The Great White Lion (boyxboy)

Raja always knew what was best. Stay in the cave.

It wasn't his natural instincts that had come to show his true calling. It was simply common sense that had screamed to him multiple times to stay in the cave. His body would twitch at the mere thought of stepping outside into the countless blizzards of the mountains raging its fury. He would pace in between the rough, rock walls to find something to do, anything. His lack of social interaction made him impatient to the said walls who took his needs by handling his hits.

It had been a long time since Raja had interacted with anyone, any organism. He swore that he was going mental, but it was dangerous to go out. His brothers and sisters only proved that point by never coming back when they went to hunt for food in the wilderness. He missed them dearly, but what was outside the dark cave he brooded in was unexplored territory to him. The moment he stepped outside into the depths of the white, pure snow, Raja would die like his siblings.

It was unheard of.

Raja sat down frustrated out of his mind. He wanted so badly to be free of the hell he was trapped him, but he knew best. Maybe, it was his fate to live in this cave forever for the rest of his lonely life? Had the Gods cursed him with such an path of mental crossroads? He huffed for the millionth time that night.

Maybe, it was time to crawl out of protective shell of his home, his cave, and live a little. Already full grown, he shouldn't be the one lying around doing nothing but cowardly shrinking deep into the darkness of the cave. He was suppose to be fierce! He was suppose to be the one that forced fear into anyone blocking his path! He shouldn't be rotting away like the flowers under the snow!

Raja decided it was time. It was finally time to become what he was suppose to represent!

A snow lion.

The first steps under his paws were hesitant, filled with doubt and regret. Soon, Raja got the hang of the coldness that felt like heaven under his leather pads. Snow rained down from the sky with little flurries. His white fur blended perfectly with his surroundings. He was finally in his natural habitat, and a new found acceptance the snowy forest emitted made him feel his very essence. Raja was truly happy for the first time in years he was trapped in that cave.

Raja figured out that he was more curious than he came to realize he really was. He sniffed all the trees that reaked of pine. His already moist nose became more when a certain squirrel leap from one branch to another. Raja snorted out some air that instantly condensed the moment it reached the mountain air. Raja became quite entertained by the little act of nature.

A crack of a stick snapped Raja out of his childish trance. His blue eyes flicked to the unknown threat just as quickly as his ears snapped up in attention. His incredible hearing heard another twig snap, and now Raja worried what was beyond the bushes that was doing a poor job of being stealthy. He quietly padded in the snow stopping only when he heard muffled noises.

"I think it's somewhere around here." One deep voice whispered. The noise of paper unfolding enveloped Raja's ears. His animal instincts took control as he barred his teeth at the threat. He lowered his upper body, so he could pounce any minute on the intruder of the snowy forest. his tail flicked back and forth in anticipation of what might happen next.

"Myker, I don't think this was a good idea. I know a snow lion's hide is priceless, but none of the villages in the mountains have seen one. They're extinct, admit it." A very worried voice pushed on, urging his companion to stop his hunt.

The moment Raja heard his species and the dreadful information he wasn't ready for, he panicked.

They say that snow lions were mysterious hunter cats who had abilities that were similar to werewolves who lived not far from where Raja's family had lived. Nena, his older sister whom went missing before his older brother, Tiga, went missing, had taught him to shift his form in case any threat were to hunt him down for his priceless pelt, specifically humans. Nena was beautiful as a human. She had the most biggest green eyes any lion would drool over which made up for her small body.

"Close your eyes and focus on your inner energy, little brother," Nena confidently stated in his head," Image yourself as one, and when you feel ready, open those big blue eyes of yours."

Raja felt a pang of sorrow in his rib cage once he heard his lost sister's voice in his head. He had missed her so much since she was the only one to give him attention in his litter. He was labeled as the runt, so naturally he would be shunned and thought useless and weak to his den. No time to mourn, Raja, You need to focus. Raja quickly sent a prayer to the gods before preparing himself for his not so much painless transformation into those things.

Raja felt it was weird to be a human. His surroundings suddenly felt colder because the lost of his fur all across his body. As a replacement, he was given white furs that warmed his body. His legs froze from such harsh weather as his face began to redden by the cold temperatures. His legs wobbled for balance as it was the first time in ages that he had transformed. In fact, it was the first time he had since his sister fled to gather food for him and herself.

Raja's cleverness took hold of his actions as he acted like he had been traveling through the mountains on a trail snowed over. Running his pale fingers through his white sheet hair, he was stopped by the same voice that was searching for a certain lion to kill.

"Oi! You there!" The first voice yelled out as Raja acted like he was surprised to see humans this far in the mountain. Yet, he was truly surprised. They were truly dedicated if they were trying to find him. How Ironic.

"Hmm?" Raja barely knew how to speak. He could only speak in simple terms such as "yes" or "no" questions and words that he was taught by his older sister.

"Hi! My friend and I are looking for a certain cave around here, and since you're the only person I've seen for miles, I was wondering if you saw such a thing?" The man had a heavy coat on the color of the leaves in the fall while his hat matched. The look of tiredness took his face, but hope also escaped his dull expression in hope that Raja had an answer. His friend glanced over to his friend worriedly. His brown hair clouded his eyes and was wearing something similar as his friend. Only a dark navy hat that covered his head was the only difference according to Raja.

"Umm. . ." Raja pondered on his answer. He would be stupid to lead them in the direction of his own home. Deciding quickly, he finger pointed behind him. The man who appeared to have a map signed in relief. Raja assumed that this was something to look forward to for the humans.

"Thank you very much! Do you know how much farther we have left?" The man begged, oblivious to the fact that he had been tricked into the wrong direction.

"I say about a mile." Raja simply put it. The faster these humans were farther away from his cave, the more time he could explore the forest around him without having to worry that he would be hunted down.

"My name's Myker, and this is my buddy, Colt. What's your name?" The name called himself Myker held out his hand which confused Raja. Noticing his confused stare at his hand, he laughed," Not from around here, are ya'?" Raja shook his head no," It's a greeting to shake hands when you meet someone."

Raja understood what he meant and shook Myker's hand awkwardly. It was silent after the shake, and Raja started to grow tense. He sensed something wrong carrying with these two men. So, Raja quickly grew suspicious of the two, glaring at them.

"Myker, you're making him uncomfortable." Myker's friend, Colt, informed him. Myker only grinned at the statement.

"Colt, do you know what a snow lion can do?" Myker asked, and red flags coursed though Raja's instinct," They could disguise as something else to protect themselves. Remember when Mona saw a women that looked just like Raja here? Well, it turned out she was one too. She changed and attacked our own sister. Lucky, Papa came to intervene before she was killed. I think her name was Dena or Dene?"

Oh no Raja thought. These men had killed his beloved sister, because she was trying to defend herself from what horrors she was placed in front of her! It was an act of violence against an unique predator that was known to possess extreme loyalty. Putting two together, Raja had assumed that Dena made friends with a human, the thing she warned Raja about doing! Dena was dead. . .

Raja snapped.

Raja let his instinct take hold of him as he furiously released his pent up anger that had resided in him too long. Even though he had an answer to where his sister had been these months, he was beyond enraged of the news. He now knew what meant most to him was dead, not breathing, with of the gods now. Not singing with him anymore.

Blood stained the white snow as it also stained the mouth of the outraged snow lion. Raja yelped at what horror he had created in front of him. The man was dead, but he could do something about his friend, Colt. His emotions had gotten the better of him, and now he had blood on his paws. His blue eyes turned to Colt, who was now quickly losing blood because of the huge mark that imprinted his jaw.

"L-Leave me be! Please!" Colt begged," I-I have family at home to feed. I promise no one will bother you!"

Raja let him go as blood dripped from Colt while he fastly escaped as fast as he could travel.

Colt had returned to the village in tears. The villagers panicked that he was barely breathing by the time he arrived. Soon after Colt recovered enough to be conscious, Colt told stories of a frightening beast called the Snow Lion. Colt also explained that this Lion was an force to be reckoned with, and any who met this white-coated lion would not survive.He preached to never, ever travel in it's territory or their fate would become his. Villagers intrigued by the power that Colt had explained began to see this lion a spirit god of the village.

Raja had made it clear that no one was going to mess with him, especially when it came to his sister's murderers. Few had encountered him, fearing his growing power. He had let them go unless they pose threat. With proof, Raja was titled "Protector of Ourea" or Protector of the Mountain Gods.

It confused Raja, but it helped him greatly when seekers would seek him through the white snow of the endless winter seasons.

At least Raja now meant something.

Meridth Village located high above sea level and hidden away by the Uala Mountains, Early July. The sky littered white flurries onto the tops of wooden plank roofs. One single breath would be blown back by the forceful winds of high snow tops. Men, women, and children were huddling for warmth waiting for the event of the year to show itself to the whole village.

"Hmm. . . I don't see why people get so excited for these kind of things anymore. Kind of useless seeing someone make a fool of themselves in front of the whole village?"

"Tell me about it. I can smell it from here, good Lord."

"How can someone get so. . . how do you say it? Unprepared. Yeah, those are the words."

"When you think of confessing to a girl at last second."

Noble and Mylo continued to stare at the anticipated crowd that only grew more in numbers. Both best friends had predicted that this was an bad idea without having to think for one second. In a blink of an eye, the news seemed to spread around the small population of the school, soon branching out to the whole town. Noble hadn't been so disappointed since that one time where a little girl had brought an frog to class, spreading a disease that attacked almost everyone. Mylo simply just enjoyed the drama as it feasted his eager curiosity to it's full capacity.

"Oh! She's coming!" Conner, a fellow classmate of Noble and Mylo, announced. The crowd soon began to chat among themselves until a small figure turned the corner to reveal, Daley, a very smart young women who sat next to Noble in their Human Studies class. She looked frightened at the amount of stares she was receiving, and her face soon flushed a deeper shade of red.

"Let's go have a closer look?" Mylo suggested, and Noble agreed. Noble lifted his scarf to his face to shield his mouth from the cold. This runny nose and cough wasn't going to torture him more if he were to protect himself from mother nature's wraith. He followed suit behind his best friend as they stole a front seat view of the priceless event that would take place in front of their eyes.

Noble never came close to becoming friends with Callum Monshee who nervously twitched in his position in front of the audience. He was one of those boys who bragged about how wealthy his family was, or how his spirit partner was better than anyone else's in the school. He was one cocky son of a gun, but watching him wither under the shy girl's gaze was priceless.

This bully had been crushing on the smartest girl in our tiny, little abode you would call a school for ages. Naturally, students would gaze at him and think that he could pull off that bad boy look, and Daley would drop her fur pants for him right there in front of obvious students. Noble personally thought that this was by far the most ridiculous thing he had ever seen in his nineteen years of life. Why would Callum with the snow panther partner be crushing on the shy nerd whom had a rabbit for a partner? It still confused Noble til this day.

Daley approached Callum slowly, weary of the stares she was getting. One person even had to gut to wolf whistle as she slowly walked over to the nervous, sweating in the coldest mountain, jock. Callum glared at the troublemaker and turned his attention back on his prize. Daley inspected the crowd with her beautiful green eyes before turning her own attention to the jock.

"H - Hi Daley," Callum barely manged to say under his breath.

"Hello Callum. How are you this fine morning?" Daley sounded rather confident although her posture said otherwise.

Mylo elbowed Noble's side to get his attention in which he purposely wiggled his eyebrows and made immature kissing noises. Noble snorted, holding in his laughter. One wrong noise out of his mouth would ruin such an moment that would most likely never happen again.

"I - I'm doing fine. I just have one question to ask you." Callum gulped in his breath he had been holding onto for at least the whole day and motioned for Daga, his snow panther partner and spirit sprinted out of the blue holding a sign on his white neck.

Daley gasped as the folk around Noble only chuckled at the reaction of the small female. The sign read "Luna Festival. You & Me together?". Stars were scattered on the board with the big question while the moon hid in the corner. Noble held in his breath, amazed how the the girl who hid in plain sight got asked, but Noble didn't? That's right. No one did know what Noble preferred? Plus, it wasn't like they noticed to care.

Noble and Mylo had to hold their mouths, so their laughs wouldn't echo through the mountains to awaken the animals. Noble held onto Mylo's forearm in hope that his best friend could anchor him, but both failed. Noble swore that his side would be hurting for a while after this.

"Why would I go with an egotistical dickhead who couldn't think with the right head?" Daley had plainly insulted the embarrassed jock in front of her. Callum's face wasn't red of blushing for his crush, no. It was flaming hot just like his hot-headed ways. His fists clenched in fury as he was publicly - in front of the whole damn village - humiliated. Daley smirked at her words were getting to the stubborn jock, so she decided to add fuel to the fire for the fun of it,"Actually, I saw you flirting with Izzy a few days ago. You guys are certainly close. Only natural to put the school whores together for the Lunar Festival. Remind me when the baby comes, because you can obviously see the bump forming!" She blew a kiss,"Ta - ta!"

Noble held out his hand while his laughter only made him wheeze into his scarf. Mylo wheezing with his smaller best friend slapped five gold pieces in said hand. You see, Noble and Mylo made a bet the very morning they heard about the confession and ask. Noble instantly propped up from his sleepy daze, and placed a bet that Daley would full out reject Callum. Mylo begged to differ, saying even though Callum was a complete asshole, no one would refuse him.

"Oi, Dud! What are you laughing at?!" Callum finally took notice to the two boys who were now almost passed out by the lack of breath. Noble and Mylo only grinned wickedly before another voice decided to interrupt.

"Bitch! You didn't just call me fat! Whore at that!" A full head of ginger-red hair rudely pushed through the crowd and over to Daley, who was now fighting off her own laugh. Izzy's snake wrapped around her hand and hissed at Daley. Both were shooting her venomous looks of disgust and hatred.

"Only speaking the truth, Darling." Daley threaded on thin ice, and Noble could only admire her brave act to stand up against the red-head queen of the village.

Izzy was a very stubborn girl who only acted nice towards you if you had something she wanted. Other than that, her face was always in bitch mode. She would snap at random town folk no matter the age for no reason, and even one time went as far as injuring one of the teachers for giving her a bad grade. There were a lot of similarities between the bad girl and bad boy, but both knew for a fact that they were complete whores and wouldn't admit it.

This would of ended in a cat fight between the two if one of the elders of the village hadn't intervened before Izzy drew her cat claws. Noble and Mylo ran over to Daley once the elders collected Izzy to punish in town hall. The rule was simple in the village. If there was anything that disturbed the peace we had took so long to establish, you would be sentenced a short trial or as long as years, depending on the severity of the act against the peace.

"You okay, Daley?" Noble worried about his friend. He wiped his frozen tears away as Daley winked at Noble. Daley wrapped her arm around Noble's waist while doing the same with Mylo.

"Man, you don't know how good that felt to say." Daley giggled,"It was so worth it, oh my god."

"My side still hurts from laughing so hard." Mylo coughed out the rest of what he had left in his body from the laugh session.

"We can fix that, can't we? Let's go to Noble's house then." Daley suggested, and Mylo agreed with no question.

Noble's mother was the witch of the village. She was the healer of all, and the one that judged criminals if they were innocent or not. my mother had a firm grasp in the community, and she did whatever she could to help around. She knew that everything wasn't always going to be peaceful like the elders had hoped it would. Noble admired her dedication and willpower to keep up with such energy-consuming villagers, and one day, he hoped that he could get out of his weak sickness and become as strong as her one day.

The three best friends walked past the marketplace and onto the main road where housing would only be down the road. Snow littered the ground and refilled the gaps of foot prints left behind by the three friends. Mylo was the first to push the wooden door of Noble's tut to finally escape to the fireplace to warm up. Daley and Noble looked at each other and simply giggled to themselves.

"Big Brother!" Sam, Noble's younger sister, came running down the hall and hugged her older brother's leg. Noble smiled sweetly, breaking away from Daley's grip. His pale complexion was noticed by his mother trailing to greet her son, and she instantly started to worry.

"Noble, sweetie. You need to be next to fire stat before you get any worse. Now, Sam, please go fetch me some blankets for your big brother please?" Sam nodded with her big, heart-warming smile and sped off into the hall once again to gather what her mother had asked for. Noble's mother only sighed and pulled her son into the living room where Mylo was huddled as closely as he could without burning himself.

"Ma, I'm fine." Noble urged.

"No, you're not. It's one thing that you're always sick to the bone," His mother complained while forcing Noble to sit close to the fire,"Being a Beast Dud is your other weakness. If you had your beast already, then you wouldn't be so sick like you are."

Noble was tired of hearing it over and over again. "You're an Beast Dud, Noble! Looks like you're never going to feel an companionship like I do!" was what was screamed at him internally everyday when he wondered around the school to race to his classes. His teachers looked down on him like he were a troll, and it made Noble feel extremely self-conscious about himself because of it. He always hoped that he would one day find the beast in the wild built just for him, and most would find it by now. Noble was one of the unlucky few that hadn't.

A Beast Tamer was a magic user that used the use of animals as a form of magic defense, attack, or just as a friend. It is said that a Beast Tamer only had one partner in their life time and would always develop a special bond only those two could embrace. On the other hand, a Beast Dud was technically a person whom hadn't gotten their beast partner before sixteen or simply did not have one at all. The beast may of died or got hunted. Everyone assumed that Noble had been one of these duds just because he hadn't found his partner, or called spirit sometimes.

And God, how Noble hated he was different.

"Gee, thanks mother. You love me that much, don't you?" Noble smirked sarcastically. His mother gave him a dirty look, and Mylo nudged Noble.

"If you were going to be salty, I would of brought my deer meat for you to savor."

"Oh, shut it, Mylo." Noble growled, but cut back once he felt small arms wrapped a blanket around him. Noble's unnatural grey eyes gazed back to see his little sister smiling brightly at him before circling him to sit in his lap.

"Thank you, Sam."

"You're welcome, big brother."

Daley chose to talk with his mother about the scene that happened before they arrived to the homely abode of Noble's small family. His mother giggled at how Daley had reacted to the boy and sympathized for the boy who he obviously knew was Callum. Daley's dirty blond hair bounced every time she would laugh or simply move her curls. Daley was a very independent women which was confused with her innocent appearance. Noble knew how she felt, but he was exactly how they described, Weak, small, etc. His mother would sometimes exit the conversation to watch the soup boil before going back to the small talk.

Noble and Mylo were starting to get extremely bored as they waited for Noble and Sam's dinner to finally cook. Noble was content though. He was with the people who didn't judge him at a glance. They gave him a chance, and well, his little sister made him feel like he meant something. Sam looked up to him like he were her life support. Noble felt that same as he wouldn't let anyone touch her when she first arrived late April a few years back. Noble felt himself hold her closer to his thin frame in possessiveness. He wasn't going to let anyone touch her, even if he were weak.

"Dinner's ready! Help yourselves! I've got a patient to take care of at town hall. Be good kids!" Noble's mother made it clear that she was leaving with her heavy fur coat and boots,"Noble, honey, make sure Sam gets her fill, will you?"

"I'm not that stupid, mommy!" Sam pouted, sinking in Noble's lap.

"I know, but you can never be too careful. I'll be back before the moon rises fully in the sky." and she was off.

Noble, deciding it was a good time for a sneak attack on his sister, started to tickle the life out of his five year old sister. Sam squealed under his fingers while he discreetly picked her up and back into his arms. Sam latched onto him for support as Noble got up onto his feet to get to the kitchen. Noble found Daley still at the kitchen table, but with Fluffy, her rabbit partner. Her small hands stroked the white fur of the snow hare of the mountains.

"Hiya, handsome." Daley winked at Noble which resulted in an dramatic eye roll,"and beautiful! You're growing so fast, Sammy!" Sam giggled like her adorable self. Her light brown hair similar to her old brother's swayed to her hips as she leap down form said brother. She ran over to Daley, giving her a big hug and gushing over the stupid hare again.

Mylo came soon after, eager to get his hands on a warm bowl of soup even though he had been by the fire for at least an hour by now. Noble prepared four bowls of soup, setting one for each chair that was present at the table. Mylo immediately shoved his way to the soup, soon burning his mouth in the process. Daley was at least smart and blew on it before taking a sip. She moaned in pleasure at the heaven in her mouth. Sam sipped the soup like she always had since she was introduced to the stuff. Noble just simply sat down and prayed to the gods and goddesses before digging in.

"So, Noble." Daley said,"How have you been holding up recently?"

"I guess I'm doing okay." Noble replied hesitantly,"I have to keep my scarf on though. Mom rubbed some herbs in it, so it would prevent me from getting sick and all." Noble sipped his soup, gazing at the bowl as he lifted it.

"No, I meant. . . the other news." Daley smiled sadly.

"Oh. . . that."

"Noble, you don't have to - " Mylo tried to assure, but Noble cut him off.

"I mean. . . being a beast dud isn't that bad, is it?" Noble muttered,"Even though it gets rubbed in your face almost everyday."

"Well, you never know. Maybe, you haven't met your partner yet?" Sam intervened. Her small pink lips curved in a bright smile that always seemed to cheer Noble up,"Maybe, you're a late bloomer like my teacher at school! Remember Mr. Redd?"

Noble hummed his answer.

"He's got a hawk as his partner, and he said that they met in the wild when he was almost twenty-five!"

"Listen to the girl. You have hope." Mylo grinned and slapped his hand on Noble's back. Noble silently groaned at the spurt of pain erupting in his back now, but ignored it in hopes it would go away.

"Let's just not worry for now, and enjoy this amazing bear soup that your mother made us, shall we?" Daley suggested.

"Sure." Noble answered.

Until it was time to put Sam to bed, The three best friends talked, played chess, and told stories about themselves, totally oblivious to reason for what the next may bring.

"Ah. . ."

"Don't you dare, Noble Embers!"

"Ah. . ."

"Oh my god, no - "

"Ah. . . CHOO!" Noble sneezed for the forth time that morning only after waking up mere minutes before. His mother gazed at him disappointingly since his daily sickness had seemed to amplify since yesterday. Noble shrugged under his two blankets his mother insisted he wore around the house, almost chuckling when he heard his mother huff behind him.

"Good morning, big brother." Sam slurred, rubbing her eyes from the sleep still within them. Her similar light brown hair shot in different directions while she dragged her little white blanket that meant the world to her behind her small body. Noble only smiled down at his little sister, picking her up even if he had layers beyond layers on.

"Good morning to you too, Sammy Bear." Noble whispered before carrying her into the small living room of their cottage-like house. Sam rested her head on Noble's shoulder, falling half asleep it seems. Noble gently shook her, and Sam groaned, content to stay in her position forever.

"Alright, Sammy honey. You need to wake up, so you can go to school." Their mother sighed, stealing her out of Sam's arms,"Don't you remember? The Luna Festival will make school out for a whole week."

"Yeah, I know." Sam still sounded like she was about to fall asleep again.

"I need you to bear school for another three days, so you can finally sleep in, okay?" The witch sat her daughter down on the couch, which Sam in turn stood up to wake herself up. Noble stood in the hallway watching to scene happen in front of his eyes. He couldn't help to laugh that Sam, his five year old sister, is acting like a lazy teenager like himself.

Noble excused himself from the living room to go fix himself up in his own room. Stepping inside, he closed the door with a kick and went straight to finding suitable clothes to go to school in. He picked out a wool brown long sleeve that was a little too big on him made by the seamstress in the village. He wore his regular form fitting pants while he slipped into his big, lighter shade of brown, fur coat. He basically purred every time he slipped into the soft heaven he refused to take off.

Satisfied with his choices, Noble moved to the bathroom that held a semi-medium mirror to fix his out of control hair. He just stared at himself, sinking in just how he is and how he is always going to be. He was small, that he hated to admit. He hated just how much he was related to his mother, but different at the same time. He had very pale skin, since sunlight around here was basically out of the question. His bright brown hair curled everywhere, listening to no one even its head it inhabited. He had also inherited very high cheekbones that Sam and his mother didn't have. One reason to hate himself. Another was that he had these big bright grey eyes, again another trait Sam and their mother didn't beautify with their charm.

"What makes you so different?" Noble asked his twin in the mirror. Of course, the Noble that was staring back couldn't answer that question. Noble, however, had hope that something would answer him. After stupidly gazing at his weak self in the mirror for a good ten minutes, Noble gave up and escaped the small bathroom of the Ember house. He walked into his mother serving Sam a pieces of boar meat that the village had provided yesterday to give to the families would couldn't exactly hunt for their families.

"Noble, come and eat before Daley comes and fetches you." His mother ordered, and Noble obeyed. His bare feet instantly froze from lack of heat in the room, and he fought the urge to shiver. He sat next to his little sister who had fixed herself up to look presentable, finally. The boar meat that was placed in front of him wasn't exactly what he had in mind of breakfast, but his mother taught him to be grateful he even had food in front of him in the first place. He dug in.

Just as Noble was finishing his breakfast, a knock rang through the cottage. Before he could get up to get it, his mother waved her hand, binding him to stay in his feet. Daley and Mylo stood in the falling snow with small smiles on their faces. His mother practically shoved them into the cottage to take shelter from the gentle snow that littered their clothes.

"Heya there, Noby." Daley winked. She held onto her strap of her school bag while her rabbit partner rested on her shoulder. She wore her simple attire with her white fur jacket similar to Noble's, and black pants that hugged her plus size legs. The curvy girl just stood their in glory, not caring what the world thought about her body.

"We better be going. I don't want Ms. Widow biting me again." Mylo mumbled, but nonetheless made his presence known by his grumpiness. Must of fell off the wrong side of the bed, huh? Noble thought, cracking a smile.

"Yeah, give me a second." Noble replied to the grumpster in the corner sulking. He cleaned his plate of leftover boar meat before grabbing his boots that easily slipped onto his feet. Once he grabbed his own leather bag, he walked over to his little sister who hadn't expected the sudden kiss on the cheek.

"Going already, Noble?" Sam pouted, her bottom lip folded.

"Yes, but I'll see you when I get home, alright?" Noble reassured Sam, which she gave a kiss back onto her older brother's cheek. It made Noble feel all bubbly inside.

"Come on, Noby. I think Mylo here is going to squat a load if we don't get going,"Daley glanced over to Mylo, trying to hold in her giggles. You could see the annoyance off his face.

"Yeah, I'm coming." Noble said back.

"Ah, don't you dare forget, young man!" his mother stopped Noble by yanking him back by the hood of his jacket. Surprised at the sudden action, a scarf was wrapped around his neck while one side was pulled up to shield his mouth,"I don't want you getting any more sick than you already are. I want you able to go to the festival without having to cough every two seconds."

Noble rolled his grey eyes before walking out into the falling snow without an word to his mother. His two best friends followed, catching up to him. Each one hooked to both of his sides as they walked down a busy road full of vendors. They talked of normal things, like how they were excited about the break coming and how rumors can just fly through people's mouths like songs.

It didn't take long until they all got to school, safely Noble might add. Noble hated how he had to separate from his best friend, but would soon see her again in Studies of Man two periods later. Once they got to the school, hey soon separated to go to their first period of the day. The first period of the day for Noble was Religion. It was a small class that surrounded the beliefs of the village of Meridth.

"Hey, you okay?" Noble asked Mylo, grabbing his arm before he walked into the class. It was mere minutes until the man would ring the bell outside indicating that students should get to their classes, and Noble took the time to bring his foul mood to attention.

"I'm fine. Just had another fight with my mom last night." Mylo replied. His mother wasn't the most motherly mother in the village to say the least. She wasn't the friendliest either. She was so strict and ruled like she was queen of the village while Mylo was carefree and laid back like he always had been. Opposites tend to disconnect with each other, and it was no surprise to Noble that they would fight.

"Don't worry about it, man." Noble slapped his back,"It's going to be okay. You're always welcome at my house. You know my mother likes you even though she doesn't act like it."

"Thanks. Noted." Mylo cracked a small smile before dragging Noble into the classroom with him. The other two students were already there while the teacher, Ms. Widow, sat at her desk waiting for the bell outside to ring.

"Hello, Ms. W." Noble greeted, and Ms. Widow smiled her wrinkled smile back in response. She looked very intimidating on the outside with her scars sprawled across her face. She use to be a hunter back in her day, but in reality, she was a very sweet women.

"Alright, class. I would like you to get your text books out, and turn to page twenty three." Ms. Widow said after hearing one of the men of the village ring the bell manually outside.

Noble opened his bag to grab his small text book. Flipping through the front, he finally found the page and stared at it. Learning about animal myths today, eh? Sweet Noble thought and smiled to himself. He rested against the back of his seat while his scarf hid his face. Only his blue eyes pierced anything that would be under his intense eyes.

"Today, we will be leaning about guardians of the moon goddess." Ms. Widow began,"First, we will begin with the Hawk. The Hawk is said to guard the skies of the mountains, and whenever we heard it, it is a warning sign of a blizzard about to crash down the mountain terrain. In the holy texts in the churches of Luna, it is said that the first hawk had two eyes. One eye possessed the see the future and the other the past. It helped with predicting the disasters."

One girl raised her hand.

"Yes, Maddy?" Ms.Widow stopped.

"Doesn't Mr. Redd have a hawk as a partner?" The girl named Maddy asked. Her long black hair ran down past the chair she was sitting in while her knit hat still hugged his small head.

"That's correct, but you know that isn't the first one, I'm afraid." Ms. Widow chuckled. "Any more questions before moving on?"

Silence.

"Alrighty then, let's go on!" Ms. Widow cheered.

For the next thirty minutes, Noble stared at the book, somehow side-tracted with the deep thoughts keeping his mind busy. Mylo even had to snap him awake by smacking him in the head behind him. Mylo held a chuckle at how his insanely smart best friend was falling asleep in class. That never happened.

"Last and mostly the most interesting, we will be talking about the Snow Lion." Ms. Widow announced, and Noble, like a stick, snapped into place. He didn't know why he was so interested now since he had been dozing off for the past forty-five minutes of class, which he rarely happened the him. Why was he so interested now?

"This guardian is the most recent of the myths for Luna. Snow Lions have been living in the forests of the mountains for centuries, but only been discovered by Elder Colt a few years back. I think you are were almost thirteen?" Ms. Widow explained,"Anyway, Colt had gone out to explore with his friend for the Snow Lion itself. Lions are usually as big as a panther, so it was often to walk past them. We have known about them in the past for their pelt. It's priceless and very expensive. Wow! I'm getting off topic, aren't I?"

"Girls gotta swoon over the expensive stuff, huh?" Mylo smirked. It was very visible that he had recovered from his morning stick in the ass. Noble felt good that his friend was finally feeling better.

"I suppose so," Their teacher giggled,"Back on topic, the one Elder Colt encountered was very big. Three times bigger than the normal size of a Snow Lion. He also explained that they're big cats were able to shapeshift," Okay, Noble was very interested now,"Colt had met a man with hair was white as snow when he was on the hunt of the pelt. 'The man also had a very beautiful face' Elder Colt explained, 'It was a tactic to lure his human prey in. Then, he would attack them and finally finish them off.'"

"So, why didn't Elder Colt survive?" Noble blurted out. He blushed when four pairs of eyes glanced at him in curiosity.

"Well, Elder Colt said that he pleaded that he had his children to take care of at home. Even though he saw his friend be murdered in front of his eyes, he saw something in the Snow Lion. Snow Lions are wise and are able to judge people for their worth. So, it's natural at Colt, who survived the test from the special Snow Lion, became an elder. Others have caught a glimpse of the big cat, and it was proven that this guardian was real. To this day, no one has disturbed the lion in the wild. It is said that the legendary Snow Lion will come when it is needed, and when the ultimate judgement is taken place. Any questions before the bell rings?"

"Is it possible to tame a beast like the Snow Lion? Is it even possible?" Noble asked, earning the attention of the other five Margare around him. He sighed, feeling stupid for asking such an question.

"Well, it is possible." Ms. Widow smiled and smirked at the same time,"If you're strong enough."

Then, the bell rang.

**

Noble was minding his business as usual, walking down the small hall that was crowded with students going to their last periods of the day. Little kids also ran past Noble as the school housed all levels of learning. He frowned when he couldn't see his little sister. Usually, he would of saw her by now when roaming the halls between tiny breaks. He made a grave mistake when he bumped into a head full of red hair.

"Hey! Watch it!" Izzy snapped. One of her minions were talking to her before Noble had accidentally bumping into her. Izzy frowned at Noble with a sour face, instantly recognizing who he was.

"I'm sorry," Noble mumbled, trying to escape before a scene happened. As dramatic as Izzy was, she grabbed his arm, yanking him back to his previous position.

"You're the whore's friend, aren't you?" She spat, obviously talking about Daley. Noble didn't answer. He tried to avoid as much eye contact as much as he could, but his face was painfully gripped, forcing him to look into boring brown eyes,"Answer me before I give a something to avoid me about."

"Y - yes. . ." Noble whispered, regretting that he didn't listen the first time. God, this is why he hated being weak. He just couldn't stand up for himself. He still had his scarf covering his mouth, and Izzy took it as a sign of weakness to reveal. She wanked it away, exposing really nothing out of the ordinary. Thinking quickly, Noble coughed in her face loudly, with force. Izzy loosened her grip on his arm and scarf, and he made a bee-line to the doors that led out of the school.

"Dude, you okay?" Mylo suddenly scared Noble, and Noble jumped back in horror. He then realized that it was a ally instead of a predator and sighed happily. He loose scarf hung across his shoulders lazily, and he quickly fixed the small problem to become his mask once again.

"I'm fine, just panicked a little."

"Why?"

"Well. . ."

"Because that stupid hoe of a Maglarin had almost hit him one." Daley entered the conversation, rubbing Noble's back soothingly. Noble glanced over to his female best friend only to notice the big red spot on her cheek,"Don't worry about it. I gave her one back." Another one of her unique winks.

"Thanks. . ."

Noble hadn't been feeling exactly himself since school started, and he didn't want to verbally say it out loud in front of the whole school possibly hearing him. So, he grabbed both of his friends, surprised by his new found strength, and yanked them to the road where it lead to his house. Another surprise that they stopped at Daley's house instead of his own. Noble needed to be somewhere other than where he could be targeted again.

Once we were up in his best friend's room, Daley arched her brow in question,"Are you sure you're okay, mister?"

"Look, I'm fine. Just some real weird feeling in me." Noble described,"Like something bad was going to happen?"

"Like a gut feeling?" Mylo said.

"Yes, exactly like it!"

"Well, why don't we stop worrying about things, and occupy ourselves with something else, shall we?" Daley suggested, and both boys agreed. Noble, however, still felt weird, like in a trance. It was weird, yes. He wasn't going to say it out loud either. Next thing he needed was for his best friends to call him crazy or weird when he didn't have the confidence to take it. He hadn't realized that his friends were trying to talk to him, questioning him while he was in that deep thought bubble.

Noble had finally snapped out of some trance he was in. It was like his body was taken over by autopilot. He suddenly forgot why he was so nervous in the first place. Something was just telling him mentally to escape it, because something bad was about to happen. He just felt it. It was a gut thing, really, Noble said to himself again. He brushed it off though, just glad that he wasn't where the bullies fed off of misery. He was with his friends he trusted, and he was content. When his friends finally were done questioning him to the bone, he said,"It's simply nothing. How about we go for a walk around the grounds?"