Heir of the Dragon

Songs of Discord

The leaves overhead shifted lazily in the breeze, their shadows shimmying on the ground around my feet. Noah and his son plodded along ahead of me in a similar lazy pace. I couldn't say I minded this slower paced traveling style. Occhi, on the other hand, could hardly stand it. He loped at my side in an uneven rhythm, taking every opportunity to stop and sniff things, and then run to catch up again.

I smiled as he nudged my shoulder playfully. Glancing over at him, I couldn't help but acknowledge yet again how much I loved his company. He had grown so much in just the past two weeks we had been traveling with Noah and his son that I was sure I could start riding him soon. He was nothing short of splendid with his funny but brilliantly colored eyes, and his thick white and grey coat. I had to throw all my weight at him to reciprocate his playful shove. He snorted as he was thrown just slightly off balance, and then leapt up in front of me, stopping me in my tracks, tail wagging vigorously.

"Oh Occhi!" I growled at him playfully and I leapt at him, my arms around his neck. I managed to use my weight to roll the huge puppy onto his side, but I went down with him, ending up sprawled out on top of him, his furry legs sticking up on either side of me. Legs pawing the air, his searching mouth found my braid and tugged.

"Ay!" I yelped, and grabbed at his muzzle, but he was faster, and took that moment to roll us both over, putting him and all his furry mass on top of me. He released my braid and began to lick my face mercilessly.

"Occhi!" I yelled at him in between bouts of being smothered, "Haha! Occhi! Stop it!"

His hot breath was too much, and I had no choice but surrender.

"Alright, Alright! Thats enough! You get the dark meat tonight!" I gasped, and he finally stopped licking, letting out a short yip of victory.

I could hear Japheth laughing up ahead, and Noah, chuckling, offered to intervene.

"There's no use now, I already gave away my dinner," I grunted back at him, shoving the big furry beast off of me. Occhi let me struggle a minute, and then leapt up to smell an apparently fascinating lump of dirt. I rolled my eyes and got up, brushing myself off before hurrying to join the other two.

When I'd refused to help him start a war, Noah had spent the whole next day alone.

"Praying" Japheth had said when I'd asked him what his father was doing, "He does that now and again."

That night he'd quietly announced that we would be packing up; that he needed to show me something. What he'd needed to show me I hadn't since been able to get him to reveal.

"All in good time, my girl," is all he would say. All I knew was that at the end of this journey was something he considered important enough to travel for two weeks to reach. It felt uncharacteristic of me to blindly follow this man I hadn't known long at all, but there was that peace in my heart I couldn't quite explain, and it made me want to believe he knew best. Maybe it was some sort of witchery. Or maybe he was just genuinely good, and this is how a person feels when around a genuinely good man. I hadn't the faintest idea.

I did know, however, that I with every step I grew more curious.

Absently, I fingered the key shaped lump in the hem of my cloak. It seemed like ages ago that I had sewn that red ribboned key into it. It always took me back to the peculiar circumstances of Shaddai and I's first acquaintance.

"I'm sorry you had to know me," He had said so long ago. The look in his eyes as he'd said it was burned agelessly into my memory.

No, I wasn't sorry. In fact, the only thing I was sorry for was letting him run off and never knowing if I'd see the stupid man again.