On his sixth night in the forest, while he was asleep, Sebastian felt a gust of wind pass by him jolting him from his slumber.
He held on tightly to the Gleed men Shmaya and though it gave him cuts, he didn't care. He was too little to wield the sword but he held on anyway.
He looked around in search of what had passed him but saw nothing. Though the moonlight shined brightly, the dense forest made it hard to see anything. He felt his heart thump against his ribcage rapidly, as he wondered what was out there with him.
After some seconds of looking around, he realized how quiet the forest was that night. Usually he'd hear the chirping of crickets and the hooting of owls by this time of the night but now, there was absolute silence which made the hairs on his skin stand on end.
His fingers trembled as he held on to the sword and the next sound that followed was the growling of his stomach. He looked down at his stomach and said "Now is not the time".
He sighed and decided to take another look at the forest once again when his eyes met a pair of red glowing eyes. It was man or rather looked like a man. He had a tall, lean frame and was staring at little Sebastian. Not blinking, just assessing and pretty much sizing him up.
"Stay away from me!" Little Sebastian warned. Although he was scared, he decided not to show it. One thing he learned from his father was not to show fear when facing an attacker or the enemy.
He planned to use his abilities on the strange looking man if he attempted to attack him. Although he was still a child and his abilities had not fully formed, it was there.
The man, not caring about the child's warning, stepped closer. The moonlight shone on the man's face momentarily and little Sebastian saw his features.
The man was slightly pale but he was attractive. He had jet black hair which was slicked back and slightly hodded eyes.
The man bent down to match little Sebastian's height. "You're in my hunting ground child" the man said and Sebastian caught sight of the man's elongated upper incisors.
"And you smell way different than I expected" the man added.
The strange looking man stood upright and placed his hands in his pockets as he stepped back and asked "What is your name child?".
"Sebastian".
"Sebastian" the man repeated.
"Okay, come with me" he stretched his hand towards little Sebastian who was quite confused but slightly relieved.
"I do not bite children so you do not need to worry" the man smiled, revealing his intimidating teeth again.
Not seeing a better option, Sebastian placed his free hand in the man's and they began walking.
Little Sebastian didn't know how long they had walked but it seemed they were walking deeper into the forest and he still dragged the sword along with him as they went.
"Sire?" He called out and the man turned to him.
Looking at the man's still-glowing red eyes which looked nothing less than a predator's, Sebastian asked "Why are your eyes red? And howbeit that you have such sharp long teeth?".
Little Sebastian didn't tear his eyes away from the man though the fellow had a domineering presence.
Hearing Sebastian's question, the fellow chuckled momentarily before answering "I am different from your kind".
"And what is my kind?" Sebastian questioned sharply. He wanted to know if the man also believed the rumors that he and his family practiced withcraft.
The fellow was amused by Sebastian's unshaken behavior and it was evident through the little smile on his face.
"That question is what I am meant to ask you child. But I do know you are not human. You don't smell like them and your eyes..." the man stated and Sebastian went quiet at the mention of humans. He began to think about how humans had hurt him.
Unbeknownst to him, he tightly gripped the hand of the fellow as he dwelt on his experience.
The man turned to him and noticed the bitter look on the child's face.
"Such killing intent coming from a child?" The man thought but didn't ask anything.
He had studied little Sebastian and knew the child was traumatized. Living in a forest would never leave anyone the same ever again.
They finally reached their destination which was a Gothic-like mansion hidden deep in the forest. It had leaves growing on it's walls and it gave it a more eerie look.
"We're here" the man said and little Sebastian took in the sight of the house before they walked in.
Walking in, the man began to lit candles around the house. The interior of the mansion was old but breathtaking and it had several antiques and paintings from their era hanging on the walls.
"Your home is nice sire" little Sebastian admitted.
The mansion was neat but it was devoid of the familiar feeling little Sebastian had in his own house.
"Find a place to keep that" the fellow said pointing at the sword in little Sebastian's hand.
The man was curious about the sword and about little Sebastian's life but he decided to keep his questions for later.
"I need your help sire. I cannot lift it" little Sebastian said.
The fellow knew Sebastian had been pulling the sword this entire time and looking at it, he wondered how little Sebastian managed to do it despite the sword almost being his height.
"Alright" the fellow said, reaching for the sword and when little Sebastian placed the handle in his hand, he felt a wave of energy flow through him. Taking him by surprise.
The man quickly placed the sword on a shelf and turned to Sebastian.
"Anything else?".
Little Sebastian raised his tattered clothes up, revealing the mask which he tied around his stomach.
The fellow stared at the mask momentarily because it looked familiar to him before placing it on the sword.
"You must be hungry" he stated as he led little Sebastian into his kitchen and quickly made him a bowl of soup. Looking around the kitchen, little Sebastian noticed the man didn't have much food items.
Little Sebastian, still a bit cautious looked down at the bowl of soup for a while and seeing the child's reaction, the man took a sip from the bowl first and little Sebastian felt more comfortable and began to eat.
After having his meal, he thanked the fellow but stared at him, wondering what was next because he was clueless as to what to do.
But the man only stared back at him.
"It is late, you should go back to sleep" he finally said.
"What is your name sire?" Little Sebastian asked, ignoring the man's statement.
The fellow was taken aback, not expecting the child to ask that after telling him to go to sleep but he answered anyway.
"Valarius Tepes".