Baal moved through the dark cave with ease, his keen vision piercing through the blackness. Androw, on the other hand, could only see pitch black in front of him, straining his eyes and expecting something to leap out at every corner. He had never thought Dragonmont could be this deep and hollow.
Laying closer to the saddle to avoid getting hit by the bumpy cave top, Androw felt a growing irritation. He had no choice if he didn't want to be knocked off Baal's back. "Baal, couldn't you have picked a cave with a little more headroom?" he joked, trying to lighten his own mood. "I swear, if I get one more bump, I'm going to start thinking you want me to have a shorter life span."
As time passed, Androw noticed a scent of rotten eggs growing stronger. At first, he ignored it, as Baal often smelled the same. But as the scent grew stronger, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were approaching another dragon's lair.
"Ugh, it smells like a dragon's been having a farting contest down here," Androw muttered, half to himself and half to Baal. "Let's hope it's Balerion.".
Androw wanted to cover his nose but chose not to. At last, Baal seemed to have entered a huge cavity, and the dragon stopped moving forward. Androw frowned and asked, "Why did you stop, Baal?"
In response, Baal growled in a low voice, clearly uneasy. The response Androw wanted came from the other side of the cavern. Four eyes appeared, glowing faintly in the darkness, moving towards Androw and his dragon. Other than those eyes, Androw could see nothing. But the feeling this dragon exuded was enough for Androw to guess who it was—none other than Balerion the Black Dread.
Baal remained cautious, not daring to growl back at Balerion, as he knew who the king here was. Androw felt Baal's thoughts connect with his own, both of them equally clueless about what to do next.
For Androw, Balerion evoked the same feeling he had when he first met Dreamfyre, Rhaena's dragon—the sense that this creature belonged to someone else. He couldn't shake the thought that it might be Aerea. Androw muttered under his breath, cursing, "That little prick Aerea."
He wasn't aware, or perhaps had forgotten, that Aerea often visited Dragonmont. It wasn't the first time she'd been there, even on the same day he tamed Baal. Androw thought back to how Aerea seemed to know exactly where to go in the cave while he had been the stubborn one that night. It dawned on him that he might have walked into a death trap, trusting his gut.
Feeling Balerion's growl growing harsher, Androw realized the Black Dread was warning them to leave his territory. Baal showed no signs of aggression, understanding the unspoken command. Androw, eyes wide with the fear that those eyes big as his head instilled, said to Baal, "Move back."
Baal slowly took small steps backward, but when Balerion roared, Baal hastened his retreat. Without delay, Baal started to leave the cave, roaring in annoyance, feeling defeated—well, thanks to his rider not being bold enough. Androw, however, was glad that the matter hadn't escalated further. If it had, Baal would have been easily defeated in the narrow space, with both dragons ganging up on him.
As they exited the cave, Androw sighed in relief. "That was too close," he muttered. "We need to be smarter about this, Baal. Charging in without a plan isn't going to get us anywhere."
Baal rumbled in agreement, his frustration evident. But an unexpected turn of events happened as they bumped into another group of young wild dragons—four of them. Two of the dragons darted away quickly enough to get noticed by the Cannibal, while the other two, which were slightly grown, growled at Baal in fear, spraying their flames at him. The flames left Baal unscathed, merely warming his scales.
Seeing the sudden appearance of the other dragons, Androw's mood escalated, not just his but Baal's too, who found new toys to vent his pent-up frustration from a moment ago. Androw noticed Baal's change in mood and suddenly thought of Baal's great history of being a Cannibal, making him say to himself, "No way."
Baal started to charge at the young dragons. "Baal, you bloody idiot, stop!" Androw screamed, calling him bad words to halt his attack on the dragons, which caused Baal to roar in anger. "Stop it, you stubborn bitch! We're not here to attack them!"
While the other two young dragons began to move back, about to slip away, Androw screamed at them, commanding them like he would a disobedient dog. "Stay right there, you little bastards!"
Though confused, the young dragons seemed to understand him, stopping in their tracks as he wanted. Androw quickly dismounted Baal, raising his hands in a gesture of peace towards the frightened dragons. "Easy now," he said in high valyrian, trying to calm the situation. "We're not here to harm you.".
Baal, still bristling with anger, watched as Androw slowly approached the young dragons.
[
Okay, I got back on track. There are some questions regarding why the MC seems to show interest in the little girl Aerea. As you know, the MC was once a grown man full of hope, having his family, child, and so on. He sympathizes with Aerea because of her fate and wants to change it if he can. After all, we can't blame the child for acting like a bad girl and causing others to hate her. Blame her parents.
The next chapter will be available soon. Before the public release, it will be available on Patreon as unedited content. All patrons can access it when it becomes available. That's enough for today. I'm tired after reading through "Fire and Blood" again.
link: patreon.com/AmouxCreationX
]