(very old) the Seals of Elements (discontinued for now)

[Chapter 34]

---Jade---

The day after the attack we mourned our losses.
We had lost over five hundred of our soldiers and more than two hundred civilian lives.
Being the princess I had to be there when we had the ceremony.
Luckily Hunter had been by my side with his newfound friend, Alfa.
Me kissing Hunter right after the battle had raised a couple of eyebrows, but I didn't care.
After the ceremony father took Hunter aside, into his study.
At first, I was worried, afraid that father had a bone to pick with Hunter, but then Hunter told me that father had just asked him things about the battle and about Alfa.
I was curious about Alda as well, but when I asked about him all I got was that Hunter didn't really know that much about him.
All he could tell me was that Alfa was the last of his kind and that he could appear from the shadows.

The morning after the ceremony we mostly spent in my treehouse.
I had searched for books on Shadow-hounds and had found only four of them.
Alfa had appeared from the shadows onto the platform and was now laying next to Hunter.
"Look at this." I said, pointing at the page.
Hunter scooted a little closer and read it out loud.

"There are three kinds of Shadow-hounds, all with different abilities.

The most common kind is the grey Shadow-hound.
This type of hound can paralyze his prey with just his look and can manipulate the shadows around him to stay hidden.

A little more uncommon is the golden-eyed black Shadow-hound.
This species has the ability to Shadowtravel. They are incredibly intelligent and seem to have something similar to a hive mind. This means that they can tap into each other's knowledge.

And lastly, you have the winged Shadow-hound.
This kind has all abilities name above.
As far as we have found out there is only a handful of them."

Hunter looked at me.
"What else did you find?"
"Nothing special. Only what kind of prey they hunted on and that they stop aging after they reach adulthood."
He looked at Alfa.
"Stops aging huh? That is kinda cool."
"Yeah, it is." I said. "By the way, I'm going to the city today. My mother wants me to buy a dress for tomorrow."
"Okay..." Hunter said. "And...?"
"Nothing, just telling. Do you have something to wear already?"
"In fact, yes, I do." He said.
"Good." I pressed a kiss on his cheek and. "I'm sure you will look great."
We left the greenhouse and went our ways.

The day of the feast was finally there.
I had chosen to wear a simple light-blue dress and had tied my hair into a ponytail, nothing special.
When I arrived at the ballroom it was already filled with people.
I looked around and saw hunter talking with some people.
"Oh no, you didn't." I said to myself.
He was wearing his vithril tunic.
Not that it didn't suit him.
The black, leather-like tunic suited him perfectly fine, but he stood out from the rest like a wolf between a herd of sheep.
I walked over to him and pulled him to the side.
"Oh hey, Jade. You look astonishing."
My frustration fell away immediately.
"Thank you." I blushed.
"One thing though." He then said.
"What?"
He grinned. "You didn't tell me that we had to dance... and I can't dance."
I laughed. "It isn't hard. Just follow my lead."
He rubbed his neck. "If you say so."

Despite his belief, Hunter was a quick learner.
Within a couple of minutes later he was dancing as if he had never done anything else in his life.
Three dances later father announced dinner.
Hunter sat next to me.
I soon found out that his appetite was just as big as Alfa's.
Then all of a sudden father stood up.
"A toast for our protector." Everyone in the room looked at Hunter.
He shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
I laid my hand on his leg.
"Just smile." I whispered. "After this, we will go somewhere else."
He nodded and forced a smile.

We got away with the excuse that Hunter wasn't feeling well.
"Back to the treehouse?" I asked.
He shook his head.
"No. I have a better idea."
He looked at Alfa.
"Do you think you can carry the both of us?"
The hound looked him in the eyes as if to say, "what do you think?"
Then Hunter looked at me.
"Climb on." He said.

================================
---Ayra---

I was walking back to my room. I had decided not to go to feist.
I had spent the entire day in the library.
I opened the door and stepped in.
Then I yelped.
Sitting on my bed was Kenji.
"We need to talk." He said.