Soul Lovers

A thin, green-glowing teenaged boy ran through the foggy woods of the mountain in the dead of the night, breathing heavily as he fled his pursuers. He wore a sleeveless garment with a V-shaped, low cut neck and a pair of shorts. A small orange bag hung from his back. On his feet were a pair of fine leather sandals he'd made himself.

"Hey! Boy! Come back here!" someone yelled. "You sneaky... " The owner of the voice was joined by five other shadowy figures following the green glow.

"Leave me alone!" the boy yelled back.

He skidded to the left, sliding across the grasses down the side of the mountain, and hid himself within a crevice. He clenched his fist and closed his dark brown eyes tightly and the green glow disappeared from his brown skin.

They stopped and stood at the edge of the mountain, scanning the whole area.

"Where is he?" A lady asked, panting slightly.

They heard the unexpected clanking sound of heavy footsteps from behind and turned to see a hairy, middle-aged man with a scar slashing through his left eye, adorned in a glowing suit of armour with that iconic symbol of the nobles on the breastplate come forth out of the fog.

"Lord Jared?" they cried in shock, bowing.

They parted to allow Lord Jared to pass through them. He raised his right hand.

"Sniffia, go get him," he ordered.

A blond, teenaged girl came forward, clothed in a fur vest, skintight trousers, and leather boots. She knelt down on one knee and lowered her head causing the end of the plaited braid that crowned her brow to fall forward over her well-muscled shoulder. "Yes, Lord Jared, the Divine Humane."

Standing up, she raised her chin, sniffing the whole area as the fog flowed in her flared nostrils and out again. She looked down the mountain with her venomous little eyes. "I scent him. He is below us."

Jared smiled. "Bring him here; we need him. Dead or alive."

She nodded, then slowly walked down the mountain, sniffing.

Meanwhile the teenage boy swallowed, shivering within the crevice. "Grandma, what should I do?" he said.

Above, Lord Jared and his underlings watched Sniffia as she slowly slid down the same grasses the boy had only just escaped down.

Suddenly, they heard a deep roar in the distance, thundering continuously. Jared looked at the direction of the loud, deep, cry. His eyes dilated as the tremendous figure lit up the whole place with its majestic light.

"A dragon... How? I thought they were still in hibernation?" he said, backing away from the beast.

"Incoming!" someone shouted.

Suddenly, a ball of fire flew at them from the dragon's mouth. It burst onto the ground where they stood, disrupting Sniffia. She slipped, almost falling off the grassy cliff. Sniffia caught herself on a small crack caused by the impact of the ball of fire.

"Ughhh!" she grunted, looking up at the vast flame separating her from Jared and his underlings, unable to see them through the growing inferno. The fire reflected in her similarly orange eyes, catching the warm brown stripes and setting the green streaks aglow. Her upturned eyes immediately went round in alarm. "Lord Jared!" she cried.

Jared tried to rush to her aid, but the flames pushed him back. He clenched his teeth, raising his hands towards the flames. A strong wind blasted out from his hands to the flames but to no avail, the flames refused to be quenched. He marveled at the monster, a crazed look in his eyes, while his underlings shot every element they knew of at the dragon.

"Stop. It has no effect. Dragons are immune to our potencies," Jared said as he knelt down in front of the flame, its colors changing each time he shot his air into it. He could fly over it, but the shock that a dragon was right above him overwhelmed his desire to do anything but to anxiously call out to her, staring at the vast fire's changing shades. "Sniffia? Are you still there?"

Below, Sniffia tried to pull her body up. "Yes, my Lord... I... " Her voice was lost in her efforts.

The heat of the flames traveled through the crevice. As the temperature rose, the teenage boy shakily crawled towards the exit, exposing his head and half his upper body.

Without warning, the dragon fired another ball of fire towards Sniffia. She shrieked.

"Sniffia!!" Jared cried, shooting up.

Sniffia gracefully dodged the blast by jumping to the other side, grabbing onto the edge of the cliff. Her fingernails splintered on the hard stone, her mouth pinned shut, holding back her scream. "I'm alright. Lord Jared." she said, her wobbly voice betraying her words.

Jared gazed intently at the sky, watching the dragon soar around them. "Why now? Why is the dragon awake?" he wondered aloud.

His underlings came to him, still shooting all kinds of elements from their hands at the dragon.

"Lord Jared! We need to leave here," one cried.

Jared clenched his fist. "Sniffia are you still there?"

"Yes. Lord Jared!" she groaned,

"Don't worry, we are coming for you..." Jared said, reassuringly. Suddenly, the dragon landed right in front of him with a force that quenched the vast colorful flames, pushing Jared and his men away. "Uagghhhh!!!" Jared shouted in pain as he landed on the tip of the dragon's tail. It pierced his iconic breastplate and into his chest. "It's tail! How long is it?" he gasped.

Sniffia clumsily climbed up, raising her head above the cliff she noticed Jared, helplessly skewered on the dragon's tail, hiccupping blood and bleeding uncontrollably from his right chest. Her face contorted in rage. She pulled a dagger from its sheath in her left boot and charged towards the dragon.

"You will pay for this... you insolent creature!" the pitch in her voice rising as she charged.

The dragon turned its head towards her, pulling its tail from Jared. He fell, limp, to the ground. The dragon swung his tail, slamming the side of it into her stomach. The force of the blow sent her flying off the cliff. The boy, still concealed by the crevice, looked up. He saw a female form rolling lifelessly down the side of the mountain. She cracked her head on a rock, reducing the speed of her fall. When she was within his reach, the boy braced himself against the rock and grabbed her hand tightly, struggling not to let go.

"Ugh!!" the teenage boy grunted, her weight slowly pulling him down with her. He slid forward, catching himself on a rock just outside the crevice. He felt like he was being pulled in two.

"Wake up... girl!" he yelled.

Sniffia was unconscious, bleeding from her head.

"You gat to wake up! ... I can't hold on much longer... " He let out a strained grunt as his sweaty fingers slowly slipped, one after the other.

Meanwhile, on the mountain, Jared's men went to him, panicking. Not sure which was more terrifying, the prospect of Lord Jared's demise or the dragon in front of them.

"Lord Jared... Are you... " the woman asked.

"Don't worry about me... where is Sniffia?" he panted as he lay on the ground, still hemorrhaging from his chest. He slowly staggered to his feet, facing the dragon, breath coming hard, blood dripping from his armor into the blackened grass. He placed his hand against his wounded chest as his underlings gathered behind him.

"Lord Jared... We need to leave here."

"No. I won't leave without her."

"But Sir... "

The dragon stamped its feet on the ground creating a shock wave. The force pushed them backwards as it exhaled smoke, enveloping them.

"You know, Jared Airbrock, so called Divine Humane, they are right. Leave here before I destroy every bit of your soul," the dragon warned in a deep tone, arching its long neck as it glared down at Jared and his underlings as though they were nothing more than ants.

Their eyes widened and they shrank back under the unwavering stare of the dragon's blue blazing eyes.

"Wait. It can talk?" someone asked behind Jared.

Jared looked at the ground with an implacable expression. He never thought he would come face to face with an ancient creature. Why he was being targeted by it, he couldn't even guess. But he would not let it conquer him! As it had said, he was Jared Airbrock, the Divine Humane. He raised his head, mutinous eyes staring into those of the monstrous beast.

"You know my name. Tell me, dragon, why are you here?" Jared asked, holding his injured chest.

The dragon lifted his head to the sky, above the smoke he created.

"That, I can't say, Airbrock. Now leave before-"

"Before what?" Jared interrupted.

The dragon rolled its eyes down to him, then extended his neck towards the armoured man, until he was face to face with Jared. How insignificantly tiny the defiant Jared seemed in front of the dragon's humongous face!

"Don't test your doom." the dragon said in an orotund tone.

Jared could see his bloodied and battered body reflected in the dragon's pupils. My doom? he thought.

"Be gone!" The dragon said. Opening its mouth wide, a single, strong breath from its massive maw lifted them from the mountain, sending them flying amongst uprooted trees, blown away by the same dragon wind.

"Ahhhhh!!" Jared and his men shouted as they flew away from the mountain. Realizing what was happening, Jared immediately twisted his body, gestured his hands backwards, and produced an air current from his hands that pushed himself forward, towards the dragon.

"I won't go down without a fight!" Jared shouted.

"I know," the dragon said. It bent its head back like a viper about to strike and loosed a giant fireball at Jared.

Jared pushed the air around him, dodging the fireball which then exploded in midair. In a single swipe of his arms he repelled the remnants.

"If our potency can't defeat you our strength can!" Jared exclaimed as he clenched his fist, pushing the air around him towards his right arm. With a great force, his arm went straight into the dragon's forehead with an impact that pulled the remaining half-destroyed trees around them from their root.

On the edge of the crevice, the teenaged boy was still gripping hard on the rock, sweating profusely, he looked up, vision obscured by fog and smoke that seemed to glow in flashing oranges, reds, greys, and blues.

"What was that?!" He looked down at the girl, still dangling, unconscious, from his hand, "What have I gotten myself into?!"

-

"Potency. So that's what you people called it now," the dragon said.

Jared stood on the dragon's forehead, horror struck. That was my strongest move, how is it still standing? Jared thought.

"Airbrock. So-called Divine Humane. You are on the wrong side of the story."

Jared hit the dragon's forehead again the same move, over and over and over and over again. He stopped, inhaling and exhaling heavily. Unfortunately, it made no impact on the dragon. He truly might as well be an ant.

The dragon shook its head. "You are nothing but a fraction," the dragon said.

Jared jumped away from the dragon as quickly as possible. "A fraction??...." Jared clenched both of his fists tightly, the air around him surrounded both hands, enhancing his fists. The blood from his wound mixed with the whirl of air around him and his fist. "If I go down, you're going down with me!" he sputtered.

"Hmmm. You may wish it to be so." the dragon taunted.

Jared shouted, causing a miniature hurricane on the mountain as he floated in the sky.

Hmm. He is actually breaking his limits. the dragon thought.

"You! Dragon, I am going to destroy you for what you have done to my people, especially Sniffia!" Jared yelled, charging towards the dragon with his arms over his head, set to strike the dragon's forehead.

The dragon suddenly vanished in front of him.

Jared blinked as he fell to the ground. Where did he go? he thought.

The dragon appeared behind him.

Jared landed hard, arms first, on the ground. The earth shook violently at his landing.

The teenage boy lost his grip on the trembling rock. He was falling, falling, his grip on the girl now a death grip as they descended through the thick fog.

They splashed into a lagoon.

Immediately, Sniffia sunk as the teenage boy lifted his head out from the lagoon. Looking up to the mountain, rain, lightening and thunder filled the skies above him.

"Comfirm!!!" He commented at the incredible sight above, then he shook his head looked around, "Where is she?!" He dipped his head under the water, narrowing his eyes to try to see through the darkness. He squeezed his body tightly, the green glow returned to his skin. He could see her blood floating upward in the pale green light. He widened his eyes and swam downward, reaching for Sniffia. He grabbed her hand and swam towards the ocean shore. Placing her gently on the sand, he brushed her blonde hair from her face with his fingers. There was the wound on her head from where he'd seen the rock hit, he also spotted a scratch on her belly.

He shook his head. "Not good." He dropped his small orange bag on the sand, looking at the mountain. "I can't believe my eyes. A dragon?!"

On the half destroyed mountain, Jared was kneeling down with both arms on the ground as steam rose from inside the crater he'd created by the impact of his blow, the blow meant for the dragon's skull, breathing heavily under the drizzling rain.

That was... I reduced the impact of my hit before I reached the ground... Sniffia, I hope you are alright! He thought. He tilted his head, looking up at the dragon. He stood up, suddenly, he staggered, holding his chest, blood flowed from his eyes, nose and mouth.

"Why now, why are you attacking us?" Jared squeaked, what strength he'd been able to muster now flowing freely from him.

"You know why." the dragon answered.

Jared's eyes widened. "You mean the boy?" he said. "But he's inhumane!"

"Hmmm. Remember white is not always light and black is not always dark." the dragon quoted the old wisdom.

Jared took a step, then fainted.

"Hmmmm..." the dragon wondered. He spread his wings and flew to where Sniffia and the boy were.

"Peirce Wande," the dragon roared as he stepped onto the water.

The glowing boy looked at him and swallowed. "Yeeeesss?" he whispered.

The dragon walked on the water towards him like it was a thin ice. "How are you doing?" the dragon asked.

"I'm... I'm doing okay... I guess." He looked at Sniffia, the dragon noticed his sadness.

"The flower you took from them can save her," the dragon said.

Pierce's eyes widened, blinked, then looked from the girl to the dragon, but, to his surprise, the dragon was nowhere to be found! He looked around in wonder while scratching his head, then stared at the small orange bag beside his feet.

The glow of the sun peaked out from above the horizon as it began its climb over the craggy heights of the smoldering mountain. On the shore of the lagoon, behind a huge rock, Sniffia unconsciously pulled a thick piece of cloth tighter around her body. Her head, bandaged with a yellow cloth, rested on the soft, decaying trunk of a long ago fallen tree.

Peirce squatted, naked from the waist up, preparing the purplish-red flowers inside his little steel pot. The floral stew gave off a scent of medicine and flowers as he stirred it with a stick over the fire. He grabbed his now empty orange bag and gently fanned the flames with it, causing sparks to shoot up from the dry sticks.

"I should have asked the dragon to take us home," he mumbled. Peirce looked to the sky, smiling. "That would be fun." He raised the stick up in the air. "Then people will know me as Peirce... The Mudlark! No... that is..." He scratched his head.

He'd been given the nickname of "Mudlark" by the other children in his village because of the weird way he nurtured the plants and swine that made their home in the muddy areas outside the village. He'd been hearing it so long, he'd come to think of it as part of his name. But it wasn't. The dragon had called him Pierce Wande. That was his true name, wasn't it?

Sniffia sneezed.

Peirce startled slightly, turning to her. He left the stick inside the tiny steel pot and walked over to her, carefully, gingerly. He didn't want to startle her - she was one of those hunting him, afterall. Judging by the way she'd been dressed, she was probably trained to stab first and ask questions never.

"She's waking up... Hmmm what should I do?" he muttered, pacing. He glanced around the barren shore, the lagoon's small waves lapping calmly on the sand. "Where should I hide?" He stopped, looking at the injured woman, not really a woman, she couldn't be much older than him despite her fierce appearance. "No I saved her life. Sooo... she will never kill me, her savior... I hope?" Peirce said to himself while walking around, so distracted he almost poured out his little flower concoction.

Sniffia slowly opened her eyes. Peirce froze in front of her.

She stared at Peirce awkwardly waving at her with the most disgusting grin she'd ever seen. Sniffia narrowed her eyes, scanned her surroundings, then looked at the thick cloth covering her body. She lifted the thick cloth up, noticed she wasn't wearing anything, and looked to her side. Her clothes were neatly spread on the trunks next to Peirce's sleeveless.

Peirce put his hands up in a gesture to show he meant no harm. "It is not what you think! I can explain..." he stammered.

Sniffia glared at him.

"No. Don't worry, I closed my eyes before doing all that... and umm... if I didn't do it the wet clothes would cause your temperature to rise... No... To fall? Anyway. Please don't kill me! I saved your life."

Sniffia's scorching glare turned to the half-destroyed mountain, Peirce followed her line of sight.

"Um, I don't think anyone is alive up there," he said. "Judging from the mountain, I, um... I think the dragon did them in. I don't think any of your kind could have survived that. You barely did."

Lord Jared? Sniffia thought, tears welled up in her eyes, one finding its way free to trickle down her left cheek.

Peirce looked at her with pity. "I'm so sorry," he said, consolingly. "They were probably friends of yours."

He glanced at the tiny steel pot, "Chai! It's foaming!" he cried. He yanked the steel pot out from the flames, immediately placing it on the sand. "Ouch! My hand! Ouch!" He swung his hands in the air. "So hot!!"

Pierce tripped on his bag and fell down on the burning sticks. A few moments later he sniffed as smoke came out underneath him. He looked down, seeing the ashy black trail of smoke coming from his buttocks. "My favourite underwear!" he shouted.

He dashed to the lagoon and shoving his flaming rear into the water. He sighed with relief, waggling his hips in the cool water. Suddenly, he jumped up as two fishes swam into his pockets. He rushed from the water.

Sniffia stared at him in wonder. What was going on?

Peirce came up to her, smiling sheepishly. He pulled out the two fishes from his pockets and put them on the sand. "Guess our breakfast is ready," he said.

Sniffia raised her right eye brow. Peirce turned, bending down to pick up the stirring stick. She could see the blackened hole in his pants and realized what had happened. She pulled the thick clothing tightly to herself and buried her head under so he wouldn't see her laughing.

Peirce turned, looked at her, and said, "It's fine now. Sorry for the confusion."

Several minutes later, Pierce sat on the sand with the now-smoked fish skewered on the stick. He took a bite, then looked at Sniffia. "Aren't you eating?" he asked, staring at her for some seconds as she made no move to eat her fish. He sighed, watching as some crabs made their way through the sand towards the lagoon.

"I don't understand. Why are we sworn enemies? You know, the world we live in is not always hard but the way we live in it makes it hard. Or we make life uneasy. I don't really know how my grandma said it, but it was something like that." He looked at the scorched mountain. "Guess successfully taking the flowers and saving you was my only luck."

"Your luck?" Sniffia whispered.

Peirce stared at her, surprised. "You talk?"

She immediately looked away.

Peirce smiled. He dropped down beside her, crouching as he drew in the sand with his cooking stick. "Let's just say I was born unlucky. Everything I did was... I'm like a bomb."

"Do you have any family or friends?" Sniffia asked.

He shook his head. "Not really. Pretty much everyone I've ever met hates me." He gazed off into the distance, pointing his stick toward a place Sniffia couldn't see. "I live with my grandma in a village very far from here. My mom and dad are both dead."

"Did your grandma hate you?"

"My grandma? Never! She is the only one I talk to."

"Then why do you leave your village to steal from us?"

"Hmmm... Can we say took from you? That's sounds a little bit proper. I took it to show all of them that I can do something good, since I'm the only one that is willing to explore far from the village. With these flowers I collected," he looked at the pot, "which I just cooked to heal your wound, I think my luck is up."

She sat herself on the trunk slowly, raising her hand to check her injured fingers. However, she found it was neatly wrapped in pieces of white cloth. "No, I don't need that."

"Yes, you do need it. If you don't drink the medicine you'll die."

"I'm Humane; I will survive," she said, jerkily standing while making sure to hold the thick cloth around her body. The world tilted around her as she tried to find her footing.

Peirce stood up as well. "No. You feel dizzy. Your wounds aren't fully healed."

Immediately, Sniffia staggered, held her stomach and vomited blood. Peirce rushed to help her but she raised her hand to stop him.

"Stay where you are. Or I will kill you," she warned.

"Kill me? The only person you'll kill is yourself if you don't allow me to heal you. Please?"

Sniffia wiped the blood from her mouth with her arms as she stared at Peirce with her venomous orange eyes. She turned and lurched back to her seat, looked at his face again and nodded. Peirce nodded back and took the pot, holding it to her lips. She inhaled deeply.

"Wait," she whispered.

"What?" he asked.

"How do you know about the flower you just prepared? You're not from us. You are Inhumane."

Peirce ignored her question. "Just drink." He poured it all in her mouth, watching as she swallowed it. "There you go."

She coughed. Peirce patted her back as she leaned over.

"I stole the book about the flowers from my grandma," he confessed.

Sniffia wiped her mouth. "And you said you are unlucky,"

"Hmmmm." Peirce turned, dropped the pot on the sand, picked up his stick and sat on the sand next to the fire, drawing. "Now that the flower is in your system, your pain should go away, and...."

As he was talking, Sniffia slowly stood up, gently dropped the thick cloth to the sand and picked up her dagger which Pierce had carelessly left beside her clothes.

"Then your wounds will slowly heal one after the other, which will cause... "

Suddenly Sniffia dashed to him swinging her dagger, Peirce turned and jolted upright, dodging it.

Her eyes widened. "How did he?... " She leapt on him, both tumbling to the sand. She landed on top of Peirce. He grabbed her hands just in time to keep her from stabbing the knife through his eye. He held them tightly as they stared into each other's eyes, her blonde hair lightly brushing against his face.

"Ugh... Then your body will... ugh... shutdown." Immediately, as Peirce said that, Sniffia's eyes widened, her body felt numb, her grip on the dagger lightened.

Peirce slowly collected the dagger from her as her head dropped, falling asleep on Peirce's body. He blinked. "Well... this is a perverse position. I should have tied her blanket to her with ropes."