The Dragon of Life | Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction |

13 | Colorful Words

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What's that noise . . . ?

There was something scurrying around the hut. I was only half awake, so the subtle scuffling and scratching sounded oddly distant in my ears, but it was still there, undoubtedly trying to stir me up from a rather sound slumber.

"Mhmm . . . "

Too tired to pay it any mind, I just rolled over onto my stomach and tugged my blanket closer to my body. An involuntary huff left my lips as my expression loosened with attempted sleep.

As if I was going to let a little noise nudge me away from some much needed rest. How was I supposed to keep up with the others if I started my day off drowsy? Sure, my powers had granted me strength, but what good would that do me if I was too busy nodding off into trees and such?

The noise became more disruptive the moment that question ruptured my thoughts.

Okay, I acknowledged as my eyelids fought to stay closed despite my growing frustration. Obviously, whatever is making this ruckus is really trying to boil up my nerves . . . Can't I just get some sleep?

I'd been angry before. It was an emotion I'd grown familiar with from my many years of mental brewing. I'd just never been angry about something so small. I suppose I had the right to get frustrated over the little things . . . Whether or not my anger was justifiable was another situation that could be dealt with later, but there was no denying the distasteful grimace that was working its way onto my face as that noise became more and more dastardly.

The scratching, the scurrying, the scuffling. Had I ever been so thoroughly annoyed before?

Something pounced onto my back. I felt the beginning of a yelp threaten to leave my lips, but the presence of whatever had jumped onto me made my eyes snap open with surprise.

I curled around to see a plump chipmunk perched on my backside. It's eyes were big and brown and just as kind as they'd been when I first saw them.

"Ao . . . ?" I rubbed the grogginess from my eyes, wondering if I was experiencing some kind of weird dream. "I thought that you were with the others . . . "

"Pikyuu~!" Enthralled, his little ears perked up along with his tail.

They're back. Yona, Hak, Yoon and the other Dragons. They must've arrived while I was asleep!

With a start, I sat up from my blanket and took a swift look around the hut. No one except for the chipmunk resting on my lap was there. The area where Shin-Ah had been resting the night before was empty, as were the places where Jae-Ha and Ik-Soo had slept. The room was desolate, but the sun was shining in through the door and two voices could be heard from outside. I strained my ears to listen to them, curious as to which one belonged to who.

"Ik-Soo, why is this old bucket full of water? We have another one that is much lighter than the likes of this monstrosity, so why would you even consider using it?" The voice of Yoon asked, and I felt my left brow arch up with crude suspicion.

"Well . . . I wasn't the one using it, exactly," the priest's response was full of nervous laughter. I could imagine him placing his hand on the back of his neck. "One of the young Dragon's daily tasks was to go down to the stream and fill that bucket with water."