My Wild Beast

She turned slightly, as though sensing someone was behind her, but she stopped and shook her head as though to rid her mind of whatever thoughts unsettled her. Yoa began to step closer, feeling huge compared to the woman whose face he still could not see. The dim lighting beyond her outlined the shape of her chin and jaw, but something else caught his attention.

Below her left collarbone, a mark shimmered faintly. But when he squinted and leaned his head to the side to get a better view of it, the mark dissipated like smoke on the wind. The gold specks whooshed away into the air and the few stars he could see here, twinkled, as though they were giggling at him.

His chest clenched. What did this mean?

Yoa raised his hand as though to reach out to her, to see her face. But another walked straight through him like he was nothing more than a spectre. A scowl formed on his face as the woman turned away from him to face the man. He was carrying an object that shone brightly, displaying an image.

They spoke in a language he didn't know. But it didn't matter after he heard the sound of the woman's voice. The words flowed from her so softly, and almost lyrically. After a few moments the words translated in his mind.

"What do you think? It's not as well-known but it's starting to gain more attraction, especially among the wealthy. They go here for the exclusivity, and privacy from the usual tourists," the man said excitedly, his bright blue eyes shining as he stared at the woman while they moved to sit down in this lounge area.

The object was placed on the small table in front of them where two glasses of red liquid already awaited them. The woman grabbed the glass and sipped at it, remaining silent, lost in either thought or dislike. There was no way he could tell what this woman was thinking but her subtle body language spoke to him:The slight tilt of her head, the tension in her shoulders and slightly pursed lips.

Yoa leaned over them, his eyes sharpening on the man, the gold burning into the back of his head. There was something about this man that really grated under his skin. He didn't like him.

Something was off about him, and he didn't like how he sat so close and comfortably with this woman. He felt strangely protective, no, absurdly over-protective of this woman, and everything about this man screamed at his senses that he was a snake slithering under those golden boy looks.

He resisted the urge to remove his hand from her knee, and permanently disfiguring him. The startling, violent thoughts snapped him out of his madness and paid attention to what was being said between the pair.

"I'm not sure, Chad." The woman tapped her finger along her glass as this 'Chad' pressed something on the object and the image changed. It transformed, the images moving showing great metal beasts destroying wildlife, replacing it with fancy wooden structures and manmade pools. "What happened to building a resort in Dubai? The clientele are who you are looking for-"

"Because everyone goes there. I want it to be different," Chad snapped, a glimmer of anger radiating from him, like he couldn't stand being questioned by the woman he possessively claimed by resting his hand on her knee.

A growl rumbled in Yoa's chest. Maybe he didn't need that hand. Especially if he speaks to a woman like so. Why ask for her opinion then dismiss it immediately?

"Exactly. There is a reason why people are going there," the woman answered softly.

Yoa found himself once again entranced by her voice.

"Paradise. That's what I want to build. I want to surpass my father."

The female placed her hand on his and squeezed gently.

Yoa continued watching the scenery from the object, his heart twisting at the destruction of so much wildlife. Another growl rumbled from his chest, and he noticed how the woman shifted slightly, the fine hairs on the back of her neck standing on end, like she sensed he was there.

He gravitated closer to her but then Chad pressed something on the object and the screen changed again, revealing a map. "There are multiple locations." He pointed out some islands near some large land named 'Brazil'.

Chad continued pointing out the benefits of an island on the map, but Yoa's attention was drawn to another patch of land. It was familiar. It was Tayun, though on this map it was not named.

Yoa leaned closer to Chad and muttered beside his ear. "Not here." The suggestion kneaded around Chad's thoughts, transforming them until Yoa was certain his will locked in place.

Chad froze mid-sentence as Yoa's will morphed over his mind. The idea sprouted and grew, the suggestion more compelling than his original thought process.

"What's wrong?" The woman asked, lowering her glass to the table.

Yoa gazed at Tayun and Chad's eyes flicked to it and a grin lit up his face as if the idea had been his all along. Before Yoa could watch what the man and woman did next, his surroundings blurred, distorting as a darkness began to fall around him. The woman's head snapped up and behind him, completely ignoring Chad, like she sensed the invisible wind that swirled around Yoa as he flickered in and out like a phantom.

Her features blurred like the rest of his sight, all except for the vivid, turquoise eyes that reminded him of Tayun's waters, all except for the stars in her eyes twinkling back at him. He stopped breathing at the ethereal sight.

"Beautiful." He muttered then he was ripped from the scene and felt the ground disappear and he fell into the awaiting darkness.

He didn't understand what was going on or what he just did. He'd acted on instinct. The desire to see the woman again had ran so deep, it had constricted his lungs so much he couldn't breathe at the idea of not seeing her again.

As he kept falling in the darkness, feeling utterly weightless, his thoughts remained on one thing. The unknown woman.

'She will come.' A whisper remained in her place. His soul trembled. He will see her again, he was certain of it.

He did not know her name. Did not see her face. But something deep within recognised her.

Wind rose suddenly, howling through the trance and peeling away the images like torn leaves in a storm. Light fractured. The threads snapped.

He gasped, lungs filling with jungle air once again. Sweat soaked his brow. The sky above him had changed. Time had passed.

But something had changed within him too.

He didn't know her name.

He didn't know when she'd come.

Only that she would—and that he would know her when she did.

Yoa landed with a loud thud, one knee buckling and dropping to the ground as the jungle surrounded him again. He breathed it all in, his shoulders relaxing at the fresh scents of fruits and trees, the sea breeze brushing through his mane, and the island brimming with life. The bird calls, the insects chittering, monkeys squealing in the distance, and the life of the jungle in general flowed back to him, the noise calming compared to the metallic beasts of that urban jungle from before.

Though he felt much better, Yoa's other senses sharpened. His mind tingled, and a small headache was forming along his temple before it was caressed away by a strange force. He scowled, rising to his feet as he looked at his giant hands. Usually he only ever got headaches when he was severely dehydrated.

He took only two more steps in the direction of the river before his surroundings rippled like rain disturbing water and he was transported to the Sacred Lands. His body moved without thought, his mind flooding with urgency to a new threat.

Yoa was running, and swiped out with a blade, slashing someone behind him that cried out, fell to the ground then rose again like his attack did nothing to them.

"They just keep coming!" A man grunted from the side of him, stabbing another in the chest as he landed from high above before picking his bow up and shooting behind him. His long plaited hair swung behind him.

Yoa couldn't quite place the man but he recognised him. He didn't have time to ponder though as he struck out last minute to another attacking him from above, before it could do any damage Yoa tossed the man aside like he weighed nothing.

Worry thrummed at his heart, his muscles tightening as he pushed forward. The need to protect gripped his spine, alerting him to a terror that went beyond anything he'd ever known.

"Yoa!" A scream cut through the forest, and through him, splintering his soul into pieces as he turned, his sight settling back to his light, his lifeline, his Serakai.

Yoa sprung forward, his decision made.

What decision????

She came first.

His surroundings rippled again, only reflecting Luna Lacus back as a pain crushed his heart.

'All decisions have consequences.' Words from the stars, Tayun or the Kairan, whispered in that language again, distorted along his mind as darkness enveloped him.