~Chapter 2- The boy and his family~

~ Age 991 B ~

~25 Years later~

As old age visited Veena, her hair greyed, and her body weakened a bit. But she stayed active, continuing to help new and old clients of the area. People knew they could always count on her for help.

But unfortunately, some took that for granted. One night Veena was awoken by the chirps of quiet barks and whines outside her door. She found a small wooden cage sitting outside. In it were a few newborn Shepard puppies.

Veena figured that whoever owned these puppies didn't want to take care of them, so they assumed she would.

They were right.

Veena would've preferred not to have this responsibility thrust upon her, but she wasn't going to leave the puppies on their own. At least until she found someone else who would take care of them.

She nursed them through their infancy. Veena asked a few boys from the nearby town to help build a small pen for the litter of puppies. Whenever any of her clients came to her home, she would solicit them to see if they wanted one of the puppies. Unfortunately none of them did.

After a few months the pups were running around with boundless energy. This breed of canine would grow to a size where one person could ride them. Veena knew that in a few months they could be as large as her.

At Veena's age, she was struggling to rein in the pups. She wouldn't be able to handle them if they got much bigger. Maybe if she was still in thirties or forties she could. Either way, Veena needed to find an owner for each of them soon.

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Veena was prepping food for the pups, she was making the same high-protein meal she used to prepare for her old dog. The puppies weren't as picky as he was, so they ate it up ravenously.

Veena carried the bowls of food out to their pen... it was getting too small for them. As they ran around in it, the dogs kept bumping into each other. She'd need help making a larger pen for them soon. With how big it would need to be, she'd need more than the help of the neighborhood kids.

As the pups scarfed down their food, Veena watched the sky as it neared dusk. But she saw something approaching from the green plains on the horizon. A great canine with pointed ears and legs long enough to walk beneath. For a moment she mistook it for her old dog.

She recognized the white and grey fur of the dog. A young man with rough black hair and a big grin on his face was riding on the dog bareback. She smiled right back at him as he approached. It was an acquaintance of hers, a young man by the name of Aero, with his dog, Hopper.

As they marched towards her, Veena noticed three other men traveling with them.

The group stopped near the old woman. Hopper squinted at her until his eyes were filled with recognition. The dog stooped his head down near her so that he could be pet. Veena was more than happy to oblige, rubbing the top of his head.

"Hello again, Hopper." Veena said as she petted him.

"Hey Veena! It's been a while!" Aero greeted her with and honest grin from atop Hopper. He appeared to be around sixteen-years old now.

"Yes, it has been too long. You've grown!" Veena smiled sweetly at Aero. She glanced at the group he traveled with, "Who is that with you?"

Aero backflipped off of his dog and landed soundly on the ground in front of her. 'Just as athletic as always' Veena thought.

"It's my family! My cousin, my uncle, and my dad!" Aero pointed to each member of the group.

Aero's cousin was a blonde-haired young man around his age, and his uncle was a rather muscular man with black hair, a beard, and a talon shaped scar across his brow. Both greeted, "It's nice to meet you!"

The man Aero called his father lingered in the back of the group. He shared his son's black hair and athletic build. He had a short beard. His arms were folded, and he seemed standoff-ish compared to the rest. Certainly not the social type. It was surprising as Aero had spoken very highly of his father.

...Veena couldn't help but think he looked familiar.

"Very nice to meet all of you as well." Veena replied, "What brings you around this time?"

Aero's uncle spoke proudly, "We've been going on a trip around the Lands of Ralosia! Aero said he wanted to stop by here to see you."

"Oh! Well I have a guest house, if all of you wanted to spend the night there you could." Veena offered.

"That'd be great, certainly saves us from having to get rooms in town." Aero's uncle replied.

The blonde young man beside them asked, "What do you have back there?"

He gestured to the pen of puppies near her home. All of their heads were perked up staring at them, with their tails eagerly wagging.

Veena smiled, "Want to say hello?"

Aero and his family followed Veena over to the pen. She asked, "Aero, is your family all as strong as you are?"

"Mhmm."

"Mind playing with the dogs a little bit? At my age, I just don't have the energy to keep up with all of them."

The family glanced between each other and nodded, "We're game."

Veena stepped up to their pen, and as she undid the door the puppies were brimming with excitement. As soon as she had barely opened it they burst out.

Aero and his cousin were squatting, whistling for the dogs, and they came hauling after them. As soon as they got close, they darted away from the dogs, leading them on a chase. As fast as the dogs were, Aero and his cousin were faster.

Hopper trotted around the group as well, keeping his distance from the pups. He seemed curious in them, but too nervous to get close. Meanwhile Aero's father and uncle leaned against the pen and watched.

Aero's uncle commented to Veena, "He told us that you work with animals."

"Yes, for decades now." Veena replied politely, "These pups were... dropped off to me. I'm looking to find new owners for them... would you happen to be interested?"

He chuckled, "Sorry, never been much of a dog person."

Veena waved away the apology, "No worry. I appreciate your boys playing with them like this."

Aero and his cousin continued to dart between the puppies as they ran around. One nearly caught up to Aero, but he somersaulted over it and kept moving.

"How big will they get?" The uncle asked.

"Not as big as Hopper, but they'll be big enough to ride. Far too much for me to handle, that's for sure. I'll be needing to build a bigger pen for them soon."

"Want help?" The uncle promptly offered.

She smiled, "I won't turn that offer down. Knowing how strong all of you are, you'd be able to build it pretty fast."

Veena glanced over at Aero's father and uncle... his father hadn't said a word since he arrived. "What was your names again?"

His uncle winced for a moment before replying hesitantly, "Lucar."

Veena watched Aero's father expectantly, waiting for him to give his name. But he was quiet, his attention on the puppies out in the field.

Veena pressed him, "And yours?"

His father looked at her from the corner of his eye... And there it was. She recognized him. He'd grown from a teenager to a man, but it was the same boy that had robbed her all those years ago. What was the name he gave her...?

"Razan." Aero's father answered.

Veena nodded. "It's... been awhile."

Razan raised an eyebrow at her, "Pardon?"

...He didn't even recall who she was... probably just another face among the many that he robbed over the years. Both of them were probably part of the Sky Bandits. But Lucar had the bearing of a man who wanted to make up for past sins. Razan however... his eyes bore no regret. The air was thick with silence between them.

The silence was cut through by Aero's laughter. All of the puppies had jumped on top of him at the same time and were smothering him. He giggled like a child as they swarmed around the young man.

There was a part of Veena that contemplated calling the authorities, telling them that two of the Sky Bandits were here. But she wouldn't do that to Aero. She wondered if he knew.