After getting to know John better and having dinner with Hailey, John and his wife, the men went to the kitchen to clean up the dishes whilst the ladies went and sat down upon the sofa in the living room.
John POV-
"So lad even though I've told you a lot about myself you've spoken quite little about yourself"I says whilst drying off a glass.
The lad Viduus stops wiping the plates and turns toward me.
"What do you want to know John?" He says unflinchingly as he stares me dead in the eyes.
As he moves his entire frame ripples due to the extreme muscular development on his body. It's like watching a tiger crouch by a river showing it's body built solely for the hunt.
Despite the fact I know he would never do anything to harm me, his eyes and expression are still and as neutral as a predator looking at prey.
It disturbs me to no end.
"Well, to start with what do your parents do for work, do you play any sports and where abouts do you live" I manage to get out quickly caused by the feeling of danger Viduus releases.
The lad looks down at me and takes a few seconds to think of his response.
"Well to start with I've got no parents as they died 4 years ago when out hunting beyond the Veil mountain range and I know this because I found their bodies last year when I went to look for them."
As i was about to give words of pity his head snapped back and he once again looks at me .
"No need for pity John, I've mostly been alone anyway as they spent more time hunting for relics and ancient temples than they spent looking after me."
He looks again at the plate he is very carefully cleaning with his bear like hands and takes a moment to think.
Again, his head rises and he looks at me.
"The only sport I do is hunting big game and I mean big for me, not normal people. Things like veil wolves, veil bears and veil elk which are active all year round as well as being 4 to 5 times bugger than the normal low land relatives. One of the more challenging hunts is the warm-blooded Titanoboa which come out in the warm seasons and are more challenging because of there stealth despite their size."
Now, as a father, I wish that my daughter will be safe, loved and happy in her relationships as she grows up. But in every scenario I came up with, I would have never thought she would manage to woo an apex predator such as this young man on her first try.
The fact that he can hunt an animal with the word veil before it puts in in the top 0.1% of hunters alone due to the veil animals being so much faster, stronger, larger and more intelligent than the plains subspecies equivalents. Now what's even more impressive is that he can hunt a titianboa. The thought of that prehistoric predator sends a shiver down my spine.
"To answer your final question, to get to where I live you need to go through Kaiser pass which goes through the broken mountains about 270 miles north of town. Once you get there you will be greeted by the sight of the dam near impenetrable Veil mountain range. After that, you follow the mountains left until you get to the Styx river which passes under the Veil mountains and supposedly into the deepest parts of the underworld, however it's ok to swim in at summer time as the warm ocean currents from the equator heat the river up to around 6 degrees. That's really the warmest anything gets and it only lasts a month. Oh but before you plan a holiday there you can only swim in the tributaries of the river as the warm water pulls lots of the apex predators from under the mountain like the pale Deinosuchus which is approximately 10 meters in length and about 5 tons in weight." Looking at the lad now I realise despite his massive body he is far from daft and he's remarkably intelligent with a wealth of knowledge.
"To continue to my house you need to go across the great arch which is formed by the Veil mountains as erosion has caused there to be a large arch that you can cross to get over the river. After that, you just cross the grassy plains and go to the small forest and my house is there. Anyway, as long as you follow the track over the arch you can get there fairly easily. It's about 700 miles and takes 2 weeks by offroad truck but good drivers will be fine if they have plenty of mud experience as well as if and snow."
I look at him carefully after hearing this. After a few moments of thought, I speak." So what your telling me is, you are the most northern person on the planet then."
"Pretty much" he replies whilst looking out the kitchen window.
"Why my daughter then?" I ask whilst looking at him unflinchingly.
He returns the stare and answers, "Because she's the only one to talk to me, the only one that sits with me and the only one that took the time to be with me. After spending most of my life alone with only my animal companions for company I started to go off the rails. I hunted bigger and more dangerous animals, delved deeper into the Veil than anyone before me and all in an attempt to drown out the deep loneliness I felt".
Whilst saying this he squats down to my level and puts all of what will fit of one of his hands on my shoulder and then says with the warmest smile.
"I love your daughter not because she merely filled a void in my life but because she entered that void and took it away. In doing this she placed herself there and I could never be more grateful for that."
I look away quickly as a tear comes to my eye.
"Christ, the onions in dinner were strong weren't they." I half laugh whilst wiping my eyes".
Vid laughs, "they sure are John."
After finishing our chat we return to the living room where Hailey and Sarah (Johns's wife/Hailey's mother) are seated.
Viduus POV-
As I walk out of the kitchen after helping clean anything large enough for me to handle and I am greeted by Sarah and Hailey sitting on the sofa chatting. I walk over and sit on the floor next to the sofa Hailey is sitting on. Hailey almost immediately launches herself into my lap where she makes herself comfortable.
After embracing my love I look over at Sarah whom is now sitting with John.
"So Sarah, over dinner you said you were a variant. Could you tell me what that is."
She looks over and smiles at me and Hailey.
"Sure dear, it's just a genetic difference I have from other people which gives me a larger advantage. My one personally is increased sensory perception as well as minor neural attachment." She replies carefully to ensure I understand.
"Could you explain what minor neural attachment is sorry" I reply whilst looking quite sheepish as I understand erstits a semi-private matter.
"Dont worry dear" She repkys whilst smiles softly at me," it just allows me to feel your emotions in a sense and I can get a sense for the emotions depth and strength so to say."
After this, general conversation about me continues until dark.