The Sage's Vow

6.4 || A Little Secret

Mateo hated violence. In his seven years of being a Paladin, he found combat missions to be his least favorite. He would never regret protecting people from the danger presented by monsters, but the utter chaos created in the midst of battle...

He shook his head. That wasn't where he was now. In this moment, he walked down the mostly quiet Wellington street in the deepening summer evening. A warm breeze blew through the area, rustling the tree leaves and carrying the joyous sounds of the neighborhood. Cars drove lazily past, families chatted on porches, children played outside, and all of nature sang its melodious tune.

Dropping his head back, he took a deep breath. He hated violence, and if he could, he would choose to never fight again, but moments like these reminded him why he did it. These moments of quiet and peace.

But, of course, for someone like him, the tranquility only lasted for so long. The first brush of emotions occurred when he walked past a group of boys a couple of years younger than himself playing basketball in a driveway.

The spiking excitement of adrenaline that toed a strange line of elation and anger. The thrashing churn from varying degrees of frustration that sometimes petered out into the cold drop of fear and depression.

He'd thrown up his defenses as soon as he saw people, but fragments still seethed through the edges he'd never fully be able to seal. Taking a deep breath, he centered himself on his own feelings. Tranquil, relaxed, content with the warm day, curious and slightly concerned about what could be happening back at Josh's friend's house.

Speaking of that house... He'd walked around the block already, and the particular residency would be upon him again in a matter of minutes. If he tilted his head right, he could make out the front lawn.

Uncertainty, simmering anger. Annoyance, frustrated longing. Happiness strained by tension that couldn't be ignored. Mateo's eyes flicked to the porch he was passing. A child played with toys, and two parents sat on different chairs. The husband caught his eye. His lack of confidence rolled from him in such strong waves that Mateo almost didn't even need his abilities to sense it. It was of little help, but he smiled as brightly as he could as he walked past.

A soothing presence emitted from his core, and the smile on Mateo's face softened and turned into something more genuine. Hey, Taji. Everything going well over there?

Something Mateo only knew how to describe as a purring soul brushed against the bond. Taji also sent across flashes of forest terrain and a blue dragonling relaxing in a patch of sun, his eyes open but unseeing.

Resting his hands in his pockets, he nodded to himself. It made sense that Boomer would be with Josh then, but it still comforted Mateo to know he hadn't left his new teammate completely alone. They'd only met recently, but he'd taken a liking to the newest Paladin, and he didn't want to leave Josh to wade in too deep of waters on his own.

Taji agreed, though her focus was on the blue dragonling.

I'm glad you're getting along so well, Mateo said. His biggest worry about leaving the Australian Sanctum had been because of what little he recalled of the Sanctuary's Sanctum. It mostly homed older, more passive dragons. Taji didn't share Boomer's amount of excitable energy, but she'd have been painfully bored and lonely if her only company had been the other dragons there besides Boomer.

A faint trill grabbed his focus back. Boomer sat up instead of lounging now, his tail flicking back and forth irritably, though his gaze remained inward. Taji mentally nudged Mateo.

He nodded as he returned fully to Wellington. Boomer wasn't fearful, but he was agitated. Something was going on with Josh that his dragon didn't like. Mateo picked up his pace, remaining half conscious of Taji the entire time.