Connected Souls {Free x Lui}

8

At that moment, Lui collapsed. His tears were unstoppable. Luinor approached him. "Why...why was I so stupid and never told him anything? I never wanted to hurt Free...I want to be happy too...I want to be happy with Free...But it's too late...I'm so sorry..." Lui buried his face in his dragon's head.

He had lost everything.

Free and Fafnir flew over the city. The blond reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter. He was definitely curious about what Lui had written to him. He knew that Lui wasn't that good with words, so he could well imagine that Shirosagi had left him a few nice words to say goodbye, although Free didn't quite understand why he wasn't allowed to open the letter right away. But he had promised Lui and he kept promises. Free repackaged the letter and pulled out a map and a compass. He spread the map on Fafnir's back and looked at the compass. "We should be flying west now. The mainland is closer there than if we were flying east." Fafnir changed direction. Their next goal was China. It would take a few hours but they would arrive before sunset.

It would be a lie if Free said he didn't miss that feeling. This traveling was such a wonderful feeling for him. But he already missed Lui. Somehow Free had gotten very used to Shirosagi lately. They were together 24/7 for so many days and now they were both alone again. A large part of him wanted to go back and just stay with Lui, but Free knew that wasn't possible. He had gone in search of his soul mate and he couldn't just stop at the beginning. And besides, he could visit Lui in the future, so it wasn't the last time he saw him.

Determined to find his soulmate and introduce them to Lui, Free continued his journey and search.

"Lui?" Lui was leaning against Luinor and asleep when his mother got home. "What are you doing out here alone? And where are Free and Fafnir?" Right, Lui had forgotten to tell his mother that Free was traveling further. Although...forget was the wrong word. He purposely didn't mention it so the truth wouldn't get out...

"...They're gone..." "Are they going for a walk?" "No...They're gone...They're never coming back..." "What do you mean by that?" "I couldn't...tell the truth to Free...I was afraid that he wouldn't like me anymore...that he saw me as a bad person...so I let him go" Lui wiped his fresh ones tears from cheeks. "Lui" Terra knelt down to her son and put a hand on his shoulder. "I can understand your fear and it's totally fine, but don't you think that's unfair to Free? He's looking for someone who doesn't exist. I'm sure that if you explained everything to him, that he would have forgiven you" "And you know that because he told you, don't you?" "Lui..." Lui got up and climbed onto Luinor's back. "It was my decision and now no one can undo it...I have to accept that and you too, after all it's my life and my choices." Luinor stood up and spread his wings. "Let's go Luinor" The silver dragon took off and the two flew away.

Lui didn't understand why he had to justify himself. As if he didn't know that his behavior and decision was unfair to Free. If he didn't have feelings for the blond, he wouldn't have cared... He would never have written him that letter either. But he didn't care... He cared about Free, but his fear was just too big. He was afraid...Lui was very afraid. He knew he had already hurt Free and the thought of Free's reaction to knowing the truth all along had scared him. Maybe it was stupid but then Lui would see himself as stupid.

Lui was completely overwhelmed with his feelings.

The evening slowly dawned. Free and Fafnir finally arrived in China. "According to this map, China seems to be quite big. We'll probably stay for a few weeks and search" Free looked around. The people around him all spoke a language he didn't understand, but Lui had already explained that to him. In most countries of the world, people spoke different languages, so if he wanted to communicate, he should either speak in English or use the translator on his phone. Free took his cell phone out of his pocket and selected English from the translator to ask for a place to stay, or rather a hotel. It worked reasonably well and Free got replies fairly quickly, but he was unsuccessful at every hotel he asked for a room. There wasn't a room that could fit a dragon and Free didn't want to be separated from Fafnir. After all, dragons were the rarest spirit animals in the whole world. In the past, centuries ago, these animals were still very common as soul animals, until people were less and less able to withstand this emotional pressure.

It was so, soul animals arise during pregnancy in the baby's body. Every human being had a special gland in their body where in the development of the baby that soul animal is formed. As soon as it is born, the soul animal also takes shape, usually it is still a lump at this point, since it only takes on the full feelings and behaviors of the human over the first year or two. The development of the baby often plays a major role in the development of the soul animal. Depending on how the mother takes care of the unborn child, this can have an impact on the soul animal. For example, people who were calmer often got smaller but fast soul animals, people who have a lot of mood swings often get strong soul animals and people with an extraordinary personality got a dragon or other special beings. The soul animals always adapt to their owners and form a connection with them over the years. The stronger the human personality, the stronger the soul animal. Things seemed to have changed over the years, which is why fewer and fewer people were able to create special animals like dragons.

For better or worse, Free had to find a place somewhere outside where he and Fafnir could spend the night. Somehow he missed the warm sofa and the warm blanket at Lui's home. When they found a place where they wouldn't be disturbed, Free got out their dinner. "Here, enjoy" The blond put some fish on the ground and Fafnir helped himself. He sat down next to Fafnir and ate his sandwich for the evening. "Do you like it?" Fafnir looked at his human before he ate the fish with relish. "Yes, you are not picky" After the meal, Fafnir went to the small lake to drink. Free threw away the paper bag and drank some water. When they were full and quenched their thirst, Free climbed back onto his dragon's back and lay down. "Sleep well Fafnir" Free closed his eyes. Somehow it was difficult for him to fall asleep. It felt like something was missing...just...what?

Lui came back late. He tossed some fish to Luinor before entering his room. It looked exactly as he had left it that morning. Pillow and blanket were still on the sofa... But Free was no longer there. He walked over to the sofa and grabbed the bedclothes before carrying them out of his room. He didn't want to see anything else that reminded him of the blonde. He had to get on with his life the way he did before meeting Free, it was the only way not to break him completely.

He had to pretend Free didn't exist.

The search in China took longer than expected. Free was looking for weeks but without success. He had searched much of the country but Fafnir gave him no sign. To be honest, Free still had no idea what to look out for, but until now his spirit animal had been behaving as usual. Maybe he should have asked Lui for tips. But now it was already too late. The two were currently on their way to explore the next country, the Mongolia. Mongolia was definitely smaller than China, but it would also take longer to cross that country. It was amazing that the world Free lived in was a lot bigger than he had imagined. At home he hadn't learned much about the outside world as no one had ever entered it before and the records were wrong according to what Lui had told him. It would take far longer than Free ever imagined. How many years would it take to search every country, city, and village, no matter how small? 2? 5? 10? 20? Free had no idea but he had no choice if he wanted to find his soulmate.

But what if... if there wasn't anyone out there for him? What if that person no longer existed because they died young? Maybe they wasn't even born yet? Maybe someone like that doesn't exist for him? What then? Would all this be for nothing? Then he had banished himself from his family tribe for nothing...This uncertainty was driving him crazy. Knowing that it might all be for nothing made him think twice, but Free wasn't like that. Despite the uncertainty, he approached the matter with a positive attitude. Yes, maybe there wasn't anyone out there for him, maybe there was another problem, but if he didn't try, he'd never find the answer. Plus he got to see so much of the world. Things he didn't even know existed...people, animals, plants...there was so much hidden in the world. Even if he found no one, no one could take what he had seen from the world. And it was worth it. Even if the longing for his soul mate was still great. Free gave everything to find him and live a good life. For that, he had ventured into the unknown... For that, he had left home forever. For that, he had left Lui.