“Can you help the sprouts?”
Yes.
I know I said yes or no questions, but I had to ask… “How?”
Again, the ground shakes until a tiny drop of water falls on to me. I have to flip through my notes again, but it’s clear enough to me that rain can solve all the problems.
How apt. My name is Xiaoyu. I am pure rain.
I don’t know how long I’m gone, but when the plants help me find my way back to Datu’s altar, it’s almost twilight. The sky is turning grey, and I’m exhausted from all the trekking. I make sure I trackmy way so I can come back again, stabbing a thin broken branch before the entryway to Brother Bear’s meadow.
My body is heavy, but as soon as I hear screaming, roaring, I break into a run. I refuse to pass through the forest lest I get lost again. I run around, looking for the edge and what I stumble upon is something out of my wildest fantastical nightmares.
As I stand there frozen, I watch two dragons fight for dominance. One is scaly, thick with scars and brilliant teal platings. It looks ready to decimate everything in sight before a woman wearing leather gear jumps and pulls him by the maws.
It’s an insane and dangerous move, but it works.
My mouth drops open as she successfully redirects the burst of flames the other way. Away from the other dragon. This other one, though? I know it’s not what it looks like. It’s smoky, not exactly solid. Its eyes glowed violet.
It’s the Void in another form.
“For fuck’s sake! Stop it, you two!”
I blink as awareness trickles into me once more. I step forward, hoping to stop Datu, but when the other dragon’s eyes flick toward me, it breaks something in Datu.
The black dragon’s wings spread as he dives toward me. Someone else—someone smaller and faster—slams into me, forcing me back while the colorful dragon bites Datu’s massive neck.
“Nooooo!” A scream is ripped out of my mouth. “Datu!”
“Fuck me,” The woman curses as we land on the dirty, muddy ground. We are coated in that fungus glitter and the mucky stuff of the forest. “It’s a starving forest! We have to get out!”
She basically lifts and drags me by my arm out of the forest.
“Do you control the dragon?” I gasp.
“He’s my fucking husband! Of course I control him!”
Husband? This dragon? Ah shit, I reserve the shock and confusion for later. “You calm him down, I’ll calm Datu down—deal?”
“Deal.” She runs like a maniac and—with her weird metallic hand—rips the other dragon’s jaws apart just to toss him away.
That’s my cue. I run to Datu as his eyes land on me. The enraged, accusatory look is something I can’t miss.
“Whose spores are you covered in?!”He sounds so furious that he forgets about the dragon completely.
“I’m sorry, I got lost and stumbled into a meadow with mushrooms! They were all dusty!” My voice is shrill as I defend myself in all the chaos.
He snarls and charges at me. He flaps his wings then plucks me off the ground. I scream for dear life as we shoot and glide through the sky. We didn’t go too high and I just fucking know he’s gonna dump me into a river.
I curse him as he does exactly just that. Thank fuck I know how to swim. He dives in after me, changing into the plant-man—the Terra form.
In the water, he is a formidable sight. He wades gracefully, muscles rippling. His skin refracts, and I have to look away before I blind myself. Snatching me by the torso, we emerge together. I sputter out, swiping water off my face.
Without a second thought I smack him by the shoulder.
“Why would you fucking drop me like that?!”
He snarls at me, his sharp teeth glinting threateningly. “How would you feel if I just showed up covered in another female’s cum?”
