The Endless Forest

Felix bent over, catching his breath. He’d just got done with his mana training, which had included activating and using it while on the move. It had been a lot more tiring than he’d predicted…

It was the middle of the next day and originally, he was going to confront Ithea. However the dragon woman had disappeared, and no one knew where she was. Aluin seemed to not be concerned, but Felix felt that something was wrong.

Feeling his heart rate slow, he stood up straight. There isn’t anything I can do about it though. He thought to himself, bringing his hands and arms up for inspection. His bandages were gone and he was only left with light scarring, which according to Aluin, would fade over the next few days.

Magic is scary…

“It definitely can be.” A familiar voice said behind him. It was Eri, and she too had just finished her own routine.

“Oh… Did I say that out loud?” He asked embarrassingly.

Eri let out a lighthearted chuckle, it only served to further embarrass him.

The two of them were training together, all while under the watchful eye of Aluin. Meanwhile, the two dragons were currently sunbathing but that wasn’t going to last. Felix and Zira were going to be doing some of their own personal training shortly.

To make things more interesting, he could feel a dozen or so eyes all staring at him. A group of kobolds had come out to watch their ‘Master’ train. Curiously, there was no Uzreg.

Why did we have to train back here? He wondered, feeling awkward under so much attention. Aluin had decided that they would train near the hatchery for the sake of the newest member to their little group.

In fact, they had all ended up sleeping in the hatchery, using the mats that Uzreg had provided for them. It had not been a comfortable experience.

To add insult to injury, Felix had missed the ‘feast’ promised by the old gray kobold. Though Eri had returned the favor of him saving food by doing the same thing for him. It had been a kind gesture, but after their little hug, it had made him feel uncomfortable…

“I must say, you are a natural when it comes to magic.” Aluin said, joining them. He had been watching from near the dragons. “No issues with pulling from your mana, but your spell activation still needs work. Forcing it, like you are, isn’t good.”

The elf continued, “Usually, it takes months for even the most proficient elf to get to this stage. Years for the least gifted.”

Felix rubbed the side of his neck awkwardly. “Thanks… I don’t know why, but it just comes to me.” Actually, I have a pretty good idea why… He didn’t bother to voice this however.

“Anyways, I believe we’re done for now.” Aluin looked over his shoulder to where the dragons laid. “I know you two are wanting to spend some time with your companions.” The elf let out a sigh. “I have a meeting to attend, so I will be gone the rest of the day.”

“With the other Sages?” Eri asked, sounding surprised.

“Yes, it was meant to be held in a few days,” he gestured to Felix, “but I asked if we could push it forward to discuss his plan.”

When did he do that? Felix wondered, silently listening to their conversation.

“His plan?” Eri thought for a second. “Oh, for hatching dragons.”

“Indeed. I believe it warrants discussion, and rather soon. Felix, here, is wanting to find suitable individuals. It will take time, but we might as well start getting prepared now.”

Hearing his name, Felix decided to interject. “Well, there’s no rush…”

Aluin shook his head. “No, there is. Last night, after our conversation, I did what I do best. Think about the future.”

There was a pause while he waited for the elf to finish, but when Aluin didn’t, Felix finally replied. “I see…”

“Anyways,” Aluin said, straightening up, “I need to leave. I’ll be back tomorrow morning– Oh and Felix?”

“Yes?”

“Try not to get hurt, again, while I’m away. That would be greatly appreciated.”

“Right. I mean, I promise I won't.”

The elf stared at him for several painful moments before shrugging. “We shall see.”

With that Aluin made his exit, heading for the manor to gather a few things before leaving properly…

Meanwhile, Felix and Eri made their way over to the resting dragons.

Are you awake? Felix asked, almost whispering.

Zira cracked an eye open and looked up at him. Yes. We train now?

That is the plan, are you ready? He said, watching as Zira stretched and yawned before standing up.

I ready, she said.

Something similar was happening with Eri and Kyrith, though much slower. The younger dragon looked to have actually fallen asleep, and the elven woman was in the process of coaxing him awake.

Good, we’ll move a little out of the way and practice more with what we were doing yesterday.

Yesterday, they had started working on her void magic, specifically eating the surrounding mana. It turned out to be a lot more difficult to do actively than passively.

“We’re going to go a little further out, mainly to get away from all the prying eyes.” He said out loud to Eri. She had finally managed to wake the other dragon.

“Hmm, that’s not a bad idea… Perhaps we’ll do the same.” She responded.

“Well, we’re going to be working on Zira’s void magic. I don’t know how that will affect you or Kyrith, so maybe don’t get too close.”

“That’s fair, I was thinking of maybe going to the front of the manor.” Eri said, helping the sleepy dragon up. “Actually, he hasn’t seen the manor yet. I might show him around a little bit first, let him stretch his legs.”

“Smart…” He trailed off, realizing he never did the same with Zira. A pang of regret went through him. There were a lot of things he hadn’t done with her, now that he was thinking about it.

Is okay, Felix. We now do things together.

He sighed internally. I know, but…I’m sorry.

Before he could stew any more in his little bout of depression, Zira nuzzled him. No be sad. Come, we train.

He smiled, reaching down and petting her.

“Well, we’re going to go now…” Eri said, sounding awkward.

“Huh? Oh… Right. Yeah, we’re heading out too.” He felt just as awkward.

They both went silent, staring at each other hesitantly. They were both waiting for the other to move first. Thankfully, it was Zira who ended their stalemate as she sent a wave of jealousy and started walking away.

“See you…” He stammered and took off after the frustrated dragon.

It didn’t take long at all for him to catch up to Zira, and after a little more walking they came up towards the edge of the clearing. The sky trees towered above them, acting as a natural barrier with their canopies providing plenty of shade.

A light breeze blew as they sat down, there was hardly a single cloud in the sky. It was another perfect day.

At least it had been, Zira was still upset over his interaction with Eri. So as the dragon settled down near him, he decided to address this.

What’s wrong?

She pretended to ignore him, as she started to prepare for their training session.

Zira, come on, answer me… Please? Why are you getting jealous over–

I no jealous! She shouted, cutting him off.

Yes you are. The question is– He was cut off again.

Fine! It way you look at her!

T-the way I look at her?! He asked, almost choking on his own words. What do you mean?

She whipped her head around, narrowing her eyes at him. I see it, I feel it! How you look at her! You no look at me like that!

What?! He almost fell over backwards from the shock.

The angry dragon continued on. You have love in eyes when you see her. I feel you emotions, I know it true. You no look at me the same! Why not?!

To say Felix was stunned would’ve been an understatement. He was absolutely floored, unable to even form a response.

You love me, but no love me… There was a pain in her voice. Why?!

Zira… Felix started to say, but he couldn’t find the words to calm her down. He gulped, honestly, he knew what she was talking about. He did find Eri attractive, he was developing feelings for the elf.

He knew all that, as embarrassing as it was to realize and admit, but how to explain that to a young dragon? How to explain that there were different kinds of love? That would be hard enough to explain even to himself.

Emotions were messy and complicated. Even with their bond, he didn’t think it would be enough. It all came down to interpretation, and Zira was clearly struggling with that.

Felix was going to try, try to explain something that no one fully understood. This was not going to be easy. He suddenly wished he had Aluin here to help, but the elf would be long gone by now.

Taking a deep breath, he braced himself for what could be the toughest conversation he would ever have.

Zira… First, let me say this; I love you. You mean more to me than anything else, including Eri… He felt flustered at that admission but pushed on.

But, you have to understand something, love is complicated– All emotions are. While our bond certainly helps, I think it has only made it more difficult to understand the depth of my love for you.

Before I met you, I was depressed, confused, frustrated…and alone. I only had Fea’s soul to cling on to, and while she gave me the strength to carry on, it only filled me with more pain. Pain from realizing I had forgotten the woman I loved, even if she knew why…

Perhaps it was her plan for us to meet, perhaps it was fate, or perhaps it was by random chance. Whatever it was, it doesn’t matter now. What matters is how much you actually mean to me.

It wasn’t until you entered into my life that I finally understood just how bad off I was. Your presence alone gives me the strength and courage to carry on.

Maybe one day, I will be able to save Fea and bring her back. But for you?

I would die for…

He paused to let that sink in and to give him a chance to see how well Zira was taking this. The dragon was looking away. But a quick check on her emotions told him she was listening and contemplating what he had said.

In truth, he too was absorbing this. This had been the first time he put something like this to words…

Felix gave it another moment before he finished.

What feelings I develop or have for Eri, or for anyone else for that matter, will never compare to the love I have for you. Love is not exclusive, and it comes in different forms. I may come to love her, but that will never change the love I have for you.

It’s just a different kind of love.

Reaching out, Felix began to stroke Zira’s head.

They stayed like that for several minutes, letting the dragon digest it all. He could only hope she got the gist of it, because he didn’t think he could do any better.

Finally, though, he felt her consciousness enter his, giving it an embrace. A torrent of emotions flooded through him, but by far the largest one was love.

With a smile on his face, he sent his own balled up emotions to her. They were messy, They were complicated, but they were his and he wanted her to see them.

He cleared his throat. Now, are we ready to start?

Yes…

Good, then let’s get started. Felix said, pulling his arm away from Zira, much to her dismay, and got into his meditative stance. They were going to work on her mana-eating ability.

Right, let’s start from the top. I’ll gather the surrounding mana and bring it to you, and keep it contained for as long as I can. Just focus on your own ability, don’t worry about anything else, okay?

When they had first practiced yesterday, he had assumed her mana-eating ‘power’ worked similarly to how he had fought the dire wolves. He was wrong. He had used his mana to interact with theirs, but it appeared that Zira’s ability worked completely differently. It was like she could just suck up any source of mana near her.

Okay… She said, straightening herself out.

Seeing that she was ready, Felix took a deep breath and focused on bringing his mana to him. Unlike the first time, it came much faster. It was already at his fingertips and all he had to do was extend his ‘arm’ forward.

Grasping it, he felt the spark quickly flow throughout his body before solidifying. He was ready.

Starting, he said. The next moment he pushed his mana out, grabbing and pulling at the ambient mana that surrounded them.

The process was slow, else he would risk it either escaping or condensing too much. The former would be annoying, requiring him to restart. But the latter could end up causing more serious problems…

Eventually, he had enough contained and began moving the bundled mana over to Zira, completely surrounding the dragon in it. Sweat was already forming upon his brow.

For her part, Zira was practicing her breath technique. Something they had discussed after studying how her ability worked passively. Neither of them were sure it was completely necessary, but it seemed to be tied to her breathing…somehow.

Cracking open an eye and using his mana sight, Felix risked losing control. However, it was important that he gathered as much information as he could.

As the dragon continued slowly breathing, he watched as the bright ball that surrounded her began to slowly pulsate. Something was definitely happening, but it was unclear as to what exactly.

He closed his eye, dismissing his mana sight, and instead peeked into Zira’s mind. In there, she was concentrating heavily. Still, a few errant thoughts leaked out. He ignored them, not wanting to accidentally startle her.

Pulling back, he had an idea. Slowly, he opened his eyes again and reactivated his mana sight. With that done he began to push an extra bit of his mana through the condensed ball.

The mental strain grew exponentially as he fought to both pierce it and keep it stable. He wasn’t going to be able to keep it up for very much longer. He was only going to get one shot at this.

Risking a breath, he pushed his mana all the way through until it ‘touched’ Zira. He could feel her freeze up for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure.

Now with his mana making contact with her, he could feel her subtly sucking it in. It was matching up with her breathing.

Another idea struck him.

Quickly! Exhale everything and suck in a deep breath! Like you are trying to consume all the air! And do not stop!

Confusion entered his mind, but he could not explain further. He had only a few moments left before he would have to quit. Sensing this, Zira complied.

She pushed all the air she could out of her lungs, before opening her jaw. Felix could feel his mana faltering. It had to be now.

Come on! You can do…it! He shouted into his head, wincing under the stress and pressure that was suddenly squeezing around his mind.

Zira began to inhale, slowly picking up speed as she went. Then something clicked for her, a wave of excitement flooding into Felix’s mind.

She continued to pull in air and then–

Mana!

He didn’t know if it was him or her who shouted it, but it didn’t matter. He was out of time.

Just as he was about to release his hold on the ambient mana, it vanished. A sudden jolt hit him as his own began to pull towards her.

In a panic, he released it and collapsed to the ground. Thankfully, Zira saw what was happening and ceased. More emotions flooded into his tired and clouded mind.

Completely out of stamina and strength the most he could do was lay there and laugh. Even his mind was too exhausted to communicate properly.

Zira was at his side in a heartbeat, fear and worry in her eyes as she looked down at him. He tried to pick his hand up to pet her, but the only response he got was a twitch.

With a shaky sigh, he put on the best smile he could.

You…did…it… He felt his eyes start to close. I…just need…some rest.

The last thing he remembered was Zira curling up around him…

Ithea sat high up in the treetops looking down into the clearing around the manor. Her anger and frustration had dulled since the previous night, leaving her with a sense of numbness. It was in this catatonic state when she found Felix and Zira training.

Not wanting to interfere or be bothered herself, she had opted to watch from above. Why? She had no clue, she could have easily avoided them. But something just didn’t sit right with her.

That should be me down there, teaching her how to use her magic… Ithea laughed with pity at herself.

Why do I even care? She’s happy as it is, shouldn’t that be enough? She fished into her dress, looking for something. But am I not allowed to be happy as well?

Finding what she was looking for, she pulled the item Aluin had given her. I’ve given up our home. I’ve given up my husband…

She looked at the item in her hand, it was a piece of Zira’s egg.

She brought it close to her chest, clutching it gingerly. Tears began to form, rolling down her cheeks and onto her dress.

Now I have given up my daughter.