It felt like he had been running for hours, his feet were blistered, bleeding and embedded with debris. But he'd done it! He'd survived his first angry mob!

"Mom, Dad, look at me now!" He laughed sarcastically to himself as he pushed through the pain in his defiant limps.

If that was his first encounter with humans maybe it would be best if he avoided them all together. But on earth that was surely to be utterly impossible. He needed to find a way to make some local currency so he could acquire supplies, tools and clothing for starters.

His legs wobbled beneath him causing him to falter. He stretched out his arms and caught a tree truck stopping him from falling completely to the ground. He sighed, lowering his head to rest it against the bark. He'd just left that young child with a human man who had the soul of a demon. If only he still had his aura, none of this would have happened, he could have saved the older couple and the girl! But now, now he was covered in a dead man's blood and had ran away from a person in need. He felt ashamed.

Limping forward he cringed, the pain shooting through him like red hot coals on his feet. He could feel the skin protesting with every move he made. Just a few more steps... He could see the body of water through the trees, that's what he wanted, what he needed. His throat was dry, his body burnt, battered and bruised. It hadn't taken long for the adrenaline to wear off, leaving him aching, sore and hungry.

Breaching the tree line, the cold wind hit him hard, a hiss escaping his lips as the torn and dried pieces of skin wanted to tear free of his muscle. He stumbled to the water's edge, desperate for the cooling touch it would bring. He fell, his face impacting the surface of the glistening pool, water engulfing his sensors. He didn't care as his body sank down, drifting deeper into the dark abyss. He relished in the cold embrace, the sting of his skin replaced with a cooling chill that eased the burn. Rolling onto his back he floated to the surface letting air enter his lungs again, his eyes closed as he was finally able to rest his sore limbs.

He summoned the small amount of strength he had left to quicken the rate in which the new skin formed under the dead and burnt pieces. The water acting as a medium for him to coat body and channel his essence. Water had always been the easiest element for him to channel and control, though most of his family were fire users, he hadn't managed to find peace with the element to use it effectively. It was too destructive, too unpredictable, water was calming and helpful, it gave life to everything around it and had strong healing properties. The fresh flesh that formed beneath the burnt and crispy skin was raw and tender, he very gently worked to tear off the top layer of dead skin to allow the underlayer to be exposed to the air and water, this helped aid in his healing process.

Finally finished with his self-care he swam to the bank of the small lake, crawling onto the sand his skin was still incredibly tender and red, it would fade with time, but that was all the essence he could spare, already he could feel his eyes growing heavy as the overuse of his abilities called for rest and recharge. Fighting against his body, he worked on his feet next, removing the rocks and sticks that had tunnelled their way deep into his flesh. Once complete he spread himself out wide, lying down on the sand. The sun was peeking over the horizon as he began to drift off to sleep, finally allowing himself to pass out. It was dangerous to sleep out in the open exposed like this, but he was just too exhausted to move anymore.

⊰-----------------------------------------------⊱

Something poked at his cheek, he groaned swatting it away. A soft pad of fur brushed against his shoulder as a whisker grazed his jawline. His eyes fluttered open as his body was jerked backward, his bare back exposed and grinding on the gritty sand below. His eyes widened and his body grew stiff, from the corner of his eye he saw something unexpected.

A large beast was dragging him into the forest, his teeth had snagged in what remained of his already torn shirt. The animal was huge, a well-muscled cat-like form rippled under dense fur, its paws could very easily crush his skull if he wasn't careful.

To his surprise, he was pulled into the shade of the trees and released. The beast plonked itself down on its hind legs staring at him, waiting. He wasn't being dragged off to an unknown den to be torn to shreds and eaten for dinner? He moved very carefully and slowly. Rolling over onto all fours he pushed himself up to a kneeling position, the beast watching intently the whole time. It made no move to attack, he wasn't sure how he knew but he felt no malice as intelligent golden slitted eyes were staring back at him.

The beast had a light sandy blonde coat, with a white underside and had odd-shaped spots of black dotted here and there. He had rather large tufted ears tipped with black and a short stumpy tail. In all the texts he had read he had not seen a creature like this, at least not one of this size, it resembled what was called a Lynx but it was giant in comparison to what he had read about. Ether the text was wrong or this thing was a monster other than a lynx.

"What are you?" He muttered.

"A mountain Lynx." It responded in a low, harsh tone. Its voice was somewhat gritty, as though not used often.

Erosvent screamed and shot upright before jumping back and planting his back against a tree, his hands gripping the bark.

The Lynx rolled his eyes and proceeded to lay down, crossing his paws over one another and laying his head on top of them.

"You're as bad as a human!" It retorted.

"As far as I am aware, animals cannot talk on Earth realm. Have I died?" Eros's eyes were wide.

The lynx huffed in amusement, blowing air out from under his jowls. "You probably would have come close if I had not dragged you into the shade and woken you."

Erosvent blinked down at the beast, it clearly had no desire to harm him. "I would have been fine..." he protested with a pout.

"Not likely, your skin was beginning to burn, the dehydration would have caused an issue and I don't need you to kill an entire village of humans because you were... thirsty." He licked at his paw before him. "Not that I particularly care for humans but they are useful in some aspects."

Erosvent slid to the ground, careful not to drag his back down the bark and injure himself more. "You know... what I am?"

"I have some idea, though the others that I have encountered smell more like blood than you do." He raised a brow. "Though you have a faint scent of blood you do not have the lingering scent of death like the others."

"The fallen..." Eros saddened.

"Brethren?" The Lynx asked.

"In a way." His mind wondered for a moment, how many fallen were causing issues in this realm? Given that he hadn't passed this very trial yet he wasn't privy to that information yet.

"Your pack?"

"More like a clan or race of people. You sure do ask a lot of questions." Erosvent let out a half laugh.

"I was merely passing by and am curious." He concluded rather dryly. "You need to be more careful."

"I will heed your advice, thank you." Eros nodded. The lynx's words rang true given his first encounter.

"You need to blend in better, do as they do, get in and out when required." It continued.

Eros frowned, was he getting a lecture from a giant cat now? "Harder said than done, I have nothing but the skin on my back and a knife currently."

"Then come, I have a small camp with a few supplies, you can return them once you find your own way." The lynx pounced to his feet, stretched out and began walking.

With a grunt, Eros stood and followed after the beast. "Why help me, what do you have to gain?"

"Neither of us is human and humans hunt those that are different, we may just be unlikely allies." The lynx retorted with a huff.

Eros's eyes widened slightly as he thought about that for a moment, it wouldn't be a bad thing to make allies in a dangerous realm, right? Honestly, at this point he thought he was dreaming, he was following a talking cat through the forest to it's camp...

"I'm Eros by the way." He was slightly hunched forward and struggling to keep up with the animal.

The lynx huffed. "I suppose it is better than referring to you as male"

Eros was sure if he should be offended or not. "What should I call you?"

"I am a mountain lynx."

"Yeah I got that, but what is your name?" He asked.

The lynx looked over his shoulder eyeing him. "I do not have one."

"What! No, I can't just refer to you The Mountain Lynx, it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue."

The lynx snarled in response.

"Sorry, Touchy subject?" Eros raised his hands before him in defence.

The cat stopped and sat with a huff. His head hung low as he looked to the ground. "I wasn't given one, I was abandoned as a cub and when I tried to return... my clan tried to kill me."

Erosvent was grateful for the break and sat himself on a fallen log. "Oh, I, well... sorry, that's kinda harsh. Why would anyone do something like that?"

"Have you seen me?" He glared at the Alarian.

"A fluffy, cute talking cat. Finding it hard to believe my eyes honestly."

The lynx appeared to deepen his glare. "Being different is not always good."

"I did think you were quite... big from what I know of lynx's," Eros added aloud.

"Precisely, I was born different, I learnt to live on my own after that. Mimicking human speak was easy enough with time, the clan claimed I was cursed with a spirit of my ancient ancestors."

"But you never gave yourself a name, even after?" Eros oddly felt for the creature. Nobody deserved to be abandoned as a child.

"I didn't see the need for one, for the most part, I could simply live in the forests. Winters are difficult though, without provisions." The lynx lifted his paw and pointed to the east, past Eros. "Speaking of sustenance, there is a deer grassing a few miles away, you need to feed so you can keep up with me."

His eyes shot up, his eyes narrowing on the beast. "How much do you know about my kind?"

"Enough." It huffed in response.