Zayra remained motionless for a moment, her golden eyes fixed on Draven's violet ones.
Her breathing was still quickened from the fight, her body tired, but her firm posture showed that she was not someone who would be easily intimidated.
Draven, in turn, remained silent, partially hidden among the trees. He did not advance, only observed, analyzing how she controlled the energy and strength of the monster she had just defeated alone.
"Who are you?" she said, her voice firm, but with a slight trace of curiosity and alertness.
Draven took a step forward, revealing himself completely.
"Draven," she replied calmly, maintaining a relaxed but alert posture.
"I saw your fight… you are strong."
Zayra narrowed her eyes, suspicious.
"Strong enough to just observe?" she retorted, crossing her arms.
"Or did you come to cause trouble?"
He shook his head, a slight smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. — No. I just wanted to see… how someone can fight like that. Impressive.
For a moment, they stared at each other, silent. The tension was palpable, but there was also a strange mutual respect: she for him, for being someone who seemed to master his own powers; he for her, for fighting alone against something dangerous and surviving.
Draven finally stepped back a few paces, gesturing for her to relax.
— Don't worry. I didn't come to bother you. I just… found it interesting.
Zayra took a deep breath, still keeping her guard up, but slowly relaxing.
— So, Draven… how long have you been training alone in this forest? — she asked, curious.
He smiled again, looking at the surrounding trees, the clearing where he had just raised his first soldiers from the shadows still fresh in his memory.
— Years… enough time to get to know almost all the monsters here. And you? — he replied, maintaining a conversational tone, without revealing more than necessary.
She simply shook her head, a slight smile appearing.
"Let's just say I'm learning to control myself too," she replied, showing that this was only an introduction to what they could both teach and learn together.
The wind passed through the trees, and the forest seemed to watch silently.
For Draven, that moment meant more than just meeting someone new: it was the first step towards a relationship of respect, competition, and perhaps something more complex in the future.
He looked at his shadow monsters that still stood firm in the clearing:
"And you…" he murmured to himself, "still have a lot to learn."