Dragon's little flower

Chapter nine

Once the music comes to an end, the thrilled audience claps ardently. In appreciation, the dancers bow slightly and leave the „stage", making room for others willing to play. Hand in hand, Belletem leads his mate further from the center towards the contest booths, so to say. Taking a bow and an arrow from the first stand, he prepares to shoot the strung balloons, being ready to be popped. The girls seek this moment to learn more about him and to also, in secret, make him lose concentration to see how well he can multitask and still remain focused on the job at hand.

„So," begins her, „the whole dragon thing is not unheard by me, but it is for certain a foreign subject which is not brought to light yet." Seraphina moves to stand on his left side, rubbing her hands together in a sign of excitement. „You have a dragon side that is a part of your being, which you can summon when you need, haven't you?" continues her.

In his deep contemplation, his face forms rigid lines and settles in a heavy frown.
„Noo..., not quite." shooting the first arrow, he hits the target. Then, he turns and picks another dart.

„In the same body, two beings coexist, my human part and my dragon part. We never mix, blend, which means when I'm in dragon form, I am not, at the same time, human, but I have in my consciousness my human spirit, which is in a way in control of the body. Exactly like that, when I'm a human, I can't be physically a dragon, but the dragon side is incorporated into my brain and when my instinctual side wins, then the dragon is in control."

Thinking deeply about his words, in a calm and focused manner, Seraphina watches her partner, starting slowly to understand these aspects better and better.

„When I talked with Alexander, you felt somehow attacked by him or perhaps offended because he didn't talk with you, I don't know, and so the feelings were much stronger than the rational thoughts, hence your skin became scalier, right?"

Shooting at an amazing speed and popping another balloon, he looks at his mate, amazed by her. From the way she wants to understand his world and the way she includes his beastly side without a worry in the world simply makes him fall harder for her. He is still afraid once she found his true identity, he will be left behind for sure. The rumours about his past never stop, they are just said less frequently, never truly forgotten.

Gulping, he turns back at the booth. „Yeah, that boy affected me, even without his knowledge or his intentions." Puffing a little harder, he removes the hair which was blocking his vision. „These changes also happen in 'flight or fight' situations. When I feel the danger is not far away, the change is inevitable. If someone who I care about and love a lot is not in a safe environment, the same thing happens."

Having some feelings of compassion towards him, she inquires: „Have you ever been upset about how your life works? I mean, because of the fact you live in a constant battle of wills which are, well, contradictory at times."

Taking the award from the seller, a wood whistle in a bird shaped form, Belletem thanks the man and gives it to his beloved, who accepts the prize shyly.
„No, it's okay" starts him, „ I never thought like that, anyway."

Running his fingers through his frizzy hair, he smiles gently at her.

„We are living the best when we collaborate, but we can live the rest of our lives separately. For instance, I could stop listening to my dragon part and in time, I wouldn't feel it at all, just a sense of having something that is not there anymore. Of course, I would stop following my instincts and I would try to see where that goes." He sets his sights on the ground and continues:

„And the same goes for my dragon side. If I allowed him to shift and stay like that for longer and longer, he could overcome my human side." Stepping over a sizable rock, he comes closer to Seraphina: „or, if I can't find my mate for a long period of time, in the end, Erasm would win."
„Erasm?" intones her.
„Yeah," he agrees, „my dragon's name."
„Say hi to him from myself, will you?"