It’s been a week now since the Dragon left.

During that time we’ve travelled for a bit

Finaly getting out of the stone lands

Coming into a land that seems more

Grassy.

It’s kinda like the stone lands but filled with grass

And a lot more humid.

The nights here are not as hellish, and sometimes we can see rabbits or foxes.

So food has not been scarce

And luckily, I had a mana stone in my jacket before we ran away

Making it easy to feed both of our needs.

During our travels

She has been

Very quiet.

Barely registering the change of landscapes

And only talking when I’m asking questions.

I’m worried

This is not right

She is so strong

But

Now she feels so very

Weak.

I’m worried

Very worried.

Letting loose an arrow

I hear a satisfying thump as I strike my target.

“Woohoo! Rabbit for dinner, hey! Would you like to skin it or should i?”

“Mmmhm”

...

Okay, so it’s on me to skin it I guess

She seems to be thinking again.

The last two weeks have been very thougtfull for her.

I wonder what she’s thinking about.

Walking up to the downed rabbit

I absentmindedly pick it up while removing the arrow.

Then turning around

Walking back to her

Seeing her sitting down, playing with a few strands of grass

While letting the firestone sit atop a larger flat stone.

Creating a small makeshift fireplace to heat up the stone.

Sitting down beside her, I bring out a knife and start cutting the rabbit.

Letting my eyes rest on the task

“Hey”

I say, quietly.

Getting a small nod in response.

“What are you thinking about?”

A short silence

“Life, I guess.”

She responded, still letting her eyes rest on the rock and firestone

Watching the flames burn slowly, turning the rock red around in her hands.

“What about life, are you thinking about?”

A new short silence

Looking up towards me

Two tired eyes looking at me.

Making me focus on her instead of my task.

“Mister Butler, thank you for worrying about me. But it’s very tiring to talk about this, let me just be... I’ll become myself again soon. But right now I just need... Time”

Looking down again

Hands on the stone.

A bright red now

But not burning her

Something that still makes me go wide eyed.

“Okay, no problem.”

I smile

Letting myself focus on gutting the rabbit again.

Well.

It’s been a month and a half now

And I’ve come to a realisation.

I need to pick an element.

After my ritual to become an elder

I’ve been delaying the decision

Not wanting to make such a life changing choice without thinking about it.

But

After what has happened

I don't think I have the luxury to not get stronger.

Hmmm

What IS my element?

Trying to figure it out

I found myself asking.

“Heey, what do you think my element is?”

While walking behind me, she turned around to look at me.

Seeing my head watching the ground below.

“Rocks”

“Rocks?”

“Yeah”

Huh.

What does she mean?

Does she mean like, earth.

Oh yeah, maybe

That could fit me.

“Why do you think that?”

“You're a kind soul, solid and unchanging”

...

That was a little more than I expected

Cheeks turning a shade of red.

No more questions were asked.

“Hey, where are you from?”

I asked her

Sitting down by a small tree.

One of the few we’ve seen

Maybe the only we’ve seen.

“I dont know”

“You don’t?”

“Well, I doooo. But you know, I dont know where it is.”

She said, giving me a small goofy smile

“Oh Okay, I understand.”

Smiling in response

At both her goofy smile and her bright attitude.

She’s gotten better at talking now

More verbal.

More life in her eyes.

That’s reassuring

I knew she would bounce back

She’s too strong to stay sad.

“You know, I never had a childhood”

She whispered:

Arms around her knees, face down.

Huh

Where did that come from?

I stayed silent

Looking at her

Both confused and amazed at her words.

“When I was born, I was born with a... Gift”

The last words sound like poison

Eyebrows furrowing

And smile turning neutral.

“This gift made me important to my village, a village of very, very powerful people.”

A short pause

Face still neutral

Wind swaying her hair.

“Well, this gift made me worthy. Worthy of being a vessel.”

A vessel?

What does she mean?

But she did not elaborate

Staying silent.

Leaving me with my thoughts

Forming and dissolving

Wondering.

Then she spoke up again.

“Have you heard about the dragon’s war against the gods?”

She asked

Looking up to me

Eyes piercing.

“Yes, the Dragons decided that they wanted to become gods, so they declared war on the gods. A war that the dragons supposedly lost, but a war that led to the death of the god of fire.”

I answered back.

Recalling our old stories

Older than even our city

“You’re wrong”

She simply stated

Still looking at me.

What...

But

What?

“The dragons did not declare war, no. There was only one dragon who did. And he did not do it for something as silly as power or greed. No, he did it for love“

What is she talking about.

Dragons feeling love?

No

They are monstrosities.

Beings capable of destroying mountains

Civilitations.

Even gods.

“You see, one of the gods had killed someone special to him. The god had decided that the dragons were misusing his gift of fire, a gift he had given them upon their birth. So he killed one of them, a message to the others.”

She stared more intently at me

But her eyes seemed

Glossy.

Looking but not actually looking.

“But the god miscalculated. He thought no mere mortal could kill him, no mere dragon. But he was wrong, he messed with the wrong dragon.”

A short pause

She leaned back to the tree

Still staring at me.

“The dragon, who in his fury, challenged the god. Flying further than any of his brethren, fighting odds that should be impossible. Doing something that should have killed him, he di-“

Abruptly stopping

Her mouth still open

Eyes closing

Lifting her head up to the sky.

“I was chosen, chosen for a curse.”

A single tear streaking down her face

“A curse that can only be broken by blood.”

A new tear

“I thought. I thought I could challenge it. Defy the path that had been chosen for me”

A stream was flowing

Her body was shivering

Even as the day was hot

“But I guess. I can't defy fate.”

Her eyes opened

But looking up

“Oh, I so wanted to. I never wanted this. I’m sorry”

She said to the sky

Watering the ground

Giving life to the tree.

Soon after she slept

A long waited sleep

One that she had not had for some time.

One that told of purpose

A path chosen but denied

A path she now decided to walk.

But her dreams were once again filled with dragons.

A dragon of red

Swallowing a god

But this time

It was different.

For the god had not been fully swallowed

A part escaping

A part not capable of thought

Not capable of anything.

But yet, it saw

It saw itself getting swallowed whole

A red dragon turning blue.

The part saw

And the part floated down

Down below the void

Down to earth

Where it stayed

Dormant

For centuries.

Untill

A human tribe found it

Founding a civilization around it

Getting dreams from it

A thirst for revenge.

Then came a baby.

A baby with a vessel big enough to fill

And filled it, it did

Endowing the child with a purpose

A single use of its power

A destiny the baby would find through its life

Never able to escape:

Death

Death to all

Death to the red dragon

Death to him who killed me.

And so it was

The human child walking earth

Death following her.