The Adventures of Rose Hood

Hi, my name is Hood, I have no actual name, so they just call me Red Riding Hood, on account of my red cloak. I am an enslaved dragon, of course, even my captors don’t know my identity. I know shift form. They think I’m a catkin.

“Hey, Hood, help me out here.”

“Got it, Sir.”

Mr. Roger, a villager. Husband of Dalla Roger, my Master. She’s a kind woman, and after buying me at a slave market, she made me call her Granny. She always made sure that slavers know I’m not on the market.

Despite the nation not liking the idea of slavery, its unfortunately quite common, especially among nobles. All villagers here know I am only a slave by technicality. One thing that confuses people is why I’m so loyal to Granny.

Of course, this fell into me actually being a dragon. Dragons have the most loyalty of any beast. If we make a deal, we are bound by powerful magic. So, technically, I couldn’t deny anything Granny asks of me. She, of course, didn’t know this. While I know she is good, humans can be easily tempted by potential power.

I am one of the last of my kind. We dragons used to rule the world, but now we hide as there are less than 10 of us left. I was still an adolescent dragon, barely 100. Now you may think that’s old, but dragons don’t fully mature until either they age to 1000 or kill 100000 humanoids.

Mr. Roger and I were working on building a new house. As he thought I’m a catkin, he gave me smaller loads, and allowed me to do the things that require agility.

“You’re so good at this.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Please, Hood. If my wife sees you as family, then feel free to call me Gramps.”

“Doesn’t feel right.”

“I see, well, you know what’s happening today?”

“Finally sending knights to deal with wolfkin?”

“Yep, that man will cause trouble no longer. Frankly, I wish we could’ve been friends. I know not all beastkin are bad. You for example, are a wonderful person.”

“Wolfkin, either nicer or meaner.”

“Yeah. I actually heard that they are getting another wolfkin to sniff him out.”

“Should be quick then.”

“Yep, well let’s get back to town.”

You heard that right, a savage wolfkin was terrorizing our town. It had shift abilities, so no one could hunt it down. Frankly, I could easily kill it, but I don’t want to reveal myself. Beastkins follow a similar maturing as dragons, but to a lesser extent. Either get to 50 years or kill 50 humanoids. People thought he’s an adolescent because no one has actually died to him.

Me and Mr. Roger went to town square to greet the knights coming to help.

A dark furred wolfkin got off of his horse and addressed the people,

“I, Sir Royce, am here to deal with my kin who has harassed this town for 2 years. May I speak with the leader.”

“Hello, sir. I am the current leader of the village.”

“You are Dalla Roger? Well, you are much younger than they say.”

“On the contrary, I am half elf, therefore I am 68 despite looking only 20.”

“I see, well I am here to... Why is that catkin wearing a slave collar?”

He suddenly narrowed his eyes. As my contract is bound to the collar, removing it would cause the contract to fade and allow slavers that come through here to try to enslave me.

“Sir, please do not worry, her collar is to make sure no one can enslave her. I own her, so as long as her contract holds no slavers can take her.”

“I see, that makes sense. I apologize for assuming. As a former slave myself, I was concerned.”

Sir Royce is a well-known wolfkin that went from a slave to a Kingsguard. He was the son of a lord that got kidnapped, but upon discovery, his contract was ripped, freeing him, and allowing him to escape.

“Sir, that catkin... I think it’s a sorcerer.”

“A catkin sorcerer? What is your name, child?”

“I don’t have an official name, but I am called Hood.”

“Well, Hood, how much magic do you know.”

“I know a bit.”

“Would you like to help us? You could gain experience that’d allow you to defend yourself from future slavers. Maybe you’d even get to the point where Mrs. Dalla would be comfortable with you not wearing the collar.”

“That’s a great idea, Hood!”

Granny loved the idea, I would not only get stronger, but also, I would be defended.

“Do you mind us verifying your stats?”

“Not at all.”

Dragons have an extra facet of shift. We can disguise our stats.

“Project stats.”

“Hmm, not too powerful, but not weak either.”

“I’ve never actually checked Hood’s stats, could I see?”

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(Nameless) Nickname:Hood

HP: 100/100

MP: 250/250

SP: 87/100

LV: 1

Race: Adolescent Catkin

Age: 19

Skills:

Flame: 1

Cat’s grace: 5

Inquisitive mind: 8

Title:

Free slave

Shy one

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“Pretty impressive for a village girl.”

“A level 8 skill? That is impressive.”

“Only 3 skills though.”

“Of course, I doubt she’s ever fought before now.”

“Though what’s with the titles?”

“What do you mean?”

Granny didn’t know what the appraiser meant.

“I mean, Free slave makes sense, but what is Shy one.”

“I don’t know.”

Mr. Roger got an idea,

“When she first came to the village, she was scared and very shy, maybe that’s where she got it.”

“That makes sense, oh well, Hood.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s give you a sword.”

“Fight better hand to hand.”

“Alright... well, let's just go then.”

“Ok.”