The Cinders of Dezu

15th: Daybreak (3)

She looked to Orion who gave her a reassuring look. The trees were parting at their tops and she could hear their branches snapping off. Finally, the trees directly before them rustled and stopped. A massive fur covered hand gripped the tree trunk and out stepped a creature of epic proportions. It was over thirty feet tall and stood upright like a man with broad shoulders and a muscular build even in comparison to it's size. It had horns but its face and fur color was something like that of a lion with a big, black and pink spotted, feline nose. But it's facial structure, like its powerful looking rounded jawline, was primarily reminiscent of a bull.

It was dressed in dark brown hard leather armor with parts of it like its knee pads and elbows plated with metal. The body approached and Raina was frozen as its height seemed to increase the closer it got. It reached behind its back and pulled out a terrifying battle axe the size of an SUV. The sheer size of the creature created a glorious prostration as it bowed down with his fists on the ground and laid the axe horizontally before the king. Even his fiery yellow eyes were averted from the kings gaze. Orion nodded in recognition.

"At ease, General."

Only then did the creatures eyes meet his. He leaned back but maintained a respectful kneeling position. His voice came out dark, deep and smooth.

"The Daybreak Army awaits you're request, my king."

Raina could see his large jagged teeth as he spoke.

"You're alright my friend, it doesn't need to be business right away. How are you and your people?" Orion said.

The creature looked at him a moment with his mouth slightly open. He glanced briefly at Raina before speaking.

"We are doing well, my liege... but I'm not sure-"

"This is Raina, by the way," said the king, "Raina, this is General Dai. He's a good, man. Loyal to a fault, really."

Raina hadn't been paying attention to her expression as she gawked at the General but realized she may have had a dumber look on her face than she had meant to. She quickly smiled and held out her hand.

"Hello!"

She then immediately felt embarrassed due to the notion of giving such a large thing a handshake. She left her hand out though, not knowing what else to do. Dai obliged her and reached out, gingerly taking her palm between two fury fingers.

"Greetings."

Raina just stared at where her hand used to be until he released. She noticed he had claws retracted within each finger. She could only imagine how large they really were and what he could do with them.

"Raina is my social ambassador today. She wants to meet your people," the king said.

Raina turned to him wide eyed and shocked at this plan she hadn't heard of until now. General Dai raised his eyebrows and nodded. Orion gestured to the trees the General had come out of.

"Just follow the path. They're just down the way," Orion said.

Raina did a double take at the dark pathway and back to the king. She then hesitated before heading off. As she reached the spot Dai had appeared from, two more large furry creatures stepped out. They looked a lot like the General but were dressed a bit differently and more importantly were much smaller. And yet they still towered over Raina. They stood somewhere between six and seven feet tall. They had serious but not necessarily angry looks on their faces as they stood before her. Raina looked back to the king. He gave her an assuring look.

"Go ahead."

Raina looked back to them. They were parted and still allowing her room to pass. She did and headed deeper into the forest. The two followed not far behind. Dai had been watching her as she left. Once she was gone he turned back around.

"Actually, we are still having some troubles. Our-"

"You're talking about the Philorian gangster again," said Orion.

"Right... he's been-"

"Listen, this bounty, it's becoming problematic. You and your men will need to mobilize sooner rather then later. How about discussing how you'd like your problems with him handled? We can make that your payment this time around."

Dai blinked his large yellow eyes. He quietly nodded.