Bound

Ch. 4

For the first time in a long while, I slept well. Dragons did not need as much sleep as humans, but I slept even less than that most nights. Perhaps the warmth and comfort of another might not be so bad. At least in those terms. Tristan woke slowly, much like a child who had a good dream. It was...almost cute. Why was I thinking about him like this? A human, no less?

"Mm. Good morning, Brisingr."

"Good morning, Tristan. I have started some food to break out fast. Are you hungry?"

His eyes brightened considerably. "Yes, I am!"

I chuckled. "Well, I cannot guarantee that it will be to your liking. There is not much in the way of game up here, let alone spices. But, I suppose it is better than nothing." Why did I want his approval? We may be forced into proximity, but that doesn't mean we have to be close. Yet...

"I am sure I will love it. I have never been a picky eater. Food is food after all. It is meant mostly to keep us alive. Besides, as long as it does not taste like the leather of my boot, I am sure I will like it." He leaned forward, taking a deep breath. "Mm. It smells divine."

"Well, it seems to be done. So, go ahead." I handed him a bowl. "Dig in." Why do I want to PLEASE this human? Why am I waiting for his reaction? It shouldn't matter what he thinks of my cooking. To draw my attention away from my own thoughts, I decided to ask Tristan a question. "Tell me something."

"Hm?" He responded absently, eating the stew I made.

"Do you not have any family? You have mentioned your grandmother and parents in passing. Yet you climbed all the way up here. Would they not be worried about you?"

He paused, looking almost...grief-striken. "I...don't have any family. Not anymore. My grandmother went with old age a few years ago. And my parents...a plague took them not too long ago. There is...no one who would miss me. Nobody to care where I have gone."

"That is not entirely true..." I muttered to myself. Why do I care? Why does his story make me feel...compassion? And why does the expression on his face make me want to hold him closer? I never craved to be close to another. It was much safer that way. Even dragons could be evil. We couldn't outright lie, but that doesn't mean we couldn't twist the truth. That we couldn't harm others. And I fell too often for those kinds of things in the past. I couldn't allow myself to be hurt again. Which was why I lived all the way out here. The less contact I had with others, of any race, the better for myself. Perhaps it was selfish, but I believed I deserved a bit of that after everything.

"What about you?" Tristan asked, drawing me out of my thoughts.

"What about me?"

"Do you...have any family?"

"No. My...parents died in the war. When the humans found our home, they attacked. My father distracted them while my mother carried me away. But she was leathally injured. It...wasn't long before she perished as well."

"I am very sorry." Tristan touched my arm. "That must have hurt you a great deal."

Why were those words, from HIM of all people, such a comfort to me? Why did I feel so understood by a human? "It is...alright. I have made peace with it now. Or, at least I hope I have."

Tristan smiled gently. "I have found that the pain never really goes away. Nor the guilt. You simply...learn to live with it. And sometimes, if you let it, it can male you stronger."

I gazed into his eyes, almost truly seeing them for the first time. Perhaps this human was wiser than any being I'd ever met before. "You may be right. And...thank you. I never expected you to comfort me."

"Why would I not? Pain is pain, regardless of species or origin. And nobody deals well with it alone. I was lucky to have the village as support. But...even then, it did not feel quite as comforting as they wanted. I was not close to anyone there. So leaving was much too easy." He cooked his head slightly. "What will you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, leaving my home was easy. And I feel as if we cannot stay here. So, will you have any issues leaving here?"

"No." I glanced out the entrance of the cave. "This was never my home. Simply a safe place to stay. My home has long since been burned. Besides, for dragons, home is never a place. It is either the family we chose or the hoard we guard. Though our version of family might differ from yours."

"How so?"

"To you, family are people you love, right? Those you are closest to? People you would kill or die for?"

"I suppose so..."

"For dragons, family is wealth. Whichever of us has the biggest hoard, others will flock to and stay with. Or even the dragon who is the strongest. For us, it is safety in numbers. Most of our young are even raised by those who did not birth them."

"What about you?"

"Me? I am not sure. I barely remember anything about my parents. All I know is, it was only us. We were never a community like most dragons. Then, as I grew, it was just me. I avoided others of my kind."

"Why? You said dragons naturally gravitate towards the best."

"Perhaps others do. But I have found, in my brief conversations, that dragons are much too...corrupt for me. Most see other dragons as either competition or inferior."

"That sounds...rather sad."

"Maybe. But do you not feel the same? You left your hone with no regrets."

"Not because of any fault with the villagers. They were all super kind and caring. The fault...was in me. I felt no connection to them. Maybe because this connection with you was pulling me away every second of my life."

"Are you...trying to say fate did this?"

"I am not certain. I suppose we have a lot of time to figure it out."

"I suppose we do." I smiled at Tristan. Why? Why did I feel so drawn to him? Why was I smiling? And why...why did he feel like home? Why did he feel like the short time I spent with my parents? Why couldn't I resist the pull he had on me?