Alex was pretty pissed about being thrown into a backpack against his will. He’d had enough of being locked in small enclosed spaces. He debated whether or not to just leave and join with the orc instead. The score so far was even for humans and monsters. Humans started with a low score of -1 after trying to kill him. Then, monsters gained a point for rescuing him from certain death. They didn’t keep that lead for long. Putting him in a cage and nearly starving him to death took a point, leaving them at 0. Rescuing him from the monster camp was a point for humans, along with fixing his broken leg. But now, shoving him into a backpack and locking him in brought humans back down to 0 points.

Alex was tempted to give it to the monsters since they hadn’t tried to kill him yet. He didn’t, though, he needed to keep the game fair for all participants. Plus, whatever-his-name was right. He couldn’t be spotted unless he wanted to get killed. He also kind of felt bad for not remembering the guy’s name. All he remembered were that his initials were PP, and he thought that was funny.

Paul? No, no, it was longer.

Phillip? No, there was no ph in it.

Parker! That’s it; Parker was his name. He came out here, fixed up his leg, and gave him some food, and Alex couldn’t even remember his name. He almost felt bad. He didn’t, though, on account of the whole locking him into his backpack thing, but almost. Besides, it’s not like the guy recognized who Alex was either.

Alex felt them stop moving and tried to poke his head out of the bag. When he heard a voice, he immediately pulled it back in.

“Halt!” The skinny guard yelled.

“Would you stop it with that?” The old guard yelled. “Oh, it’s you again. Did you find that Alex guy?”

“Oh, well, I wasn’t really looking for Alex, so to say. I just wanted to find him to get info on that goblin camp, but I ended up finding it with what you told me.”

“Well, he just came into town a few hours ago. But if you got what you needed, I guess that doesn’t matter anymore.”

“WHAT?” Alex blurted, a sharp cry emanating from the backpack.

“What was that? Did you guys hear that?” The skinny guard exclaimed.

“What? No, I didn’t hear anything at all. Can you guys just let me in now?” Parker fretted.

“Say, what exactly is it you were looking for in there?” The older guard challenged.

“What? Oh, nothing. I didn’t find it. Just a bunch of goblins and an orc.” Parker nervously replied.

“Really? Then you wouldn’t mind if I searched your backpack, right?” The older guard asserted.

Alex quickly buried himself as far as he could into the bag. If they saw him there, there’s no doubt they would end him on the spot. He found the opening to the sleeping bag stuffed into Parker’s backpack and climbed in.

“What? My bag? Why would you do that?” Parker sputtered.

“For the town’s safety, I can’t let you through until I check your backpack.” The guard sternly replied.

It was either they get into that town, or stick outside until night. That orc wouldn’t be so hasty to enter the clearing when there were no guards to see it, so inside the town was their only option.

Parker handed over his backpack, and the guard opened it up. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he reached in and lifted up the rolled-up sleeping bag, inches away from grabbing Alex. He rustled around in the bag for a few more moments, before handing it back to Parker.

‘You’re all clear. Go ahead before I change my mind” The older guard growled while opening the gate.

Parker walked through the gate and continued into the town.

Once Alex heard the gate shut, he peeked through the flap of Parker’s backpack, scanning the area. They said whoever was in his body came in here, and that gate is the only way out he knows of. So if the guards didn’t see his body leave, that meant it was still in the town.

Parker wandered aimlessly through the town for a few minutes, giving Alex plenty of time to scope the area. Nothing had changed since his last visit, except everything looked a whole lot bigger.

While Alex searched through the crowds, Parker bumped into someone. Alex was jostled, and his snout went right through the gap he used to spy. He quickly pulled it back in. It looked like no one had seen him. He would need to be more careful.

Right when he thought he was in the clear, a surge of adrenaline rushed through his body. Then, a sense of primal fear filled him. His legs started trembling, his tail went between his legs, and he took cover inside the sleeping bag stuffed in the backpack. His heart pounded so heavily he thought it would burst right out of his chest. It was like with the goblins, only much, much worse.

“Oh! Alex! Hey!” Parker called out.

Oh no. He needed to get as far away from that… that thing as possible. If it was in Alex’s body, Parker stood absolutely no chance against it. He felt Parker start running towards it. With every step Parker took, Alex’s emotion grew stronger, nearly knocking him unconscious, like a weight pulling him down into a deep pool, further and further into the abyss.

Parker stopped moving and called out his name again.

“Alex! I heard you took out that goblin camp. You should know, there’s still a few goblins and an orc left. The orc actually tried to kill me! Can you believe that?”

“Uh, who are you again?”

Alex’s body went numb. That was his voice, perfectly replicated, by some thing pretending to be him. He was feet away from whatever did this to him, and he could do nothing but wallow in fear.

“I’m Parker. Remember? We were in the same alchemy class.” Parker replied, disappointment in his voice.

“Oh, yeah. I remember now—Alchemy class.”

The worst part was that it sounded so real. Alex searched for something, anything wrong in it’s voice. A subtle hint, a strange intonation, anything to prove it wasn’t human. But there was nothing.

It was a perfect copy.

“So, did you come back to take care of the rest of the monsters or something?” Parker asked.

“Actually, I was looking for something else. I heard a small dragon was roaming around these woods. We need to eliminate them before they grow. They’re too big of a threat to let roam free.”

Oh no. It was looking for him. They needed to get out of there as fast as possible. The longer Parker talked to the thing, the more likely he would blow their cover. Using all his willpower, he zapped Parker in the back. Using his lightning made his cracked ribs hurt like hell, but he needed to get them out of there.

Parker flinched.

“Oh, wow, I just got the worst chill down my spine. Hey, I’ve been walking around all day. Do you know of any inns in this town? You seem to have been here longer than I have.” It seems like Parker got the memo.

“No.” It answered sternly.

“Are you sure? It seems like there should be one around here.” Parker asked again, puzzled.

“No, I already told you, I don’t know of one.” It seethed with potent anger.

“Oh, ok. Well… Bye, I guess.” Parker shuddered when he responded. As they got further from the thing, Alex’s terror lessened. Parker found a space between some buildings out of view and opened up his bag.

“Are you ok in there, buddy? You’re shaking like an earthquake in there! I’ll stay away from that guy if you want. He can be pretty intimidating.” Parker reassured.

Alex hadn’t even realized he was still shaking. What was that? Why did that happen? He didn’t even know the thing was there when he first felt that… that sense.

“And, y'know, I don’t appreciate you shocking me like that.” Parker nagged. “There are better ways of telling me to get out of there. Besides, you weren’t the only one in danger there-who knows what Alex would do if he found out I was harboring you? He wasn’t exactly a saint when I went to school with him.” Parker snapped.

Parker stared into Alex’s eyes for a moment, and his tone changed.

“I, it’s just-” Parker stuttered, before sighing. “I can’t stay mad at you. I know this isn’t the best situation for you, but I’m not in the best spot either. If I leave this town, there’s no doubt that orc will try and kill me to get you. And I don’t just want to leave you, injured and alone, out in the wild! I mean--I know that’s where you’re supposed to be, but I can’t just sit here and let you go out there and get killed! Dragons are rare enough as is, but just letting a child go out and get slaughtered is too much.”

There was a pause. Alex turned his head away and laid it down. That was a lot to think about. Did Parker really think that poorly of him? That he would attack Parker because he was holding a bounty with him? Was that thing’s act really how people saw him?

Guilt, anger, embarrassment, disgust, they all ran through Alex’s head.

“I’m sorry. You didn’t ask for any of this. I shouldn’t have blown up at you like that.” Parker apologized.

“I’ll go find somewhere to stay. It’s getting late.”

While the fear had diminished, Alex just couldn’t shake the feeling. It was still close. Parker closed the bag again, put it on his back, and started walking. Alex no longer bothered searching the town. He found what he was looking for, and never wanted to see it again.

After some time asking around, Parker found an inn to stay the night. In the meantime, Alex had eaten the rest of the food in his meal packet, even the vegetable. For some reason, he was much hungrier than before.

Parker entered the inn and bought a room. Once inside, he absentmindedly threw his backpack off his back and flopped on the bed. Alex was insulted. Had Parker seriously forgotten about him, even after that whole spiel about how important he was?

“Oh! Oh man, I’m so sorry!” Parker yelled, jumping off the bed and running to his backpack. He undid the buckle and opened the bag.

Alex jumped out, and after giving Parker a little headbutt for leaving him in there, he stretched. After almost the whole day in that bag, his muscles ached. At least that cage had enough room for him to move his legs, even if there wasn’t enough for his wings. Speaking of his wings, he hadn’t even attempted to fly since his crash landing from the oak tree. And they were no use after getting knocked out by that arrow. He felt behind his head to where the arrow had hit him and felt a small gash in his horn where the arrow had struck. After all those missed shots, that archer finally got a clean headshot. Those horns had saved his life.

This room was much different than the inn that thing used to take his body. It had a much more minimalist look, with only a plain bed with white sheets in the center of the room, and a small window on the opposite of the door.

Alex looked up to see Parker sitting on the bed, furiously scribbling in his notebook. He looked down at Alex and made eye contact for a moment. He quickly looked back at his notebook and began scribbling again. Alex jumped up onto the bed and laid down on top of one of the pillows. While he definitely preferred his old body, being this small made the bed feel absolutely massive. Before, almost every bed he slept in was too small for him. He laid down his head and sprawled out all his limbs as far as he could. He’d slept in a cramped cage for the past five nights, and this soft and spacious bed was a godsend. He closed his eyes, and within moments he was asleep.

That night, Alex dreamt of a small room with a simple desk and chair. He was back in his old body, and in front of him laid all 6 of the enchanted rings from the orc chieftain. Except, two of them seemed empty. They looked identical, but there was a void surrounding them. The other four emanated a sense of spirit and fullness. He reached for one of the rings and put it on. Immediately, warmth surged throughout his veins. A sense of comfort filled him, like coming back home from playing and eating a home-cooked meal as a child. There was a tingling in his left arm and ribs.

“There. That should fix you up.” A deep voice softly cooed.

“Did you… Fix my bones from a dream?” Alex asked.

“Yes, I did. I would help you more if I could, but I’m running out of energy.” The voice lamented.

“Where are you? I don’t see you anywhere.” Alex questioned urgently.

“Look at your finger,” The voice replied.

He looked at the ring and saw a faint ghostly aura glowing from it.

“Are you in the ring? Who are you?” Alex pleaded.

Before he could get an answer, he drifted out of the dream and back into unconsciousness.

When he awoke, he was back in his dragon body. He was no longer in that soft and comfortable bed. He was stuffed back into that backpack, and it was even more uncomfortable than before. He shook around to get Parker’s attention. There was no longer enough room for him to kick.

“You finally woke up!” Parker exclaimed. He took off his bag and let Alex out.

They were no longer in the village. They were in the clearing surrounding the town, on the opposite side of the wall as the gate.

“I’m sorry for putting you back in there. I thought of waking you up, but you were just sleeping so peacefully, and I figured it would be better to let you sleep.”

Alex glared at Parker before tearing the splint off his arm. He tried to stretch, but Parker grabbed him and started yelling.

“What are you doing! You can’t take that off yet! Your leg is still…” Parker trailed off at the end. He felt Alex’s previously broken leg. It had healed fully overnight.

“Wow… And your ribs? Is that a dragon thing? Well, no, that wouldn’t make any sense, then you would have healed while you were in that cage, you spent much longer there. Maybe it’s because I set the bone?”

While Parker continued to rant, Alex jumped down from his arms. He took a deep breath and felt no pain in his chest. It must be true; his bones healed completely. He reached up to his head and brushed his horn. That mark wasn’t gone, but it had shrunk.

Or had Alex grown? When he stood next to Parker yesterday, he was about shin height. Now he was tall enough to meet his lower knee.

“Dragon biology is amazing…” Parker swooned. “Anyways, I came up with a plan while you were sleeping. That orc seems to be stuck at the treeline. If you look, she’s still over there watching us. Even though we’re completely out of view of the town, she still hasn’t come over and attacked us yet.” Parker ranted.

Alex looked into the treeline and saw the orc had made a camp. He also saw the orc staring him down.

“So, I hypothesize she can’t leave the forest. I know it’s a pretty big risk, but if I’m right, it’s our best shot at getting out of this forest alive. Well, I guess my best shot at getting out alive. It’s your best shot at getting out of here un-enslaved.”

Parker stared at Alex for a moment.

“You know, I’m not sure why I tell you all this stuff. Can you even understand what I’m saying?”

Alex glared at Parker and turned his nose. If only this silencing curse weren’t there, he’d give Parker a piece of his mind.

“Whatever. I’m gonna try and talk to her. I think coming with me is the best option for you. She’s trying to get you, after all, not me. We have a better chance if we stick together.” Parker explained.

Alex weighed his options. On the one hand, if he went off alone, he would be able to focus purely on fixing himself. He would be relentlessly chased by that orc, attacked by any human he came across, and if the thing that took his body caught him, he was dead for sure, or worse. On the other hand, If he went with Parker, he would be stuck following him for the foreseeable future, but he would also get food, water, shelter, and a chance to not get chased forever.

He decided to follow Parker, and they both headed for the orc in the treeline.