Ace accepted his call. “You have just become even more valuable. I can use you all the time since you have no one to distract you from the task.”

“Distract?” Ace shook his head soundlessly at that. There had never been anyone. He was just too lazy to do what he had been told. The things he were doing with the group had always been more fun.

L hadn’t seem to have read the kid’s mind and continued on his chosen path. “Yes. They were taking all your time. Now you can concentrate on the mission I have for you.”

“Which is?” There was little chance he would do it. L after all no longer had anything to threaten him with, but it wasn’t like it would hurt to hear him out. Maybe he actually had something interesting in mind.

“Train a group of assassins. I already have the people in mind, but they lack your cunning. You would become their leader and have a place of honour on my side.”

This sounded like something fun, ordering older people around but one thing didn’t sound right. “What do you mean at your side? Draugar of Silver will kill you the moment they hear of you conspiring with me.”

“It is already taken care of,” L said dismissively. ”You don’t need to worry about it.”

“Explanation,” Ace said adamantly. He was already knee deep in shit and had to start walking out of it somehow. First thing being creating a new personality to travel around under while keeping a close watch on his old contacts. Those could betray him the easiest.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the conversation, some shuffling and then quietness. “They were bought. Leaders weren’t too happy about it but without me they would have huge problems after that extravagant celebration. They’re set in too deep in my city.”

It was a good lie if it was one, Ace concluded. “Fine. I’ll come over to take a look at those students of yours.”

“When?” “Do you really think I’ll say that?” There was a sigh from the other end. “I understand. Come when you can. I need them to start training as fast as possible.”

“Whaa?” Ace muttered as he saw dark smoke coming from the outside and swirling around him. Was that some kind of tracking magic? Had they already found him? It was damn fast.

“What is ha-” L started but Ace dropped the call and hiding under [Shadow Veil] made his way out. [Silent Steps] were hopefully enough to keep his approach soundless.

He sneaked from the room, stopping right before the exit. As long as he stayed still, it was impossible for anyone to notice him but he couldn’t just stay here like this forever. For that reason he moved his head inch by slow inch in an attempt to prevent any rogues from noticing his movements.

It was hard to say if he succeeded when he looked into the eyes of what was waiting for him outside. No, it wasn’t a person.

Right outside the ruined house stood a horse with a look that could have killed. It was breathing hard, its sides raising in an uneven rhythm, hot breath leaving its nostrils. The whole pose was of one ready to rush forth and hammer the target with his head.

It would have been a perfect tactic for a unicorn but this horse didn’t seem to be one. He was lacking a horn and the colour was black instead of white.

Ace wondered what it was. This could be an elaborate plot to lure him out but he doubted that. It was too soon for anyone to have come up with a scheme and found him. Moving through mirrors was a secretive way to travel if anything else.

That decided he stepped out and dropped the veil. This brought the animal’s attention to him and like it had been clearly preparing to do, it rushed at Ace. The kid was barely on time to jump to the side and evade the attack.

Before he could think about it, he heard the horse whinnying behind him. It had tried to control its charge but had still crashed against the wall. This, however, did nothing to diminish its anger and after standing up it rushed Ace again.

This time the kid was more prepared and easily dodged to the side. The horse whirled around to try another charge so Ace moved to the street where there were no buildings to crash against. He felt no need to have the horse injure himself on his account.

The dodging lasted for some ten minutes more until the horse could no longer stand up. His sides were raising erratically, sweat running in torrents down its whole body.

Ace squatted down next to it and tried to pet the head, barely able to get his hand before losing some fingers. “You’re one crazy animal,” he muttered, watching the white eyes. It then tried to kick him. This hit Ace in the ribs and the animal released a triumphant snort.

The kid massaged his side, there would be a bruise for sure if this was real life. He had even lost some ten percent of health to that single hit. The defensive capabilities of assassins were truly pathetic.

Ace stood up and threw a glance at the exhausted animal, now lying a couple of feet away. The horse’s triumph had been short lived and he was back to laboured breaths. “Who are you?” Ace asked him without expecting a reply.

The animal didn’t give any besides raising his eyes to glare at him. “You sure don’t look happy, though I don’t remember meeting you before.”

Smoke swirled but it was hardly an explanation. Ace had none either so he bent down to the animal and poured a health potion down his throat. The horse choked on it for a moment, its eyes widening, but then it calmed down and the liquid went to its insides.

It had been a weak elixir but Ace hoped it would do the job. There was a cut on the animal’s front leg where he had hit against a sharp edge and some bruises on the side.

They healed in moments and some breath returned to the animal. It shook his head and got back to its feet. There was still a look of distrust in its eyes but no longer was it charging like a madmen.

Ace deemed it progress and went closer with his hand extended. The animal sniffed it and shook its head. neighing, the mane flying back. It was black like the whole horse but Ace could have sworn he saw something light reflecting the moonlight.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m not going to harm you.”

The animal snorted at that, taking a couple of steps closer. It lowered its head so their eyes were on the same level.

This led to a long stare down between a boy and a horse.

Ace wasn’t sure what this was about but there was no way he was giving up. If it was a challenge, he was winning it no matter what. That is if it suited him.

It felt like they stood there for hours until the horse finally lowered its gaze and bent his front legs. Ace watched him do that and nodded in respect. The animal seemed to like that and motioned towards its own back.

“You want me to ride you?” Ace asked unsure. The animal nodded solemnly, not once losing eye contact.

The kid was about to do that when he heard sizzling water. “My potions!” he shouted out, crawling back inside the fallen in house at top speed. One of the pots had boiled and liquid was now running its sides to the ground.

Ace instantly took out a flask of water, dousing the flame, and took the lid off. The elixir still bubbled inside but no longer threatened to run out. That was good.

There were strange sounds from the entrance so Ace went back there to check what was happening. To his surprise the horse had went down on his belly and was trying to get through the short tunnel Ace had to wriggle through.

It was a somewhat funny sight so the kid smiled but didn’t let the animal make fun of himself for too long. “You don’t need to come here,” he said crawling to it and shooing away. “I just need to pick a couple of things and I’ll be out in a moment. Wait for me outside here, okay?”

The animal whinnied unhappily so Ace petted his nose. “Don’t worry. I’ll be out soon and you can stand guard in the meantime. We don’t know when someone with ill intentions might show up.”

This seemed to work and the horse stood up, after eyeing Ace for a minute of course.

There was something very unnatural about him, Ace decided. He wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to go off riding on him, but he no longer wanted to stay. It was too dangerous. Until he decided on his new main appearance he had to always be on the move.

This was the only way he believed to be able to evade all those following him. Especially since they had some unknown way to find him as somehow they had filmed his actions at the city.

He wondered how they had done that while collecting his tools but couldn’t come up with an idea. Maybe if he had watched the whole show... But he doubted that. They wouldn’t say how where he could overhear. Especially not the whole truth, and that would be even more dangerous.

As he was thinking that and putting the last fire out, he heard the horse snorting. It annoyed him but he ignored it for the moment and bent, filling the last bottle up. Only after putting it away did he crawl outside.

He was about to call for the animal, to calm him down when he noticed figures moving in the darkness. They were still far away in the distance but quickly closing in. In another moment [Instincts of a Predator] could pick them up and Ace knew they were coming from all directions. Horsed.

“How fast are you?” he asked his mount who went on his front legs to let him get on. Ace sat up as the horse looked at him with a fire in his eyes. The kid wondered if it had been the right decision to tempt this unknown creature when all thoughts flew out of his mind.

The horse started at a trot, then canter and in another instant they were galloping forward. It wasn’t anything much but to Ace who hadn’t been on horse much, especially one rushing with reckless abandon and without a saddle, this felt like a nightmare.

He grabbed onto the mane, then hugged the neck and closed his eyes, hoping this was going to be over soon. Adventure was fun and all but he didn’t want to fall off the galloping horse.

And into the hands of his chasers whoever they were.

He tried to think, analyse the situation but the only thing his mind was capable of producing was a simple mantra. ‘Don’t fall off. Don’t fall off. Don’t fall off. Don’t. Fall. Off.’

His hands slipped at times, but he only tightened his grip then. This was a dangerous ride and he was a horrible rider. He hadn’t even gotten a riding skill!

To make the journey even better, it started to rain a bit later. Large droplets ran down his cloak and face, blurring the small piece of land he was seeing between the horse’s neck and his hand.

He shivered, wind passing through his damp clothes, chilling him to the bone. But Ace knew better than to ask if it could get any worse. Those words never brought anything good.

Time passed and he got used to the rhythm of muscles moving under him, the sound of hoofs hitting the soft ground. They had left the road ages ago and now were in the middle of nowhere by Ace’s knowledge.

Sweat mixed with rain was running down the horse’s sides and Ace could feel its ragged breathing. The speed was dropping down little by little too. Soon they were back to a trot and moments after a walk.

This allowed Ace to weaken his grip and look around. They were moving next to a forest, their pursuers nowhere in sight. A light shone somewhere in the distance, a village maybe.

“We should be able to find shelter there,” he said loudly over the pelting rain and the animal snorted in agreement. It tried to speed the walk but its tired limbs protested. Walk was the best thing possible at the moment.

Ace didn’t rush him and in some fifteen minutes they were next to the village. All of the houses were dark but for the one light at the front. Through the window Ace could see a man sitting over a book under a candle’s light, a bow and an axe next to the armchair.

He went down from the horse and knocked on the door. This startled the man and after some scuttling he showed up with an axe in hand. He looked taken aback after noticing the kid at his door a few hours past midnight so Ace took the initiative.

“Is there a place I could rest my horse? We expected to reach the next city tonight but rain caught us unaware...” He added a certain amount of sheepishness to his voice to make him more believable and the man seemed to buy it.

“That stallion’s yours?” he asked after a moment, lowering his weapon to the ground. “He looks like hell.”

Ace looked back at the horse that had carried him away from the pursuers. Hot breath was leaving its nostrils as it tried to calm its breathing. Sweat was being washed off by the rain but it made the animal shiver from the smallest of gusts.

That seemed to snap the man into action. “Come. He needs immediate attention if you don’t want him getting sick.”

Ace shook his head at that and went to the animal to walk with him after the man. They were led into a barn. There were no stalls inside just straw and hay thrown in random piles. “I’m not using this so you can stable him here for the night. But first you need to clean him up.”

“Okay..?”

The man brought him a grey cloth and told him to dry the horse. It was supposedly very important in keeping the animal healthy and preventing him from catching a cold.

Ace wasn’t sure he wanted a pet, horse one at that, but the animal had carried him away from the enemies. It was a notable thing and Ace was one to encourage the good done to him. He wasn’t going to let his helper die from some simple cold.

It was true he might have escaped himself but that was a big maybe. His fields were an extremely useful tool but he had a bad feeling about using them now. Once people knew that trick, he was sure they already found a way to prevent him from utilising it.

That’s why the riding had been such an easy escape. They simply hadn’t expected that. He hadn’t ever used animal helpers before. It wasn’t attributed to him before.

“Here’s some water,” the man said bringing a bucked of it after a long disappearance. The horse drank it in large gulps, finishing more than half of it in no time. After noticing Ace’s worried expression, the man added. “It’s warm. You have nothing to worry about. I’ve had my own farm back in time.”

“Thanks,” Ace said with a small smile. It hadn’t been the thing he was thinking, but knowledge was a good thing. Now he knew it was warm water only for horses after a long run.

When he said it like that to himself, it sounded very obvious. Horses were like humans, cold water might be nice after exhaustive training, working a lot, but it would bring nothing but sickness.

“You can come over to my house after you’re done here. There’s an extra room where you can sleep.”

Ace smiled at that and nodded, drying the left flank. The man gave him a return smile and left. “I’m a watcher in this town so don’t worry to wake me up.”

It was a good explanation and Ace nodded again, moving to clean the bottom of the foot. When he needed to clean the back, he motioned for the horse to move next to a stack of hay. The animal understood instantly and Ace could clean him up easily.

Yet it took a long while none the less. In time he dropped the cloak and most of the clothes, leaving only in black pants. It would have been cold if not for the fact he was moving so much. Scrubbing the animal dry was a lot of exercise.

So much that when the man came over to check what had happened to the mysterious boy he found him sleeping with his horse. The animal had laid down half on the side, his legs bent and the boy had fallen next to him.

They were sharing the warmth on the cold night. It was cute but humans had homes. The man thought of waking the kid because of that. Yet one look from the horse was enough to stop him in his tracks.

If the boy had wanted to to sleep more comfortably, he would have come inside. This situation was none of his concern.