A Spontaneous Story

Chapter 31: Into the Dragon's Nest

Rex was still looking for something that might have sparked his interest when he suddenly heard a familiar voice in the great distance. It was faint but he could tell they were in trouble. Careful not to make too much noise, he quickly made his way backwards in the labyrinth. Thankfully, he chose to take a relatively simple path, traveling almost always straight in every different room he came across.

By just twenty minutes later he started hearing metal footsteps down a nearby hall. The dragon slowed down to a creep and listened carefully to the approaching bang of metal against stone. It seemed as though they didn't even bother to make themselves quiet, or it was that they felt they didn't need to.

Rex was just around a sharp corner in one hall just inside of one of its entrances. The footsteps grew louder and closer now, and before Rex could into a readied position he saw a glowing orb about ten feet off of the ground and then a person in familiar armor walking behind it. They turned the corner and just as they saw the dragon they gasped and drew their sword. It was Espada.

Rex had fire built up in his body, ready to be expelled at any time, but after this revelation of Espada in front of him, he held it in while starting to talk, "Rin?"

"Rex?" He asked, "What on earth are you doing here? Didn't you take a different way?"

"I did," he said, sucking down the flames, while some escaped his nostrils, "but these tunnels must be connected."

Rin put his sword back in its sheath, "We should be able to find the others then, right? I'm starting to get really uneasy in this place. It feels like we're being watched."

"Of course we're being watched." Rex replied, "It's not as though we are outside of his barrier in here, but we shouldn't worry because the mages are protecting us."

"I suppose you're right, but still, it feels strange. I wouldn't want to stay any longer than we need to. Besides, I haven't seen any signs of other dragons anywhere in here. I'm starting to think that they're gone."

"Let's just find Raven and Aya first, then we can discuss what we should do next."

Rin nodded his head in agreement and turned around back out into the nearby room, Rex following closely behind him. Rin once again could hear the slow dripping of water which still greatly annoyed him. Rex simply chose to ignore these anonymous sounds.

As they swiftly walked throughout the stone-filled halls and rooms, Rin had a strange question in the back of his mind that he wanted to get out, "Rex, do you like Raven and Aya?"

"Why would you ask such a strange question, Rin?" Rex replied, still following closely behind.

Rin shrugged his shoulders, "I'm not sure. I'm just curious, I suppose."

Rex let out a small sigh, "If you really must know, I only see them as allies, nothing else. Regarding Aya, she is an elf I know very little of, and Raven, well, I suppose she wouldn't be harmful to keep as more than an ally. However, Rin, I'm sure you know that I have not had a mate for several hundred years and do not plan on having one anytime soon."

"Well of course, but nonetheless, it was just a question so don't think anything of it. It was just a way of passing the time, I suppose."

"You say 'I suppose' quite a lot, don't you? You humans have a strange way of easily repeating phrases." Rex let out a little snort.

This finally made Rin stop and turn around, "Are you making fun of the way I talk?"

"Of course not," Rin chuckled, "It was just a way to pass the time."