It was times like these- when Dreiki was unseen and spying on someone- that he felt someone was watching him the most. While he was so fixated on watching another, he could feel the gaze of some unknowable entity watching his every move. Waiting for the perfect moment when he’d let his guard down and allow himself to be hunted instead.

Dreiki Iriik was perched in a tree off the beaten path towards the city of Punuuk only about a day’s travel away. He was 10 years old, and yet his stone faced expression betrayed a maturity beyond his years.

His red-gold eyes were aglow beneath the shade of his perch, the calculating gaze of a hunter beaming down on the scene before him.

But Dreiki himself was closer to a bystander than a hunter at the moment.

What he was witnessing was making his gut churn.

Three boys, who looked to be no older than Dreiki, were in the middle of torturing an injured, starving bat drake.

A cynical grimace formed across his face like he was trying to scare the three of them away with all the unsavory thoughts running through his head about them.

Dreiki recalled what his mother had said to him, “Get to Punuuk and lay low there. Make yourself out to be an urchin of the slums and keep clear of the nobles. Do not let them see the brand on your arm, nor anyone who might tell them about it. You will find a xio named Savekio in the southern part of the city, he will help you. I will visit near the end of the year, so be safe until then.”

Dreiki clutched at the mottled brown-green cloak his mother had given him to stay hidden. He had so many questions for her.

When Dreiki promised his mother he’d avoid unwanted attention while she was fighting on the front lines as a Venator Knight, he really had intended to keep that promise.

He was hoping that he wouldn’t need to intervene, and that the bat drake might be able to escape. But mentally cheering on the bat drake on was proving to be a fruitless effort.

The young bat drake was a runt, no bigger than the average mutt. Its draconic face was marred in lacerated scales and its normally fluffy white mane was matted with blood. Its body was emaciated, and its eyes were tired. Even the webbing under its legs- which allowed bat drakes temporary flight- had been clipped to prevent it from escaping.

Dreiki surmised the poor creature had been their prisoner for a while now. Starved and beaten either to be broken into an obedient pet or just for amusement’s sake.

Even as it hissed, howled, and yelped, trying its best to escape its torment, the cruel children grabbed it by its tail and dragged it back.

Xiozian boys like them had no mercy for anything remotely draconic aside from themselves. They had horns like devils, and tails which varied from the thick lagging tail of an alligator to a slender whip like an iguana. And despite otherwise looking like humans, they were far more savage and cruel.

Dreiki chewed the inside of his cheek. He could see himself in the bat drake. A half-xiozian like him would’ve been just as worthy of torment in the eyes of pure blooded xiozians like them. It would’ve been a lot safer- and smarter- to continue to Punuuk unnoticed, but he couldn’t walk away or watch a second more.

With a gulp of air, Dreiki imagined his lungs igniting in a blaze of fire. He heaved with his entire chest, spewing out a cascade of magical red flame from his mouth which cut a line between the three bullies and their victim.

His mother’s lessons came to mind. He had a few moments before they got over their initial shock and traced the source of the blast, so he repositioned to keep them guessing. Even if they might’ve been as young as he was, their full blooded heritage meant they would be a lot more athletic than he was.

He moved with fluid and practiced motion, slipping behind the trunk of the tree into the underbrush. His small stature made him rather elusive as far as xiozians went. His mottled cloak blended with the brush.

CRACK!

One of the boys had launched an icicle from his palm into the branch he’d been standing on, sending it crashing to the forest floor in a roaring rustle of branches.

“Where the Hell did it go?” A short stocky xio said.

A xio with dirty blonde hair spoke up, seeming to be their leader.

“I dunno, whatever it was, it's still around. Probably a fire drake or something! It can’t have gotten far. Let’s catch it and then we’ll have two!”
Dreiki took the hunting trap off his shoulder, prying its metal jaw open. He had wanted to catch some wild game with it, but if he was going to pull off this rescue he would need to sacrifice it here and hope they ran into it. Dreiki’s heart was beating out of his chest. This was a lot different from the practice his mother had given him. If he messed up, he’d be the one getting beaten- or worse.

But his mother was a lot stronger, faster, and smarter than these three put together, and Dreiki knew she had never taken it easy on him during practice.

When faced with a force greater than your own, change the battlefield to your advantage. Take away their balance, and send those giants tumbling.

With a deep inhale, he trapped the flames in his lungs this time. Smoke poured from his mouth and nostrils, swallowing the three boys in its inky blackness.

He summoned a bolt of fire in his palm and slugged it in their direction. If he could hit them, that would be great, but that wasn’t the point.

Each bolt pounded into the ground with a hefty ear shattering boom. He heard their reckless approach, “It’s some kinda human over there! Get him!”

“What did you say? Shit! My ears!”

Dreiki faded back, hovering a hand over his hatchet before deciding against it. He didn’t want to kill them.

Instead, he reached into a pouch on his hip and pinched a dash of fine metal powder. He averted his gaze and snapped his fingers, igniting the metal in a brilliant flash of light.

He heard them stumble through the brush, the loud Kchink- CRACK! of his hunting trap going off, followed by a shocked wail of pain.

Silent as a shadow, he took advantage of the chaos, summoning a pair of decoy flames a few meters from him.

“Over there!”

Dreiki could hear the sounds of ice and rock slamming into the trees near the decoy.

“Hey! Get me out of here first, idiot!”

He circled around toward the bat drake and reached out to touch it. The creature jolted and snapped at him. Its fangs grazed his forearm, Dreiki only just barely pulled away in time to avoid a worse injury.

“Come on now, I’m here to help…” he said to the drake.

He huffed under his breath, reaching into his knapsack and pulling out a blanket.

If getting bitten was unavoidable, then he’d at least make sure it didn’t hurt. He wrapped his arm in the blanket and fed it to the bat drake again. The drake snapped its jaws down on it, the pinch of its needlepointed teeth stinging his skin, but not deep enough to be of any concern. He picked it up in his other arm and ran.

A gust of wind whistled through the forest and cleared the smoke behind him. He could hear them shouting, but he dared not slow down or show his face by looking back.

“There he is! Get him!”

Dreiki had really needed that smoke to last a bit longer than it did. Between the encumbrance of the drake and a xiozian’s natural athleticism they were going to catch up with him fast. He had to bluff.

“That’s right! This way idiots! Come and get me! How’s your leg feeling?” Dreiki shouted.

“Wait! That crafty bastard might trap us again, be careful!” Their leader shouted.

The trio slowed their tracks, keeping an eye out for Dreiki’s non-existent traps.

“Slimey human! Come back and fight fair!” The short, stocky one growled out.

As far as Dreiki was concerned, he’d already been fighting fair. But now he was out of tricks and the distance he was getting from them wouldn’t be enough. He had to find a place to hide. They slung their magic after him. A chunk of ice whiffed past his head, and a rock hit him square in the back. Dreiki stumbled but kept running.

He slid into a dried up river trench and scooped a handful of mud to paint his face with. He didn’t know if they could smell him, but he wasn’t going to take that chance. He couldn’t climb up high with the drake in his arms, so he had to become one with the earth instead.

Crouched, he slinked through the trench until he found a nook to fit himself inside. He covered the drake in his cloak and waited, staying absolutely still.

The drake had stopped struggling, either too weak to keep fighting or having realized he wasn’t a threat. It stayed quiet with him, slackening its jaw on his arm.

Even if he was only half xiozian, Dreiki could still heal just as fast as any other pure blooded xio his age. The only difference was that he didn’t have the same pain tolerance. He could still feel the ringing pain between his shoulder blades where the rock had struck him. The bite marks on his arm had already started to seal up, however. He closed his eyes, and listened carefully, hugged so close to the bat drake that he could feel its weak heart thumping along.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

The poor thing had lost so much blood its heart was struggling to circulate the rest. Dreiki could feel its blood dripping down his arm. He readjusted his hold to at least put some pressure on it for now. He waited. Listening carefully for the sounds of his pursuers to dash past him. And when they finally did, he allowed himself to breathe.

"That was close."

Snap!

Dreiki froze. He checked his memory a hundred times over. He was certain those three had run past, so what was stalking him now?