The Endless Forest

Felix, Zira, Eri, Aluin, and Ithea, found themselves sitting within the drawing room. Well, the first three were, Aluin and Ithea were standing, facing them.

Felix kept his eyes on the dragon woman, as she continued to stare at him. Zira had calmed down a little, but it seemed she hadn’t registered what Ithea had said. That, or she didn’t care. Felix was still digesting that news himself.

After Aluin had managed to calm everyone down just enough, they eventually had filed into the drawing room to discuss things further. The atmosphere was still tense.

There was the sound of a terrified kobold entering the room, carrying refreshments. It was Niri, and the tray and drinks shook as she entered. Still, she managed to set them down onto a small table that separated the group without spilling anything.

She trembled as she stood straight again, clearly unable to speak.

“Thank you Niri, that will be all,” Aluin said, neutrally.

Niri didn’t wait any further and fled, leaving everyone to once again get into a staring contest with one another. Felix and Zira staring at Ithea, Ithea at them. Aluin and Eri were having a similar contest but not quite as intense.

Finally, Aluin stepped up and picked his and Ithea’s drinks from the table, before handing one to the dragon woman. Felix didn’t touch his, but Eri cautiously grabbed hers.

“Anyways…” Aluin began after taking a sip from his cup. “I’ll start by apologizing for leaving so suddenly. I came to a realization a couple of days ago that I would be needing some extra help.”

Eri frowned at that. “Help? But Master–”

“Yes, Eri. Originally I wanted you to help, but the task at hand is too big for any one person.”

She was taken aback by that. “What do you mean? Why did you leave me in charge then?”

Aluin seemed to ponder her question while taking another sip. He never took his eyes off her. “Eri, this is just as much training for you as it is for Felix.” He sighed. “In many ways, this was training for me as well…”

“I don’t under…” She trailed off.

“Stand?” Aluin asked, attempting to finish her sentence.

Eri nodded.

“In time you will. But for now, all I can ask is that you trust me. Alright?”

Eri nodded once more, but her fists were balled up.

Finally, Aluin brought his attention over to Felix and Zira. “As for you two, I needed extra help.” He gestured to Ithea. “She wasn’t my first choice, but it would appear that the other Sages are indisposed at the moment–”

Ithea chuckled at that but said nothing more.

“Be that as it may… I’ve asked Ithea to help me.”

“Help…you?” Felix asked incredulously. “How?”

Ithea decided to speak up. “I’m here to train you, you and her.” She pointed to Zira.

Felix scoffed. “By training, you mean murder? I see it in your eyes, even Zira sees it.”

Aluin interjected. “You needn’t worry about her. She is under a strict contract to be here. That includes not harming or hurting you and Zira.”

“Contract?”

Aluin nodded. “Yes, a strong magical one. If she even thinks about breaking it, it will have dire consequences for her.”

Felix narrowed his eyes. “What kind of ‘consequences?’”

“Death,” Ithea said, beating Aluin.

Felix's eyes widened in shock, even Zira seemed to be taken aback by that.

“Not that you should concern yourself with any of that. My training will be quite…hazardous. Good chance you wouldn’t survive it anyway–”

“Ithea!” Aluin shouted, startling the sitting trio. “Your contract–”

She waved him off. “I know what the contract entails. I can’t hurt him, and I can’t allow any accidents to occur. But you asked for my help, you know how strict I will be.”

Felix almost didn’t want to know what she meant by ‘accidents’ but it sounded like she couldn’t willingly or knowingly hurt him, even indirectly. But that only puzzled him.

“Why?” He asked sternly. “Why do this? Why help?”

Ithea smiled her wicked smile. “Because of her, she is my daughter.” She pointed to Zira. “Is a mother not allowed to see her daughter?” She paused for a moment, downing her cup. “By the way, you hatching her would be tantamount to kidnapping… At least back before–”

“Ithea…” Aluin said, cautioning her.

“Back in the old days…” She seemed to consider something before continuing. “But I guess I can forgive you. Zira does seem happy with you…but we need to start her training promptly. Her void magic was rather weak…”

“Weak?! She’s barely hatched!” Felix said in an outburst.

“And?” Ithea closed her eyes, mana began to pull towards her. “She’s injured, her left arm. Was broken, but not fully healed… Healing magic was used, tastes like Eri’s.”

The dragon woman opened her eyes. “Need I say more?”

Felix sat there in stunned silence.

Aluin spoke up. “Eri? What happened?”

The elven woman flinched. “Zira tried to fly…”

“Proves my point, she is weak.” Ithea said, cutting back into the conversation.

Felix pulled himself together. “She is not weak! It was my fault!”

“Enough! Everyone calm down…” Aluin said regaining control. He turned to face Felix and Zira. “Does she need more healing?”

“Yes,” Felix answered before throwing a glare towards Ithea. “But now is not the time.”

The elf nodded. “I’ll take a look at it once we’re done here then.” He faced Ithea. “Now, can you explain what you mean by she is weak?”

The dragon woman shrugged. “Simple, she is a void dragon. We’re unique compared to other types of dragons. She needs to consume mana in order to become stronger. Normal food helps, of course, but it isn’t enough.

“It’s important for a newly hatched void dragon to consume as much mana as possible, especially during the first few weeks… Something that she hasn’t done.”

Ithea straightened up her posture, putting a hand to her chest. “It’s a good thing mama is here now, else things could’ve gotten worse…”

Felix ignored her grandstanding. “So how do we feed her mana? Last time something like that happened, Zira was still in her egg and the hatchery nearly turned into a giant icicle.”

The dragon woman cocked an eye. “Oh? Is that so? Then perhaps Zira isn’t as weak as I initially thought. We’ll have to test that…along with you.”

Felix gulped, he didn’t like where this was going.

“U-Uh… F-f-food r-ready…” A frightened kobold appeared in the doorway. It was Niri again, and she looked like she would faint at any moment.

Aluin sighed, to Felix it looked to be in relief.

“Food ready…” The poor kobold repeated herself.

Poor thing. I know exactly how you feel… Felix let out his own sigh, though there was no relief in his.

Actually, now that he had a brief moment to think, he realized that Zira had been oddly quiet during all this. It concerned him, but he didn’t get a chance to see how she was doing.

“Thank you, Niri.” Aluin said. This time the kobold didn’t wait to be excused before she ran out.

He cleared his throat. “Well, I think this is a good stopping point for now… I’ll have everyone else go on ahead while I take a look at Zira’s arm.”

With that, Ithea and Eri made their way out while Aluin, Felix, and Zira remained.

The elf approached and kneeled down. “I’m going to do a quick check first, I want to see how things are looking.”

Zira barely gave a nod in response. Felix bit his lip in frustration, he desperately wanted to comfort the dragon but there were other pressing matters. He could only hope a change of topic would help her calm down.

“Aluin, Zira told me something interesting a little bit ago. Right before…you showed up.”

“Oh? I’m listening.” The elf said, gently setting his hand down on the dragon’s arm.

“Yeah… I was thinking about how I am going to hatch all those eggs. There are some complications that would make it rather difficult. But then she told me something.”

He gave Zira a quick glance, she was listening but she made no outward sign of it. He shook his head and put on a forced smile. “She can apparently tell if someone is ‘safe,’ as she calls it.”

“Safe?”

“Yeah, safe… What she means, I think, is that she can tell if someone would be a good match for hatching an egg.”

Aluin was silent for a few moments, he moved his hands over to Zira’s side and then onto her wings. Felix couldn’t feel any mana coming out, but he trusted the elf knew what he was doing.

“That is…amazing, if it’s true. I suppose you’d like to test it?” He finally said.

Felix nodded in agreement. “That’s what I said… Oh, and yes. Though Zira already knows a good candidate.”

Aluin whipped his head up to face him. “Really? Who–”

Felix’s smile turned genuine as realization dawned on the elf. “Eri,” they both said at the exact same time.

Aluin looked back down at Zira, stroking his chin in thought. Meanwhile, Felix probed the bond to see how the dragon was doing.

Hey… How are you holding up? He decided to ask. I won’t push you, but you can talk to me if and when you want, okay?

Okay… Was the only response he got back. It was weak and distant, reminiscent of the few times he heard Fea talk to him. Felix wanted to cuddle her right then and there–

No, I will!

Dropping to the floor, he pulled her into a hug and didn’t let go. Aluin gave him a curious look but didn’t get in the way. Zira let out a surprised yelp, and tried to struggle for a moment.

He wouldn’t let go.

Eventually, the dragon began to calm down and accepted his embrace. I’ll always be here for you, no matter what. He said to her.

She sent him a flood of emotions, ranging from confusion to anger to fear. He took it all in, finally feeling the most important one, reserved just for him.

Love.

Zira nuzzled him, sending her thanks in a wave of more warm emotions. He just pulled her tighter to him and reciprocated with his own.

After a few moments Aluin cleared his throat, getting their attention. “I don’t mean to ruin your moment here, but…” He gestured to Zira’s arm and wings.

“Oh… Right. Sorry about that.” Regrettably, they pulled away from each other.

“Is this going to hurt?” He asked. “When Eri was healing, she couldn’t numb the pain.”

The elf shook his head. “Eri isn’t as well trained on healing magic, she can only accelerate the body's natural healing abilities. But I am going to be using a more advanced form, should heal her completely. It won't hurt, it will actually feel quite pleasant.”

“Oh, good…” He quickly added, “Not that we’re ungrateful for Eri’s help. But, it was quite painful.”

Aluin laughed softly at that. “Well, it’s something I will have to train her more on… Especially if she decides to hatch an egg. I have a feeling she’s going to need it.”

Felix raised his eyebrows, completely forgetting their conversation. “So… You’re alright with it?”

The elf shrugged. “The plan could work, but I’m hesitant. I am fine with testing it out first, just so long as Eri is okay with it. I’m not going to force her, it is a big deal and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly.”

Felix rubbed the side of his neck, he knew exactly what Aluin meant. “We’ll ask her later, she probably could do with some more rest. She’s been running herself ragged trying to take care of Zira.” There was a hint of guilt in his voice as he finished.

“I noticed… I planned on getting all the details from her then forcing her to bed.” Aluin turned his attention to Zira. “Now, let’s get this all healed up and go join the others.”

Hesitantly, Felix nodded, not really wanting to go sit anywhere near Ithea.

“Are you ready?” The elf asked Zira. “I promise it won’t hurt. Like I said, it will feel soothing.”

Zira, much like Felix, nodded with trepidation. For his part, Felix entered her mind just in case.

Aluin started, mana flowed out from him and formed an invisible ball in the palm of his hand. Slowly, he lowered it down onto the dragon’s side and let it radiate out.

Both Zira and Felix felt a warm and pleasant feeling begin to emanate and spread throughout her body. It concentrated around her injuries, and the subtle aches and pains quickly disappeared.

They got lost in the feeling, unsure how much time passed. But it came to an end when Aluin pulled his hand away.

“There. You should be back to normal now. Honestly, Eri did a phenomenal job. All the bones were perfectly set and mostly healed. She did miss quite a bit of bruising and tissue damage though…”

The elf stood up. “Go ahead and test everything out. I doubt I missed anything, but let's be sure.”

Zira stood up herself, and started with her left arm. She pulled and stretched it and even shifted her weight onto it. Her tail began to wag rather excitedly, something Felix felt quite jealous of.

Next, she flared out her wings, flapping them a couple of times. He could feel her happiness return in full now.

What happened surprised both him and Aluin though. Zira leapt up onto Aluin and began to lick and nuzzle him. Felix’s jealousy turned into pure envy, but he made no move to stop it.

Now I understand how you feel when I interact with Eri… He said, moping.

Good.

She eventually relented, leaving the poor elf to stand there stunned…and wet. He blinked slowly coming out of his stupor and looked down at the dragon who, herself, was looking mighty proud.

“You’re…welcome?” he said, apparently still processing what just happened.

Felix grumbled.

“Anyways… We should probably get, uh, going… I’ll just take a moment and dry myself off.” Aluin raised his hand up to himself and began to draw out more mana.

Felix watched curiously as the elf began to dry off. Flecks of…something also began to fall away, dissipating into the air.

“Ah, that’s better…” Aluin relaxed, meeting Felix’s eyes. “Hadn’t had a proper bath in the last few days. It was terrible.”

“I see… And those flecks?”

The elf waved it off. “Just grime, the spell takes care of it so you don’t have to worry about a mess.”

Huh, useful… “Could you teach me something like that?” Felix eyed the dragon. He realized that neither he nor Zira had had a proper bath.

How do you properly bathe a dragon anyways? A shiver ran down his spine, he might have to just ask the one person he would rather avoid.

Aluin spoke up, distracting him from such a terrible thought. “Oh sure, it’s quite a simple spell. It wouldn't take very long to learn– Actually, I think we’ll take the afternoon to see what all Eri has managed to teach you.”

“Mana control,” Felix shrugged. “To be honest, with everything that happened, we didn’t get much of a chance to move past that.”

“Hmm, I understand but I’m a little surprised you managed to learn it so quickly.” The elf sounded intrigued.

“Oh! Mana sight, as well.”

“Now I'm definitely curious. We will test it more after lunch.” Aluin gestured to the doorway. “Let’s go…”

***

“Now according to Eri, you only had one session. Is that accurate?” Aluin asked.

“Yeah, it is…” Felix said, feeling embarrassed.

They were sitting on the grass in front of the manor. Zira was sitting practically on Felix’s side, not wanting to be any further away. And who could blame her? Ithea was sitting on the porch behind them, watching them.

Their lunch had been quick and quiet. The tension had built to the point that it could have been cut with a knife. Though thankfully, nothing came of it… Yet.. It wasn’t until after they finished eating, and Aluin went to go speak with Eri, that the dragon woman even acknowledged their presence.

Surprisingly enough, she kept it cordial. She wanted to watch Felix’s training so as to get a better feel of him. What he actually thought she wanted was to see just how weak he truly was. He didn’t say this, of course, but he couldn’t find a reason to reject her request…

“Hmm, alright. Do you remember all the instructions?”

“I think so? Focus on my breathing and ignore everything else.”

Aluin shook his head. “You know what? Let’s just see how you do. We’ll make corrections as we go along.”

He nodded and got into the proper position to start meditating.

“Okay, good so far. Continue.”

Hearing that, Felix closed his eyes and started focusing on his breathing. It took a while, especially with Ithea staring at him, but he soon found himself getting into his trance…

Unlike before though, he didn’t delve into the inner recesses of his mind. No, this time he wanted to test if he could bring that spark to him.

But that wasn’t the first thing he did. Instead, he focused on the bond that he and Zira shared. He wanted to truly explore it, and this was the perfect opportunity. He already knew where it laid within his mind and began moving towards it.

As soon as he got to the bond, he began to study it. He had originally imagined it being something close to a tunnel or a thread. But what he found was something even more strange.

There was nothing there, at least from what he could ‘see.’ However, as he moved closer he began to feel a change. Felix had no words to describe it, only that it was somehow different.

He ‘crossed’ the threshold and was suddenly in Zira’s mind. He could see her surprise as she too began to probe his consciousness. Yet, there was something different about entering her mind like this.

Whereas outside of his meditation, he could feel her emotions and thoughts, they were more jumbled together. He had to sift through them, unless they combined their minds together. Here though? He could see each and every emotion and thought individually. They were much more vivid too.

Too vivid in fact.

A sudden whiplash had him sucked instantly back into his own head, threatening to pull him out of his meditation altogether. He could feel his body tense up from the over-stimulation, but he fell back to his basics and refocused on his breathing.

A few moments later, he calmed back down. Not wanting to try his luck a second time, he switched his focus to his other task. Calling forth that spark, and possibly Fea.

This was going to be difficult, he knew that. However, something told him he could do this. So he reached out, and ‘called’ for it.

Several moments passed and nothing happened.

He tried again, this time trying to focus on all the strange and weird sensations he had last time. There was a tiny amount of movement but nothing else. He was going to need even more focus.

Pulling back slightly, he tried a slightly different approach. Instead of focusing on the spark, he focused on Fea.

Please Fea, guide it to me. He heard and felt his voice echo within his mind. Reaching out, he would try one more time. He did his best to remember every little detail; the sensation of her touching him, the feeling of her calming him down, her words…

A flash…

It was close.

Another one, even closer.

Felix could feel something moving towards him.

One finally flash, and the spark was in front of him just out of reach.

Please! He begged.

It appeared in his hand, he quickly closed it.

His body became electrified, buzzing with energy. He swore he could feel someone smile at him, but it was gone as more energy flooded his body. He blinked, seeing the shape of a woman staring back at him. The details were too blurry for him to make out, but he knew who it was.

She embraced him in a hug and the energy swirling in him stabilized.

He blinked once more and it was over.

Fea…