PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

Even the military cap was a bit too ostentatious for Desmond’s taste, especially the metal emblem that was set on it; a pretty notorious wolf head.

But isn’t like Desmond had a choice either, his code name as a first-class lieutenant is Black Wolf the barracks had to improvise a code name due to the nature of his recruitment and after seeing the videos of his evaluations they decided to give named that way.

Regardless of the details, Desmond was still standing there just looking at himself in the mirror, his emotions were a complete mess and he was not able to shake that feeling until a silky smooth melodious voice reach him at the same time as a warm sensation reached his cheeks.

“Desmond, it’s just a uniform, it doesn’t mean anything ... plus you look incredibly handsome in it.”

Desmond only had to turn his eyes slightly to see the owner of that voice, it was Kyuru who was still rubbing her small and delicate face against Desmond’s cheek trying to comfort him.

“It is not just a uniform, it is a tool, an identity ... a role that I must play no matter how much I hate it”

Kyuru only smiled with tenderness and infinite warmth, she extended her tender arms and hugged Desmond’s face; she only stood there for a few seconds before answering.

“Maybe it’s that way, but you and I both know that deep down you are still that child who was eager to follow in the footsteps of his father and make him proud; deep down you like what you see in the mirror ”

.....

“You’re wrong.”

Kyuru never stopped hugging Desmond trying to give him all of her warmth and care, as sensitive as the fairy was she knew that Desmond was in a delicate emotional state and she wanted to be there for him.

“Is that so? then why are you smiling while looking at yourself in the mirror? You know there is nothing wrong with feeling good about yourself, you are allowed to be happy, your parents... Desmond they died, but whoever murdered them already paid for it, it has nothing to do with the uniform you wear and you are not betraying them by wearing it; you do what is necessary as you always have and you make your father proud as you always have. ”

Kyuru was Desmond’s fairy companion and the bond they shared was so powerful and deep that their souls were connected, Kyuru knew a lot about Desmond’s past from what he had told her or what she had heard from Claire; That added to her natural empathic qualities as her fairy, gave Kyuru a very deep understanding of what Desmond was feeling right now.

Hearing Kyuru’s words, Desmond couldn’t help but look at himself in the mirror once more, there was indeed a faint smile on his lips, Kyuru was right and this was exactly the image he had dreamed of all those years in the past, but ... it′s ok if he enjoyed this?

After everything that had happened, Desmond no longer knew, so he kept making excuses:

“You are right, those who killed my parents are in the past, but the army I wanted to belong, the country I wanted to serve is also in the past; now they are just greedy and corrupt bastards who abuse the weak ”

Kyuru did not hesitate for a second and continued to reply in the same calm and reassuring voice:

“So be different, just be the kind of man you wanted to be when you were a child, you are doing what is necessary to protect your family, but you also have the right to be happy while doing it ... just let that little part of you enjoy of all this, that’s all I ask ”

At this point in the conversation, Desmond had already realized that Kyuru was actively influencing his emotions through the bond they shared like she did the first time they met when Desmond had a mental breakdown.

Such a thing ... having someone else manipulate your emotions and thoughts would normally be considered the worst thing someone could do to you something you would never forgive but Desmond knew better than anyone how hard the fairy was working for his well-being.

Also, it is not as if the fairy is actually controlling him or altering his thoughts, at best it could be considered a slight influence, in a sense, it was a lot like being offered a relaxing cup of tea to calm you down ... Of course this was the version of a teacup where fairy magic was involved.

In any case, Desmond was grateful for the fairy interference, at the end of the day Kyuru was right, Desmond might as well try to enjoy this new stage in his life and be the kind of soldier his father wanted him to be.

“Thank you Kyuru” Desmond not only thanked the fairy verbally, but he held her tenderly in his hands while he kissed her cute little face.

Kyuru blushed for an instant, but quickly returned to normal, all tranquility and maturity left his being in a split second when the fairy looked very seriously at Desmond and exclaimed:

“It’s always a pleasure, but that therapy session will cost you two jars of honey.”

Desmond almost tripped over himself when he heard the fairy, he turned around and saw that the fairy was watching him intently; it was obvious that the fairy was serious.

“Therapy? Where did you learn that? ”

“Claire lets me use her phone to surf the internet when I’m bored, there are all kinds of interesting things there, I learn all kinds of things”

Desmond could only curse his bad luck right now, for some reason he had a feeling that combining fairies and the internet was a terrible idea, but he had no way of proving it and he could only hope that nothing bad would happen.

“Ok Desmond stop worrying about unnecessary things, you’ll be late for work and Desmond Astryd is never late, or is he?”

Desmond looked quickly at his watch and realized that the fairy was lying, as a matter of habit Desmond woke up at the same time every day and there was still at least an hour before he had to report to the barracks; as soon as Desmond turned around to answer the fairy he realized that Kyuru was long gone.

The giggles of the fairy could be heard in the distance and only God knew what was playing the fairy now or if she was already eating the strawberries that Desmond kept for her.

Faced with the always unpredictable but trustworthy Kyuru, Desmond was completely helpless, the girl could act like a little child most of the time, but Desmond knew that there was much more to the fairy than meets the eye; especially after hearing what Claire had told him about the apparent transformation the fairy underwent in his absence.

Keeping his thanks for Kyuru in his heart, Desmond made a mental note to buy the fairy something delicious back tonight.

Having checked his uniform one last time Desmond left the house in the direction of his new job, although he had run into Kyuru once more and asked her about Claire, the answer he got was slightly off his expectations.

“Claire? She was doing the same as you, she was looking at herself in the mirror with her new uniform, although unlike you, she was genuinely worried about how she looked; I suppose it was good that she did not witness the death of her parents ”

“At least I did that right” Desmond replied somehow dejected.

“It was not the only thing you did well and you know it, now go before I start charging you more jars of honey for therapy”

With those kinds of threats Desmond had to leave the place at the speed of light, he still remembered the disaster left by the fairy when she ate honey and it was better to keep the collateral damage to a minimum.

And so began a new chapter in Desmond’s life, one that would be fraught with danger, challenge, manipulation, and deceit, but also one that would fill him with pride; And as much as Desmond tried to deny it, the wolf symbol on his military cap fit well with his new lifestyle as he would stop being a lone wolf and would be part of something much bigger for the first time in his life.