Destyn sat up until the early hours of the morning pondering what he would do after he left the city. He couldn’t possibly go fight that demon, not after what he had done before. And yet, he wanted to save his mom so bad every time he thought about it a new fiery of anger burned within. He examined the mangled pouch he had retrieved from the Foilern’s mouth, it was a tad mangled, but it was still very important to Destyn as he sat hunched over the table. His thoughts murmured off as he dozed into a sleep as he replayed the last moments with his mom before he had been captured.

“Not a very comfortable sleep, you should have gone to bed, you would have been more rested.” A familiar voice woke him. He looked up and a figure came into viewed. Destyn sighed and stretched. The sun had now risen, and the fog had lifted. He adjusted his glasses slightly as he looked over to the bed where the girl still lay. Zandra had made her way behind the counter and started brewing some tea. “What were you doing sleeping there anyway?” Zandra had to question. Destyn only shook his head slightly. He rose and walked over to his hanging clothes and felt if they were dry.

“I don’t know what to do. I cannot face the Seplini alone, let alone that demon.” Destyn brushed his hair back and bit his lip. “I can’t help but feel useless. Even my brother abandoned me.” Zandra poured a cup of tea for the both of them. She brought them both to the table and began to sip one of them. She motioned for him to sit so he followed.

“You’re not alone now. You can stay for as long as you need.” She smiled only slightly and looked down at the table. “That looks heavy, why would you wear such a thing?” Destyn flinched and looked down. His left arm still had the shackles he had been chained up with. He had totally disregarded them ever since he had been set free. He was used to something there though because he had a matching metallic wrist band with his right hand, which he still wore. Destyn sipped the tea and shrugged.

“I suppose I haven’t had time to get rid of it, my brother had freed me from the town’s cellar and ever since then we haven’t stopped moving.

“Well then, let’s get it off. I wouldn’t want to wear that ever. It’s not too fashionable anyways.” She giggled as she wandered off to find some tools.

Destyn played with the chains on the shackles, enough so that the corroded part of the chain snapped. He looked at the saw marks from the arrow and then glanced at the arrow taken from the sleeping girl. Just as he did there was movement on the bed. His eared shot up and his eyes focused on the girl, she was moving! Destyn rushed over to her, knocking the chair he was sitting on over and almost spilling the tea. His knees hit the wooden floor with an echoing thud. His eyes widened with excitement, she was ok.

Shaking her head slightly to knock the sleep away her eyes opened completely out of focus. The light hurt and a headache immediately arose.

“Crow… Crow is that you?” She called to a dark figure that hovered over her. Her arms extended and she grabbed the figure and pulled in and she began to embrace. She began to weep.

Destyn yelped as she did this. Her grip was tight and Destyn could hardly breathe. He managed to bring himself up to sit on the bed, but she still clung to him and cried. Destyn felt slightly uneasy and confused. He didn’t know what to do so he did what he thought was right. He hugged her back. He felt almost responsible for what ever she had gone through, and though she may not have known what it was for he apologized.

He Squinted tears out of his eyes slightly and swallowed hard. He had never encountered such a situation, and it made him feel sick.

“I’m sorry…” he mumbled as she finally let off.

“Crow, it was horrible, I didn’t know what happened, before I was crashing down!” Destyn raised an eyebrow. He had no clue who she was referring to when she continuously called him Crow. He must have been someone important to her.

“Look, I’m sorry, but I’m not Crow. Who ever that is, I’m afraid he’s not here.” A grim look came about on her face as Destyn said that. She began to sob again and grabbed onto Destyn, pulling him down onto the bed.

“You- you have to be Crow, you saved me.” Her eyes were a bright aqua and they glistened with a glaze of tears as she looked at Destyn. His heart felt like it stopped and he also felt paralyzed. He just laid their limp as tears rolled down her face.

“You two sure are odd. Couldn’t you wait to find a room alone somewhere?” Destyn’s eyes broke the stare he was in. He came back to reality in a rush and his heart began to race. He sat up and began to flail his arms.

“Nothing, nothing happened!” Destyn bolted to a stand and straightened his back. Zandra laughed and she waved some tools to show him she was successful.

“Look, you made her cry, what’s the matter little girl?” She leaned over the head of the bed to get a closer look at the newly awakened girl. “Aren’t you pretty,” Zandra smiled trying to coax some trust into the girl “What’s your name?”

“My name?” She needed to think about it for a moment then nodded. “It’s Dalia.” She wiped tears from her face as she looked back at Destyn.

“Are you hungry Dalia?” Zandra questioned sweetly. Dalia only nodded as she lay back down. Zandra looked at Destyn.

“Let me take that thing off, and then would you go fetch me some food for lunch?”

______

Destyn pulled the chain from the shackle from his pocket as he walked down the streets of the wooden town. He decided to take the lace from the mangled pouch his mom had made and used it to tie the chain around his neck as a choker. It held memory and hope that his brother still cared and that he would come to find him eventually. Destyn looked down at a list of ingredients he was to search for. He didn’t know why she had sent him to go looking for the ingredients. It was probably because the odd situation Dalia had put him in, and Zandra had recognized that. Plus they were probably discussing the accident. That was fine; he didn’t feel much like talking at the moment anyways.

The town market wasn’t overly busy, but groups of them seemed to be flocking far to Destyn’s left. He shrugged and headed to an empty store to his right. Looking around there was no merchant in site. Destyn picked up an odd shaped fruit… or vegetable. It was unknown to him, and almost exotic. He smelt it then examined how fresh it was. As he did a shadow approached him and blocked out his light.

“You’re blocking my light sir.” Destyn was being courteous but he didn’t look back, he placed the fruit back down instead. The towering figure turned him around by force and picked him up.

“What is an outsider doing here?” The figure was male, and quite a bit darker in complexion then a female Jukin. Its ears frilled out as it took a large whiff of Destyn.

“Half Breed are you?” He threw Destyn down into the display of fruits.

“We have orders to destroy and Hevanarchons who pass through. So guess what that means little one.” A blood lust grin grew over the tall figure. He drew a large jagged sword from his belt and pointed it at Destyn. He thought he would have been safe here out of all places, but he had guessed wrong. There wasn’t much he could do; he had left everything back at Zandra’s house. The Jukin swung and Destyn rolled to his right. The display flew everywhere. Destyn began to bolt down the street looking for a safe haven. Tents whistled by, and the Jukin gained. Destyn ran into a dead end. He turned around to face his foe.

“Look, I’m just resting here for awhile, ok?” Destyn wasn’t even heard, the Jukin charged with much haste. Destyn narrowly dodged the powerful attack. He began to run again, swiftly jumping and grasping onto an open window. He nimbly pulled himself up and onto the roof. In two astonishing leaps the Jukin went from the top of the wall to the roof. Destyn’s stomach dropped. ‘Crap, I don’t get why they are always so persistent.’ Destyn leaped roof top by roof top, almost missing a few times. His perception might not have been the best at that moment, but he was running for his life.

The stone roofs clacked as two sets of feet raced through out the town in a game of cat and mouse. Destyn didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to run. Just as he thought he was about to leap his last house he tripped and fell straight off the building. He fell straight through onto another roof, a straw roof. It didn’t give much support as it gave way to his weight. He groaned slightly as he rose. He stumbled over to the door, readying for another run. Opening the door he stopped dead in his tracks. The Jukin stood at the door waiting for him.

“You can’t escape me. I’ve learned to out run even the fastest elf.” He howled with laughed as he raised his sword. Destyn only braced himself, this was the end for him, he couldn’t even defend himself with anything, nor did he have the energy. Just as he was about to strike it down on Destyn he halted. It eyes widened and blood spurted from its lips. Destyn looked down at its chest two prongs protruded from it. The disappeared with a splicing sound and he fell to the ground. Behind stood another Jukin that stood about the same height, but looked even scarier then the one that had attacked him. His slick green hair shone in the sun, and his eyes seemed even darker then the other ones. He had a black armor that covered his body. He was defiantly a warrior of some sort.

“Are you ok?” A deep voice rang through Destyn’s ears as he panted to catch his breathe.

“Thanks to you.” The Jukin’s Smile didn’t make Destyn feel any better.

“You had better get back. I can’t protect you for long, for I’m only here for a short while.” He began to walk off, without any explanation.

“Wait, what’s your name?” Destyn fixed his glasses and brushed hay off of his vest.

“That is not of your concern. Destyn. And before you ask, I make it my business to know.” He laughed as he walked into the forming fog. Destyn’s heart had stopped when the Jukin said his name. How did he know of him? He shuttered and went to grab the food and head home right away.

______

“That took longer then expected.” Zandra said unable to see Destyn because she was crouched down rambling through a bunch of pots in a cupboard.

“Crow, what happened!?” Dalia ran towards Destyn to examine him. He surprisingly only have a few gashes, and he was dirty again. Zandra quickly stood up to see what all the commotion was and dropped the pots she had just pulled out.

“What happened?” She uneasily asked.

“Someone attacked me, supposedly there’s an order out for my death.” Zandra raised an eyebrow and rested her arm on her hip. Dalia wiped off some hay from Destyn’s back. He only took small heed to Dalia.

“Then another Jukin saved me, he was very odd though, I didn’t trust him.”

“Well then Crow,” She giggled as she imitated Dalia “You had better get cleaned up for dinner, we’ll discuss it later.” Destyn only smiled. He had been out all afternoon now, but the only way he could tell that was because of the fog that set in, just like the day before.

Destyn cleaned his wounds and Dalia mended them. He was still unsure of why she insisted to hang around him like that, and still call him Crow when he wasn’t.

“Dalia…” Destyn hesitated.

“Yes, Crow?” Her voice sounded innocent as her reddish brown hair glinted in the torchlight.

“Who’s Crow?” Dalia stopped what she was doing and looked at Destyn.

“Brother… He was my brother.” It was evident she cared for him, and the pain was all too real as well.

“Was he harmed by the same people that shot that arrow?” She began to cry. That was all Destyn needed for an answer.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that.” She rested her head on his chest as she sobbed again.

“No, it’s ok… Destyn.” It was the first time she had used his real name. He smiled and placed his hand on her head.

“It’s ok. You can call me Crow if it makes you feel better.” She looked up and smiled and grasped her arms around him even harder. “Ow wow!” Destyn shrieked in pain as she placed her hands on all the wounds. She giggled as she sat up and continued the mending.

______

Sitting at the table Destyn poked at the food as he was deep in thought. Zandra and Dalia talked about things that had been happening, and what happened to Dalia. Apparently a group of humans shot her down, along with her brother thinking they were spies of some sort. Dalia escaped but her brother hadn’t. She had barely been able to fly as far south as she did. Her brother was all she had left of her family, and they had been looking for a safer place to live, because the demon had taken most of the healthy land away in Syrain. She was also about sixteen years old, and a race known as Crussido, she could transform into a bird form, which was what Destyn had seen when they collided.

They also discussed Destyn’s meeting with a Jukin named Jakarta, supposedly he was one of the top Commanders, though recently he had been disappearing a lot, and he had become very suspicious. Destyn couldn’t help but agree. That had brought up the mention of his weapon and stories about the original Jukin city that lay underneath the water, and any tales or myths Zandra could remember. She mentioned one that she was sure it was real, it was of a glorious golden bladed staff that possessed great power and that it had once been wielded by the a great commander during the Nojae War.

This made Destyn think. That was what he needed, was a magical weapon to use against the demon. His face darkened as he thought about this. He had been having such an enjoyable evening he felt selfish for forgetting about such a thing.

“What’s the matter?” Zandra smirked slightly “Are you sad that your girlfriend went to bed without giving you a good night kiss?” Dalia had just recently gone to bed, but that wasn’t the reason.

“No… I just feel bad for not doing anything about my mom and the town’s people.” Destyn looked up “Plus it’s my Birthday.” He smiled slightly.

“Wow, really! How old are you?” Destyn hadn’t ever seen Zandra get that excited so he just laughed.

“I’m eighteen today, officially an adult.” He smirked slightly “and I should be just starting my life today, but it kind of got postponed.” Zandra stood up

“Then why are we drinking Tea!? You should be getting drunk!” Destyn only shook his head.

“Tell me more about the Gloren Staff.”