//------------------------------// // 2- Wide Eyes // Story: A Dusk's New Dawn // by ThatWritingDragon //------------------------------// 2 Wide Eyes "Burn in the depths of crimson purgatory! Fire Style: Fire Dragon's Roar!" A dark red magic circle appeared in front of Dusk Shine where it glowed for a moment before a large stream of fire shot towards his enemy. It exploded on contact and engulfed them in a sea of flame for several short minutes before the stream tapered off. Dusk grinned when he saw that the only thing remaining was a coat. After quickly shaking the soot off his own fur, Dusk walked closer, his hoof scooping the item into his forelegs as he observed his trophy. It was a fur pelt, rather thick and no doubt good for the cold but it was sadly summer and he'd rather not get heatstroke simply because it looked cool. Functionality over fashion... something he had learned during the war and something that had led to Elusive's... Dusk rubbed his face, no longer in the mood to hunt anymore. After quickly tucking the pelt into his saddlebags, the stallion made his way back to the shelter. The shelter wasn't anything fancy, a small tent made from his surroundings and a simple fire pit for food. Dusk entered and laid the pelt on the floor, content that he now had a comfortable place to lay down. Dusk sniffed and rubbed his nose tiredly. He didn't exactly feel like eating nor did he feel like he should go out and hunt.  The stallion sighed, his eyes drooping slightly. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to get a lot of sleep considering the last time he’d done so had been a few days ago but he couldn't help it. Insomnia is a female dog but it didn't really affect him other than making him be a bit more sluggish than usual. "Groowllll." Dusk clicked his tongue. He knew that he had forgotten something. He had forgotten to renew the barrier seals. As he was busy getting pissed at himself, a howl resonated throughout the forest and Dusk realized that it was rather close to his location. He couldn’t help but groan at that.  He didn't exactly feel like fighting a pack of the weaklings that ponies called Timberwolves but he'd also rather not deal with rebuilding his shelter. Dusk groaned even more when the familiar smell of decaying wood slammed right into his nostrils. Having sensitive senses was something he regretted right then. He peeked out of the flaps and right into a set of jaws made of wood. His nose wrinkled at how repulsive the smell was. He exhaled roughly, still not in the mood to fight so a simple knockback spell should do the trick. It was a pain to do anything more specific and he’d rather not risk his horn healing wrong. Mana flowed through   his horn and in a blast of force, the jaws that could've chopped his head off instead exploded and scattered across the ground outside of his tent. The cracking of wood and the sounds it left as it slammed onto the grass was all Dusk heard as he went to the edge of his barrier. After a healthy chunk of time spent walking, he stopped and picked up a large stone with little engravings written through its surface. He focused through his hoof and soon, a large array of runes and other languages appeared and Dusk began swiping through them with practiced ease as he quickly deactivated it. Pouring his magic into its battery, the runes gradually began glowing a light blue.  A few minutes passed and a blue transparent dome flashed around him for a split second before disappearing. He glanced through it once again to see if there was anything wrong and after seeing that nothing was out of place, Dusk nodded and made his way back. This was his life now. Hunting with no purpose, surviving with no purpose, killing with no purpose. It was a mundane lifestyle but it was his and that was good enough for him. "Who~" Dusk's head shot up and towards the noise, his magic halfway charged for a spell before he realized that it was just the irritating bird. His brow twitched. He wasn't in the mood to deal with overgrown food. The alicorn ignored it and started his trek back to camp hoping that maybe if he ignored it long enough then it would go away. He was wrong. So. Flipping. Wrong. The bird was persistent, he'd give it that but everything else? Nope! Dang thing kept on hooting and hollering outside the barrier and Dusk was beginning to get pissed. "Whoo~" If the tent flap had been replaced by a door, Dusk would've slammed the thing open. Instead, he had to settle with angrily bursting through the makeshift flap of the tent and glaring at the irritating bird who insisted on keeping him up - not that he was getting any sleep anyways, but it was the principle of the matter - all night. He began stomping closer to the owl and soon faced it eye to eye where the small thing just stared back as if it was challenging him. "Don't you have a bunch of foals to look after?" He growled out. The bird simply fluffed up at what he said and hooted at him.  Not only was the owl annoying. It was inconpetent too. The irate stallion looked away and clicked his tongue. The bird clearly needed something. What that something is, Dusk didn't know and he didn't care. He blinked when he realized that the bird had stopped making noise. His eyes carefully trailed back to the owl and the purple stallion nearly reared back at what he saw. The owl... it looked adorable. Its eyes were staring up at him with wetness in its irises and Dusk flinched when it seemed to get larger the more he stared. "Stop-" Dusk hissed, his eyes narrowing as it seemed like the bird did the complete opposite and opted to waddle closer.  "Stop." The small owl answered with even more fluffing up.  Dusk groaned, frustrated as he glared at the thing. "Faust, dammit. I said stop." The adorable annoying thing was now pressing up against the barrier, its eyes as wide as ever as it stared up at the much larger stallion. A few minutes passed and Dusk's resistance was rapidly crumbling to the ground. He couldn’t help it, there was just something about the owl that made him not want to kill it- much to his dismay. "I'm going to regret this." He whispered to himself as he brought up the barrier seal.  After reworking it a few times the bird was finally allowed permission to get inside. I am so going to regret this. “You're lucky I even let you step inside ya little..." After a bit more grumbling, Dusk made his way back to his tent, a rather happy and stubborn owl flying behind him and occasionally hooting in joy as it flew circles around him. "You're only staying until nightfall, any later than that and you'll be my breakfast." He said gruffly. Spending time with an owl? Not the oddest company he’d had he supposed. All the bird had to do is follow his orders. If it did that then they would have a great relationship. Dusk reared back when the bird flew into the rat’s nest that was his mane, flinching at the contact before his face blanked when he felt the bird begin to snuggle into his hair.  A twinge of relief bumbled inside him when he realized that the owl wasn’t going to stab his brain but was instead getting comfortable in its new nest. Dusk couldn't stop the small smile on his muzzle as he entered his tent, Maybe the little nuisance could stay a bit longer than his original proposal? "Who!"