17.0

"I'm not. I wont want to serve a dragon who made this place a mess and scared all of Rahueans."

Jihn's lack of reaction to that made her huffed in response as she continued eating.

"Next time, I wont make the same mistake again." she said.

"What kind of mistake?"

"Complacency." she said. "I have a plan how to get the gem from Pyton."

"Let's hear it." he encouraged while she cleared her throat.

Daira dug out the map from her pocket and pointed at the Skilt mountain. There was a secret passage in the foot of the mountain, I can enter there up the way towards the hill without being seen. And then I will find the gem at the top-"

"That's a nice plan to get killed, missy." he remarked.

"Hey. I'm not done yet."

"The gem is located at its forehead." he stated and looked at her shocked expression. "You didn't see that coming, did you?"

"What the heck? How can I get it without killing it or yet being killed by it?" she demanded.

"Well, draft another plan. Forget about the secret passage. It's a trap." he said.

"You mean, it's a dangerous path?" she asked.

"Yes." he said.

Daira put down the map on her lap, frowning to it.

"Its alright." Jihn said but it didn't as much as lift her mood. "Hey, I got to tell you something." he said making Daira glanced up to him.

"There is one way to get the gem from him." he baited which instantly lighted her face.

"How?"

Jihn smirked at her. "Offer him something he badly wants in exchange for it."

"Like what?"

"The blood of the Vetrik." he said.

Daira frowned at him. "The red dragon's blood? Are you being funny right now? Because it's not laughable at all."

"Listen to me first,"

"Jihn, I'd rather face Pyton and stab the gem out from from its bloody forehead than attempt to extract blood to that Vetrik Drakon."

"Why not? It will be easy."

"Easy? EASY YOU SAY?" She scoffed. "That dragon is the strongest of all fives in Rahu. He's almost their god. If I go on his mountain, I'd be snapped like a twig. That kind of beast, needs thorough and careful planning."

"I heard you made him flew away from the main city." Jihn continued with humor on his face.

"Beginner's luck and after I read much about this red dragon, I shivered on how careless I've been." she said.

"Yup. That's true." he agreed with hidden meaning to his tone.

"I hate you." She muttered.

"I mean what I said and I'm serious in the blood offering thing." Jihn stated before he stood up from the stone he sat and went into the river to wash his hands.

"Blood...what's in it to make the Pyton desire it anyway?" she asked.

Jihn took his time before he could answer her while Daira was too impatient to wait as she ran in the riverbank beside him.

"Hmm? Tell me. I know there's something." she said and crouched down in the water too.

Jihn shook his hand with water first before he turned to her. "Pyton will have increase power."

"Oh oh. That's not good, right?" she asked while he shook his head. "I didn't know Vetrik's blood can increase another dragon's vitality. Have he done it before?"

That's the funny question. Because he never once heedlessly offer his blood to any dragons before.

"No."

"Oh well. Shame. We're omitting the blood offering." Daira said. "Because we can't get his blood and I wont even think about ordering you to get it."

"I'll go."

"Dude, no."

"Dude?" he frowned.

"I mean, no. You can't go."

"You call me names again. It's been annoying." he stated. "What does it mean this time?"

"Drop it off, Jihn." She ordered while he stayed staring at her. "Urgh! You're so annoying."

"I'm waiting."

"It means pretty boy, alright?"

"I'm not young man to be called a boy."

Daira bit her lower lip and frowned at him. "Alright...it means...it means you're very attractive."

Jihn couldn't react to that even Daira had walked out from where he stood.

Daira bowed down to reading her documents when Jihn had finally came from washing his hands in the river.

"So, I'm attractive to you, huh?" Jihn had no clue that he can actually tease someone.

Daira glared at his direction and doodled on the documents aimlessly.

When Jihn regarded it, he can't helped but snorted. "What? You're attempting to be an abstract artist now?"

"Get away." Daira pushed away his face with her hand but Jihn grabbed her hand and put it down his lap, still eyeing the doodles on the documents.

"You're destroying the documents into some kind of children's book. What's this, is this the draft of your plans?" Jihn pointed at the messy portrayal of the Skilt Mountain with a secret tunnel at its foot.

"Aish. " Daira stirred away from his direction feeling suddenly embarrassed of her drawings.

"Wait. Wait. Let me see." Jihn stirred her back to his direction and squinted his eyes at the little drawing near the secret tunnel. "Is this supposed to be you?" he looked up.

"Yeah. What about it?" she looked down to it too.

"This twig right here?"

"It's not that bad." Daira complained while it made Jihn laughed once again. She looked at him with annoyance at first but then had the urge to join him when his laughter was contagious.

"I'm gonna include you here now." Daira attempted to draw Jihn with concentration that it may seemed she was creating a masterpiece instead of drawing a man in a triangled body, a circled head and a twig arms and legs.

Jihn snatched the marker from her hand and added some details to Daira's figure in the draft. "There."

"Stop destroying my masterpiece!" Daira tried to nab the marker from him again but Jihn held it up high. "Yah." Daira reached out but Jihn finally stood up.

"Can't get it, little twig?" he said.

"I'm not a twig." She said, jumping high to get the marker but Jihn's naturally taller than her. Biting her lip in determination, she didn't even notice she literally had her body against him and her hand on his shoulder while her other one stretched high above her head. With one quick prance, she finally snatched the marker off his loosening grip to it.