[attr="class","inner-finally"]Times passes a lot quicker than the mind can perceive. Days filled with stories so far on the horizon are now naught but tales lost amidst the starlight and endless nights. Bitter winds that once gnawed at her cheeks now seem a little warmer, a little kinder as they caress her being and sing with her whispers.[break][break]
Soon, spring will shake the slumber and sleet off their bones. Soon, March will come in like a lion and bring forth a surge of life that will colour this land. But for now, her fate is entwined with that of a king, of a distant memory. Of one that seeks to bloom in this life.[break][break]
"Aren't stories of sacrifice usually sad?" Is her first question, hands cupped around a steaming mug of hot chocolate.
"I wonder how many people have spoken of their own."[break][break]
“Crow-own?”[break][break]
Calyrex hears the words of the realm, seeks to ground himself in the virtues of this region, of the people that make this way of life. Perhaps, some part of her can't quite comprehend what he may gain from listening to all the depression and regrets that must taint these stories. But at the very same time, her heart seeks comfort in knowing that perhaps, she doesn't have to. Or rather, that it doesn't really have to make sense in order for her to seek to do the same.[break][break]
"Well, I do know a story..."[break][break]
✧
[break]
Long ago, the world wasn't quite as harmonious as the one we live in today. People and pokemon were often at odds. People feared and revered pokemon, hurting those that posed a problem and hunting those that possessed powers beyond their imagination. On the other hand, the pokemon hated humans, plundering villages, destroying homes and stealing their food.[break][break]
In the end, not even innocents would be spared.[break][break]
One day, a young dragon would come to know that horrid truth. Whilst out and about looking for berries to eat, she would be jumped by several villagers. All of them screaming and yelling that they had to rid the world of pokemon like her before they hunted people for food.[break][break]
Poor little dragon, small and alone, could barely defend herself against this group. And she would be beaten up to an inch of her life before they left her for dead.[break][break]
Just as she thought she could see the light from the other side, a voice called out. A traveller, who'd just been playing in the area. Unlike the others, this one did not yell or scream. Instead they gasped at the sight of her limp body, rushing up to her and carefully began to tend to her wounds.[break][break]
It hurt, really really bad. Even worse than when she'd fallen out of the sky whilst practicing flying. Or that time she'd injured her foot playing with her brother. She wanted to snarl, to cry, to bite. Anything that would make the pain a little better for the moment. And so she did. She snarled, she cried and she bit right down on the arm that tried to help. But instead of tossing her away, instead of hurting her back, the traveller continued to clean her wounds, gritting his teeth through the pain as he worked tirelessly to make it all okay.[break][break]
Eventually, the pain did go away. With her injuries all cleaned and bandaged, the dragon began to relax her jaws, letting go off the traveller's arm. The taste of blood was sour, nasty upon her tongue. And she tried her very best to spit it out, crying at just how bad it was.[break][break]
Again, the traveller would help. From his bag, he would pull out a flask of water. From the trees around them, he would pick the sweetest of berries. And he would offer them to the little dragon, helping her to eat and drink bit by bit until the taste went away.[break][break]
By then, night had fallen. Cold winds swept through the forest, and ferocious wild pokemon looked for easy prey. Instead of leaving the little dragon alone, the traveller picked her up and carried her along. Through rough thicket and over little streams, he would eventually bring them to a cave tucked away from prying eyes. And he would lay the little dragon upon a bedroll, tucking her right in before starting a campfire to keep them warm.[break][break]
Many questions passed through the little dragon's mind. But she was oh so very tired and oh so very comfortable. And as she listened to the soft crackling of burning wood, she would fall asleep.[break][break]
The next morning, when the little dragon woke up. She would see the traveller lying on the ground beside her, breathing heavily and scrunching his face as if in pain. The little dragon was confused, she had never seen something like this before.[break][break]
She began to panic, nudging him and trying her best to see what was wrong. And after a while of prodding, the man would come to.[break][break]
"I'll be alright, little one. It's just a light fever." He whispered.
"I knew dragons like you had poisonous teeth, but I wasn't expecting to have this much of an issue." He smiled, reaching out to pat her head.
"You have quite the ferocious bite, don't you?"[break][break]
The little dragon was stunned. After all, how was she supposed to know that her bite was poisonous to him? Why would she when she had never bitten a human before? More importantly, why had the man helped her even when he knew he could get poisoned? She just couldn't understand.[break][break]
All that she knew was that all dragons have a magical heart, one filled with so much magic that it can cure any and all kinds of illness. If she could find a dragon's heart, she could save his life. If she could give up her heart, he would be able to live.[break][break]
But she was scared. She was so scared of giving her heart. She was scared of dying, even if it meant saving someone's life. And as she watched the traveller continue to suffer, she began to cry.[break][break]
"It's okay, little one." He speaks once more with laboured breaths, spending every last bit of energy he had to reach out and hug the little dragon.
"You didn't do anything wrong. I just wished to help someone that was in need."[break][break]
A heart so pure spoke words that she'd never heard before, shared a kindness from a human that had never been known by pokemon before. His heartbeats were getting weaker, his breathing getting shallow. And soon, the traveller would close his eyes as the poison finally took over.[break][break]
The little dragon wept and held on tight, her heart broken in two by the passing of such a nice man. And her tears would not stop falling, drenching every inch of his clothes. Moments turned to minutes, turned to hours and she still would not move away from the traveller.[break][break]
But then, a miracle happened. All of a sudden, the traveller coughed and began breathing once more. As he opened his eyes, he too was confused by what had happened to him. But when he saw the little dragon crying in his arms, some part of him felt as if he knew.[break][break]
In his very own chest, beat a dragon's heart. Or at least, half of one. As the dragon had cried and wished she could help the one that had sacrificed everything for her, her tears had ended up bestowing half of her broken heart upon the traveller.[break][break]
And so the two, who'd once been strangers. Who'd once belonged to different sides that could not get along, became an inseparable duo bound by fate. Where the traveller walked, the little dragon would follow. Where the little dragon played, the traveller would join too.[break][break]
Always together, with their hearts forever beating as one.[break][break]
✧
[break]
"You know, I always knew that the story had a much sadder ending. 'Cos sacrifices usually means losing something in exchange for something."[break][break]
Her reflection is murky within her cup, ripples aggravating the surface after she takes a sip.[break][break]
"But I thought that the little dragon would feel really guilty forever if the traveller really did die. And the traveller was such a kind person that he wouldn't have wanted that. Nor would he want the little dragon to give up her heart just for him to live."[break][break]
"Maybe, that's why momma always told me this version... her version of the story. To be kind and let the two have a happy ending."[break][break]
"Perhaps, that too was a sacrifice. Giving up the true end to create a story that would make me happy."