X’yros was satisfied now that the last of the small annoying group had been destroyed and smoldered into ash. He strode past burning houses and side-stepped pools of flame that had collected on the straw and hay. Now he was making his exit to return to a hopefully peaceful few months in his home where he would no longer be bothered by the nearby existence of humans. X’yros was just about to pass the last burning house, but he suddenly paused at an odd sound. He lifted his long neck and twisted his head to the side to catch the noise a bit clearer. A deep rooted instinct forced him to pause and pay attention to this sound, even though he had easily blocked out the sound of the other humans screaming.
“Mmm,” he growled.
The enormous male turned around and approached the door frame of a house that was beginning to collapse in on itself. A fading cry called out from within the flames which began to grow weaker. It soon was to be consumed either by the fire itself or the heavy smoke the destruction had created. X’yros narrowed his eye lids while his instincts forced him to mindlessly walk into the small, completely unsafe area. He had to squeeze through the door which almost pushed the building to the ground, it shook violently and went even further into flames. He had to croutch down to even be able to walk inside, and one stride brought him to the back, where inside a crib-like structure cradled a dying toddler. The child took a great effort to turn its soft, fatty head ever so slightly to peer up at his enormous golden-hued eyes. Jet black hair fell atop its forehead and doe-brown eyes weakly peered up at him. So far the child had not been affected by worst of things, but smoke was causing its breathing to fail. Something in his chest wrenched his guts and caused a low cooing to echo his throat, vibrating his wattle-like flesh. A warm craving burned into him. X’yros lowered his massive neck even more so until he was just about touching the small body with his nostrils, his helm had a curved beak-like end that prevented him from physically touching it. He inhaled the warm milk scent of the helpless thing and snorted it back out, forcing the hair into a mess. The child rested its tiny hand over the males’ jaw, then slid down as it slipped out of consciousness. His eyes seemed to widen slightly while he recognized the tear of a fathering instinct kicking in.
He quickly recoiled, furious that something had stirred for the infant. He’d have to save the pathetic thing or live forever feeling guilty about it. With a low snarl the big beast snatched up the child and bouldered through the side of the building, protecting the fragile creature with his own body.
“FATHER. FATHER GET UP!”
X’yros’s eyelids lazily pushed themselves apart as light filtered through the window and practically blinded him. The curved form of a young woman obstructed the rest of the light from piercing the lazy giant.
“Get UP!!! It’s the old couple! They need help! Father, get up!” The loud shrilly voice nagged at his ears, driving annoyance deep into his bones.
“What is it." He snarled lowly in response, then lazily turned over to face his back to her, away from the blinding light.
A deep grunt ensued when the much smaller human stomped angrily upon the wood.
“You’re unbelievable! Father, these people are kind and sweet! They have done nothing but break their backs for us! Now they are in trouble and here you are! Get up and help them!”
X’yros lifted his thickly muscled neck and carelessly looked over his shoulder at her with a glare.
“You’re trained. Why don’t you help them?” A snort passed through his nostrils while he returned his head down to rest.
A moment of silence passed before he heard the sound of of her stomping feet rapidly retrieving an assortment of weapons, then again the pitter patter as they bolted out the door and down the stairs. He sighed heavily and pulled himself into a sitting position. When he stood, the wooden floor sounded like it was about to give up with his weight.
X’yros moved to open the doors of a wooden ledge that overlooked the streets. He dared not walk over it, as he was more than positive he would fall through. From the shadows he observed the scene that was quite a distance down the road were a small crowd gathered. Even with his sharp hearing, he could not make out the exchange of words, but he could hear the attitude of the conversation.
He watched as the small frame of Enya shoved her way through the crowd to confront three men mounted on the back of large dark horses. Two were hooded. They seemed to be threatening the innkeepers,and now as he watched further, two more men were on the ground restraining the elderly couple. From the loud, clear tone of the unhooded man on the middle horse, X’yros could make out the sound of an execution being ordered. Enya jumped between the horsemen and the elderly innkeepers and lifted her thin, smaller sword in their direction. She had dove head first into the situation without using any of her previous training, emotions had obviously gotten the best of her. X’yros didn’t like the look of where things were going now. They looked like they were probably knights of something important. He stood guard and tensed himself to charge out if need be, he doubted his presence would be necessary however.
“Leave them alone. Get out of this place and I will spare your pathetic lives.” The woman’s deep voice rang out with confidence at the armored men who looked more surprised and humored than anything.
