Draco walked around nearly the ey of his family's property but couldn't find Vasileios.

  "Where has that boy gohere's no way he left home on his own," Drauttered to himself.

  He had begun to worry that Vasileios was stuewhere or had left the house by himself.

  Everyone he had asked said they saw him pying with Vasiliki a while ago, but sihen he hadn't been seen.

  Deg to search a bit further, Draco ventured out towards the forest not too far from the house.

  The forest was situated on the opposite side of the farm and was uncimed nd.

  He didn't pn ouring inside as he had been warned several times that monsters lurked within the forest.

  Of course, Draco didirely believe them.

  He khat his grandparents as former adventurers wouldn't allow moo settle close to the house.

  He didn't pn on going deep inside; he just wao scout the e to find possible traces of Vasileios.

  If he didn't find any, then he would return home a to the other adults.

  Scouting the e of the forest, Draco soon found small humanoid footprints on the ground.

  'Okay, these are either Vasileios' footprints, meaning he went into the forest, or they belong to a goblin,' Draco pondered.

  'It's strange, with how vigint my grandparents are; they wouldn't allow him to get this far away from home,' Draco thought.

  'e to think of it, I made it this far without Grandma Rita catg me,' Draco pondered some more.

  "Should I keep going? He must be lost and scared, but how do I defend myself and him if I run into a monster? I haven't learo use a on, nor have I properly learned magic," Drauttered to himself.

  In the end, he decided toing a tiny bit further.

  Snap!!

  Just before he began going further, the sudden snap of a twig drew his attention.

  Quickly, he turned around in the dire of the sound, his senses on full alert.

  "Young master, what are you doing out here?" a woman asked.

  Dracnized her as a farm worker who was recruited st year.

  'Odd, what is a woman doing all the way out here alone? Wait, isn't she the one who was reported missing for 2 days to Grandpa John just a while ago?' Draco thought.

  "It 't be, sve trader," Drauttered under his breath. He had quickly ected the dots in his head.

  Vasileios missing, a missing worker, meeting the said missing worker out in the woods.

  The most likely clusion his mind came up with was that an intricate process was made to kidnap Vasileios.

  The reason probably being that Vasileios was aic species aoo was in danger of being kidnapped.

  He wao think about things rationally, but he could feel building rage boiling within him.

  Swish!!

  The woman, whose name he couldn't be bothered to remember, suddenly threouch towards him.

  Instinctively, he dodged it, but he could smell a lingering sweet st ing from the bag.

  'Shit,' Draco thought, immediately c his nose, but it was too te. His mind began growing groggy, aarted halluating.

  "Oh, you caught another one, and it seems to be some rare type," Draco faintly heard befoing unscious.

  Every few minutes after that, he would wake up a with the same sweet smell before losing sciousness again.

  This was due to his natural poisoance terag the powder used to knock him out.

  "Gah!! Huff!! Huff!!" Draco hastily woke up again from a horrible nightmare.

  Quickly, the events that occurred fshed through his mind.

  He immediately began his surroundings and found himself in a cage bound with s.

  He felt areme amount of disfort, as if something was interfering with his senses.

  A subtle sweet smell, lingered in his nostrils.

  In an attempt to feel better, Draco shook his head violently to clear the fogginess in his mind.

  Looking to his side, he could see Vasileios also tightly bound in s.

  'How long was I out this time?' Draco pondered, briefly turning to the sky.

  It was around te noon when he went looking for Vasileios, but now the sky was dark.

  'It's night, and we're still in the forest, meaning that only a few hours have passed.’

  ‘My grandparents are probably looking for us, but it will take time. I o do something,' Draco thought.

  "Sniff!! Nii," Vasileios called out, having also woken up.

  "Shh, it's alright, I am here with you," Draco whispered while extending his tail towards him.

  He could see the fear and worry in Vasileios' eyes.

  This event robably going to cause him some mental trauma.

  "Sniff, Sniff !! Nii, it hurts," Vasileios started g wheried moving.

  The s on his hands and legs had been tightly bound and caused injuries whenever he tried moving.

  g!!

  "Shut your mouth, kid, do you want to call all the monsters here?" a dirty-looking man who reeked of alcohol said while banging the cage with a stibsp;

  "Nii," Vasileios whimpered in fear, clutg onto Draco's tail for fort.

  Draco ighe man, his brow furrowed in tration as he sed his surroundings despite the dim moonlight, searg for any means of escape.

  Though the weight of their predit weighed heavily upon him, he khat he must remain strong, if not for himself, then for his scared brother.

  Suddenly, the sound of gruff voices echoed through the surrounding space, drawing the boys' attention.

  One of the kidnappers, a hulking figure with a weathered face, turo his panion, a scowl etched upon his features.

  "These brats better fetch a hefty price," he growled, his words ced with cruel indifferenbsp;

  "The master wants 'em in pristine dition, so nh handling, ya hear?" The other man, a sallow-faced individual with a twisted grin, nodded in agreement.

  "Aye, 't have them as damaged goods, now we?" He let out a harsh, mirthless ugh, sending a chill down Vasileios' spine.

  "Shouldn't we brand them now so the other traders don't pull any weird stunts?" one of the men asked.

  'These vermin not only dared to kidnap me and my little brother but also pn to brand and sell us like some exotiimals in the wild,' Draco thought, his mind suddenly boiling with immense rage after listening to what was being said.

  Something within him loathed being bound, even if only for a moment, and the thought of being sold along with a ton s still in his system just ighe fuse.

  Crack!! g!!

  The s that bound him began rattling and crag, and his body began twisting and expanding, scales grew till it covered the ey of his body.

  His body grew taut, and his ruby eyes glowed menagly in the night.

  Soon, a small humanoid dragon-like creature stood within the cage.

  Draco could feel his body brimming with strength, along with the energy of the elements lingering in the air.

  He felt an euphorise of superiority; he could still feel a sliver of his reasoning there, but that felt insequential in what he was about to do.

  This was his first awakening as a true dragonkin hatg.