A World With No Name

Chapter 11: A World With No Name

The next 4 days were slow, but uplifting. The day after we broke the news, things were calmer in the group. All of us allowing HeartMane to process his grief. Hajabi, much to our surprise, was HeartMane's biggest supporter during the walks. They would talk about things back in the dragon kingdom. Funnily enough, we learned the real reason why Hajabi was out in the woods. "I'm in absolutely no rush to go back home."

"Really? But what of your mother?" Asked HeartMane.

"Mother, has not been in her right mind. Ever since she married the new King, things have been... less than ideal..." she trailed off thinking about him. "He's a monster. He's making a right mess of what mother and I would have called home. He intends to keep me away from the throne. I need to prove myself as heir to the empire."

"I'm... I'm sorry. I guess even dragons have their struggles," HeartMane said somberly.

"Oy! Don't worry about it. I'll be queen here soon and I'll bring an end to the bastard's rule. Even if that means doin him in," she said confidently.

They'd talk more about their homes, realizing that there is much that they have in common. They both have a younger sister, one they really care about. During the day, while Hajabi and HeartMane talked through their shared woes, Mowaru and J'Rasha developed a more interesting relationship. At first, she didn't trust J'Rasha much, not letting him out of her sight. Over the coming days, however, J'Rasha had proven himself to be loyal. They both lost loved ones to the monsters in the forest. J'Rasha, still being a young pup, didn't exactly know how to process this. Mowaru did. J'Rasha, on the first night, went to Mowaru about his loss. She explained, "I know what it's like, to be without family.... My husband was all I had for years. But eventually, like HeartMane's learning, you learn to be happy, to continue for them." She would often chuckle and say, "I'm sorry dearie, I'm not usually one who's good with words."

Sakarii and Wakibi, when they weren't helping me hunt, typically were high in the trees, having their own conversations and keeping a lookout at the bear caravan we had been following, making sure we continued to go the right way. Sometimes, Wakibi would fly near HeartMane and Hajabi to make sure they were doing alright. It helped Wakibi feel better for delivering the news. Sakarii, likewise, would spend time with Mowaru and J'Rasha. I'll admit I chuckled to myself because though they had just met each other, they fought like they'd been family for years, only for Mowaru to break them up.

As for me, I, like always, kept to myself. It was hard for me to add anything of relevance without revealing myself, and I also didn't exactly have the words to say anything that anyone hadn't said before, so I listened as the others talked around me. At least, until night that is. At Night, HeartMane would come to me and talk about the journey, how far we've traveled and the changes. We'd talk for hours, far after everyone was asleep and we'd just talk about the world and the journey. Or at least he would talk and I would listen.

Four days like that came and went. We started getting back into the grove of training after 2. Training always derailed into a free for all were the one with the least amount of bruises would be the winnner. Of course, the winners were almost always between Hajabi, Mowaru and myself.

The long and painful days eventually gave way as we finally reached the back of the innermost mountain, at the city of the bears. We were completely wiped from the travel and to be entirely honest, we wanted nothing more than to spend a night or two in an inn and rest. However, we had too much work to do. The leader of the squadron we had been following told us to go see the old captain, who had seen much more of the monsters and the forest then he had. So that's where we went.

The captain's instructions led us to the other side of the town, a bit more isolated than the other homes. We knocked on the door to no answer. We waited for a few moments before knocking again. Once again, nothing. Finally, right before Hajabi did something rather unpolite, the door opened. We were greeted by a large brown bear. Even by bear standards he was huge. He had a scar over his right eye and his hair was long and unkept. It was obvious he was enjoying retirement. His eyes raised as he looked at all of us in the group. "Come in" he sighed. His voice was deep and rich.