He could here it behind him. That...thing was chasing him down. He had knew what it meant to disobey his master...yet he had done it anyway.

The bacca's had him enslaved in their sick tribe since he was 16. They barged into his father's farm, killed his family and took him and his sister as slaves. His sister didn't make it...she had an illness during the harsh winter and died early in the year.

He could here it growling behind him. Chasing down his scent. He yelled out as it lunged at him, the bacca's claws digging into his back. It tore open his back, making Sky scream in pain.

It snarled above him, ready to deliver the final blow to his prey. But that blow never came. An arrow went flying through the bacca's head. The beast rolled off Sky and onto the grass. Sky looked over at it in dhock before passing out.

"Oh god, no..." Mitch said above the stranger.

"What? Did it kill him?" His friend said behind him.

"M-maybe..." Mitch answered, checking his pulse. "No! Thank god he's still alive!"

"Not for long. Get him back to the base, I'll clean up this mess."

"Thanks Preston." He said picking the boy up gently.

"I think he's waking up..." A voice said.

Sky groggily opened his eyes. His back was throbbing, his head hurt, and his mouth was dryer than a desert.

"Mitch, quit breathing down my neck and get him a glass of water." A man above him snapped.

"Oh, sorry Seto."

Sky opened his eyes and winced. "Wh..what.." He croaked before cold water spilled into his mouth, quenching his first.

"Easy...easy." The man, Seto, said tilting the glass upward so the water steadily flowed through his mouth.

"Where am I?" he asked after he was done.

"Fort Amol. Mitch found you in the forest being attacked by a Bacca." Seto said pointing at Mitch who waved back with a blush.

Sky blushed back. "Th...thanks..." He whispered.

"Don't mention it. I've been fighting those creatures for years." Mitch smiled. "We're part of the Resistance."

"Wow..." Sky whispered.

"Indeed. Watch him while I tend to the others." Seto said moving to another room.

"Who's he?" Sky asked as he left.

"Oh, him? That's Seto the town healer and sorcerer."

"Oh..."

Mitch blushed. "I think you're gonna like it here."

Sky looked up. "What?"

"You aren't planning on going back, are you?" Mitch chuckled.

"N-no! But where would I stay?"

"At my place!"

"As a servant?"

"No, as my friend!"

Sky looked at him. "But you just met me!"

"So?"

Sky felt tears prick his eyes. "Why?"

"Why what?" Mitch asked.

"Why are you being so nice?"

"Because I like you."

"How do you know?" Sky blushed.

Mitch shrugged. "Just a hunch?" He shrugged sheepishly.

They were silent until Sky spoke up. "What if you hate me?"

"Hm?"

"What if you think you like me then it turns out you hate me?" Sky asked, a tears falling from his eyes.

Mitch smiled and sat down beside him, wiping it away. "I won't. I know I won't." he said.

Timeskip 3 years

"Sky, I'm heading out." Mitch said at the front door of their cabin.

Sky hugged himself tightly. "Do you have to?" He asked his fiance who was a bout to head into battle.

Mitch nodded sadly before hugging him tightly. "Yeah. But I'll be back."

Sky looked up at him with tears in his eyes. "How do you know?"

Mitch kissed him gently. "Just a hunch, I guess."

"What if you're wrong?" Sky said quietly, not wiping away the tears on his cheeks.

Mitch chuckled. "I was right about you, wasn't I?"

Sky couldn't hold back and hugged him tightly, letting tears fall from his eyes. "Y-you better be r-right."

"I always am."