My Guardian BeastDreams of his homeland had guided Akruul back to the north. Longing had found its way into his heart, which eventually led to him making the decision to visit his hometown. Years had passed when he walked out of the little settlement, turning his back to the place that held his roots. How long had it been, maybe even ten years? It was about time for Akruul to return and see how the town was doing nowadays. He had left it in hopes of adventure and becoming a heroic warrior. Now he had seen many corners of the world and had grown quite a swordsman, slaying monsters. He had achieved all he had dreamed of, and maybe that was one more reason for him to return to his hometown, just so he could share his success and stories with the people that had belonged to his childhood. Winter had come early in the north, Akruul noticed as he slowly moved through the lands. It almost felt like in one moment there was a green and lush world around him, but suddenly everything got covered in pure white snow. But growing up in these parts, Akruul knew it was nothing unusual for the winter to sneakily arrive ahead of time. As he wandered through the snowy landscape, he felt a strange warmth in his heart. Perhaps it was because he was getting close to his old home and was feeling sentimental already. It was alright, however, and even though he was an experienced warrior honed by many battles, he allowed himself to feel soft emotions. And so Akruul smiled slightly as he walked on the path that had recently formed into the snow; now, there had never been too many foreigners visiting this northern land, but sometimes merchant caravans remembered the existence of the settlement and would come to pay a visit there. It seemed like this was the case right now as there were multiple tracks in snow. Well, at least it would make Akruul's travel a little easier, although the heaviest snow blanket was still yet to come. It took Akruul a couple of days traversing in the snow before he reached his destination. Surrounded by a silent white forest, Akruul climbed on the hill and from there, he could see the little town. He stopped for a moment and observed the settlement that had formed downhill, right by a black tall rock. It was like nothing had changed during these years he had been away; everything looked exactly the same when he had last seen the town. Smoke was coming out from most of the chimneys, rising higher into the air, giving a sign that there was still life bustling under the snow-covered roofs. The exterior of the town seemed the same, but how were the people? To get an answer for this question, Akruul began to walk down the hill, and there wasn't much distance left between him and his old hometown. As Akruul stepped on the grounds of the town, he almost felt like he had walked back to his childhood. His sentimental feelings were growing stronger now as he strolled among the little buildings, the cozy homes of the townsfolk. He hadn't encountered anyone yet, but he wasn't worried; anyone would rather be sheltered in the warmth of their homes rather than being out in the cold. Though he remembered the people being resilient, it was needed in these rather harsh conditions. Snow, ice and cold were something that didn't discourage the townsfolk, they still were able to thrive. So, as Akruul made his way further into the town, he started to get an odd feeling when there was no one around. Until he finally spotted someone. In the fading daylight a hunched figure came to his view, a thick coat covering their body, like one would expect. It was an old woman and Akruul actually recognized her; she was the lady Imasan, one of the village elders and a known storyteller, Akruul and other children had enjoyed her stories back in the day. “Imasan!” Akruul said loudly to get the old woman's attention, rushing towards her. She turned to face him after hearing her name and for a brief moment she was squinting her eyes as she tried to figure out who was talking to her. Eventually she did recognize the man and a joyful expression spread on her old wrinkled face. “Akruul! My goodness, you have grown into such a handsome young man! It's been so long since the last time I saw you, how are you doing?” “I've been doing good, thank you”, Akruul replied as he stepped closer to the old woman. “Where is everyone? It's not that much of a cold day.” A shade appeared on old Imasan's face and she shook her head. “Well, things have changed a little after you left… You see, a beast has been plaguing our lives for about ten years. It's time for our annual winter celebration, but ever since the beast appeared, we haven't really been able to celebrate… It's almost like it loathes the festivities, attacking our village in frenzy if we gather around and rejoice together. So now the folks celebrate indoors and only with their families. It's a sad thing, really… It does come to the village other times too, but especially when we join together to have a good time.” “Oh, I almost forgot the winter celebration”, Akruul said and glimpses of childhood memories quickly flashed in his mind. “Do you know where the beast makes its lair? I can try to slay it.” “Well, you certainly look strong”, Imasan responded and there was a little trace of a smile visiting her otherwise worried face. “We don't know exactly where its nest is, but it always comes from the north. I'm sorry, but that's all I know.” “It's alright, Imasan”, Akruul replied and tried to assure her with a smile. “I can track it down. I'll come back soon.” “Good luck, my dear boy”, the old woman said and for a second she grasped Akruul's hand firmly. The man nodded and he squeezed her hand. They both let go and Akruul walked past her, heading to the north. The old woman watched him go, keeping her eyes on him for as long as she could. At that moment, snow began to gently and softly fall and it didn't take long before Akruul had disappeared behind this white curtain. Imasan tried to send good luck to Akruul through her heart and then she waddled away, heading home, her hope on the young man. Akruul walked across the snowy lands like a lone spirit. The world around him was completely silent and there was nothing but pure whiteness all around him. It was almost like he was wandering through a dream world, completely detached from reality. The snowfall was hindering his movements a little bit and if it was going to last for long, then it would make it really hard to push through all that freshly fallen snow. It would also hide all the possible trails made by the beast. However, there were many other ways to track a monster or an animal, you just had to keep your eyes and ears open on your surroundings. Akruul had learned a few things during his travels and developed keen senses. He let his gaze wander in the surrounding trees, monsters often left claw marks on them or if they had the ability to fly, there would be lots of broken branches on top of the trees. So far he hadn't noticed anything, though. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching him, observing his every move through the snowy woodlands. Perhaps it was the beast he was hunting. The problem was, he didn't see anything abnormal around him, just complete whiteness. He tried to focus on hearing, but there was nothing but silence. The feeling was almost haunting, like he got trapped in a dimension where there were only him and the beast, hunting each other. Akruul didn't like it at all. But he could only move forward. A sudden roar tore apart the silence of the white world, resonating in the winter air. It was a fierce and powerful roar, Akruul hadn't heard anything like it before. He felt a strange familiarity with it, which confused him. He pushed this bewilderment aside, however, and focused on locating the beast. It didn't seem like the roar had come from far away. Before Akruul was even able to begin this part of the hunt, he saw something in the distance, a creature of some kind that was looking at him among the trees. It was weird. This thing wanted to be found. But it didn't appear hostile, not yet at least. Akruul stopped for a moment to stare at the beast. It was quadruped and mostly white, so no wonder it could blend in with the snow. It had cerulean stripes decorating its body, like the ones of a tiger. The strangest part was that it appeared to have three heads: one of a tiger, one of a horse and one of a dragon. The being was a weird mix match of various creatures. But to Akruul, a beast is a beast, no matter what it looks like. The man was ready to draw his sword while still maintaining eye contact with the monster. He slowly got his trusty weapon out, but the beast wasn't really reacting at all. It continued to watch him for a moment, but then it leisurely turned around and started to walk away, but its horse head made a movement that signaled him to follow. Akruul was greatly baffled by this, but also extremely curious. He lowered his weapon, but didn't put it back to sheath, just in case he would need it. He decided to do what the beast wanted and started to follow it. Maybe this was a trap. Maybe he should just turn around. But he wanted to figure out what was going on with this creature. Perhaps he could find out why it has been attacking the village. Akruul maintained a safe distance while tailing the beast, just in case, although it still hadn't shown signs of aggression towards him. It kept going straight forward for a good while before it decided to take a turn to the left, starting to climb uphill. Akruul was sort of grateful for the beast to show him the way, because the trail it left on the snow made it easier for him to move. Occasionally he was left behind a little bit, but he noted that the beast would keep an eye on him and it would stop just so he could catch up. Where was it leading him? Akruul had no idea. It was such a tiring task to walk uphill that Akruul was grateful when they were traveling on an even surface again. They pushed through the snowy woodlands for a while before a tall black rock suddenly came into view; it was almost like it had just emerged from the ground, thrusting towards the sky. The beast started to circle around it, like it was looking for something. Then Akruul noticed a mouth of a cavern in the rock, which was probably what the beast was searching for. His hunch turned out to be right as the monster disappeared inside it. Akruul stopped at the entrance and hesitated. Why had the beast led him here? What could possibly lurk in this cave? He still had the chance to turn around. But he would never get answers to his questions if he didn't enter. His grasp on the hilt of his weapon tightened and he stepped inside the cold and dark cave. He walked through a tunnel for a while, almost in total darkness, but then a blue light appeared in the distance. It was an eerie light, but it also became his guide. He could see the figure of the beast standing in the far end of the tunnel, right by the chamber where the light was coming from. It followed the man with its gaze, all three heads staring at him. It was rather unsettling, but Akruul walked closer until he finally reached the chamber. Akruul wasn't sure what he had expected to find from there. Maybe a treasure of some kind. Maybe a litter of similar beasts or some kind of other creature this monster was taking care of. Maybe even a human. The last part turned out to be right, but in a way that confused Akruul the most. He was staring at himself. Not exactly who he was now, but a child version of him. Akruul didn't know how to respond to this and just stared at the little boy whom he had once been. The same black hair, the same blue eyes. Akruul was so baffled by this that he almost lost the grip of his sword. “What the hell is this…?” Akruul muttered. His younger self didn't say anything. The beast, on the other hand, stepped closer to the man and gently pushed him in the back with its dragon head, guiding him towards the little boy. All of this was so strange and Akruul glanced at the beast that just nodded to him. It wanted him to get closer to the little boy for some reason. He shifted his gaze back at his younger self. How was this possible? Was this some magic trick? The boy didn't move or show any emotion, which made Akruul a little terrified. But he wanted to know whether the boy was a real living thing or just a mirage, so he reached for the child, touching him to the shoulder. A flood of memories and sensations filled Akruul's head, it was like they had been locked away – or maybe even erased – from his mind. But now, he was reliving the most horrible years of his life. How his parents had fallen into ice, swallowed by the dark freezing waters, just because Akruul had forgotten his favorite fishing rod on the ice. How his big brother became resentful toward him because of this, blaming him for the demise of their parents, and hated that he had to take care of him now. How the brother started to spread venomous lies about him so all the other children would exclude him from everything and remind him that it was his fault that his parents had died. How the winter celebration he had loved to spend with his family became just utterly miserable to him, because his brother neglected him. All the hatred and grudge were coming back to him, something that had been sealed away for ten years, because he had split himself into two entities; one was the child filled by hate and the other one was the heroic warrior he had dreamed of becoming. All the horrible memories were carried by the child, while the adult Akruul remained completely oblivious to what he had experienced in his younger years. But now, it was time for them to merge, to become one. Akruul opened up his heart and took in all the horrendous memories, all the hatred and grudge. The child version of him turned into an entity of white blinding light and this light sunk into Akruul's chest, disappearing inside him. He understood it all now. Why the beast was attacking the village, what its role was. It had simply taken care of the part of him no one else wanted. Akruul turned to face the beast. With his hand, he reached for the dragon head and petted it tenderly. “Thank you for showing me the truth”, Akruul said. It was time to raid the village one last time. Akruul hoped that his brother was still alive.Snowed OutWith a gentle breeze the snowflakes fell, becoming one with the sea of white that had made up the forest floor. Surrounded by the mighty cedars as she watched the powder dance and sway, Jac was reminded of a scene from a Christmas movie. A far cry from the storms that had whipped through the town the night before. Jac let out a foggy sigh. Long after the holidays have come and gone, the frosty weather had more than overstayed its welcome. In particular, Jac was left stranded outside after the previous night's blizzard, which had only validated her frustrations further. With this part of the Beanstalk Society largely buried underneath this icy menace, and her workplace being closed for the day, the young woman was left with nothing but to kill time. As she added the finishing touches to her snowman, Jac paused for a bit to admire her work. A standard effort, not too shabby. The doldrums were about to set in however, her eyelids drooping on occasion as she continued to be on the look out. If she was going to do nothing all day, then she might as well rope her best friend into this so they can spend the day doing nothing together. After all, she did happen to be staying over at his house when the blizzard passed through. For a giant like him, this was nothing that a couple of hours of shoveling couldn't fix. But any knee high snow pile for these gargantuan folk would be enough to completely engulf any dwelling within the human district, with Jac's apartment being no exception. Despite repeated reassurances from the townsfolk themselves, Jac could not help but let her mind wander. How were her neighbors doing? And what would she be doing at this very moment if she was trapped along with them? At that moment Jac had snapped back to focus as she heard a rumbling sound, a low growl that echoed in the winter air. Luckily for her, it came from a familiar voice. Sure enough there was Richard, who was making an effort to roll a massive snow ball nearly half his height up the hill. With every shove, extra clumps of snow added more to its size and weight, yet it somehow managed to maintain a perfectly rounded shape throughout. Jac couldn't help but be struck with internal laughter, for to her it appeared as though the Wile giant was pushing a mountainous boulder by the way he was panting. After what seemed like a tremendous amount of time (for the Wile giant at least) Richard brought the snow orb to a designated spot on flat, stable ground. As soon was taken care of, he immediately flopped down on his back red in the face as he huffed entire blimps worth of air in and out of his lungs. Jac clicked her tongue and shook her head, having to fight back from expressing her amusement further. "Who are you trying to impress?" Richard opened a single eye to side glance the woman as she made her way towards his head. His look held a playful glint. "I have no one to please but myself." He said in a fox-like tone. Jac was near his cheek at this time. "But why go through the trouble? You're not competing for some award or making something that could land on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens." "I'll have you know, I have good reason to make a perfectly round snowman bottom. Just... give me a minute..." Richard had to stop for a moment, for he was still recovering from exhaustion. He soon continued. "At least the hard part is over with." "If you aren't having fun, then what's the point? I made mine without using much elbow grease." Richard turned his head to the side to get a better look at Jac's creation. He watched it in silence for a good minute. "What is that?" "What do you mean what is that?" "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" "Tell me the truth, Richard. What do you think?" "The truth...?" "Yeah! Doncha think it looks pretty good?" "It's decent." "Of course!...Wait, huh?" "Pfft" "Rich!" "I didn't say it was bad. I said it was decent." Said the giant as he perked his lips. "Ohh, go finish your own dang snowman. Let's see what you got, Biggs." With that, Richard steadily pulled himself up and back on his feet with renewed vigor. In less than a minute, his entire frame towered over the human, taller than any of the buildings in her local district. This same titan of a man gently lowers his hand with his palm face up on the snow. "Since you're not busy, do you want to tag along?" Without hesitation nor a reply, Jac climbed onto Richard's hand, and bolted for his shoulder as soon as he lifted her gingerly onto that spot. She dove straight into the loose opening between his neck and scarf, and quickly settled into the giant's warmth. With a small smirk, Richard waited for Jac to eventually poke her head out. They then began to play a little game of hers that she always does whenever she's tucked away like this. "Onwards!" Jac commanded, pointing out to the great beyond. "Aye aye, captain!" Richard replied. And off they went. . . . . . . . It didn't be long before Richard returned with the second snow clump in his hands. He stacked it atop the first, then went to work fine tuning the spherical shape as he made it appear like a shining bald head. After a while however, Jac noticed her giant had stopped moving for a few minutes. She peeked out of the shelter of Richard's scarf to investigate. As suspected, the Wile giant had already moved on to decorating the second piece with stones. "Oh? So tired that you're resorting to putting the face on his torso?" Jac teased. "No, I wanted to create a Snow Daruma instead of the standard one." "A Da..? What is that?" "A snowman based off of a Japanese wishing doll. My dad used to make them with me when I was a small kid. Ah! Wait... I need to explain that concept to you, too." "As you can see, I have time." Jac said plainly. Richard then went on in textbook dialogue about daruma facts. All this talk of a sitting Buddhist monk that the snowmen resemble and the history behind the curious paper machete dolls that also took to the monk's likeness was enough to make Jac's eyelids heavy. At least until he came to the part where he spoke of their ability to grant wishes. "-- their eyes are blank, see? So if you make a wish or set a goal in mind, you draw an eyeball on one of the daruma's eyes and place it on the shelf for the household to see." "And then the daruma helps you grant your wish?" "Yeah.. according to tradition anyway. After the wish comes true, you draw the other eye in. And send it off to a shrine to show thanks for its support." "I see. So it's like a genie." Richard's tone of voice grew disheartened somewhat. "It's not that foolproof." He reached for his pocket to pull out his phone, but stopped short after recalling his battery was nearly dead. "I could show you, but..." At this very time, something lit up like a fire in Jac's mind, a remnant of a small memory that has clicked into place. "Didn't you have a white, rounded face object on your shelf in your living room? It had a bunch of facial markings and it only had one eye!" "That's the one!" Pausing for another moment, Richard then replied with a softer expression. "I'm surprised you remembered it at all." "Of course! I can't forget that gigantic face that scared me half to death! I was nearly startled off on your shoulder that time." "For someone your size who isn't used it, I'm not surprised. I was afraid of it too before I knew what it was. When I was like, five.” Richard chuckled under his breath. "By the way, whatever happened to it?" Richard had expected this. He continued to pat down his snow daruma, as he seemingly tried his best to not let Jac's question get under his skin. "Is something wrong?" That got Richard out of his trance. "Oh? Oh. No, you see..." He hesitated a bit, as he struggled to come up with the best course of action; eventually he settled on being blunt without spilling all of the details. "I wasn't able to get my wish granted... so after a while, I gave it up." Jac gasped. That lit flame ignited into a blazing passion. "They still only had one eye, right? Why didn't you let them do their job? I'm sure that doll was working hard for you!" Those last words stung a little. If only she knew that Richard's daruma could never grant his wish. It was impossible, so it was better for him to not be reminded of it. He spent the next few minutes without saying a single word, as he covered his emotions under the illusion that he was engrossed in crafting his snow creation. Jac didn't question it, but she did finally speak when the silence became unbearable for her. "Are you okay?" She asked meekly. A half-startled Richard replied. "Huh? Yeah! I'm fine. And I'm just about to wrap this up." He knew if he changed the subject, Jac would likely forget about it, and sure enough this was the case. With a final pat, Richard backed up to give Jac a full view of his work. The girl gave the snow daruma her honest review: she had to admit, this snow person was picture perfect with two clean spheres that made up the head and body. The face was simple, yet effective with a cute emoticon-like smile. It definitely fits the bill as something you would see on a holiday postcard. And yet, Jac felt as though something was missing. "Hm?" Richard knew that look in her eyes. After a tidal wave of brainstorming, a spark coursed through the human's mind. And upon processing it, she couldn't help but give out a smile that shined brighter than any of her surroundings. She whispered into Richard's ear; since they were alone, there was no point in doing this except to get a silent reaction. And there it was, that smile was contagious. Richard spontaneously perked up the side of his lips, slightly showing his sharp canine teeth. "That's perfect." He whispered back. He made his way towards Jac's snowman and carefully lifted it up onto his palm. With precise and delicate accuracy, Richard slowly sets it down on the left shoulder of his snow daruma, adding just a tad more snow to the base of the miniature to keep the latter stabilized. The giant then backed up to let his friend marvel at this sight. The result was a perfect giant and tiny person snowmen pair. “I call it Beanstalk and Beansprout united!” "Eh, that works. Mine does compliment yours perfectly I must say." "So, Rich. Think my snowman is only decent now?" "No. Truth is, I thought my efforts were pretty decent as well. The standard round body, round head approach. Nothing fancy. I just got carried away with the first piece. But together? I think they increased both of their marks by at least a hundred percent." "You think?" "Am I wrong?" Richard turned his head to look at the young woman on his right shoulder with a smile as wide as she was tall. Noticing the giant's willingness to express his glee (something that isn't too common for the Wile these days), Jac returned with a large grin of her own. "Nope. Not at all. And I couldn't have made such a perfect work of art without ya, of course." "Likewise." So with that, the two friends continued to look at their accomplishments for some time. As the snow, while still light, was increasing by the hour, Jac watched as her thoughts began to drift away once more. Being lost in her own ponderings, she remembered something she forgot to ask Richard before. "Do Yu...um. Snow darumas? Do they grant wishes, too?" "I've never heard of it." "It wouldn't hurt to try I guess." Jac asked the giant to hold her in front of the snow daruma's face. She then clapped her hands together, before she broke the momentum and asked Richard. "Aren't you going to make a wish?" "I don't bother with these types of things anymore. Besides, I don't really have anything to wish for right now." "Ok then!" With that, Jac closed her eyes and thought about what she wanted the most at this very moment. She then reached and with a bit of trouble she pulled out one of the stones that made up the snow daruma's eye. She then handed the heavy rock to Richard, who placed it in his coat pocket without effort. The Wile giant was puzzled by this. "Aww. The snowmen look less than stellar now.." "Don't worry. I'm sure the Da-roo ma–” "Daruma." "Right. I'm sure they'll get it back soon. Sometime today, hopefully." "What exactly is this wish now?" "It's a secret." "You can tell me..." "Well...hmmmm... nah. Wanna make sure I get my wish, so I don't want to ruin it by saying it aloud.” "Suit yourself." Richard shrugged, with Jac teetering slightly on his shoulder. This got her to respond with a cheeky laugh that the Wile wasn't sure what to make of. But he chose to refrain from any further questioning about it. As the quiet snowfall continued to coat the landscape in a sea of white, the two friends continued to take advantage of this free time. Hopefully Jac will be able to return to her apartment by day's end. If not however, she would have Richard to give her a home away from home.