"Uh, hello?" Aidan waved nervously.

Most of the people looked at him skeptically. They thought he was an enemy and decided to take him to their village. They released him from the net and tied his hands. The people kept a close eye on him as they walked through the jungle.

Aidan could easily escape, but he was curious to see what would happen. Besides, he didn't think he was in any real danger.

About an hour passed, and the group arrived at the village. It was a pretty big village, more like a town. Everyone had their eyes on Aidan, from women to men, old to young; they all were very cautious.  It was only fair for them since a total stranger set off a trap obviously meant for enemies.

He heard the people whisper of a yokai. They murmured how the person being dragged to the guardian was a yokai.

A yokai? Did they actually think Aidan was a yokai? The poor prince felt insulted. Perhaps these people have forgotten the treaty. The Treaty of Life was an agreement between the human world and Osuku. The threat of yokai, evil spirits that were degraded and turned into monsters. Aidan understood their confusion on the subject since the freaks could turn into humans. However, it seemed these humans are unable to sense the aura. All yokai gave off a malice aura that is really easy to detect.

“Perhaps their guardian will show them that I am from Osuku,” Aidan thought. “After all, the humans of this time are well versed in reading auras.”

The people led Aidan to a small building in the center of the town. He started to wonder what the word 'small' meant to these people. Nothing here was small! The building was practically a mansion!

Aidan’s eyes scanned the entire room. It was a grand entranceway with a large staircase in the middle. The wood was dark brown, and it shined in the candle lights. The walls screamed gorgeous patterns of floral decorations. As for the floor, it was a lovely, cream-colored tile.

"At least, they kept up with times," Aidan thought.

Just then, a man with a tall, musculature structure entered the room.

"Guardian" A town man yelled. "We seem to have caught a yokai!"

The man looked at Aidan. His blue eyes scanned him up and down. He confirmed that the stranger they had caught was an evil yokai due to his menacing aura.

This confused Aidan because he did not have any menacing aura. In any case, the man was about to kill him, the young prince chanted a spell for a quick escape--

"Wait!" A voice yelled.

From the top of the stairs, a beautiful girl came from the shadows. Her burgundy hair was complemented by her blue eyes and fair skin. Aidan admitted that she was beautiful but thought she was merely just a pretty face.

"Rose," the man declared. "Go back to your room. Now."

Aidan could see from afar the emptiness in her eyes and the clenching of her fist.

"My apologies, father, but this person is not a yokai," she protested.

"Oh," the man twitched. "And what is your proof?"

"You all are still alive, are you not?" She asked. "Besides, if he was so dangerous, parading him around through the town would kill everyone here. He's probably just a traveler who got lost in the jungle and set off one of the traps. It has happened before."

“Then what about his aura?” a man questioned.

“Simple,” she began, “we all have a bit of malice inside us. Besides, the menacing part most likely came from being surprised. If you were in the same situation, wouldn’t you be scared and angry? Also, I’m pretty sure this guy is from Osuku.”

The group began to murmur. They looked at the young man closely. He did not give off the harmful aura of a yokai as they initially thought. In the end, they released him and apologized for their hastiness. It seemed that the guardian was the only truly blessed with the ability to see yokai, while the humans could only see so much.

"Oh, it's quite alright!" Aidan assured. He then introduced himself as Dylan, a traveler camping in the woods but got lost looking for food.

The people understood and decided to give him something to eat as an apology, which he happily accepted.

"Roger, you coming?" A man asked.

Roger wrapped his arm around Rose, placing his hand on her shoulder.     

 "I'll be right there; I just got to talk to Rose," he squeezed her shoulder discreetly.

The man nodded and began to show Dylan around the town. While the man talked, Dylan knew something was up. The people of this town may be deceived, but he wasn't.

He noticed how Roger's hand squeezed Rose's shoulder and how she slightly flinched. It was apparent what was going on, but he didn't really care. He had more important things to do. Besides, it wasn't the first time he noticed or, instead, saw this happen.

Nevertheless, he continued with the tour and enjoyed the feast. Rose and Roger came a little into the meal; there were also two young men with them. Dylan assumed they were Roger's sons.

His eyes scanned the atmosphere. The people were joyful, which was strange but not really. He didn't find it odd Rose was delicate as well. She probably hid all her scars.

After the meal, Dylan went back home. He thanked the people for their hospitality. When Dylan reached a certain distance, he returned to being Aidan. He created a door back to his room and fell on his bed. His body was exhausted from eating all the food. Before he knew it, Aidan fell asleep.

By the time he woke up, it was early in the day. The sun didn't rise yet. As he stretched, he noticed something was missing, his pendant. He must've dropped it when he was caught in the trap. If he lost it, his father would kill him; it was an heirloom after all. Immediately, Aidan got dressed and returned to the human world.

He looked through the Amazon in the same area where he was trapped. Suddenly, he heard thumping. He followed the sound and saw a figure crouching behind some bushes. He barely makes out who it was. All he knew was that the figure looked like a woman.

Upon closer examination, he noticed she was pointed an arrow at something. She must be hunting for food since there are plenty of jaguars, gorillas, and pigs. 

FWWIP! 

Aidan jumped up. He wanted to see what she was aiming at. Surprisingly, she was aiming at a poisonous snake. Why would she aim at something she couldn't eat? 

She crouched down in the grass and picked something up. Aidan couldn't see it since he wanted to stay hidden. 

"How much longer are you going to watch, Dylan?" The woman asked. 

"Huh?" Aidan thought to himself. 

"I know you're there," she continued. "I've known since you stepped in the forest."

The woman stood up with her back to Dylan. She cupped her hand and used the other one to rub something. 

"I'll shoot you if you don't come out," she threatened. 

Aidan thought she was joking until a small dagger pierced the tree behind him a few inches from his face. 

"Woah..." he gasped. 

“Need more convincing?" 

"No! NO! I-I'm good!" He surrendered.