The pact

"What do you think you're doing?" The little blue dragon demands, waking me up. He pulls himself out from under my hand and shakes like a wet dog as if trying to get the presence of my hand off him. 

I blink a few times taking in the rising sun's light. The smell of smoke from last night's fire clings in my nose. I try getting up but I'm stiff from laying on the hard ground.

"You going to answer me?" The dragon presses.

"You were crying in your sleep." I state.

The dragon looks displeased to hear that. He scurries off to the near by river we have been following. I slowly make my way there to wash up in the icy cold water. Splashing the water on my face woke me up the rest of the way. Oh how I would love a warm bath I think to myself.

After sometime the dragon emerges from the water and makes its way to me. He eyes me funny and I stare back. Which isn't helping the awkward situation.

"Are we still making our way to the ocean?" He asks a little shy.

"If it will help heal you faster than I will help you get there." I say.

"Alright." He says standing and looking up at me. I stare back. "Are you going to carry me or what?" He retorts.

"Oh yes I will." I say getting up. I gently scoop him up and put him on my shoulder to rest.

We begin our journey again following the rivers edge. It's the same as yesterday hiding here or there, him clicking his tongue at my food choices and judgemental stares. But in between the silence I tried talking.

"Do you have a name?" I ask.

"Name's are demeaning." He scoffs.

"Really? So your parents never gave you a name?" I ask.

"We use clicks in the water to communicate. You would never be able to make those sounds." He states.

"Try me." I reply.

After a judgemental look he clicks his tongue quickly three times then two lower pitched slow clicks. I do my best to imitate the sounds. He perks up a little and repeats his name in clicks. Then I repeat it back to him.

"You got it." He looks at me in disbelief.

"Yea it wasn't that hard." I brag. "But a name for land wouldn't hurt since I can't really make those noises very loud."

He ponders on that for a bit. "Fine you may give me a name, ONLY since you are helping me get to the ocean." He raises his head high and mighty away from me then crosses his front claws on my shoulder.

"How about..." it takes me a bit of thinking, names are hard, naming Potato wasn't this hard, "so you're from the ocean or sea. What about Octavious? Or even Sheldon?"

The little dragon pounders on the names. "Sheldon." He mumbles.

"That name was given to the smarter dogs at the shelter I helped out at." I smile.

"Well if other smart creatures bare this name then so shall I." Sheldon says with pride.

"I'm happy you like the name, Sheldon." I say with a brighter smile.

Not long after that I'm struggling to climb a little bit of the mountain since the river found an under ground cave to go though. I huff and puff once I reach a clear cliff edge. Standing up, my breath is taken away.

The whole ocean as far as I can see is frozen. Part of the land where a beach would be is frozen too. Then off to the right I see what would have been a fishing village covered in ice. 

"It's worse than I remember." Sheldon whispers.

"And this is after a day of thawing isn't it." I say quietly.

Sheldon nods his head sadly.

"Are we still going down there?" I ask gently.

"Yes... I need to heal and... check on a few things." He says sadly.

"Very well, I will carry you there." I say starting my way down the steep terrain.

The ice crunches and creaks as I step onto it. I set Sheldon down by the rivers edge that isn't frozen and he dives under the ice into the dark water. With Sheldon gone I turn towards the village to see if I could find any thing of use. I hoped to find food or clothing but what I found was more disturbing. The trickle of water dripping and running in thin streams gets drowned out by my heart beat.

Men where scattered in the streets frozen like statues with their fishing harpoons,  knives and a few carried a trident. Looking into a house I see a mother frozen while comforting her children. I turn on my heel and get out of the village. I slip on the smooth patches of ice and stumble when I step in shallow puddles over the ice.

I make my way farther onto the ice since it is more than thick enough to hold my weight. Soon I come to a bump in the water which I assumed was a wave til I looked closer. There in the ice was a dragon that looked like Sheldon, only it was 30 meters long. This had to be one of Sheldons relatives. I turn and sprint to where the river outlets into the ocean. Slipping and sliding the whole way.

"Sheldon?" I call out looking around for him. He is no where to be seen, he must be in the water still. Throwing myself down I plunge my face into the cold water and click for him.

I bring my face up gasping for air. The ice cold breeze coming over the ocean chills my face more. I repeatedly plunge my face in and out of the water, soon enough my face is numb.

Sheldon leaps from the water and lands on the ice beside me. Most of his cuts and bruises were gone.

"You alright?" Sheldon asks.

I could finally feel the snot coming from my nose and small icicles hanging from my eyebrows and chin. Then I start to cry for Sheldon, the frozen dragon and all the people in the village. Sheldon steps back in shock.

"I'm going to kick Gilton's butt! He is not getting away with what he has done here! With what he did to you and your family and what he did to this village! I'm gonna...!" I punch the ice in anger. The ice around Sheldon and I shatters. I scamper up a chunk of ice to not get pinched between them and Sheldon clings to one himself.

"I had a feeling you were strong but this, this is... is this normal?" Sheldon asks.

"No this, this is new to me." I state. Sucking my snot back into my nose.

"You might able to brute force your way into a victory against Gilton." Sheldon suggests.

"That's what we'll do. I take out Gilton and you take out Tundra." I give him a thumbs up and I can still feel the icicles on my eyebrows and chin.

Sheldon's smile looks more of a snarl than a smile but his little cackle made it clear he was on board.

Sheldon and I slid down the ice chunks to more flatter ground. I squat beside him.

"Then it's a deal? We tag team, I over throw Gilton while you bring down Tundra." I say holding out my fist to him.

"It's a deal! What are you doing with your fist though?" He asks.

"Oh uh your supposed to take your fist and bump or pound it." I explain bumping both fists together.

"Pound?" He gives me another skeptical look as I hold my fist back out.

He closes his eyes then tilts his head down and bumps it into my fist.

"That works." I say with a small smile.