When the world started to brighten, streams of light flooding into his eyes as they fluttered open, Tao was immediately reminded of the intense pain in his abdomen. He was starving.

The thing that came to him second was that he was home. Wufan was nowhere in sight, he was no longer within the secure walls of the ragged cave, but was instead surrounded by the flimsy walls of his home back in the village.

“You’re awake…” Tao snapped his head in the direction of the voice, nearly crying when he saw his grandmother make her way toward him as quickly as her old legs would allow her. Her weak arms circled his neck and hugged him tight and more tears touched his neck the longer she stayed. “I feared the worse! I thought the dragon had killed you!” she sobbed again and again, until Tao could practically feel the weakening heart of his grandmother shatter against him.

They stayed like that for what seemed like hours but there was just too much to tell.

“Grandmother,” Tao spoke as soon as she released him from her hold. “It began to storm when I was out looking for the herbs. I’d be dead by now if I hadn’t found shelter…” he hesitated. “I…ended up in the dragon’s cave.”

She gasped.

“But he did not harm me!” Tao quickly explained. “H-he put me to work and saved me...twice…I’d be dead if he hadn’t brought me back…”

His grandmother looked weary. She gazed at Tao as though he were brainwashed.

“Grandmother,” Tao’s voice was laced with an unknown emotion. “I swear to you, he did not harm me…”

Tao was confused by the emotion that passed through the eyes of his grandmother…It had been a knowing look, but it went just as fast as it had come; too fast for Tao to discern.

“Alright,” she smiled weakly, affectionately patting Tao on his head. “You’re home now, and that’s all that matters. Now, come on…we’ve got work to do.”

Tao let a smile grace his features. He followed his grandmother out of the hut and set out to do his usual work.

…

Work, now that he was “back from the clutches of the dragon”, was very much different for Tao. Many of those he assisted would no longer allow him to venture out of the village; they were afraid the dragon would come for him. It was rare, but occasionally Tao would hear the faint whispers of villagers as he passed by, and sometimes the children would avoid him, saying he was “The Dragon’s Boy.” Though, none of that really bothered him.

Often when he worked, he’d scratch his arms and neck, behind his ears and head just to sooth that little tickle in the back of his mind. It was very subtle at first, but it soon grew more troublesome and harder to ignore. It was like he was…missing something.

Tao sighed. He needed to be honest with himself, and being honest would be admitting that he was lonely. Ever since he returned, nothing was the same.

He missed…

“Hey!” Tao whipped his head around and grimaced at the sight before him. There stood a boy with ugly russet hair. He was a little shorter than Tao and the smirk on his face made Tao want to puke the little he had eaten that day. “It’s the little Dragon Boy…” the boy chuckled when Tao stepped away as he advanced.

“What do you want, Lee?” Tao’s voice was small, but laced with resentment.

“Aw, why are you acting like that? I just wanna talk.” Lee sneered, reaching out and gripping at the collar of Tao’s shirt. “It seems like everyone else is too afraid to ask, so I will. I wanna know why didn’t the dragon eat you up and spit out your bones?”

Tao gulped, vainly trying to get away.

Lee chuckled. “It doesn’t even really matter…I was beginning to think you ran away just to hide from me, but, as it turns out, baby Tao ended up in the Dragon’s Cave…We lost a lot of bonding time…” Lee’s grip tightened around Tao’s shirt, knuckles turning white.

“Lee…” Both boys looked in the direction of the voice to see Tao’s grandmother staring at them intently. “I suggest you go home, before it gets too dark.”

Lee gave her a hard look before shoving Tao away. “We can bond later…” Lee seethed, practically stomping away back further into the village.

“Tao,” Tao’s grandmother dusted him off and checked for any injuries. “He didn’t hurt you did he?”

Tao quickly shook his head. He wasn’t physically hurt, but he could feel tears sting his eyes.

He was lonely, and he had made a decision…he was going to leave the village, because…

He missed Wufan.

xTaeMinX - this chapter was so rushed lol... I just wanted to be done with it because the next chapter....FINALLY is where i FINALLY wanna be in this story XD know what that is?

next chapter ;)