No Greater Disaster
AN: Two chapters in two days! I haven't been this productive on a story in a long time. I don't have much to say up here except to thank my two reviewers for their awesome reviews, and that I hope many more people end up joining us on the journey to come...
Disclaimer: I do not own Raya and the Last Dragon.
Chapter 2:
Pengu woke early, before the sun was even up. He yawned, smacking his lips together a few times, before getting up with a huge stretch that warmed up his muscles and popped a few of his joints. He walked out of his room—they all had their own—and was surprised to see Jagan up and waiting for him.
"I thought you might try to sneak out without saying anything," he said with a small smile that Pengu could tell was just for show. When he didn't respond, Jagan continued. "I don't blame you, though, but you've always taught me to expect the worst. So I wanted to say goodbye, just in case…"
Pengu gave him that same small, affectionate smile and walked closer to his only brother. "Nothing will happen to me, Jagan. I promise," he said warmly, and the two shared a quick hug before he had to leave.
He ran to Heart's Palace this time. There was little sense in wasting anymore time than he needed, especially since it was his own idea to leave this early. He got there just in time to see Raya go into the kitchens where he could smell food being prepared. And as much as he wanted to head out as soon as possible, breakfast sounded—and smelled—good right now.
He walked in, and Benja spotted him first. He gave the traditional bow and greeting before speaking. "I made extras in case you wanted any," he gestured to the food in emphasis, and Pengu nodded.
"Yes, please. And thank you," he said before sitting across from Raya. She was a bit too focused on her food, though, and he released a small chuckle. "Is my presence really that intimidating?" he asked.
She looked up with rather fake surprise, "Oh, hey… Didn't see you there," she chuckled awkwardly. Chief Benja looked back at them with a smile before focusing back on the food. "So I had another question come to mind last night, and… Well, I was just wondering if I needed to take Tuk-Tuk, or if…" she trailed of, not wanting to continue.
He huffed in amusement at her discomfort, but he answered, regardless of the silliness of her question. "I will take you," he said as an answer rather than a continuation of her question.
This time her surprise was genuine. "…Okay. Wow, uh…I-I'm honored," she stuttered.
This time, he actually laughed at her flustered state. When the fit subsided, he smiled at her. "Raya, if we are to travel together, such formality would get tiresome quite quickly. So perhaps we could journey as friends instead?" he asked, though it was more of a polite request.
She looked down with a smile, embarrassed from being so flustered earlier before looking back up to him. "You know, Sisu always speaks so highly of you. I guess I know why now."
It was then that Chief Benja placed his food in front of him, and he nodded to him in thanks. He went to take a bite before pausing. "Well, in my defense, everyone speaks highly of me," he joked before taking the first bite of his food.
She snorted in amusement. "Are you always this humble?" she shot back with a grin.
"Can it be called arrogance if I speak the truth?" he asked as he continued eating, though he looked up to see her reaction with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.
"Maybe the truth causes such arrogance," she fired back. If her grin was any indication, she believed to have won this playful argument of theirs'.
"But are there not many truths?" he questioned her, to which she raised her eyebrows. "Is my truth and your truth not different in some way? After all, what is truth, other than what one believes to be true?"
She opened her mouth to respond but closed it when she couldn't think of a retort. "Alright, you win," she conceded, though she studied him for a moment as he continued to eat. "You seem different from most dragons," she observed.
He actually paused at that and looked up to her in curiosity. "How so?" he asked, genuinely interested in what she had to say.
"You seem more…profound than the other dragons I've spoken with," she answered. "Quieter, smarter, more thoughtful, and—let's be honest—you have better manners," she ended with a joke.
His grin faded a bit, and he nodded at what she said. It made sense. He had noticed before that he wasn't as outgoing or playful as most of his kind. "I have to be," he answered quietly.
Raya's grin disappeared, too. "Oh…I'm sorry if I offended you. I didn't mean to," she apologized.
"I am not offended," he assured her. "And your words hold truth. I often wish I could be as carefree as I was once was—as most of my kind are. But the responsibilities of being a leader can change you," he explained, to which he saw Chief Benja nodding.
"Your words are wise, Lord Pengu. I am not the same man I was twenty years ago," he agreed before turning to Raya. "Though when you take my place, I hope the same will not happen to you now that we are at peace, Raya."
The rest of the meal was spent in silence, and Pengu was silently glad for that. When he finished, he thanked Benja for the meal once more and walked out. Raya had left some five minutes earlier, so he headed for where she said she would wait for him.
He approached her room and entered since the door was left open. He saw her putting a few items in a leather satchel before she closed it and fastened it shut. "Alright, I'm ready when you are," she said.
He nodded and headed for the balcony. She followed behind him, but when he lowered himself so she could climb on, she hesitated. He turned to look at her expectantly. "I could hold you in my arms, but my back might be more comfortable for such a long trip," he offered. At her continued hesitation, he grew curious. "Have you never ridden a dragon before?" he questioned her.
She rubbed her neck a bit sheepishly. "Well, I have…but that was with Sisu, and she's my best friend. But I don't know you very well, and you happen to be the chief of dragons," she explained.
He smiled at her reassuringly. "Would it help if I gave you my permission?" Instead of replying, Raya finally came forward and situated herself on his back near the base of his neck. He rose up slowly, trying to get used to her weight. It was…odd having a human on his back. It wasn't uncomfortable, and he could handle it without difficulty, but it was a sensation he would need to get used to. "Apologies," he said after a few moments without moving. He took a few experimental steps to see how it would feel, and he felt Raya shift ever so slightly.
"Everything okay?" she asked.
"It is…an odd feeling," he confessed. "Allow me a few moments to get used to the feeling. We shall set off shortly," he requested and looked back to see her response. She nodded, so he spent a few more minutes walking around the room until Raya's weight on his back no longer felt so alien. Running would be quite different, he knew, but at least he could walk without feeling a weird shiver race along his spine. "Did Sisu have to get used to the feeling, as well?" he asked.
"Not really," he began. "I honestly don't think Sisu cares about much more than friends, family, and food."
He chuckled, "Yes, I would say that describes my sister quite well." He made his way back out to the balcony. "Ready?" he asked.
"Ready," she confirmed. With that, he launched into the air and began running north. "You'll want to head more northeast than north," Raya advised him, so he adjusted his course accordingly. "As long as we keep this pace and follow the north shore of the lake, we should be in Spine in three days," she told him. "Then it'll be another day or so until we reach Tong's village."
He blanched and almost missed a step but corrected himself at the last moment. "That is…further than I expected," he replied. "I told the others we would only be a week. It appears I severely underestimated the size of Kumandra."
"Haven't you been to Spine before?" she asked.
"Yes," he confirmed. "But I have never traveled directly between Heart and Spine." He shook his head, ashamed of his lack of knowledge about his own home. "Even before the war with the Druun, the lands now called Heart had always been our home. I never travelled much back then, either," he explained. "Perhaps Jagan was right," he said after a moment. "Perhaps I do focus too much on my home and not enough on the lands around me."
"Well, they say there's no better time than the present," she replied, and he could hear the smile in her voice.
He smiled to himself as he continued running. Perhaps this trip wouldn't be too bad, after all. Finding Amba was still his priority, but maybe he should try to become friends with Raya. Sisu always spoke highly of her, and he was beginning to see why.
They stopped only for a short lunch and dinner before they finally found a spot to rest for the night. His back was sore, and he was beginning to dread what he would feel like after another three days of this hard running. At least he wasn't too exhausted, though. He probably could have gone for another two or three hours, but this way he wouldn't completely exhaust himself. The two short breaks they had earlier also helped.
The sun had already fallen, and they had a nice fire going. Raya was currently polishing her sword as a way to keep busy, but he could also feel her eyes on him. As for him, he was currently staring up at the stars and thinking about Amba. She had always been fascinated by the twinkling of starlight, and he hoped she still found comfort in them…wherever she was.
His thoughts were interrupted when Raya spoke, "We'll find her, Pengu."
He looked over to her with a small frown. "I know we will. But she has been gone for a long time, I…I fear the worst," he whispered in confession. He laid his head down so it was facing away from her.
He heard her stand, but he didn't react…at least until she crouched down in front of him. "You shouldn't beat yourself up over what might have happened, Pengu. Until we know for certain what happened to her, you should hold on to the hope that she's okay," she consoled him.
He looked up her and nodded. "I know I should, but I am the oldest of my siblings. If I cannot protect them, who can?"
"Well…if I remember right, you did ask me for help, already," she pointed out. "And I am the Dragon Protector, so it's kind of my job, too." She patted the back of his neck reassuringly before standing again. "So turn that frown upside down! We've still got a long trip ahead of us, and it'll go a lot slower with you moping the entire time."
He huffed in both exasperation and amusement. "You sound like my sister," he said.
He heard her pause. "Huh…I guess I did. I have been spending way too much time around her," she sighed, though it was in good-humor.
After that night, the next two days were pretty much the same as the previous day. Though the two of them did start talking to each other a bit more. They played a game of riddles or the 'guess what I see' game—which really needed a new name—or spoke of their interests, their responsibilities, their family, their hopes for the future. By the end of the third day, conversation between the two became easy.
The one complaint about the trip he had so far was that his back was absolutely killing him, just as he thought it would. It was around dinnertime on the third day when Raya finally announced that they had crossed the border into Spine. "We've made better time than I thought," she said. "If we go until we usually do tonight, we should make it to Tong's village at about this time tomorrow."
That was music to his ears. One more day of this and he could finally rest his aching back. To his credit, though, he had never once complained about it outside his own thoughts. But at least now that they were in Spine, he could lay down on some nice, cold snow to soothe the pain. Which he did, and he felt much better afterwards.
The next day was more of the same stuff, and as she had predicted, he and Raya had made it to Tong's village right before dinnertime. When they landed within the walls, both of them received awe-struck stares. Pengu because he was, well…Pengu. And Raya because she was currently dismounting him. Not many could claim to have ridden a dragon, and fewer could claim to have ridden one such as him.
Tong's reaction when he came to see what the commotion was about was no less amusing to him. "I thought your friendship with Sisu was amazing, but now…you come to my village on the back of the Great and Mighty Pengu himself," the Spine chief greeted in as much awe as the rest of his village. He and Raya shared a quick, amused look before Tong continued. "O Great and Mighty Pengu, you honor our humble village with your presence. To what do the warriors of Spine owe your visit?" he asked. Though he didn't wait for them to answer before he declared, "Tonight, we shall feast in honor of this momentous occasion!" The gathered clansmen all cheered and headed for the great hall.
Raya and Pengu followed, but she leaned in and whispered, "Does this usually happen?"
He looked to her with an amused smile. "More often than not," he replied. "I never have to ask for such things, but the cities I visit always throw me a feast…or a festival…sometimes both. It is never necessary, and I find their need to to be amusing more than anything else."
"Then why don't you say anything?" she asked.
He lowered his head next to hers as if he were about to reveal a controversial secret. "Because then I would not get the free food," he whispered. Then he walked ahead of her, looking back over his shoulder with a grin at her disbelieving expression.
The feast was already in full swing when he entered the great hall, and he had to admit that he was impressed at how fast they worked under the promise of a good time. Being the honored guests, he and Raya got to sit next to Tong and his family near the head of the largest table.
Being a predominantly warrior culture, the citizens of Spine had a slightly more…rowdy idea of a celebration than he was used to—or that Raya was used to, judging by her expression. However, underneath the drinking, fighting, and roars of laughter, he could sense that these people genuinely enjoyed themselves, and he could respect that if nothing else.
And though some of the stuff that happened that night was amusing, most of his attention was on Raya and the Spine Chief. He didn't know much about Tong—or any of Raya and Sisu's friends, for that matter—but he did know that Tong became chief after the Druun were defeated. As an instrumental part of their victory and as a personal friend with Raya, Tong was given the highest honors Spine could give him.
He became chief of his village, and Spine had prospered from new trade and alliances between the other lands. Yet their newfound prosperity didn't show as they people of Spine preferred their traditional way of living. They had no need for the flashiness found in Talon or Fang because they were already happy with their lives.
And that happened to be another thing he could respect.
He didn't say much during the feast, though he did answer if a question was asked. He merely contented himself with observing and listening. And from the interactions between Tong and his people or between Tong and Raya, he could tell that the Spine Chief was a good man.
Which is why he hoped he would help them find Amba. Though, that would probably have to wait until tomorrow since he—and everyone else, really—was a bit too drunk to have a meaningful conversation with.
At the end of the night, those who didn't pass out in the hall itself returned to their own homes while he and Raya found a nice, relatively quiet corner to spend the night in. He was already curled up with his eyes closed, but he wasn't really asleep yet. He heard Raya settle down beside him. "And I thought the people of Talon knew how to have a good time," she joked.
"Life up here must be hard," he responded. "Celebrations such as this make the heart lighter and the burden of daily struggles easier."
Raya didn't respond, though when he glanced at her she appeared to be thinking on his words. With nothing else to do, he laid his head back down and fell asleep. Tomorrow would begin the search for Amba, and he needed to be rested and prepared for whatever that might entail.
AN: I tried to keep Tong's character like is was in the movie, but I'm not entirely sure if I did or not. He'll be back in the next chapter, too, and that's when everything starts to really pick up.
Until Next Time
AdmiralCole22