Chapter 8: Some Hard Feelings

As promised, Davion gathered up enough food and firewood to start a camp. To my surprise and delight, the Dragon Knight managed to catch several fish in a quiet offshoot of the main river with nothing but some sticks and his quick reflexes. Soon we had a baker's dozen of skewered fatty silverbacks.

Davion couldn't find any berries or mushrooms which he apologized for and he was even more out of sorts that he couldn't find any herbs for my foot, but I waved those concerns away. My foot would heal if I could get my strength up. Selemene's grace would see to that. My main concern was food. I was ravenous. In the last hour before dinner, every time my stomach growled, my whole body would cease up with pain.

I wasted no time in placing 12 of Davion's catches as close to our campfire as I could get without burning them. The finished fish were not my best work, but I was thrilled when they were done.

I ate and ate and ate. It wasn't until I had finished my tenth fish that I became concerned about whether Davion might have wanted more. The Dragon Knight was sitting beside me. While I had feasted, he had only finished one fish. That meant there were only 2 left. There was the fish that Davion had requested I slow cook. It was between us and the fire. And the last fish was currently in Davion's hands.

He had barely touched it. I could not understand why.

Did he not like fish? Was he not hungry?

Because I liked fish and I was hungry.

I hit Davion with my best please-kind-madam-and-or-sir-feed-Marci face.

"Oh alright," Davion said, giving in to my silent but effective begging, "I get the message." The Dragon Knight ripped his skewer and its fish in half and then handed me the larger piece.

Yes!

My fish-half was gone within seconds.

Davion, who had been holding back all meal, started to chuckle. "I'm sorry," he said almost immediately. "I've just never seen anyone eat like you can." He shook his head.

I smiled at him. He didn't need to apologize. He definitely wasn't the first person to be surprised by my appetite. Only Selemene could truly keep up with me and only if there were sweets or alcohol involved.

Davion did not return my smile. In fact, he was almost frowning at me.

I knew that look.

My own smile faltered. This wasn't the first time he'd made that face. Davion kept expecting me to talk. I knew that and eventually, he would ask. They always did.

I had never used Mirana as my voice before like I had been forced to for this mission. Somehow it made everything worse. I wished that there was some way out of this, but I had already tried waking Mirana up while Davion had been fishing.

She was still asleep. I was beginning to think that the Moon Fae had gone into full hibernation.

"Rosemary," Davion said, in a voice that put me even more on edge.

Here we go.

"Thank you for cooking dinner," he finished.

I relaxed. Slightly.

Too late for my nerves, Davion shot me a smile, a knowing one. Then he told me, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit nervous too."

Really?

"I've been thinking about it all evening," he admitted. "I don't want to push you, but I'd really like to know where we are and how I ended up floating downstream of a massive waterfall completely naked when the last thing I remember is being a part of a bar fight in Hauptstadt."

Though the concept of a bar fight was nostalgic, I couldn't really help Davion with his second question. Instead, I decided to answer the first one by picking up a fish stick from my considerable pile and drawing a large circle in the dirt.

Davion looked between me and my drawing as I added more details. After I had marked out the city entrance and the forest to the north, Davion exclaimed, "That's Hauptstadt!"

I nodded.

Once I drew in where I thought the different quarters were, I added in the rivers as I remembered them from my map. Then I marked the river I thought we had taken out of the city and looked to Davion.

He had not really needed a map to navigate the last forest we were in. Did he know where we were now?

"Okay…" Davion said, taking up the challenge. "If I'm reading your map right, then…" He frowned. "Rosemary, are you sure that we drifted down this river?" he asked, pointing at the one that headed east.

I was pretty sure. I had a fairly accurate sense of direction. I remarked the river with an X.

"Of all the…" Davion started to mutter before his words became completely inaudible.

After a moment, I tapped his shoulder.

Davion looked up at me. "Sorry, got lost in my own thoughts for a bit," he said, "I'll be honest, Rosemary. It looks like we might be in Turstarkuri which is new territory for me. The cliffs between us and Hauptstadt means there's no going back on foot either. Our best bet is to head to the nearest settlement and catch a boat."

But?

Because it sounded like there should be a but. Nothing he had said matched up with his reaction earlier. I leaned forward, tilting my head a bit and raising my eyebrows up expectantly.

"What? You don't like the plan?" he asked.

I shook my head.

The plan was fine.

I tried again, making the same expression, but this time I rolled my hand to prompt him to keep speaking.

There was a moment where I thought he didn't understand, but then he said, "I don't have much more to say about it."

Better, but not quite.

I shook my head and moved my hand again, hoping that Davion would keep playing along.

He did. "You want me to talk about something else?"

I nodded.

He frowned, but he was only thinking again. He, at last, said in a reluctant tone, "The only other thing I mentioned was Turstarkuri. I don't suppose…"

I was already nodding.

"I have heard other things about the place," the Dragon Knight admitted, "but most of it is unconfirmed rumors and none of it is good. I don't want to scare you with stuff that might not be true and there's still a chance that we're not in Turstarkuri. I'm hoping my first instinct was right and that we've wandered into a remote part of the Wailing Mountains. Somewhere past here." He gestured to the south river on my Hauptstadt map.

I stared at my map and considered his theory. I could not say whether we were east or south of Hauptstadt just by looking around me and it was certainly possible that I had gotten turned around while I was in the Fae Quarter. Both the south and east rivers cut through the quarter. It was a confusing place and I had been really drunk that night.

But still, he thought we were in the Wailing Mountains?

I put a hand to my ear as if I was listening for something and made a face.

"Well…I know they're called the Wailing Mountains, but they're not always loud," he explained, "Air dragons make most of the noise and they move around a bunch. Some days the mountain pass is unbearable and others it's like this. And there's no telling with all the void dragon activity lately. I've heard odd reports at Dragon Keep about entire raids of air dragons being slaughtered."

Davion's face became troubled before he shrugged off his unease and said, "For the time being, I think we should stick close to the river and keep our eyes and ears open. If we spot air dragons, we're probably in the Wailing Mountains and if we spot Keen…"

Keen!

Why had he not mentioned that before? Those creeps were supposed to be really vicious and nasty. According to Luna, they were bat-like creatures that were drawn to blood and magic. When they attacked, it was like a cloud of death. In my current condition, that would not be a fun fight.

Davion read my expression. "So, you've heard of the Keen before."

Yes. Too many Dark Moon Order acolytes had been murdered by those creeps.

"Well, I don't believe it's as bad as you're thinking. In fact, I have good news: If we were in Turstarkuri, then we should have been attacked already."

That was good news?

"So," he went on to explain, "it's another point towards us actually being in the Wailing Mountains."

Oh! That was good!

Davion's eyes twinkled at me, before he said, "Yes, and our strategy works for both situations. Whether we are in Turstarkuri or Haseon, we just need to keep following the river and we should come across civilization at some point."

I nodded.

That all made sense to me.

"Good. We're agreed. Now, I want to try and tackle my other question."

Other question?

I tensed up again.

"You don't have to tell me everything," he tried to assure me.

I wouldn't.

"I just want to know if that burn," he nodded at my useless foot, "came from a fire dragon."

Relief washed over me as he continued, "I have no idea why any dragon would be in Hauptstadt, but it would explain why I…" The Dragon Knight trailed off. He had noticed my new drawing taking shape. Davion leaned forward to get a better look.

I had sketched out the dragon's body.

I went back to add its horns, fangs, fire breath, small tail, smaller wings, and the flames in its eyes. As a last touch, I drew an arrow to show that the creep had been in the Fae Quarter.

With that done, I looked back at Davion expectantly.

"Could you also draw me a void dragon like we saw in the forest?"

Uh…okay.

I didn't see how that was relevant, but I obliged.

When I was done with my doodle, he said, "You're good at this. I'm no shakes at art myself."

It was nothing. Everyone in the Dark Moon Order became versed in some kind of art form, though I preferred carving and engraving to drawing like this. I was tempted to show Davion some of my current work. There were a few pieces of mine that I was quite proud of. Unfortunately, most of my tools and artwork were at home or with Sagan. I had whistled for the Lunar Tigri while I was prepping dinner, but now that I understood how far we probably were from Hauptstadt I doubted I'd be seeing my favorite cat anytime soon.

"If your drawings are accurate which I believe they are, then what you encountered in Hauptstadt wasn't a real dragon," Davion concluded.

He pointed at the picture of the not-fire dragon and explained, "These wings are too small and fire dragons aren't bipeds." Then he glanced back at me and asked, "Did it have scales?"

I nodded.

"Hard ones?" he pressed.

How was I supposed to know?

I shrugged.

"Hmm…" Davion said with another frown. "I've never heard of a case this bad, but you were near the Fae Quarter."

A case of what?

Instead of clarifying, Davion said, "What can you tell me about this creature?"

I nervously wiped away my doodle of the void dragon to make space. Davion hadn't said anything about how quiet I was, but this definitely felt like the type of question most people would use words to answer. If he hadn't noticed my silence before he soon would.

I figured it was only a matter of time before Davion started asking me why I wasn't speaking. For now, though, the Dragon Knight must have been content with his current line of questioning because he made no protest when I started a new drawing instead of telling my story aloud.

I slowly took Davion through my encounter with the dragon-like creep. It took a while because with each new scene, Davion would ask me questions and offer his opinion. The Dragon Knight recognized both Tresdin and Kwerthias which surprised me. Apparently, that Moon Fae-like form was what people were used to seeing. It made me regret that Mirana and I hadn't thought to consult Davion about the Sun Fae before we split ways. He might have saved us a lot of trouble.

When I finished drawing the butcher shop and showed how the dragon's wings had seemed to grow bigger, Davion declared, "That settles it! Rosemary, do me a favor and look at my teeth."

Before I could protest his odd request, he leaned forward and opened his mouth.

Davion was very close. But his breath smelled like cooked fish, so I didn't get that excited. I focused on his mouth like he wanted me to. The Dragon Knight's teeth were straight and none of them were missing.

Davion closed his mouth and asked, "Anything unusual?"

I shook my head. His teeth were just as perfect as the rest of him.

"Everything was normal?" he asked. "My mouth wasn't red or foaming. There was no smell of smoke?"

Maybe a little smoke, but I gestured at the fire and lifted my eyebrows at him.

"Fair enough," he conceded, "but what about the rest of it. Pink mouth?"

I nodded.

"Foam?"

I shook my head.

"And my canines were normal. No fangs?" he pressed.

Fangs?

I gave him a look.

Seriously, was this a joke?

"Should I take that as a no?" he asked.

I nodded. Of course, it was a no.

Davion relaxed and admitted, "It was pretty unlikely, but thank you. That's a relief to know."

What was a relief to know?

I didn't like this. I grabbed Davion's knee. He was lucky I was still weak, because I was too anxious to properly hold back.

"Oh," he said in surprise, "Sorry. I'm used to dealing with other knights and…well it doesn't matter."

Didn't it?

The Dragon Knight pressed on, "I needed to know if I was showing symptoms because it sounds like you encountered someone infected with a serious case of draconian bloodlust."

Draco what?

I furrowed my brows in confusion.

Davion responded by giving me a lengthy lecture on the disease. I noticed that when it came to dragons, Davion could talk a lot and sometimes his language got pretty technical. Still, I got the gist of it.

When a human ate too much dragon meat, they started to crave magic like the Keen. If the Dragon Knights did not find them in time, then the infected person would start to rampage around like a mindless creep looking for food and magic. Given enough time, they might even grow soft scales, fangs, horns, and a tail. Usually though once the person started growing wings, they would reach their limit and would explode from a magic overdose.

I could scarcely believe that a Sun person could have their soul be so thoroughly corrupted that they would start turning into a creep…

It was horrifying.

Death would be a thousand times better than that.

No, it would be a million times better.

I should have tried harder to kill the poor creature.

This was truly a perversion worthy of the false god himself.

I was clasping my drawing stick tightly by the time Davion finished his explanation.

"Shit," he said, "Sorry. I got carried away again, didn't I? Please, don't worry too much, Rosemary. I'm sure that the draconian hybrid won't be bothering you again. He was at phase 4 and fire dragons don't do well in water. He most likely drowned ages ago."

I nodded.

I hoped that abomination would be cleansed by Selemene and allowed to try again for enlightenment in the next life, but I just didn't know.

Now that I was thinking about it…

Weren't dragons a bit different from normal creeps?

They weren't a subject I spend much time listening to at the Dark Moon Order, but I knew there was a reason they didn't go into the Nightsilver Woods…

Something to do with the false god…

I couldn't remember.

I'd need to ask Mirana about it later. I really hoped she would wake soon. Sometimes a Moon Fae could hibernate for days and her color hadn't been good.

"Rosemary?" Davion sounded concerned.

That was the last thing I wanted. I gave him a smile to show I was fine. I mostly was, after all.

"Would it help if I told you, there is a bright side to today," he offered.

I nodded.

It probably couldn't hurt.

"Well…" Davion began, "we're both alive which means you've just survived another day in my company." If that statement weren't ridiculous enough, he finished it with a wink.

As he hoped, that coaxed a smirk from me. It wasn't as bad as all that and he knew it.

Davion returned my smirk. "See," he said, "and now comes the easy part." He stood up. "I know you prefer traveling at night, but since I'm our only pack mule, I think I need to get some sleep. Will you take watch tonight? You can give me a whistle if there's any trouble, and then tomorrow, you can sleep while I walk. That sound okay?"

Did it sound okay?

I looked up at the Dragon Knight, not quite believing this. Was he really going to bed right now?

"Do you not like the plan?" he asked.

I shook my head. He kept asking that. The plan was fine.

"If you don't want to be up alone in the…"

I waved away that nonsense. I wasn't scared of Selemene's domain.

"Then what?" he asked.

What did he mean by what? Wasn't he going to ask?

"Would you like to draw your question?" he said instead. "That seemed to be working well before."

I looked down at my mural of pictures. I had asked him a couple of questions via my doodling, but I shouldn't need to now. Davion was really smart. Surely, he couldn't have not noticed, but should I say something…

Should I say something?

Heh.

"Rosemary," Davion sat back down, now serious. That ominous look of concern had returned to his face.

I stared up at his face, willing him to ask the question that I knew must be on his mind, but Davion, being the kind and polite Dragon Knight that he was, just sat and waited for me.

I turned away.

"Hey," he said, putting a hand on my thigh. "Don't be shy. You know me. I've got nothing to hide. Ask me anything you want to know."

I looked back at him and saw his honest and open face. He had to have noticed, right? He had to, but he was going to make me bring it up.

Why?

No one else had ever forced me into this situation before. I bit my lip and closed my eyes so I wouldn't have to see that expression on his face. Then I pointed at my throat.

"Oh right!" he exclaimed. "I completely forgot."

He had?

But instead of an inquisition, I heard him move around.

I opened my eyes and saw he was fiddling with the slow-cooked fish. I watched as he broke it in half.

He was getting more food?

But no, the Dragon Knight stuck the skewer halves back into the ground and said, "Can I take off your boot again? We don't have all the ingredients, but the fish should help with your burns."

Nonplussed, I nodded.

Davion knelt down and went about the painful process of taking off my boot and pulling off my sock. Then he used half of the perfectly good fish meat to rub down my foot. It actually did feel nice after the first few painful seconds. The fish meat was soft and warm. Davion massaged it into my damaged skin.

When he was done, Davion then handed me the skewer with the remaining fish and said, "I want you to eat this very slowly as in slower than I eat, alright?"

I eyed him.

"Please," he said. "It should help."

Oh, alright.

I did my best to obey. It was hard. The fish was good! Silverbacks have a subtle flavor like mozzarella cheese and this one was just the right texture to highlight the similarity.

As I attempted to not demolish the tender meat, Davion said casually, "I think you probably inhaled too much smoke earlier and lost your voice."

What?

I swallowed.

Hard.

The fish in my mouth was forced down the wrong pipe. I started to choke, but Davion was fast. After a few coughs on my end, he slapped me on the back and I hacked the fish meat out just like that.

It flew a few feet and landed in the fire with a sizzle.

We looked at the fire and then each other.

There was a beat of stunned silence.

Then we burst out laughing.

Neither of us held back. My sides started to ache and Davion's warm laughter decorated the air.

Every time we tried to calm down, we would look at each other and start up again. I don't know why. I guess it had been a stressful day. Even with all the distractions, I had been so worried about this moment. Then when I least expected it, he had just come out and said it.

It was too much.

After several minutes, Davion finally managed, "You know, Rosemary, I sometimes think you have a very low opinion of my intelligence."

That sobered me.

I shook my head quickly. Davion seemed really smart and experienced to me.

"It took me a while," he admitted. "But I figured it out. Fire dragon smoke is particularly corrosive," he explained. "It's fairly common for people to inhale too much of it and go mute for a day or two."

Oh…

And just like that, the last hint of my laughter died.

I told myself that I should be glad that Davion had come to the wrong conclusion. My cover was safe. He had no idea I was the rather famous mute High Priestess of Selemene. I even had an excuse for why my 'voice' would suddenly return when Mirana woke up.

It was perfect.

Davion squeezed my thigh. "Don't be too cut up about it," he told me, "I think we understood each other well enough tonight, don't you?"

I did and we had. Davion was quick, but he was also patient. He had let me communicate in my own way and hadn't tried to rush me. The few times where I had trouble getting my point across, we had kept at it until Davion had finally got what I was saying. I never thought anyone outside the order would be willing to listen and wait for me like this. Even in the order, no one had…

"But," he said, interrupting my thoughts, "I think I might have missed your insults a little today."

I glared at him.

Of course.

Davion's eyes lit up and he grinned at me. "There it is! I haven't seen that look in ages. You were seriously making me nervous with how nice you were being today. I thought it all might be part of some sinister plot."

Yeah. Sure. Very funny.

I rolled my eyes at him.

"All I'm saying is that you don't have to hold that acid tongue of yours back." A twinkle lingered in his eyes, but Davion's expression went serious as he continued, "Just because you can't speak with words, doesn't mean you have to be quiet."

I squeezed my eyes shut and nodded. I was not crying again. I was better than that.

Davion's hand found my cheek anyway. "Rosemary."

I looked up at him.

He was close and from this angle, I could see how the firelight added gold flecks to his warm brown eyes. He said, "We'll get through this, alright?"

I gave him a small nod.

He was right. Davion was right about a lot of things. He had really saved my butt today. I don't know what I would have done if he hadn't been here. I was so glad that I had woken up with him and not someone else.

I lifted up my hand and pressed Davion's closer to my cheek, wishing I could explain how thankful I was. Instead, I got to feel his heartbeat in his hand. It was steady and reassuring. I felt like I could listen to it for hours.

"I should get to bed," Davion rasped, not moving.

I opened my eyes not sure when I had closed them. Davion had said he was tired. I smiled an apology at him for keeping him up.

"Rosemary," he said again. His voice was even gruffer than before and his expression…

My heart thudded.

I knew that look. I'd seen it on plenty of girls.

Davion wanted to kiss me.

There were only a few inches between us. He could do it. He would too. All I had to do was let it happen.

I swallowed and licked my suddenly plump lips.

Davion's pulse quickened and so did mine.

I wanted this. I wanted him. My pain had receded as every part of my body came alive with anticipation. So, it was a kind of torture to do the right thing and lower Davion's hand away from my face.

Davion didn't fight it. He understood and pulled back.

For an instant, I saw his expression. It held surprise and something else. Before I could read it though, the Dragon Knight dragged his free hand over his face and through his hair. By the time, his hand had reached the back of his neck, Davion had managed to compose himself. "Sorry," he said, already seeming so far away. "I should have guessed, but I just thought," he peered intently at me. "It's not bad timing, right? You are interested, aren't you?"

I nodded.

Yes.

Very interested.

My body didn't care about what promises I made myself. It still wanted him.

"Okay," he said, "so…is there someone else or…?"

I was already nodding. Of course, it wasn't that simple. Selemene was not a jealous goddess. She would never demand monogamy of me, but she trusted me more than I could trust myself. As hard as saying no to Davion was, it was still better than the messy alternative.

"I see," Davion said. His voice was a bit flat before he added with gusto, "They're one lucky son of a bitch then."

More like I was, but yes. Very lucky. Selemene was a goddess in all senses of the word and I was her barely passable High Priestess.

Davion grinned at me but it was one of his false smiles. "I'm sure they're great in their own way too," he offered. "I wish you the best."

You too.

May you witness the truth that is Selemene before your body meets its end in this life

I squeezed Davion's hand to add emphasis, hoping he would understand my wish for him.

Davion just said, "It's fine Rosemary. I'm glad we have that all sorted. Answers some questions I had actually." Then the Dragon Knight gave my hand a squeeze in return before he slipped out of my grip.

I suspected a lot of the finer points of my message were lost on him, but I couldn't protest the separation or him saying, "Now, I think it's time to call it a night, don't you?"

I just reluctantly nodded.

"Alright." Davion clapped his hands on his thighs and stood up.

And suddenly, all my pious well-wishes and higher thoughts disappeared. Despite how easy-going Davion was being about my rejection, I now had a very good idea of how much he had been looking forward to our kiss. If I hadn't still been blushing from everything else, I was definitely blushing now.

I couldn't look away. Were they all that—

"Rosemary," Davion said, in a rough voice I hadn't heard before. "Eyes up here."

With effort, I obeyed him and was met with another unreadable expression.

To be safe, I did my best to look sorry. Ogling Davion within minutes of me turning him down was pretty bad form and I knew it. I should have at least kept my mouth shut.

The Dragon Knight seemed to accept my apology because his features softened into a small smile. He reached out and tousled my hair a bit before he proclaimed, "You, Rosemary, are full of contradictions."

He didn't know the half of it.

"I'll see you at daybreak," he said.

See you then, Davion.

I lifted my hand up and gave him a small wave.

Davion returned the gesture. Then he strode past me to the other side of the fire in all his manly glory. When he settled himself down, facing away from the flames, he lifted his hand up again and gave me a cheerful, "Goodnight!"

Even though I knew he couldn't see it, I gave the Dragon Knight another wave.

Goodnight Davion.

May Selemene bless your mind with her love and light

With my prayer said, I let my hand drop. Since I didn't want to spend the night in unfulfilling fantasies about naked pagan knights, I forced my gaze away from Davion and looked up at Selemene's domain.

The sky was a sea of darkness with the moon a thin sliver of light.

A chill went through me.

Mission accomplished. My lustful thoughts had vanished, leaving a horrid weight in my vast stomach instead. With all that had happened in the last few days, I had completely lost track of what moon phase we were on.

I thought that I would have more time. I was too weak. I wasn't ready. I had no leads or good news to report. I was lost in the wilderness and I wasn't even sure if Mirana would be conscious soon enough to explain the details of what had happened with Kwerthias. None of those things could change the fact that the dark moon was now two nights away.

In just two nights, it would be time for me to come face to face with Selemene.

May the goddess have mercy upon my wayward soul

A/N: Well, that was a long one. I hope you enjoyed it. A special thanks to ErrantTalisman for helping me with my Keen design. They are one of the many changes from the canon we witnessed in this chapter. What did y'all think of Davion's theories? I hope you are all looking forward to seeing where the adventure takes our misinformed duo next, but you will have to wait because I am going on break again.

Of course...I could be persuaded to come back sooner...via reviews, but for now, I am off. Of Rats and Royals, your time has finally come.

I hope to see you all among the autumn leaves.

Goodnight!