Eddie groggily walked onto the deck, wiping the sleep from his eyes. As soon as he stepped out onto the deck, he heard a loud screeching and felt something slam into his side.
"Shit!" Eddie yelled out, falling to the ground and feeling a weight on his stomach and hearing chirping sounds.
He opened his eyes and saw a small, green dragon. Its yellow eyes were trained on Eddie, clearly waiting for something. Eddie realized what it was waiting for and untied the small parcel attached to its leg.
He stood up, walking to Mike's room. The dragon opened its wings, flying up and holding onto Eddie's back.
"Jesus, you're as clingy as Richie," Eddie murmured as the dragon climbed up so it was laying across his shoulders.
"Stop talking shit, Eds. It's barely nine," came Richie's voice from behind him.
Eddie turned with a smile, waiting so Richie could walk with him to Mike's room. They were both tired, since they had to learn how to be a ship crew in days and had been working for the two weeks. Nonetheless, they continued to show each other love and affection, hoping that at the end of their journey, they'd be able to be together.
"I always talk shit about you, Rich," Eddie said, knocking on Mike's door. "It's how I show affection."
Richie laughed and tried to kiss Eddie, but the dragon on his shoulders hissed, trying to swat at Richie.
"What the fuck?!" Eddie snapped, making the dragon whimper and stop.
"Looks like it bonded with you," Richie said with a smirk. "You're the one who knows about them. Did it?"
"I don't fucking know," Eddie said, still irritated with the dragon. "Why won't Mike answer his door?"
Richie shrugged and pushed the door open. Both he and Eddie stopped in their tracks, not sure whether to be confused or shocked.
Stan and Mike were laying side by side, kissing each other deeply.
"Uh, a letter came for us?" Eddie said, but it came out as a question.
Stan and Mike shot up, both blushing.
"Would it kill you to knock?" Stan asked, burying his face in his hands.
"We did," Eddie deadpanned. "Can we read this letter, please?"
"Go get the others up," Mike said, seeming flustered. He took the letter from Eddie, ignoring the snarl from the dragon still situated on Eddie's shoulders.
Richie and Eddie made quick work of waking up the rest of their group. Bev, Ben, and Bill had all been sharing the third cabin on the ship. It was a smaller vessel, so there weren't as many rooms or a dungeon, so they had to decide who would sleep where.
Bev had slept in the same room as Mike and Stan for a the first week, but decided against it (she had heard them making out and couldn't stand it).
Everyone ended up on the deck, all groggy and wrapped in blankets.
"Is everyone awake enough for me to read this?" Mike asked, noticing how exhausted everyone seemed.
Even the Tenebrians, who had only ever known hard work, were struggling to adjust to the work a ship required. There was mapping, steering, keeping everything working, all while trying to avoid accidentally being seen by another ship. They hadn't passed any, but they were all worried their luck wouldn't last forever.
"We're awake, Mikey. Just read the damn letter," Richie said, glancing up to the grey sky. Iris hadn't returned yet, but he wasn't that worried. She'd show up soon; it was just taking longer since Tenebris was so far away.
Mike cleared his throat.
"Mike,
The council of Luceat has arrived. It's a small group, which surprises me. When our king was alive, the council was nearly twenty people, but now it's down to seven. This worries me, as I fear he may be cutting down and identifying the people he can trust the most. This isn't promising for any of us. We're all in danger now.
Klais is sending out a ship of his warriors. They think you've all gone to Konilla, since they haven't found you all here, so you need to befriend the people of Konilla and get undercover. Klais himself is staying here, for reasons I don't understand.
The council here is hellbent on finding your group and punishing those responsible for taking the Lucantians. I know it's unprecedented, but you all may need to split up. The Tenebrians cannot he found, or they will be killed, no matter what the Lucantians say.
I've had our warriors go to the mountain to try to bond with dragons for your protection, as well as ours. We may be on the brink of war, and we need to have precautions for the protection of the innocent. There hasn't been much success, but they're working hard at it.
Stay safe and don't write back,
Cassie."
When Mike concluded reading the letter, everyone stayed silent. They had no clue how to respond, knowing that they were now at risk of being caught.
Luceat had the best ships, and despite the two week head start, Mike knew they could still catch up.
"What do w-w-we do?" Bill asked, anxiously glancing around at the group.
"We need a plan for Konilla. Mike, you said you have allies there?" Stan said, turning to look at Mike.
"We have trade with them, but I'm sure they'd be willing to help. Their community is very different than any of the others, but I think they'd help us if we explained that we're all on the brink of war."
"How are they different?" Richie asked, resting his head on Eddie's shoulder. He ignored the growl from the dragon that was now situated on Eddie's lap.
Ben gave Richie a look that could only be described as a 'yikes' look. "The Konillians don't have a government, per say. They have a community, and it's made up of some of the deadliest people known to man."
"So it's anarchy?" Eddie asked. He'd always studied Pona and the dragons, whereas Bill and Ben were intrigued by Konilla and the reason they didn't have a good relationship with Divisus.
"Not really," Ben said. "Everyone there has equal power, shares, and all that. Pona trades with them, but it's not anything developed. It's primarily dragon scales and things that they can't get anywhere else. In return, they promise a form of alliance."
"Why is that so necessary?" Eddie asked, not at all understanding the danger and promise of Konilla.
"They h-have different bonds. It's si-similar to the bond that P-Ponanians have with dragons, b-but they have bo-born bonds," Bill said, earning a confused look from the group.
"He means when they're born, they're put into the wild with deadly animals surrounding them. The next morning, an animal will be found protecting the child, meaning that's their bond. They can share power and traits with the creatures, even to the point of telepathic communication," Ben clarified, earning fearful looks from everyone. "They're dangerous, but they have a bond with Pona, and they hate Luceat. I'm not sure if they know much of Tenebris. Meaning, if we can befriend them and make a pact, we might be able to escape the arrival of Luceat soldiers."
Eddie looked at his arrow, then back to his friends. "They'll know we're Lucantian, Ben. You, Bill, Mike, and I will be fucked."
Ben shrugged. "Let's hope they hear us out then."
Eddie shuddered and clutched Richie's hand tightly.
————————
Sorry for not updating yesterday !
We had my school dance so I was busy af !
Hope you enjoy !
