Keeper's Oath

Chapter 25: Bonds

Hope felt her paws meet the firm ground underneath her seconds after dashing through the portal. The bear was in front of her. Hope was slightly surprised that he would join the beginning of this memory. She wondered where he had been for the other ones.

The sky above them was dark, she barely could see the sky through the trees which surrounded them. There were lush bushes and other plants which filled the forest floor. Hope saw that the light source was coming from two lamps near her. It was then Hope realized that Guardian was standing on the edge of a temple.

The dragon was alert from the looks of it, staring into the dark forest which surrounded the temple. His pale red eyes stared off into the distance. Moments later, Hope's senses kicked in and she realized why Guardian was on guard.

The smell of fire surrounded them. Soon after, Hope saw a pair of glowing red eyes emerge from the darkness. Hollow stepped into the light of the lanterns which were hovering from the ground by poles.

Hollow stopped about ten feet away from Guardian. Hope felt her skin crawl, the werewolf standing so close to her unnerved her. Previously when he had been that close to her, something bad had happened. She was still surprised at how she managed to get away from him earlier on her own without Guardian's help. Hope assumed this was the moment when the two would make the deal whatever brought Guardian to give her to Hollow.

"What are you doing here?" Guardian asked outright, he was holding his clawed hand at the hilt of his sword. The dragon bared his fangs at the black werewolf.

Hollow held his clawed hands in front of himself. The werewolf backed away slightly as a smirk spread across his muzzle.

"Not even a welcome?" Hollow pretended to take offence to Guardian's actions and his tone. The leader of the guardians didn't change his stance, Hollow sighed shaking his head. "I'm here to see if you would like to make a deal."

"Make a deal with someone like you? I think not!" Guardian hissed, drawing his sword, he pointed it towards the large shade. "Leave this place or I'll-"

"What exactly would it be you'd do?" Hollow gave a deep chuckle. He approached closer to the dragon with the sword drawn out towards him. The shade wasn't even slightly scared from the looks of it. Hope saw Guardian keep his ground but started to back away from Hollow. "I could burn your precious little temple down. You'd be homeless then, wouldn't you? This place is all you have."

Guardian's expression changed from rage to surprise. That only lasted a mere moment until he changed his pose to be slightly more guarded. Rage filled the dragon's eyes as he took a deep breath.

"Don't you dare to touch this place or anything that surrounds it, you fiend!" Guardian hissed, his ears went back as he stared at the shade in front of his home.

"I won't if you agree to something I have to offer in exchange." Hollow's red eyes glowed brighter as his tongue swiped across his muzzle. The werewolf sat down on the ground, looking up at Guardian.

This action made Guardian slightly more relaxed as Hollow wasn't his full height. The dragon stowed away his sword back into the sheath. He placed his clawed hands into his large sleeves and stared down at the werewolf at his doorstep. Hope could tell that Guardian was unnerved but was trying to act calm and collected. The twitch of his tail and his ears were signs, she thought.

"What is it that you want me to agree to? I'm guessing that this has something to do with Hope. I already tried to get her to follow me to Aeria but she refused." Guardian told him matter of factly. A slight grin appeared on the dragon's muzzle. "Looks like I'm able to be closer to Hope than you are. You haven't been that lucky with her. Considering how many times she has escaped your claws. It would seem you aren't capable."