The moment those words had slipped from his lips the dark, damp grass welcomed him. Rehan had just dropped forward and was now lying on the ground without being able to move even the smallest part of his weakened body. The cold sweat on Blitz's skin could no longer be distinguished from the dew and thick tears still rolled until they sank into the soft earth.
"Why are you idiots just watching? Help him, if you lot want to!"
A shrill voice tore up the time that seemed to have stopped and quick steps approached Rehan. He didn't know who was talking, but he would find out soon. The person dropped to their knees in front of him and pulled him into two slim but strong arms. They were also covered by a dark brown fur and tried to give him the most comfortable position. As soon as they had found said position, the boy could see blurred outlines of the person. His pupils narrowed as he tried to get a clearer picture.
"Try to breathe first. Deep, in and out. I'll explain everything to you, but breathing comes first."
The shrill voice was soft now and fingertips brushed Rehan's forehead, removing the strands that stuck to his face. The little boy tried to follow the instructions with a panicked look, but it was visibly difficult for him. When the unknown person was just moving their finger over the blood-smeared chin, the child's mouth opened.
"Sister." Blitz choked out, then tried to escape the safe arms. However, since his body was completely immobile, it only ended with a very helpless-looking twitch of his legs.
"Don't worry, your sister is fine. She is still sleeping soundly." assured the voice. Then Blitz's friendly Samaritan rose and walked in an unknown direction. In the background he heard the quiet conversations of those who had been watching. Although he only heard snatches of conversations, he now knew that this was the mercenary group he had been waiting for. Unfortunately, he didn't know where Brie was – at least she seemed to be doing well – nor how her first meeting with Romeo went.
According to the will of fate, the always cold Romeo should have had a human-looking reaction to her for the first time. The fact that he decided to stand by her side and take care of her had earned him strange looks and low laughter. At this point in time, both main characters should be together at a small lake, since Brie had wanted to take a bath and Romeo decided to stay by her side for protection. The information even briefly mentioned that Blitz was still sleeping and therefore unable to accompany Brie. The two main characters had left him on the stump with a thick quilt and then walked to the lake.
Rehan almost felt the need to ask the unknown person about Romeo's whereabouts. After all, Blitz didn't wake up on the stump, nor did the leading female role appear to be awake. Something didn't seem to be going as fate predicted. Nevertheless, he preferred to keep his mouth shut since he had never seen Romeo at this point in the story. So, it would make no sense for him to ask about the young boy. Rehan could only hope that the adult who carried him would reveal more information by himself.
* * *
With a heavy flutter, the leather fabric slid down the back of the adult's hand. Rehan was now in another tent, still in that person's arms. In the meantime, he had also been able to make out some facial contours. Pointed chin, high cheekbones and thin rosy lips. Their hair was long and tied up in a high braid. The chest Rehan leaned against was covered with several layers of fabric. The outermost garment glowed dark blue and was interrupted by a brown chest protector on the left side. This person seemed very orderly, certainly not the one who lived in the tent where Rehan had woken up. Nevertheless, the aura of a leader surrounded him and Rehan – as a secondary character – had the vague feeling that this person could still be dangerous.
"Jasper!"
The little boy involuntarily turned his head and sought protection on the broad chest against which he was lying. Seconds later it vibrated with a hearty laugh.
"A little less excitement, please. You'll scare the little one." Jasper said and immediately sat down on one of the two vacant chairs. Still extremely careful with the child, he placed him on his lap so that he could look at the room. Rehan did this directly and noticed right away that this tent was smaller than the one in which he had spent the night. At the same time, there were two beds and a long, narrow table between the two. At the foot of the beds stood two old wooden chests, which obviously belonged to the two girls sitting on the right bed. Their ceiling was only covered by a large blue rune for weather resistance, indicating to Rehan that they were normal members of the group. In this moment, two names popped up in his mind, which he assigned directly to these girls.
"They are Thea and Korey. Both looked after your sister." Jasper explained before he helped Blitz turn his head to the left bed. As a result, however, he missed the reserved greeting that Korey had indicated with a slight gesture.
"And there's your sister, safe and sound."
The tears, which had stopped flowing for a short time, now shot out again and a heart-breaking sob broke out from the little boy's throat. This time, however, relief could be seen in the turquoise eyes. The corners of his mouth moved upward before he tried to slide off the lap he was sitting on. Unfortunately for him, the adult didn't let go.
"You are too weak, little one. Try not to move at all. Movement will only destroy the last bit of muscles you have."
"Uuuh, Jasper are you going to stay here?"
The one who had spoken was Thea, who no longer sat on the bed. She had stood up and begun to put on her leather chest protector, choosing one that covered the entire chest. Meanwhile, her tentmate stayed on the bed and looked worriedly at the little boy in Jasper's arms.
"Not for long, not for long." He waved off before turning the little body of the child, letting his legs dangle over the armrest of the chair.
"I just want you to inspect whether or not this little boy really is a human." The tall young woman stopped moving and looked at Jasper impassively. Her curved eyebrow twitched unobtrusively, then she turned her back to the long-haired man. "He's certainly human. I don't need to look at him any further. A Yinnian would have torn off their nose long ago since I lit a few incense candles with walberry extract in our tent last night. You know how Yinnians react to it."
"Hmm, I know." the adult admitted, looking down at the boy who didn't utter another word. Tears were still gathering in those big round eyes, but stayed there while the dark pupils never let go of the silhouette of his sleeping sister. Jasper wrinkled his nose before continuing. "I still want you to check on his humanity. A few minutes ago, he formed a golden core."
"What?!"
Thea's surprised voice shattered her unbothered image. The coat she was about to put on fell out of her hands. Korey's eyes widened as well and her mouth opened slightly. But she quickly closed it again and grimaced as if she had eaten something sour. Her eyes dropped from the boy and focused on the entrance to the tent. Her expression showed hope and despair at the same time.
"That's why he isn't able to move at all. Creating a core has deprived him of all his strength. All the vitality he had, except for the minimal bit to keep his body alive, was completely drained. The pain must have been immense. How can a mere human being, a child even, survive such pain? I don't believe that something like this is possible."
Jasper's soft voice changed and got a hard undertone. If Rehan could face him, he would see the greedy glow in his eyes that showed up briefly.
So short that even Thea, who was otherwise very susceptible to something like this, didn't notice it. In addition, she had to process the information that had just been thrown against her head. Her movements were hesitant and stopped for a moment when she looked into the face of the child who only had eyes for their big sister. Full of affection and concern. The decision to examine him for his humanity became more and more difficult for her. The process was also painful and hadn't this boy experienced enough pain already?
Rehan counted on these thoughts to delay the investigation as long as possible. The dragon's blood would no longer be recognizable. It wasn't a concern for him. The bigger problem were the scales on his shin. Due to excess magic they were in danger to spread even faster and maybe kill him prematurely. It would be a great risk to accept the examination. Additionally, Jasper still gave him a bad feeling. Rehan didn't know what the adult would do to him and Brie if he somehow realized that they both had dragons blood flowing through their veins.
When Thea took another step towards him, her silver armguard struck the handle of a small dagger that was attached to her belt. She wasn't the only one flinching at the sound. Now the little boy's attention focused on the young woman. His pupils narrowed again and fear flashed in them. He tried to move his limbs, but it was pointless because of the hand that had appeared over his stomach and prevented the child's body from gathering its last strength.
The fearful look struck Thea's heart and she was about to back away, but Jasper's voice rang again.
"Thea, a little investigation won't kill him. He has survived the golden core and is strong enough to withstand the impact of your gentle energy. Trust me."
The long-haired man's words seemed to have an effect as the hesitation in Thea's face slowly dissipated. Only her otherwise full lips were still pressed together into a narrow line.
"Besides, his sister doesn't have to go through the procedure, if he goes through it for her."
Jasper's head dropped and the fingers of his free hand brushed the wavy strands off the boy's face, who didn't take his eyes off Thea.
"You want to make sure your sister doesn't have to endure pain, right?"
'So that's your plan, huh?' Rehan thought to himself. He twitched the corners of his mouth to represent a brief inner dispute with himself. Only then did he indicate a nod.
"I'll take on everything." he managed, while a single tear flowed out of his left eye. These words corresponded to the character of Blitz and also that of Rehan. He would just grit his teeth and resist the pain. Just as he had done before. He was used to pain, which didn't mean he didn't feel it, but at least it would never kill him or drive him insane. And for the golden scales… he would find a way to get through this. He had to. It was his mission to help both main characters find a happy life. Together, as fate dictated.
Thea's slim, cool fingertips finally reached the skin on his neck and settled over his pulse. Rehan could already feel her own magical energy pressing against every pore and trying to penetrate the skin. A strained wrinkle formed on his forehead and his eyes closed, awaiting the pain that didn't occur… even after several seconds passed.