5 Connection

[How should I address you? By your first name, or your current name?] Ria asked. Nord- or perhaps she should call him Fallios- hesitated for a moment.

[I feel like Fallios is better. My new parents gave me that name, and they protected me until the end] Fallios somberly said, giving a hate-filled glance at the leader of the people who killed his family. Ria slightly nodded in understanding, wary of acting like a human in front of all these people.

[Meaningful names are always the best kind. They are filled with memories of the people and experiences which gave it to you] Ria said. Her words truly did come from her heart, and she completely believed in it. Fallios lied down in his cage.

[What is your power?] He curiously asked. He could see from his cage that Ria had no collar for some reason. Fallios wondered if Ria even had any.

Instead of answering, Ria drew back the skin around her mouth- the only way she knew how to smile in this form, and shot out a small spout of water, hitting Fallios directly in the middle of his snout.

He stood up and drew back in momentary shock. Murmurs could be heard around him as even the employees were surprised by Ria's sudden action.

[Haha] Ria mentally directed a laugh at Fallios.

Suddenly, the old man spoke, startling the two of them. "I should put a collar on that thing soon, even if it is a rare creature." He said with a frown.

[What did he say? I can't understand this language] Fallios asked.

[Sorry, I don't know. I think he's mad that I sprayed you] Ria helplessly replied, slightly regretting her actions now.

The old man clapped twice, once again startling the pair of reptiles. "Alright, lets send the dragon to its enclosure. Thankfully, we have an enclosure big enough to house even a teenage dragon, albeit it might be a bit cramped." The old man snorted, clearly amused at his own words.

At that, Solda began to roll the cart-cage again. This time, Fallios fiercely struggled. [No! Ria, make some noise!]

Ria immediately knew what Fallios was trying to do and started to make some noises, even lifting herself up and placing her front feet on the top of the fence, clearly showing that she was trying to 'escape'.

"Ah! Stay in your home!" Connie was clearly flustered, trying to pry Ria's feet from her crude fence. Clearly, it had the opposite effect as Ria only struggled harder.

Solda was forced to stop to keep the cage steady as Fallios kept thrashing around, almost tipping the cage over. Solda helplessly looked at the old man, asking for instructions.

The old man sighed with his hand on his forehead. "It looks like the dragon found a new friend. Take the turtle with you, Solda." The old man said, his voice growing tired.

"But.. that tortoise is the only one of its kind. What if the dragon decides to kill it one day?" Solda's worries weren't unfounded. Ria was even rarer than a dragon, and could sell for an enormous amount of money.

The old man glared at Solda, directly shutting down any complaints he previously had. Solda sighed and gave up. It wasn't his money he was going to lose when the turtle died anyways.

At Solda's signal, Connie gently grabbed Ria with both hands, worried she would struggle or try to bite him. Thankfully, Ria was completely still in his hands, like a kitten being held by their mother.

[Mission success] Ria said with a smile in her voice. She felt a sense of accomplishment for finally getting what she wanted without having to use her voice to do so.

Fallios also settled down after Ria was picked up. He lied in his cage almost lazily, keeping his eyes fixed on Ria and not letting her out of his sight.

The door to the danger-zone was pushed open, and a cacophony of even more hellish noises entered their ears. The main pet shop was like a babies cries in comparison. Fallios in particular was especially tense. He had come in through the office, so these noises were a whole new experience for him.

[Holy hell. And I thought dragons were loud] Fallios complained as he covered his ears with his.. claws. In reality, his ears were just holes in his head. Then again, Ria's were too.

[Haha. I've lived here for three whole months, these noises are just annoying to me at this point] Ria bragged as if she was an experienced hunter, acting like these demonic-sounding creatures were cute to her. Fallios gave her a pitying look.

[I can't imagine living in that eighteenth layer of hell for three months. I would go insane]

Ria telepathically laughed again. She almost forgot that she was being held in front of Connie like she was a bag of steaming dog poop. Fallios could only see her from the corners of his cage, since Solda was blocking most of his view.

Finally, they made it to their destination. It was a thick metal door with a window at the side and covered with thin but extremely sturdy metal bars. Obviously, society isn't advanced enough to make bulletproof glass yet.

Solda let go of the handles and opened the door to the enclosure, blocking to door with his foot and pushed the cart into the enclosure, with Connie trailing a bit behind him.

"You can place it down now." Solda said to Connie, gesturing to the tortoise in his hands. The workers obviously didn't know Ria's gender, but she let that slide since it beat the alternative of being 'checked'.

Connie placed her down and backed up. The door closed behind him already, so he wasn't worried of Ria escaping. Solda slowly opened the cage door outwards and backed up, readying himself just in case Fallios tried to attack him.

Contrary to that, Fallios calmly walked out to the ledge of his cage and hopped out. He went around the side of his cage and walked up to Ria.

[You're so small up close] Fallios had to back up a little so they could see each other eye-to-eye. Although Ria was big for a three-month-old tortoise and grew from the size of four small plates, to the size of four medium plates in one month, she was in the presence of one of the biggest species on the planet.

[I'm not small, you're just really large]

Ria grumbled. She had actually been pretty proud of her rapid growth until now. Now, it was like she was the top student of a village and then moved to a school for geniuses and found out she was actually stupid.

Well, she guess it didn't matter since..

Ria sprayed a jet of water in the middle of Fallios's snout, making him jump and shake his head.

[Holy hell!]

..since Fallios had a collar and she didn't….