The wind blew harshly against the fogged windows, completely hiding whatever view that would have normally been available. Snow fell thickly, and the stone creaked with the weight that dropped from the normally passive skies. Aksel sighed heavily, pushing himself away from the nonexistent view. It would take some time to bring the storm back under his control, he could only hope that the village below did not suffer too badly from the sudden strike of harsh northern winds. His fingers brushed absently at his fur as he turned to consider the figure that lay on the bed in the room’s corner. This was one of the higher rooms of the castle, one he had not entered in some time. A bright fire burned, providing the only light in the room, and the sparse furniture cast shadows dancing on the walls.

It had been several days since he had decided to spare the Hunter, and brought him within the castle to treat his wounds. His knowledge on the Human anatomy had become a bit dull with time, and he’d spent hours in the massive library on the castle’s main floor to refresh his memory on Human ailments and treatments to correct their fragile bodies. The work had been tedious and he’d had to go out several times to fetch various things from the forest, but he’d managed to get what he needed and treated the Hunter to his best ability. The broken ribs had required the most attention, and Aksel had finally settled on the text that stated a compress wrap would be the best treatment for them. As long as the Human was able to breath, he should stave off sickness long enough to heal. Now it was a matter of waiting for him to awaken from his body’s self induced coma-like state.

Aksel had used the time to think, and do further research into what his books held on the legends that he had recalled before. He’d found a few passages on people called ‘pieces of Abel’ in an older tome, and had compared their descriptions to the Hunter laying before him. He was proving to be a puzzle.

Alois had been gravely injured, but his body did not react violently in its need for life blood to sustain itself through the injuries. He was very Human like in that regard. Aksel had also searched him thoroughly, and found no traces of the gold that was required of their kind to sustain their Human forms. Alois seemed quite at home in his body.

Yet his physical appearance was not something that was typical of Humans, as Aksel had discovered after some reading. There had been no recordings of Humans who bore the snow white hair from birth, nor of any that had eyes that held the color of blood. But there were many Icchorian legends that had beings which were rumored to bare the white hair of a glorious destiny. There was also the fact that despite the grievous injuries, he was recovering at a rate that was not possible for Humans. The books had stated injuries of this nature should take weeks before the patient could move comfortably without jarring pain, but Aksel had stopped Alois from rolling over in his sleep a few times today already, and there didn’t seem to be any immense pain on the Human’s behalf.

So the last few days had passed, and Aksel still had no more answers than before. If Alois had truly come from the capitol, then it was a matter of time before others followed. Of course, there would be no approaching the mountain while the storm raged outside. He sat down quietly next to the bed, eyes resting on the Hunter.

Only one thing concerned him, and that was what he read in a book that detailed the training of Humans of ages past. The ones marked as warriors were raised with the strong belief that if they were to meet their end, they would do so as if it were an honor. And to be denied that end would be akin to the greatest strike of dishonor that existed. So would Alois awaken in a rage to be alive? He would prove to be very uncooperative if that were the case.

It was a sudden heaviness in his head that made Aksel hiss. The timing of his Bonded could not be worse. He had been very selective in his choice, finding one that was as isolated as he and thus not prone to fall into the acts that were considered Sin to his kind’s thirst. With a growl he stood. It seemed he would have to go out to find a source of blood, or risk feeding off the Hunter before he was even fully healed. Aksel made his way to the door that shook with the force of the wind outside before sighing once more.

The storm would prove to make this even more difficult.

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It was to silence that he could feel his senses returning, it was some time before his hearing was restored and he could make out the sounds of a fire burning. He felt heavy, and odd in a way he couldn’t explain. Alois groaned as the feeling in his chest returned, although it was heavily dulled from the sharp pain that he remembered before…

His gaze flew open. He had died, hadn’t he? Died fighting an Icchorian that had been the most intelligent one he had ever met, and in the end the most powerful one at that. He couldn’t recall even being able to scratch the mountain of a man that the Icchorian’s Human form resembled. If he was dead, then why was he lying in a room that was unfamiliar to him?

The Hunter scanned his surroundings, taking note of the chair next to the bed he was on. So someone was taking care of him. And if there was no other possibility, then it was most likely the Icchorian himself. Alois allowed that to settle in. He was kept alive by an Icchorian, who should have killed him and devoured his blood.

Did the Beast think that he was an Icchorian himself, and therefore his blood was not worthy to him? Alois scoffed. He would not be made fun of, nor kept alive for some bored monster’s amusement. It was easy to repress the thoughts of relief he had felt at his last moments before blacking out, relief that he wouldn’t have to return to a life trapped by Yulian. Surely avenging the dishonor at his defeat would wipe out that obligation. He smiled.

His momentary lapse of attention soon passed, and he looked up again. Where was the Icchorian?

Alois reached over and found the seat cold, so he had not been in here recently. Reaching under the thick blanket he found that his chest was bandaged and loose pants that were not his own clothed him. He scowled momentarily before spying his own gear folded by the door. It took some effort, but Alois was able to move his legs from under the covers and rested them on the cold stone floor. He paced himself, standing slowly and carefully making his way to where his clothing lay. His frustration grew as he painstakingly dressed, sighing as he finally finished, pulling his hood up with an unwelcome blush. He was not at all comfortable that the Icchorian had free reign over his appearance, and had no doubt studied his oddities.

Like he needed someone else, much less a monster, to tell him how strange he was.

It was then that he heard the stone walls groan, as if pressure from outside was too much. His eyes widened. A storm. The snow. He remembered now that it had started to snow at his defeat. Joy filled him them, overriding the caution his body demanded he take as he moved.

Perhaps his stay here wouldn’t be so unpleasant after all.

He quietly made his way out the door, finding himself in a long hallway. No sounds reached his ear, so he moved as swiftly as his injuries would allow. He soon found a staircase that was narrow and spiraling, the steps were not very wide compared to the ones back in the Leben Festung. Alois scowled as he took a step down, only wincing slightly. If he was careful, he would be fine. He tried to count the steps as he padded down, but soon lost count as it became harder to breathe.

He would make sure that he gave the Icchorian an earful for placing him in a room so high up, right before demanding an explanation as to why he was still alive. With several curses and long moments of silence, he finally arrived at the lower level. The tower he had been placed in had gone up for stories, and Alois would make sure to get a proper look at it when he was able.

A quick survey of the hall he was in now revealed a couple of doors down either direction. He opted to head left first, checking each room as he struggled along. Several smaller bedrooms and a closet was all he was able to find. He sighed, frowning once more as he saw the dead end. Moving even more slowly than before, Alois made his way back to the hall’s other end, finding much of the same thing here. But instead of a dead end, there was another staircase, this one was shorter than the last, but still wound down three stories at the least.

Alois was thoroughly exhausted when he made it to the last step, and slid down against the wall, breath hissing through his teeth.

“I’ll kill….that bastard…” His gaze burned into the now open atrium, the main receiving hall of the castle. The enormity of the hall spoke volumes for the sheer size of the sprawling complex, as several doorways met his gaze, and made him pause. Where had such a structure come from? Not even the lavish buildings of the Capital city could measure up to it. Who could have built it?

Alois’s eyes widened. A castle that had existed for as long as the village could remember, old ancient stone that were larger than some of the houses in the village. He hadn’t seen it yet, but Alois could almost guarantee there were deep, most likely cavernous cellars beneath the Castle walls as well. This was built by Icchorians of long past.

Alois felt another tremor of excitement override his pain, and he pushed himself up. He knew what he was looking for now. A place of this size must contain a book or two, and these would have to be ones he hadn’t read before, what with the limited selection of Icchorian texts that were secretly kept within the hidden vaults of the Human city. A particular set of doors stood out to him, and he made his way to the wide set double doors that seemed almost welcoming in the dim light of the torches that he took notice of. They were nearly burnt out, and seemed to have been lit for awhile. Placing a hand on one of the doors, he gave it an experimental push, and found that it opened rather easily beneath his touch. This told him that they were well taken care of, and used quite often. That was a relief, if they had been worn or stuck, there would be no way he could enter in his condition.

Once he saw the inside, he was immediately thankful that they were taken care of. This room was twice the size of the entryway, and towered up the three stories that the stairs seemed to have run along. He felt his jaw drop open, but paid it no mind as he drank it the view. There were unlit chandeliers up in the darkness, but what caught his gaze were the rows upon rows of books. Sturdy ladders ran up into the darkness, where Alois knew more tomes awaited his perusal. Thick shelves separated the room into long rows, and it took him a moment to locate where the source of light was. He stepped forward, following the light while passing several sets of shelves before a comfortable looking sitting area revealed itself along one of the walls. A large fireplace jutted out from the impressive stone, and he could see it was well stocked. Several cushioned settees and armchairs faced the light, and between them all on the floor lay what had to be the largest piece of animal fur Alois had ever seen. It was an unblemished white fur, and from the traits of the large paws, had once been a bear. He gaped at it’s size for several long moments, before shaking of his awe and turning once again to face the library. All his senses seemed to shake in the moment, he felt pulled in every direction.

He finally decided to start on the far left, closest to the door he had come in. That way he could track his progress as he worked through the literature. He paid no mind to the storm raging outside, nor to the missing Icchorian.

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