The drake looked as if he was about to respond, but he stopped. He stared out into the forest, somewhere just beyond where Archer was standing. A hissing noise escaped his throat and he flicked his tail. At once, two of the drakes sprang out of the crowd. Archer turned to see a man in armor, his sword drawn, just before the two drakes tackled him.
A knight.
Sebastian cursed as the smaller creatures tackled him. He struggled against them, managing to wound one before his sword was knocked away from him. There went his advantage. And probably his life too. Oh well. He'd kept struggling to get away, not giving up. He really wouldn't until he died.
Archer could only watch as they fought, before the drakes managed to hold him down. The knight still struggled, even though it was clear that such efforts were futile. Somehow, Archer found it amusing.
“I would stop doing that if I were you,” he said. Then he turned to the Zenpiri. “See? Let me take you to a safe place. But please, spare this human’s life, as I value it as much as yours.”
As much as he hated meddling knights, he saw an opportunity before him.
Sebastian stilled a moment to look at the crazy man.
"As if you're talking to them will get either of us out of this alive," he said, tone disheartened a little. Absolute lunatic, but at least he was trying to save Sebastian's life.
“Well, he hasn’t killed me yet, has he?” Archer muttered.
”Do you know this human? Is he your friend? Why did you lead him here if he clearly meant to harm us?” the Zenpiri’s eyes were hard.
“I don’t know him, Zenpiri, and didn’t lead him here. He is one of the humans who wish to kill you.”
He paused for a moment. Then, “I see. Let me discuss this ‘safe place’ and you with my subjects.”
He turned to the other drakes, and they began murmuring to each other. The two drakes holding the knight down let him up and joined the others. Archer turned to the knight.
“Okay, while he’s talking with them, let me talk to you.”
(Let me just say that I’m sorry about the hour long waits, it’s either because I’m a slow typewriter or because I’m preoccupied)
(it's alright, I understand!)
Sebastian was surprised when the creatures let him go.
"How did you do that?" He asked, getting to his feet as best he could. "I've never known a dragon to let go, let alone… Whatever these are."
“That’s because you come in planning to kill them.” Archer smirked. “Of course, being able to communicate with them helps. These are drakes. Despite not being able to fly or breathe fire, they can be just as fearsome as any other dragon. Anyway, who might you be? I’m Prince Archer.” He wanted to say this casually, but he thought it might not come across that way, being the prince.
Sebastian blanched. Oh crap. He'd thought there prince was crazy. Shit. He did his best to salvage his honor, kneeling a little.
"I'm sorry, your highness," Sebastian said quickly. His family wasn't in very good standing with the royals, his father having married a foreign peasant of all people. He could feel his father's shame of him now.
"I am Sebastian Goldheart, your humble servant."
Despite his best efforts, Archer could feel amusement creeping up on him again. “Hey, don’t worry about it. Just Archer is fine. Nice to meet you Sebastian, despite the circumstances. I understand I may look funny, waltzing into a drakes’ nest. But don’t worry, I’ve had practice waltzing.” he winked.
“Now. I have a proposition for you. A crazy one, but hear me out.”
Sebastian hesitated, slowly standing back up.
"I… What is the proposition… Archer?" He was still hesitant to use the prince's first name. And- he got winked at?! This entire situation felt like a haze dream.
Archer took a breath. “Despite what you may believe, dragons are not as terrible as you might think. They are only terrible because humans were terrible first. At least, that’s simplified version. Killing these creatures would have terrible repercussions for the world. I believe we must preserve what’s left of the population. So. Would… would you travel with me? I.. I think I could move dragons to safe place, and maybe speak to people and convince them that…” he trailed off, looking away from Sebastian and at his feet instead.
Sebastian, at this point, was staring at Archer. He quickly stopped though. This was the prince. One did not simply stare at the prince unabashedly.
"I…" Sebastian hesitated a bit. "I'll do whatever you desire me to. If you want me to come with you, I will." Even if he thought it was completely crazy.
Archer looked up in time to see Sebastian look away. He couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you. I mean that. Maybe you knights aren’t all that bad.”
He turned to see the drakes looking at them expectantly.
”Are you finished?” the Zenpiri asked. ”We’ve made our decision. We shall go with you to the safe place.”
Archer cleared his throat. “Um, yes. Wonderful! Do need time to prepare to leave?”
”We need only to call up the young mothers and the elderly.” He flicked his tail and stamped his foot of the ground. After a few moments, more drakes joined the existing group. Archer noticed some of them had large cheeks, like a chipmunk carrying nuts.
The Zenpiri looked over the group, as if he was doing a head count. Then he looked to Archer.
”We are ready. Do you need time to prepare as well?”
“Um…” Archer checked his supplies. His shield and crossbow, check. A small bag of food and water, check. Some rope, check. A knife, check. A notebook, check. “I’m ready. Uhh…”
He looked to Sebastian. “They say they are ready to leave. Do you have what you need? Are you ready?”
Sebastian watched the drake carefully, still very wary of it.
"I have everything I need with me," he confirmed. "I'm ready to go…"
Archer clasped his hands together. “Wonderful. Let’s go.”
(A lil time skip?)
(sure! To when?)
(Maybe when they’ve already been traveling a bit, I think)
(Wait, you’re going to do it right?)
(yep! I just have to get the respond figured it in competition. It's gonna be a bit longer…)
(K)
Sebastian stayed close to Archer as they continued to… Wherever Archer was taking them. He still didn't trust the drakes, weary of any attacks. He stayed behind Archer still, not really talking. He didn't trust himself, not with the prince. He'd always had a sharp tongue, especially when frightened.
"Where, exactly, are we going?" He finally asked, unable to handle not knowing. He fidgeted with his sword out of habit, having no intentions of actually drawing it.
“The area between the Wistenra Lake and Opal Mountain Range. It’s uninhabited, due to the various monsters, so I figured it would be a good place.” Archer said this casually, as if they were simply walking to the local inn. “It should take around… two days? Also, I wouldn’t ask them-“ he gestured to the drakes, “- to give us a ride just yet. Wait a bit, so they can warm up to us.”
Sebastian was taken back a bit by this. It made sense, yes, but he had to come to one of the most monster ridden places in the kingdom. Let alone how long it would take them to get there from here. Who knew what obstacles they would face.
"Of course," Sebastian said, knowing he could write it off as a response to the prince's last remark.
Archer was silent for a few moments. His eyes drifted, and he found himself looking at one of the drakes with puffed up cheeks. Taking out his notebook, he asked, “Excuse me, but may I see what’s inside your cheeks?” It was a strange question to utter aloud, but he was too curious to care.
The drake didn’t seem to find it strange. She opened her mouth. In each cheek, two eggs could be seen resting inside.
His eyes widened. “Woah…” he wrote down what he saw in his notebook. “It doesn’t cause discomfort, does it?”
She shook her head.
“Amazing.” He turned to Sebastian. “Oh, don’t mind me. I usually like to ask them questions like that. I want to perhaps write a book one day, an encyclopedia of dragons and how they function in the world.” Suddenly Archer found himself lost in those cool grey eyes. “Um… do you have any plans for the future? A-any goals?”
Sebastian watched Archer's interaction with the drake, surprised it hadn't refused his request. He blinked when Archer turned to him, blushing a bit, especially at the stutter. What was this? Why was he reacting like this?
"N-not really," Sebastian admitted. "I, well, I know I'll take my father's title since I am the only son of my family. I suppose I'll simply live like that. And… The encyclopedia sounds interesting. Truly." He actually meant it, too. Even if it wasn't used to hunt the creatures down, it would be interesting to learn of them.
Archer managed to pull his gaze away from Sebastian. His own actions confused him as well. The way he felt when he looked at him… he hadn’t felt that way in a long time. The question was: why did he feel this way? Ah, emotions are confusing, he thought to himself. I don’t want to think about it right now.
He chuckled. “Ah yes. These days, I tend to forget that I’m the prince. That I’ll be king one day. If I had my way, I’d being helping and studying dragons forever. But I suppose all good things must come to an end, right?”
"Yes, I suppose so…" Sebastian, he had to admit, had gotten attached to the wilderness, to the vast forests and massive oceans. He didn't want to go back to his home, to the cold stone walls and dead air. He wanted to feel the breeze in his hair, to have open space all around him.
"No matter how much we wish it to not."
Archer sighed. Then a growl behind him caught his attention.
”You humans. So sappy and emotional.”
He turned to see a young male drake looking at them teasingly. He was wagging is tail, whether in curiosity or argumentatively, Archer couldn’t say.
He shrugged. “Well, you know, humans are programmed that way, I suppose. If you don’t mind my asking, how long does your kind usually live?” With his notebook still in his hands, he held the pencil over the paper.
The young drake stared silently for a moment, as if taken aback. ”I was told my mother lived to be 369… but she was young. Killed by a lung dragon.” He paused. “I believe the Zenpiri is 701. He has about two hundred years left, I believe.”
Archer scribbled in the notebook. “And how old are you?”
He snorted, as if he didn’t want to say. “I am… 186…” Then he yowled, “I will be 190 soon! I am not so young.”
Archer chuckled. “Of course.” He looked down, muttering as he wrote. “General life span… one thousand years. Reaches maturity at… one hundred ninety? Two hundred? Interesting.”
Sebastian looked at Archer as he took even more notes, a faint smile on his lips. It was obvious the prince was doing something he loved. Sebastian looked away a moment, a little bit more relaxed. The prince seemed to know what he was doing, at least for now. This entire situation… it was so new to Sebastian. He'd need time to fully adjust.