Looking at his parents' grave, Alanor knew it was time he said goodbye. The old man had been right. He needed to train and be strong. He needed to be able to fight for himself and more than anything, he needed to go back to Undead and get his answers.
Right now, he was too young and too weak. So he would listen to the man, he would follow the instructions and find his way to Greroth. He would learn and no matter what happened, he would get everything he needed.
He was a fighter and a lycan and he would be better. He would be better than the fighters of Udrad. He would battle them and he would win. He had to. If he had to cross the whole of Urad to find out what had truly happened to his parents, Alanor was ready, and he did care anymore.
Whatever had happened already did, and he wasn't going to let anyone be able to stop him. Sure, he had no idea where Greroth was, but he would make a deal even with the hooters, just to get there, besides, this was probably his chance at a new home.
"I'll see you in the next life, mother," Alanor said to his parents, wishing them a good day and reminding them that he would come back to them soon enough. Granted, Alanor wasn't sure of when he would return, but he knew he would.
No one would stop his return and he would get it all back. He would clean the Wynter name and put it back where it belonged. He would make sure Udrad never forgot who he was and what they had done to his family. And that right there was the promise of goodbye and safe returns.
The promise to unearth everything, the promise to battle time and situations and the promise to make sure that no matter what happened, no matter how the world looked at him and his family, he would prevail and if he didn't prevail, then he would never go down easily.
"Goodbye," Alanor said, at the same time a voice interrupted him.
"I see you're awake."
Alanor was in shock, unsure of how to react.
For a kid who had once looked at a hound in the eye and poked him fearlessly, right now he wasn't so confident. Maybe because he had given himself a mission to find justice for his parents and get to the bottom of the circumstances that led to their deaths.
Maybe it was also because he wanted to be alive this time. Whatever day it was, Alanor was determined to only bid goodbye to his parents, and not to his life. So whoever the person was, he was ready to fight, after all, he was a lycan kid.
And lycans were pretty strong compared to most of the creatures in this forest, well save for the hounds, but then with the right tactics, Alanor would be able to handle himself.
"Not really the time to be picking fights with me or whatever it is you want with me," Alanor said confidently, wiping the tears off his swollen eyes.
He had been crying for too long that he hadn't even realized that he would get sick, but then what was the point anyway, it wasn't like he had cared about himself up until two minutes ago.
He looked at the young man openly frowning at him like young Alanor had done something that was unacceptable. The eyes were familiar, though he couldn't quite remember them, until he spoke again.
"For someone who wanted to die two days ago, you sure have some energy. And for the record, that stick hurt when you poked me with it" the young man said to Alanor, who didn't know what to think.
Did this mean that hounds could turn into their human forms too? What the hell wasn't happening in this world? Well, seeing him here confirmed that he wasn't crazy and that there were truly some things that happened.
As much as having to think about his past made him want to know more about this man, Alanor knew he didn't have the time or the luxury to be sitting around. He had a whole life ahead of him and a mission that he would use all his lives to fulfil.
If it wasn't this life, then he would come back whenever and he would fulfil his promise.
"What do you want?" Alanor asked the hound, clearly not in the mood to be talking and smiling with just about anyone. He needed to make his way to Greroth and train harder and learn before coming back to Udrad.
"You."
Alanor looked at the young man standing next to him, wondering if this was just another twisted destination for him. The sudden interest in Alanor creeped the young boy out and Alanor didn't want a part of it.
He didn't want to put himself in a position where he would have to make choices that he didn't like. and the first fix to making unrealistic choices, was to get close to people.
People betrayed their friends and acquaintances. It was as if their DNA had betrayal as a key component, and Alanor wasn't going to let himself be a victim. It could have been better if the hound had been threatening Alanor from the first day, but he hadn't, and it was unsettling.
Everyone in the midlands knew that the hounds never showed mercy. They were beasts that took pleasure in causing pain, but the one looking at Alanor didn't fit the profiles. He was different and kind.
No alarm bells were ringing that would make Alanor want to run away from him, but the young Wynter didn't want to be attached to anyone. He didn't want to live a life that would have him worrying about other people.
Caring would make him weak, and he didn't want that. His going back to Udrad and having a successful mission meant having zero attachments. He had to make sure there was nothing he would lose. and most importantly, he had to make sure that there was nothing that could ever be used against him.