"Raider, why can't he just fly away?" the young dragon in human form questioned.
But, there wasn't anyone behind to her to answer.
She looked back towards Haku. The once summer scene was now a winter one. There was an enormous dark lake surrounded by dark forests and a white dragon had been in the center. Now, the slopes were covered with thick snow and the lake was frozen over.
Thumping sounded from the center of the lake, loud enough that she knew only one possible source.
Chihiro ran as quickly as she could towards the noise under the ice. The vibrations got louder. The ice was covered by two inches of snow and when she got to the source, she began shoving the snow away with cupped hands.
An unnaturally clear layer of ice lay beneath her.
The head of a dragon slammed into where she was again.
"Haku!" she screamed.
The form locked eyes with her for a brief moment. Then, it faded away to a human shape. He touched the ice with his hands.
Chihiro jerked her hand to where his was. Tears spilled down her cheeks.
He mouthed, "I love you!"
She returned the reply, screaming it aloud.
The boy under the ice shuddered violently, wrapping his arms around himself before he sank below.
"Haku! No!"
Something was nudging her face, but she saw nothing there. Chihiro opened her eyes. Two worried blue orbs filled her vision.
"You were dreaming Chihiro."
The girl blinked several times, sitting up. She looked down at her hands—human hands. She felt numbly cold and her hands were flushed red. The ogre wolf looked her over, finally resting his muzzle on her knee as he lay down.
"What happened?" she croaked, her voice strangely sore.
"You must have dreamt during your little nap. When a dragon dreams, often times the dream affects you in the physical realm as well. I've never heard of anyone dying, so don't worry, but that would explain why you're cold when it is well above 90° here."
"Oh."
"Did Kohaku die?" he questioned without opening his eyes.
This startled Chihiro, "Yes."
He huffed before standing up, giving her a lick on the cheek.
"I need you to transform back to your dragon form. All you need to do is wish for it to happen."
Within seconds, the human-looking girl was back to her "real" form. The change didn't rid her of her cold, which she took note of.
"The sun is now done with ¾ of his journey. We can go."
Chihiro had known flying was exciting, but being able to actually control it was beyond her wildest dreams. It was so natural for her, twisting the way Haku had to stay afloat. She did her third twirl in the air, when a half yelp reminded her of her passenger.
Poor Raider was clutched between her two front paws. His stomach had threatened to dump its contents several times already.
"Do that again, and I won't hold back. Don't think I won't miss."
She was hit with another laugh, which she relayed to Raider mentally.
"I'm not meant to be awake in the morning, I'm not meant for water, and I'm not meant to fly!" moped the ogre wolf.
"Well, how did you travel before?"
"I can travel very well on land, thank you!"
"Across continents?"
"Grrr."
They traveled in comfortable silence for awhile. The sun finally set.
"What's Mara's place like?"
"Oh, it's cold. There are tall mountains, steep valleys, and rapids are very common. Her home itself is inside one of the mountains. You'll see."
"Are you getting fuzzier?" she suddenly questioned, looking down at Raider.
Indeed, the coat of the black spirit was a great deal longer, especially around the neck. Orbs widened as she tried not to laugh at the beast that looked a great deal like a lion/wolf cross.
"Hey! I need to adapt. Forgive me, oh great Goddess for being but a mere guardian spirit," he grumbled.
"What did you call me?"
"A Goddess."
"Why?"
"Well, you are the spirit of the moon!"
"Why doesn't anyone ever tell me anything? Aren't I a minor spirit, just like Fire?"
"That rat spirit? Ha! He could never handle that much power! Ramsi, the sun God, is a dormant spirit. He is literally inside of the sun, so he needs help from other spirits to do tasks that he cannot fulfill himself."
"So, what tasks must I fulfill?"
"You, Chihiro, did not inherit your sister's responsibilities. She set that up for another. You just get all the wonderful perks."
"Eventually, though, I do inherit them?"
"Well, maybe. I wouldn't worry about it now. If it happens, it happens."
"Geez, I get the shaft with every contract I sign." Note to self: investigate whether spirits learned about adding the "fine print" in contracts from humans or if it was the other way around.
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This
is really bad, if you're reading my story, I'd love to know! I'm
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