Little Boy Belmont (Richter x Olrox)

Chapter Nine: Flight Of The Dragon

Richter does a final check that they have everything they need. He scans the limited supplies they will take with them: bags of food, dried meat, some fruit, a few water skins, and three cloaks.
"All right, that's everything," Belmont notes, feeling slight guilt at not even leaving a note for Tera and the others. Olrox said there isn't a lot of time now.

He places the Abbott's book into his travel bag and slings it across his chest, making sure it's secure.
Edouard smiles at Belmont, making him feel a tiny bit better.
"Good," Olrox sighs and dissolves into black mist before reforming into his Quetzalcoatl form. Even now, Richter feels his heart racing.
"Oh my," Edouard gapes up in amazement while Richter is trying not to faint in fear.

Richter knows Olrox won't hurt him, but that doesn't stop his mind from racing. He can't do this, riding on the beast's back for who knows how long.
"This is incredible! Isn't it, Richter?" Edouard laughs, then looks at Belmont and frowns in worry.
"Richter?"
"I-I can't," he stammers out, part of him blindingly wanting to reach for the whip, but he feels rooted in place.

"What's wrong?" The opera singer looks between the human and ancient beast in worry.
Olrox lowers his head, feathers puffed down to make himself appear smaller. Even Richter can feel the subtle waves of guilt rolling off of Olrox.

Slowly, Olrox lowers his head to look Richter in the eyes. It seems like Olrox can't speak in this form. The feathered serpent sighs through his nose, then gently lowers his head more.
Shakily, Richter knows he needs to get past his trauma. With a trembling hand, he reaches up and touches Olrox's snout.

Olrox lets out something akin to a purring sound, the soft rattling surprising both young men. His emerald scales are the same color as his eyes and they feel like sandpaper. He blinks at Richter, his pupils almost rounded as he continues to purr.
Belmont looks up at him, feeling his fear slowly going away even as he cries.

The Aztec breathes on his hand, the air warm. He makes a whining noise and gently nudges Richter, probably trying to soothe him.
Richter sniffs and wipes away his tears.
"Let's go," he whispers. They can discuss this later.
Olrox nods and moves his head to the side, coiled on the grass to let them hop on.

His back is a mass of purple and red feathers overlapping one another. The two golden horns on his head look more like slim antlers. Olrox glances back to make sure they both are able to climb on.
Edouard climbs on first and holds his hand down to Richter.

Richter climbs up and is almost buried in the feathers. He grabs blindly before Edouard helps him up. Olrox's Quetzalcoatl form is fairly skinny, meaning Belmont and the night creature will have to sit in front of each other. Richter feels Edouard's arms around his waist.

Belmont looks up at the sky and gently grabs onto Olrox's horns, leaning forward like he's riding a horse.
"Are you okay, Edouard?" he asks, glancing back at his friend.
"I'm fine," he says back, still sounding a little worried for Richter.
"Olrox?" Belmont looks down as the feathered serpent turns his narrow head.

The Aztec nods, moving from the ground. Richter grips the horns tighter on instinct.
They see Olrox's wings flare up, like the wings of a dragon.
"Here we go," Richter murmurs, looking up at the night sky again.

Olrox flaps his large wings, the sound like a thunderclap. He coils his body before lunging, making Richter and Edouard yell in alarm. The ground seems to tilt as they are lifted in the air. Feeling a sharp wave of vertigo, Belmont closes his eyes.

He keeps his grip tight on the horns as Edouard's arms almost seem to cut off his breathing. The wind screams in their ears between the loud clap of Olrox's wings beating and his ragged breathing. Belmont feels Olrox seeming to fly straight after going up.

He opens his eyes and gasps. The moon seems closer now. The air is colder but fresher. Olrox is flying somewhat high, mainly so they aren't seen.
It's somewhat quieter now that the wind is calm.
"Richter, look!" Edouard points down to the city below them.

"My God, look at that," he gasps, staring at the city in amazement. He didn't think such a view was possible. He glances back at Edouard with wonder clear in his eyes. Belmont looks like an excited child with the wind blowing in his hair and cheeks red from adrenaline.

Edouard smiles back at him, happy that he is feeling better. He feels an odd sense of happiness bubbling up in his chest and he laughs at the thrill of it all. Edouard laughs too. Despite everything, Richter feels alive up in the clouds, his anxiety gone the further they get away from France.

"Whoo!" Richter shouts in joy at the relief he feels, like everything will be okay.
Olrox glances back at them, mouth open slightly, like he is smiling at them both. Then the Aztec looks forward again, his feathers ruffling in the wind.
****
As the sky slowly lightens, Olrox scans the land below for a safe place to rest. They don't want to go to any populated areas right now, especially since they just passed the border of France.
Finding a sizable looking forest, Olrox slowly dives closer to the ground in a downward spiral, long tail lashing behind him.

He waves between the trees, making sure Richter and Edouard don't hit any branches and lands on the ground with a solid thump. He pants and lays down on the grass, nostrils flaring as he catches his breath.
Olrox glances back to see both men sliding off his back. He's amused to see Richter picking out feathers stuck in his hair with the help of the night creature.

Belmont looks at him, his blue eyes bright, he looks happy. This makes Olrox feel a warmness in his heart.
"You've completely ruined horses for me," Richter jokes.
Olrox laughs and turns back into his vampire form.
The Aztec leans against a tree to rest.

"I'm glad I could amuse you both so much," he responds in kind, smiling back. They set up their small camp, the area shaded enough so no sunlight reaches Olrox. Edouard ends up falling asleep first, tired after their first night of travel.
He wears one of the cloaks with the hood over his head just in case any people happen to see them, not that it's very likely.

"You missed a few," the Aztec jokes, gently pulling out two feathers from Richter's hair, one red, the other purple. Belmont tries to hand them back to Olrox, but the vampire shakes his head. "Keep them, Richter. They look good on you," he muses. With a small kiss to his lips, Olrox goes to lie down as well, leaving Belmont by the tree, still holding the feathers and blushing.