"You shitty brat. I'm going to kill you and feed your meatless, skeleton body to the wolves!"

Artemis had the little thief under a choke hold. Her long slender arms wrapped tightly around Jackal's throat, strangling the boy into a red gargle.

"ISBIAN'M IJSIJDOI SORRJNSJNY (I'm sorry)" Jackal had tried to say in his gargling and whispering voice. His skinny arms wailed as he tried to pry himself free.

"Sorry ain't cutting it, you little fucking shit but killing you will!" she hissed in a threatening whisper as she tightened her hold.

The colour of the boys face began to fade a shade of red.

"Kill him. Kill him. Kill him." Homura chanted, finding it amusing to watch the human boy suffer like that. He deserved it for nearly blowing their cover.

"IO0U THOSJGHT THUHUSEY LEGUHWFT (I thought they left)"

"That doesn't mean you could fucking peak your potato head out!" she growled under her breath. "You know what you could have cost me if that air prince caught me!"

"SPJDIJORRUY (Sorry)" he apologised again in his breathless voice. The thief had already began to feel the consciousness begin to fade away as her choke hold had become tighter than before. His heart pounded loudly in his ears like loud drums and sudden flickers of his life flashed before his eyes.

The barks of Homura he was hearing was starting to fade. The shade of red faded into a light purple and the oxygen was hard to inhale. There was no sign of Artemis letting him go.

It was fear that Artemis might actually kill him.

Artemis seeing the boy's suffer the lack of oxygen, she released the choke hold and released the boy in her grasp.

Jackal gasped heavily, feeling the rush of air go down his throat and into his lungs. It was relief that washed over him, and he fell to the ground landing on all his fours and his hand slapped to his neck for desperate air, coughing continuously as he did.

Homura's black nose twitched, and his lips twisted to a scowl, watching the human cub breath for air was not such an amusing sight than it was earlier. "Tch such a shame she kept you alive"

Artemis had crossed her hands against her chest and glared coldly at Jackal who continued to cough. She wanted to kill him for nearly getting them caught by that silver head, but she wasn't a heartless monster who kills children for such petty things.

She only just warned him about the consequences of doing stupid things.

One of the most important rules she told the little thief ages ago when he tagged along her on her journey home but to get it broken.

The assassin sighed in frustration; eyes closed as she rumbled the middle of her brow.

"I thought you were going to kill me" Jackal said in a breathless voice, the gasps of air lessening.

"I wish she did" Homura had said in utter disappointment. The orange fox had sat on his but with his paws stretched in front of him and his tail twirled around his body and an annoyed, expressionless look crossed his face as his amber eyes glared emotionless at the boy. Jackal's eyes began to shimmer in a glossy coat of water, the tears stinging the corner of his eyes and the tightening feeling down his throat that made it difficult for him to say something without making his voice tremble. He bit his lower lip to prevent himself from crying and making him look weak and hopeless in front of Artemis.

"I was tempted to" Artemis had said aloud not bothering to care who heard or not. Her face was turned away from them but from the side view of the beautiful lady was clearly seen especially with her thin silver eyebrows furrowed and her plump lips turned upside down.

Her hands crossed against her chest and the aura that surrounded her was dark and chilling.

Artemis doesn't feel any sorry or guilt towards the boy. The assassin herself knows that she is only blinded by anger and the frustration of Jackals rash actions he pulled that got her to act the way she did.

But if Neil had found curiosity in the boy behind the tree and approached them, then it would have been all over for her.

She founds it ridiculous that some belief of a random prince from an empire would find a sudden interest on a noble lady whose supposedly be at her fancy home with her hundreds of maids and should be attending tea party is actually traveling in the forest with a little thief who has no blood relationship with her at all. Neil already knows who she or to say Diana, is. It would just makes things even more troublesome for her.

The assassin of Ryu doesn't care what reason the crown princes of Ventus and Drakon be doing traveling west like she is but why so early in the story. If she is right, those two would be going to Drakon, Lasair.

A continent of scorching hot deserts in which nothing to be seen except for sand and more sand. A golden land that feels like your walking on hot magma.

A land that was once ruled by dragons.

The former assassin doesn't know the reason to their early departure to Drakon however, Artemis has been feeling an unsettling gut feeling that has been churning inside of her as if it was trying to warn her of something that might happen that she would come to regret.

There is always that saying, 'Always trust your gut'.

Artemis bit down hard on the nail of her thumb, sensing the build of frustration she wanted to get rid of by punching or killing something.

"I'm sorry"

Artemis' cold eyes side glanced down at the little boy who stood in front of her, with the long haori covering most of his body as it trailed down to the ground. His silver eyes looked back at her with tears which he held back. He wiped them away with the back of his hand so he wouldn't dirty the sleeve of the haori. "I promise I wont do anything like that ever again" he looked down at his feet, lips trembling, and his posture became stiff but shaken and by the shuffle of the material, Jackal had scrunched his hands into a tight fist "s-so please don't abandon me".

A shuffling sound came from Homura. He had gotten up from his spot and approached Jackal, plopping himself beside the kid's legs and with a small heartfilled smile, the fox gently placed a paw on the brat's leg and said with a gentle tone that held his sympathy "I almost feel sorry for you".

A twitch of annoyance scorned the assassin who understand the fox except for the boy who only thought the orange fluff ball of drama was being empathetic towards him. Artemis had thought for a moment when she saw Homura act the way he did was a warm gesture that was so unfamiliar to her, but he was too quick to change the atmosphere. It seems like this fox is still a rotten fox till the end.

"I kind of liked watching you get your ass kicked by Artemis and you fall face flat at your stupidity however-" Homura continued on, adding a sad sigh, and shaking his to make it seem to the boy that he is upset. "Your far too dumb, and reckless for our journey. Artemis shall dispose of you quickly and painfully" He went on to pat the side of Jackal's leg as if he was comforting the sad kid "Don't think too much of it, cub. You lived enough years to experience the horror of the humans" he explained, looking away as if he witness something traumatising. "You shall be missed...."

Jackal teared up believing Homura was saying something nice.

Artemis had only stood there with a twitching fist that craved to punch the fox to a shut.

The fox suddenly shot up; the sympathetic expression disappeared from his face in a blink of an eye as a smug looking smile perched his face "Not from me though" he skipped off, back to the campfire with an evil cackle that startled the forest creatures. "I have far more important things to do than miss your sorry tail"

Jackal was sent to a frenzy of confusion while he stood their trying to figure out what just happened.

"Does Homura not want me either?" he mumbled sorrowfully.

"No. Homura is just being Homura." Artemis stated, approaching the sad kid. Jackal embraced himself for whatever it was to come, sucking in a huge lungful of air then to hold his breath.

Artemis stretched her hand towards the kid "Don't think too much of what happened. I'm not angry with you" she flicked the kids brow. Jackal's eyes beamed into a wide round circle and his salty tears twinkled like crystals and wiped them away again with the back of his hand.

"Anywho" with a step of her heels Artemis walked past the boy, gesturing her hand in the air as she continued to speak, "Let's go back to the camp before Homura eats away our beef jerky"

Jackal's mouth beamed with a huge smile, and he jumped with a silent cheer. His racing heart nearly jumping out of his chest out of joy. With a mental laughter and cheers the thief followed after his master with run.

Artemis looked down when she heard the dry patter of Jackals footsteps reach her ears. The brat had reached her pace and slowed down his movements when he came to her side. Jackal walked beside her happily, those silver eyes continuing to twinkle like diamonds and his cheeks a bright shade of pastel pink.

She could easily read what was probably going through his head.

'I won't make the same mistake twice and make big sis Artemis proud'

"tch noob"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~The north side of Viridis~

"STOP! DON'T HURT HIM!"

The armoured green dragon clawed Demarcus down, it's sharp talons grabbing a hold of the giant reptile's neck and pinning him aggressively to the ground with a loud thud. The green body overpowered the golden dragon in strength and size.

Dark crimson liquid had covered the grass like rising seas and the iron smell of the blood pierced the very air.

"STOP IT!" Ciel dreadful cries' were overtaken by ear piercing painful roar of Demarcus as his wing was torn apart by another beastly dragon that attacked from the side. Shaken blue eyes watched as the innocent dragon was clawed and pinned down so hard that he couldn't even budge a talon by the group of dragons.

Demarcus could only rumble out his painful roars, his body was a wreck under the armoured green dragon who stood on top of him so he wouldn't move.

Ciel could not pry himself free from the grasps of the track riders neither could he use his magic as his hands were tied behind his back by a Latis rope that prevented the fire user to apply any flame through his fingers.

Rebecca and Ralph were tied in the same situations. The green haired girl was pinned down on her knees, Rebecca was in a shocked and frozen state as she watched with salty hot tears prickling down her cheeks as the innocent dragon go down without a fight as it cried out in agony.

Ralph had forced himself to look away, he couldn't bare to watch the horrid sight of a dragon massacre.

Ciel had continued on to plead them to stop, his dreadful cry in his voice echoed the forest. "HIS ALREADY DOWN, YOU BASTARDS! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HIM." His shouts were ignored as the leader of the track riders had made his way to Demarcus. The flaps of his long brown cloak flapped furiously against the hurricane of the wind created by the dragons.

The lean cloaked man stood in front of the Demarcus paralysed state which lay on the pool of his own dark blood. Dark cold eyes stared half-heartedly from the shadowed hood and into the emerald eyes of the golden reptile whose was body slumped on the pool of his own blood. Watching it's pathetic state in disgust.

The emerald eyes of the dragon that stared back, shone with agony. It's glossy coat reflected the heartless man who starred like a ravage monster at his prey.

"There is no reason for me to kill it when the rest of Aureum would want to see this lizard be executed" the voice was harsh, and the roughness of his voice indicated the evil intention he held within.

Ciel bloodshot eyes flamed with anger. The rage to kill this mother fucker.

To kill all this blind and heartless mother fuckers.

"Such entertainment that would be but for now..." the leader unsheathed it's long blade from his waist, the sounds of the slash of the metal rising from it's satchel rose a tension between Ciel. The turning of his stomach created a heating flame inside and his blue eyes widened in horror as he watched the leader rise his blade in the air, the tip of the sword aiming downwards.

Tears stung the corners of his eyes and his throat tightened and a blank, emotionless expression swept over his face as the realization of the moment gradually seeped in. "No, no, no, no. please no.". Ciel tugged himself forward, trying again to grasp himself free.

"Let's keep that loudmouth of yours shut" a malicious smirk was seen cross the hooded leader's face.

Those emerald eyes desperately called out for Ciel. The agony those blue eyes saw in the jewel like eyes of the dragon.

With a last glint of hope that shone in Demarcus green eyes', it disappeared in an instant as the slit tightened to a shrink. Pain erupted the dragons core as the cloaked leader thrusted his long blade down the middle of his mouth, the stinging blade that dug deep through the hard leather scales and tearing the flesh as it trapped Demarcus mouth shut.

"DEMARCUS!" cries of the two keepers erupted the sky.

Ciel could only choke back a cry as the colour of his face drain into nothing but a pale ghost. The world had stopped turning as he stood there in his trembling state, blue eyes that lost its colour and swelled down. He was ejected, swollen with emotions and realizations of the dragon's fate. A searing pain slashed his heart leaving an agonising wound that bleed deeply.

His dull blue eyes watched the faint glow in Demarcus emerald green eyes fade, and the lids shut. The dragon had lost it's conscious from the overbearing pain.

"D-Demarcus" a soft mumble left his lips and salty tears continued to flow like waterfalls down his cheek, blurring the sense of his sight.

The dread washed over Ciel like crashing waves. He blamed himself for everything this dragon just went through.

He blamed himself for getting to Demarcus late.

The dragon keeper was deadly silent as he stared without any thought, at the pool of blood under the unconscious body of the dragon he desperately tried to save.

The wet patter of footsteps erupted his ears breaking his non-existent train of thought and his hands trembled in a fit of rage and Ciel rose his head up sending a chilling glare at the cloaked figure who made his way towards him. "You damn fucker" he hissed.

If he wasn't tied up like this, Ciel would have killed the leader right now. Sent a dagger through his skull and watch the vile eyes of this man drain from life.

"Orders are orders." The leader said with a sickening voice that turned the flaming heat inside of Ciel to burn hotter. The cloaked figure halted his steps and stood face to face with Ciel. "Just like the one I have been given to kill anyone who dares to interfere with the ministry"

"Wait! NO! CIEL!" Ralph shouted after his brother, trying to pry himself free from the ropes that held him back, but it was too late.

The sounds of metal against flesh pierced through.

A splitting pain erupted through his stomach and a gash of blood splattered out. Ciel choked back the spewing blood in his throat. The sharp pain filled his body and radiated down his feet as it gave out on him.

His blue eyes fixated on the sickening grin across the man's face revealing his rows of yellow stained teeth.

The cries of his brother faded away as the dark feeling of death began to take over. As his vision blurred, the dragon keeper saw a glimpse through the shadowed face and saw a scar coming down the left eye that was blind. The white colour of the eye, even though it could not see was glaring down at Ciel and he could see his own death inside the white ball in the socket.

The light disappeared from his sight, and he felt the darkness consume him as it reached it's deathly hand for him to take.

'Is this how I die?'

----------------------------------