“So… How do you intend on killing the dragons which will come and attack you?” Kris couldn’t help but ask, as they had been walking for quite some time. They were trying to get out from the Red Sands, where the bandits had taken Tao the day before – but it was easier said than done! Tao really at path finding, and Kris didn’t seem like he actually wanted to help him anyway, since he just walked exactly two meters behind Tao, watching the younger’s every move.

“What do you mean?” Tao asked, looking a bit back at Kris with his cold eyes, “I’m well prepared, they can just bring it on.”

“Your only weapon… Is a ing stick. How is that going to kill any dragon?” Kris rolled his eyes and sighed deeply, “You might as well just lay down on your back and surrender.”

“… J-Just you wait!” Tao exclaimed, shooting Kris a cold stare, “I’ll definitely kill a dragon without any help the next time one arrives! I tell you!”

“We’ll see…” Kris murmured coldly as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked away from Tao, not really caring much about what happened to that damn boy. Kris was still a little bit upset, though. How come, that some random guy from a small town became the Dragonborn? How come, that it was such a silly, little boy, and not a strong, athletic man? Oh, not that Tao wasn’t athletic, because Kris had already seen how Tao’s muscles were being shown through the fabric of his shirt – his arms seeming bigger than people would have thought. The fabric was even being stretched slightly around his biceps, which somehow made Kris a little bit curious, about what the rest of Tao’s body looked like.

Was he actually a worthy opponent or not?

“What are you looking at me like that for?!” Tao asked, moving a few steps away from Kris, who had been eyeing him since their last, short conversation.

“You look at me, as if you want to eat me or something!” Tao said with a small groan, “It’s creepy. Stop it!”

Kris couldn’t help but smirk a little bit at the Dragonborn, as the elder kept walking, “It’s this way, you’re heading in the wrong direction.” Kris changed the subject completely, but at least he was now willing to actually help Tao out.

“Eh? Really?” Tao asked as he raised an eyebrow, “When will we be out of the Red Sands, then?”

Kris turned to look at Tao, having a serious expression on his handsome, slim face, as his eyes met the younger’s, “You should firstly find some shade, and take a break, and maybe find some water,” Kris almost ordered, while Tao didn’t know whether or not, he should actually do what he said.

Well, Tao was quite exhausted from the walking, but he just didn’t feel like taking orders from a freak that tried killing him a few hours ago.

“No, I can rest tonight. Right now, I should just get out of here. It can’t be far away, right?” Tao murmured with a quiet sigh, as he turned around, and started walking in the direction Kris had told him to. However, Kris’ eyes were rather cold, as they followed Tao’s every move. He could still feel the urge, coming from deep inside him – the urge to actually kill this young boy. And when would be a better chance to do so, than when Tao was exhausted and tired from walking?

So exactly why did Kris just tell him to take a rest?

“Should we stop by a town, maybe to get some rest when the Sun goes down? It can’t take long…” Tao murmured, as he had to admit his body had started to feel slightly weaker than when he first started his journey. His feet hurt, and he was nearly dragging them over the red sand in exhaustion. His arms hung limply down by his sides, and his back was having a hard time keeping itself straight.

Kris, however, didn’t seem affected by the heat around them.

“I think we should find a dragon, and see how it’ll react to you and your dangerous stick,” Kris said, with his hands folded behind his back, while he looked at the sky.

“S-Shut up!!” Tao exclaimed and turned around to look at Kris with a serious glare. Kris, however, just stopped up, and turned his face to look at Tao – his eyes still cold as ice.

“Mh? You want me to shut up?” Kris asked, raising an eyebrow, “And what if I don’t? Because let’s be completely honest… You wouldn’t stand a chance against a dragon, with your only weapon being a stick.”

“It’s not a stick!” Tao said, forming a small pout on his lips, “I can easily beat the crap out of any dragon…”

“Oh? Even the legendary dragon?” Kris asked with a wide smirk on his lips. It was almost like Tao had said too much, because the young Dragonborn swore that he could see a small spark in Kris’ eyes, as soon as he spoke. Tao felt his knees grow slightly numb from the stare he got from the elder. It was almost like, those eyes were burning right into Tao’s young soul, and it crept him out.

“L-Legendary dragon?” Tao asked carefully, feeling a small shiver run up his spine as Kris spoke. The elder took a small step towards him, their eyes not parting for one second. A small laughter came from Kris’ lips as he backed off a few steps.

“Don’t tell me you’ve never even heard of the legendary dragon… Exactly what kind of a Dragonborn are you?” Kris asked, feeling quite amused about the whole situation. However, the elder knew that Tao was very inexperienced when it came to dragons, so why did he even ask?

“Let’s get going, shall we?” Kris mumbled, rolling his eyes a bit at the younger’s ignorance.

“Y-Yah!” Tao exclaimed and stopped Kris just as he was about to continue walking, “You said you would share your knowledge about dragons with me! That was the deal!”

There was a few seconds of silence around them, as Kris thought the things over. He didn’t enjoy being with this brat, because for every second that went by, his urge to run his knife through the boy’s heart, became bigger and bigger. His hands were almost shaking, urging to grab his knife from his belt – just to end it all.

And Tao’s whining didn’t make anything better.

“I can’t teach you anything about dragons, when all you know is so little. It’s like teaching a child Pythagoras, when it doesn’t even know how to sum up two numbers,” Kris sighed deeply and closed his eyes in frustration.

“I only know that dragons breathe fire…” Tao murmured and looked a bit away, “You could at least teach me something…”

“Look, let’s make a deal,” Kris said, looking at Tao, “When you kill a dragon by yourself, I’ll teach you just what you want to know, okay?”

“… F-Fine,” Tao said, pouting a little bit once again. He didn’t find this deal completely fair, since the first deal was, that Kris would share his knowledge with him, if he gave him permission to come along, but now Tao would have to slay a dragon, too? All by himself? How was he supposed to do that? The last time he got help from the guards in his own town.

He let out a small sigh and the two guys soon looked away from each other, and continued walking through the red sands, the younger wondering if the whole atmosphere would be this awkward the whole way?

It was mostly awkward, because he knew nothing about Kris – other than his name.

Should he try asking him about himself? Or would Kris just become really, really pissed?

He probably would…

“Cabbages!! Fresh, green cabbages here!” a man yelled, which made Tao and Kris freeze in place from the shock. They quickly turned their heads, and were met with the sight of a caravan passing by them. Two brown horses were leading the caravan, with their reins in the hands of an older man with brown hair, and a short beard.

The caravan stopped up right next to the two young guys, and the man looked down at them with a pair of surprised eyes.

“Oh my! You two aren’t from around here, are you?” the man asked, and Tao quickly shook his head.

“N-No… I’m from the  Green Valleys…” Tao murmured quietly, not feeling completely safe about talking to strangers – even though Kris was a stranger too. Kris was handsome, this man was just… Strange, and old.

“I can see that, son, but what about your friend? Golden hair isn’t something you see every day,” the man said, and Tao swore he could almost hear Kris frown a little bit, as the elder just took his hood over his head once again, hiding his blonde lures from the old man as well as Tao.

“H-He… Doesn’t like talking about his home,” Tao said, smiling carefully at the man, and then leaned a bit closer to him in order to whisper, “He just escaped from a circus…”

“I-I did not!!” Kris quickly exclaimed as he easily could hear every word Tao had whispered to the man.

“It’s okay, gege,” Tao said with a smile and gave Kris’ shoulder a friendly pat, “I know it’s been a tough journey for you… You can cry now, you are finally free.”

A cold growl left Kris’ mouth as he quickly grabbed the front of Tao’s shirt, and pulled him close to stare deadly into the younger’s eyes, trying to threaten him the best way he could, “Do you have a death wish, bastard?”

Tao chuckled softly, smiling at Kris, “Take it easy, gege… I can’t tell you that you were a sneaky assassin who tried to kill me, right? Besides, blonde hair is a very rare sight these days,” Tao said, trying to act as innocent as possible. Kris’ eyes didn’t lose their cold glare, though, and he just shook Tao roughly to the side, and turned to look at the man in the caravan.

“Old man, where are you heading?” Kris asked, and the man quickly pointed in a direction with a slightly shaky hand.

“T-The border line between Red Sands and Green Valleys,” the man stuttered wih a slightly shaky voice, “There’s a town known for its trades there. Why do you ask?”

“Can we come along? We’re heading towards Green Valleys, since we came on a… Sidetrack…” Kris said, sending Tao a short glare at the last word. Tao just rolled his eyes.

“Sure thing! Hop in. I don’t mind having two young men as company,” the man said with a wide smile, “If we’re lucky, we can be at the town before sunset.”

Tao and Kris shot each other a short, last glare, before the both of them decided to get onto the caravan – being flooded with cabbages as soon as they found an empty space to sit.

“Omo! Gege! Let’s play catch while we wait!!” Tao exclaimed and grabbed one of the biggest cabbages he could find, flashing Kris a wide, shiny smile.

Kris, just sighed.

This was going to be a very long ride…

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A/N: 

I am fighting my writer's block... 

Please forgive me that this chapter ... *Cries* 

Comments are love~