Hui-Ying ran towards the edge of the village, tears blurring her vision. 'Why is she like that? Why is the whole village like that?'

Stopping to catch her breath, she found the Blue Dragon alone. She was about to go to her friend, until she saw a bouncy ball roll up to him.

"It's yours," a strange voice said.

Curious, she hid in the bushes, watching the stranger approach the boy. He was a small teenager, with messy blonde hair and kind eyes. He had a friendly voice, and a toothy smile to match. She had never seen anyone like him before in her village.

The boy was about to thank him, when Ao called to him. He appeared, towering before the two. The blonde stranger looked up to the wild man, a look of surprise and nostalgia on his face before smiling and apologizing for his sudden visit. The blonde looked down to the young dragon and spoke so softly to him, Hui-Ying could only make out the last sentence.

"...if we ever meet again, let's play, alright?"

The stranger turned and walked down the beaten path towards the hills. Hui-Ying observed, intrigued by this stranger. 'He's leaving already? Why did he show up in the first place?'

"A peddler, I see," she heard Ao say.

"No," the boy said, "he's the Yellow Dragon."

Her eyes grew wide. 'The Yellow Dragon?' Without a hesitation, she went after the blonde, running to catch up to him before he was gone.

"Wait!" she yelled once she saw him from the top of a hill. He turned his head to the little girl. "Y-you're him, right? The Yellow Dragon?"

He turned until he had fully faced her, and that seemed to be the answer to her question.

"Please don't leave him here. He's all alone, everyone's afraid of him and it makes him sad. Please," her voice shook with emotion, "I don't want him to be alone."

"It is our duty as the four dragons to protect our villages. He must stay here," he explained, and with a gentle smile, "But because he is a dragon, he is not alone in this. We are all connected, no matter how far we go. Make sure he knows this, that he is never alone."

Hui-Ying walked back to the village, the young man's words echoing in her mind. She had never thought of leaving the Blue Dragon alone, but her resolution became stronger after confronting the Yellow Dragon.

The sun had set for some time now, but the sky surrounding the village was darker than normal, a greyish tint to it's red-purple hue. Climbing up the hill, she saw the cause of it.

A couple of thieves were approaching the village, with Ao and his young apprentice standing in their way. She knew she should be hiding, but curiosity got the better of her and stared dumbly at the scene.

Ao fought against the men with such skill she's never seen before. However, she knew of his bad sight and could tell how it affected his fighting, his breathing heavy and his footwork a bit clumsy. But he still put up a fight until he was hit from behind by one of the thieves. She gasped, tempted to call out to distract the men, when the faint glint of a blade caught her attention, the sash of the man torn open and his treasures spilling from it.

"Ao," the Blue dragon called to him. Hui-Ying realized that it was the boy who threw the blade.

The man, desperately trying to recover his belongings, did not notice Ao standing up until his shadow casted over the thief. Despite his slouching form, he managed to growl, "go away," and scare the man into running.

Hui-Ying felt relieved that the danger was gone, but when Ao fell weakly to his knees and the Blue Dragon worrying over him, she immediately started running to them to help. She was halfway there when she heard Ao manically laughing and froze.

"This is great! I can finally die!" he shouted to the heavens, "There isn't any more power left! My body is numb! I'm free!"

Her eyes widened. 'Does that mean….he's completely blind now?'

"I'm a human being!"

It numbed her how happy Ao was to lose his eyesight, how happy he was to die. He was around her mother's age, should have years left in him, should be afraid to die so soon. But he wasn't. 'Is this what it means to be a Dragon? Is this what becomes of them once their purpose is done?'

The sound of ringing bells broke her thoughts, she saw the two of them walking towards the village, The Blue Dragon donning the bells on his mask and Ao's mask in his hands.

'Why is he wearing those bells?' she wondered.

"Did you always have a bell?" she heard Ao ask.

"I found it. It made a pretty sound, so…" he replied.

"I like that. I can tell where you are, even if I can't see," Ao said, and she understood why.

The Blue Dragon smiled, swishing his head back and forth to ring the bells when he caught sight of Ao crying.

"I'm sorry…" he said in a heartbreaking tone, "I'm sorry to leave you alone. I'm sorry!"

Hui-Ying ran to Ao, unshed tears blurring her vision. Although she did not get along with the older man, she was sad for him. His only regret is having to leave the young Dragon. 'But he won't be alone. I must tell him!'

"Ao!" He looked up from his sobbing, recognizing the voice.

"...little village girl?"

"Don't you worry about him. I won't leave him alone, because he….he is my friend. So please go in peace, knowing he'll be alright."

The Blue dragon turned away, "No, Ao. Let's talk about something else. But I'm stupid, so I can't think of anything. So Ao, you talk. Please, Ao… Let me hear your voice…"

But he was already gone.

Hui-Ying wandered around the village for the Blue Dragon. News of Ao's death swarmed overnight and everyone was talking about it. She could only imagine how hard it must be for the little dragon to be surrounded by their gossip. Even at a vulnerable time like this, the villagers still ignored the poor boy.

She entered an empty spot near the forest and finally found him, sitting on the ground with his head hung in sorrow.

"Blue Dragon?" she called as she approached him when she felt something under her foot. Looking down, she saw that it was an old rope dart. "What's this for?"

"I've been practicing," he answered softly, "now that Ao's….gone, I have to step up to protect the village. But I'm still too weak to fight against anyone alone."

'That's right. With Ao gone, it's up to the Blue Dragon to keep us safe,' she thought, picking up the rope dart. It was a simple weapon, could do quite a bit of damage in the right hands. Judging by the few marks made on the tree he was practicing, he was still a novice with the weapon. "But why a rope dart? Can't you just use your powers?"

"No!" he suddenly shouted, startling the girl, "Ao said I shouldn't! He told me to never, ever use my eyes on anyone!" She could see the tears slipping from under his mask as he cried from the loss of his predecessor.

"It's okay," she comforted the boy, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Sooner or later, I'll have to face enemies all alone," he said, sniffling as more tears fell, "I don't know what to do…"

"Well, who said you had to do it alone?" Hui-Ying asked with a grin, "I'll have you know I'm a lot tougher than the other boys in the village."

"But it's dangerous!" he cried.

"You shouldn't have to face this alone, this is my home too. We can work together."

She stood up, her hand held out to the masked boy. He looked up in awe at the brave girl before her, the sun blazing around her that matched the light ignited in her eyes, and grabbed her hand. The fear in him dissolved, with hope in it's place as he smiled for the first time since Ao's death.

"Now, let's start practicing!"

Everyone, this is a special announcement. Because my friend has vanished, I've been unable to update. If you want this story to continue, I need someone to help write with me. When you see this message, please send a private message.