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"you're fascinated by them, aren't you?" Oriel asked her friend, taking a seat beside Adriji. The two often met on this hill overlooking the queen's town.
"I wonder how they stay so hopeful with all we put them through." Adriji nodded.
"It's the magic of humans. They're stubborn beyond their own good." Oriel chuckled, leaning back onto the grass and stretching out her spires.
"It's impressive." Adriji looked down at Oriel then back to the town.
"It would be nice if we didn't need them to survive. But we do. Don't get attached to your livestock." Oriel said. "that's just the way it is."
"I know." Adriji looked up at the stars above them instead. "I just wish it wasn't. I wish I was like you."
"I may not need to eat humans to survive but I cant use my legs and my magic is limited. I'm not nearly as strong as you and Avina."
"But we need their blood and flesh to survive. We've taken so many lives for our few..."
"Survival of the fittest." Oriel pushed herself up and slung her spires over Adriji's shoulders. "Try not to let it get to you. Think of your daughter, you're doing this for her."
Adriji smiled at the thought of Grace. Her mother was dead but he still had his little girl to care for. One of the first monsters to ever be born rather than made.
"You're making a good world for her. One where she'll never starve. Some day there will be more humans than we could possibly count. That's when you won't feel so bad about occasionally having to eat one." Perhaps that was a lie but it was the best she could offer.
"Thank you, Oriel. I think I'm going to return home. I'd like to see my daughter."
"Have fun, Adriji."
"You as well, Oriel."
. . . . . . ******** . . . . . . .
"Daddy!"
Adriji knelt down and caught his daughter as she ran over to him, picking her up and spinning around. "Good morning Grace. Did you have breakfast already?"
"Mhm! Violetta made it for me."
"That's good." Adriji set Grace on his shoulder so she could ride around the house with him.
"Did you see humans last night?" Grace asked.
"I did. It's my job to watch them."
"I want to watch them too." Grace said.
"Maybe when you're older." Adriji took grace off his shoulder and set her on the ground so they could speak seriously. "Humans can be very dangerous. I want you to stay far away from them, okay? When you're older I'll let you see them too."
