Chapter 4 (Alternate Ending)

A/N: Hey everyone, it's been a while. I've been writing this for months after finishing this fic (Yes, the story actually ended in chapter 3), so I decided to add this which is another ending I had for this story. I hope you like it!

Heads up, this ending is bittersweet.

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Ico grunted as he shifted in his sleep, burying his face into the warmth surrounding him. A smile spread across his face as he relaxed into the smooth, soft pillow and heard a low….bark?

The boy's eyes fluttered open as he gazed down at the feathery thing he was lying on. His eyes they wandered upward where he came face to face with a beast's muzzle.

Ico cried out and scrambled back from the creature in fright. Trico titled his large head to the side in confusion while Yorda, who had been sitting next to the beast, looked at him inquiringly.

It took the boy a moment to calm down and remember their encounter with the mysterious boy and his beast.

"Sorry," He muttered as he sat up and dusted himself though he wondered how he ended up sleeping against the beast in the first place.

He then looked around and noticed the other boy was missing. "Hey, where is Tomi?" he asked, but then realized that neither of the two could answer him.

Trico then lowered his head in front of Yorda and made a demanding noise. The princess hesitantly reached her pale hand forward and began rubbing above his eye. The beast let out a pleased sound as she continued petting him.

Ico sighed. Those two were getting along surprisingly well. Scratching his head, he looked over to see the fire they made yesterday had died out and a faint stream of smoke was the only thing left of it.

Ico suddenly heard Trico bark and he looked over to see Tomi coming their way, carrying something in his hands.

"Morning," Tomi grunted. When he got close enough, he dropped everything he was carrying on the grass in front of them with an exhausted sigh. The pile consisted of some fruit, nuts and mushrooms.

Ico blinked in confusion. "What is all of this?"

"I'm trying to find food for Trico. There has to be something here that he could eat." Tomi explained as he picked up an apple. "Here, Trico."

The beast sniffed the apple held out to him before catching it when Tomi tossed it into the air. Trico's eyes flashed briefly before returning to normal.

Tomi hummed and picked up a brown mushroom, feeding it to him the same way. However, Trico's eyes immediately flashed violent and he shook his head frantically as it would help him get rid of the taste in his mouth.

"I guess that's a no for mushrooms." Ico muttered.

Tomi refused to give up and grabbed up some berries from the ground. "What about these?" he said, but Trico turned his face away, not wanting to go through with this anymore.

Tomi sighed in defeat and tossed a berry into his mouth. "Okay, that's enough trying for now."

"At least you know he's fine with apples," Ico stated.

Tomi nodded and then held out some of the fruit he collected to the other boy. "Have these."

"Um…thanks," Ico muttered awkwardly. He then walked back to Yorda and held one of the apples out for her. "Here, Yorda."

The princess took it and nodded gratefully. Ico smiled as he took a bite from his as the four of them sat quietly in the clearing for a while.

Suddenly, Trico's ears perked up and his head whipped to the left, gazing at something beyond the trees.

"What is it, Trico?" Tomi asked in concern. Instead of responding the beast quickly sat up and began walking away. "Trico!"

"Where is he going!?" Ico muttered.

"I don't know!" Tomi exclaimed and ran after the beast. "Tricooooo!"

"Ugh," Ico groaned and took Yorda's hand before hurrying after the two.

Trico meanwhile continued walking through the trees and sniffing the air occasionally. He made his way through some trees and then paused as he finally found the source of the sound he heard. He thrusted his head through some branches and found himself staring face to face with a human carrying a large sack.

The man stared the beast in stunned silence for a moment before screaming at the top of his lungs and dropping his sack, sprinting down the other path just as the three children arrived.

"Hey, wait! Come back!" Tomi shouted, but the man was already gone. The boy huffed and turned to the beast. "Trico, you shouldn't have scared him away like that," he scolded and Trico's ears fell back a little.

"Who was that man anyway?" Tomi asked.

"I think he was a travelling merchant of some kind," Ico said as he looked over the heavy-looking sack.

Tomi came over to see what's in inside it as well. One item in particular caught his attention and he picked it up. It seemed to be a hat made of straw. He smiled mischievously and put it on his head. He then turned to his two friends and posed in front of them. "How do I look?"

"Ridiculous," Ico said, covering his mouth and struggling not to laugh.

Tomi rolled his eyes and took off the hat. He gazed at it for a moment and then had an idea. "Here, Ico. I think it suits you better,"

"H-Hey!" Ico stuttered as Tomi placed it on his head. He touched the brim of the hat and frowned, unsure.

"Besides, now with this on you don't have to worry about people seeing your….you know," Tomi stated, gesturing to the side of his head.

Ico blinked, having never thought of that. He quickly shook his head. "Thanks, but I can't have this. It belongs to that man who just ran away."

"We can borrow it," Tomi suggested.

Ico crossed his arms and gave him a deadpan look. "You mean like how you 'borrowed' your shield?"

Tomi blushed and looked away.

Ico knew he was in no place to judge considering he had his own fair share of taking things that weren't his back in the queen's castle. He sighed as he took off the hat, but hesitated in putting it back into the sack. The hat might turn out to be useful for him if he didn't want people to see what remained of his curse.

Ico searched in his pocket and took out a coin from there. He had found a few of these in one of the chambers of the castle and decided to keep them since they looked different from the ones used in his village.

He walked over and placed it inside the sack. "In case he comes back for his stuff," he stated and then placed the hat on his head.

"Wait, hold on!" Tomi suddenly muttered. "What was that man doing here?"

Ico frowned. "I told you he was a traveling merchant-"

"No, I mean what would he be doing here in the middle of nowhere? He wouldn't be all the way out here carrying all of this unless…."

Ico's eyes widened. "Unless there was a village nearby!"

The three humans and the beast then followed the path they saw the man take for a while until they finally reached the end of the forest and saw a village down a slope. The design of the houses reminded Ico of his own a little.

Ico and Yorda began walking down the slope only to realize Tomi and his beast weren't following them. "What are you waiting for?" he asked.

"Ico…I can't stay here. I have to go back to my village," Tomi answered.

"Oh," Ico averted his eyes to the ground, realizing what this meant.

Tomi smiled at them. "Well, it was nice meeting you two."

"Tomi….I…" Ico didn't know what to say. The first friend he had made beside Yorda who never judged him for his curse was now leaving. They might not meet again for all he knew. "Yeah, it was," he murmured wistfully.

"Nonomori," Yorda suddenly said to Tomi and even though he knew nothing about her language, he knew what she probably meant and smiled at her.

Trico's ears drooped when he finally caught on to what was happening. He lowered his head to Yorda and whined. The girl smiled sadly and began petting him one last time.

To everyone's surprise, the beast then turned to Ico and chuffed. Ico blinked and then rubbed the beast muzzle gently. "Make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble, okay Trico?"

"Wait, what!?" Tomi huffed and Ico laughed.

Then it was finally time. Tomi began climbing up and sat on Trico's back. He then glanced back down at the two and hesitated. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

Ico didn't know what to tell him. With his lack of knowledge about that village he couldn't be certain. He could only hope that the stories about the horned people hadn't reached this place in case someone found out about the scups hidden underneath his hat.

Not to mention, Yorda's almost elfin appearances and ghostly pale skin will make her stand out like a sore thumb. Still, he smiled at him. "We'll be fine. Don't worry," he said and then frowned, scratching his head. "Will you two ever come back?"

"Of course!" Tomi said, though he sounded unsure of his own words. "Well, I better be going now."

"Goodbye," Ico said, trying not to show how sad he was with this. Tomi just grinned at him reassuringly.

"See you again!" the boy said and then held on to Trico's feathers. The beast let out a roar and spread his large wings wide. He began running and flapping them before finally taking off into the air.

Ico watched as the boy and the beast ascended to the sky, feeling his heart clutch slightly. He suddenly a warm hand hold his and Ico looked over to see Yorda smiling down at him.

The boy whipped at his eyes and smiled back at her. He then looked up at the sky as the form of the beast grew further and further until disappearing in the distance.

Maybe someday….he'll get to see them again.

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A/N: Finally, this fic is completed. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!