Vayu woke up with a jolt.
His body jerked upright, breathing sharp and quick, eyes scanning the dense forest around him. No wound, no blood just a pounding heart and sweat soaked clothes. It was still night, moonlight slipping gently through the canopy above, he let out a sigh of relief.
Two hours had passed.
He should've been dead. At least, that's what he thought. That moment when those eyes met his and then the bloodlust hit him, his whole world turned upside down. Yet here he was, Alive, Untouched.
Due to exhaustion his body felt heavy, his mind was foggy. His shirt clung to him, soaked, and his throat felt dry but most of all he was confused because there were no scratches, no bruises, not even a tear in his clothes but it was too real to be fake.
"Did it... let me go?" He shivered at the thought.
Dragging himself back to his feet, he began to slowly walk back toward his assigned guard post. He didn't run, not because he was very brave but he was too drained to move any faster if he could grow a pair of wings and fly he would have done that right now and second he didn't wanted to make any sound to attract attention what if that thing is still watching him .
When he returned, it was midnight around three hours had passed . No one had noticed his absence, no alarms, no questioning eyes. He took out his flask and drank some water, leaned it against the wall, and sat in silence, the image of that beast still in his mind.
Vayu couldn't understand it, it was not just the fear of death… but the fear of powerlessness. He had trained harder than anyone for weeks, imagined hundreds of encounters, tried every tactic in his mind but when the moment came, he couldn't even lift a finger.
He just... collapsed
"I have to face it again," he whispered into the night, his body shivered.
But how? How do you fight something... something like that? he thought took a deep breathe and let out a sigh.
SOMEWHERE IN MOUNTAIN...
A group of wild boars had long made their home in the mountains near the village a place perfect for them. Rocky slopes, filled with different type of insects and roots ,dense undergrowth, and scattered springs made it an ideal habitat. It was good for the villagers too. Boars, known to breed quickly in large numbers, were regular targets for hunters. The hunting kept their population in check, provided meat, and gave aspiring warriors a real challenge but not a life and death one. It was a delicate balance, one that had worked for generations.
But this season the drought had changed the forest. Due to no rain and intense heat, streams that once ran like they will never vanish had vanished into cracked earth, and the usual watering holes were dry . Forced to search for new sources, many of the boars had split off to find new source of water and following those many boars this young boar also followed them out of curiosity, confused and left behind, had strayed too far from the group.
It was already midnight with no hope to get back home the boar started to sharpen his small tusks on a tree, but due to being on high alert he felt someone was watching him and turned his head, the moment it turned his head he heard the sound of something falling and ran to save its life.
This was the same moment when Vayu came into forest, due to him being slow in his approach to the boundary he absorbed a lot of blue Lotus pollens and got heavily drugged by it, so whatever he thought manifested in his mind like he confused the sound of sharpening the boar tusks with a deep growl and to him the little boar turned into a huge wolf, the wolf he saw with dark brown fur with pale longitudinal stripes was the same boar, and the moment the boar turned, due to being drugged when Vayu tried to step back he slipped and hit his head and fainted.
But to him it felt like, A wave of pure, primal bloodlust.
Somewhere deeper in the forest, hidden beneath a bush , a small creature rustled through the leaves, it was no wolf.
Barely the size of a backpack, it was the same boar, dark brown fur with pale longitudinal stripes and a twitching nose, the little boar sniffed the air, then let out a soft snort and waddled away through the way he was familiar with.
Unaware of the fear it had caused, unaware of the boy who had imagined it into a monster, happy to find his way back home.
PS: I CANT STOP MYSELF FROM COMAPRING
Both young, both wandering, hearts untamed
Each saw a beast and both were framed.
One lost the path in the woods that led him home
The other wander the woods for the world to roam
A glance, a breath, a fear unspoken,
A quick bond was made and quickly broke
In mirrored steps, they fled the night,
Mistaking each other shadows for a fight.
High above, the petals of the Blue Lotus swayed gently in the night breeze, faintly glowing under the moonlight. Its influence was subtle but profound, blooming only once every few months, enough to twist thoughts, magnify fears, and paint nightmares where none existed.
BUT THE FOREST the forest remained quiet.
Vayu sat in silence through the rest of his night watch, leaning against the wooden post, his thoughts still entangled with the image of the beast. The moon and its silver glow slowly giving way to dawn. Birds chirped faintly in the distance. Morning had arrived, calm and beautiful but inside Vayu heart a storm was still lingering inside.
As the sun rose over the tree tops, casting golden ray's across the academy path, Vayu finally stretched and began his walk home. His body ached with fatigue, but more than that, his eyes which were lively when he let for night duty seemed hollow like something had been taken from him in the forest and not returned.
That's when he heard the voice.
"Well, well, look who crawled out from the shadows," Aspen said, stepping onto the dirt path ahead, arms crossed, a smug grin on his face. "how was your night guard dog?"
Vayu didn't answer. He barely looked up. His steps didn't slow.
That silence to aspen it cut deeper than any insult. Aspen turned, watching Vayu disappear down the path, fists clenched at his sides.
"Keep running, lets see how long you can run coward" Aspen muttered.
But Vayu didn't hear him its not just him to Vayu everything was blurry.
By the time he reached home, the sun had risen higher, and the world felt too loud. He pushed the door open quietly, dropped his flask on the table, and stepped into the washroom. The cold water ran over his skin, washing away the sweat and the tension, but the memories of the night stayed. Those eyes, that bloodlust. But he knew now was not the time his body needed rest so he changed his clothes and slept.