Baby Dragon

"It really is a dragon.."

"..It's a baby dragon."

"Aww.. Isn't it so cute?"

"Cute? Go one step closer and we might need to leave this place with your ash."

"Hey! Stop being so mean!"

"I'm just being rational."

As Alice and Stuart kept bickering, the dragon that had just hatched and was looking around, finally glanced at their direction.

*Whisper*

"It's looking at us."

"Oh no.. What shall we do now?"

"Prepare a defensive spell just in case."

"Shut it!"

Confused, shocked and surprised, everyone kept glancing at the baby dragon wondering what they should do.

Since it was a dragon egg, normally it should've taken at least 1000 years for it to hatch. They still didn't know if they had impeccable timing or if was a premature hatching.

But Ale knew. It was definitely premature. There wasn't supposed to be a dragon or baby dragon anytime in the future. And he could also guess to some extent why it hatched.

"Why did the dragon trust you enough to disclose it's lair?"

It was a question that stuck to his mind from the very first time he heard about the Dragon's lair. Dragon lairs were always hidden in mountains far from human establishment. If one didn't know the specific coordinates, it'd be like looking for a needle in a sack of hay.

"Ah that.. It was fate."

Ron answered without much thought.

"It was what?" Ale asked, confused.

"It was a fated encounter. He needed some assistance and Rudy was more than happy with lending him a hand."

Stuart shortened the story for now since they weren't exactly in a position to listen to some adventure stories right now.

"Ah.. and he gave you this location?"

"Yes. He said I could take whatever I wanted from here, including some shells."

"Ahh.. I see."

Ale wondered how a dragon could possibly be so unguarded. It gave away not only the location of its lair, but also the location of its baby. No. It was downright carelessness. Unless.

"You guys made a pact?"

Ale asked absentmindedly. That was the only explanation the situation had. And just as he had expected, Rudy nodded his head in agreement.

"We promised to help each other out as well as not harm each other."

A pact with a dragon, it was a contract that bind the soul and blood of the two involved. Since Dragon's lifespans are much longer, the pacts were made in a way that allowed the humans to maintain the pact through their next generations, till the death of that dragon.

But these were all ancient stories. The last pact made between a dragon and a human was centuries ago. Even in Ale's memories of the future, there was never any mention of a pact with a dragon.

'These guys hid it well.'

"But you're not fully restricted from harming the egg though.."

"Not that I have any intention to do so, but yes, if I wanted to, I could."

"And wait for that guy to come and make meatballs out of you?"

"Haha.. He's indeed aware of my location."

"Hmm.. It all makes sense now."

The dragon that was cutely flapping its wings, as if wondering what they were for, finally gave up and stepped down from the nest.

"!"

Everyone stood frozen in place wondering what was happening. If it really was a dragon as majestic as people claimed, they wondered if it was capable of sensing the contract Rudy had with its parent.

And it was. The baby dragon stared directly in his direction for a while and then started approaching them. And just like a newborn, it was fearless and cute.

"Is it coming towards you?"

"Hey Rudy, what if it mistakes you for its mother?"

"Father, you mean."

"Ah yeah... whatever suits your taste."

It wasn't impossible. Rudy was definitely the protagonist of their world, the one that the world circled around. It would be a minor event even if he adopted a baby dragon.

When the baby dragon was right in front of Rudy, he kneeled down on one knee and was about to pick it up, failing to resist its cuteness. But the dragon jumped forward, away from his grasp and landed in front of Ale.

"?"

Ale looked at the baby dragon that was staring at his direction with a question mark above his head. The next moment, the dragon grabbed his pants and started climbing Ale's body.

"?!What the--?"

Ale took a step back in confusion and startle, the others also looking at him with eyes of amusement and surprise.

"H-hey! Stop! Ouch! The claws! *Riiip* My shirt!"

It was a mess. But after all that flailing around and clothes tearing, the baby dragon finally succeeded in getting on top and sitting on his shoulder.

"...."

"Young master..."

"Are you.. "

"... Okay?"

The three people standing behind him finally broke the silence and opened their mouth.

"So it wasn't Rudy."

"How shocking.."

"Isn't it.."

Rudy, still kneeling, looked back at the absurd scene behind him with a blank expression on his face. Ale could see his ears and tail going down with each second, it was a sad sight.

"My shirt is ripped."

Ale felt the cold breeze touching his stomach through a vertical tear that wasn't there moments ago.

"That's your only concern?"

"Yeah, don't ignore your baby."

"Child neglect... How cruel."

While Stuart maintained his silence, the other three couldn't do so. They found the scene highly amusing.

'But why me?'

Ale wondered as he looked at the dragon on his shoulder. It was just peaceful licking it's claws after climbing and settling on his shoulder.

As if to reply to Ale's question, the dragon turned around, locked eyes with him and then -

Lick!

It licked Ale's cheeks.

"!?!"

Ale covered his cheek with his palm and looked at the dragon in shock. It was cute indeed, but its tongue was very rough. He felt like a layer of skin got removed from his cheek with that one lick.

"Yeah. It's official. You're the mother."

"I... why???"

But there was no one to answer his question. Everyone else present was just as confused, if not more, about the whole situation as Ale was. They all shrugged in unity in reply to Ale's question.

"Since everything is so hectic, why don't we stay the night here?

"Sounds like a good idea."

Both Stuart and Kevin agreed on that and nodded their head. The forest wasn't exactly as welcoming of humans in the night as it was during the day. And having a baby dragon with them would definitely garner the attention of many troublesome beings.

"Umm.. Aren't you guys taking this a little too well?"

Ale couldn't help but ask. There was a FRIGGING DRAGON on his shoulder, and everyone was treating it as not that big a deal.

"Well.. "

"That's just how it is."

"Yeah. We're used to this, being surprised I mean."

"Crazy stuff happens around that guy all the time."

Rudy's teammates pointed towards Rody at that moment and smiled. It was a smile that expressed their suffering and pain as they chose to be the protagonists' friends.

And for the first time, Ale's party and Rudy's party came to a mutual understanding of soul level. One party suffered from a boss that had all sorts of crazy stuff happening around him, and the other party suffered from a boss that was the source of all kinds of crazy stuff.

"Let's just set up a temporary tent."

"Yeah. I agree."

They all left together, leaving Ale and Rudy behind. Rudy looked at the Dragon on Ale's shoulder with longing eyes, wanting to pet the most adorable and cutest creature and hold it in his arms. On the other hand, Ale wanted nothing to do with this sudden development of the plot.

"Can you take it off me please?"

He asked Rudy, no longer being able to bear that gaze. Rudy's eyes shined like diamonds as he nodded his head and approached Ale.

And unlike what anyone may have imagined, the dragon didn't resist. When Rudy tried to take it from Ale's shoulder, it let go of his clothes rather easily.

"Haa.. My shirt."

Ale placed his fingers through the hole in his shirt and rubbed his own belly, wondering what the unsettling feeling inside his stomach was. But failing to find any valid cause, he decided to focus elsewhere.

And within his view, there was only one protagonist who was busy petting a baby dragon, and that said dragon closing his eyes and enjoying the pets with all its body.

"Haaah.. What a mess."