Morning came quickly, but I didn’t get much more sleep. I would feel myself cycle between a sense of falling asleep and being alert enough to fight. There was no middle ground in the movement between states.

As I sat up, I rubbed my hands against my face. Being this tired would lead to a miserable day, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.

I pushed myself up and looked around the grey room. There was no mirror, but I wanted to check if Azul was still wrapped around my neck. I couldn’t see when turning my head, but there was no reason to think that the small dragon wasn’t avoiding my gaze. He seemed liable to do that. Perhaps to simply mess with me, or perhaps for some other purpose. Either way, I felt a hint of frustration at the idea.

My search for a reflective surface ended in vain. I sighed before making my way outside the cabin; there would be something to check with; if I moved quickly enough, it could be done before anyone saw me.

I hadn’t even made it about five steps before Leratos voice called out.

“Good morning Kiko!” he said chipperly. I froze.

His voice didn’t have any strangeness I might have expected if he saw the blue dragon on me. I turned and did my best to greet Lerato. A nod in his direction and a neutral ‘morning’ was all I could manage.

“That’s hardly a way to greet someone,” the voice of Azul suddenly said. I jumped and turned to the dragon. His sharp fangs were twisted into the shape of a smile. Now he was in plain sight. Perhaps the creature really did just want to mess with my head.

“Everything alright?” Lerato asked as he turned in the same direction I was staring, though off in the distance instead of at the head of the dragon that was a breath's reach from my face.

Does this mean he couldn’t see the serpentine dragon wrapped around me? Clearly, it must, Azul stands out quite a bit, so I can’t imagine he wouldn’t say anything. He didn’t seem like the type to deceive either. If anything, Lerato looked like the type that was so honest; he could easily become a pawn to others.

“It’s nothing, just a little tired,” I said.

Lerato nodded.

“Yeah, after yesterday, I can see that. Well, should we get breakfast?”

“What about Pythagoras?”

“He's already up and working; says this time he’ll build the true ultimate weapon… or something like that,” Lerato said with a laugh.

“I see,” was all I replied with.

We made our way to the campfire, and Lerato began to cook something.

“Well, we have the whole world to ourselves! Anything you wanted to explore?” he said while he flipped the food in a frying pan.

I shook my head at first but added a verbal reply once I saw he was staring at the food.

“No.”

“Hmm, well, we should be stocked up with food and supplies for a while longer. I was going to do some training myself, but I expect you wouldn’t want to join in?”

The word ‘training’ brought up the hallway from an earlier dream; I felt mixed about it.

“Could I just walk alone for a while?” I asked.

“Certainly!” Lerato said while his gaze was still fixed on the food. “Just be careful while wandering; you never know where the world will take you.”

“Do you have a map I could see?” Maybe something would stand out as a spot to visit.

Lerato made a hearty laugh in reply. It wasn’t quite directed at me, but I noticed my hands and jaw clenching tightly. I took a deeper breath in an effort to relax as Lerato continued.

“Maps are pretty useless around here.” He added after his laughter calmed down.

I suspect they tried to make one in the past, and it didn’t go well. It was the only explanation I could come up with for his reaction. Or at least the one I wanted to think about since he might be considering me a fool otherwise.

We were quiet for a moment as Lerato finished cooking and put food on two plates. Pythagoras must have had food in his cabin; that or he had no interest in eating while working.

I silently ate the scrambled meal. Lerato tried a couple of times to chat, but I only answered with short replies that didn’t leave much to continue with. They were little things I didn’t have much to comment on, and I quickly forgot the topics.

When he was finished, Lerato stood up and stretched.

“Well, I’m off. If you hear any loud sounds, it is probably just my training.”

I nodded, and he headed out.

“I thought he’d never leave,” Azul said with a sigh.

“What do you care?” I mumbled as I finished the last of my food.

“Pesky humans like that are always a bother. They think only with training and muscles. Try talking with him about some literature, and you’ll see what I mean.”

I wasn’t sure why Azul was so judgemental, especially considering he had just met Lerato, but I let it go and finished eating.

In no time at all, I was up and out of the camp. There was no telling where I would end up.

The grey trees grew dense as I hiked through the world.

“If you have no destination in mind, I have somewhere I would like to visit!”Azul said with an odd amount of chipperness.

“Will you get off me if we go there?”

“Oh no, my dear, you and I will be together for a while yet! Till death do us part, as I think you humans like to say.”

I rolled my eyes as I carefully stepped over some tree roots.

“I don’t recall inviting you to join me,” I muttered as I wrapped my fingers around the hilt of one of my daggers.

“Oh, but you did. The contract written on the box clearly stated as such!”

“There was nothing written on that box.”

“Ah, I forgot you might not be able to see the text! You must forgive me, humans back in the day could see just fine, so I always forget!”

His voice didn’t indicate that he was sorry in the slightest. In fact, it almost sounded like a suppressed laugh was just beneath his reply. I sighed as I stepped out of the woods. The blue dragon liked to talk and say lots of odd things. He might have been trying to change the subject. ‘Humans back in the day’ could easily be an attempt to pique my curiosity. Yet, I couldn’t be sure anything he said was true; it was best to focus on what I could.

“If I couldn’t see the contract, why should I be held to it?” I asked as I eyed the new scene. It was an open clearing, filled with knee-high grey grass but not much else.

“You still opened the box. Ignorance won’t protect you from consequences, my dear Kiko. Think of it like pressing a button without knowing what it would trigger!”

I wasn’t entirely sure what the serpentine dragon meant with his analogy. Buttons were something I had only recently learned about from Pythagoras. Still, I think I got the gist.

“So I’m stuck?”

“Till death do us part. And that’s your death, by the way; I’ll be living a while longer,” Azul replied.

I sighed. I suppose I would have to get used to this new arrangement for the time being.