I watched as Cobaltio trod closer and closer to the man, uncertainty apparent on his face. Then, he paused. He began to tremble and took a step back, unsettled.

Why did he look so much like he wanted to be with that man?

Then, Cobaltio turned and looked up at me.

He opened his mouth, and flames began to boil up to his mouth. What was he doing?

Then, he fired at me.

Some horrible pain in my gut, a sinking feeling held me in place, my shock and disillusionment anchoring me to where I stood, mentally incapable of dodging the attack headed my way.

Few thoughts passed my mind as the fireball shot towards my face, certain to hit. It was slow, but despite that, it felt like time crawled along a spiked floor, its movement so painful that my mind refused to keep crawling.

When my instincts finally wanted to kick in, I couldn’t dodge.

I simply stood still as I was engulfed in fire, my mind clouded with betrayal.

Sincere bond found.

Conditions met: [draconic bond] formed.

Then, the fire dissipated. I saw Cobaltio through the flame with a worried expression that quickly turned to a puppy’s happiness.

He turned to face the man, who looked as shocked as I was. Then, Cobaltio said, “I love you.” He then turned back and walked up to me. When he looked up, he said, “I’ll never forget you.”

So he was going to leave?

He leaped up, and by reflex, I grabbed him and cradled him in my arms. Then, with refined serenity, he nuzzled me with his snout and closed his eyes.

The, uh, choice of words had me scared, but Cobaltio’s actions showed an obvious bias towards me.

I looked up to the cloaked man, wondering what he would do next.

“What did he say?” He asked me with determined seriousness.

I wrote awkwardly with Cobaltio in my arms but managed to write, {he said ‘I love you’} with messy handwriting.

He chuckled nostalgically, in an almost maniacal manner, before cutting himself short and placing a hand to his chest, as if hurt, when his [wyvern] shrieked, looking behinds itself nervously. He cleared his throat. “So, that is how it is. I see, I’ve misunderstood the truth of your situation. All the strangeness revolving around you two...it is their will, after all.”

The hell was this man talking about?

He looked to his [wyvern] and spoke to it in another language, with an inflection of comicality, or perhaps lightheartedness. Then, he looked back at me. “I will keep my eye on you, Saya. It seems we aren’t enemies, but allies, or something in between. I know it isn’t exactly in my right to ask you this, but please, do not die, neither of you. Farewell...uhh, and can you give me that slate back?”

I chucked the slate and chalk at him as his [wyvern] ran through the forest, wings outspread. As it passed him, he caught my slate and leaped atop it, flying up past the forest ceiling.

As they did, Reco madly dashed out of the forest, yelling, “I don’t know who you are, but you better-” she saw them flying away. “HEY, GET BACK HERE! I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU!!” Reco began to wildly, futilely run after the pair and eventually gave up, sounding disappointed as she sighed. “Freakin’ delinquents,” she muttered. “So...how are you doing, Saya?” she asked awkwardly. “Hopefully, you’re not-YEOWTCH. Let’s get that leg patched up!”

Reco carried me all the way back, and once we arrived, we tried to wake up Maladrain, only for him to jump from his seat, having failed to fall asleep. He seemed pretty pissed when he woke up, angry at nothing in particular, but eventually sat down and let out a long sigh.

“Well, you can talk about what happened tomorrow, but other things take priority. For now...” He took bandages from his pack. “Why don’t you take a seat?” he asked gently.

I slowly stumbled to his side and sat on the dusty ground, stretching my legs out, Cobaltio still in my arms.

Maladrain began treating my wound. As he worked, I saw an expression I didn’t understand painted on his face. There was a sort of melancholy in his eyes like he was homesick or something.

I placed Cobaltio on the ground, my [life cusion] forming below to cushion him. Then, I took up my slate and hesitatingly wrote on it before presenting the word to him.

He must have been worried. Reco said he got angry at her and chipped his blade, throwing it into a tree. I knew how that felt, to feel scared and worried, my heart pounding in my heart with fear, with guilt, or maybe with sadness. To throw whatever I had at a wall, hoping it would somehow quell my feelings.

It was no wonder he wanted to avoid that feeling, to keep people he’d grown attached to close. I had only known Maladrain for two weeks, but I felt like I understood him a lot more in that moment.

I wrote something down.

His face plastered with guilt, he treated my wound, too preoccupied to notice what I had written. Then, his eyes wandered to my slate, and eventually, he turned his head, his hands slowly coming to a standstill. For a moment, he seemed confused, then a small, reserved smile grew.

{Sorry.}

“Don’t worry, kid. I’m not angry.” He finished up the bandages, then placed a hand on my head. “Aww, man, I can’t believe you kept us up this late!” he said, quickly shrugging exaggeratedly as he stood. “And you got all my bandages dirty too! Those cost me an entire silver piece, you know!” he said, smiling.

Reco chuckled from under her blanket. “And I never got my firewood, too! How could you!”

I smiled and chuckled, turning my head down to pointlessly hide it.

“Well, that’s a wrap, everyone! Sleepytime!”

“What are you, my dad?!” Reco responded.

“Yes! Do you want me to sing you a lullaby?”

“Ohhh, sure! What do you want to sing?”

“How about the Goddess’s Goodbye?”

“Ok.” Reco yawned. “Then get to it.”

“Wait, you weren’t joking?!”

“Duh!”

“That wasn’t apparent, Reco.”

“Come on, just sing it. I’m up for a dumb lullaby.”

“Err...” Maladrain looked back at me with a bit of an embarrassed expression.

I shrugged

“I mean, I’m not much of a singer...” he continued.

“Neither am I, but I can still dance. Come on, I’m waiting to hear your beautiful voice!”

“If...if you want me to...” Maladrain cleared his throat. “Then, uhh...how did it go again...”

“If you see the color fade, and people do not move,

If you feel the breeze stop and the puddles do not splash,

Will, you~know, then, that you can stay with me?

Will, you~look to the future or see a world, ended?

When, where, why, how? Will midday end?

I don’t know, I can’t tell, but either way, I’ll be here for you.”