Douxie would have liked to enjoy his short time in France. There were so many things that made it different from Britain. He wanted to get to know the language, the music, and the culture, as well as the magic. However, after his close call with the cheval mallet he just couldn't bring himself to relax.

He'd been threatened by magical creatures before, but they'd all been aggressive because they'd been scared, or were protecting their territory. Douxie knew that there were creatures out there that were far more malevolent, but he'd never met one for himself, and it wasn't an experience that he wanted to repeat any time soon.

Douxie would have needed some time to really process this close call, but it was much harder without the support of his familiar.

Douxie and Archie's relationship was a little strained. Neither of them wanted it to be that way, but they also didn't want to back down, as they both felt justified. Archie was disappointed in Douxie's lack of powers, and that was his right. Douxie knew that his magic wasn't very strong. He had to rely on his runes much more than a wizard with his experience and resources should.

Douxie knew that Archie saw a lot of potential in him, and that was usually very encouraging, but there were also times where it felt too overwhelming. As familiars, they drew magic from each other, and Douxie was all too aware that he took far more from their connection than he gave, and it wasn't far to Archie.

Douxie always tried to improve, but he wasn't getting very far. Sometimes he wondered if Archie wasn't a dragon who would easily live for several thousand years, would he have the patience to deal with Douxie's slow progress, or would he find himself another wizard who would better be able to give him the magical power that he needed?

And though he didn't want to be mad at Archie, Douxie wasn't very happy with his familiar either. The dragon had always been selfish, and Douxie accepted that about him, and he knew that Archie was fiercely protective of him, but he couldn't just let his familiar be so dismissive of other people's lives in favor of Douxie's safety.

The young wizard cared about all living things. Merlin had taught him that magic was life, and Douxie took that literally. He saw magic in every living creature, whether they had powers or not. Life was precious, and shouldn't be so carelessly thrown aside or sacrificed. Archie knew that Douxie had a hard time killing any creature, even in self-defense, so why would he think that Douxie would be okay with him inviting the cheval mallet to eat innocent people? Especially when Archie had suggested it to save Douxie's life.

He couldn't have that on his conscience, he just couldn't.

Normally when Douxie was stressed he turned to Archie first, but he couldn't do that now, not when Archie was the one he was upset with, and not when there was so much pressure to get stronger.

At least they were already planning on going to Spain so Douxie could find someone who could teach him magic. He hoped that if he could improve his magic not only would he not let Archie down any more, but he could also protect himself better, so his familiar wouldn't have to sacrifice others for his well-being. They could both get what they wanted and their bond could go back to how it was supposed to be. All Douxie needed to do was get better control of his powers.

There wasn't much that Douxie could do on his own. All he could do was wait until the merchants left France and made their way to Spain. Desperate to not miss their departure, Douxie rarely ever left the port. Archie went exploring more than he did.

Douxie didn't know what Archie was up to. Maybe the dragon was keeping an eye out for danger, or he was taking in the sights of France so he could share them with Douxie later. The young wizard just desperately hoped that Archie wasn't gone so much to avoid him. Their relationship may be strained, but Douxie didn't want it to get any worse.

A few days later the merchants were ready to go. Douxie quickly got on the ship and stayed close to the bow of the ship so he could stay out of the way and be ready to keep an eye out for sea creatures. He didn't know just how much he'd be able to do without Archie, as his familiar was the one who had done most of the watch work. He would have to figure something out though. He'd have to earn his place on this boat one way or another, and he would really rather it not be on cleaning duty.

While Douxie waited for the ship to leave he sat down on the deck and strummed a few chords on his lute, muttering lyrics under his breath. He had a new song idea, and he had to get it just right. He didn't know if he would be sharing this song with tavern patrons, not like his songs about a Wizard taking on magical creatures, but that didn't mean that this song shouldn't be absolutely perfect.

Douxie experimented with notes and lyrics for nearly half an hour before Archie made his way up the gangway and towards him. Douxie stiffened, as sometimes Archie didn't appreciate his music. When the dragon just purred contentedly and curled up against Douxie, his tail keeping time to the music that the boy was playing, the boy found his confidence again and began playing with a bit more enthusiasm than before, though he kept the lyrics to himself from this point on.

Douxie played on and on, adjusting and changing his notes when something didn't sound quite right. He normally liked his music to be improvised and instinctive, but for this particular song he needed to get it just right.

Douxie groaned in frustration and set his lute aside when he got stuck. This wasn't going the way he wanted it to. It didn't sound quite right, and he didn't know where to go with it.

Archie tilted his head at Douxie. "What's wrong? I thought it sounded fine."

"It needs to be better than fine." Douxie said. He especially needed Archie to see the song as more than fine.

Archie frowned. "What's so important about this song in particular? I've never seen you care so much about perfecting your music."

"This song is different." Douxie said. "It's important."

Archie yawned and stretched. "Is it another one of your tales about the magician?"

Douxie shook his head. "Not this one." Douxie said. Archie watched him expectantly, but Douxie didn't tell him more. He didn't want to tell Archie more about the song until the tune was absolutely perfect.

Archie gave him an odd look. "Since when do you keep secrets from me?"

Douxie shrugged and put his lute back over his shoulder. He stood up and stared out over the ship's railing, out to the water. He heard Archie make a sound of distress.

"I don't like this, Douxie." Archie nudged his leg. "We're familiars. We're bonded. I don't want there to be this strain between us."

Douxie hunched his shoulders. "Neither do I." He sighed. "I'm trying as hard as I can, but it's not good enough." Douxie's chest and throat both tightened. When he spoke his voice cracked with emotion. "I wasn't a good enough apprentice for Merlin, and I'm not a good enough familiar for you."

Archie hissed and bit his ankle. "You are more than good enough for me." Archie said sternly. "And I don't ever want to hear you say that again."

"But my magic-" Douxie began.

"It's getting stronger every day." Archie said. "Is it perfect? No, of course not, but I would argue that Merlin and Morgana weren't perfect either."

Archie licked Douxie's ankle, the spot where he had bit him earlier. Douxie could count on one hand the number of times that Archie had licked him. The dragon was really picky about where his tongue went. Douxie was still tense, but he took this as a good sign. Archie wouldn't be licking him if he was really mad at him still.

Douxie bent over and picked up Archie, who nuzzled against him. The young wizard pet his dragon behind his ears. "I'm sorry that I let myself get caught by the magic horse."

"It's not your fault," Archie said. "When creatures like that cheval mallet want to hurt somebody, they'll do it. It was just bad luck that you were its victim this time."

"I'll try to do better next time," Douxie said quietly. "I'll see if the magicians in Spain can teach me how to detect magic."

"You don't need a magician to teach you that." Archie said. "It just takes practice. We can work on it on the way to Spain. Maybe by the time we get there you'll actually be able to detect sea creatures without my help."

Douxie snorted. He really didn't think that would happen, but it would be nice to at least try. Douxie couldn't remember the last time Archie had actively taught him about magic. The dragon's magic was instinctive. It either happened or it didn't. There wasn't really anything to be taught. Still, Douxie liked it when Archie tried to teach him magic, as the dragon was very familiar with the boy's style of learning.

While the crew made the finishing touches on preparing for their journey, Archie began to explain to Douxie the feeling of magic in the air. It was fascinating, and just a little embarrassing to listen to. Douxie actually recognized just what Archie was saying. He was all too familiar with the ebb and flow in the air around him, the feeling of being connected to something that was more than just him. Douxie was even familiar with the tingle down his spine and goose pimples that hit him with no apparent reason.

Douxie had no idea those feelings came from magic. Between his own powers and Archie's constant companionship, Douxie had always felt the presence of magic without knowing that was what it was. He'd just thought it was something that everybody felt. It would take him time to get used to not brushing those feelings to the side. Once he started to recognize those feelings again, he would be able to notice the subtle differences between his and Archie's powers, and the magic of other beings.

Their lesson was pulled to an abrupt stop when they set sail. Now that the crew was all on the ship and there wasn't as much room for privacy, Archie had to stop talking, so as not to draw attention to them.

Since Archie couldn't talk much, he had Douxie practice looking out over the water and feeling for the presence of magical creatures. The dragon insisted that there were thousands of small magical creatures all over the ocean, but Douxie couldn't feel anything.

Archie tried to help him, subtly pointing out when there were creatures in the water beneath them, but Douxie couldn't find them. He could feel the magic, and it was a bit difficult to ignore something that was a constant presence in his life. But just because he could feel the magic didn't mean that he could tell where it was coming from and who was responsible for it.

They kept at it for a few hours, and Archie was incredibly patient, but Douxie was getting antsy. Why was it so difficult to do something that should be completely natural? No matter how much Archie tried to convince him that it was okay, that it took time to adjust to this kind of thing, but Douxie wasn't reassured. He knew that he needed to be better than this. How would he ever become a Master Wizard if he couldn't even tell when a powerful magical creature was two feet in front of him?

Archie decided that Douxie needed a break so he could relax. He seemed to think that Douxie was trying too hard, and if he calmed down he could be in a better mind set to let his instinctive magic come out.

After making sure that nobody was watching him, Archie flew off to stretch his wings and catch himself a fish to eat. Douxie knew that Archie had told him to take a break, but he still stood against the railing, keeping an eye out for potential danger. Maybe he could sense trouble if it came towards them.

While Douxie watched and waited he pulled out his lute and started playing a little more. It actually helped a little bit. Apparently when Douxie stressed too much about things and tried to focus, it never felt right. However, when Douxie was focusing feeling for the magic, he was able to just stumble on the very rhythm he'd been looking for. When he turned his focus on trying to find the perfect lyrics, he could actually feel the presence of magical creatures in the water. It was similar to when he sensed Archie's presence, except not as strong.

Douxie was still stressed, but he was managing to be more productive than before, so at least he wasn't nearly as hopeless as he thought he was.

He was able to struggle for about an hour before he was too exhausted, physically and emotionally, to continue. He laid down on the deck, his hands thrown over his eyes to block out the sun. He was just starting to doze off when he felt Archie's magical presence. He was quickly approaching the ship, much faster than he probably should.

Douxie groaned and twisted his bracer, activating a small spell of misdirection. If people really focused they could see right through it, but for the purposes of a small dragon that nobody was expecting to land on the deck, it should work nicely to distract the crew and encourage them to look another way for just a few seconds.

Douxie rolled over and watched as Archie thumped down on the deck with far more urgency than was probably necessary, and a lot less grace than Douxie had ever seen from him.

"Is something wrong?" Douxie asked.

"You tell me." Archie came to his side and started sniffing at him and cuddling against him. "I could probably feel your exhaustion halfway across the ocean." Archie gave Douxie a disappointed look. "I told you to take a break. Why do you look even more tired than you were when I left?"

"I was just trying to get some stuff done." Douxie grimaced and sat up. "You know what Merlin used to say: If you lack the energy to do something productive then what you're truly lacking is the will." Merlin had never stood for laziness, and Douxie didn't want to disappoint him, even if he wasn't around right now.

Archie hissed and muttered a draconic curse. "You wizards are all the same. You talk nonsense while making wise and meaningful faces." Archie shook his head. "Believe it or not, just because Merlin said everything with confidence doesn't mean that he actually knew what he was talking about.

"You've done enough." Archie continued. "Have you even allowed yourself to recover from what happened with the cheval mallet?"

"Nothing happened." Douxie insisted. The worst the magical horse had done to him was put him under a sleeping spell, which was ultimately harmless. Granted, Douxie had been just a bit more tired than usual after the encounter, but he knew that it would wear off.

"I'm not talking about what didn't happen," Archie said. "We both know the horse would have hurt you, and that kind of close call would be traumatic for anybody. Archie curled up against him. "Nobody would blame you for needing more time to get over it."

"I don't need to get over it." Douxie nudged Archie away from him. "I need to get better so that this kind of thing doesn't happen again." Archie gave him a disappointed look, and Douxie met it with an unimpressed glance of his own. "You can't say that I don't need to get stronger."

Archie sighed. "You're just going to burn yourself out if you keep doing this, and then where would you be?" The dragon paced around, his tail flicking irritably. "All I'm asking is that you don't touch your music and you don't do any magic until we get to Spain and find you a magician to teach you."

Douxie looked at Archie in disbelief. "You can't be serious."

"I've never been more serious," Archie said dryly. "I'll keep an eye out for danger. All I want you to do is sleep and get back your energy and hopeful attitude so you can actually make progress when you find yourself a teacher."

"I've been making progress." Douxie protested.

"And you look like you're going to burst into tears any minute now." Archie scoffed. Douxie made an insulted sound. He may be tired and upset, and he was feeling more vulnerable than he really wanted to, but that didn't mean he was going to cry. He was stronger than that.

Archie's expression softened as he nuzzled against him. "Please, Douxie, just relax for a few days. Enjoy the view, calm down, and get some sleep."

Douxie didn't feel like he had time for this, but Archie seemed determined, and he knew that there was no arguing with the dragon when he was like this. Douxie usually liked the challenge of disagreeing with a dragon, but he was not in the mood for it right now.

"I'll try," Douxie said.

"I think you've done enough trying for one day," Archie said. He pushed against Douxie's chest until the boy leaned back and laid down again. Archie settled on his chest and soon began to fall asleep. This wasn't the first time that Archie had used this method to get Douxie to fall asleep.

The young wizard knew that his dragon liked to sleep, and he didn't like to disturb his rest, and Archie knew it. Douxie's familiar would sleep on top of him, knowing full well that the young man probably wouldn't pick him up to move him. It was manipulative, and Douxie knew that he shouldn't let Archie get away with it, but that would have to wait for another day.

Archie had been doing so much to help him today, and it wouldn't feel right to repay that by waking him up. Besides, Douxie really was tired. He'd actually been planning on getting some rest when Archie flew in and so rudely insisted that Douxie stop pushing himself too hard.

Douxie sighed, closed his eyes, and soon fell asleep.