The Beauty of the Night Sky

"You're a weird human."

"What?"

"You're weird."

"I'm the ONLY human you know."

"Yeah and you're weird."

Being called weird by a Demon was definitely not one of the situations Ale imagined himself getting into in the future.

"This is stupid. Just finish your meal and go back to bed."

"But I'm not sleepy anymore."

"I don't care."

"You're mean."

"And you're a demon."

Ale wondered just what type of treatment Xion was expecting from him. The fact that he was giving him food and a place to stay was already more than enough.

On top of that, he was being called names. Weirdo, meanie etc etc. It really made Ale wonder if he did the right thing by bringing this demon in for the second time.

"But you don't care, right? That I'm a demon?"

Xion was sharp. From his years of experience in the Royal court, he at least learned how to judge a person's character by now.

Although Ale was treating him rudely and acting like he didn't give a damn, all of Ale's action up till now clearly proved otherwise.

Xion could tell that Ale was kind, unbiased and a very down to earth person. That much was obvious. He gave him a hand when Xion was in trouble, gave him a place to stay and warm, delicious food to enjoy. Those were more than enough to earn Xion's gratitude.

"It's not that I don't care.. More like I can't be bothered."

"Haha... Is that so.. Either way, I'm glad we met."

"Isn't it a little too early for you to be saying that?"

"Hm?"

"For all you know, I could be planning to do something bad or hand you over to the authorities when you fall asleep."

Ale wanted to scare him off a little. He didn't like the peaceful atmosphere that was settling between them. It reminded him of the future and made him uncomfortable.

"Would you?"

But Xion, no matter how Ale tried to provoke him, simply didn't seem to care. His calm and positive attitude made Ale get the chills.

After a long moment of silence and both party finishing their food, Ale finally stood up and looked at Xion.

He wanted to respond to Xion's previous question, but failed to come up with anything to say. It was already hard looking at that face, but now that he had to act rude and maintain a distance between them, it made Ale feel even more suffocated.

While he was thinking about his next course of action, something else caught his eye. Water droplets. They kept dropping down one by one. That guys hair was still wet, drenching even the shirt that he was wearing.

"Is something the matter?"

Xion noticed Ale staring at him with a scrunch in his brow and wondered what was going on. He looked at himself wondering if it was something that he was doing subconsciously perhaps, but he could find nothing wrong with either his posture or actions.

"No... just.."

"Just..?"

"Your hair.. It's still wet."

"Ah.. yeah it is. I don't really like drying them since it takes so long."

"Do demon's not catch cold?"

"Hardly ever."

"Hmm.. It shouldn't matter then."

That's what Ale said. But the continuous dripping sound as the water droplets hit the floor kept getting on Ale's nerves. He had sensitive hearing so any unwanted sound made him more uncomfortable than it normally should.

"Do you live here by yourself?"

Xion asked as he looked around the house while Ale was busy doing the dishes. Since no servants were appointed to this place yet, he decided to wash them before going to bed.

"It's still under construction. And no, this isn't my home."

"Ah.. So you're building this for the little guy?"

Light, who was flying around the house, made a round on top of their head and then disappeared into one of the other rooms once again.

"Yes. He needed one."

"He's a baby dragon, right? How old is he?"

"A little over three weeks."

"That little?!"

"Yes."

"But aren't dragons rare? We got the wyverns but they're nothing special. Pretty common."

"Yeah. He's a special case."

"And you're his guardian?"

"For now, yes."

"So you must be even more special, right?"

"What?"

"So where do you live, Ale? Where's your home?"

Xion sat down on a nearby chair and started staring at Ale's back as he asked. Since he was finally fully recovered and even had a hearty meal, he finally had the energy to show curiosity about this new world.

And, more than the things of this world, he was more interested in Ale's stories. He wanted to know all about this human in front of him, this weirdo who lived in a huge mansion like this but still managed to look like he was used to doing the dishes.

"The first mansion you'll see after you cross the forest on the south."

"Another mansion huh.. Are you super rich, Ale?"

"Me? No, it's my parents."

"Wow. So you live with your parents?"

"Mom's dead. But I have a little brother, and my dad."

"Ah.. I see."

"Anything else you wanna ask?"

"Hmm? Yes.. But I feel like you'll get mad if I keep asking."

"...."

Ale couldn't deny. First the sound of the dripping water, and then the continuous interrogation, he was indeed starting to get a little irritated.

"I'll answer your questions if you dry your hair properly."

"What? My hair?"

"Yeah."

Xion stared at Ale's back for a long time before finally getting up and going back in his room. Ale wondered if he had finally gotten bored and left, but before he could even finish that thought, Xion came back with a towel in hand.

"I'll dry them right away! So you have to answer all of my questions."

The enthusiasm in his voice was no joke. Ale wondered what kind of troublesome situation he had gotten himself into as he sighed and placed the last dish on the table.

"Let's go to the roof."

Since it looked like Xion had no intention of going back to sleep anytime soon, Ale decided to take the time to go and do some stargazing while answering all of Xion's questions.

"Light. Come here. Let's go upstairs."

The dragon came flying like the flash and settled himself on Ale's shoulder as the two of them headed for the roof.

As soon as Ale opened the door to the roof and stepped forward, he was welcomed with a sight so breathtaking that it stopped him in his tracks.

Since there were no human settlements around, and they were in the middle of a forest, the stars looked unusually shiny and beautiful. Each of them looked like jewels that someone had carefully placed on a dark blue piece of canvas.

If one looked hard enough, they could even see the milky way with all it's colour and splendor.

"The Moon isn't there."

Xion broke the silence as he stepped forward and looked at the infinite sky above his head. When he heard that they were going to the rooftop, the first thing that came to his mind was the Moon.

All of the books he had read about Earth always mentioned one or two things about the Moon's beauty. So he was really looking forward to it.

"Yes. But since it's not here, we can see the other stars more clearly. It's not a bad thing."

Ale came forward and sat down, leaning on a nearby railing. Light started flapping his wings in excitement before he finally took off and started circling in the sky.

"Not a bad thing."

Xion repeated the words Ale said moments ago and decided to take another look at the sky. This time, his focus wasn't on finding the Moon but rather enjoying the view that was already there.

And he could soon relate with the words Ale had spoken previously as well. Although he still didn't know how beautiful this Moon was, he definitely had no regrets as he came to see how majestic the sky looked even in it's absence.

"Ah.. It's beautiful."