Author: Aya
Pairings: 1x2, R+1
Warnings: AU, Fantasy, Mild Lemon, Violence
Rating: R
Summary: Duo is a farm boy with dreams of fantasy and adventure. A mysterious stranger comes into his life and as the story usually goes, he's more than what he seems. x_x What a horrible summary
Disclaimers: I do not own Gundam Wing, so don't sue me.
Note: Okay, I took a chance with this fic because I've never written anything like it before. ^^; It's more of a fantasy thing and I usually lean more towards dark angst. If you actually like it, pleease drop me a line because I'm really nervous about it. >< My confidence has been on a one way trip to hell lately.
Extra Note: *glomps Sunhawk, the best beta reader in the whole world* She reeeally helped me with this fic, especially the farming parts. *_*

Enter The Mystique

"Don't forget to weed the garden, you always say you're going to do it and then you put it off. Sometimes you can be so lazy, son. I just don't know what to do with you. You let your chores pile up, you never feed the horses, Relena does more work than you do and she is only a child!" Sage Maxwell railed at his son.

Duo Maxwell rolled his eyes and began to roll up the scroll he had been sporadically scribbling on. "Relena is not a child, Father. She is nearly fifteen winters old!"

"Don't sass me, boy! When I pass on to the good spirits, your mother and sister are going to need you to be the man of this family. You are going to have to learn to become a farmer and learn to be a man! You can't just lay about the house and write nonsense about those... those creatures." Sage snapped as he began tying his long flame-red hair in a ponytail.

"It's not nonsense! And if those 'creatures' are so bad, why are you always preaching about spirits? How do you even know that these spirits exist!? At least we know the Fey and the Elves actually exist. Where's your proof that your beloved spirits do? And you don't have to be so dramatic, Father. You're only thirty-five winters old. You won't be passing on for a very long time," Duo snapped back as he tied a black ribbon around his newest story.

"I'm tired of your disrespect, young man. None of the other boys in the village act like you. They have their heads on straight! They know where they are going, while you have your head in the clouds! Why do you have to be so... so... "

"So unique? Well I'm sorry, Father. I'm sorry for trying to be different than everyone else. I'm sorry for having goals that don't involve threshing wheat and feeding stupid animals!" With that, Duo stormed out of the front door of their small farmhouse before his father could get in another word. He headed towards the garden and grabbed the hoe as he strode quickly from the house. He knew he was different than everyone else and he wasn't ashamed of it.

"That was stupid, Duo! Getting Papa angry is a silly thing to do~o! Now you're in trouble!" A sing song voice called from across the yard.

Duo snorted and slung the tool over his shoulder. "Go away, Relena."

"You can't make me! Papa said I could come out here and play since I finished all my chores." The small blonde girl skipped over to him, long honey colored hair dancing in the breeze. "If you didn't always have your head in a scroll maybe you wouldn't get screamed at so much. 'Sides, the other boys your age are already getting married and being grown up, while you haven't even started courting a girl yet!"

"I don't want to court a girl. Besides - I'm only seventeen winters, I don't want a stupid family." Duo poised the tool and started diligently at his task. "Now go away and let me work!"

His younger sister stuck her tongue out childishly before backing away. "I'm going to the spring to play! I'll be back by supper!"

"Aren't you afraid that the 'evil creatures' will get you, if you go in the Shadow Forest?" He asked mockingly, sweat was already glistening on his lean body as he worked.

"All of those nasty things are dead! The good spirits killed them, so nyah!" With that, the blonde girl darted across the field, towards the looming trees of the forest.

"Again with the spirits..." Duo muttered and rolled his eyes. He began chopping at the weeds furiously, fueled by his annoyance and impatience to get back to his new fantasy story.

~***~

Relena ran through the woods, navigating her way through the bushes and trees easily. The spring in the northern part of the forest was one of the prettiest things she had ever seen, especially since it was right near a small waterfall. Colorful fish inhabited the spring and birds often drank from the cool water. She loved to feed and play with the animals.

The teenage girl slowed to a brisk walk and straightened her rumpled dress as she approached her special spot. As she neared her destination, she noticed something very peculiar. The usual sounds of the forest were strangely silent. Usually the birds were chirping and she could hear insects trilling, but today even the leaves on the trees seemed to be completely still. "Hello little friends! I've come to feed...." Her sentence trailed off as she spotted a dark form, sprawled on the rocks right near 'her' spring.

With a soft gasp, Relena hurried towards the form and saw that it was a man. She did not recognize him as one of the villagers and he was by far the strangest looking man she had ever seen. He was clad all in black. Black leather pants, a black tunic and a black cloak that was around his broad, muscular shoulders.

His features were striking, every part of his face looked as if it had been chiseled from stone. His lips were soft and red and his chocolate hair was tousled over his forehead in a careless manner. He also had the longest eyelashes Relena had ever seen. Strange, yes.. But also very handsome.

Relena smiled delightedly as the sunlight played on the sharply defined muscles of his upper arms. "My.." She whispered and her cornflower blue eyes lit up. Fantasies began racing through her head. Childish ideas about marriage and exotic princes sweeping her off her feet. However, as she moved closer she noticed something extremely startling. He wasn't moving at all... he wasn't even breathing. Fear rushed through her body at the notion that her prince was dead. It wasn't fair! She had just found him!

So she did the only thing she could think of in such a situation. She screamed.

"PAAAPAAAA!!!"

~***~

"Is he dead?!" Relena wailed mournfully as she pressed her face against her mother's side.

"No idiot, he's just passed out." Duo retorted with a roll of his violet eyes.

"Don't call your sister an idiot!" Sage snapped irritably, as he crouched beside the stranger.

After Relena had shrieked and ran back to the house, Duo and his father had carried the strange young man back to the farm. They had discovered that he was not dead, but probably passed out from exhaustion. Sage and Duo had stripped the man of his cloak and tunic to check for further injuries but had found none. He had not even roused when Duo and his father had undressed him and Sage had reluctantly placed the man on his own bed.

"I wonder what he was doing in the forest." Ariana Maxwell murmured softly. She leaned closer to the unconscious man and studied his exotic features. "He definitely isn't from around here."

"Maybe he's a traveler." Duo suggested. He looked over at the unconscious man with interest. He looked to be a few years older than Duo, maybe twenty three winters old. The longhaired boy's mind supplied all kinds of fascinating reasons for the stranger's condition. Maybe he was a warrior from one of the other kingdom's and he had lost his way in the Shadow Forest. Perhaps he was on a quest to deliver an urgent message to the king. His handsome features had an elegant and aristocratic air to them. He could possibly be royalty himself. Perhaps a prince trying to escape a betrothed marriage? The possibilites were endless.

"A vagabond." Sage sniffed disdainfully. "From the look of him, he's probably trouble. I say we just put him back where we found him and mind our own business."

"Sage!"

"Daddy!"

"Whatever."

"We can't just leave the poor boy out in the woods! He's obviously not well and I would feel horrible about leaving him at the mercy of wild animals!" Ariana protested.

"It's not our problem!" Sage snapped at his wife.

"Not our problem?! Sage Maxwell, I'm surprised at you! Man's biggest sin is turning his back on those in need!"

"In need?! Don't forgot about what happened the last time we helped someone in 'need'!" Sage snarled at his wife furiously.

Ariana gasped and stared at her husband in shock. She looked away and clenched her hands into fists. "Sage, please try to be reasonable. He is a young man! He can't possibly survive in the forest in this condition!"

Duo tuned the rest of the conversation out and let his eyes feast on the stranger. He was easily the most attractive man Duo had ever seen and just the sight of all of those sleek muscles being displayed, made him weak in the knees. He looked like one of the magnificent knights that previously only existed in Duo's imagination and only lived through his stories. It wasn't a shocking thing that Duo was attracted to the man, he had known he preferred males to females since he was twelve years old. But as lovely as this guy was, Duo would much rather hole himself up in his room and lose himself in worlds he could only visit in his imagination instead of standing there, listening to his parents bicker.

Duo dragged his eyes up and was surprised to see that the man was very much awake. Startling bright blue eyes were open and darting around the room at a rapid pace. Duo gasped softly as those eyes seemed to almost... glow and the man must have heard him, because suddenly the hawk like gaze was focused on him.

Minutes dragged by as the two young men stared at each other. Duo felt himself flush as the blue eyes raked over his body slowly, resting at the area between his thighs before they moved back up to his face. The corner of the man's mouth quirked before he looked away and focused on the still arguing adults. He seemed to realize the gist of the conversation quickly and a frown settled on his face. In one fluid movement he was sitting up and reaching for his tunic. "Where am I?"

Sage was so surprised by the man's sudden question, that he could only get out a surprised grunt.

Duo rolled his eyes at his parents and decided to act as translator for the universal language of idiot. "You're on our farm. My little sister found you passed out in the woods and we brought you back here."

The man's eyes focused on him again and they regained that odd.. glow. "I see."

Duo decided that he liked the stranger's voice. It was husky, deep and very sexy. "I'm Duo Maxwell. These are my parents, Sage and Ariana and that is my little sister Relena."

Relena giggled nervously and stepped forward, smiling brightly at the man. "Hi. I'm the one who saved your life." She bragged boldly.

One dark eyebrow twitched and the traveler gave her a long incredulous look before turning to Duo's parents again. "I did not mean to inconvenience you in anyway and I don't intend to impose any longer. Thank you for your kindness." He didn't seem gracious at all, in fact he seemed to be somewhat put off and irritated about the whole affair.

"Wait! You can't go!" Relena cried out in alarm.

The stranger ignored her and stood up slowly, pulling his tunic on. However after only a moment of being on his feet, he stumbled and fell back on the bed with a groan.

"See! He's not well! Papa! Please don't send him away!" The teenager pleaded desperately.

"If he thinks he is well enough, he does not need our help. Let the man go about his business and we will go about ours." Sage said sternly, casting a dark glare in the vagabond's direction.

"But! You saw how he couldn't even stand up properly! How's he going to survive in the woods all alone! He'll die!" Relena wailed.

Duo winced at the shrill sound and looked at the dark clad stranger. His eyes were closed and he was taking several deep breaths. He definitely did not seem to be in any condition to travel anywhere.

"Relena, enough is enough. He obviously seems to think he is well enough, so leave it be." Her father growled impatiently.

"What would the good spirits say about that kind of attitude? How can you send a man who is obviously in need of care, out into the forest?? You might as well kill him yourself!" Relena cried passionately.

Duo guffawed at that, but quickly covered it when his parents turned their annoyed glares in his direction. He coughed and looked away, trying not to smirk. His sister could talk almost anyone into anything. He felt sorry for whoever was stupid enough to marry her.

"Relena Annabel Maxwell! Do not speak to your father like that!" Ariana yelled at the girl.

Relena looked at her shoes angrily for a moment before sneaking a glance in her father's direction. He was eyeing the stranger critically, eyes sizing the man up as if he were a horse. "If he stays, he will pull his weight while he is here."

Relena let out a happy yip and bounced on the balls of her feet excitedly.

Duo could have smacked his father. Was the man really that dense that he actually fell for Relena's little 'what would the good spirits say' speech, again? Sometimes the longhaired teen could not believe he was related to these people. And what was Relena so excited about anyway? She was acting like she was going to marry the man or some.. thing... It suddenly dawned on Duo, why his little sister wanted the stranger to stay so badly and he shook his head in amazement. His sister was really too ridiculous to be alive.

"Can you do that, boy?" Sage demanded harshly, making the word 'boy' sound like a curse.

The stranger sighed heavily and grimaced. He seemed resigned to the fact that he wasn't fit to travel and the idea seemed to really irritate him. "Yes. Thank you."

"He can stay in the hayloft." Duo offered helpfully.

"What?!" Relena squawked in outrage. "He is NOT --"

"The hayloft is fine. Thank you... Duo." The name rolled off of Heero's tongue sensually, as if he were caressing it. Once again, that wicked gleam seemed to light up his eyes as he gazed at Duo.

The teen swallowed and shifted from foot to foot nervously. "What do we call you?" He managed to get out, wincing as his voice cracked on the last word.

The man opened his mouth, closed it and then opened it again. "Heero."

"Hero..." Relena breathed dreamily, not even bothering to correct the way she mispronounced his name.

Heero glared at her for a moment before edging carefully off the bed. "I do not know how long it will take me to fully recover, but you will be compensated for whatever you give me. It should not take long for me to regain my strength entirely, maybe two weeks, three at the most."

Sage waved off the promise. "Don't worry about compensation as of now, I doubt you have anything of value anyway. If your recovery succeeds a month, then we will work something out. Don't think that means you can freeload for a month, though. As soon as you're healed, you're out." The red haired man gave Heero another critical look, barely able to keep the disdain from his gaze. "As long as you pull your weight, there should not be a problem. If you bring trouble to our home, you can be sure that there will be a price to pay. I don't expect you to do anything too strenuous. Feeding the animals and other menial chores will be fine until you are stronger. You can do the work my good for nothing son refuses to do."

Duo rolled his eyes again. He had long since stopped caring what his father thought of him after the first hundred insults that had been hurled at him when he was five or so. It just didn't matter to him anymore.

He surveyed the way his father was glaring and the way Relena was beaming and decided that it was going to be a very long three weeks.

~***~

It turned out that Heero had been weaker than anyone really thought because for the first three days all he did was sleep. Relena had made the hayloft somewhat hospitable for their guest and she had even lent him pillows and blankets. The area was starting to look more welcoming than Duo's own uncomfortable bed did.

At first Relena had brought him food all the time and spent every waking moment hovering over the poor man, but then Sage decided that he did not trust Heero with Relena. 'After all he is still a strange man and you are still a young girl. You will NOT be alone with him anymore.' Then there were a lot of 'But Papa!'s and a lot of arguing, but in the end Sage won out. In Duo's opinion they should have been more worried about Relena trying something on Heero, but of course no one asked for his opinion so he kept it to himself. Duo's parents found ways to keep his sister occupied most of the time once they figured out that she was slightly obsessed with Heero. That left Duo with the job of caring for him for the initial three days, but he really didn't mind. Sometimes he would even bring his scrolls up to the hayloft and write while he sat beside Heero's sleeping form.

It was after sunrise on the third day that Heero finally woke up. Duo did not even notice until he heard the older man grunt softly. He looked up to see blue eyes trained on him, once again possessing that peculiar glow. "How long have I been asleep?"

Duo cleared his throat and rolled up his scroll. "Three days. You would wake up every now and then, and I'd feed you, but other than that you were out of it."

"Hn." Heero sat up and leaned against the wall, brushing stray pieces of straw from his skin. "Have you been here the entire time?"

"Not the entire time, but most of the last two days. My parents finally made Relena stop hounding you after the first day. She thinks she's in love with you, Heero," Duo said with a chuckle.

Heero's statement soured and his mouth twisted in distaste. "Keep the child away from me. Nothing good ever comes of young girls fruitlessly chasing uninterested older men. Feelings get hurt and fathers end up hurling false accusations."

Duo nodded in agreement and pushed the dish of food towards Heero. "Are you hungry? Mother made corn cakes and soup."

The exotic man grabbed the food and grunted out a thanks, before wolfing it down.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Duo found the courage to ask the question he had been dying to know the answer to since he had first seen the stranger. "So what happened to you anyway? Father thinks you are some kind of rogue criminal or something stupid like that."

Heero narrowed his eyes and chewed on the corn cake slowly. "If your father truly has a problem with me, I will leave. I am strong enough to travel for a day or so, now that I have rested properly, but I am not strong enough to hunt or defend myself. It is a risk, but I will take it."

"No! Just ignore my father! He has a problem with everybody, even me."

Heero raised an eyebrow at that. "Why would he have a problem with his own son?"

Duo stretched out his long legs and crossed them at the ankles. "I'm not his perception of an ideal son. I don't want to be a farmer or have a big family. I love to write stories about warriors and the Mystics. I find the many races of the Mystics fascinating and I don't believe that they are all evil like everyone else does. I used to try to talk to the elders in town about the Mystic War eighty years ago, but no one told me anything that sounds true. They all made the Mystics sound like savage beasts who ate humans and other such nonsense."

Heero's blue eyes regained their soft glow and his lips turned up into a tiny smile. "I see. What exactly did they try to tell you about the war?" He had an almost feral look on his face as he waited for Duo's answer.

Duo studied the man's handsome face for a moment before speaking. "They told me that the Mystics had started trying to take over the human lands and that they would often raid villages and eat the children." Duo said with a roll of his eyes. "They told me that the only reason why the Seven Kings of the human lands decided to declare war on the Mystics was because they continued to ravage the Seven Kingdoms. They also told me that all of the Mystics were wiped out, but I don't believe any of that."

Heero's smile grew and he looked down right amused. "That is a crock of horse shit."

Duo burst out laughing and cupped his chin with his hands. "You know what really happened?"

The dark haired man reached out and began toying with the end of Duo's long chestnut colored braid. "For thousands of years, the Mystics and the humans coincided peacefully in the Seven Kingdoms. Mystics lived in the villages and sometimes even held royal positions. Each king had a council of Mystics made up of two wizards, a sorceress, an elf and a fairy. Those were not the only races of Mystics, of course. There are many more, but those were the largest races and they were more well known."

Duo's eyes widened in surprised. "There were Mystics in the Royal Court? I never even imagined that the Mystics and Humans lived side by side. People now talk about them with such hate! You'd think it has always been this way!"

Heero gave a one shouldered shrug and continued to toy with the tuft at the end of Duo's braid. "Lies have poisoned the minds of humans. It's not really their fault that they think this way, it's what they have been taught." He offered a small smile. "Children in villages often loved to play with the elves because of their child like appearances and playful nature. Adults and children alike dared to visit the fairies that inhabited the woods, just to get a glance at their otherworldly beauty. It was a time when humans looked up to the Mystics and the Mystics respected the humans."

Duo's eyes gained a far away look as he pondered the possibilities of such a thing. "What happened to change things so drastically? I wish it was still like that now... I could have learned so much from the Mystics. I've always wondered what it was like to be able to pick a wizard's brain or to see a fairy with my own eyes." Duo sighed softly and looked at Heero. "Do you think the fairies are as beautiful as they say?"

Heero smiled indulgently at Duo's inquisitive nature. The boy was just too adorable for his own good. The way his eyes sparkled.. the way his smile seemed to light up the room. He put the fairies to shame. "Yes, they are stunning creatures; especially their wings."

Duo's eyes glazed over and he gazed into space for a moment before shaking his head as if clearing it. "So what happened to change everything? Was there a battle over power? A jealous king?"

Heero's eyes sparkled with amusement. "Well, there was peace for many years, until King Donovan IV of the Third Kingdom came to power. He hated Mystics, because he was under the false impression that they were evil and wanted to rule the humans. He ordered a secret band of soldiers to completely wipe out villages throughout the Seven Kingdoms and he found ways to blame it on the Mystics. After that, the Mystics were banned from villages and not to have any contact with humans at all. They were all put into the Shadow Forest, the span of woods, which runs through all of the Seven Kingdoms. This segregation lasted about a hundred years and that is about the time that the Mystic War broke out."

"What a jackass!" Duo exclaimed with a frown. "It always has to be one idiot to ruin everything for everyone!" He complained. After a few more moments of grumbling, he smiled sheepishly and gestured for him to continue. "So what happened next? Did the Mystics get tired of it and try to get their freedom back?"

"Not quite. A king of the Seventh Kingdom decided that the Mystics should be completely wiped out, and that was the decision that started the war. He deceived the other kings into believing that the Mystics were plotting against them and they all began the epic battle. The humans won surprisingly, but only because many of the Mystics refused to fight. The Mystics are mostly a pacifistic species and only the wizards, sorceresses, trolls and dwarfs relish a good fight. The Mystics were not entirely wiped out, as the humans like to believe, but instead have gone into hiding. They continue to hide, to this day." Heero downed the rest of his soup after he was finished with his tale.

Duo's violet eyes were wide as saucers as he stared at the stranger. "Wow.." He breathed softly. "I knew all of that stuff they try to tell us isn't true! How do you know all of this?"

Heero's lips quirked in a tiny smile. "I found interesting sources."

Duo had a feeling that the man did not plan to further explain so he didn't push. A delighted smile grew across his delicate features as his brain went over this new information. He wanted to spread the truth, but he knew that no one would believe him. He would probably be named a Mystic Lover and thrown in prison or burned. He looked back at Heero and flushed for the twentieth time since the man had shown up. Once again, blue eyes were studying the length of his body, glowing with a feral intensity.

"Why.. why do you look at me like that?" Duo blurted out suddenly.

Heero smirked and carefully laid back on the make shift bed. "Because I have never seen a human who looks like you. You have Elven features. Especially your eyes."

Duo stared at him in surprise and a hand went up to his face slowly. "I.. I'm just a plain old country boy. My eye color is probably just a fluke."

Heero shrugged and closed his eyes. "You are much more than plain, Duo Maxwell."

This was only the beginning of the two young men's growing attraction for each other. Duo was so busy trying to figure out what to make of Heero's last comment that he didn't even realize that the dark haired man had never answered his original question.

~***~

The hot summer days passed slowly and Heero's strength grew by the day. Pretty soon it seemed as though he was fully recovered and it made Duo wonder why exactly Heero remained on the farm. Whatever the reason was, Duo wasn't about to complain. He had grown to appreciate the wanderer's company.

Heero proved to be almost inhumanly strong, his muscles barely straining as he did various chores around the farm. He was also quick as lightning and seemed to hear and see things moments before anyone else noticed them. Sage and Ariana quickly warmed to Heero. He practically began taking care of all of the things on the farm without question or complaint when he was fully recovered. Half the time he would wake up before dawn and begin working on things that needed to be done or fixed before anyone even asked him. Maxwell Farm was in the best shape it had ever been in and it was all thanks to the vagabond.

After the first week, Sage started comparing Duo and Heero every chance he got; saying that Heero was what a good son should be like. This didn't really phase Duo; he actually couldn't have cared less. However it obviously bothered Heero because he went out of his way to pay special attention to Duo. The attraction between the two young men grew stronger and they began subtly flirting with each other. No one else caught onto this, not even Relena.

~***~

-Three weeks later-

"You really don't have to do all of this stuff, Heero. I'm perfectly capable of catching a few rabbits on my own." Duo complained mildly as he and his stoic companion trudged into the Shadow Forest.

"I know that."

Duo cast a look in his direction and his eyes skimmed over the sleeveless black tunic that Heero wore. "Then why do you always insist on following me when I go to hunt? I can take care of myself. I'm not a baby!"

Heero stopped walking and faced Duo, his blue eyes once again gleaming oddly. "I have my reasons, Duo. Besides, I like being around you."

Duo couldn't have kept the silly grin from spreading across his face if he had tried. In the past few weeks, he and Heero had really gotten closer and he had thought of the man as his first real friend. They had a lot in common and Heero was the only one who was willing to listen to his ideas and theories about the Mystics. He was thrilled to hear that Heero liked being around him as well. Duo's smile faded though, as he remembered that the traveler would be moving on soon. His health had returned entirely and the end of the three weeks would be upon them shortly. "I wish you didn't have to leave."

Heero squinted up at the sky. "But I do. I have things I must take care of. I've wasted enough time here."

The last of Duo's good mood evaporated and he couldn't help feeling hurt and rejected by that comment. "Let's just get the rabbits." He said shortly and started walking away.

Heero looked somewhat surprised by Duo's sudden change in attitude, but just as he realized how his comment may have sounded, something sprang out of the bushes with a loud giggle. He glared at Relena as she bounced over to him and clung to his arm. "Hero! I've come to accompany you on your hunt." She said with a bright grin.

Duo glared at his sister, snorted and stalked off into the trees.

Heero growled in annoyance and tugged his arm away from her. "Go home."

"Now Hero, we need to talk about some things if we are going to convince Papa to let you stay."

He stared at her blankly. "What are you going on about, child?"

Her brow wrinkled when he called her 'child' but she quickly covered it with another smile. "It's obvious that you've been trying to court me and I'm almost of marrying age, so..." Relena let the sentence trail off and she beamed at him.

Before Heero could even think of a reply to that, he heard a shout from the direction Duo had gone in, followed by a blood-curdling roar.

~***~

Duo cried out and stumbled backwards as the beast charged towards him. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Easily over seven feet tall, with a mouth full of dagger like teeth and covered with slick midnight black scales. The thing leapt at him again and Duo barely had time to roll out of the way as thick claws swiped at his face. The claws snagged on his shirt and it ripped from his back violently.

"Shit!" The longhaired boy screamed and yanked his dagger from the inside of his boot. The beast snarled at him, showing off the rows of gruesome teeth. "Whatever you are, you aren't taking me without a fight," Duo hissed and dove at the thing, slamming his dagger into its arm viciously.

A high-pitched roar escaped the thing and it grabbed Duo by the neck, hurling him violently into a nearby tree. Duo groaned in pain and tried to scramble to his feet, but the monster was on him before he could move out of the way. The last thing he saw, was claws and teeth coming at him... before all was dark.

~***~

[cont]