Dragon's Hoard

Fear comes with long nights

Kongpob was a Dragon of Fire. It was just natural that he was used to the smell of burnt, and yet in that moment he couldn't stand it.

The smell of fire filled air, but what burned was something more than wood, more even than the premature burning of trees still green with life.

In that distant village, thick with the smell of burnt ash, the same feeling hung thick and smothering as a death pall.

Fuck, why had he got so far from home?

He broke into a run, leaving Maprang behind. Just worry guiding his steps. He slowed only as he entered the west side of village.

There was no west side of the village.

Piles of ashes and debris stood where the school and the nearby costructions had been. Cinders floated on the breeze. The pop and sizzle of burning wood broke the silence. Panting, he stood at the village edge, near where he usually waited for Little Thing to end his classes.

Despite what his eyes told him, he saw the village. The school, the bakery Little Thing loved so much, Little Thing smiling at him. The two images alternated in his mind, a cruel illusion.

Footsteps sounded behind him. He heard a gasp and felt a touch on his arm. "Kong..."

"No."

He took a deep breath to regain his composure. He'd got to hold his nerve. Find Little Thing was his priority. He needed him to be alive. Nobody could kill that specific human, but him. And if Tiny didn't show up right then, he would have killed him for sure.

There were lots of people on the streets but none of them was his human.

He could see babies crying, grownups, men and women all begging the Spirits for help, holding onto their families. As he moved along, he saw people running, looking for their loved ones who were missing, and other trying to strengthen precarious buildings.

"Arthit..."

Fear gripped him. Darkness engulfed him. The sounds around him were muffled and distant. At his feet, covered by mud and debris, there was Arthit's medallion, the one he had given him only that afternoon.

He began to get very agitated, his agitation turned to frustration, his frustration turned to anger and eventually called Arthit's name. But it wasn't like his voice, it wasn't like any human voice.

"Oh my... Kong..."

Maprang watched in silent pain as her friend bent his tall frame down to pick up something. No, not just something. It was an amulet covered in Arthit's blood. Suddenly Kongpob's emotions overwhelmed her. She felt his confusion, his pain, his anger, and she felt her own guilt.

When Kong had told her that he couldn't feel his bond with Arthit anymore, she assumed it was him who cut the dragon off. It wasn't the first time the human had surprised her, but perhaps this time it had not been a choice. Maybe the reason Kongpob no longer felt him was because...

"Kong?"

It was barely a whisper, but she heard it. And judging by the speed with which Kongpob was striding in that direction, he too must have heard it.

Quickly they walked south until they came to the old sanatorium. And there he was - bruised and battered but still alive. And apparently even full of energy.

"Don't come any closer!" The boy shrieked waving his hands widely in the air.

Although with a quick glance, Maprang noticed that the building and its grounds were surrounded by anti-demon seals, and Kongpob was walking right straight through them. Hastily she grabbed him and dragged him back just in time.