WHILE THE FLAMES FUME

Crescent moon faintly lit a small encampment standing at the edge of a thick forest. Currently doused in silence and occasional snore, it stood in a standstill of time, seemingly waiting for something. Y’se sat at the far edge, a bottle of Heavenly Ale in her hands, as she gazed at the glistening stars in the sky. It has been almost a month since Lynne entered the mountain, causing even her to worry slightly. Although she thought about entering herself, she decided against it as it had nothing to do with her.

Sighing, she leaned further back on a stump of a cut tree, realizing that worrying wouldn’t do her any good. Silent footsteps startled her as she looked sideways, spotting Parsia who sat close to her, a bottle of ale in his hands too. Much like her, his eyes shimmered with faint worry as he glanced towards the distant mountain which had stopped spewing fireballs a week after Lynne entered.

“We’re really turning into alcoholics,” Y’se said, chuckling. “It feels as though we always have a bottle in our hands.”

“Yeah, you’ve corrupted me completely,” Parsia said. “You’re really terrible.”

“Ah, sorry about that. Feels nice to have a drinking buddy at last, though.”

“Young ones are growing restless,” he said, sighing. “We should probably send everyone back.”

“You think you can convince Thalia to go back?”

“… you’re her sister-in-law. You do it.”

“No way. She’d claw my eyes out even if I mentioned it.”

“The two of them really are just a headache,” Parsia said, shaking his head. “Why can’t they just act using common sense?”

“Maybe that’s why they were drawn together,” Y’se said. “Although she’s reluctant to admit it, she’s just as equally insane as he is.”

“No truer words have ever been spoken.” he raised bottle slightly up before drinking a few gulps. “What do you think is keeping him so long?”

“… well, he either pissed her off and got locked up,” Y’se said. “Or he somehow convinced her to let him ride her. Whichever it is, both are equally terrifying.”

“Is it really uncommon to ride Dragons?”

“Well,” Y’se said, smirking. “If Lynne does it, he’ll be the first in our family.”

“Will you join him when he goes off?” he asked.

“No. That’s his own promise. I can’t spoil him too much.”

“Why do I have a feeling you’ll be right behind him?”

“Tsk. We’ve been spending too much time together,” she said, clicking her tongue. “You know me too well.”

“Ah, sorry about that.”

“What about you?”

“… I think I’m gonna go home, at least for a while,” Parsia said, sighing. “I ought to figure out what to do with my life first. And I have to properly bury Ayya.”

“… do you even know how to get back?”

“You really think I spent that entire year just drinking?”

“Oh? ‘s that so?” Y’se said. “I hope you find your way.”

“Well, I have to,” Parsia said, smiling bitterly. “Since someone rejected me so bluntly.”

“I don’t think she was that blunt, though.” Y’se said, smiling.

“… I never got to thank you for at least considering it.” he said, taking another gulp. “You never told me the reason, though.”

“… the reason, huh?” Y’se said, suddenly looking up as her eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of sorrow in them. “Will it be easier on you if you knew?”

“… who knows?”

“That’s some half-hearted resolve you got there.”

“Well, it looks like it’s not easy for you either,” he said, smiling. “So I guess that’s already making me feel slightly better.”

“Eh, I didn’t think you were this cold and cruel.”

“So what happened?” he asked.

“So you still want to know, huh?”

“Of course.”

“… sorry,” Y’se turned sideways, smiling as though she was crying instead. “I don’t think I can help you with closure.”

“… it’s fine,” Parsia said, looking down. “I got to see such an expression. Even hurting you somehow feels worth it.”

“You really are cruel, huh.”

“I prefer sadistic.”

“Is that any better?”

“Who knows?” he said, chuckling. “Well, whatever it is, I can only wish you the very best.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m gonna get some sleep,” he said. “And probably leave tomorrow.”

“… he’s probably gonna curse you, you know?”

“Yeah, well, he may as well,” Parsia said as he gulped down the rest of the bottle, getting up. “I’ll probably come back one day. That ought to soothe his mind.”

“… see you, then.”

“Yeah. See you.”

Glancing at her one last time, Parsia sighed and walked away, his back strangely small. Y’se stayed at the same spot, still sitting, her expression pained as she looked at the ever-changing sky.

On the other side of the encampment, one nearest to the mountain, Thalia sat cross-legged, her gazed fixated at the top, her face expressionless. However, whatever calm could be seen on her face was lost in her eyes, as they churned with worry and pain.

“You worried?” a voice jolted her awake from her thoughts, causing her to glance sideways. A small, furry creature was happily nibbling on some sort of a herb as it looked up at her. Next to it was all-too-familiar, blue bird of ice, similarly nibbling on roots of the herb.

“… of course I am,” Thalia said. “It’s been almost a month.”

“You mean to say it’s only been a month,” the bird said. “He’s dealing with a True Dragon. She’s not as easy as you.”

“… I’ll wring your fucking neck, bird-brain.”

“Ho ho, you want to battle this mighty bird?! You’re more than welcome, that is if you want to die, muhahah!”

“Now, now, we’re all friends here,” the monkey interjected. “So let’s keep insults friendly.”

“Why are you so worried about him anyway?” the bird said, lying down. “Knowing that idiot, he’s probably fighting her in there while training.”

“… oi, don’t put strange thoughts into her head!” the monkey exclaimed. “You’ll shock her dead!”

“In the end, you just don’t trust him.” the bird said. “Well, I can’t say I blame you, but still…”

“Ah, it’s all the same,” Thalia said. “He has his own life, his own thoughts, and I have mine. If he doesn’t come out in a few days, I’ll probably go and visit the Master.”

“You don’t have to worry so much,” the monkey said, looking at the top of the mountain. “He’s much stronger than any of us think…. I think.”

“That’s one way to be convincing.” Thalia said, chuckling.

“I’ve known him for a long time,” the monkey continued. “And, whatever his shortcomings may be, he never gives up, at the very least. However much the odds are stacked against him, he always finds a way.”

“I know,” Thalia said, smiling. “It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with him, after all.”

“You can go back,” the bird suddenly said. “We’ll stay here and wait for him, for better or worse.”

“Somehow I don’t feel like I can trust you with that.”

“My prediction is that he’ll probably wait until D-day,” the monkey said. “And ride the Dragon straight to the battlefront.”

“Yeah, that sounds like him.” Thalia said. “Ah, recently I feel as though all my time was spent with him… maybe it’ll do me some good to step back for a moment.”

“As long as you come back.” the monkey said.

“Ha ha,” Thalia laughed, glancing at him. “I will… as long as there’s a place for me.”

“Wouldn’t worry about that either.”

At the center of the encampment itself, Fyre was sitting as the young ones chattered away about the journey and Lynne. His eyes widened slightly as words poured into his mind, causing him smile bitterly a moment later.

“It looks like we’ll be departing tomorrow,” Fyre said, interrupting the others. “Back to the Kingdom.”

“What about the King?!” Silo immediately asked.

“Who cares about that bastard?! Let’s just leave him to die!” Yona exclaimed back.

“Shut up girl-lover!” Silo lashed out. “Nobody cares what you think!”

“G-girl lover?!! W-what are you talking about?!”

“P-please, d-don’t fight!” Amelia said.

“Just let them be,” Rena said, sighing. “So, Second Master, why are we going back?”

“S-seco—khm, everyone is,” Fyre said. “Lynne told us to go back, as he’ll have to take his time in subduing the Dragon.”

“As I thought, the King is the greatest!” Silo exclaimed. “I bet the next time we see him, he’ll be riding a Dragon!”

“Ha ha ha, are you an idiot?!” Yona said, laughing mockingly. “You really think it’s that easy to ride a Dragon? Get a grip, moron.”

“If it’s the King, he can do it! Heh, what, are you jealous?” Silo said. “First he takes the girl you love away from you, and now he’ll ever ride a Dragon, another thing you’ll definitely never do!”

“J-jealous?! Who’s jealous of that cretin?!”

“How dare you call the great King a cretin?! I’ll kill you, you bitch!”

“W-who’s a bitch?! Come at me! You pathetic idiot who couldn’t even enter top 1000!”

“Ugh, that doesn’t matter! You heard King’s words! I’ll catch up in no time!”

“Hah, maybe in another lifetime!”

“… is Lady Thalia also going back?” Rena ignored the bickering two and asked Fyre.

“Yeah, ah, Yona, she told me she’ll be going back to her Master,” Fyre said. “So you’ll have to stay with her for a few more days, it seems.”

“R-really?! She’s finally going back?! Aah, I’m so glad Sister opened her eyes and finally saw that beast for what he is!”

“Now, now,” Fyre said half-heartedly. “Let’s all just relax and get some rest. It doesn’t do us any good to bicker so late at night.”

“Humph, as I’d bicker with a bitch who can’t even see greatness when it’s right in front of her eyes,” Silo said coldly as he turned around and walked further away. “Rena, Amelia, let’s leave that delusional girl. She might infect us as well if we stay near her.”

“…” Rena glanced at fuming Yona and sighed, walking towards Silo. “Amelia?”

“I-I…”

“It’s fine,” Rena said, smiling. “Make sure to say goodbye properly.”

“Y-yes!” smiling at Yona and nodding, Rena quickly found Silo sitting behind a tree and sulking.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I’m fine. She just pisses me off so much.”

“You let her get to you easily,” Rena said, chuckling. “Maybe you like her?”

“… are you an idiot?” Silo glanced angrily at her. “There’s no way.”

“Oh… is that so…”

“Why do you sound so disappointed? Do you want me to get with her?”

“Maybe you’d finally calm down.”

“Ah shut up.”

“Ah, you’re always so quick to anger,” Rena said, sighing as she sat next to him. “You really ought to control it better.”

“No, it’s just that people around me are pissing me off all the time.”

“What will you do when we get back?” she asked.

“Train, of course. What else? I can’t disappoint King’s trust.”

“… you respect him so much even after seeing how he really is,” Rena said, chuckling. “Both of you really are something.”

“Respecting him has nothing to do with that,” Silo said. “Who cares if he’s acting childish around other people? When it mattered the most, he showed us all something we were never supposed to see. Besides, he always looks like he’s having so much fun, so there’s nothing wrong with it.”

“You really worship him blindly, huh? I’m kind of envious…”

“…” Silo glanced sideways, still frowning.

“Don’t dig for a deeper meaning.”

“… see? This is why I’m always pissed off,” he grunted, looking away. “One moment you pull me in, the next you tell me to fuck off. Who wouldn’t get pissed?”

“… sorry.” she said, lowering her head. “It’s just… hard.”

“It’s not,” he said. “They are just words.”

“…”

“…”

As night slowly began to fade into the morning, everyone was fast asleep. Y’se remained leaned against the stump, happily snoring. On the other side, Thalia slept while sitting, with Yona happily using her lap as a pillow, with the monkey and the bird lying nearby. Fyre and Amelia lied around the burned out fire, covered in thin blankets. Just behind them, leaned onto the tree and each other, Rena and Silo slept peacefully, their hands intertwined. Only Parsia was nowhere to be found, as remnants of his footprints in the sand were slowly being covered by a gentle, morning wind.