A Companion

As Rill’s wails trailed off into broken sobs, I awkwardly tried to comfort her as best I could, sidling around the table and gently placing a hand upon her shoulder. I was not very good with this sort of thing, but it seemed to help, as she relaxed a little. After a while, she pulled away from Hedrya and rubbed her eyes on the back of her arm, still sniffling.

“I’m sorry,” I said softly, unsure of what else to say to console her.

She cast a doleful glance at the serene form of Hedrya, who might as well have been in a deep sleep. At length, she replied, “I…I knew for a while that this day would come. I thought I had accepted that fact, and I’ve had plenty of time to more or less make my peace with it, but it’s still quite a shock. Honestly, I think the only reason she was able to hold out for this long was because she couldn’t bear to leave me alone in this world. I’m just glad she was able to finally put that fear to rest and pass away in peace, with a smile. That’s the most I could have ever asked for…and I have you to thank for that.” Her green eyes still holding tears unshed, she looked up at me and added with a pained laugh, “She really took a liking to you towards the end, there!”

I nodded slowly, impressed by the girl’s resilience. With a look at Hedrya’s lifeless figure, I thought, She’ll be just fine, Hedrya. Rest in peace. I turned away, practically changing the subject, “It’s gotten pretty late, and there’s little we can do for her in the dark. I’m sure you probably want some space to say your farewells, so I’ll just—”

I cut off as she grabbed my arm, eyes wide with fear, and pleaded, “Please, don’t go! I…I don’t want to be alone right now.”

Certainly, I had not intended to run away, although I also had to admit that I was not sure what to do in this situation. I thought that giving her some time to grieve on her own was probably for the best, but I could understand why she thought I might try to take the opportunity to leave. I gave her my best reassuring smile and said, “Don’t worry, I was just going to step out for a bit. I’m not going anywhere.”

She eyed me up and down dubiously before averting her gaze, heat rising in her cheeks as she bashfully offered, “C-could you…stay here tonight? Please? We don’t have anything in the way of guest bedding, but you can sleep in my spot. I doubt I’ll be getting any rest tonight, anyway.”

“Hmm,” I mused, considering her proposition as I glanced around the room. Besides Hedyra’s bed, there was only a woven straw mat with a messy pile of blankets on the floor nearby, which I assumed was where Rill slept. The realization suddenly dawned on me that I was being placed in a very delicate situation, here. Spending the night alone with an emotionally vulnerable girl had some uncomfortable implications, and while I doubted that she had any intentions beyond honest good will, neither was I about to risk any overnight incidents.

I cleared my throat and turned away from her to hide my embarrassment, shaking my head to dispel such thoughts. “I-I don’t mind sticking around for a while, but there’s no way I could impose on you like that! I’ll just sleep outside. Don’t worry, I’m used to it!”

When she still did not release my arm, I looked at her to see an expression of disbelief still lingering on her face. “You really aren’t going anywhere?”

“I won’t sneak away into the night,” I told her resolutely, “I promise. I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”

She held on for a few moments more before letting go with a defeated sigh. “Alright, I believe you. We’ll…take care of things in the morning, then. Good night, Leolyn.”

“Good night, Rill,” I replied, closing the door of the cabin behind me on my way out. The crisp night air immediately struck me, a refreshing change to the warmth from inside, and I spent a moment simply basking in it in an attempt to clear my mind and sort through everything that had just happened.

Even if I had only known them for a short time, Rill’s open and free-spirited personality had made forming a friendship with her shockingly easy. As for Hedrya, it was clear that there was more to her than met the eye. Thinking back, I was reminded of her initial reticence towards me, combined with her aura and the fact that she used to be powerful enough to fend off the wilds of this untamed land on her own…it was only a suspicion, but I now recognized the feeling that she had elicited within me; a sensation very similar to that of the dragonslayer, Alicia.

As I slowly traipsed out into the overgrown front yard of the property, I wondered, Could it be possible? Could she have once been a dragonslayer, herself? If so, I would never know for certain. Rill clearly knew nothing of her past, whatever it might have entailed, and I could no longer direct any inquiries to the woman herself. Well, there’s no use worrying about it now.

I shifted back into my dragon form, and curled up on top of the soft grass. The hours spent travelling had left me surprisingly exhausted, and sleep came quickly as a result. I could not say how much time passed before I was awoken by a click from the front door of the cabin as it closed softly, and light footsteps approached, swishing through the tall grass.

I was only half-awake, and ignored it in my groggy haze, until I suddenly felt something soft nestle up against my flank. I craned my neck to look at the disturbance, only to find Rill curled up against me, wearing a thick nightgown and clutching a blanket around herself to ward off the chill in the night air. She looked up at me as I towered over her, not a single hint of fear in her red-rimmed eyes.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly, “I didn’t mean to wake you. It just doesn’t feel right, trying to sleep in there right now…” Closing her eyes, she snuggled up against my scales and murmured drowsily, “You’re so warm.”

My sleep-addled mind struggled to piece together any coherent argument, as I tried to think of some way to convince her to go back inside, but it was no use anyway. It seemed that the day’s events had finally taken their toll on her, and she had already fallen into a deep slumber. I cast a wry smile at the sight of her, being perhaps the only person in this world who would be at perfect ease sleeping right next to a dragon like myself. I carefully turned over to curl my sinuous body around her, encircling her in my natural warmth, and draped a feathered wing over top to form a sort of canopy before I faded back into sleep, myself.

***

We awoke shortly after first light, and set about making preparations for Hedrya’s funeral. While Rill got dressed, I used my claws to dig a hole into the rocky, clay-filled dirt, baking it with a blast of my burning breath to create a sort of crude sarcophagus. When Rill was finally ready, I retrieved Hedyra’s body, laying it gently into the tomb before covering it all over with a layer of fresh earth, giving it the same fiery treatment in the hopes that it would create an airtight seal within.

Rill then said a simple prayer, intoning, “Goddess of Humanity, Benevolent Mariah, I humbly ask that you see this soul safely back into the cycle of rebirth. May her next life be filled with happiness and abundance.”

We stood in respectful silence after that, Rill saying her farewells while I was lost in my own thoughts, her earlier words sparking some curiosity within me. Mariah, huh, I thought, reminded of the goddess who had brought me into this world, So that’s her name. I was also reminded of what she had said, faintly, as my life was tossed into the winds of rebirth, may you succeed where my sisters and I failed…and find a way to save this doomed world.

I tucked the plea away into the back of my mind. I wonder what she meant by that. I’m not sure I’m the one that she should be relying on to save the world. I mean, what does it even need saving from? And what can I do about it? It just makes one more thing to look into, I suppose.

I jumped as Rill clapped her hands abruptly. “Alrighty! Leo, wait here for a moment. I’ll be right back.” Without any further explanation, she hurried off into the cabin.

I watched her go with some bemusement. She was certainly in a better mood today, despite everything that had happened. But I wondered what her plans were, moving forward. She seemed able to survive on her own even without her grandmother’s help, but it was still dangerous out here in the Far Reach, especially for someone who did not have the inhuman abilities Hedrya had supposedly touted in her younger years. If a strong monster, like the Giant Boar I had fought in the imp village, came along…would she be able to fend it off herself?

After a while she returned, her slim shoulders making the overstuffed rucksack hanging on her back look comically large. She closed the door behind her and reverently laid a hand upon the rough wood, murmuring, “I’ll return someday, I swear.” Then, she turned back to me and declared, “Leo! I’ve decided that I’m going to travel the world at your side! If you’ll have me, that is.”

Well, that settles that, I thought with a chuckle. “Is that so? I won’t say no to the company, but I also don’t know what might be waiting out there. It could get pretty dangerous, especially if I slip up and get discovered.”

“That’s true,” she admitted, “but I think it’s what Gran would’ve wanted. I’ve lived out here for pretty much all of the nineteen years of my life, and now I want to go see the world too, just like you. Besides, I’m not defenseless; I have my bow! If anything goes wrong, we’ll face it together.”

I barked a laugh at her happy-go-lucky demeanor. “Well in that case, welcome aboard, Rill.”

I extended a hand toward her, which she considered for a moment before she shook it. A wide grin split her face as she spun and pointed the way forward, beginning an emphatic march towards the treeline, kicking her heels high into the air with each step. “Then we better get a move on. Come on, let’s go!”

I turned to follow her, my eyes resting for a moment on Hedrya’s grave. I’ll keep my promise to you, Hedrya. I’ll protect her, no matter what.

There was no telling where our journey might take us, but with Rill at my side, for the first time, I truly felt like I belonged in this world.