Chapter Text
In the dark undergrowth of the Grumms forest, the sounds of a sword cutting through the old growth could be heard. With a slash and a swipe, the growth in the way of the young knight was cut. This allowed the young knight – wearing a set of armour along with a purple mantle around his neck – clearance to continue on, yet he stopped for a moment. Sighing, the man lifted his helmet, revealing a man of middle age and curly hair – both his head and beard containing brownish-red hair. His green-blue eyes scanned the path he cleared, before settling down on a moss-covered rock, looking back towards the path he came from.
“Ugh, Phillip. What have you gotten yourself into this time?” He asked himself, thinking back to the reason why he came to the forest in the first place. The Kingdom of Morose was suffering from a fish shortage, and he as the best knight was tasked with finding the cause from the king himself. He also remembered what King Morose said to him about the dangers of the forest.
He was warned of the Molten Men – creatures made from the failures of an experiment Lady Morose and Lady Angelique had a while back. Beings that could shift into the undergrowth and into random people, making those who were unaware think that they were actual people until they started chasing. Phillip’s own armour had many a time to be cleaned from their gross Jellyfish Gel.
There were also things like the Walking Antler – a moose spirit of the forest who hated anyone trampling through said forest. This one, Phillip couldn’t fight – the beast itself needed more than a man with a sword, and he forgot his crossbow at home. Instead, Phillip had to hide in the bushes while the beast stomped about, patrolling the entire overgrowth.
Things like Clayton the Wise he didn’t need to watch out for, though Morose seemed… hesitant to agree with Phillip’s decision. Fortunately for Phillip, Clayton knew where to point to where the fish used to live. Finally, there was –
“Beware the Dragon that Rhymes, Sir Maude.” Morose tensely said, pointing his finger at Phillip. He was on his throne, looking over his most loyal knight in the land. Although one of the newest in the kingdom, having just been hired last June, Phillip had risen in the ranks through meticulous training and a promise made to him by both the king and queen. He was considered one of the best on the front for his quick thinking and swift attacks. He became King Morose’s most trusted knight, capable of dealing with tasks the king found most troublesome for even his experienced knights. Apparently, the case of the missing fish would be that task. “For that one, despite his young nature, is very cunning. He’d trick you to making you his slave.”
“As if a dragon would want a knight who would kill him as a slave.” Phillip scoffed, but frowned a bit at Morose’s choice of words. Sure, dragons were well known to take fair maidens along with a plethora of treasure even a High Kingdom would never see in their coffers, but ‘slave’? Phillip couldn’t recall a dragon ever taking in humans as slaves.
Then again, there was the Tentacled Beast, who often took people to work for him to make a cure for mortality. But that wasn’t a dragon, not like the Dragon that Rhymes. Least, as far as Phillip could recall.
“The only beast I knew of who took slaves was the Tentacled Beast, sire.” Phillip watched as King Morose’s face scrunched up – though Phillip couldn’t tell from what – before the king waved his hand, his face returning to a neutral expression.
“That beast is only an Old Wive’s Tale, I’m sure you’ve known of that since that simpleton Montgomery Gunths lost his boat in a storm.” Morose dismissed Phillip’s statement, leaning back into his seat before continuing. “However, I’ve heard reports that bones around the Dragon that Rhyme’s den have been spotted by our spies. It’s highly likely that beast is the culprit, we just need to catch him in the act.”
“Were they…?” Phillip couldn’t dare to ask – thoughts of blood and bones from long ago covered his thoughts, screams coming into his mind as he felt the spiral –
“No, just fish bones. But a dragon would never find that enough.” Morose snapped Phillip out of his spiral, forcing him to pay attention to the King of Morose. Dragons were known for being greedy, and the Dragon that Rhymes had caused many a trouble for its thefts around the kingdom. “If you find him in the act of stealing fish, I give you permission to kill the beast. Take the horse to Greatmaw Bay – that was where the fish were stolen from.”
And Phillip’s remembrance ended there, with him taking the horse under the cover of pre-dawn night to the forest surrounding Greatmaw Bog and tying it up before continuing on foot into the forest. The horse stomped on one spot as he tried to steer it into the forest, forcing him to abandon it near a small stream and a bit of grass to eat.
Both he and Morose had found the Dragon that Rhymes hated the dark, so the cover of night would allow Phillip to beat the beast before his daily fishing were to occur.
And now Phillip was at the bog between the bay. It was eerie, having a fog around the area that disrupted Phillip’s gaze into it. There was the distinct smell of sulfur and rotten eggs, things that made Phillip want to throw up, yet kept in. He could see in the still water eyes leering at him, crocodiles waiting for their next meal. Harsh hooting could be heard behind him, reminding Phillip of the forest that came along the path he took. Phillip shivered, suppressing a moan as a cold wind blew past him.
“Ugh. The things I do for my king.” Phillip sighed, bringing out his pillow and blanket from his satchel, setting them aside as he went to gather moss. The pillow was a badly stitched one, a pink thing patterned with red hearts. Something Phillip wouldn’t have ever had on his person.
The only thing left of her that he had.
Placing the moss around where he wanted to sit at, Phillip determined that it would take a bit for the Dragon that Rhymes to come out of his brightly lit den to strike. Placing the pillow onto the tree he decided to sit on, Phillip pulled up his blanket to fall into an unsteady sleep. His breathing slowed, as did his falling head – enough for his head to drop towards his body, releasing his pillow to fall…
And into a brown scaled hand, a coo coming from the being as he looked over the item with a gentleness that belied his harsh, reptilian looks.
“Oh, what a lovely pillow!” The being whispered, bringing the pillow to his nose to sniff the scent of the beautiful human in front of him. The beast’s tail wagged as he smelt the scent of clementines, ash and dark magic – the last causing the beast to sneeze cutely. “Ugh, but not smelling like a healthy willow…” The beast looked over towards Phillip’s sleeping form, cooing as he brought his hand towards the man’s face. “As promised, you finally came back to me… Oh, what glee!”
The beast watched as the man’s face turned towards him, softly nuzzling into it as he hummed deeply. The beast couldn’t help but smile, gently stroking Phillip’s cheek with his thumb – and keeping his claws away from the soft face.
“My wonderful Treasure! You and I will be together… forever!”
--
When morning came in with harsh sunlight, Phillip had long been up and had moved halfway across the bog. Thoughts of the night before had… troubled him. Usually, nights where Phillip lost his pillow would often come with nightmares – many lead to the same amounts of blood and death…
And the reaper took what he considered precious to him.
But yet, even after finding his pillow on the ground with the faint drenches of light, Phillip could not remember a moment when he woke up full of fright. In fact, the dream he remembered was… interesting, to say the least.
Phillip stood on a field of beautiful red flowers – mainly of red dahlias, but also chrysanthemums and zinnias – all in bloom from the warm weather. Phillip couldn’t help but blush as he looked at all the flowers, his mind turning at a speed even windmills couldn’t process. He felt his left shoulder caressed by a scaly hand, before it moved down along his arm to rest in his slightly sweaty palms.
“Is this not beautiful, my dear?” A man – and Phillip could only tell he was that from his voice, as his body was as beautiful as any maiden’s – asked, dressed in brown leathers and slacks that were patched with other hides. His teeth were as sharp as a crocodile’s, and his brown-gold eyes looked at Phillip like he was the most beautiful treasure in the world. “You wouldn’t have any more tears!” he lifted his hand to his mangy black hair, tossing it backwards to reveal the horns underneath.
“To think, my dear – you can have us!” The beast smiled – and woah had a crocodilian smile never felt so adorable, Phillip wanted the man to smile like that for him and him alone. “All you got to do is say ‘yes’ to thus!” the beast got into his face, almost clingy in how he draped over Phillip. Phillip pushed back a bit, wanting his own space.
The beast hardly ever gave him a lot to pace.
“I… I…” Phillip could feel the heat dust his cheeks, stepping away from the beast in front of him – and finding the beast keeping in step to his. Neither of them noticed that they crushed the plants around them. The beast gently stroked Phillip’s cheek before he could go back further, Phillip leaning into the touch.
“Look at you, my pal. So fearful of touch and face full of scowl!” Phillip blinked, releasing the tension as the beast pointed out his face. “Aren’t you lonely? Wouldn’t you like to be in a place more homely?”
“No, I… I have to go back.” Phillip pulled his face out of the beast’s hand – shocking the man in front of him as he stepped back. “I can’t stay. The kingdom, it’s in need of me!”
“I’d rather if you let it be.” The beast huffed angerly, smoke pouring out of his nose. “You’re better off here! Things will be fine over there!”
“You don’t know that!” Phillip snapped, causing the beast to look over with hurt in his eyes. But Phillip didn’t care – he had to make the trek back, before his family –
“If you want, we can bring your family! It wouldn’t matter if it’s practically unnaturally~!” The beast pleaded, getting to his hands and knees, holding onto Phillip’s hands and keeping him in place. “Please, don’t make pace! You don’t know the horrors you’re about to face!”
“I can’t stay, ------. My family needs me…” Phillip turned away from the beast, pulling his hands out of the beast’s and walking away as he went back to the Kingdom of Morose. He didn’t bother to look back as the beast screamed out his name, whooshes of heat and ash coming in between each breath. Phillip could almost imagine the beast’s harsh, tear-stained face as he fumed out his curses.
“You’ll come back, my Treasure! You’ll be reminded that you’ve been mine forever!” The beast screamed out his sorrows, the fire burning the field around him as Phillip walked away. “And everyone would know who’d you belong to! After all, my mark clings to you! Even as a servant for that man, you won’t be part of his plan!”
It was an odd dream, a remembrance of a time he can’t remember recalling. Sure, he knew the place that they were standing at, a field he played in as a child long ago… Yet, the beast seemed elusive to his mind as he packed his things and walked away from the tree he rested at. The entire thought of the dragon claiming him as his ‘treasure’ made Phillip want to scoff, yet…
Phillip took off the mantle that was around his shoulders, finding a dark, almost burnt scar along his neck. He could remember it from the many times he’s gazed upon it in the mirror – jagged and pointy, the hint of ash coating around it. Yet, from the many discussions of both King and Queen Morose and Lady Angelique, they found the mark to be healthy scarring that would go away over time.
It never did, oddly enough.
Phillip felt wistful over the feelings he got whenever he touched the mark on his neck – love, adoration, exasperation… but the worst feeling came up whenever he touched the mark:
Guilt.
Phillip knew the feeling too well – it came whenever he thought of his family, who scorned him as he left to become a knight. It came whenever he thought of the fights he never got to apologize for, towards the friends and comrades he lost in fighting for his king.
It came whenever he thought of his sister, who died before he became a knight.
And now, the guilt was coming into his mind, but it felt… harsher. More deliberating than the others that came before.
The parents one, was a bridge burnt on both sides. Phillip may have said some harsh things, but he had remembered all the times they dismissed his thoughts for his sister as ‘childish ramblings’, and her death was the straw that broke the horse’s back. The comrades and friends from the wars were things that Phillip had to learn to move on from, too much death made him forced to realize he missed his chances to save them.
His sister…
Phillip shook his head, yet the feelings of guilt grew as he focused on it. Guilt for leaving. Guilt for fighting.
Guilt for becoming something he wasn’t meant to be.
Phillip felt the taste of wet and salt on his tongue, forcing him to blink and rub his eyes. He pulled his hand away, to find tears coating the armour. Sighing, Phillip rubbed his eyes, before stomping on ahead further into the marshlands. His headache was getting worse while he put the mantle back on.
… Wait, when did he have a headache?
Phillip was so focused on his thoughts, he hadn’t noticed something coming on his path – not until it slammed straight into him!
“Argh!”
“Oof!”
Two thuds slammed to the cold, wet ground, both parties on their backs. Phillip groaned as the headache got worse, shifting his body to yell at the perpetrator –
And finding an oddly familiar being also collapsed on his behind.
He wore dark browns for a vest and slacks – similar to the beast in his dream, right down to the fixes on the pants sleeves. The man sat up, revealing a light skin tone that had Phillip’s mind trying to double take. The man was also rubbing his head – messy dark hair coating his face as he brushed it off. His eyes…
They were a deep, mesmerizing hazel, something that Phillip couldn’t help but stare at.
“Ah! So sorry, my friend!” The man said, holding up his hands in surrender. “Didn’t mean to crash into you at the end! I was in such a rush, I didn’t get a chance to see you – oh gosh!” The man waved his hands around – not a single claw in sight on them, yet the form of the man was giving Phillip horrible déjà vu. “Are you alright? Would you like things to be light?”
“Erm, I…” Phillip didn’t know what to say – the man was talking a mile a minute, and it was getting harder to focus on the man in front of him. Then, the hide wearing lad came up to Phillip’s face, making the man’s entire face the only thing he could see.
God, was this man so clingy.
“Alright, beast. Off my lap!” Phillip grunted, shoving the man off of him, allowing Phillip the chance to sit up. “Don’t cry like a sap! I just needed to sit up.” Phillip poked the man’s cheek, feeling oddly comfortable despite the odd situation he found himself in. It felt… easy to get along with this man, even though Phillip swore he never met the brown-wearing lad before. Hell, if someone were to ask Phillip if he knew why he poked the man in the cheek, he’d probably take a moment to blink.
The same moment the man took to nuzzle into his hand, which Phillip’s jaw nearly dropped at. Did this man have no shame? Could he not see how weird the scene was to the sane?
Not that Phillip was in his right mind anymore, now that the guilty feeling pooled into the pit of his stomach. There was a corner of his mind that screamed and cried out, and yet Phillip –
“Ah, you must be worse than I thought! It looks like you’re a bit lost!” The man snapped Phillip from the spiral in his mind, forcing him to look up at the headache-inducing man in front of him. “You’ve gone quiet, my dear friend! I was quite sure you wanted me to end –”
“Why would I want you to stop?” Phillip interrupted, surprising himself and the man in front of him. “I’m not entirely sure up top… But I’m fine otherwise.” Phillip wasn’t too sure why it was important to keep the man in front of him chatting, but he felt… glad that it seemed…
It seemed…?
“Ugh… my head…” Phillip groaned, visions of both the beast from his dream and the man in front of him overlapping. He doubled over in pain from the oncoming headache, his entire body feeling like it was being split into two! His body fell into the man’s awaiting arms, making Phillip look toward his agonizingly familiar face.
“Ah! Don’t worry! I got stuff that’ll make that pain go off in a hurry!” The man’s voice surprisingly sounded like he knew what was befalling Phillip was to occur, but Phillip could hardly think as he fell into a pain filled slumber.
The pain made it hard for Phillip to notice the man was constantly speaking in rhyme.
--
Howard couldn’t believe it! Everything today had put in things that fit!
First, Phillip had returned from being Morose’s pawn. Now, he had crashed into Howard onto their shared lawn! The dragon couldn’t help but purr, as the walk to their home was nothing but a blur. The way to the mountain path was long and hard, yet Howard couldn’t stand to leave Phillip in their yard! And it is theirs once again, as he long since promised Phillip then!
To think, the spirits and beasts all told him it would never be, yet Phillip came wandering back in one piece!
… Sadly, it seemed Phillip didn’t remember. Well, to Howard, that wouldn’t be left in embers! Howard cooed as Phillip moaned, a claw of his rubbing his Treasure’s cheek – how bold!
The mountain was wide and arduous, yet Howard could find nothing so tortuous, as the years that Phillip and Howard parted ways. And yet, even as Howard climbed up the mountain to their home, today was a joyous day!
But now, Phillip needed help. And Howard needed to go to their home – and nearly tripped on some kelp!
“Meep!” Howard chirped, holding Phillip close. He looked at the water plant and gave it a look so gross, that it wilted in remorse.
‘What a thing you nearly tried to take, Kingdom of Morose!’
Howard scoffed, looking over the cavern, with all the bright lights hung in nary a pattern. They hung around both him and Phillip in splendor, yet Howard had to wave them away as if they were offenders. Howard brought one to his side, as he took Phillip further inside. The cavern’s walls hummed and shown in accord, with the power Howard had within him in discord. It was obvious that the King Morose, had done something to Phillip without repose. Nevertheless, Howard had thoughts so dark they needed to repress. It wouldn’t do Phillip so well, if he talked about killing Morose for his spells!
Howard had to wait, as he took Phillip to their shared nest to abate. This illness that had taken his friend, well, Howard would make it meet its end! Even if Phillip came back without any memories, Howard would just have make do – and add Phillip in his treasuries! He had remembered that people without, often clung to things that made them unable to doubt. Howard gently, and carefully, placed Phillip into their nest of pillows and blankets, before taking off like a bandit! Towards his collections of herbs and medicines, to start making Phillip’s headache regimen!
“Don’t worry Phil! I’ll make you well!” Howard crowed, “Then you can properly apologize to me, and we can be swell! You would have never been in the King’s thrall, if you had listened to me after all!” Howard was about to crush some herbs into the brew – some chamomile and mint, and some bamboo from a dragon called Jak Wu – before a soft chuckle came out of the ether! Howard frowned as he looked for the geezer, before a tap on his shoulder almost made him sigh in relief…er.
“Ah, Knowhere, where have you been?” Howard asked in distain, his interest not keen. “I had asked for your help!”
“And I told you not to yelp!” The strange, almost ethereal cat chimed, making Howard scowl like he was part of a crime. “Oh, don’t look at me like that! I’m not a juicy little lab rat!” Howard blanched as Knowhere chuckled, before Howard closed his fists and got ready to rumble.
“How dare you think I’d want to eat rats! Hell, I’d never eat any meat like that!” Howard couldn’t help but whine, but if you asked about it later, he would lie on the nine.
“Oh, I know! You prefer fish, you’re not so low!” Knowhere said with his silly smile, “Now, we haven’t chatted in a while! Tell me my friend, what do you plan to spend?”
“What do you mean ‘spend’? I’m not here to lend!” Howard scoffed at the cat, waving him off without moving where he sat. “I’m here to help out my friend!”
“And yet, you still cling to him like he’s forever.” Knowhere stated, his tail brought up a lit cigarette. “He’s not going to stay long with your other treasures!”
“Uh, I’ll find a way,” Howard childishly waved off Knowhere, turning back to his station by swinging around his chair. “I’ll keep Phillip until the end of my days!”
Knowhere sighed, blowing out a cigarette, “You aren’t the first going down that road of regret…”
As soon as the words hit his sharp ears, and Howard turned around – to find Knowhere had once again disappeared. He snorted at that – smoke coming out of his nose as he thought of that stupid cat.
“What does that mangy cat even know? I could have fixed things quite so!” Howard denied, returning to his work with a sigh.
And yet, a part of Howard had wondered why, as he worked on the medicine in a bowl made of the wood bonsai.