After returning to his desk after talking with Markus, Edward continued his work as if nothing happened. Luckily, he had managed to finish the rest of his work day without incident. A few people asked about his new appearance to which he simply stated that he had gotten his hair dyed. He also made sure to release Ikarus on the roof to stretch his legs out every now and then— so the dragon appeared happy by the end of the day.
That night, Edward went back into the game. When he did so, he saw the expected bright light signaling Ikarus's return to the game world. Ikarus landed gracefully upon the grass plain and looked up at Edward.
"Now, let's start looking for a town," Edward muttered to himself. He opened up his menu but couldn't a map function. He looked down at his scaled friend and asked, "Any chance you could fly up there and look for a town?"
Ikarus stared at Edward in silence— unaware that he had even been addressed.
'I have to learn the dragon language soon— this is becoming inconvenient,' Edward thought to himself. Luckily Ikarus was a smart monster— smart enough to be communicated with. After drawing in the grass and playing charades for a minute or two, Ikarus quickly nodded and took off into the sky.
From his time on the roof with Ikarus, Edward knew the dragon could fly— just not for very long. At most, he would only be able to keep rising into the air for a minute. Afterwards, his wings would run out of energy and the dragon would have to glide back down to safety.
Edward waited patiently as he watched Ikarus rise high in the sky. Thirty seconds later, as Ikarus began to hover in place and search the horizon, Edward looked away and opened his menu. For a moment, he had an idea.
'If Ikarus can't find a town, it would be good to have a set of maps,' Edward thought to himself. He quickly opened his menu and navigated to the friend's list. At the moment, Markus was the individual on this list— as the two of them had made sure to friend each other not long after Edward's ascension.
Edward knew it wouldn't be good to have only one friend, but he wasn't in any position to request for more.
'You doing okay?' Edward asked. He knew it would've been impolite if he disregarded what happened the last time the two of them talked to each other. Edward still couldn't understand why somebody would be afraid of Ikarus, but he knew it wouldn't be right to assume. Maybe Markus was afraid because he wasn't a Dragonkin.
Silence lingered for a few seconds before Markus replied.
'I'm okay,' His message stated. It was very short, unlike Markus's usual replies, so Edward grew worried.
'I'm sorry about Ikarus. I didn't know he would scare you that bad,' Edward typed. As soon as he did so, Ikarus roared from above and began to descend back to the ground. Edward held out his arm and watched as Ikarus glided to it like a falcon returning to its master. Once his claws landed on Edward's shoulder, Ikarus immediately returned to his spot on Edward's shoulder.
'How are you not afraid of that thing?' Markus's message felt judgmental and rude. Edward's eyebrows furrowed as he read it, so he quickly replied.
'He has a name,' Edward replied, annoyed, 'And he's mine. I get that you were surprised, but that's no way to treat somebody's pet. How would you feel if I went into your home and screamed when I saw your dog?'
Markus didn't have a dog, but that piece of information wasn't important for the situation. Silence dawned as Edward waited for Markus's reply.
'I'm sorry, I should've considered how you felt about it,' Markus finally replied, 'But I can't face your… pet… with a reasonable mind. When I look at that thing, it's like my entire body begs me to run away. A pet lion would be more docile than your dragon.'
Edward looked at his message, surprised. He didn't consider that Ikarus's presence could potentially cause a mental reaction akin to danger. Edward immediately assumed it was because Markus wasn't a Dragonkin. It seemed Edward was immune to Ikarus's dragon presence without him even knowing it.
'I'll look into it,' Edward replied, 'But I need your help with something. If you can find the time, can you grab me a bunch of maps?'
'What do you need maps for? Why can't you grab them yourself?' Markus asked. Edward was glad his friend was quick to change the subject.
'I'm nowhere near a city, so I can't. I was hoping a map would help me around the map if I needed it,' Edward replied. He began to scratch the scales underneath Ikarus's chin. The dragon purred loudly, his eyes closed as he began to relax. His wings dropped closer to his body as his legs began to droop over Edward's shoulder.
'I'm not even going to ask. Sure, I'll grab some maps. What do you need, specifically?' Markus asked.
'Maps of where the dungeons and towns are. If you could find one that includes both, that would be very helpful,' Edward answered, 'If not, that would be okay as well. I might be able to find my own way.'
'I'll look, but no promises. I've heard this game world is massive,' Markus said. Then, Edward closed the chat box and returned his attention to his dragon. As soon as Ikarus realized Edward was no longer occupied, he quickly rose into the air and flew circles above Edward's head.
"Did you find one?" Edward asked. The dragon cheered and then began to fly north. Edward smiled gleefully as he ran to catch up with the flying reptile.