The sky looked sleepy at dawn. Distant sounds of crickets buzzed outside and a lush smell of soil and wood filled the air. It was raining softly. The sound of the raindrops gently tapping on the window was what woke Brett up.
Brett slowly opened his eyes to realize that he was still holding the beast's hand. Surprised, Brett quickly took his hand away. Eddy groaned in his sleep and turned sideways, facing Brett now. Their face was close to each other and Brett could feel Eddy's breath on his face, warm and smoky. Brett could even see the dragon's eyelids flutter in his sleep, probably chasing the image in his wild dreams.
Brett looked at Eddy's face in a pale light of dawn. He couldn't believe the beast was actually more than a thousand years old. His human form looked like he was the same or even younger than Brett - does that mean dragons usually live much longer? Brett was lost in his thought as the dragon murmured unintelligibly in his sleep, his lips slightly apart. The soft lips of the beast reminded Brett of their unusual way of feeding and Brett blushed bright red, his heart pounding.
Eddy groaned again softly in his sleep, his face suddenly distorted.
"No......" The beast muttered as if he was in pain. His body tensed up and the beast clenched his fist, hard.
He must be having a bad dream, Brett realized.
Brett hesitantly stretched out his hand and placed it on top of Eddy's hair. He patted Eddy gently, afraid of waking him up too suddenly. His fingers stroked the smooth hair and lightly traced Eddy's ears.
Eddy sighed, his body relaxing little by little. Soon, his breathing became deep and rhythmic. Brett smiled as Eddy fell into a deep sleep, lightly snoring. Brett kept on patting Eddy, thinking that for the first time, he actually felt like he was taming the beast in some way - which was another way around most of the time.
He could have kept on patting Eddy for the whole day, just listening to the calming rainfall outside. However, the peace was broken when his phone began to ring from his desk.
Brett yelped, leaping to his desk to catch the phone and running outside the room. The beast was still undisturbed, sleeping soundly.
"Hello??" Brett whispered outside the dormitory corridor.
"Brett-! My goodness, are you alright?"
It was his father and mother, worried sick. They must have heard everything from the council and the school by now - about his less than desirable familiar summoning event.
"I'm alright. Don't worry about me."
"How could we not worry about you? The beast, how could you have summoned something like that?"
"I really have no idea. I was just practicing for my school exam...and I just happened to name him before I knew he was literally a dragon."
A long sigh came from the other end of the phone.
"The beast is alright? Is he violent? Did he try to hurt you in any way?"
Brett thought back to the beast sleeping in his room. Kissing doesn't count as hurting, Brett guessed.
"No...not really. He's fine. Just an old creature really."
"You can't trust a dragon though, son. They are known for their deceiving quality and love for violence and murder - it is bound to follow its instinct sooner or later."
"Yeah...I will keep an eye on him. I named him so he is under my command for now though," Brett scratched his head. Although he felt like he was the one following the beast's command most of the time.
"Speaking of the Code of Vocamen, we heard from the council that they are figuring out how to break that ancient spell. And right after the code is broken, the council is planning to kill the dragon for real this time."
"...What????" Brett's voice rang loudly in the empty corridor. Brett looked around and whispered into the phone again -
"What??"
"The beast couldn't be killed 500 years ago because he was too powerful from all the mavis he has consumed. That was why he was sealed instead in his nest. Since a lot of time has passed and he is weak by your familiar contract, the council thinks it will be feasible and better for the community to kill him right after the code is broken. Isn't that such a relief??"
"But-but...he's not causing any trouble now!"
"Son, that beast has killed numerous magicians and burned more than hundreds of towns to fill its hunger. We can't have that kind of creature free again. What if he gets summoned by someone more powerful so that he can go back to its true form?"
Brett fell silent.
"You can never trust a dragon, Brett."
There was a long silence.
"...Alright," Brett whispered finally.
.
.
After the call, Brett walked shakily back to his room.
It felt so wrong. Everything felt so wrong.
When he came back to his room, Eddy was already awake, sitting on a chair, reading his school spellbook.
"Good morning, Brett," Eddy yawned.
"...Good morning," Brett replied, his voice weak.
"I was thinking we can practice another elementary spell today - how about this one... controlling the heat of the fire?" The beast failed to notice Brett's nervousness and went on flipping the book.
"...are you hungry?" Brett asked, trying to sound normal.
"Nah, not too much. I can skip it this morning no worries," Eddy smiled at him.
So the hand holding during the night really worked.
Brett smiled back at him, feeling a little better. There should be a way to tame the dragon - he just needs to figure out how.
"Eddy... you said you really killed all the people 500 years ago, right?" Brett asked, trying to figure out the beast's history.
"Yeah," Eddy nodded nonchalant, still reading the book.
"Because you were hungry?"
"Yeah," Eddy nodded again, expressionless.
"But you said you don't eat everything now....... So, do you think you can control hunger? What happened?" Brett asked carefully.
Eddy flashed a warning look at Brett, annoyed.
"Why are you so interested in my past? I was just hungry and I ate a lot of people. That was a bad choice - I was locked in my nest for a few hundred years so I learned my lesson. Are you afraid of me all of a sudden?"
"No, no. I just...it's hard to imagine you like that. How it happened, you know?"
"Nothing happened. I was just blind from hunger. Now we can try....."
"And who is ... Reia?" Brett blurted out, remembering Eddy's sleep talk last night. Possibly, the person is related to the beast's story 500 years ago.
As soon as Brett said the name, Eddy's eyes widened, glaring at Brett dangerously. Eddy leaped up and clutched Brett's neck.
"How do you know her name?" Eddy growled lowly.
Brett gulped, afraid of the beast's menacing face.
"You said it in your sleep."
Eddy flinched from the answer, but he looked angry still.
"Young man, these questions will not lead you anywhere. Just focus on your study and if you ever EVER say that name again, I will rip your head off. Understood?"
The beast threw Brett to the floor. Brett coughed, trying to regain his breath.
"I'm getting some fresh air," the beast snapped as it flew out of the balcony.
The rain was still pouring, but the beast didn't seem to care.
.
.
After the beast left the room, Brett tottered to the library, searching for every book mentioning about the beast. Brett realized he only knew a vague idea of the beast but he never learned the specifics.
The history all told a terrible story about the beast. The book ranted on how he devoured all the magicians, even the children with such a small mavis. How he destroyed and burned the town to ashes, gathering all the magicians up and gulping it in one go. He literally was the beast, and Brett could understand why the council has decided to seal him, hopefully forever in his nest.
Then Brett found the name that caught his attention -
Reihanza Malonai. The greatest magician of all time who sealed the beast with her own magic.
Could she be Reia? Brett wondered as he read the paragraph about her. The paragraph described how she was the only one capable of sealing the beast to its nest and was praised for her accomplishment even to these days. Brett sighed and closed the book.
Why does he care so much about his familiar? Among all the magicians, familiars were just a mere replaceable creatures, could be summoned up by the dozens.
The council's decision to kill the beast made perfect sense. But why couldn't he let the beast die?
"I must be going crazy," Brett muttered.
Yeah, he should really get ready to surrender his familiar and let him go. He cannot jeopardize the whole wizarding society just because he wants a familiar. The dragon was a dangerous creature, after all, proven by history.
Brett walked back to his room, expecting it to be empty. However, when he walked into the room, Eddy was sitting on the bed, soaked wet. Eddy's eyes were red. He looked like he was crying.
The beast looked sad.
"What-Eddy, are you alright?"
Concerned, Brett hurriedly got some towels and knelt beside Eddy to dry his hair and face.
The beast didn't say a word as Brett ruffled his hair in the towel in an attempt to dry him.
"What happened? Are you cold?" Brett asked again, voice filled with worries.
Eddy finally opened his mouth.
"...I'm sorry."
"What?"
"I'm sorry about snapping at you earlier. I just have a really bad memory of that person, that's all. I admit that I did lots of mistakes in my past but I don't do that anymore. I hope you trust me, Brett."
Eddy looked up, his gaze piercing Brett.
Dragons shouldn't be trusted.
However, Brett couldn't bring himself to think that the dragon was deceiving him now. No, Eddy's eyes were honest and sincere. Brett's heart ached to realize that the beast, how horrendous he might have been 500 years ago, was a different creature when he looked at him.
I can't let him die. There must be a misunderstanding.
Brett realized he should think of a way to prove that the beast is not dangerous anymore. And he had to think it fast, before the council figures out how to break the code of Vocamen.
"I'm sorry," the beast drooped his head again as he apologized to Brett.
Brett kept his silence as he kept drying off Eddy's hair. Finally, Brett opened his mouth.
"It's alright...do you want dinner?"
And it was Brett who leaned in first this time to kiss Eddy on the lips.