“Come at me,” Lano said as he stood straight before her, hands behind his back and mask tilted as he stared at her through it. A menacing figure with his large body, not quite as huge as the Bone clan’s lycantrophy but around their general height and sizes in their normal forms.

As the two days prior, Erika had been woken up with a bucket of cold water off her carriage, told to follow and then lead away from the marching army.

Another three hours…

She thought to herself, regretting what was to come as he simply waited.

Unsheathing her dagger, Jared was still at work on her actual sword, she looked Lano up and down searching for weaknesses.

She knew his speed, even if he did not stand in any known defensive stance he would enter one before she would even reach him. The same went for abusing her raw strength, his speed would simply be too much to land a good hit.

Then, she focused on his mask, the tilt to his head.

It’s all I got.

As it lay tilted to her right, Erika suddenly rushed into her left, his eyes following her keenly.

Midway there, she curved into coming from her right. Hoping his eyesight would trick him as she thought it might, making her speed seeming to speed up slightly, when it hadn’t.

Quickly Lano’s left foot hovered back, planting itself sideways whilst his right leg bent, his foot remaining facing forwards. His right hand surged from around his back, grasping out at Erika as his head un-tilted.

Erika thought, the head movement would also blur his sight for a millisecond.

And with a sudden movement, she paused her charge before using the wet grass to slide to her left. Erika lunged forth, her right hand prepared to deflect his left, whilst her right plunged the dagger forward.

“Eyes are not always true, well thought out but.” Lano mused as his right hand came about, throwing forth a pile of dirt into her face before his front knee suddenly surged upward, catching her in the chest.

Erika lost her breath, and dagger, as her senses shuddered momentarily from the hit. Finding herself then laying on the wet ground clutching her chest and trying to catch her breathing.

“You still calculate your opponents according to the biology of a Human. Very rarely in this world will you face a day of only fighting the humans.” Lano explained, “Lycan senses are extremely greater, and vampires have the ability to contort their bodies in unnatural ways with little harm done to themselves. Not to mention that both have physical strength greater than your own, in your current state.”

“And…which would you be?” Erika mused as she pulled herself up to a kneel, meeting Lano’s narrowed eyes. “Human? Lycan? Or Bat?”

A silent pause came as the two glared at one another, “Two hundred years I’ve spent building these people.” Lano then said, gazing off towards where the march was barely visible. “Very much most of my life time, and not once was I asked that question. An interesting culture based on pride, strength and valour. My identity was never questioned in face of that.”

His gaze then returned to her, “If you can answer me the same, I will tell you. What are you? Human? Lycan? Bat? Something else?”

Erika pulled herself to her feet. “I-I’m a Dragon!” She responded.

“Hm, yes that is partly what you are, but what else?” Lano asked.

Pausing for a moment, “Human?” Erika replied with a raised brow and questioning tone.

“Heh,” Lano chuckled, suddenly lunging forth with his fist, meeting her arms crossing to block the attack, sending Erika sliding several feet back into where she had started. “Not quite.”

It infuriated her. She had grown used to the scent of Lycan, she knew the scent of every other race known to her world, but she couldn’t catch either from Lano.

She couldn’t catch any at all, it was as if he managed to hide his body’s very scent entirely.

A vampire, he has to be.

Erika thought, the idea of a bat living amongst and aiding the Lycans being as far fetched as it was, it was the only possibility that made sense after she put everything together.

The clothing to hide his pale complexion, the mask to hide his fangs, and I sense an illusive magic over it too. Hiding his eye’s true colours perhaps?

When suddenly she found herself on the ground once again, Lano standing over her with narrowed eyes. “You walk to war,” he mused, “Yet you are not prepared for it.”

“I am-”

“You are not.” Lano cut her off.

Erika tried to stand up, “I am!” she exclaimed, yet only finding herself being thrown back several feet away and back to the ground. Feeling a force that was not there before in Lano’s strike, as she glanced up to find darkness lurking about his face, surging out of his mask as his eyes briefly glowed violet, then pink, then back to silver.

“You are not ready for war, you foolish child. You expect a board and pieces to move yet what you will find is a melee in the mud amongst fangs and iron.” Lano growled, “The balance of power is undetermined in our reality, where there is weak and strong then there is monsters they cannot even fathom to understand. It is not strategy alone, it is not numbers solely, it is those monsters at their lead who decide the flow of war.”

Erika remained on her ass as she glared up at Lano, “I am a monster.”

Lano tilted his head, “Oh? Are you? And here I thought you to be a Dragon. Because a monster is not enough, and while a Dragon you are, you are merely a pup still learning to crawl. Tell me child, have you ever seen a Dragon at their full might? Have you ever witnessed the raw destruction their very presence brings forth?” Lano asked, and Erika found herself at a loss for words.

“Because I have.” Lano then grumbled, before turning away to leave. “Come, we will encamp soon and I feel as you’ll need to listen to Zarkon’s speech.” He said, walking off.

“There are no true dragons in this world…” Erika then mused, “Are there?”

Lano then paused, “No, no there are not.”

“You’re from elsewhere too, who…who are you?” Erika asked then, pulling herself up.

“It is not time for you to know that just yet, patience child. I will tell you soon.” Lano mused, storming off right then.

Erika leaned into a nearby tree to catch her breath and thoughts, leaving her dagger on the ground where she stared at it.

He’s right…at this rate, a common demon will kill me.

She admitted to herself, melancholy filling her chest as she clutched it in anger and shame.

I don’t know…Should I value myself according to that monster? If I do then…what have I been doing these two past years!?

Suddenly bashing her clenched fist into the tree behind her, Erika felt the blow quake through the bark and into her back.

How can I…even call myself a Dragon?

She chuckled to herself, “Even a tree can withstand my anger.”

“Well I would sure damn hope they do, else we’d run out of them.” Said Gray as he stepped out of the forest’s shadow and into the clearing. “Well, that was rough to watch.”

Erika groaned, “How long where you there?”

“Long enough to know Elder Lano is not a Lycan?” Gray offered with a cocky grin, “Although that’s not exactly a secret, I bet my uncle knows, and many others. He’s generally accepted as an oddball.”

Erika chuckled, “You can repeat that part.”

“But an oddball that has the full, unblinking respect of our Alpha.” Gray added.

“I wonder why, maybe it’d uncover the answer to my current question.” Erika mused.

“That strange language he likes to speak?” Gray asked and Erika nodded, “You actually understand him?”

“I…get the sense of what he’s saying. Not that I can repeat him, less so speak a word of it.” Erika replied.

“Huh, well to be completely honest, I don’t think any of us but Zarkon and Lano himself know where he comes from or who he really is.” Gray explained, “The earliest I know of him, is that Lano fought side by side with our rising Alpha during his youth. As far as I know, they met on the battlefield, two hundred years ago give or take.”

“Two hundred years? You live that long!?” Erika exclaimed, although then remembering how old her own father was the surprise quickly fell off. “Well, I guess, my father is several hundred times that.”

Gray almost tripped over himself, “Excuse me what, and Lano is the mystery you wish to uncover?”

“My father isn’t here right now training me, is he?” Erika added.

“True enough.” Gray sighed, “Well, your best chance is to then get an audience with the Alpha.”

“And my chance of that is?” Erika asked.

“Right now? As we march to battle? Null.” Gray chuckled, “Anyway, sounds like we’re about to finally set up camp. Rest for a day and march for another three…”

“You all have the stamina of beasts, you’ll be fine.” Erika grumbled, picking and sheathing her dagger, she turned towards the march.

“Oh no, no, they speak for themselves. I’m the normal one here!” Gray pleaded, following after her.