Next day, as usual, the chief's family's son went back home early right after his classes. The shaman has not returned yet, therefore, Ling did not need to go to the waterfalls area to train. These days, he only meditated alone as his training.
A small figure was skipping while walking home, excited for their next nightly adventure. Last night, Rin stopped them from going because it was already late. But, according to Rin, in three days, their classes will end earlier because the village will prepare for the coming trade. Then, he and his friends could start their excursion in the cave early.
He was thinking of the food he could bring tonight since he had to bring more and store them for their adventure. When he entered their house, his thoughts were broken from seeing his mother and father talking. It was still early for his father to be back and there was only one time he remembered when this happened before.
"Mother, Father, I'm home. I'll start my training now in the back garden." As this was the usual, he did not wait for his parents' permission and immediately turned to their house's back door.
However, he heard his mother call for him, "Come here, Ling! We have a surprise for you."
She turned to her husband, looking excited. The little boy, still excitedly skipping to the garden froze. He then turned his head to inquire about this surprise.
Taking the cue from his wife, Bobo crouched to talk closer to his son, "Remember the shaman was away these days because he was talking to the nearby villages regarding this year's trade?"
"Yes, father." To avoid getting any suspicions on his nightly activities, the boy's small face was already used to not showing his expression.
Seeing the attentive look of his son, Bobo continued, "Father will also be joining the trade which will start in three days. Your mother and I talked and we got the per-"
"You can join their travel this year!" A louder, gay voice interrupted Bobo which made him turn to his wife, unable to see the horrified look on Ling's face.
"He's speechless! My baby is also excited for this!"
Ling composed himself before his parents noticed his expression. He did not want to join the travel since he had his own adventure planned that day but he could not give it as a reason for not joining.
In a beat, he realized he could say that he was afraid like what they assumed was the reason from his previous incident, "Mother, I-"
"You shouldn't encounter any beasts this time! The land the group will travel is devoid of any forest and the sailing will be short. You just have to keep yourself shielded from outside 'haze'."
Unable to contradict that, he thought of not having anything to do there since no other children joined before and his father will be busy.
With this thought, he smiled and stuttered, "B-but-"
"Your father will not be the leader this time. It will be Shaman Matnaad so he will not leave you alone!" Mahina said with a side glare to her husband.
With no further sounds coming from Ling, Mahina smiled widely, "This will be a fun adventure. I know you'll love it!"
From his observation, Bobo thought that his son looked devastated but he learned from before, 'The wife is always right.'
___
Later that night, in the cave near the village, the rustling of leaves and rush of water in the river could not din the wailing inside.
"Waaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!! U-waaaahhh..."
A dragon and a small child were staring speechless at the noisy figure sitting before them.
"I-I- *hiccup* I don't want to join the trade! *hiccup* I want to be with Maga a-and Rin for an adventure!"
Fed up with all the boy's complaints, Rin stepped forward, the dragon and the boy, meanwhile, jerked from surprise of the unexpected movement.
With shining eyes from the boy staring at him, Rin spoke, "Your parents already told you to join. It's not like you're not coming back. We will proceed with the plan with just the two of us since you also went there before."
"B-but-"
Before he could argue, Rin interjected, "Maga can guide me going to that place you talked of and I will ensure the both of us will be safe. You know you can't tell your parents about this adventure since they might stop it."
The boy's cheeks were now puffed out with his head bowed, still thinking of other arguments. But Ling knew he could not change his fate this time. Resolved of this, he swiped his tears and snot with the back of his hand then stared resolutely at his friend, "Th-then you have to take care of Maga. He's still a baby."
He turned to the dragon next. "And Maga, you have to follow Rin. I don't want y-you growling at him again," the boy sighed, "If only I can tell them about Maga."
"Your mother is a worrywart and your father doesn't look dependable. Also, even if they knew, they won't let you go down the cave."
As if understanding the humans' conversation, the dragon also bowed its head after following the back-and-forth dialogue of the two children.
Seeing the dispirited look of his friend, Ling suddenly thought of a solution, "Then I'll tell my master." After giving a smile because of that idea, Ling continued with a determined look, "But after our adventure. I don't want him to stop me."
___
On the day the trading group were departing, the weather was still the usual hot because of the air coming from the volcano. The activities to prepare for the long travel added to the sweat of the helping villagers.
When the trading group set off, a young boy in one of the carriages was still looking through the window at the nearby forest, thinking of his friends and the adventure waiting for him once he got back home.
'Goodbye!'