In Conclusion, I Can't Do Anything

Welcome To Alkborough, Hope You Have Fun Suffering

The sun rises, clouds floating just above the ground. Siegfried breathes in, feeling the cold of the mist enter through his nose. The forest is filled with morning fog, and weeds and leaves are tipped with dew. It's just slightly dark, but with Soldfrid's glowing horns and eyes next to him, he'll lead the way. Solfrid holds on to the sleeve of his shirt, guiding him down the worn-down hiking trail they'd found a few hours ago. It's pretty beat up, indicating that many have followed this road before.

Down the road, the path diverges into two; the signs point northeast and northwest. Siegfried stares at this, studying it closely. "Which way should we go, Solfrid?" he asks. As he breathes, he can see his breath float in the air next to him. "One of the signs says 'Alkborough'.. Wait. Alkborough! That's where I was just yesterday!"

"Alkborough?" Solfrid tilts his head. You could see some of the fog move as he did so.

"The town I live in. I ran away, so now the police are probably out there looking for me. I'd be labeled as a missing person! Hoo...." Siegfried sighs exasperatedly. He shakes Solfrid frantically. "Solfrid! What am I going to do? I don't wanna go back home!"

Solfrid is stoic, like always. He does nothing when the boy holds him by the shoulders, shaking him so aggressively. "I don't know. I don't meddle with human affairs."

"You're human now, too."

"But I was previously a dragon."

"That doesn't mean you get to still act like a dragon! These days, dragons are just a work of fiction, a myth. You gotta think like a human," Siegfried points to his noggin with both hands, "and act like a human. Bonus points if you act like me." He grins cheekily. He continues, "There's a reason why dragons don't exist. One, we've found no skeletons, and two, it's just impossible for magic to exist. Although... I think you're living proof that it does." The boy thinks back to when Solfrid demonstrated his powers, only to say that he's got none. It's hard to believe he's actually a dragon.

"I object," Solfrid protests.

"Huh? Why?"

"You must remember the crystal you found, right? Dragons do have skeletons within us, but when we die, we merely only leave behind our hearts. Those crystals are our hearts, which consist of our power and energy inside. If our heart is disrupted in any way, then... I'm not sure what happens next, but I know that I've woken up once again. I happen to practice the tradition of cremating dragons' hearts, as it's the only way for a dragon to properly rest," explains Solfrid. Siegfried stares at him with wide eyes, intense curiosity burning behind them.

"So, the only reason you're still alive is because no one cremated you?"

"Precisely. In fact, I don't think anyone found my heart besides that wretched moonborn. I don't even know why he didn't bother to pick up my heart." Solfrid stares at a random tree, eyebrows furrowed.

Siegfried swats away a low hanging tree branch. It grazes his cheek. "Um... Just who is this 'wretched moonborn?'"

"Exactly what he is. A moonborn, who is also wretched." The dragon begins walking northwest, going in the direction of Bellmare.

"That doesn't say a lot."

. . . . . .

Siegfried struggles. In front of him is a mess of scruffy blonde hair, strands of hair going in all kinds of directions. He can barely see anything through the narrow passageway he and Solfrid are currently in. To the sides of them are trees and branches, but they're so crowded together he'd scratch himself all up if he were to ever attempt to walk through it. A ladybug lands on the tip of his nose; he sneezes. A lock of golden hair brushes past his face; he sneezes. "Solfrid, can you please stand still for a second?" he asks politely, although he is just a smidgen irritated. The dragon in front of him listens to his request, turning his head around as if he were searching for something.

He holds Solfrid's head in place. "Just– stay still for just a second." So he does. Siegfried, behind him, grabs onto the long locks that lay over his shoulders. He begins to pull them behind his ear, wrapping them tight around the back of his head then tying it. Solfrid's golden blonde hair now has a ponytail in the back, tied firmly. He pulls his arms back, grinning feverishly. "There! All finished."

Solfrid pats the back of his head, feeling the individual strands of his ponytail. "Ah- Don't mess with it—" the boy stammers.

"How'd you do that?"

"Hm? Do what?" He tilts his head.

"This." Solfrid points to the ponytail. As a dragon, he had no fur or hair, so there was no need to make a ponytail or stylize his hair or fur in any way.

Siegfried nods. "The ponytail? My big sis taught me. She loves putting her hair up in all kinds of crazy ways. Her name's Sofya, by the way." He seems proud.

He looks ahead, spotting another human walking by. Ahead of them is a wire gate, and their path stops there. Siegfried rushes past Solfrid, hastily undoing the metal latch. The gate swings wide open with a loud creak; Siegfried squeals in excitement. His excitement is rather short-lived, though, as he finds a wooden pole with a poster on it.

On that poster, it reads, "MISSING: SIEGFRIED EVERGREENE."