Kai kept his hood up as he wandered through the forest. He ditched Soobin for this. That guy couldn't be trusted. Very little people could be with his particular condition. Soobin spent the last two weeks trying to prove himself but Kai wouldn't believe him. Beomgyu and Yeonjun trusted him. It was easy for them to because it wasn't their lives on the line. It was Kais'.
He only had three friends. Taehyun was one of them but he was the one he saw the least. Now it was his job to find him. He had to know about Soobin and he had to know what Taehyun has been up to for the past four months.
A rumor told him his friend was selling things in Noir Alley. That was on the complete opposite of town. Town already was 15 miles away from where he lived. Good thing he was fast on foot. Pine needles whipped across his face without damage. Branches cracked underneath the soles of his feet. Kai didn't bother to wear shoes. They would've been worn down by the time he got back home. His skin was more than tough enough to take the impact. You might call him bulletproof.
Taehyun wasn't trying to stay away. He was simply an alchemist looking for ingredients to cure his friend. It took him three years just to find the stupid book that he needed. If he could cure Kai then there wouldn't be a reason to hunt him anymore.
He had every ingredient he needed except one. Finding the heart of a dragon seemed impossible. The dragons were rumored to be dead. Humanity killed them for money and glory. Shocker. Humans always were the worst and he stood by that as a human. But he knew there was at least one alive. If there was one, there had to be one more. Now he was stuck selling some extra inventory in hopes to gain information.
A middle-aged woman came up to his table. She introduced herself but Taehyun wasn't paying attention. He only say the flower in her hand. The Lunar Daisy. Only bloomed during a full moon and was only found in the elven caves. She offered him the small brown pot. He asked "you're not looking for money are you?"
"I am not. I am looking for information."
Taehyun looked at her suspiciously. She wasn't an elf. The large starlight eyes and the pointed ears were missing. He began to wonder how she got the flower. Those caves were supposed to be magically protected. "Information on what?"
"You've traveled the world. Where can I find Kai Kamal Huening?"
He bluntly asked "who?"
"If you tell me where he is, I will tell you where you can find a dragon heart. That's what you're looking for right?"
Taehyun studied her body language. She wasn't threatening. Her tone was oddly sweet. "How did you know I'm looking for a dragon heart?"
"I know because you know Kamal. Where can I find him?"
"Why do you offer me a flower?"
The woman giggled. Her eyes turned momentarily red then went back to black. "It's not for you. It's for him. I was hoping to bring it to him."
Taehyun wasn't a sell out. He wasn't going to trade his friend's safety. There hasn't been a single ingredient he has failed to find. This heart wasn't going to be an exception. "Not interested."
Kai ran up to see Taehyun talking to a woman. He kept his hood up to conceal his face. The wanted posters of him were on every other wall. He kept staring at the woman. His head tilted with his curiosity. He knew her but couldn't figure out how. A man was staring at him for a little too long so he kept walking. There was a building to the right with a metal staircase leading to the roof. That seemed like a good observation point as he started to climb.
The woman set the pot down on the table. "If I help you get the dragon heart, will you bring me to him? You won't be able to get it without me. I doubt you can slay a dragon."
He had the frozen flaming arrows in his storage unit. Those had the capability of piercing dragon scales but getting a critical shot was another challenge. What most likely would happen is he would end up enraging a dragon with a poor shot versus killing it. "How can I trust that you can kill one?"
"I've been around them my whole life." The woman pulled out her necklace from her dress. A shiny black dragon scale was revealed on the piece of string.
Taehyun knew it was real when the sunlight hit it. The edges of the scale almost glowed of fire. That wasn't replicable.
Kai saw the scale from the roof top. He wondered how the hell that woman got that. Now there wasn't any doubt they knew each other. It was just trying to figure out how.
The woman was getting impatient. "Do we have a deal or not?"
Taehyun accepted. He agreed to tell her where Kai lived. He said nothing about warning him first. The woman left the plant on the table. They agreed to meet later that night. Taehyun hung around for a few more hours to sell more things. His favorite trade of the day was receiving more arrows for one of his growth drops. The gentlemen was very short. His growth drops would make him three inches taller.
Kai saw his friend packing up. He figured he was going home for the night so that's where he headed. Only he and his friends were allowed inside. It was a hidden hobbit house in a hill. Taehyun put a vision spell around it after he was robbed. Normal people saw a pile of dirt. Kai saw a circular window and an arched wooden door. He went inside, descended the stairs, and waited.
Taehyun came home to see Kai sitting in the fireplace. Embers surrounded his legs as he played with the flames. He looked happy. "Hey. I was actually just about to look for you."
"Beat you to it I guess. You don't have more wood do you? The fire is starting to die."
Taehyun grabbed two logs and tossed it to his friend. "You don't know any women do you?"
Kai placed the two logs on either side of him. The increased flames kissed his thighs. His skin didn't burn. It never did. The warmth felt heavenly as the smoke rose to his face. "Not personally. I wanted to talk to you about Soobin though. Beomgyu and Yeonjun trust him but I can't. I just want to know if he's trying to kill me."
"You want me to drug him or something?"
"Only if you want to. You've always been a good judge of character. I just wanted to know if I'm in danger." Kai stepped out of the flames. One of the coals fell out with him. He picked it up with his bare hand and tossed it back into the fireplace.
Taehyun made himself some food. "I'm kind of going on a trip soon. Can it wait?"
"Please meet him now! It won't take long!"
"Sure. Just give me a second to eat."
When Taehyun was done eating, Kai kneeled down to give him a piggyback ride. He ran after his friend hopped on. The cottage came into view. Soobin was fencing with Yeonjun while Beomgyu was giving him pointers from the sideline. They turned to face the two who just arrived. Soobin ran up to Kai yelling "you're home! I was so worried about you!"
Kai pushed him away.
Yeonjun told Soobin to give him some time.
Taehyun introduced himself. "Hi. Can we talk for a second?"
Kai watched the two talk from a distance. Beomgyu told him Soobin was harmless but he refused to believe it until it came out of Taehyun's mouth. Soobin could go to hell for all he cared. Saving his life was a mistake.
Taehyun came back to talk to Kai. "He's perfectly fine. I don't think you need to be worried."
"Fine. Where are you going though? I barely see you as it is! I miss you."
"I'm trying to cure you. Once you're cured, you won't have to hide anymore."
"Really?!" He hugged him tightly while jumping up and down. "Thank you Taehyunnie!"
"I don't think you have to worry about him hurting you. As a matter of fact, I think he would be the last person to." He briefly winked before turning around.
Kai watched him make a portal. They waved goodbye as Taehyun stepped into it. Who knows how long it would be before they saw each other again? He felt Soobin hug him from behind. Even though he got Taehyun's approval, he still hated the guy. Kai turned around to go straight to bed. He warned "don't follow me Soobin!"
Taehyun arrived back in the alley. The woman was waiting for him at the table. She smiled upon seeing him. "I'm glad you came! I was starting to think you wouldn't."
"I need that heart. Didn't really have a choice."
"Grab your arrows then. We have a long journey ahead of us."
Taehyun grabbed all of the arrows in his storage. He looked at the woman's face again. She looked familiar. He looked at the side of her neck. She had the same mole pattern as Kai did. "Oh my god!"
"What?"
"Are you Kai's mother?"
The woman smiled. "I am. Let's go cure my son."