I saw him from behind the trees, wearing mostly orange and other brightly colored clothing; he stood out like a sore thumb. He looked a bit mean, like one you wouldn't really want to piss off, but approachable enough. I watched as he stopped walking along the narrow trail.

He turned in my direction and called "Come out, I know you're there!" in a rather callous sounding voice.

I stepped out into the open nervously, and approached him slowly. It was quite obvious by his clothing that he wasn't from anywhere near here. His looks only made this fact more obvious
.
He stood about 5'7", just slightly above me. He was dark skinned and of average build, and looked a little on the muscular side. He also carried 2 swords, each back-mounted. It was clear to me that if I had to fight, I was probably screwed.

The things I wouldn't forget about him were his hair and eyes. The most unusual thing about him was his yellow-orange eyes. They seemed to almost glow, reminding me of the campfires back in my home village in the night. Before I stared too long into the hypnotic colors, I noticed his hair, which was equally unusual. It was medium, length, and gold, with red streaks here and there. This highly abnormal hair coloring both confused and amazed me.

He himself looked like he wasn't paying attention to much of anything, which was obviously not the case as he'd noticed me nearby. I was downwind and almost silent.

I had to ask as I pointed in astonishment at his hair: "That...is...weird...yet cool. You dye your hair?" I asked in awe and terror once I realized his hand was resting on the handle of his sword.

"You aren't the first to ask that, and no, I don't. This is its natural color," he said. "You look like you're about to piss your pants kid. What are you following me for anyways? I must warn you it never ends well for those trying to rob me, so this is your only chance to run."

"I wasn't trying to rob you, just heard someone walking around, last time I ran into others along this path, things didn't end very well for me. I actually did get robbed, barely made it out alive." I rolled up my left sleeve and showed him a huge scar. "I wouldn't wish it upon another. Where are you heading anyways?"

"I'm on a trip trying to find something or someone. Just going wherever my mind and the roads lead," he replied.

Well, there's a small village nearby if you care to rest a while, you look a bit tired. By the way, I didn't catch your name."

He replied, "It's Solaris, and yours?"

"Romel" I answered meekly.

He tauntingly said "You know, I could probably kick your ass for all you know, and here you are inviting me back to your village before you even know my name. I hope that friendliness doesn't get you into trouble someday. So, which way to the village, o' pants pisser?".

"I HAVENT PISSED MY PANTS!!!...though, I do have to use the bathroom. This way". We quickly headed east towards my village. I didn't feel like hearing him tease me anymore, even if I did just meet him.

We finally made it to my village and I ran to the bathroom as fast as I could.
 
Solaris taunted me as I ran "HA!, I've never seen anyone run like that, if I didn't know any better, I'd swear you were running from a vicious animal. I should smack you for making my ribs hurt so much!"

I returned a few moments later to see Solaris surrounded by some of the village bullies and troublemakers. This time it was him on the other end of the jokes and taunting.

"Hey, check out this guy's clothes. Where'd you come from, the circus?" one villager teased.

Another joined in, "saddest clown I've ever seen, I wanna cry just looking at him!"
Solaris just stood there, giving that seemingly aloof look again, yet he was noticeably running out of patience. I stood by petrified, cuz these were the guys who normally made my life hell. I kinda felt bad for Solaris, so I ran over to try and help him out, but was stopped just before I got there.

The last of the idiots poked his hair and said "Dumb blonde clown, pat..."
Before the foolish one could finish his sentence, Solaris grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and lifted him back into the wall with a single arm. His eyes shined in like a blazing wild fire as he looked at the boy with disgust.

"I DON'T LIKE… BEING CALLED...BLONDE!" he said in a slow, angry and terrifyingly dark sounding voice. He pulled back his free hand as if to punch the boy. At this moment, I decided to step in, on the other side.

"SOLARIS DON'T!!!" I yelled as I completed my run to the scene.

He looked surprised, and lowered his fist, then lowered the boy. "Just don't do it again, or you'll regret it to say the least."

"y-yes s-sir!" the boy said in a voice sounding much like a scared 6 year old, which I found priceless, since I know he was actually about 19.

"Oh, and be sure to thank your buddy here, he stopped this kid from getting served a homemade knuckle sandwich." Solaris told the boys.

They looked at me with a mix of surprise, fear, and awe, thanked me and turned to make sure their accomplice was OK.

Solaris turned to me and asked "Hey, you smell that?"

I took a whiff of the air, "No, what is it?"

"Come over here and take another whiff" he beckoned me to him. I moved quickly and obediently. I sure as hell didn't wanna end up with lunch served by him and his fist. I got there and took another sniff.

"Still nothing" I replied.

He fanned some wind toward my nose and snickered.

"Ewww!" I reeled back in disgust. "Smells like urine!"

Solaris pointed to the kid he put down "Guess I went a bit overboard. Oops. Guess I won't be teasing you about pissing yourself, this guy on the other hand...!" he said laughingly.
The other 2 boys looked at him, backed away slowly, and made their way away from the scene, the 3rd got up and left, red-faced and saggy bottomed, heading in another direction.

"You know, all the crap you were talking in the woods, and I come back and you're being teased by a bunch of neighborhood thugs. I thought you were just shitting me the whole time. But after that little incident, I have even less of a reason to piss you off."

"Just remember this and you should be relatively ok: I HATE being called blonde."

I looked at him with more surprise. "ooookaaay, I won't call you blonde...EVER." as if I actually needed to be told this after witnessing the scene of 2 minutes ago. "So, I guess we get to come to dinner at my place? I don't think that things will go very well if you run into another group of idiots. Sadly, this village seems to be full of them."

We headed back towards my family's house and I asked "So, what are you looking for again?"

Solaris replied "If I knew I would tell you, I just sense the presence of a few things that seem to be calling me. I could be searching for my own destruction for all I know."

"Ouch, now I kinda wish I never asked. Sounds tough though, and actually pretty crappy."

"Meh, it's a life, specifically my life. It's how I choose to live, I just couldn't ignore...oh never mind, just drop it." He said.

"Unfinished thoughts drive me nuts" I replied.

"Well, that kid never got his lunch, you want it?" he said as he cracked his knuckles.

"NO THANK YOU! Shutting up now." The rest of the trip was a silent one. Just what is this guy's deal? He's definitely a bit on the weird side. Though my curiosity ran wild, reason took the upper hand, I'd best not ask or stick around this guy long enough to find out the details.

My parents looked at me with suspicion when I arrived home. It wasn't often, or ever, that I brought company. The first person I'd brought home with me since I was a child in fact, happened to be a guy. For my parents, who were quick to judge, the situation wasn't looking good.

With the same alertness that he'd had all day, while still looking around aimlessly, Solaris said, "Don't worry folks, I'm not his boyfriend or anything. I whooped that guy back in the village."

I turned to him, ready to strike him, and then he raised his hand to stop me.

"What? I haven't picked on you in about 2 hours, I was overdue. But seriously, I'm kidding, your son isn't gay or anything, at least not that I can tell. Who knows, I could be totally wrong." he said with a laugh.

My father looked relieved, and my mother asked if he was staying for dinner, after which she began to set another place at the table. We talked about matters of the village, heard more about our mysterious guest, and realized he had 1 hell of an appetite. He'd consumed a whole loaf of bread, as well as 2 bowls of soup, and was starting on a third.

"Sorry for being a glutton, I haven't eaten in about 2 days."

We looked at him in amazement and curiosity. I considered what he'd done in the village earlier, now knowing this was after about 2 days without food. This struck me as very odd, and I wanted to know what was up with this guy as I watched him finish the rest of the potatoes, and the carrots, and the turkey. Fortunately, my family and I had eaten our fills.

We didn't have an extra room, but I offered him a place in the barn loft to sleep, which he accepted. We sat for a moment and spoke before going to bed.

I asked "why are you traveling again? Looking for something right?"

"Yeah, and leaving some old acquaintances behind."

"Oh, do tell" I said with a not-so-subtle tone of wonder.

"Let's just say I'm a little on the misunderstood side, and some people were quick to judge, and kinda tried to kill me. They obviously failed, but from what I hear around this region, I'm still being hunted"

I investigated slightly farther. "What did you do?"

He replied "I kinda blew up a shop or, 3 of them actually. The bar in between them caught fire too, that made everything far worse. That curious nature of yours will get you thoroughly screwed in my opinion. With those guys still looking for me, I won't be here long, they are the other half of the reason I'm traveling."

I sat in fear and amazement for about the 3rd or 4th time that day. "So, let me get this straight, I invited a fugitive and arsonist to my house?! That's just fuckin' great!"

He grabbed my shirt collar and raised me to the wall. "If you ask to hear the tale, don't listen with only 1 ear. You are as quick to judge as you parents were, and those men." He paused for a second as if in thought. "Take a look" and he pointed to his eyes, which in fact were glowing like the campfires which burned in the village. If they weren't his eyes I'd swear I could feel the small heat of a fire.

"You.... aren't exactly normal, are you?" I asked, staggering over my words.

"I'm what you would call '1 of a kind'. I'm like no one you've ever met, nor will ever meet."

"Weeeell, I did actually see a girl around here a few months back. She had pure white hair, and was very beautiful. And her eyes where a yellow-golden color, much like yours, nearly identical actually. Didn't get close to catch her name though, only saw her for an instant in the crowd of the market place?"

"Oh!?" Solaris said in what I assume to be a surprised and curious voice. "This is all the information you have about this woman?"

"Yes," I replied "it was really busy that day, do you know her or something?"

"I don't know, but..."

He was cut off by my mother who barged into the barn.

"Romel, some men are here looking for Solaris, they said they saw him here and are threatening to burn our farm to the ground!!!"

I looked toward Solaris who was already up and almost out the door. There's no way he could have used the latter to drop down from the 2nd story down to the ground in that time.

He yelled back as he bolted towards the house with amazing speed "I won't let anything happen to you or your family". He drew one of his swords and he faded into the darkness of the fields.

I grabbed a pitchfork from the barn and raced towards the house. I muttered to myself "I knew there was something bad about this guy."

By the time I'd made it to the house, the small mob of about 5 people had already been dispensed. They lay on the ground in agony, yet still alive.

Solaris stood in the middle of the downed assailants. "You know, if I were all bad, you'd all have been killed." He must have been good, really good, with a sword. It takes far more skill to disable 5 people in combat that it would to simply kill them. I'd said it before, and I found myself repeating it: this guy isn't normal, he is just plain weird.

He finished by saying "Leave these people alone, I'll be gone by the time you all recover anyways"

We called in a night after the men drug themselves off of our property. I slept with my sword nearby, and Solaris himself went back to the barn. We saw him off that morning with a good breakfast and a small bag of food and minor supplies.

He reached the gate and asked "You sure you don't have any more information on that woman, no name, or which way she was heading?"

"Actually, she was heading north I think, I heard some villagers talking about her, at least I think it was her, not many look like that." I pointed in the direction of the northern town entrance. "Safe journeys, hopefully you won't have any more unwanted company"

He headed north under the morning sun, continuing on his strange journey.