[BOYXBOY] Dragon Prince Steals My Heart In Another World?!

Disaster in the Woods?!

During their walk, Elias hummed a lot. Andrew had never heard any of the tunes he came up with, and he wondered if the prince had hired people to make music just for that place. Or they just had entirely different tastes in music. Andrew often prided himself in knowing a lot of songs from many genres, though, and knowing Elias, his first guess was probably more likely.

"I know you've said that walking isn't your favorite activity, but I've been enjoying this time with you, Andrew." Elias had his hands clasped behind his back, his steps even and steady despite the rough ground on their path. It was the first time he spoke in almost an hour, so it took Andrew a second to take in what the other had said.

"Oh, uh, I guess it hasn't been too bad. My legs have given up on hurting, so they're just kind of numb now. This will count as my all of my workouts for the rest of my life." Andrew kept his eyes down on the path, not wanting to trip over any of the random roots or rocks. "Do you go on walks all that often?"

"Not as much these days," Elias hummed. "I used to go a lot with my parents, but recently my mother and I are much too busy."

Andrew nodded, hopping over one of the larger stones in his way. The path had started to even out, but his inexperience in hiking made it hard to navigate regardless of how smooth it had become. "Yeah, I guess going from three people doing the work to two would make things different. You uh... You haven't talked much about your dad. I don't mean to be insensitive, and you don't have to ask, but is he like, out of the picture, or...?"

"My father is dead," Elias said more bluntly.

"Ah, sorry." Andrew slowed his steps and looked up at Elias. The other didn't seem phased by the question, still staring ahead with the same gait to his steps. "I kinda figured, but I didn't ask until now. I don't really know what to say about that sort of stuff, so sorry if bringing it up brought the mood down, we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"It's fine," the prince sighed. "I don't talk about it often, neither does my mother, but I also don't want to feel like he's some sort of off-limits topic. It's a confusing thing to navigate."

"Yeah. I mean, I don't know, I've never lost someone I was close to, so I can't relate all the way, but I get what you mean. I think. Sorry, like I said, I'm not good at figuring out what to say here. Social graces are where I fall totally flat."

Elias laughed and stopped walking, patting Andrew on the shoulder. "You're alright, Andrew. I know death isn't easy no matter where you're from, but you being nice about it is helpful in its own way. Again, he shouldn't be something I avoid talking about, so it's actually sort of nice to have someone ask rather than pretending everything is fine."

"Glad I could help?" Andrew chuckled, also stopping. "Also, not to change the subject too suddenly, but how much more walking do we have to do? I know I said my legs are numb, but I'm starting to think they're ready to just fall off. Are we at least close?"

Another laugh came from Elias, and the prince shrugged. "I'll fly above the trees and see how close we are to any kind of landmarks. I believe there's a village not far from here, so I might be able to see that by now." Elias spread his wings and took off before Andrew could respond, leaving him in a gust of dirt and leaves that were flicked off of the trees overhead.

He sputtered and waved his hand in front of his face, trying to keep the kicked-up dirt from getting in his eyes. "Gee, thanks for the warning and time to prepare," Andrew grumbled. When he looked up, he could see Elias going higher and higher above the trees. "Can't imagine that equipment is comfortable, so kudos to him for trying to make this as believable as possible." Andrew shook his head and leaned against a tree, wanting to rest while he waited for Elias to come back down.