The Tale of John and Azira

Chapter 4: The Addition part 2

Light rain pattered down on the surrounding area as John, Azira and Alexander walked along the now muddy road, the rain was calming, allowing one's mind to drift to places that seemed far, and sinking one into the wildness that surrounded them, a perfect time to reflect on past events. As he rode Azira, John thought back to his childhood, and how he used to study magic with burning passion, in those days, he was a much more lively soul who enjoyed life. His mind continued to drift as he thought of the time he began his journey, it was bitter memories that he wished to forget, but doing so would remove his purpose for this journey, so he held onto it reluctantly, once he learned the truth, he had to leave, he needed to leave, his home, his village, and he needed to deal with the problem he faces now. As his mind began to fill with anger, his most recent memories came to light, his meeting with Azira, thinking back, he began wondering why he actually brought Azira along with him, he knew the answer, he felt pity on her, but it was odd either way, his never done this before, maybe her story out of the many others his heard stood out to him, allowing him to offer her a place by his side. His mind drifted on, but he soon came to reality, Azira was a fascinating case to him, but also a slightly detrimental one too, a small chuckle rumbled in his chest, Azira's ear flicked at the sound of John's chuckle, prompting her to look back at him.

"Is everything alright?" Asked Azira.

"Yeah, just thinking back to the past is all." Said John.

"Well, I hope you're keeping dry back there, wouldn't want you getting wet."

John was keeping dry, a magic seal, one large enough to cover him fully, hung over his head, keeping him and his clothing dry, his staff was neatly lay across his lap, and his satchel was swung around his shoulder. Azira smiled, seeing the magic seal from the corner of her eye, she looked back towards the front. She enjoyed the feeling of rain on her scales, the cool water hitting her warm scales, it was delightful, she remembered back to when she was just a hatchling, she used to play in the rain all the time, it was one of her many fond memories of her past, it was a good memory... before the war, a small ball of guilt formed in her heart for just moment, but she snuffed it out before it could grow any further.

"Oh yeah, that's great for John, but what about me?!" Yelled Alexander.

John looked over his shoulder, taking note of Alexander and his soaked attire, he sighed quietly. Azira lifted her left wing to gaze upon Alexander, her slit pupils stabbing into Alexander, but he was past the point of fear and simply returned the same sharp gaze. Alexander trudged through the thick mud that was the road, his boots sinking wholly into the mud, he struggled to pull his feet from the sticky mud, which in turn, slowed him down, causing him to fall behind. He wasn't used to moving through such terrain, he mainly relied on his wagon to get him through tough locations, but to actually move through them with his own body, it was quite annoying.

"You gonna be ok down there?" Asked John.

Alexander shot him a sharp look, John instantly knowing what he was thinking.

"No, John, I'm not gonna be alright down here! This mud was deeper then I thought, and now I'm struggling to keep up with you guys!" Yelled Alexander .

"Well, what do you want me to do? You know Azira isn't gonna let you onto her back, she specifically said that she doesn't want you anywhere near her scales, which I still think is too much." Said John.

"His not getting on my back, especially now with his muddy boots, he'll sully my Presteigne scales." Said Azira.

John looked down to Azira's scales, they were nice to look at, her purple scales, with small, reflective minerals, were truly amazing, but her smugness kinda made him feel a different way about them, it was probably because of her disliking to Alexander... yeah, that might be the point.