Chapter 2: By Any Other Name

It was several hours later and I had set up camp for the day. Sagan lay asleep behind me on the far side of camp. I had my tent pitched near the Lunar Tigri. Mirana and I were by the fire. I was roasting a rabbit that I had caught earlier tonight while Mirana's dark eyes surveyed the cooking meat with obvious hunger.

I was hungry too. It had been another long night of travel, especially since we had all woken up before sunrise yesterday. All I wanted to do was finish with dinner and turn in for bed.

"Is that food I smell?"

I heard the sound of his voice, but the meaning of his words got delayed. My mind was busy trying to take in the sight of the scantily clad man stretched out on the ground on the other side of the fire. The only piece of clothing on his large well-formed body was my cloak which was acting as a loincloth.

Earlier he'd been covered in blood, disoriented, and weak, but now he moved with the same easy grace I'd witnessed at the tavern. I watched as he shifted onto his side and lifted himself up onto his elbow so that it rested on the makeshift pillow I'd made from my spare blanket.

Maybe I would have been able to keep my head if he hadn't been smiling at me, but he was. And the firelight was making his brown eyes gleam suggestively in the darkness. I could not help but wonder if he looked this good every time he awoke.

While I was lost pondering this very important question, Mirana had already cried, "You're awake!"

Now, she was showering him with much less exciting questions like, "Whose blood is that? Where are your clothes? Why were you following us? What's so important about your necklace? Is it dark magic? Who are you? What are your intentions? Did those shifty sun spi—Mmphf!"

My hand had snatched Mirana out of the air and I had covered her tiny pert mouth with my pointer finger.

Mirana looked over at me in shock.

I hadn't tried to shut her up like this since I was a kid, but I wasn't sorry. I told her not to do this when he woke up. Because of her intrusive onslaught of questions, our new companion was wearing this lost and haunted expression on his face. I knew what it was like to get an inquisition thrown at you before you've had time to properly process things yourself. I knew it was a jarring and horrible thing to cope with.

Mirana didn't.

After her initial shock at my actions had melted, she began angrily buzzing around to try and get free of my grasp. A part of me became thankful that the man was so preoccupied. Because if he had glanced my way, the glamour would have made it seem like I was waving my arm around and swearing for no apparent reason.

I let Mirana tantrum for a few moments before I gave my fist and her head a light shake.

Mirana immediately ceased her struggling and proceeded to glower at me.

I glowered right back to let her know where I stood. I knew I would pay for this later, but for now, I was going to take advantage of Mirana's silence. So, I opted to ignore the wrathful energy coming from the Moon Fae and refocused my attention on our companion.

He was staring at the fire, but I could tell he was seeing something else.

I went over to him and cautiously gave his bare shoulder a poke with my free hand.

He blinked and then looked up at me. "Oh. Sorry, I…got lost for a moment there. You wanted to know how I got like this."

I nodded.

After he sat up, he said, "Honestly, I don't know if I can tell you much." His gaze returned to the fire. "What I remember…it doesn't make sense, not even to me."

I gave his shoulder a pat and offered him a small smile.

He took the reassurance as it was meant and gave me a smile in return.

Then I gestured to the cooking rabbit.

He perked up and I knew I'd done the right thing. "You're willing to share?" he asked.

As a response, I went back over to the fire and picked the rabbit up by the spit in my free hand. However, that's when I realized I had a problem. With a seething Mirana in my other hand, it was going to be a bit difficult to break the rabbit in half.

"It looks cooked to me," his voice said from beside me.

My head jerked up. He was so close!

"Here," he lifted the rabbit out of my grasp.

I turned to face him.

"Want me to split it?" he asked.

I nodded. That would work.

He took the two ends of the spit and ripped it and the rabbit in half. He did not do it as neatly as I would have, but not everyone was blessed by a goddess.

"Which half do you want?" he asked.

I pointed at the larger piece.

"Really?" His eyes lit up with amusement.

I held out my hand. I refused to be embarrassed. Strength like mine didn't come for free. On a normal night, I might eat this entire rabbit by myself.

The man handed me the rabbit half. My skin touched his as he said, "I like a girl with a healthy appetite." At his words, a feeling of warmth that had nothing to do with the campfire crept up my arm.

Then Mirana bit my finger.

Ouch!

The hand holding her released the pesky fae out of reflex.

"Freedom!" she cried as I clenched my teeth together and tried not to cry. That had really hurt!

"To Freedom?" the man said, lifting up his rabbit high, thinking I had called a toast.

I halfheartedly lifted my own dinner up as Mirana's victorious smirk speared me from above the man's head. I supposed a bleeding finger and a small dose of Moonshine poison was my punishment for grabbing her. Hopefully, this would be the end of it. Mirana might be my best friend, but a Moon Fae's temper was nothing to sneeze at.

"So," Mirana said from her high perch, "I've given you food, clothes, and shelter. Where are my answers?" The air of a threat had leaked into her voice, but I was pretty sure that was for my benefit.

"Right," the man said, "it was like this…" He and I sat down and I listened to his story about his strange encounter with not one, but two large dragons called eldwurms and something else…

By the end of his tale, even Mirana was a little awed. She was hovering by my shoulder and taking small nibbles out of my rabbit when he wasn't looking. After finishing her latest bite, she said, "So you expect us to believe that you and some dark spirit slew two eldwurms?"

"I don't expect you to believe anything. I don't believe it, but that's what I remember," he said.

She sniffed derisively. "Well, you're right about one thing, your story is nonsensical."

He frowned at the fire. "Yeah…" he agreed, taking another bite out of his dinner. "At least, it's just a story to you." After that dower statement, he gathered himself up and said in a brighter voice, "But enough about me. Tell me about you. I already know you're a great cook," he lifted his mostly-eaten rabbit in tribune.

I was already waving off his compliment, when Mirana added, "I think it came out dry."

Her comment didn't bother me. Much. She was right. The rabbit had been a little dry and I had only seasoned it with salt and some wild rosemary that I'd found. Really, this meal was nothing to brag about.

"Nonsense," the man countered, "this was better than my dinner at the inn."

"That's not saying much," Mirana put in while I blushed.

"Granted," he said with a smile. "However," he gestured at my shoulder.

For one frantic second, I thought he was pointing at Mirana, but then I glanced back and saw that Sagan was behind us.

The man continued, "I also know that from your pet and the colors that you're wearing that you must be part of the Dark Moon Order."

Was it that obvious?

"It's quite a distance between Barrelhaven and the Nightsilver Woods, so tell me, what's a pretty girl like you doing so far from home?"

A pretty girl?

"None of your business," Mirana snapped. On this front, I couldn't exactly blame her. Even I wasn't planning to divulge our secret mission to a handsome stranger.

We hadn't even finished dinner.

"Oh, come on," he coaxed, "You already know all my secrets."

"Hardly. I don't even know your name," Mirana said, unmoved.

He blinked. "Oh, shit. I forgot. I'm Davion, Dragon Knight at your service." He swept his arm across his middle and gave me a little mock bow. When he straightened up, his gaze met mine again and he said, "Now that you know my name, may I have the honor of learning yours?"

Yes!

Mirana's voice said, "You'd do me a greater honor by forgetting we ever met, you mad mooching malapert."

What!

I stared back at the Dragon Knight in horror.

There was a beat of silence before Davion burst into laughter.

The hearty sound startled both me and the fae. Mirana, who had been acting tough this whole time, suddenly became shy and hid behind me.

Meanwhile, he said, "I must be losing my touch. For such a sweet-looking girl, you got quite the tongue on you. Bram would love this."

So, the knight thought Mirana's and my two-person show was funny…there was something depressing about that.

"Fine then," he added after calming down a bit, "I'll make the next question easy. Could you at least tell me where we are?"

Easy or not, Mirana wasn't in the mood to talk to Davion anymore so after a moment I gave up on her and grabbed a nearby stick off the ground. Then I drew him a crude map in the dirt.

Davion's eyebrows rose as he examined my drawing. "You and your pet move fast. I can't believe we are already that far from Barrelhaven. Am I right in thinking that we're only a day's walk away from Hauptstadt?"

I nodded. It would be a night's walk with Sagan helping.

He gave me a shrewd look. "Maybe I'm pushing my luck, but I don't suppose you'd like the company of a Dragon Knight on your journey. I have friends in Hauptstadt, ones who won't ask you any annoying questions. I can also get us a place to stay and anything else you need. It's the least I can do. What do you say?"

I held up a finger to tell him and Mirana to wait. Then I got up and went to the other side of camp. After a tense moment, Mirana followed.

"You can't seriously want him to come with us," Mirana hissed as she got close to me.

That was exactly what I wanted. Even without Davion's offer for a place to say, it was just the right thing to do. And really, it was only a night of travel.

"But…the blood," she protested in quiet tones, "And the dragons. The man is trouble."

He was in trouble, but so were we.

"I could tell him no," she threatened softly. "I ought to after the stunt you pulled tonight."

I just crossed my arms.

Mirana acted all high and mighty sometimes, but at the end of the night, I was the High Priestess. Plus, she'd burned a lot of my goodwill when she'd bit my finger earlier. As far as I was concerned, we were even.

"Marci, come on," she implored, "Think this through…"

I had.

Mostly.

I couldn't leave Davion without any gear in the middle of the forest. There were wild animals, creeps, and who knows what else in these foreign woods. Taking in strays was part of our code. We could easily have a convert to Selemene on our hands which was a good thing. Davion would love her. He was a man of taste.

I ignored the odd feeling in my stomach and raised an eyebrow.

"Marci…" Mirana tried one more time.

I raised my other eyebrow.

"Fine! You're too horny to be reasoned with, but he sleeps outside," she insisted. "And no sharing our secrets. For a mute, you can be—"

But I didn't care about her misgivings and warnings. I was already turning to the handsome Dragon Knight with a smile.

Above me, Mirana announced, "Very well, Dragon Knight, you can come with us to the city and provide lodging, but after that, we go our separate ways. Understood?"

"Sounds good to me." He stood up. This time, he was careful not to let my cloak fall off as he crossed the campsite in a few strides. He then held out his hand. "Let's shake on it?"

I took his warm rough hand in mine.

"Thank you for this," he said, not letting go. "You caught me in a bad spot, but I hope I can repay your kindness in Hauptstadt."

I nodded.

"Until then, one more question," he said.

"You're so nosy," Mirana complained.

I flushed.

Thankfully, Davion didn't seem bothered by Mirana's hypocrisy. He just said, "Don't worry. I'm not prying. I was just wondering how'd you feel about a nickname."

A nickname?

"Unless you'd like to give me your real one for this journey," he added.

"Not a chance," Mirana snapped.

"Yeah, I gathered as much," he replied. His eyes were twinkling again, even though the fire remained behind both of us right now. "I was thinking I'd call you Rosemary for the time being."

My smile widened and I nodded quickly before Mirana could reject the new name.

"Great," he said, "Looking forward to traveling with you, Rosemary."

Likewise!

Suddenly, this desperate quest of mine was feeling a lot less dire.

A/N: Before I get down to business, I'd just like to say that now I know how those Youtubers feel when they ask for a crazy amount of likes and views on a video to unlock something ridiculous and then they actually get what they thought was impossible. I have had more reviews on this first chapter than I have had on any other chapter I've ever published.

Wow, Guys! I am seriously touched. I hope some of you become regular reviewers. I am fueled by reviews. There are three people I need to thank in particular.

First, I'd like to thank ErrantTailsman for being awesome. He has his own Dragon's Blood fic called Dragon's Blood: Bound in Blood. The best way I can describe it right now is the show but better (and not just because Marci was made the main love interest). Everyone here should check his fic out. It's got some of the best-written fighting scenes I'd seen on this site and is just a really cool take on the story in general. I took some inspiration from him here regarding Marci's supernatural appetite.

Next, thank you to Gamma-X for helping me finished Book 2 (I have MANY opinions on Book 2). It was a struggle, but I am better for it.

And last, I want to thank my friend, march4fun, for being my initial inspiration and for convincing me that maybe I shouldn't turn Marci into a goddess and the Invoker's daughter (long story) out of pure rage caused by the end of Book 2 (Again MANY opinions).

Now business. I typically don't do scheduled updates for a couple of cynical reasons that I won't go into. I like to bounce around my different stories depending on my mood (which can be influenced by you as you have seen). That being said, I believe in finishing what I start. I am still writing Crimson Tiger even though I only have one follow and fav. It is just my way. As for this fic, when I first conceived it, I thought it was going to be a Marci-focused retread of Book 1. Book 2 ruined that concept and from the ashes, a new (and honestly much better) fic has been born. Currently, the plan is for a two Book adventure that is quite different from the canon.

How different?

Well, we already have Moon Fae Mirana, but I can also say we're probably not going to the Helios Imperium (For its sins, I am wiping that place from existence) and the main villain will not be called Terrorblade. But that's all the hints you get.

Looking forward to traveling with you, friends. Saddle up your Lunar Tigri and enjoy the ride!