Hero was preoccupied with his own thoughts as they walked further and further away from the pond. It was like a dream come true… or that was what he thought at first. Maybe it still was. Out of all the places to fall, he managed to drop close to her (could have been a drop to his death but at least it was where he wanted to be… closer to her). It was as if everything had been decided from the very beginning. Was there someone out there helping him? Perhaps they wanted the same thing he wanted… to be closer to her. As Hero fumbled with the facts in his head, he was oblivious to Cyndi’s frequent glances at him. They were both walking side by side. Hmm… how did she end up beside him when she was leading?

Cyndi found her pace slowing down just to be next to him. “What was wrong?” she thought to herself. Why has she taken an interested in him? It wasn’t like she never saw another man before. Plenty have tried peeking at her when she swam in the pond. Maybe if he peeked at her too, she wouldn’t find him interesting anymore. No… that wasn’t it.

Maybe it was his blonde hair. She never saw anyone in Sykotica with any other hair color except black let alone blonde (it kind of sticks out). In other lands it was possible but in Sykotica? Hmm... She wondered how he came to this place and why his hair hadn’t turned black like everyone else? She knew he probably got here on his dragon but why hasn’t the curse taken effect on him? Is he immune and if so how? He could be useful after all. If only she could somehow find out more about Hero and observe him closely. She might be able to find out how to reverse the curse or at least figure a way to counter it. Even though it was a long shot, it was worth a try. Anything was worth a try if it meant a chance to change Sykotica for the better. Cyndi wasn’t satisfied with leaving it as it was… a mind prison for everyone alive.

The dragon grumbled as it tagged along behind Hero and the new girl they found. It wanted to fly… would have been faster too but noooooooo, the little lady said it was dangerous and forbid it. She even added slyly about having its head stuck in the ground twice in one night. The dragon fumed just at the thought of those words. It was fun watching her mess with Hero but it wasn’t the least fun being the victim. Good thing Hero didn’t laugh or else the dragon would have bit his head off. After thinking for a while, the dragon decided to go against the little lady’s warning just to show Hero and her that it wasn’t a push over.

Too late. They already found a cave to put up shelter for the night.

“We’ll stay here until it gets a little lighter outside.”

Hero just nodded and followed her inside. He was too cold to open his mouth.

The cave wasn’t big enough for the dragon so it stayed outside and occasionally stuck its head in to see what the other two were doing.

Inside the cave was a little bit warmer than outside but still pretty damp.

“You might want to dry your clothes somehow…” Cyndi turned around and without a warning, began peeling off her wet dress. Hero stood there dumbstruck with his mouth hanging wide open. He knew he should have turned around or something but his feet were rooted to ground. From what he could see, her skin was milky white, beautiful like the moon (when he gets a chance to see it in the sky). She was thin and had very few curves but they were all in the right places… her hips… the bottom of her… Hero shook his head to rid his mind of the impure thoughts. Hero was very sure he shouldn’t be thinking about these things.

Cyndi twisted the dress dry with her hands. And after it was dry enough for her taste, she slipped the wrinkly dress over her head. Hero was half relieved and half disappointed… Wait, what was he talking about… disappointed? Impure thoughts again! Hero quickly uprooted his feet and turned around to see if the dragon was taking a peek inside. It wasn’t. How fortunate. When he turned back to Cyndi, she was facing him with her hands on her hips.

“Hero, you’re still wearing those wet clothes. I wasn’t kidding when I said you might want to dry off your clothes… Do you need me to help you or something?” Cyndi took a step towards him and that made him jump backwards with his hands waving in front of him.

“No, no… don’t worry about me. I can do it myself.” He panicked a little.

“Are you sure?” Cyndi wasn’t very convinced. Hero was acting a little odd… even for him… Maybe he was uncomfortable with revealing his body. It couldn’t be that bad, could it? He looked fine enough… what was the problem?

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Hero replied looking down at his clothes. It wasn’t that wet.

“You can ask the dragon to dry it for you with its breathe if you don’t want to take it off.” Cyndi suggested.

“And barbeque me alive too…”

“Oh right… I didn’t think of that.”

Did she really mean to kill him? Horrible. Good thing he figured something out before she came up with another clever plan to cook him up.

“I’ll be back in a bit.” Before Cyndi could say another word, Hero was already outside looking around for his dragon. He found it curled up in a ball beside a large dead looking tree.

“What do you want now..?” The dragon grumbled as Hero approached it.

“It’s a small favor. I’m sure you can do it without lifting a claw.” Hero answer without uttering a word out loud.

“Okay. What is it?”

“Make a fire.”

“Didn’t you want me to blow out a fire earlier and now you want me to make a fire?”

“Yes.”

“Ugh… humans…” The dragon grumbled but it did what Hero asked. A heap of dead branches and a little dragon’s breath… poof, let there be fire.

Cyndi didn’t say anything as she watched Hero place his clothes near the fire to dry. He wasn’t bad to look at. A nice toned body… it fits him very well. Hero looked up and saw her watching him. Cyndi smiled and he went a little red before returning her smile. She was even prettier when she smiled.

That night, Hero slept soundly. It was still cold but he felt very warm inside. If only every night was like this one, he thought.

Every night like this one would be great.