<div style="text-align: center;"><a class="postlink" href="https://i.imgur.com/cdBJRir.png"></a><a class="postlink" href="https://i.imgur.com/hdaHkeL.jpg">[ img ]</a><a class="postlink" href="http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e327/steusloffa/Junk/9b4c67d7-5e06-4750-8d35-191de0acc40c_zpsagryk5tp.jpg">[ img ]</a></div><br/><br/><span style="font-size: 200%; line-height: 116%;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #400000">ꃅ ꍟ ꌗ ꓄</span></span></span> /// <span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #BF0000">I Z U</span></span></div></span><br/><br/>Hest had began his day like any other, waking up whenever he wanted and then taking an extra our to actually get out of bed. Euthalia, his normally conflict free employer, had been funneling the young creature food and other shiny trinkets and interesting things in exchange for his magical abilities. Sure, the people of Euthalia were gifted with magic in their own way, but it didn't exactly come close to what Hest was capable of. Sure, Hest would never be able reverse the damage done to a patch of grass, or nurture a plant with magic to help it grow larger than what anyone would think possible... But Hest could do something unique to him and only him. You see, Hest could open portals and gates into other dimensions and worlds. Sure, it wasn't a perfect power and it had it's limits. Hest could only open portals/gates up to a certain distance from his body as a central location. He also couldn't open a portal to anywhere without having something as a sort of homing beacon. In the instance of sending Alida away the first time, It was a simple stone acquired sometime, somehow. Bringing her back was as simple as having something that belonged to her.<br/><br/>Either way, his employment period was over and Hest had no more responsibilities left. Life. Was. Great. Then came a pounding on the door. Hest tried to Ignore it at first, curling up on his large pillow much like an animal before flattening his large ears in displeasure as another flurry of knocks came. Hest spoke no words, only rolled lazily from his pillow before shambling to the door. Once unlocked, it flung open to reveal the King in a minor panic. Hest seemed to be on autopilot as the King explained in a frenzy what his sister, Alida, had demanded. The creature yawned, a long forked snake tongue stretching out as he did.<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #400000">"F-i-i-i-n-e."</span></span>The response was labored, like a teen reluctantly agreeing to go shopping with their father.<br/><br/>The King was visibly relieved to hear Hest's response, assuring the creature that he would be handsomely rewarded. Hest had slipped past the King by then though, leaving the man speaking to himself as Hest ventured forth out of his room in the royal quarters. As he went past Yehuda's room, he could almost grab the rage that seeped from under the door. Hest wasn't in tune with emotion like the people of Euthalia were, but he did have them and did certainly understand them. Hest was a curious creature by nature, this being the main fuel for his greed and then sudden lack of interest in what he wanted in the first place. That being said, even Hest knew better than to let his curiosity get the better of him in this moment. For now, he would leave Yehuda to his devices and let him seethe in his rage and anger. It left an unpleasant feeling in his gut, so Hest quickly exited the large structure before making his way into the forest to gather some reagents he would need for his gate summoning technique. (A variation to his portal power. The different between a door opening to somewhere it shouldn't and a portal popping up from nowhere that would just plop you out somewhere near by.)<br/><br/>It didn't take long for Hest to gather everything he needed for the ritual. Petals from a Shepard's Tree, feather from any bird of prey and then mash it all together into a paste with some dream seed oil. Easy. Hest was gathering some extra dream seeds for his own personal use, the oil being a known psychedelic drug in Euthalia, when the ground began to rumble ever so slightly. His ears twitched with curiosity as he grabbed a handful of dream-seeds and stuffed them in his leather satchel before taking off into the sky in search of the rumble's origin.<br/><br/>It didn't take long to find it, the young Ent creeping out from behind some tree cover. Hest nearly collided with a young man as the Ent emerged seemingly from nowhere, Hest was fine. The same couldn't really be said for Izu though, as he was now about to tumble off the side of the Ent. Hest assumed all was fine, the young man had wings... but then why was the female panicking so much? The girl was fervently signaling for Hest to save the young man, so with a sigh, he did. And holy hell was he fast. Was it the extra pair of wings, totaling four, or maybe his speed was fueled by some form of magic? Either way, the young man was grateful for the intervention, though showed it in a strange way; By screaming obscenities at Hest.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #BF0000">"You goat hoofed---"</span></span>The man began to really dig into Hest, the woman trying to talk some sense into her partner, who he learned was named Izu. The young man pointed at Hest's face, causing the creature's eyes to go wide and focus in on Izu's finger, effectively crossing his eyes in the process. "Alida! He nearly collided with me up there! You saw that, right? Tell me you saw this thing nearly hit me."<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #400000">"Not a thing, my name is Hest."</span></span>The creature interjected rather politely considering how rude Izu was being,<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #400000">"And you show gratitude exceedingly well."</span></span>Hest's words dripped with an apathetic sarcasm that Izu wasn't used to have being thrown back at him. In fact, it left him speechless and looking dumbfounded between his lover and Hest.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #400000">"And you are Izu, right? And she is Alida."</span></span>Hest finally uncrossed his eyes, giving his head a brief shake.<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #400000">"Where do I know th-"</span></span>It dawned on his quickly, this was the King's sister.<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #400000">"Oh. I'm out here because of you."</span></span>Hest informed the girl with a matter of fact sort of tone.<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #400000">"For something called a.... Kitten?"</span></span>Hest had to think about the name of the creature for a second before it came to him. His next thought rolled right off his tongue though,<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #400000">"Are they tasty?"</span></span><br/><br/>Izu nearly choked on his own laughter, or rather almost choked from his poor attempt to suppress his laughter. This seemed to worry the Ent, who had somehow managed to sneak up rather close to Izu and the group.