Something More to Life
By: Shihoshi Ryu
Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Knights. To my readers, I'm so very sorry I'm such a lazy ass, and that I spend much more time reading than I ever do writing. Really, I'm very sorry. But here finally is the long-awaited 2nd chapter! Enjoy!
Ch. 2: His Eyes of Calm Fire
Thatz paced restlessly back and forth as he gnawed on his lower life. What was taking them so long? Surely they should be done by now! Unless the injuries were more serious than he thought.
Gil could only watch his friend quietly, occasionally glancing at the door behind with resided Rune, the Dragon King and Queen, Cenozura, and the strange boy they'd found. When they'd brought him to Lykouleon, the Dragon King hadn't really known what to say, but upon hearing their pleas to help the boy, who felt safe enough, he'd snapped out of it and sent for the medics.
Now they waited outside for the news, Gil sitting calmly on a bench with Bierrez leaning against the wall nearby. And watching Thatz, he was slowly losing patience.
"Thatz," Bierrez said, trying not to growl, "Stop that right now. Your pacing isn't making things go any faster, and frankly, it's starting to wear on my nerves."
Thatz stopped and looked up at him with a surprised expression, as if he hadn't realized what he was doing. The door chose that very moment to open and Lykouleon poked his head out. Gil and Thatz jumped at him, Bierrez following a bit more slowly.
"Is he okay?" they blurted out.
"Calm down," Lykouleon said, "He's fine. You can come in now."
All three filed in as he moved out of the way. Rune was standing next to the bed, looking a bit tired as well as relieved. He gave them a small smile when he saw them.
"I can hardly believe this is the demon that was emanating that cold aura," Rune said, "He doesn't feel dangerous at all."
When Rune said that, you know something isn't a threat.
"What Rune says is true," Lykouleon agreed, "He feels very powerful, but not evil. Perhaps he is an ally."
"I'm curious how he got in the shield and where he came from," Thatz said, staring at the sleeping boy.
"You can ask him when he wakes up," Lykouleon said, "For now, we've given him a light dragon amulet so he can sleep without worrying about the shield."
"It seems like he wanted to tell us something before he passed out," Gil said, "But I can't be sure."
"Don't worry about it for now," Lykouleon assured, "All such things will be answered in time. You can stay here if you'd like. I however need to get back to work. Keep an eye on him, will you?" He smiled at them before leaving, Rasaleane and Cenozura following.
"I have some things to do as well," Rune said, "But I'll be back later. Take care of him. And if he wakes up, try and get his name please, so we know what to call him."
They all nodded as Rune left before turning their gaze back to the boy, he still looked a bit ragged, but better than before. Color had returned to his face, showing a smooth caramel tan, and he was now dressed in light gray garments, his old clothes lying over the back of a chair in the corner.
Thatz pulled a chair up next to the bed and sat backwards on it, resting his chin on his arms and observing the boy. Gil also pulled up a chair, while Bierrez moved around to the other side and leaned against the wall.
Gil reached out and touched the boy's face. "Hm. How odd. His face feels neither cold nor warm."
"Everything about this guy is weird," Thatz stated irritably, "His aura, his looks, his managing to get inside the shield, his wounds--"
"We get the point," Gil and Bierrez both snapped.
Thatz stuck his tongue out at them. All three stared down at the boy again.
Thatz sighed. "I just hope he wakes up soon."
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Three days passed and still the boy showed no signs of waking. Rune checked on him frequently to make sure he wasn't slipping into a coma and Thatz, Gil, and Bierrez took turns watching him. All three had stayed with him for 24 hours that first day, not sleeping at all. Now they went about on their normal activities when it wasn't their turn.
On the fourth day, Bierrez found himself seated on the chair by the bed, waiting patiently. His turn was almost over and Thatz would be coming soon. He sighed slightly and glanced at the boy.
'What's taking you so long?' he thought, 'Why won't you wake up?'
A knock sounded on the door and he turned, missing the boy's hand twitch. Thatz poked his head in, Gil behind him.
"Hey," Thatz said.
"Hey," Bierrez replied, "What's Gil doing here?"
"I was with Thatz, so I just came along," Gil answered.
As they conversed, the prone figure twitched and his eyes slowly slid openly. He stared at the ceiling for a moment.
'Where am I?'
He glanced at the three figures to his left. The light-haired one (Bierrez) seemed a little annoyed.
"Whatever," Bierrez said turning toward the bed.
He came face to face with a pair of very awake crimson eyes staring into his.
"Whoa!" he cried in surprised, tipping himself and the chair over. Thatz and Gil winced as he hit the floor.
"Where am I?"
Gil and Thatz jumped at the soft voice and turned to see the black-haired boy awake. Bierrez picked himself off the floor.
"Hey, you're up!" Thatz said.
"Where am I?" the boy repeated.
"The Dragon Castle," Gil stated.
"The Dragon Castle…" the boy said quietly, "So I made it."
All three looked confused.
"What's your name?" Gil asked.
"…Rath," the boy answered.
"Rath," Thatz repeated, "Huh. Weird name, too."
Bierrez and Gil glared at him.
"What?" he cried indignantly.
Rath blinked at them, confused. He had expected the Dragon Castle to be…different, but not freakish.
"Anyway," Thatz said, "I'm Thatz. That's Gil and Bierrez."
Rath just nodded and looked down at his hands quietly. The three exchanged glances.
"Something wrong?" Gil asked.
Rath shook his head, then frowned. "I feel funny." He reached in his shirt and pulled out a pendant. "What's this?"
"A light dragon amulet," Thatz supplied, "It lets you stay inside the castle without being affected by the shield and suppresses your demon blood."
Rath blinked, frowned, and sighed. 'Great,' he thought. 'Just what I need. Another collar.' "Do I really need it?"
"Um, yeah," Thatz said, "Unless you'd rather endure the shield."
Rath sighed, a forlorn look settling on his face. What if…what if they…what if the Dragon castle treated him the same as they did? He hadn't been troubled about it at first, but now he was having doubts. He didn't want to be treated like that. Ever again.
Thatz noticed the look and ruffled Rath's hair. "What's wrong, bud?"
Rath stiffened for a second and looked up at Thatz in surprise. Thatz looked sincere. He glanced at the other two and saw the same expression. He looked down at his hands.
Maybe he was worrying too much. He was sure the Dragon Castle would be better than… there. If the people who lived here were anything like these three. Looking up, he smiled. "It's nothing."
GROWL---.
All three blinked in surprise as Rath blushed and clutched his stomach.
"Damn man," Thatz said in surprise, "Ya hungry?"
"Eh heh, well, it's kinda been a long time since I've had something to eat," Rath answered, embarrassed.
"Why didn't you say so in the first place?" Thatz asked.
Clutching the dark-haired boy's wrist, he hauled him up on his feet. Rath stumbled for a second, and Thatz steadied him. Gil came up and checked him over.
"Rune's right. You heal fast," Gil stated in slight amazement, "Your injuries are almost completely gone."
"Than let's get the man some food," Thatz said, dragging Rath.
Or at least he would of, if Bierrez hadn't grabbed Rath from him.
"Hold it," Bierrez said, "Are you dense? He at least has to get dressed before you give him a tour."
"Oh, right."
Rath looked a little confused and dizzy at being grabbed back and forth. Gil chuckled. At least Cenozura and the others had already cleaned him up.
Bierrez than proceeded to shove them out of the room, quite violently on Thatz's part, before turning back to Rath and fishing through the closet.
"Your old clothes were cleaned and fixed up and put in here. There some other clothes in here too, if you want to try them. We'll wait outside."
With that, he left the room, shutting the door behind him. Rath stared after him for a moment before chuckling.
"Those three…" he mumbled laughing, "I think I've come to like them."
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"What's taking him so long?" Thatz wondered aloud.
"He's only been in there 5 minutes," Gil replied.
"Seems like a lot to me," Thatz said.
"Try thinking for a change," Bierrez half growled, "It helps pass the time a lot quicker."
"But if I do that, I'll start thinking about food!" Thatz whined, "And I'm hungry enough as it is."
Bierrez rolled his eyes while Gil laughed.
Suddenly the door they were leaning against opened, causing them to fall back. Rath winced as they landed at his feet, Thatz's skull making an odd crack when it hit the floor.
"Sorry," Rath said blinking, "I didn't know you were standing right there."
"No problem," Thatz moaned, rubbing his head. He peeked an eye open to look up and Rath and about choked, as did the other two when they looked up. All three scrambled to there feet and stared at Rath.
"What?" Rath asked.
None answered. Rath was currently dressed in a tight black turtle-necked mid-drift leaving his dragon amulet in clear view. Long red fingerless gloves adorned his arms, set with a pair of somewhat baggy black pants decorated with belts and red patterns and a pair of black boots. His skin now showed more of the smooth caramel tan he had. Even Bierrez had troubled working his mouth. A fairly simple outfit, overall. So why did Rath wear it so good?
"N, nothing," Gil finally said.
This seemed to snap the other two out of it and Bierrez cleared his throat.
"I guess we should go get something to eat," he said.
"Yeah, food!" Thatz cheered. He looped his arm in Rath's. "Come on! You'll love it, trust me!"
Rath allowed himself to be dragged away, Gil and Bierrez following behind. Rune looked up from where he sat at the table when he heard them come in and smiled when he saw Rath.
"Good, you're finally awake. My name is Rune. And yours?"
"Rath," Bierrez supplied, "His name is Rath."
Rath smiled at Rune. "Hi." He then turned his attention to the food. It did look really good. Sitting, he began to fill his plate. The other three joined him.
However, it wasn't long before a brawl broke out.
"Hey! That's mine!" Thatz cried.
"I don't see you're name on it!" Rath argued.
"Everyone at this table knows that fried squid is my favorite and not to touch it!"
"I thought hosts were supposed to treat their guests with courtesy! Besides, I haven't eaten well in weeks! You get three square meals a day! You can spare a little!"
'Weeks?' Rune and Bierrez thought seriously.
"Whose fault is that?! Haven't you ever heard the grudge of food is deep?!"
"GRRRRRR!!!" both growled as they locked forks.
Gil sweatdropped. Rath had sure gotten lively fast. Almost unrecognizable from the solemn, paled-faced boy they'd found.
"What is going on in here?"
All five stopped what they were doing to look at the door. There stood Lykouleon, as well as Ruwalk, Alfeegi, Tetheus, and Kai-stern. All of whom were looking at them in a curious manner.
"My lord!" Rune said.
Thatz and Rath were frozen mid-fight, both blushing from embarrassment. Lykouleon smiled in an attempt to put them at ease.
"I see our guest has finally come to," he said, turning to Rath. "I am the Dragon Lord Lykouleon. This is Blue Dragon Officer Kai-stern, Yellow Dragon Officer Ruwalk, White Dragon Officer Alfeegi, and Black Dragon Officer Tetheus."
Rath nodded, smiling in response to Kai-stern's friendly grin, and glancing seriously and Tetheus. Tetheus stared back.
Rath then turned back to Lykouleon. "My name is Rath," he said.
"Rath. We welcome you to the Dragon Castle."
Rath seemed surprised. "You do?"
"Of course," Lykouleon said nodding.
"But I'm a…never mind."
Lykouleon smiled. "It doesn't matter if you're a demon. Bierrez is also a demon."
Rath turned to Bierrez in surprise.
"And so is Tetheus."
Rath glanced again at the black-haired officer. "So he is."
Rune looked confused at the strange tension that seemed to radiate between the two.
"Yeah," Thatz said, "Bierrez is also the Red Dragon Officer. He doesn't have an amulet though, in case you're wondering. He absorbed a little of the Dragon Lord's blood a while back on accident during an incident."
"And Thatz, Rune, and I are Dragon Knights," Gil explained, "I'm fire, Rune's water, and Thatz is earth."
Rath nodded again, absorbing all this new information. Bierrez watched him curiously, studying his movements. His eyes eventually traveled to Rath's. Such a calm, fiery color.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Kai-stern said, "Let's eat!"
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Days passed, and in no time at all everyone seemed to adjust to Rath. At first, he was touch and go, but now he was a bouncing ball of energy around the castle. It was like he'd never been out in his life. He made fast friends with Kai-stern, as well as Ruwalk, but soon became a headache to Alfeegi with all his mischief. He spent most of his time with Thatz, Gil, and Bierrez, and liked to talk with Rune. Rune however would sometimes team up with Alfeegi and double-team Rath when he caused trouble.
Raseleane became quickly attached to Rath as well, and liked to take walks with him when she could. Sometimes she would gather the trio as well and have a picnic. In any case, Rath seemed to be right at home in the Dragon Castle.
On this particular day he was lounging about with the three Dragon Knights and Bierrez outside, starting up at the sky contentedly from where he lay on the grass, the other lying in a circle around him.
"Hey Rath?" Gil asked.
"Hm?"
"Well, I was wondering. Do you like it here?"
"Are you kidding?" Rath said, "I've never been happier in my life than being here. Before I came here, I had no idea life was, or could be, like this. Everything was so new and different. I didn't even know what the words 'fun', 'games', or 'picnic' were before I came to the Dragon castle."
"Really?" Thatz asked, "What was it like before you came here? Where did you come from anyway?"
Rath sobered somewhat. "It was…it was bad. Cold, dark, and lonely don't even begin to describe it. It was…miserable."
"Certainly sounds that way," Thatz muttered thoughtfully.
"It's kind of strange to me," Rune said, "You know Rath, you fit in so well around here I almost forgot you were a demon. Not that it matters either way."
Rath glanced at Rune in surprised, then smiled, turning his gaze back skyward. "You know what, Rune? I'm glad I'm here."
"And we're glad to have ya, Rath," Thatz added grinning. Gil and Bierrez nodded in agreement.
Bierrez glanced at Rath's eyes. They were different from that day he'd awoken. They still had that calm look to them, but it also seemed to be mixed with a lively passion. Now they really were like fire.
All then turned to look up at the sky, each one smiling slightly. Rath breathed deeply with a content smile. He wasn't fooling himself. He knew this peace wouldn't last. He was only a matter of time. Still, he was going to enjoy it as much as he could while it lasted.
'Yeah…I will…"