Chapter 6: A Night in the Forest

“Night is not something to endure until dawn. It is an element like wind or fire. Darkness is its own kingdom; it moves to its own laws, and many living things dwell in it”

-Imperium Genesis Vol. 3 – On Fauna.

Nina kept weeping violently against the strange creature’s shoulder for a few more minutes, unable to stop on her own, until she ran out of tears. This night had been a traumatic mess of so many raw emotions she was sure she would remember for the rest of her life. She was well aware, however, that her life could very well end that same night if she was not careful.

She took a deep breath to recover at least some composure. She felt overwhelmed by so many emotions, feeling sorrow for the poor villagers killed by the raiders, profound grief for her mentor who sacrificed his life to give her time to escape, anger at the Northmen for their crimes, shame for the indignity she almost went through, and immense relief for being saved from a horrible fate in the last possible second, and that at least some evildoers received comeuppance.

It was after she calmed down that she could snap back to reality. Nina took another deep breath and retracted her arms a bit to take a better look at her savior, she slowly raised her head to meet the creature that was still awkwardly holding her in his arms, expecting to meet his face, only to find a prominent snout with a big nose, and rather large scary-looking fangs protruding from the sides of his mouth.

-“Are you okay?” the creature asked in a concerned tone.

-“I-I-I am! Thanks to you!” she replied out loud after a few seconds of hesitation, still taken aback by the creature’s question, or the very fact that it could talk at all, let alone the same language.

-“You can let go of me now”

-“Yeah, sorry!” she replied, embarrassed.

The creature took both of her hands and then gently pulled her to her feet. He noticed the girl was still reluctant to let go, but did so to cover her body with what little remained of her clothes that were torn to shreds by the Northmen that attempted to rape her. She used her torn shirt to wipe her hands and face clean, which was now a filthy mess soaked with tears, sweat, blood, and small pieces of flesh and bone from the previous ordeal. Cursing at the humiliation of having such a filthy creature staring at her while hastily tying together her badly torn shirt that exposed her naked body, but knowing that it could have been far worse had said creature not appeared. She quickly buttoned up her leather tunic that luckily was undamaged, desperately wishing she had clean water at hand to wash herself completely clean.

It was now that she was mostly clean, and it has calmed down a bit that she could see what exactly her savior was. She couldn’t help but stare at the dragon’s well-built, muscular body, and even though he looked just like an athletic young boy, he possessed an unnatural strength and speed that could shatter bones and dent through steel plate armor with nothing but the sheer force of his hands and feet. His green, scale-less skin immediately drew her attention. Nina looked at her savior’s face for the first time, and besides his wide, short snout, and fearsome looking fangs, she noticed previously, his head had no hair, having a crest of quill-like struts running over it instead, setting him apart from anything she knew or read about. She could also see his large triangularly shaped eyes glowing brightly in the dark with a yellowish gleam, staring back at her with a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

The creature reached out to her, which took her by surprise. To say he was intimidating was putting it mildly. The beast gently waved a hand in her face to catch her attention, since she has been staring at him in complete silence for more than a full minute. His other arm, which had a robust build, hanging at his side, hand clenched into an enormous fist that she couldn’t help but notice. Looking down, she saw his long, muscular legs ending in rather oversized feet with sharp claws in place of toes that she recognized immediately from the tracks that it left back in the village.

She recalled reading books about the Primordial Knights of the First Empire fighting against tribes of half-dragon, half-man creatures in faraway lands during the First Conquests, thousands of years ago. Savage beasts from times past that inhabited the Old World in primal societies, leading simple ways and wielding stone-age weapons. She always thought that those stories belonged to the realm of myths; the kinds that people tell their children to impress them to not misbehave. Could this thing be one of them?

-“You should leave. There is a town not far from here. You can go there. They don't seem bad,” the creature spoke, snapping her from her trance.

Time to snap back to reality, Nina.

Nina shook her head. She just escaped from that very town, and now the creature was telling her to go back? He didn’t seem to know what just happened there.

-“I can't go back! They killed everyone there!” Nina replied.

-“What do you mean by ‘they’?” the creature asked back.

-“The Northmen! There are many more out there! I'm not sure how many! We have to keep moving! They are still looking for me!” she pleaded, distressed.

-“W-wa-what do you mean ‘WE’?! I don't know you!”

The creature’s brutal reply visibly hurt her, but she had to admit he was right. He just killed three of her pursuers on her behalf in a horrific way, sparing her from an equally horrific fate. She was extremely grateful for it, but after her close encounter with the raiders, she was now incredibly hesitant about continuing on her own. She could try asking, even begging him, somehow persuading him to help her. Wouldn’t it be too much? But what other options did she have left, anyway?

-“Please! I need your help! They are after me! Those people are still looking for me and if they caught me, they will… they will…”

She stopped herself right before she could finish the sentence. She bit her lips shut, shedding tears at just the thought of what those raiders almost put her through, silently thanking the Gods once again for how fortunate she had been to get away alive, and with her purity still intact.

-“I thought they were looking for me. Why would they be after a little girl?” he asked.

Apparently, the creature is, or at least thinks he is, wanted for something. Going through all the possibilities, after taking another look at his feet, she quickly recognized the creature’s unique footprints from earlier in the morning. There was no doubt about it! This is the same creature behind the theft of the food stores the night before. The dragon then stared intensely at her with that bright, giant pair of eyes, as if looking down at a deep abysm. He then suddenly leaned closer, sniffing back and forth at different areas of her body, which frightened the poor girl to no end. What the hell is he doing?!

-“You are a girl, right?” he asked incredulously.

-“EXCUSE ME?!” Nina replied, completely dumbfounded and feeling deeply insulted. What kind of question is that?!

-“You don't smell like a girl, you smell like pee,” the dragon replied after another quick sniff.

At any other time, that would be it. Any trace of disgust, sorrow, fear, and uncertainty still left on her vanished instantly, leaving only rightful indignation behind. Nina was, however, very well aware of her savior’s unnatural strength and her own predicament. She thought it wise to remain in his good graces, especially if she wanted to secure his help. But if she wasn’t in such an unfortunate position, she would have put the impertinent creature in its place, and reminded him of his own case of a horrible smell. And to add salt to the injury, the creature was actually right again. Nina felt deeply ashamed to admit it, but she couldn’t help herself when she got caught by a Northman back in the village, inadvertently wetting her pants. She mentally chastised herself for it and had to give props to the dragon and his keen sense of smell. Nina took yet another deep breath to calm down from her sudden mental outburst before speaking again.

-“I am a girl even if I don’t smell like one right now”

-“Why are they after you?” he asked.

-“I don't know! They just appeared out of nowhere! They killed everyone and burned the village! I thought they wanted to kill me but after they caught me they tried to... they tried to...” she found herself unable to finish the sentence again, feeling extremely agitated, tearing all up again at the mere thought of the Northmen. She closed her eyes shut, trying her best to fight back the tears and remain as collected as she could, but knowing she would probably lose the battle.

-“I hate when people do that,” the creature remarked angrily.

-“You do?” she dared to ask. The creature didn’t reply but gave her a look that she interpreted as disgust. Nina found it especially difficult to read the creature’s face, since he possessed noticeably distinct facial features than any person would.

-“You’re not going to hurt me, won’t you?” Nina asked fearfully but wanted to hear his response again, just to be sure.

-“I told you I wouldn’t! I’m not evil!” the dragon lashed out angrily.

-“Do you really mean that?”

-“I do,” the dragon replied sincerely.

-“Will you… will you help me then? I have nothing with me now, but if you help me, I will pay you back with anything you want!” she pleaded.

The creature looked troubled, uncertain, as if part of him didn’t want to get involved in someone else’s problems, yet still unwilling to leave this frightened little girl all alone in the forest, completely at the mercy of her pursuers. A tremendously unfamiliar feeling of concern triggered memories from not too long ago that played over and over in his mind. He has seen firsthand what the evil in the hearts of men could do; making them capable of acts of immeasurable cruelty towards their own kind that they have forced him to watch helplessly, from beginning to end that he has been powerless to stop in the past. It had happened to countless others before her, and could very well still happen to this girl, who was pleading for his help right now.

Unlike the last time, however, he was no longer powerless, and there was no way in hell that he would let that happen. Not again.

-“Fine! I will help you, ‘pee girl’, but only if you give me food!” the dragon replied harshly.

-“I-I can get you the food... will you help me?” Nina pleaded again.

-“Nice food like the other day?” the dragon asked back expectantly.

-“Yeah! Like the other day! Do we have a deal then?” the girl countered, trying her hardest to appear collected but losing the battle horribly, desperately wanting to hear a positive reply.

The dragon contemplated what his response would be for a moment that seemed an eternity, making Nina even more desperate to hear it. The creature made up his mind; being awfully aware of the trouble that would come with it, yet determined to help the poor little girl, anyway. In fact, he already decided to help her out the moment he saw her being chased by the Northmen, but he didn’t want to get out of this empty-handed, so he came up with this negotiation thing, as he heard the villagers call it. I give you this and you give me that. Very simple!

-“We have a deal, pee girl!” he replied eagerly.

Nina left out a breath she didn’t know was holding, her heart filling with renewed hope once again. The dragon then took a mouthful full of saliva, spitting on his oversized hand that he then extended towards her in the strangest sign of goodwill she has ever seen, much to her utter horror and disgust. Where in oblivion did he learn that?

-“A spit shake means you never break your word!”

-“This is how they do it in the village,” he explained in a calmer tone.

Of course, the highlanders and their strange ways! Not wanting to upset her savior and newest ally, Nina extended her hand with a bit of hesitation at first but shook the creature’s hand firmly. Her own petite hand felt incredibly awkward against the dragon’s giant and slimy grip. Since she was wearing leather gloves, she paid little attention to it, but certainly, she never felt gladder of wearing said gloves.

-“Thank you! Thank you so much! Now what should we do?” she replied sincerely, asking the dragon about their next course of action.

-“We’ll wait ‘til dawn. There is a hidden spot on the cliffs. Nobody will find you there,” he replied, pointing with one hand in the direction of the spot he was talking about.

-“Okay, lead the way!” Nina replied.

-“Follow me,” the beast commanded, taking off violently.

Nina swiftly followed suit. The dragon navigated through the dark, dense forest with breathtaking agility. Even though the moons were full, visibility was mediocre, as most of the moonlight couldn’t make it through the dense clouds and the thick forest foliage. Nina struggled, but could still see him. The dragon ran slow enough for her to follow, but it was clear he could run much faster if he so desired. She tripped a few times in the darkness, but he waited for her to catch up each time. Judging from how gracefully the creature propelled itself through the difficult terrain; she concluded he must have some sort of natural night vision, as some animals are known to have. But Nina was no slouch either, for she was in excellent shape. Constant hiking through the years gave her a shapely figure and enough stamina to make a long trek with ease. Nina could outrun her pursuers for a while until fatigue inevitably took its toll, but now adrenaline was giving her body a much-needed boost to carry on. Although the night was young, she knew they would probably have to stop to rest at some point. The odd pair quickly made a few good miles already and Nina wanted to make the distance between them and the Northmen as wide as possible before dawn.

They reached a part with an overly steep wall of mountain granite at least several hundred feet tall at the edge of the mountains, which the dragon jumped with little difficulty, leaving the poor girl completely flabbergasted at the creature’s amazing physical prowess. But that being said, how in the world was she supposed to climb that?! The dragon then jumped back where Nina stood still after watching her at a loss of what to do, unable to climb the almost vertical wall, so he offered his back for her to climb onto. She hesitantly sat over his muscular tail and barely fastened her arms around him when he took off violently, taking Nina completely by surprise. She could only squeal her lungs out for the sudden thrill all the way up, which lasted only a second. They made it back to the ledge the dragon had previously jumped from in a single powerful leap.

The ledge they landed upon was actually a gigantic rift on the face of the mountain that offered at least some amount of protection from the elements. The mountain itself extended several hundred feet above them before disappearing inside the clouds. Apparently, the dragon made its resting place inside one crack that was wide enough for him to fit with relative comfort. He littered the place with countless bones that belonged to small animals partially covered by a pair of filthy, smelly pieces of cloth, one over the other, that only the Gods know how many times was used to sleep on.

The sight and smell of the place gave the poor girl the creeps. So the dragon rests and feeds in this place. At least there was no sign of his bodily needs! One good thing, however, was that she could watch the woods above the treetops. The clouds allowed enough moonlight to see the forest extending miles away. But her heart sank when she saw through the mist many distant blinking lights drifting through the forest. Nina counted at least a dozen lights and she knew immediately that those blinking lights were torches and that the Northmen were still looking for her.

Now that she was finally safe in a hidden, secure place, she could afford to think calmly. The group that cornered her and Verkan in the hallways back in the village was of four Northmen, the other group that chased her through the forest, and that the dragon fought against also was of four Northmen. If each blinking light meant a group of four, then that means there were at least forty-eight. Without considering the four that Verkan killed, and the other four that faced the dragon, suggesting there were even more around.

This isn’t an ordinary raid, Nina. Something is wrong. Very wrong!

For the first time since this madness started, Nina comprehended the sheer magnitude of what was happening. On one hand, she was glad that she met the dragon and found a place to hide, but she was now completely at a loss for what she should do next. What was she supposed to do now? She couldn’t hide forever!

-“Stay here, I'll get something to eat,” the dragon spoke with a soft tone, interrupting her thoughts. He then jumped down the cliff, much to her dismay.

-“Please don't leave me alone!” Nina pleaded in vain. He was gone before she could even speak.

He left me! He left me! That stupid dragon left me!

Nina hastily approached the ledge of the cliff, looking down, trying to catch a glimpse of him, but the dragon disappeared into the forest. She felt dizzy from the height, retreating immediately to the safety of the rift. She took a deep breath to look down again, this time with newfound courage, and taking special care not to fall headfirst on the abysm. Looking from where she was, the fall looked a lot deeper than when she looked up from below. And to think that the dragon jumped it like it was nothing!

Perhaps it was the fact that the Northmen were looking for her, or because she had no other choice but to put her trust in that strange creature because of it, but Nina absolutely hated being left alone. There was a small amount of hope in her heart that she desperately clung to. That was the only thing preventing her from falling prey to hopelessness. The image of her close encounter with the raiders still haunted her mind, filling her heart with utter disgust, and she allowed herself to cry in silence once again. Nina mentally chastised herself for her weakness; her mentor and that stupid dragon for leaving her alone. She cursed the Northmen for their unspeakable cruelty, and the Clan warriors for not being where they needed them the most. She knew she was only being childish, but she couldn’t help it, finally letting it all out with frenzied whimpering, feeling righteous anger for what was probably the first time in her entire life. The cold and rational part of her mind told her this was much better and more productive than helplessness and despair. This way she could let everything out of her system and think with a cool head later.

She was going to need it.

-“I'm back!” the creature suddenly spoke, landing right in front of her, startling the poor girl to no end. Nina stopped crying immediately, frantically wiping her tears with her sleeves.

-“Please don't leave me alone again!” Nina lashed out, visibly angry. Even though the dragon went just for a few minutes, she wasn’t fond of being left alone like that again. Even if he was a stranger she just met and barely knew, he was the only company she had left.

-“I just went for some food!” the creature replied, showing her a pair of rather large vermin he had found.

-“I'm not hungry!” she countered fiercely, still mad at him, but the noisy growling of her stomach immediately betrayed her. You picked the worse possible night to dine lightly, girl!

-“But I am!” the dragon replied defensively.

-“Sorry,” the priestess apologized, lowering her head. It wasn’t in her best interests to start a fight with the dragon that saved her, especially not over something as silly as the food. She felt bad for getting angry with the creature that probably only meant well.

The dragon didn’t reply, giving her a confused look before sitting right next to her. He then handed her one of the dead vermin he just brought that she accepted hesitantly. For such a fearsome creature, he seemed to have a soft side. He inspected his share thoroughly, sniffing it, when Nina interrupted.

-“Thank you”

Nina thanked him for the unusual gift, although the dragon didn’t reply again, as if he was completely unaware of what he should say or do. Common everyday courtesies like saying thanks, or sorry, or even the most basic manners, seemed alien to him. Perhaps this was one of the few times he actually had the chance to interact with people. That wouldn’t be surprising since there were no other dragons like him and he probably had to live constantly hiding from people.

-“You are not the kind of dragon that eats people, right?” she asked, in part jokingly but also really wanting to make it sure.

-“Hell no! People’s flesh tastes horrible, pee girl!” the creature replied, what Nina interpreted, and dearly hoped, was just a poor joke. How in hell does he even know what human flesh tastes like?!

-“Err… that’s good to know!” she replied nervously, horrified by his response, trying her hardest not to freak out, while the creature just shrugged in response.

-“And could you please stop calling me ‘pee girl?’” she asked with the softest tone possible after gathering some courage to speak up.

-“But you smell like pee!”

-“I know! I just… I couldn’t help it, ok?!” Nina replied, embarrassed.

-“How should I call you then?” he asked.

-“By my name, of course!”

-“But I don't know your name, pee girl!” the dragon countered.

Only at this moment that she recalled neither had introduced themselves yet. Nina suddenly felt dumb just for asking such a question when the dragon couldn’t possibly know her name. Well, it’s you who didn’t ask, you dimwit! A knight would have asked for my name after rescuing me! But she wouldn’t dare to say that to his face. But this is a step forward, Nina. If they were going to trust their lives to each other, it would be nice if they at least know each other names.

Isn’t it?

-“Oh, sorry! I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Nina, Nina Valdir! Nice to meet you! And thank you for saving me!”

-“Well, nice to meet you too, Ninaninavaldir,” he replied, much to her annoyance.

-“It's Nina, just Nina. Valdir is my family name!”

-“Ok, Nina then,” the dragon replied. Nina didn’t find it funny.

-“You're supposed to tell me your name too!” apparently he had absolutely no idea how to introduce himself. Does he practice, or is he naturally this slow?!

-“My name? I don't have a name!” the dragon replied honestly, and her heart sank immediately.

-“You really don't have a name?! How did your parents call you then?” she asked, surprised.

-“What is a parentz?” he asked back, looking confused.

-“Your mother and father” she explained, but she had to explain further after watching him looking even more confused.

-“Your mom and dad! You really don't know?!” she asked again, incredulously.

-“Oooh, that! I never had any of those either,” the creature replied.

She immediately felt immense regret for her previous thoughts. Of course, he wouldn’t know how to introduce himself! Because he never did! She also couldn’t help but feel utterly sorry for the poor thing, although the dragon didn’t seem to care. He was probably so used to being alone that it didn’t bother him at all. He wouldn’t want to be pitied, either.

-“I see”

-“You see what?” he asked curiously.

-“Nothing! I was just saying…” she replied frantically, realizing the creature had the intellect of a small child.

-“You’re weird”

You are the weird one, dragon!

-“If you never knew your parents, how did you learn to talk then?” she asked curiously. He had to have learned somewhere.

-“The False Gods taught me,” the dragon replied calmly, as if what he just said was nothing important.

What in the actual hell?! That’s impossible! There is no way that can be true! Nina paused for a moment, carefully analyzing what exactly he meant by THAT. What the creature just said was not only an affront to her faith, it was outright heresy. But she had to remember that she wasn’t exactly in the best position to call him out on it. Not only that, she herself was guilty of what could be considered “heresy”. It was her father who indulged her from an early age with all those forbidden books, and that her mentor turned a blind eye to. He didn’t seem to be lying, but there is the possibility he was just being made to believe that, so she would let it pass as the dragon just being ignorant, and that he was referring to an old religion, long lost in time.

-“Err... right! How did people call you then?” she asked again.

-“They called me ‘dog’ but I hate it! Don't call me that!” he lashed out angrily, baring his teeth.

-“I won't, I promise!” Nina replied, frightened.

-“Good! You're not mean,” the dragon replied, swiftly changing to a friendlier tone.

-“I have to come up with a name for you,” she replied, happy to de-escalate the situation. Even though she barely knew him, she felt she could put her trust in him. He already saved her after all.

-“That can wait! Now is time to eat! I’m starving! I brought these rabbits, you want some?” he spoke in an overly excited tone. It was rather clear he was hungry.

Nina looked down at the small, furry mammal in her hands that was obviously not a rabbit, looking more like a weasel instead, but feeling it wouldn’t be nice of her to correct him. She also was starving. The soup from earlier hardly satisfied her, now needing to replenish her energies. She looked around to see if there was something she could use to light a fire to cook their dinner.

-“Yeah! I've heard rabbit meat is deli-” but to her utter horror, the dragon interrupted her mid-sentence when he tore off a huge chunk out of the dead varmint with his fangs.

The dragon then introduced his large hand inside the animal’s carcass, ripping the guts off with frightening ease. Nina watched him swallow one of the many internal organs, and then extended his arm full of gore towards her, offering the rest.

-“Take all you want”

The sight of the gory mess proved too much for her to handle, immediately turning away, violently throwing up what little contents her stomach had, much to the creature’s consternation.

-“Are you okay?!” he asked, concerned.

-“Yeah, I'm just no longer hungry” Nina replied dejected, wiping the vomit from her mouth with her gloves.

-“Good, I thought you were sick,” he replied, returning his attention to his prey.

Nina watched him feed on the corner of her eyes, unable to look at the gory spectacle as the dragon ate the carcass clean, dropping the bones and the parts that weren’t of his liking down the cliff. She could only sit next to him, looking away and hugging her legs in front of her. She put aside the remaining critter, knowing she would need to eat it by the morning to gain enough strength to continue, but wanting to cook it properly and show the creature how it’s done. Judging by the way he completely devoured the vermin, he probably never had a decent meal in his entire life.

But her share of surprises didn’t end with that, much to her shock. Soon after finishing his bloody meal, the creature crossed his arms, leaning against her, and frightening the poor girl to no end.

-“W-wa-wa-what are you doing?!” Nina asked, stuttering.

-“Sharing,” the dragon replied nonchalantly.

-“Sh-sh-sharing what?!” she asked again, trying in vain to push him away, but there was simply no more room available in the narrow rift.

-“Heat. We used to pack together in the mines to share heat,” he explained.

-“The mines?! What mines?!” she asked, confused.

-“In the Badlands. That’s way down under,” the creature replied, pointing with his thumb in a direction she assumed was south.

-“That's Imperial domain! Are you a slave?” Nina asked, surprised.

-“Not anymore! I killed the slavers, so I'm free now!” he lashed out angrily.

-“But that doesn't make you free! It just makes you a runaway slave!” she tried to explain.

-“Any problem with that?!”

She paused immediately, realizing she was making the creature unnecessarily angry. It was obvious the subject was of an incredibly sensitive nature to him, so she thought it wiser to deescalate things if possible.

-“No! Not at all! But other people might,” she tried to explain.

-“I don't care! I won't be a slave again!” he replied furiously. Nina nodded nervously in return.

-“And you Nina? You don't look like you’re from here,” the dragon asked.

-“Me? I'm not from this land, I'm a priestess”

-“A priest-ess? What's that?” he asked, intrigued.

-“A priestess is someone who helps people, we pray for them, and preach about the Seven Gods,” Nina explained calmly.

-“Pray? Preach? That sounds like a priest,” he replied.

-“Exactly! A priestess is a priest, but that is a girl,” the girl replied, beaming.

Her response startled the dragon, making him stop leaning against her to sit upright. He turned to face her, which frightened her immensely. Nina could feel her heart skipping a beat, ignoring what exactly pissed him off, but knowing that she was in trouble.

-“You said you helped people” the dragon spoke with a quiet tone, but sporting a menacing look, staring at her intensely.

-“That's what priests do. We help people!” Nina replied, fighting to keep her composure. What got into him?!

-“Not the priest I know! I hate him! I hate priests!” he lashed out viciously.

-“Why?!” she asked, on the verge of tears.

-“Because he did nothing to stop the slavers! He could’ve helped us, but he didn’t! He just kept repeating the same thing! That we should just accept our fate!”

-“That's terrible!” she replied, surprised.

-“But I saw a vision! The False Gods showed me the truth, and then I could finally see through their lies! I proved him wrong! I proved everyone wrong! He said it was the will of their gods, but now I do what I want! Nobody tells me what to do!”

-“That’s impossible! Why would the Gods speak to a lowly slave? What did they show you?” Nina asked, baffled.

-“They showed me to tell apart machine from magic!”

-“And you can?!” she asked again, incredulously.

-“Sure I can! I won’t believe their shet again! Now nobody orders me around anymore! Not even the Gods! I’m industrialized!” the dragon replied loudly.

-“Industrialized?!”

-“Yes! Industrialized!”

-“That's ridiculous! I can't believe it! Even if it’s true, nobody will believe you if you can’t prove it!” Nina countered fiercely.

-“I know what I saw! I don't care if people don’t believe it! They can keep listening to whatever shet a priest says for all I care!”

Ok, that’s it!

-“Shut up, dragon! You know nothing!” she yelled out, raging.

Feeling an immense urge to stand against the dragon’s hostility, and with rightful fury flooding her system, Nina finally unloaded all her pent-up feelings against him, lashing out in anguish, crying profusely. Despite knowing well what the creature was capable of, she wouldn’t let the dragon insult the memory of her recently deceased mentor.

-“Even if one priest was mean to you, that doesn’t mean every priest is bad! A priest taught me how to write and read! A priest taught me math and science! A priest taught me everything I know! He showed me what is good and what is wrong! He wasn’t only my teacher, he was my friend! And when those assholes attacked the village, he held them off to give me time to escape!

-“He was nice! And he was good! You shouldn't blame all the priests just because one was mean to you! You have no right to speak of him like that!”

The dragon was speechless. He could only look away from the sight of the poor girl crying loudly in front of him, admitting bitterly that she was right. But even though she was furious, and rightfully so, he couldn’t smell any hate on her. He slowly calmed down and relented, much to Nina’s surprise, who expected some sort of retribution.

-“If he did that to protect you, then he wasn’t a bad person,” the creature said in a calm tone.

Nina took a deep breath to calm down as well. She didn’t mean to lash out like that to the creature that saved her just an hour ago. A priest has let him down, and probably wronged him too, and he had all the right to hate the Church. She felt it was her responsibility to make it up to him on behalf of her fellow priests.

-“I will show you that priests can be good! Will you let me prove it to you?” Nina asked, gathering the courage to look at him in his big bright eyes.

-“Fine! I’ll give you a chance, but save those stupid gods for yourself! I’m done with that stuff!” he replied, visibly irritated.

-“If you are so done with that, why did you save me then?!” Nina asked indignantly.

-“Because that's the right thing! Wouldn't you do the same?!” the dragon replied loudly, leaving Nina speechless.

-“I hate priests! But I hate those who hurt girls even more!” he said, crossing his arms again, looking away.

That was so close! Nina let out a breath she didn’t know was holding, feeling like she just dodged an arrow. Her eyes began to tear up again, though this time for a different reason, trying her best to fight them back. She couldn’t help but smile; this wild creature moved her heart with nothing but his simple, childish resolve. Taken aback by this sudden turn of events, and looking at him with respect and admiration. Who would have thought that this thing, this creature, despite all that he went through, could still be so righteous? So decent.

So human.

-“I see, at least your heart is in the right place,” Nina commented, smiling warmly at the dragon, which looked confused.

The creature looked down at his own chest, confused by the girl’s remark, checking with his hand if the pumping organ was indeed in the right spot. Nina could only laugh in response; she didn’t mean it in the literal sense. She couldn’t help but laugh even more at his expense, despite her best efforts not to, much to his confusion. Since they met, the dragon made her feel terrified, then relieved, then safe, then angry, then disgusted, then nervous, then angry again, then threatened, then frightened, then comfortable and now it was making her laugh. Her knowing anything about him didn’t help, either.

But anyway, what was he doing, keeping her horrible thoughts at bay, making her forget the fact that she was almost raped just a few hours ago, making her feel this wide array of intense emotions, and distracting her from her larger problems, anyway?

That might not be such a bad thing, you know…

But what really puzzled her was that he was still there. She thought the dragon would ditch her after their heated argument. She asked hesitantly, wanting to be sure.

-“Are you still going to help me? Even knowing I'm a priestess?”

-“Yeah, sure! A spit shake means you never break your word, remember?” he replied, repeating his earlier promise.

-“And you don't seem a bad priest”

-“You are one strange creature, dragon, but I'm glad we've met,” she said, smiling.

-“That priest you talked about, what was his name?” the dragon asked curiously, out of the blue.

-“His name was Verkan, but he actually had another name,” she replied when a sudden spark of inspiration hit her. Delighted at the thought of a perfect name for him.

-“That’s it! I think I came up with the perfect name for you!”

-“Really?!”

-“Yeah! It was his real name before he became a priest! How about Rudo?” Nina asked if a bit timidly.

-“Rudo?” the creature asked back, confused.

-“Yes! Rudo! He was a great hero! His name means ‘strength and courage’ in an ancient language!” Nina explained enthusiastically.

-“A hero? And what’s that?” he asked again.

-“A hero is someone brave and strong who helps people and fights evil! Just like you,” she replied.

-“Really? I like this hero thing you said,” the beast replied eagerly.

-“It’s a short but powerful name! Fitting of someone as brave and strong as you are! What do you think?”

-“Rudo, huh? I kinda like it!”

-“Then it’s settled!” Nina exclaimed happily.

Nina felt immensely relieved to defuse their argument and come up with a suitable name for her newest ally. The pair sat silently for the rest of the evening, and even though the dragon quickly fell asleep resting against her shoulder, she didn’t mind. The night got colder as the time passed, so she allowed this sharing, if only for tonight. Thanking the Gods and her lucky stars again for how fortunate she’s been and for sending such a helpful yet odd creature to save her. The Gods work in mysterious ways, they say. Despite feeling hopeful for the future, she didn’t want to delude herself.

She was sure tomorrow would be a tough day.