umm, chapter two is different. I decided to change the past, you can hate me for it but, for those who have just read the story, enjoy chapter two.
The past was a ghost, Nego knew he could gain nothing from it, but it was wonderful. A whole world away ... Even when the bonding sickness was there, he always had support. The war had been terrible, a large impact on Erdas. Tagu was a peaceful creature, the buffalo refused to fight unless there was no other option.
There had been scary events that happened in Grenhaven. The spirit animal of a younger Greencloak had nearly attacked Tagu down the corridor while Nego was making his way to the dining pavilion. The jaguar was stopped by the girl only because she pulled it's tail.
But still, life was a dream. He was the outsider though, one of those people that you were lucky to see. Good thing they didn't think to look up the rafters. Tagu would be looking at them with a vacant expression and he would be up there.
Nego had never liked attention.
He had been just a normal person, hiding in the woods and working at the local inn, even when the pay was only one coin every week. He would spend most of his time scouring the cobbled streets of Amaya for coins if he wasn't in the woods.
Still, there was always the rubbish heaps, full of leftovers like moldy crusts of bread, bits of discarded meat and the occasional piece of cake. When Tagu came while he was sleeping in the woods on a pile of leaves, he had thought it was a panther. The woods was home to other creatures as well, but he hadn't expected a buffalo taller than him with large horns.
The Greencloaks came, and even when he didn't want to join them, they still let him live in Greenhaven. They all treated him normally, unless you count the fact that they all stared at Tagu.
Nego didn't want a room, Olvan had made an exception. His pack had a bedroll, some dried fruit and meat, an oil lamp with an emergency vial of oil, dried grass for Tagu if he fancied a midnight snack after grazing in the meadow, candles and a huge leather book he had stolen from the library. He was known for carrying a flask at his belt all the time unless he was sleeping.
He lived in the rafters. Any Greencloak out in the night would be surprised to see a dim light coming from the banisters, and a white creature with dangerous horns snoring in the corridor. The banisters up the rafters were very long and very wide.
Instead of fighting with a knife, sword or bow, Nego had chosen an arrow. The arrow was long, and the tip was sharp. The feather at the end was the color of exotic birds in a land that was once erased from the maps.
It was a steriolian arrow.
The wooden part was thicker, and fighting with it was his pleasure. Using an arrow for a melee weapon seemed stupid, because it couldn't do much damage on the battlefield. But Tagu approved, and that made up for being called an "Idiot" behind his back.
Alas, he wanted to explore the unmapped forest, but he promised Olvan and Lenori that he would return. Fate was against him, he had been captured and held prisoner which resulted in a lifelong limp and the scar from a duel with his captors.
Tagu had given up on dormant state after that. Still, Nego could sense Greenhaven. He had spent many days walking in hope to find the castle, and he knew he was getting closer. There was the occasional conquerer camp on the way which he would explode with the help of herbs, pinecones and flint. And not in the fiery way, the explosion would rust their weapons and armor, making it useless. Then, he would steal some of their food before setting fire to it all. They disappeared altogether which was fine with him, but there would still be the sighting of a camp, a person wearing armor with conquerer weapons, so Nego still kept his guard up.
Tagu woke him up with a loud 'Moo!'. It took him a while to figure out weather it was panicked or a 'Wake up, Lazy!' noise. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, probably neither. There was the smell of food cooking, Grenhaven?
It seemed too good to be true. He used his pack as a sleigh to slide down the mountain.
Just in the distance, there was the misty outline of the magnificent castle. Tagu butted his shoulder with his horns. 'Get on?' he asked. Tagu stamped his hoof, and Nego smiled.
Riding on a buffalo was an enjoyable experience. It was bumpy, like a horse, but Nego held on to the hairs of Tagu's neck tightly. The sound of Tagu's hooves could be heard against the rough terrain.
But there was a river up ahead, far too wide to jump across.
Tagu steadily continued. Nego's heart pumped. 'Stop!' he wanted to yell, but his voice was gone.
With a mighty jump, Tagu dived into the river, the water was cold. And Nego got soaked through, but he realized they weren't sinking. The river swept over them, and water stung his eyes and nose, but Tagu pushed the water with his legs and they resurfaced for a few moments before going under again. Nego enjoyed it, but the ride had to end. Tagu walked up the shore using a sandbar and shook the water off his coat.
'Tagu, you can run through water?' he asked in a hoarse whisper. Tagu flicked his ear and gave one of his mocking rumbles.
