The Empire of the Wretched Son

Year 0001, The Imperium

---

 Today the snowfall has subsided, since it is almost the end of the winter season and spring will be a welcome sight for everyone. 

 August was out and about the house. To stretch himself and do his morning dive into the snow (like a cold plunge).

He could finally get out of the house without worrying of hypothermia since it isn't too cold anymore. 

His fur tunic was now enough to warm himself outside. Apparently he found this tunic from one of the Chiefs drawers and took it home.

Although right now he was butt naked outside ready to make his quick dive.

---

After he got dressed and dried himself near the hearth he got out again to have a look around the place.

He spotted what he missed the other day, the door from the other house where he stored most of the things he deemed important was opened slightly.

 Panic rushed through him and like a bolt of lightning he ran inside the house and armed himself with the bow and took a few arrows into his quiver.

 Apparently he can now pull the strings of the bow after days of training with it.

He included it in his strength and endurance training regimen, as he deemed it necessary for his survival.

 He ran outside the house and yanked his bow and aimed it at the doorway.

 He crept slowly until he was near the door. After a few deep breaths to calmed his nerves. He slightly tapped the door and called for a response.

" He..llo is anyone there? "

 He was a little bit shaky with his adrenaline and nerves crashing through him. Right now you can see a small sweat pooling on his forhead.

After a few deep breaths and no response was made.

 He made a move, he yanked the bowstring and stood still at an angle by the doorway. 

 He waited for a while, when he was sure that there was no sound inside.

 He murmurmed to himself.

 "So its not a monster or beast then, what could it be?"

 Pretty brave of him to step into the unknown right?

---

At this point his mind was wandering everywhere with a bunch of what ifs.

Should he go in or leave and just wait inside the house away from potential threat to his security.

It was the smart thing to do, but something was telling him he might regret it if he did so.

When he was trying to recall if he locked the door before or it might be a strong wind that opened it.

 He thought internally that he locked the door before.

But there is just that what if he didn't and what if he did and someone had broken in. He was cynical and rightfully so is his mind already playing tricks on him?

 Could this be the effects of his traumatic experience or from the days of being alone?

 *Ahhhhh " what to do? what to do? "

---

 After a much needed respite he finally calmed himself enough to think through it.

He steeled his resolve and once again he yanked the bow as he slowly went inside.

 As he opened the door he could see that nothing was amiss.

But if you can hear his heart at that it would sound and feel like, as if it was his heart was going to escspe out of him. 

 He almost couldn't breath and his vision grew dim.

*pant pant pant*

 With each nervous step he took, buckets of sweat would fall down.

 He'd slow down time and again to calm himself, he repeated this a couple of times.

 He soldiered on, he cleared the entrance and went from door to door, he even got down to the basement.

 It was a two story house, it was pretty fancy seeing a two story house in this place. 

 Apparently the owners were a little more blessed than the rest of them.

 After clearing the first floor and the basment August heaved a sigh of relief.

*Whew* " I hope it continues to be mere imagination " he spoke to himself.

---

 Finally he went to the upper floor, he crept up slowly watching his every step and not make any sudden eratic movement, that may or may not awaken or disturb whatever is inside the house at that moment.

 After a couple of rooms its finally the master bed room.

Upon slowly opening the last remaining door he prayed that there was indeed nothing in this house that may or may not kill him.

*creeeeek* 

 In one of the bedrooms he found a being that wasn't moving.

*gasped*

 Augusts hair stood up his nerves went haywire, he closed the door with haste. 

He looked cold, pale and was sweating bullets even in this cold climate. 

" damnit! " he cursed himself for his terrible luck.

---

 After a few moments of calming himself down, he opened the door slightly and peeped through it.

 The being still wasn't moving, at that moment he couldn't tell what it was, afraid that it would lash at him and eat him.

 After giving himself a peptalk " Come on brat! you can do this! I can do this! "

 The system though...

[ . . . . ]

 He rolled his eye as his system promted him, he could tell those judgemental cold gaze being thrown at him.

---

 After his peptalk, he found his courage again and went inside the room.

 He could finally see this mystery silhouette that was driving him nuts.

 He poked at the being with his bow, but gave himself a bows length of space to work with, in case it awoke and lash out at him.

You can never be too careful..

Witnessing that the being was still somewhat unmoving, he went a little bit closer to inspect it. 

 He was already overthinking things with a bunch of dangerous thoughts. 

But he still managed to overcome his fears and upon closer inspection this being is a ... girl?

 She looked like someone his age, she was pretty that was his initial impression, by his standard atleast. 

 After staring at this young girl he forgot to check if she was still breathing.

 He took one of his gloves off and hovered his hand near the girls mouth. 

 A faint breath...

 So she is still not dead ... but she is barely hanging on to life.

 He knew then that if he wouldn't bring her back home she will die there and then. 

At his current state of mind and well being, he couldn't take anymore deaths around him or he would go insane from being alone and from seeing someone die infront of him again.

What is holding him through all of this? Revenge and his willpower to live.

---

 August hurriedly carried her down like a princess.

 He rushed her home and layed her next to the hearth, it still has some heat but not enough if he want to warm her up and save her.

 He took some wood from his stockpile and started to fire up his hearth again. He looked around their house for blankets and coverd her with whatever he could find to warm her up.

 She now looked like a food wrap from one of Aerths numerous food marvels. Not that he remembered anything about it though.

---

 After enough heat accumulated around the house, her complexion started to improve. From extreme pale with a bit of hypothermia settling in, has now gone down.

 She was now sweating, her cheeks and ears were red, she looked like she was having a fever.

 So he removed some of the blankets from her slowly to let her skin breath.

He took care of her, wiping her swear and putting a damp towel on her forhead and such.

 He really did the best he could for a stranger he knew nothing of, but none of that mattered to him at that moment. 

--- 

 After several hours of panicking he could finally feel that the girls breaths have somewhat stablized.

 In the meantime he began too cook a simple meal for both of them, hoping he could feed her when she wakes up eventually.

 It was a brothy soup, a specialty that his mother used to cook for him during winter and it was his most favorite thing to eat during the cold.

---

 While waiting for the girl to wake up from her slumber. He ponderd how the gal got here and if she was truly alone.

 Because that would mean that she stormed through the blizzard that dropped last night and that is unbelievably impressive to say that if she did so.

After a while the brothy soup was now giving off a delicious aroma. It wafted through the entire house.

It invaded his nostrils and made his stomach churn in hunger as he did not manage to eat the entire day.

 His starvation was now at its peak.

 He took a bowl for himself and when he was about to eat...

 The girl had woken up from her sleep. 

 Her stomach was stimulated and it was screaming for that delicious smell.

 From Augusts perspective though it looked like someone who got raised from the dead.

 Her movements where bizzare to say the least and she was looking around like a hungry beast!

 He was bewildered by this behavior she was exuding. Is this not a person but a monstrous beast instead?

 He held on his bow firmly without alerting the girl. 

 After no signs of the monster he was picturing her to be, he sighed in relief.

 Nah, I think she's just hungry.

---

 After staring at her for a while, he snapped out of it and he nudge her gently and she turned and looked at him. 

 He couldn't tell from her expressionless face, but their eyes met.

 Finally he saw her beautiful golden eyes staring at him? No, the bowl of food he was holding?

....

" ummm "

 He gestured at her to take and eat it..

" Heee...reee eaa.ttt this sloww..wwly " 

 He stuttered trying his best to speak his thoughts at the sight of this beauty before him? I mean she is staring at his food though.

 She remained unmoving the entire time...