I didn't know that there could be no antidote to a curse and someone could be stuck as a monster forever. Razerous then shook off the dread from his face and smiled again. "So, if you would like some extra help taking care of her, then I wouldn't have a problem staying around for a while." I shook my head. "No. I have to protect her myself." Razerous then crossed his arms. "Then who's going to protect you?"
I gave him an irritated look and he laughed as he returned to sitting on the grass. "Tell me. I'm very interested to know how this quest of yours has been going. You've been the talk of the forests. I'm sure you've had complaints." I rolled my eyes and sat down next to him. "Tell me about it." I then continued to talk to him about every pain in my ass that's been thrown at me so far, and I didn't even realize that he had gotten me to spill my life's story until a few hours in.
As I watered May and made sure she was safe, he had somehow distracted me from the panic of taking care of her. He was a good listener and even made me crack a smile every once in a while. By the time I realized this, I was more grateful than anything but didn't know how to say it. By nightfall when the sky had covered itself with a blanket of violet, I found it difficult to stay awake. I leaned my back against a tree again and yawned.
Razerous had put some twigs inside a circle of rocks and made a fire using only his breath. He turned to me and noticed my tiredness. "May is budded for the night so it'll be less easy to damage her. Why don't you get some shut-eye? I'll keep watch." I laughed a little as I rested my head against the trunk. "Yeah, there's no way I trust you enough to do that. I've stayed up countless nights before. I'll be fine."
Razerous chuckled at my response. "All the more reason to get some sleep." I hesitated for a moment before changing the subject. "I didn't expect a dragon to care so much. The dragon we have is such a bitch. But then again, he's our bitch." Razerous laughed and turned to look at the fire. "Dragons are known for their stubbornness. My older brother was probably the sassiest dragon I've ever known, but when it counted he was always there for me."
I began to think about my brother and rolled my eyes. "I can't imagine why. Little brothers are a pain." Razerous tilted his head a little and folded his arms over his knees. "Yes we are, that's why we need our brother's guidance. Many children admire their older siblings and mirror their actions. That's why it's important to set a good example for them." I paused, remembering back to our childhood when Dymas told me he wanted to be like me as I shoved his head into a fountain. 'Wait a minute, did Dymas change because he was mirroring me?'
The thought made surprise visible on my face but it faded soon after. 'That's a thinker.' After a while of no sound other than the crackling of the fire, I found myself closing my eyes. Razerous noticed and turned to me. "I thought you weren't sleeping tonight." By the sound of his voice, I could tell he was smiling and I held May closer to me. "Shut up. I'm just resting my eyes."
I was planning to open them after a few minutes but I accidentally fell asleep. I awoke again to the late morning sun shining over me. I opened my eyes slowly and saw the quiet forest ahead of me under the blue sky. I was still waking up and didn't really notice the weight that was on top of me until a small arm wrapped around my neck.
I looked down and saw May sleeping soundly and no longer a rose. Her other arm was holding mine like a stuffed animal; which was the same arm her stem was wrapped around before. I blushed as she snuggled closer to me but felt sudden relief that I had somehow managed to break the spell.
I turned to tell Razerous but stopped myself before I spoke at the sight that he was gone. I looked around me but he was nowhere in sight. I returned to looking ahead of me with confusion. "Huh." May then started to wake up and gasped once she opened her eyes. She popped up and grabbed my face with both her hands in joy. "You did it! I knew you could do it!" I then flipped her off of my lap before she could see my blush. "Oof!"
I crossed my arms and looked away from her. "Of course I did. So... Do you remember anything that happened while you were like that?" I thought of when I said she was pretty and braced myself for her answer. She sat up next to me and raised a finger to her chin in thought. "It was really weird. It's like I had senses but they were completely different than ours. It's hard to describe but I could see without eyes and hear without ears. It was like I was in a different dimension. Yet, I could still recognize you."
I turned to look at her again with an eyebrow raised. "What could you hear?" She continued to hesitate. "Again, it's hard to describe. When you spoke I couldn't understand it but at the same time, I could feel the emotion behind it. Hehe, you gave me a compliment, right?" I blushed again suddenly and she pinched my cheek. "Come on, bestie. What did you say?" I smacked her hand away, flustered. "Nothing!! Drop it or I'll end you!"
May rubbed her hand with the other one after I smacked her but she continued to smile. "Alrighty. Just knowing that you complimented me is enough for me!" She then turned around with curiosity. "Oh yeah, was someone else here? I remember feeling a soothing presence." I looked around as well. "Yeah, this half-dragon guy. He just left without a trace." There was a second of silence before a voice came from next to us. "Morning!"
Both May and I jumped to see Theodius standing a few feet away. "Ah!!" Theodius didn't pay our reaction any mind and rested his hands behind his back with a smile. "Well, well, well. I'm surprised you did it. I was certain that you wouldn't make it this far. Are you ready for your next test?" I groaned and May put her hands in the air. "We are!" She then pulled the map from her satchel and held it up to Theodius. "I had a question about this one. The map only shows a location and not a description. What do we have to do here?"
Theodius's smile grew as his eyes went to me. "Ah, yes. I will give further instructions once you arrive there, but all Dedrin needs to do for now is go to that village and say this simple phrase to the watchmen. The phrase being, 'I want to become a man.' Okay?"