Not a Bird

It seems the man Maxen lives not too far off from here, which is probably a good thing. After making sure these interlopers don’t need me for anything else; which, of course, they did. It seems the Hunter is now a faux Alpha of his mate’s pack, so he has to deal with that on top of his Hunter duties, and of course, the other two are off to speak with the Spirits. With them gone, I finally can relocate Maxen.

His home seems to be connected to many homes. I’ve seen nothing like this before in my life! To live so tightly together in one building cannot be healthy for these humans, can it? Then again, their ingenuity has always been quite good for mortals.

Before I descend, I realise something. The first thing that comes to mind is that I need to encourage this man to battle me. If Hafgan’s soul attaches, it will be easier to convince him, but there is the risk that it will attach too tightly to the mortal which could cause permanent damage to Maxen’s mind.

I have to get him to accept the battle before this happens if I want to avoid that. It sounds foolish, but Hafgan has always been the type to not allow defeat so easily. He should avoid possession if he knows the human has already lost to me. After all, I doubt Maxen is a knight.

However, I don’t think Maxen is going to be easy to convince. With that in mind, I decided to take the chance and hover closer to the building.

It takes great skill to balance myself in position to land on the ledge that he has, but he has made it easier being on the top floor. As soon as I land, I take on a real human form, just so that I do not cause the building to crumble under my weight.

Before I can even open my mouth to yell out a challenge, the door slides open and Maxen hisses, “not you birds again! There’s no food here!”

Did he mistake me for a bird? Well, I guess I can see why given how high up we are. I shrug it off quickly though and take this moment to barge in, not giving him even a second to realise what has just happened to him.

“H-hay!” Maxen blurts out as soon as I make my way into his home, uninvited. “How did you get up here!? And why are you still bothering me!?”

“I’ve no intention of leaving you alone, Sir Maxen,” I say, using some amount of respect for the man. I’d have used his last name as is proper, but seeing as he introduced himself with only his first name, it seems I have permission to use it. “The task is still the same, and I promised you once I will not leave you alone until you accept.”

Maxen looks furiously at me. His forehead is wrinkling with the frown he makes, and his arms folded across his chest. Meanwhile, his foot taps on the ground impatiently.

I stare at him blankly. I’m not sure what he expected. Dragons never back away from a duel once it has been issued. Regardless of whether they declare one or not.

“I’ll call the cops,” he threatens me. Or I assume it is. I do not know what the ‘cops’ are, but I can assume it has to be some kind of knight-brigade or something.

It doesn’t matter what they are, however, as none but him can fight with me and expect me to leave without him giving in. Annoyed by his continued refusal to fight me himself, I march closer to Maxen. He panics and withdraws away from me, causing him to back up against a wall. I can tell he is worried I’ll hurt him, but I have no intentions of harming him outside of our battle.

Even so, I slam my hands on the wall on either side of his head, and lower my voice, “battle me.”

“N-No!” Maxen still protests and puts his hands on my chest. His feeble attempts to push me away yield no results, of course. I’m far too strong for him, no matter what form I take. After only a moment of struggling, he stops trying to push me. Yet for some reason, his hands do not leave my chest.

I quirk up a brow curiously. What is he doing?

Maxen lets out a soft gasp, his eyes softening as he mumbles, “you… you’re so warm.” His fingers almost dance over the small area, causing me to shiver a little. His fingers are cool to the touch, and it doesn’t feel unpleasant when he does that.

“Naturally,” I reply, tilting my head curiously at the man. He knows I am a fire-dragon, right? And his bloodline is that of an ice-dragon, so that is why he feels cold to me. Though what surprises me is that I do not feel repulsed at all. Our bloodlines have always been mortal enemies.

Slowly, I draw closer to Maxen, causing his hands to push firmer on my chest. I pay it no mind, however, and lean in closer to his head.

“W-what… what are you…” Maxen flounders, his face suddenly flushing hotly. I’m not sure why he is getting all hot and bothered but he has probably never felt the touch of a dragon before now.

As I lean my lips next to his ear, I whisper, “fight me. I desire a duel and I won’t back down, Sir Maxen.” I probably have pushed my luck, as I can hear the man sigh out in frustration.

“You fucking bastard,” he hisses under his breath and moves his hands onto my arms. What language this human uses! I am not fatherless! He doesn’t push me away, however, which I find odd. “How about you sod off!” He then adds, and as soon as he finishes, his knee finds my family jewels, causing me to wince and kneel over.

Dragon or no dragon, that still hurts!

As I am holding back the pain and anger of his sneak attack, Maxen escapes from my clutches and hisses in anger, “get out!” He points at the balcony door, demanding I’m gone from his presence. Just what did I do that was so bad, he felt justified in going after my bits!?

I realise that no matter what kind of reason I give him; now is not the time to convince him to battle me. If he is this upset with something I did or said, then I will back off for today. There’s no reason to make an enemy out of him before I complete my mission. After that, it won’t matter and I can collect Hafgan’s soul when it arrives.

“Very well,” I say, still feeling the pain but trying to prove my strength as a dragon-God. “I’ll leave, for now, since I seem to have upset you.”

“Get. The. Fuck. Out!” Maxen raises his voice at me, still pointing at the exit.

I’ve never seen a human so full of rage before. He is a marvel to behold, but I respect his wishes and head to the balcony. With one last glance behind me, the sliding door slams shut and curtains are drawn so I can no longer see inside.

I still can’t figure out what I did to cause such an outrage, though. Is fighting me really that insulting? Did he wish I was my father instead? Is that it? Or maybe I just did this wrong? This is the first time out in the human world after a very long time, and everything has changed drastically since then.

I’ll think of some way to apologise to him in the morning.