The walk to the horses was more frightening than the walk to the cave had been. The moon was now hidden behind the ominous black clouds which seemed to threaten rain at any moment. Tai stayed close to Erek, nearly touching him. He sensed her fear, and found it unusual- Tai had never been easily frightened. He knew that something was not right though, he could feel it too. A wolf howled, and his companion nearly tripped him over, she moved so close. Her hand was on the hilt of the sword, and his on the knife in his belt, the one she did not know about. He hated the thing, but he felt they might need it.
"Erek." Tai's voice was a hoarse whisper, afraid and unsure. "Yes?"
"How much further?"
"Not much." He put an arm on her shoulder and smiled when she moved closer, rather than flinching away. Perhaps he could prove to her that he wanted to be more than her best friend. Suddenly the howl seemed much closer. Tai shuddered. Erek heard the soft hiss of a blade being drawn from it's sheath, and saw the green stone flash in the moonlight as it moved.
The horses appeared in the distance, black shapes in the mist, small but growing larger as the two approached. Suddenly, Tai saw her stallion rear up and stomp at something. The grey mare Erek had brought whinnied and snorted, struggling to get free of the rope tying it in place. The two rushed forward, to be stopped by a snarling black shape. It was a wolf, but larger than any Tai had seen. It's eyes gleamed yellow in the moonlight. Tai tried to move, but found that she couldn't. She stood there, and it came closer, teeth bared. With a growl it leapt, but fell dead before it ever reached Tai. She looked around, but saw only Erek, a small blade gleaming in his hand, blood staining the edge. She gasped, and he looked at her. Those cold green eyes were nothing like the ones she was used to, they were the eyes of a killer.
Tai, after seeing Erek fight, lifted the sword. It was heavy, but she thought she had the strength to wield it. Swinging it at another of the wolves, she missed, striking earth and sending dirt and leaves flying. She tried again, slicing the animal's leg, and it ran off, dripping blood and yelping. Erek managed to frighten off a few more, and killed at least one other before the remaining members of the pack scurried off into the woods after their kin. Tai felt her legs giving way, head spinning, and began to fall. She never hit the ground, but instead found herself in Erek's strong arms. She looked up at him. The iciness in his eyes was gone, replaced by fear for her and something else. She did not know what.
"Tai…are you alright?" he asked softly. She closed her eyes and nodded. He was so warm and strong. She felt safer than she had in a long while. "Yeah…" she managed. She felt Erek place her on her horse and sighed when he let go. He lead his grey mare and watched her, ready to catch her if she fell.
Tai did not remember anything about the ride back to the cave, except how handsome Erek looked in the moonlight. The way his hair fell into his green eyes, the way the light fell on his features. When the reached their shelter he picked her up again and took her in, laying her on a bed made from his cape. "Get sleep Tai…you had a bad scare. But you fought well." A grim smile flashed across his face so fast she wasn't sure she saw it.
"Erek, where did you learn to fight like that?" she asked him softly. He looked down. "That is a story for another time." He sounded tired. "If you insist." She closed her eyes and pulled her cloak closer. It was cold in the small cave. She felt Amlute stir and move to her, snuggling his scaly body closer to hers. She smiled and stroked his head. He began to purr, much like a cat.
On the other side of the cave Erek sat watching her, cleaning his knife. He looked at it and shook his head. He would not let himself act like that ever again, unless she was in dire need of saving. He did not want to make Tai uncomfortable. No matter what he wanted. The knife reflected his face, almost mocking him. He could not forget that night. No matter how hard he tried. He knew he needed to tell Tai, but could not bring himself too. He would keep it his secret, forever.
XxXxXxXxX
The next few weeks passed by with little excitement. The trio rode north, day after day. Amlute was growing rapidly, and now he was the size of a rather large dog. Soon he would be the size of a horse, Tai thought. He was also flying much more, getting good at staying aloft and using the wind to his advantage.
"He will be an amazing flyer one day." Erek said, watching the young dragon soaring, chasing a flock of birds. Tai sat next to him on the large rock, also admiring her dragon. His golden scales made him hard to look at in the setting sun, but the blue of his wings and fins stood out brilliantly. He was truly the most magnificent creature she had ever seen. More beautiful than any of the dragons she had ever heard described. However, she found her gaze falling more and more on Erek. The young man did not seem to notice her flirting though, he simply went back to writing. "Erek?"
"Hmm?" he did not look up from his writing. "Will you help me learn to fight? We could use sticks so we don't hurt each other…"
He nodded. "I don't know much about fight Tai, but I can teach you what I learned when I apprenticed." Erek had been learning to fight, but found he had no talent. At least with a sword. He had always hoped he could be a warrior, but that dream had been smashed. Perhaps the life of a scholar was his fate. Tai would not want him then. He sighed, and quickly looked to see if she had noticed. She had not, but he noticed her studying him intently. 'Odd behavior for Tai' he thought. He met her eyes and she smiled. He smiled back and brushed his hair, once more in his eyes, back.
"Uh…Tai…I have…uh…something…to say…" he said, feeling dumber and dumber by the minute. She blinked and nodded as if to say 'go on'. "I can't deny this anymore. I…oh, I don't know how to put this." Another sigh, louder this time. Deciding to for-go words, he pulled her to him and kissed her. Not well, but simply enough to let her know what he was feeling. When he let her go she looked at him in shock. Mentally he kicked himself, then stood. "I'm sorry Tai." He muttered, walking away. He headed to the small tent he had bought in the last town, pitched next to Tai's.
Amlute landed beside Tai, the wind from his wings blowing her hair back. He looked at her glum face and sat down on the ground beside her. 'What is it?'
'Erek. Amlute, I think I love him.' Tai felt like she was going to cry. Had he not found what he was looking for in that kiss? Amlute blinked. 'Tell him'
'I can't. Not after…no. I won't.'
'It is tearing you up Tai. You have told me what you think. Do you want me to talk to him?'
'No, then he will think I am too shy to tell him! He will think I am weak!' Tai felt the first tear roll down her cheek, unable to stop it. Burying her face in her arms so her dragon would not see, Tai began to cry. She felt so helpless, and nothing could help her. She stood and went to her tent, knowing that at least in there, no one would see her cry.
XxXxXxXxX
Amlute watched his mistress go and shook his scaled head. He would never understand humans. He felt her block him so he could not talk to her, and decided that he needed to help. Seeing her like this mad him unhappy. Walking over to Erek's tent, he poked his snout in. The dragon was too large to enter, but he could see the human boy sitting there, paper on his lap, pen moving. 'Erek.'
Erek looked up in surprise. 'Amlute?'
'Who else? We must talk.'
'About?' The human looked at him in confusion. 'Tai.' The dragon replied. Erek nodded. 'I am listening.'
'Good. Tai is in her tent now, sobbing. It is because of you. Late at night she sits awake you know, thinking of you.'
'What did I do?' he asked. He did not want to hurt Tai in any way. 'She did not say. Go talk to her.' With that Amlute broke the mental link and walked away. Once far enough from the tents he took wing again, deciding that it would be a good time to hunt. The sky was wonderful, and he could not imagine a place where he could be happier.
Meanwhile Erek too his advice and went to Tai's tent. He hesitantly opened the flap and found her sitting there. She did not notice him until he said her name.
"What do you want?" she asked, her voice cold. He looked down. Tai thought he looked as bad as she must. "What did I do Tai?"
"Why did you kiss me and leave? Am I not good enough for you?" Her anger stung him. "No Tai," he told her, shaking his head. "I am not good enough for you." He sat down beside her and she started to cry again. Tai hated herself for it, but could not stop.
"Do you love me, Erek?" she asked softly, looking up. He nodded and she sniffed. "Yes, I have. I do not even know when I started to, but I have loved you for a long, long time Tai."
Tai lay her head on his shoulder. "Then why did you leave me?"
"Because I did not realize you wanted me to love you."
"Well I do." Erek did not say anything, he simply kissed her again. "Then I love you."
High above the tents Amlute smiled. He felt the block disappear and a wave of emotion hit him. He knew his mistress was happy again. Looking forward, he saw a large cloud of dust, curious, he flapped his wings faster, and swooped down for a better look. It was a caravan. Some of the people looked up and gasped, pointing at the large golden dragon. Amlute did a flip in the air and returned to the sky, turning back towards the small campsite. 'Tai?'
The was silence, and then and irritated 'What?'
'A large caravan is just a few miles north. Perhaps we could join with them? It would make traveling easier.'
'Perhaps. I'll tell Erek to get the horses ready' Amlute smiled and continued his flight, enjoying a few more minutes in the air. Perhaps now he would get some of the glory dragons were meant to receive.
AN: Amlute is so arrogant…heheh…hope you enjoyed that chapter…more Tai and Erek. Yay…
Review Replies:
Teenchic2004- yep, she does And yeah, I like Erek's character…we are gonna keep finding out more about. And hope you like the development so far.
Ginger-Bizkit- thank you, thank you. And how could ya not love Amlute? Heheh.
