Cerathu gasped, dragging Serein out of the way as he barely dodged the first arrow, which stuck quivering in the tree behind him. He silently berated himself for twice having missed the danger. He glared up at the hunter, who was busy readying another arrow. "The hell!? What are you talking about, I'm not a danger. I'm the heir, for Faranth's sakes!" Then, to Serein, "Serein, get out of here, hurry!" As she paused, he added. "Go! I'll be fine, don't worry about me."
Cerathu dodged another arrow as he watched Serein run away. Shifting into a feline, he began to follow her.
"It won't do you any good running back to the Hold." The hunter called after him. "They'll all know about you by now."
Mentally, Cerathu cursed, darting off into the cover that the forest undergrowth provided. He was content that Serein was in no real danger. It was him the man wanted. Why the man was so sure he was dangerous Cerathu didn't know, he'd never caused trouble before. Faranth, he'd thought most of the people in the Hold had liked him! Now he was dodging arrows, trying to save his life.
He darted off into the trees, and the hunter followed after him, somewhat slower, now not bothering to waste arrows. Cerathu growled in frustration, he had nowhere else to go. He burst out of the underbrush, into the bright light of a fairly large clearing. But it was far from empty.
A dark blue dragon stood in the clearing as his rider looked down in confusion at the large golden-brown feline. A short man with light blond hair and blue eyes, wearing a long black cloak, climbed down from the dragon's back as the hunter burst out behind Cerathu, leveling his crossbow at the feline.
Cerathu darted behind the dragon, and quickly shifted back into a human. The dragon's rider looked somewhat startled by the sudden appearence of a human, but not really surprised. The dragon, still shielding Cerathu from the hunter, glared at the man, who had now lowered his crossbow and was glaring at the boy.
"What's going on here?" The dragon's rider asked angrily.
"The boy's a freak, and an obvious danger to the Hold." The hunter spoke up.
Cerathu rolled his eyes. "I already told you, I'm not dangerous or crazy or whatever, though I certainly can't say the same about you. I'm the Lord's son, for Faranth's sakes!"
The dragonrider frowned, looking up at his blue. The boy's telling the truth, G'vin.
The dragonrider, G'vin, sighed. "Alright then." He scowled at the hunter. "You. Get out of here. The kid's under my protection now."
The hunter hesitated, but then the blue dragon glared at him, eyes tinged with red, and he quickly made up his mind. He left, grumbling to himself. Cerathu blinked, watching him leave, then looked up at the rider and his dragon.
"And as for you..." The rider said, turning to Cerathu, who gulped nervously. He looked up at his dragon. What shall we do with him, Aavaanaath?
Do? Search him, of course. The dark blue answered, rumbling amusedly. Go ahead, we'll drop him off at Ryslen.
Raising an eyebrow as he stared at his dragon, G'vin shrugged, turning back to the boy in front of him. He smiled reassuringly. "Well, Aavaanaath says you've been searched, so who am I to argue? Hop on." He said, gesturing to the dragon.
Cerathu blinked in surprise. "Really?"
The bluerider nodded. "I'm G'vin, rider of blue Aavaanaath, by the way." He said as he helped Cerathu onto the dragon's back.
"Cerathu." He answered. The blue dragon spread his large wings, and jumped into the air. With a last glance down at the forest, and Ryathale far away, the dragon jumped between.