5 | Learning

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height


    - = - = - = -

   The sound of my ragged breathing was the only noise that filled the moonlit opening I'd found myself in after running for what felt like hours.

   It was only a matter of minutes before my legs had decided to give up on me. They were limp and useless as I continued to gasp in all the air my lungs could hold, exhausted.

         I'm so pathetic, I deftly realized as an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. I was alone like I'd wanted to be, but I was perfectly defenseless, a fish out of water. I wasn't made to live in a place like this. My body is weak and unfamiliar to moving so much . . . I'd be surprised if I even lasted a day with Yona and the others.

         Throwing away the thought as soon as it entered my mind, I planted my face into the palms of my hands and crumpled down onto the grass. I knew that no one was there to see me, but I felt like hiding, pretending that I wasn't there.

        Even though I hated it with all my guts, I wished I was back at the hut. When I was there, no one but Ayame knew that I existed. I could ignore the Shadows because I'd be preoccupied with watching the village or listening to Ayame talk about her students and whatever story she could remember off the top of her head.

         The hut contained me. It protected kind people like Yona and Shin-Ah and Zeno from disasters that were just waiting to unravel. It protected them from me.

         You were happy while being with them, a small voice told me as I further enjoyed the darkness created by my own hands. Maybe if I stayed like that then I'd cease to exist just as the world wanted me to. No one would know it happened. I could seep into the folds of the earth and never see the light again. They don't know anything about your past, the voice persisted. They're nothing like the Shadows you disdain. They actually care about you.

         Lies. They were all filthy lies.

         No. You're only lying to yourself. What happened to finally giving yourself a chance?

         I didn't deserve it. I never did and I never would.

         That's not true and you know it. Open your eyes, you idiot.

         No. They were cursed. They'd only open to find ruin and decay.

         Open them!

         No. It would only hurt to see what I'd lost.

         You're stronger than this! The voice said before blaring at me with the ferocity of an earthquake. Just open them!

         I did. I moved my hands away from my face, and looked down to find something I hadn't expected to see in a thousand years . . .

         All the grass that I'd been sitting on had been replaced by mounds of delicately grown flowers. They were small and dainty, but their miniature petals shined an opulent white that seemed to absorb the moonlight that fell from the sky.

         I blinked, assuming that it was only an allusion, a mere trick of the light. When I realized that they were indeed real, I felt my dread melt into a murky puddle of confusion.

    How? I asked myself as I slowly went to touch one of the freshly sprouted flowers. When my fingertips brushed against it I could feel the plant along with its fellow neighbors respond to my touch. They were dancing and curious as to why I wasn't joining them . . . I couldn't have possibly done this. Aren't I supposed to be dangerous? How could growing a small patch of flowers hurt anything?

    The sound of something tearing through the bushes made my gaze snap away from the flowers. I looked to the area that I'd previously stumbled through and quickly lifted myself from the ground, adrenaline forcing my fatigued body to move. I could feel the pull of the flowers pleading for my return, but I nudged the sensation aside as I hid behind a nearby tree.

    The noises only got louder. Whoever - or whatever- was making that commotion was getting closer to me. I could hardly hear the sound of the branches bending and snapping over the pounding of my own heart. I gripped the bark of the tree in a silent prayer. Something like a pulse seemed to run through my palm. It was calm and steady unlike my own, and I tried to focus on only that as the horrendous noise came to an abrupt stop.

     Ba-Thump . . . Ba-Thump . . . Ba-Thump . . .

    I was just as tense as I'd been when Yona had shattered my window. Being close to the tree lessened the velocity of my nerves oddly enough, but I still felt like my entire conscious was shaking.

    I should've never ran away from them. They were willing to accept me. All of me. They wanted to help me. And I left them because I was filled with nothing but doubt-

    "Pink Dragon?" A voice that I recognized slightly panted, disrupting all my thoughts at once. "It's me . . . Shin-Ah."

    My breath hitched in my throat as I heard the Dragon step through the clearing. My eyes were wide open, my gaze obfuscated by nothing but bark, and yet I could still sense that unmistakably Blue presence as it got closer to me, searching. He paused when he approached the other side of my tree. I could hear the metallic sound of him sheathing his sword as he knelt down by the patch of flowers.

    I had to conceal a gasp when something invisible stroked the curve of my cheek.

    I knew nothing was actually touching my face. But there was a connection between me and the things around me that I couldn't describe. It wasn't like my binding with the Dragons. It was something completely different. I just couldn't put my finger on it . . .

    When I touched those flowers it was like I could sense their emotions, I stiffened as I recalled the surreal experience, my head aching at the obscurity of it all. Is it possible that I might be linked to what they feel physically as well?

    The question died along with my ability to breathe when I heard Shin-Ah stand to his full height, stepping around the flowers and toward my location.

    "I know you're there . . . " He said quietly as I felt his gaze burn through the tree. "And I also know that you're afraid."

    I remained put, and he did too as he continued to talk to me. "Everyone is looking for you . . . I came here because I saw that you left a trail of flowers behind you," he murmured, probably not used to being the talkative one. "You also left your sandal . . . I thought you might've wanted it if you were going to leave . . . "

    Hearing him mention such a possibility made my skin crawl with discomfort. It didn't seem right, I realized with a sense of surprise. My fears had driven me away, but now that they were tucked away I was left with the same emotion I'd felt when I agreed to leave the hut with Yona.

    If I was going to go anywhere, it was going to be with them, with the strangers that made me feel more at home in the dead of the woods than the place where I'd lived my entire life.

    With my heart in my throat, I stepped out from my behind my tree. I looked over at Shin-Ah, the tall masked man who'd been patiently waiting for me the entire time.

    The holes in his mask were as dark as ever and his mouth was still as flat as a board, but I didn't pay attention to any of that as I remembered the caress I'd felt across my cheek just moments beforehand. It was callous and warm, like the tender bark of the tree I'd bid farewell to.

    I looked up at him and he looked down at me, both of our gazes unwavering.

    "Want your sandal?" He asked.

    I nodded and he handed it to me. I slid it onto my foot again, already missing the feeling of the grass against my toes the moment it was gone.

    "Are you leaving . . . ?" Shin-Ah looked at the flowers, and I shook my head at him. I could feel his eyes drill into mine once again as he asked one last question. "Are you coming with us?"

    I responded with another nod. His reaction was practically nonexistent, but I swore I saw a bit of tension leave his shoulders as he peered down at me, the fur of his mask picking up some of the nightly breeze.

       "Let's go back to the fire," he said as he turned back to the trail he'd cut down with his sword. I silently followed after him with my gaze pinned to the broad plane of his back.

       Here I go again on my second attempt at journeying, My thoughts went in various directions as I subconsciously brushed my hands over the shrubs and branches that'd been cut down. I pitied the poor things for their unnecessary beating and secretly apologized to them, wishing them well. Now I'll have to face Yona and the others again. I must apologize somehow. I'm sure running away had troubled them greatly . . .

       By the time I was done thinking of different ways to make amends, Shin-Ah and I had made it back to the campfire.

       Every plant I'd touched was healed and growing again just as they should've been, and I was replenished enough to finally take my fate by its reigns.

       There was no running away this time.

        - = - = - = -

            "You're back!" Yona was the first person to approach me when Shin-Ah and I returned. Her eyes were opened wide with concern as she walked up to me and looked me up and down, looking for any notable injuries. "Are you okay? You aren't hurt, right?"

            I shook my head at her, and she sighed. "Thank Kami . . . I would feel awful if you got injured after we drove you out of your home. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself for it."

            Guilt began to swell in my chest. It wasn't her fault that I ran off. I was only being weak, and in the process I had needlessly thrown more work onto the people around me.

       They didn't deserve any of that, and since I couldn't say it, I bowed my head before Yona and the other Dragons in silent confession.

       I'm sorry, I thought with stiff and tired limbs. I'm so sorry to have troubled you all . . .

       Yona seemed disconcerted by my gesture. "Please raise your head. There's no need to do such a thing . . . It was only natural for us to go looking for you. You're a part of our group."

       Hesitantly but surely, I raised my head to look at her. The look in her eyes told me that she was being perfectly honest just as she'd always been with me, so I tried to straighten my posture into what I thought was normal.

       "She's tired from running," Shin-Ah said matter-of-factly, his tone monotonous but honest. "I think it'd be wise if we rested for the night . . . "

       "Good call, Shin-Ah," Yoon said drearily as he plopped down onto his blanket by the fire. "I'm beat."

       "Me too," Hak said with a bellowing yawn.

       There was another round of drowsy agreements before Yona turned to me and asked in a polite voice if I was tired. Since I'd been so preoccupied with everything in regards to my identity as a Dragon, I hadn't gotten a whole lot of time to acknowledge how truly tired I was.

       It's been nearly a day since I last slept, I fought the urge to yawn just as loudly as Hak. If I can't withstand normal physical exertion, then I'll definitely need to get some rest. Otherwise, I won't be able to keep up.

       Silently, I complied with everyone's desire to call it a night. Kija helped in setting up a makeshift tent for Yona and I, and once it was completed she invited me in. I was worried at first. The last thing I wanted was for me to accidentally elicit another reaction from my so-called powers. Yona must've sensed my trepidations, because she quickly put me at ease by saying she'd sleep as far away from me as possible.

       Once we were settled with our blankets the night became quiet. The only noises I could hear were the dying crackles of the fire and the soft snores of (who I thought was) Zeno. Even though the evening was a lot louder than what I'd been used to, it was so much more peaceful. Something I could definitely get used to . . .

       I was just about to succumb to sleep when Yona started talking to me in a hushed whisper. "Are you awake . . . ? If so, tug on the edge of my blanket."

       Suddenly alert, I did as she told and she talked some more. "I know you can't tell me why you fled earlier, but I wanted you to know that it's okay to be frightened . . . It isn't easy going off on a journey with a group of strangers only to discover that you have strange powers," she said before slightly chuckling. "I could hardly believe it myself after I ran away from the castle. I felt so hopeless, and Hak was the only thing that seemed to tether me to reality. When I learned more about my fate from Ik-Soo, I could hardly believe my ears. I thought I'd become deluded."

       Hearing her confession made me think of Ayame and how she had been my tether. I didn't know what Yona had gone through to get where she was, but I didn't dwell on it as she continued to converse with me.

       "Everything that has happened with me being the descendent of King Kiryuu and the usurper of the Dragons was unexpected . . . It seemed unfair, in a peculiar way. I was so confused, and yet I've learned how to roll with it," she said softly before curling on her side to face me. I couldn't see her, but I could imagine she was smiling when she spoke to me. "I know you'll eventually adapt to all this. It may seem impossible now, but you're strong . . . That's why you're a Dragon. That's why you decided to come along with us."

       I suppose I never thought of it that way, I lamented as I stared at the short ceiling of the tent, secretly wondering what the night sky would look like while laying down. Although I'm not physically strong, maybe I have strengths that I've yet to discover . . .

     Yona bid me goodnight, and I closed my eyes.

     When I saw that my permanent little map had all five of the colors it was supposed to have, I felt safe for the first time in forever. I slipped into a light reverie that wouldn't break until dawn, and in doing so learned what it was like to feel comfortable in the presence of people who cared.

- = - = - = -

| Chapter 5 |

Hello again~ (2 updates in one day = OH DAMN)

So happy to have written more about the development of our dastardly new Dragon. I swear I'm having way too much fun writing this story, but I can't find it in me to care. I'm just so ecstatic to be finally writing a fanfic on YOTD ;-;

Hope you liked the chapter! Soon we'll be seeing how traveling with Yona's gang of hooligans takes it toll on the new Dragon ---> It should be quite interesting ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Thanks again for the feedback, it means the world to me, and thanks for reading!

~Bell

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net