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“When the time comes for you to make a choice, make one that you won’t regret…”
Elio, his boss, had once said this to the gang, and Kafka from then on muses about it ever-so-often. That piece of sentence flows in and out of Blade’s head almost simultaneously; ever since he was recruited by the “Stellaron Hunters” Treasure Hunter gang, he only does what he’s told, and makes sure to fulfill each mission, even at the expense of his own life. For him, things are as straightforward as it can get.
It’s not like there is anything else in life to look forward to; the first thing he remembers is awakening in a snow-ladened place, feeling cold to the bone, with absolutely nothing in his mind as he gazed at the harsh of white that continued to dot the area until the sun finally set. No one could find anything about his past, not even Elio, and Blade suspects his utter lack of memories is why he feels like there’s a continued emptiness in his heart. But if there’s anything he could do, it is following instructions, following orders.
“I wish you could take better care of yourself, Bladie,” Kafka has sighed at him like this, many times after particularly dangerous missions. Silver Wolf is sometimes around to shoot him a look of “Who’s gonna be my gaming buddy if you aren’t around anymore”, and sometimes SAM would stride over to say something grandiose, like how every comrade’s life is precious in their collective search for greatness. As Firefly she’s more normal about it, telling him to listen to Kafka, or giving him extra cookies she’s personally baked every now and then.
But they’d be hard pressed to change Blade’s mind about it. He already cares little about the fact that the “Stellaron Hunters” are one of, if not the most notorious and successful Treasure Hunters in the region. People fawn over his perceived wealth (and good looks) but when there’s barely any purpose in life for him, what’s the point really? What’s there to look forward to?
He only desires to do a good job and fulfill his missions to the very end. He wonders if there’s more to it that ties his self-worth to that, but sometimes he takes that one shot of quality whiskey while pondering, and just passes out. That is all to his free time, other than looking blankly at the stars at night, getting the necessary supplies undercover, and talking (and gaming) with his colleagues about whatever. As far as he’s concerned, he’s content.
“When the time comes for you to make a choice, make one that you won’t regret…”
Blade isn’t sure why that is echoing in his head now, of all times.
He had been unconscious, and is now slowly coming to his senses. He then realises his surroundings are dark and not that he’s been blinded, as he slowly makes out the patterns of a cavern just above him. However, he quickly notices something off about the place.
The cave is spacious, and its humidity lower than he expected. There’s water — but the sound of its flow and ebb is pretty far from where he is, and he only catches a small glimpse of wavy reflections at the corner of his eyes. He’s expected the worst outcome, perhaps succumbing to falling rocks, or trapped in a narrow passage and crushed by the onslaught of a random tremor.
Or is it because of something firmly wrapping around his body that made him think that way?
He doesn’t dare move. And he’s not about to try to see if he can — he has little regard for his life, but a stupid move can bring other things down. So he tries to concentrate on the noises of the environment, and he does hear a little rumble — of something not quite human.
“You’re awake.” A voice, very much human-like, abruptly interrupts the relative peace of the cave.
Now this is where Blade dares to tweak his head a little — and he is met with a pair of luminescent green eyes gazing at him in the dark.
“Lay still. You’re injured… I’m holding you in place because of your broken bones.”
Blade doesn’t try to move again, and tries to take stock of his situation — he’s likely in the deeper end of the new cave network they’ve found. Hardly anyone has tried to explore it so far, partly because it’s freshly discovered, and partly because it’s actually dangerous to just casually explore the place — tremors are reported every hour, which can snowball into violent earthquakes at certain times of the month. Buried, rotting corpses have been found at the surface layer, which is no surprise given how complicated the cave patterns can get especially when the tunnels and passageways tend to shift after an earthquake.
His memories start to come back to him, so he recalls rapidly moving from one passageway to another, dropping into a cavern before diving headfirst into yet another opening. He’s left various markings — of ribbons, of marker ink, to make sure he doesn’t go back to the same place again. He was… supposed to scope out the area first, and the rest of the members are pretty much his backups just in case he doesn’t come back in three days…
How long has he passed out for?
The other entity in the cavern shifts a little, and the little bit of light from the distant waterbody catches the shape of its… his face. The shape of a human face, eyes which glow even more under the reflection, eyes as sharp as his face and the horns on his head, which also glows a slight emerald green.
The entity catches him staring, but only nods slightly, as if to emphasise the former’s earlier point about keeping still.
Blade tries to recollect his thoughts again, but he feels like some air has been punched out of him for some reason. So… he was traversing the new cave network… and somehow finds himself here… but what happened before that?
Then he remembers, and his chest goes a little tight. After what seemed like a long time, he had stumbled upon an area where the environment feels oddly stable compared to the rest of the network. Stalactites hover over his head as he advances forward, but he couldn’t quite tell the real colour of them as the place was fairly dark, with a green hue tinting its surroundings from a source light coming from who-knows-where.
That green was the same colour as the eyes of that entity.
The ground had been bumpy from some stalagmites growing from the ground, but he had to wade through some rather deep puddles along the way, so he wondered if someone had been here before — otherwise it wouldn’t have been this wet. And that was pretty much his last memory before waking up next to this strange entity.
Blade tries to find his voice. “Have I trespassed upon your abode?”
The entity has been fairly quiet even with his breathing, but lets out a long exhale that echoes throughout the cavern. “It’s been too long since anyone else stepped into this place. I wasn’t sure of your intent, so I had knocked you out to neutralise any threats.” He speaks smoothly and clearly, even if his voice sounds a little distant, as if he’s from another dimension — yet he uses terms that make it sound like he’s recently been on the frontlines before.
Blade’s head spins a little, absorbing the information. “So it was you. What will you do to me now?”
The entity turns his face away. “There wasn’t anything I had in mind. Not at first. I have my ways to throw you out of here, but…” He glances back, and the glow of his eyes meet Blade’s own. “You smell familiar. Which is almost impossible. I don’t remember knowing any humans like you… at least not in this lifetime.”
“Got amnesia too?” Blade blurts out before he could stop himself.
“‘Too’?” The entity gets closer to him, and the surroundings immediately brighten up — just a dim, green glimmer reflecting off the rough surfaces that are the cavern walls, but Blade still squints at the change in brightness.
But it lets him get a clearer picture of the entity — the person is clearly in the shape of a man, maybe around the same age as him. The only inhuman features are his horns, glowing green eyes, and a very long and thick tail… which seems to extend to the makeshift tail cocoon he’s wrapped in presently.
“Call me Dan Heng,” the draconic entity — Dan Heng — says with a slight smile. It’s not unkind, but he’s definitely the one in control of the situation here. “I realised I did not tell you my name before. It was rude of me.”
Blade can only stare at his features with a slightly gaping mouth, his mind blank at this new revelation. “I’m Blade.”
Dan Heng wrinkles his nose a little, despite his rather pristine manner thus far. “I definitely don’t recall knowing such a human like you.”
Blade’s patience runs a little thin at that. “I’m not sure how that’s my problem,” he grouses.
“It’s still a feeling I can’t quite shake off, and it’s a strong one at that,” Dan Heng lets slip the slightest glimmer of his fangs, and Blade shrinks a little at that. Ohhh kay. Point taken. But he has something more pressing to ask now.
“Mind releasing me? I… need to answer the call of nature.”
Blade finds that Dan Heng has securely wrapped his chest area with plenty of bandages, and figures that perhaps the tail holding him in place did him some good, because he’s definitely wincing as he tries to hobble over to the designated place to relieve himself. The surroundings are still dim, but it’s bright enough to navigate, although the glow of Dan Heng’s eyes follow him like searching lights honing onto him, which disappears once Blade finally stumbles into the corner.
For once, way too many questions run through his head. Where did Dan Heng get all these bandages from? Who exactly is he? Why would a rather powerful entity live such a distance away from civilisation, and deep in a half-abandoned cave network at that? How does he even survive down here?
He shakes his head, trying to quiet his thoughts. He has heard of a dragon race called the Vidyadharas, which boasted a long and rich history before their collapse into obsoletion and dispersion. Rumours also spread of them becoming extinct as they have not been sighted in the last couple of centuries, but there’s also no hard evidence to suggest that. In any case, it wasn’t any of Blade’s concern.
Even up till now, he feels nothing for the Vidyadharas in general — he doesn’t recall ever crossing paths with any of them. Well, not in this life, at least , and perhaps he did stumble upon one before on the streets, but that dragon had been in disguise trying to hide their horns with a hood, and had given him a polite nod and went about their way just like any human would.
Dan Heng is clearly of the same race as the dragon he had seen before, but the aura he gives off can get a little suffocating, his reflective eyes giving away his intelligence, and the presence of a tail that Blade finds that can be resized at will. As Blade stumbles back to where Dan Heng is, the tail that was holding him is now back to a more normal size — the semi transparent, long and thin tail now lays peacefully on the ground, occasionally betraying Dan Heng’s feelings with a little flick.
“You’re back,” Dan Heng turns around and smiles — and Blade is taken aback, like he didn’t expect him to smile, and so serenely at that. In fact, for the first time in a long time, the situation he’s now in gives him a bit of a crisis.
Like how that smile looks and feels achingly familiar. Like how this might have happened before. Complete with the background of various weaponry on several racks displayed before them — swords, spears, glaives even. The make, polish, forgework and the rare stones carved into some of these weapons — everything about it is drawing him in, and he’s certain it’s not because he’s a treasure hunter.
“What’s wrong?” Dan Heng loses his smile and frowns, and Blade’s stunned expression turns a little sour. Now Dan Heng looks weird without a smile for some reason.
Blade shakes his head and winces a little at his injuries. “What are you doing?”
“Just cleaning my weapons. Actually,” Dan Heng leans forward a little closer to study him, and Blade has to resist fidgeting under that stare. “I’ve heard of treasure hunters from the cave fairies. I don’t suppose you’re one of them?”
There’s no point hiding it, anyway. “I work under an organization like that,” Blade nonchalantly states. Also what cave fairies?
“So I’ve thought,” Dan Heng continues to gently polish a long, dark green spear with a cloth. “I suppose I’ve to keep you hostage for the time being, regardless of what you think about me.”
Blade finds purchase against a nook carved into the cavern wall. “You shouldn’t be concerned about me. My… colleagues will be looking for me if I don’t resurface in 3 days.” He closes his eyes. He almost said friends , which never happened before. Then again, he barely had to talk about his colleagues in this manner before.
Dan Heng sets his weapon down. “Seriously, what are you?” He asks with a tinge of amusement. “I would know that cave divers normally carry a ton of equipment and supplies with them when they explore the caverns. But you… Don’t tell me you jumped in with nothing but a backpack?” He gestures vaguely at a corner, and Blade sees his rucksack propped against the wall. In all honesty, he’s forgotten about it till then.
“I work fine with just a rucksack,” he sighs. He does get that a lot. “It fits whatever I need in there.”
“You aren’t human,” Dan Heng quips, and Blade is not sure why, but he can tell that he’s joking around with that tone, which comes as a surprise — a welcomed one at that to lighten the atmosphere.
“Neither are you,” he shoots back.
Dan Heng smirks at that retort, and Blade feels very weird in his chest upon seeing that. He doesn’t know why.
“I don’t know when you started making your way here, but I’m sure they might start hunting for you… soon.” Dan Heng stands up to place his spear back onto one of the weapon racks. “Care to tell me what to expect?”
“So you aren’t letting me go.”
“You are rather invincible when it comes to caves, but I did knock you out pretty hard, so I’m taking responsibility,” Dan Heng shrugs. “And it’s not like you can go anywhere in this state.”
Blade shifts a little. His chest does hurt quite a bit, but he thinks it’s nothing he can’t handle…
“Ah— Don’t think about it.”
Before he could react, the dragon-human has teleported in front of him, and Blade finds himself back on the ground before he realises what’s happening. Dan Heng has literally swept him off his feet and sent him falling, but has cushioned his fall with his tail. Blade winces nevertheless from the impact, and through his pain thinks he sees Dan Heng’s legs turn into scaly, thin lizard-like ones, but he blinks and they’re back to being human.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Dan Heng speaks softly, as if he isn’t going to trap Blade in his place in the meantime and is merely just inviting a dear friend over. “You want to leave, despite having some affinity for my weapon stash. Care to explain?”
Blade thinks this place does have some magic, or some sort of witchcraft happening, and the cave fairies Dan Heng mentioned are probably the least of his concerns now.
“I’m sorry,” he finally answers with a sigh. “They do draw me in, but I have no memory of how, or why. I do think they look fascinating, but it’s not really because I’m a treasure hunter.”
Dan Heng gives him an unbelieving stare on the surface, but the glow in his eyes waver a little, as if he understands something about Blade’s predicament.
“Well that’s too bad. Because like it or not, you’re staying with me… You’re staying with my weaponry.” Dan Heng carries him ala princess-style as he moves towards the weapon racks. Blade lays back limply and lets him do it without a fight, which surprises himself. “You do make a great weapon, after all.”
Begrudgingly, Blade lays still near the weaponry. It isn’t an entirely uncomfortable position either as Dan Heng has readied a mat and a pillow for him to prop himself on, which lets him get a better view of the hoard. Since running away is now out of the question, he tries to calm himself down and collect his thoughts once more.
He’s honestly distracted by the weapons, however. He marvels at a glaive placed at the side — it looks so familiar, but he has no idea where he might have come across such a large, majestic-looking weapon. Dark brown and dull gold complement each other across its body, and there’s what looks like an orb with a singular character carved on it. The orb is situated near the handle, with subtle moss green and dark brown wing motifs surrounding it and a line that runs down the middle of the orb, reminiscent of a lightning bolt.
“You don’t happen to be a high-ranking general in exile, do you?” Blade blurts out before he could stop himself.
Dan Heng has mostly left Blade to his own devices, as he now tends to a slowly simmering pot of what looks like soup, brewing over a small fire he’s started himself. Why does it actually smell good, and what does he even eat down here?
He does sharply turn around at that question. “What have you seen?”
Blade stares back into those unforgettable green eyes. “The glaive looks befitting of being in the hands of a powerful general, moreso for the old civilisation where people still fought with such weapons… Either that, or a grand display made for someone powerful…” He furrows his brows. “I don’t know how I know that either. Like I think the spear you just polished is actually yours, because it fits your build and height perfectly…”
He stops as Dan Heng experiences a sort of conflict on his face, going from delight to a frown to staring harder at Blade — who’s feeling the weight of his stare as Blade uselessly lies next to a pile of rather grandiose weapons. Blade almost thought Dan Heng might actually try to silence him or worse because he somehow knows too much, but remembers that this is not someone who would destroy weapons on a whim, not when they are beautifully crafted from precious metals by an excellent swordsmith.
Dan Heng does eventually turn back to the now-boiling pot. “Since I was born in this lifetime, the elders from my clan have been telling me my previous incarnation was partly responsible for the destruction of the old civilisation.” He snorts. “Not that I thought they were wrong, but they were obviously not telling me the whole story. Anyone who had a part in that was sentenced to death, but I was born in almost one piece despite growing up in jail.”
Blade’s mouth dries up, but he doesn’t say anything. He isn’t sure Dan Heng is someone who needs his sympathy.
Dan Heng continues. “It became obvious that some people escaped being sentenced to death for the collapse of the old civilisation. In jail, I pored over books, records that recounted the “Fall of the Vidyadhara” 700 years ago… So many different anecdotes, perspectives and such, but all of them agreed on some of the main perpetrators escaping in the midst of the chaos, and still remaining alive and well years later.” Dan Heng turns around to look at Blade again. “With most of my past memories still unreachable for me, I never know what to feel about this whole business. But at least I knew I should get out of jail.”
“Did your experience in jail acclimatise you to living in such seclusion down here?” Blade mumbles before he could stop himself.
Dan Heng lets out an airy laugh, which surprises Blade and makes him feel a little funny in his chest again. “That obvious, huh? I simply want nothing to do with civilisation for a while… It is nice being alone when it’s done out of choice, though.” He then waves at the glaive. “By the way… that belonged to a high-ranking general of mine who helped set me free. This was his gift to me… he used it during wars in the old civilisation, and he said it may perhaps jog some memories for me…” Dan Heng gives Blade a sidelong glance. “But it looks like it’s jogging your memories instead.”
“Wish I had some memories to give. Sorry.”
Dan Heng gives a wry smile. “It’s the thought that counts.”
He then immediately extinguishes the fire with a sweep of his tail and stands up to his full height, his stance guarded.
“Looks like we got company.”
Blade honestly hasn’t counted on being rescued this soon. Either his colleagues got really good with digging and navigating the cavern, or time passes rather quickly with Dan Heng holding him hostage. The latter sounds like a rather ridiculous thought, so he shoves it to the back of his head for the time being.
Dan Heng lets him come along to greet the new visitors, but he has to be tied up firmly with a bit of rope that the dragon somehow found in his stash. Dragons really do hoard everything, huh , Blade recalls that old stereotype, and files it away in his head to ask for later. His chest still smarts, but the rope surprisingly holds his injuries in place, and the pathway forward is rather smooth and without obstacle.
It is at the opening towards the stalactites-ridden area that a bunch of things happen all at once.
In a split second, Dan Heng morphs from his normal-sized human form into a large dragon — a semi-transparent green reptilian being violently snarling at his attackers while gracefully dodging each bullet Kafka sends his way. The dragon — Dan Heng — weaves around the stalactites in practiced, fluid moves, almost as if he’s done this before.
With the whirring of engines, SAM hurtles themselves into Dan Heng, sending both of them crashing into a small pool, the impact large enough to send bullets of water flying which hurts when it splatters onto Blade’s face. A rather unsteady stalactite cracks and falls right next to them.
Dan Heng’s inhuman roars resound throughout the cavern as SAM’s engines kick even more into full gear, keeping up with the dragon’s lashing and thrashing about. The place shakes slightly with the impact, and Silver Wolf is now furiously tapping away at her tablet for God-knows-what amidst the slight tremors.
Blade finally snaps out of his trance.
“Wait! Stop!” He clumsily runs towards the dragon and the sentient machine wrestling with each other, almost tripping over a bunch of stalagmites scattered on the ground. His injuries are acting up again, but he grits his teeth through the pain. “We need to talk!” He yells.
“Bladie!” Silver Wolf yells from behind him. “Get back!!”
“No!!” Blade replies at the top of his lungs. “Don’t hurt him!!”
As if on command, both dragon and machine stop to look at Blade. The change in atmosphere from absolute chaos to complete calm is so abrupt that Blade is caught off guard and could only awkwardly stare back for a bit, especially with both pairs of non-human eyes on him.
“So… I need a hand with the rope. Then we need to talk.”
The Stellaron Hunters didn’t want to let Blade near Dan Heng at first. It took Dan Heng transforming back to a human and Blade asking them to trust his judgement, that Firefly, Silver Wolf, and Kafka can finally relax.
“It’s the first time you ever try to take charge of the situation, you know,” Silver Wolf casually comments.
“That’s a rather nasty injury, Bladie…” Kafka sighs in that aloof way of hers, and Blade knows that she knows who inflicted it. “But like what Silver Wolf said, we’re all ears.”
Firefly brings a first aid box over, but upon both of their analyses, his injuries are well taken care of and properly bandaged, which impresses the girl.
“Everyone… This is Dan Heng,” Blade gestures towards the young-looking man. It feels weird, like he’s inducting Dan Heng into his group, even though he knows full well it isn’t the case. “We basically broke into his hideout.”
Kafka actually genuinely looks surprised at the reveal. “Given the structure of the cave network, there was a very low chance that someone could live here. But… When we stumbled upon this area, we knew that’s where you went, and it increases the possibility of someone hiding out here.”
Dan Heng sighs and rubs at his forehead. “This place is well-hidden precisely because of the unique structure surrounding it, and how hard it is for normal people to find it from the outer cave network. You must be really seasoned cave divers to even find your way here,” he shoots a look at Blade, but instead of hostility it’s just a gaze full of questioning… and something else.
Kafka smiles at that. “Bladie is really one of a kind… He maneuvers around caves and the underground like it’s second nature to him. But enough of that…”
Blade couldn’t help but butt in. “Dan Heng here might have a clue to my past life.”
Silver Wolf nearly drops her tablet, while Firefly stares at Blade, her eyes now as round as saucers.
The scene before him feels a tad comical, but he tries to continue. “If you don’t mind… I might want to investigate this with him… And maybe also with Elio, if that’s alright…?” He looks around.
“Elio?” Dan Heng raises an eyebrow.
“Our boss.” With a flurry of taps on her tablet, Silver Wolf swiftly tries to connect with said person. “One sec.”
However, it took her many tries and many pairs of eyes staring at her for many minutes before Silver Wolf finally gets through. “Boss Elio,” she whines at the screen. “The signal is so bad here.”
Blade looks at the familiar black cat wallpaper that Elio always dons for online meetings, while Dan Heng looks at the screen in confusion.
“Is that your boss?”
“Yes,” Elio speaks, and coughs awkwardly after. “It seems like my agents have caused you some problems. My deepest apologies… We only go after loots with no surviving owners, and my research shows that there’s a 99% chance of sentient beings still surviving in this cave network.”
“Treasure hunters trying to appear more decent? Your tactics at trickery are evolving,” Dan Heng lightly scoffs.
“Dan Heng…” Blade sighs. He doesn’t know when he has brought it upon himself to reign the dragon in a little, but he supposes someone has to do it.
“It’s okay,” says Elio. “I would love to discuss any form of compensation with you, Mister…?”
“Dan Heng. And no, I don’t need anything.”
“In any case, we’ll talk about that later. My agents have shared that you may have some knowledge on Blade’s past life, which I haven’t been able to find much of a lead on. But based on your appearance, if his past life was indeed connected to the Vidyadharas in some way, that would make sense. I have not been able to get a hold of much data about them.”
“Not that you really could… From what I heard, other than general knowledge and some rumours, a lot of our history has been sealed up… kept and stored in a place only a few know.” There is a hint of bitterness in Dan Heng’s voice.
“For a race who’s at the centre of the downfall of the old civilisation, that’s rather impressive. It would be an organised effort, I presume,” Elio thoughtfully muses, with a buzz of weak connection interrupting briefly.
Dan Heng laughs a little forcefully, and Blade kind of hates that he knows the reason behind it. “Organised is right, Mister Elio.”
“Elio. And Dan Heng,” Blade speaks up. “I was wondering if you’d like to investigate this together,” he pauses. And realises he has basically never asked for anything, but an encounter overnight changed this.
“Blade?” Dan Heng’s voice, softer than usual, interrupts him mid-thought. “Well, Mister Elio too. Let’s just say I am still in the middle of… my imposed self-meditation, and I’ll need time to carefully consider this.”
Blade turns to the screen. “He means he’s not ready.”
“You don’t have to translate that!” came Dan Heng’s reply.
“I fully understand. We’ll talk terms when both of us are ready, of course. But how would we reach you in a more proper way?”
Blade doesn’t miss a beat when he raises the idea. “I’ll stay with him for the time being, so I can guide both of us out when he’s ready.”
Everyone’s eyes are all on him again.
“What??” Silver Wolf exclaims.
“Blade, are you sure about this?” Firefly’s face is full of concern.
Kafka only observes with a keen gaze, waiting for his reply.
I know him , he wants to say, yet he’s sure he doesn’t, but there’s the way the both of them have been able to bounce off each other despite one being at the mercy of each other, the feeling that they have had shared history in some sense, and the way he subconsciously has an affinity towards the weapons the dragon hoards…
“When the time comes for you to make a choice, make one that you won’t regret…”
He looks at Dan Heng, who’s now slightly bewildered. Only the untrained eye will miss that he’s also trying not to smile (or burst out laughing) right now.
“If Dan Heng is agreeable, of course.”
Dan Heng exhales, but fully turns to him.
“You’re crazy.”
“I think calling me ‘crazy’ is putting it mildly.”
Then Dan Heng seems to have made up his mind. “I’ll make sure he’s treated well, and that his injury is just a one-off thing.”
Firefly gives him a withering, untrustful look. “It had better be…” She turns to Blade and smiles gently, her face doing a 180 from her previous expression. “Silver Wolf is right. It’s the first time you’ve made such a decision yourself. I’ll leave the rest to you.”
Silver Wolf only groans out loud. “I’ll miss my gaming buddy!”
Kafka chuckles. “I’m with Firefly… I trust your decision. And you can always turn to us anytime, Bladie.”
“I know,” Blade finds himself smiling.
Kafka returns the smile. “Just wanted to remind you. How about Elio?” She turns to the screen.
“Sure,” Elio’s reply comes quickly, as if he expected it. “I’ll send updates to you, Blade. Just read them when you get any signal. And Mister Dan Heng… I’ll ask for your contact when you’re ready.”
Dan Heng softly snorts, but nods. “It is done.”
The two of them return to the cave. Dan Heng tunes the lights embedded in the cave to a more respectable lighting before turning to him.
“You’re a strange man,” he says, before retrieving the pot of soup, and makes a face — it has gone cold. “Well, not that I’m not strange myself.”
“Need help?” Blade offers, while slightly squinting at the change in lighting yet again.
Dan Heng sighs. He’s been sighing quite a bit since meeting with Blade’s colleagues. “Sit down,” he rolls his eyes, and Blade is reminded of a petulant child in that instance. Or maybe he’s the one who is. “You’re still injured. Anyway, you’re strange. I implied I was going to take you hostage earlier, yet you were willing to stick with me after all that.”
“But I’m interested in you,” Blade blurts out. He hasn’t been running his thoughts through a filter for the past few hours, it seems.
The hands on the pot tighten. “Careful what you wish for, human .” Again, there’s no hostility, just a restrained warning that comes with a wag of his dragon tail.
“You aren’t being honest,” Blade tries to move towards him. Dan Heng bristles a little, but lets him sit next to him, though not without Blade wincing a little at his own injuries. “But I was being serious earlier, Dan Heng. Throughout my life… My current life, I’ve only been drifting aimlessly, going from one mission to the next, anything to get my mind off things.”
Blade notices the tip of Dan Heng’s pointed ears dusted a little pink, as the latter works to warm up the soup again while shying his eyes away from him. What a change in attitude from when we first met, Blade thinks.
“Until you met me?”
“Unfortunately,” Blade pretends to be disappointed. “Unless… You’d like that outcome very much.”
Blade finds himself on the floor once again, dragon tail wrapping around him firmly and Dan Heng above him, with green eyes glowing stronger than usual and half opened mouth slightly revealing tiny fangs.
“If I could get away with it,” Dan Heng growls. “I will keep you with me, forever.”
Blade holds his breath, suddenly mesmerised by the scene before him. He’s beautiful , his brain unhelpfully supplies. He will have to question his own tastes later.
“Wouldn’t it be funny,” Blade daringly slides his hands around Dan Heng’s waist (oh heavens, it’s rather tiny), “If we were enemies in our past lives?”
Dan Heng’s breath hitches, and Blade catches sight of a serpentine tongue darting out and vanishing in less than a second. But the former blinks, and his eyes return to their usual luminosity, before standing back up and his tail slowly slides Blade back to the ground.
“We can talk this over later. Food is ready,” Dan Heng gives a reassuring smile with a tad bit of secrecy to it.
Seeing Dan Heng blow out the fire with a flick of his tail, Blade thinks he could get used to this. This experience should be new to him, but it tastes familiar — and since he wants to chase that feeling and find out why… He might as well see it through.