Dragon of the East - Arc 2, Chapter 16

  • Dar-Meena

    ~ ~ ~

    The dragon was about to burn Chase alive. I’d thought I was too late. But I shot an arrow at it anyway, just hoping I could distract it.

    Then Chase sprang up and stormed the dragon. I held my breath and watched him run right into its fire. I thought he was dead. Who could survive that? Then the dragon’s breath stopped. Everything stopped. The dragon stood with its mouth open, eyes widening in surprise. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

    Chase had rammed his sword up through the dragon’s open mouth!

    The giant lizard slumped dead to the ground!

    He… did it…! He actually did it! He killed a dragon!

    The man left his sword lodged in the dragon’s palate and staggered back with a wobble in his step. All of a sudden flames broke out over the beast’s body. It started burning up on its own. I heard a rush like wind and saw bands of bright light fly toward Chase. They became a glowing aura around him and slowly disappeared, while the dragon’s body melted away till only its skeleton was left.

    The shock wore off and I snapped back to my senses.

    “What… just happened?” I whispered.

    Chase stood still for a moment. His legs buckled. He collapsed on the ground.

    “Oh, son of a bitch!” I slid down the rocks and ran to him.

    Chase was unconscious, his breathing shallow. I skidded to a halt and knelt down by him. A nasty cut on his leg had been tied up with a piece of cloth. There were dark burns streaked across his armor. Most of his body had been covered against the dragon’s fire, but not all of it. One of his legs, his hands, and his face were marked. The burns weren’t as bad as mine… but you could still see them. They made patches of his scales look dried-up and leathery.

    His injuries looked bad, but not that bad. Why did he collapse? I pulled off his knapsack and carefully unbuckled his cuirass to try and figure out what was wrong. Beneath his undershirt I saw dark lines across his scar riddled chest. They looked like bruises. They were getting bigger.

    Something was bleeding on the inside.

    Dammit, what do I do!? Chase was in trouble and I didn’t know how to help. I looked around the mining camp, seeing a bunch of wooden shacks still intact. The miners might have kept healing supplies, so I left Chase’s side and hurried to search.

    The first lodge was a bust. I ransacked everything – shelves, chests, bags, whatever.  The closest thing to a potion I could find was a bottle of ale. I grew more nervous with each minute passing by. Chase’s condition had to be getting worse. I didn’t come back for that man just so he could die on me.

    To think I almost didn’t come back for him at all… The moment I saw that dragon…

    Second lodge. Most of it was burned down. Inside was a charred desk with ledgers and records, along with a double bed and some barrels for storage. Again I searched painstakingly. I found bandages, which was a start, but Chase needed more than that. There was something in a basket beneath the bed with a green flask inside. I took the flask. The paper plastered on it read ‘Potion of Enhanced Stamina.’

    It was the best thing I could find. Stamina wouldn’t hurt, would it? I had to least try to get Chase conscious again. Without any healing potions, his own magic was the only thing left that could save him. I returned to the spot where he was lying and stooped down to help him drink from the flask, muttering to myself.

    This had better work…

    There was a twitch in his face muscles. He winced as I rested him back down again.

    “Chase? Chase, can you hear me?”

    He stayed unresponsive. I could tell from his expression he was in terrible pain. I said his name again and saw his eyelids move, but he still didn’t quite come around. So I did the only left I could do. I got mad.

    Hey!! Wake up, dammit! I know you can hear this! You’re badly bleeding! I can’t do anything about it! You have to heal yourself or you’re going to die!”

    Chase groaned and bent his arms, eyes half open, unfocused. He must have heard me because he finally raised a hand over his chest and cast a healing spell. Bright yellow bands wrapped around the site of his wound. He could only hold it for a few seconds, though, before he gave out, eyes closed again. His breathing was steadier.

    “Chase…?”                                                                                                                           

    I almost couldn’t hear him. His voice was weak and interrupted with heavy breaths.

    “…sound…”

    I bent closer. “What?”

    “…your voice... good for waking up…”

    I threw my head back with a loud sigh.

    “Well, I’m happy my voice could save your sorry ass,” I retorted, staring down at him.

    Chase was too tired to speak. I don’t think his wounds were completely healed. Even a dragon slayer has his limits, I guess. He must have lost a lot of blood. I took the bandages I’d found and wrapped up the gash on his leg as best as I could. It would have to do until Chase could cast another spell.

    I came to my feet and walked to the rocks overlooking the land below. The mining camp had quite a scenic view. I could see mountains, the ocean, rivers, volcanic tundra…

    You could always leave him here. Give him a taste of his own medicine, I thought, still upset at Chase for everything. But leaving him would be poor revenge. He’d just go back to wandering and forget about me. I still wanted answers, so that wasn’t happening. Besides… I didn’t really want to leave. After loitering for a while I went back to where Chase laid sleeping and sat on a rock.

    It was pretty cold out. I remembered I kept Chase’s blanket with me. Thought he would appreciate getting it back…

    ~ooooo~

    Chase woke up the next dim morning staring weirdly at nothing. He glanced at the sleeping cot beneath him, then the cover keeping him warm, then tried to prop himself up on his elbows. Chase looked calm but confused.

    “Daedra and divines, finally!” I said, perking up. “Are you done sleeping?”

    He grunted at the pain in his chest and laid back down, casting a healing spell over himself for a while.

    “I think so… For now…”

    I went back to cooking. “Good. Food’s almost ready.”

    Chase noticed the small smokeless fire I fed with twigs. I held a cast iron pan over it, sitting on my rock, wrapped tightly in a blanket. There was the sound of sizzling eggs. He laid back his head, propped up by his horns. Those things have got to make his neck sore when he sleeps on them…

    “I recall yelling at you to get away from here,” he spoke in a hoarse voice, “after the dragon showed up.”

    I frowned. “Uh-huh? Well, whaddya know. I didn’t listen.”

    I began waiting for an excuse to snap at him. Chase stared up into the clear air.

    “Yes… and this one will forever be grateful for it,” he said softly.                

    His words took away my edge. I let Chase off the hook. It was a nice reassurance that going back for him had been the right thing to do. I think I would have regretted leaving a lot more.

    “Let’s just remember the assassins and call it even,” I said.

    “Hmm…” He closed his eyes. “The sun is rising. How many days?”

    “Only one. You kept slipping in and out for most of it.”

    He noticed the dragon’s skeleton next to us.

    “You didn’t move me…”

    “Seemed like a bad idea. You’re lucky it didn’t rain.”

    “Lucky? Rain would have helped me sleep better.”

    “Seriously? Ew… I could never sleep in the rain.”

    Chase craned his neck and gawped at me. “Are you really an Argonian?”           

    I slapped a metal plate down beside him. “Shut up and eat.”

    The camp had some dining ware still lying around. Miners weren’t using any of it, so I helped myself. So nice of them to leave all their stuff for us! It made breakfast seem a little less like wilderness survival and more like culture. I put half of the eggs on his plate. Chase smelled the food and gave his chops a lick.

    “Before you ask, no,” I said, “I don’t know what kind of eggs these are.”

    “I do,” he replied. “Rock Warbler. There’s a certain scent to them when–”

    “I didn’t ask for a lecture.”

    The eggs tasted pretty good, even better salted. I devoured my meal with a vengeance. Chase didn’t touch his food though. He stared at his plate with a faraway look.

    “Why are we doing this?” he asked. “You must have many questions…”

    “Oh, you bet I do,” I came back at him brashly, between bites, “but I don’t want you passing out on me or some shit. Get your strength back first. Then we’ll talk.”

    Chase resigned and took the food. Hungry or not, he probably needed it. He finished eating after me and set his plate aside. I was still growling for more, but I didn’t complain. I was lucky to have even found the eggs that I did. We would’ve eaten better if Chase had been the one scavenging instead of me. I’d used up all the food I had left the day before. He rested his hands on his stomach and flicked his gaze in my direction.

    “Go ahead. Ask what you want,” he said. “I am not leaving this spot anytime soon.”       

    I hunched forward. “You’re actually going to give me answers this time?”

    “I will tell you whatever I can.”

    That was as good as I was going to get. I started with the first and obvious question.

    “Okay, Chase. What are you?” I asked. “No bullshit. You killed a dragon and… I don’t know, light flew into you. What was that?”

    His eyes narrowed. “Those seem like two different questions…”    

    I kicked some dust in his face. He couldn’t shield himself in time and flinched.

    “I said no bullshit.”

    “It was merely a statement!” He spat dirt out of his mouth. After taking moment to think Chase spoke again, his stare fixed on the sky. “Dar-Meena… You heard the shout from a few days ago, yes? The one calling ‘Dovahkiin?’”

    “Sure I did. What about it?”

    “Do you know why it happened?”

    “Don’t make me kick you this time.”            

    He paused. “The shout came from a group of holy men here in Skyrim. The Greybeards. They were summoning a Dragonborn to their monastery.” Chase turned to me with a somber expression. “They were summoning me.”

    I quit glaring and sat up slowly.

    “Dragonborn?” My voice was quiet. “You’re… Dragonborn? You mean like Martin Septim or old Tiber?”

    “In a manner of speaking,” he said. “I do not think I possess any royal blood. The Septim emperors were Dragonborn by incidence.”

    “Then what does it mean to be Dragonborn?”

    “I am still discovering that for myself.” Chase shot upright, despite the twinge that made him clutch his chest. “Wait, you’ve reminded me! I have to try something…!”

    “Huh?”               

    I watched him close his eyes and breathe in through his nostrils. He looked relaxed.

    “Laas!” he spoke. When his eyes opened they were glowing with a bright red haze and quickly broadened. “By the Hist!” He darted his head every which way. I almost jumped to my feet.

    “What in Oblivion…!? Chase, what are you doing!?”

    “I can sense… all auras of life around me! Every size and form imaginable! This is incredible!” His astonishment became brooding. “Xhuth… Small wonder it was able to see me…”

    “What was able to see you?” I asked, caught up in his amazement.

    The glow in Chase’s eyes faded away. I guess his vision returned to normal. He settled down.

    “It does not matter now,” he said, dismissing my question. “What matters is this – what you just saw. My Thu’um.”

    “Your… thum?”        

    “No, he pronounced it Thu’um. The Jarl of Whiterun, I mean.”

    “Chase, you’ve completely lost me.”

    He let air out of his nostrils and laid back down, casting another healing spell on his chest. Chase explained to me what a Thu’um was and how the dragons could invoke it. I pieced together the important bits of what he said.

    “So the dragons… Shout… and because you’re Dragonborn… you can too?”

    “Put simply, yes,” he said. “By killing them, I can take their power and use it for myself. That is what you saw the day before.” Chase turned to the dragon’s skeleton. “I stole this one’s power.”

    “You aren’t kidding, huh?” I whispered. “And the Greybeards… They summoned you? What for?”

    “The Greybeards are masters of Shouting. They summoned me to their monastery for training. It is apparently an ancient tradition.”

    I know I said I wanted answers, but these were definitely not the kind of answers I was expecting. It all sounded like something out of a fable, a damn hero’s tale. I was rapt in the conversation, holding my tail in my lap with both hands.

    “Is this why you kept trying so hard to get rid of me?” I asked. “Because you’re Dragonborn?”

    “No… There are other reasons for that,” he said, glancing away. “Truthfully told, before I met you I meant to ignore the Greybeard’s summons.”

    “What? Why?”

    “I did not want to believe it,” he sighed in shame. “I denied that I was Dragonborn. I wanted nothing to do with the Greybeards, or the dragons, or even Skyrim. But all that has passed. I see now I cannot run from this. I have been bent against my will by the world enough times to know…”

    “You make it sound like you’re a slave,” I said.       

    “If I am a slave to anything, it is fate,” he replied.

    What was with his outlook?  It seemed completely different than when I first met him.

    “Okay, you’re Dragonborn,” I said. “So what? No one’s forcing you to do anything about it.”

    He scowled at me. “An easy thing to say in your position. Hear this: Nord legends speak of the Dragonborn as ancient dragon slayers. My arrival in Skyrim happened to coincide with that of these dragons, and only by killing one did I discover that I am Dragonborn.” He laid his head back shut his eyes tight. “My fate is somehow tied to the dragons returning. I find myself wondering if providence has brought me north, rather than my own intentions.”

    I was confused. “Wait, didn’t you just kill this dragon? I thought you knew you were Dragonborn before that…”

    “I discovered it after killing my first dragon,” he hissed. “This was my second. The other had been sieging the city of Whiterun.”

    My mouth gaped open. Chase continued.

    “How many people can claim to have slain two dragons in this era? I can wield their magic against them and possess a killer’s instincts. Who is better suited to fight them than I?”

    “You’re not saying what I think you’re saying…”

    “Dragons are returning, Dar-Meena. If I have the power to stop them,” he said, “then I am obliged to do so. I will fight them for Skyrim’s peace.”

    “You’re insane!” I exclaimed. “You can’t put that kind of burden on yourself!”

    “Protecting an entire province? Yes, that burden is heavy… but also familiar. I carried it once in another life.”

    “So…?” 

    “So I will carry it again, in a different way, against a different foe.”

    What are you supposed to say to something like that? ‘Good luck killing all the dragons!’ ‘Try not to get burned alive!’ He was dead-set on suicide. Chase was embracing his own self-imposed destiny as some dragon slayer of fate!

    But he was Dragonborn. I believed him. How could I not after everything I’d seen?

    My problems seemed small compared to the ones Chase had, but they met on similar lines. Before we met, he didn’t want to shoulder his burden as Dragonborn and tried to run. It didn’t work. I kept searching for a band of thieves to replace the one I lost. I couldn’t. It was time for both of us to try something different.

    New beginnings start with new opportunities. And I realized I suddenly had a very big, very terrifying opportunity.

    “You’re going to go see these Greybeards, then?” I said.

    “Yes. I will.” He cast another spell on himself.

    “Great!” I beamed. “I hope their training is actually good. You’ll need it.”

    Chase stopped spellcasting and looked at me with concern.

    “Dar-Meena,” he spoke slowly, “why do I dislike this tone of yours…?”

    I shrugged innocently. “I don’t know. Maybe you’ll find out by the time we reach the Greybeards.”

    Chase stopped to think then sat up again, carefully.

    We?” he said.

    “Yes,” I said.

    “No!” he snapped. “You are not coming with me!”

    I shook my head. “We’re way past this argument, Chase. I don’t need you storming away and falling off another cliff. You brought me out here, you got me into your world of dragons – you’re stuck with me.”

    Chase groaned and buried his head in his hand.

    “Is there no reasoning with you?” he practically pleaded.           

    “You’re welcome to try,” I snorted, “but I’m not letting this opportunity slip away.”

    He glared at me with wide-eyes. “Opportunity!? For what?”

    “A mutual enterprise,” I said with a sly smile. “You’re a dragon slayer, Chase. That’s about to become a burgeoning line of work here in Skyrim, maybe even a lucrative one. And after what I saw yesterday? I’m pretty sure you’ll be hard for rivalry. But you’re going to need help.”

    Chase held his stare with complete refusal to believe his ears.

    “Dar-Meena, you would turn this into a business proposition?”

    “Blame my mother. She wanted a merchant.”

    “Why should I accept your help?”

    “I told you. You need it.”

    “That has yet to be…”

    Chase stopped himself. He realized what he was about to say. Too late, though. I heard it.

    Excuse me?” I growled. “If I hadn’t come back for you, you would have died! Wouldn’t have made two shits of a difference if you were Dragonborn then, would it?”

    There was a moment of silence. I sighed and leaned in closer.

    “Dammit Chase, you have to be alive to kill dragons. Face it. You can’t do this alone. Or are you going to fight every dragon in Skyrim all by yourself?” I tried to mimic his signature seriousness.

    “You would fight them with me?” Chase retorted. “Why? I would never ask someone to be so courageous on my behalf.”

    I grinned. “I don’t need courage. That’s what you’re for.”

    He gave me a fierce glare. “Then am I a means to your personal gain? Someone to use and discard? I thought you were better than this.”

    “I don’t want to use you, Chase. I want to help you. This is bigger than the both of us. Can’t you see that?”

    “I see it very clearly. What I do not see is why I should accept the help of someone seeking to profit from dragon slaying.”

    Profits would be an added benefit. Whatever I had to gain from this, I knew that the dragons still needed to be stopped. My personal wealth and ambitions wouldn’t amount to anything if all of Tamriel was burned to the ground.

    “Come on… do you think I’m doing this just because I’m selfish?” I said in a saddening voice. “Why can’t I have more than one reason? Maybe I like you. Maybe I don’t want cities getting sacked by dragons.”

    Chase scoffed. “I choose my allies cautiously, Dar-Meena. I need more than words to believe your motives.”

    “I have a mother and sister back in Cyrodiil! What if the dragons decide to go south? I may look out for myself more than others, but I’m not heartless! Don’t try to put me in a box. People aren’t single minded.”

    “People also hold some priorities over others. The question is, what will you prioritize when the moment is dire?”

    I frowned at Chase. He was acting like all the rest – thinking the worst of me even as I extended my hand. Did he expect me to conform to his code of honor? Or was I just not ‘good’ enough for him?

    What were those great things you said you saw in me? Lie through your teeth all you want to, Chase. I can tell what you really think of me.

    “I’ll keep saying it: I want to help you,” I said. “Won’t you let me?”

    Chase looked away at the dragon’s skeleton.

    “You do not know who I am… or the people who want me dead,” he replied quietly. “You are endangering yourself more than you could imagine.”

    “It’s not like we have to make this long term,” I said. “Once we’re done dealing with dragons, we’ll go our separate ways. Does that satisfy you?”

    Chase’s face crumpled. “You make dealing with dragons sound casual…”

    “Well?”

    He took his sweet time before speaking again. The wind blew dust through the dragon’s bones. Chase took in a breath.

    “My wounds will need a few days to heal,” he said. “Allow me the chance to think over your offer. This is not a pact I want to make lightly.”

    “Do you mean that? You won’t use this time to try and ditch me?”

    Chase grimaced, but sighed in resignation. “You have my word.”

    I couldn’t possibly know what that word was worth, but if it made him feel better…

    “Fine by me,” I said. “We’ll do it your way.”

    Chase was content with our compromise. He rested his heavy eyelids and breathed out. “I will regret asking this, but… was there anything else you wanted to ask me?”

    “Sure. How in Oblivion did you survive the dragon’s fire?”                                                

    He forced his eyes open again and pondered my question for himself.

    “I was not in the fire for long,” he said. “Though the pain was excruciating...”

    “I wasn’t in it for long either when I… you know.” I rubbed my shoulder. “Your burns don’t look half as bad as mine.”

    “Hmm… A flame is weakest at the base…”

    “Huh?”

    “Dodging fire only gets you burned, Dar-Meena. I jumped into the source, the dragon’s mouth. That meant lesser wounds.”

    I tilted my head. “You really think that’s it?”

    “I have no better explanation,” he said.

    “If you say so,” I sighed. “There’s something else I wanted to ask you…”

    Chase let out a groan and lied over on his side. He’d had his fill. Too bad he didn't realize napping would only give him temporary escape.

    I started thinking up more questions to torture him with.

    ~ooooo~

    Two days passed. I remember coming back to the mining camp one evening with a handful of food – more eggs, some mushrooms, a few leaf greens, and even a squirrel. Chase’s foraging advice had been pure gold. I felt proud of myself for catching on so quickly. As I scaled down the rocks to where Chase’s bed laid, I saw it was empty. He was back on his feet, standing on a rock overlooking the mountain vista.

    Chase turned to me with a calm and happy expression, tail swaying slowly. He somehow looked less lanky with his armor off. More lean and fit. The sun made his scales a stunning shade of orange-red. He stepped down from his rock and walked over to me, frowning at the sight of my food.

    “Those aren’t frost mirriam leaves,” he said.

    “What?” I startled. “What do you mean they aren’t? You said green, fan-shaped leaves!”

    “These are serrated and alternate along the stem. Pairs of frost mirriam leaves grow opposite to one another.”

    That matters!? Oh for gods’ sake…

    “Didn’t think to tell me that?” I grumbled as I set my collection of plants on a rock, untying the squirrel from my belt squeamishly. Chase smiled and started acting sympathetic. I knew he would. He was predictable like that.

    “There’s no need to be upset. The rest you have is good.” He took another look and reconsidered. “Though that squirrel looks botched… You used your paralyzing poison?”

    “I meant to catch something bigger,” I protested. “I forgot about it, okay?”

    He placed his hands on his hip. “A body so small will not dilute the poison much… Cooking the meat should help, but eating it might still bring unpleasant side effects. Better safe than sorry.”

    “Sure! Fine! It’s not like I had to make an impossible shot to drop this thing,” I snapped, tossing the squirrel over the cliff by its tail. I glared back at Chase. “Anything else you want to throw away?”

    He held up his hands with a meek grin. “This was only your third time, Dar-Meena. You did well considering that.”

    I took the compliment and sat down while Chase started a fire. The past couple of days had been mostly awful – frustrating hunts for food and hours spent sitting around doing nothing. Chase the cripple was my only source of entertainment. We killed time with conversations, the majority of which I had to start. There were still plenty things I couldn’t get him to talk about. Anything that hinted at his identity was a discussion stopper.

    I had to admit to myself that I liked talking with him, though. He was always relaxed and attentive, never short of surprising things to say.

    Once our food was ready we ate quickly. Chase gathered his belongings afterwards and donned his armor. There were still scorch marks on the leather and one of his pant legs was missing. Couldn’t decide if it made him look scary or silly.

    I stood up and folded my arms. Chase was about to give me his decision.

    “So what’ll it be? Are we working together?”

    His lighthearted mood had gone away. He threw his knapsack over and bent down to grab his sword.

    “There is no talking you out of this, is there?” he lamented.

    I gave him a hard look, still waiting for my answer. Chase lingered.

    “I will accept your help,” he said. His voice harshened, along with his body language. “But. I have two strict conditions.”

    “Fine. Shoot.”

    He held up a first claw. “You will not speak of me to anyone in passing or conversation unless I am present with you.” He held up a second claw. “And you will follow my exact instructions when I tell you there is a threat lurking. We will be under constant danger from the shadows. I cannot have you jeopardizing both our lives carelessly. I need to know I can trust you when it will count the most. Do you understand?”

    I nodded.

    “I understand,” I said without snark or wittiness. He could trust me. I wanted him to know that.

    Chase finished strapping his sword to his waist, easing the tightness in his shoulders.  “Xhu. And when the time comes for us to part ways,” he added, “you will forget everything we’ve done together and speak as though it did not happen.”

    I flicked my eyes up with a huff. “Had to get in the last word, huh?”

    Chase glanced at me. His eyes had that killer look in them. “If my enemies discover our association, they will seek you out. They will extract my whereabouts from you – torture you, if they have to – and they will kill you. I am giving you fair warning.”

    The way he said that made my scales crawl. I knew he was trying one last fear tactic to scare me away, but the hatred in his voice had no hint of exaggeration. He meant every word.

    No backing out now, I thought to myself. I couldn’t imagine anything that would be worse than dragons. We went to a steep hill and climbed our way up, returning to the forest where the assassins had attacked us. My ears twitched at every sound I heard.

    “Where are we going?” I asked, reaching the top of the hill shortly after Chase. “Tell me you know where to find these Greybeards.”

    He stopped and pointed at a tall mountain in the distance, towering over the trees. “Their monastery is at the top of that mountain, the Throat of the World,” he said. “We will be climbing the Seven Thousand Steps to reach it.”

    I froze. “The what?”

    Chase walked, tail swaying with his legs. “You insist on following me. I hope you are fond of hiking. No regrets?”

    Bastard! He purposely waited to tell me that!

    I growled and marched up beside him.

    “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

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Comments

8 Comments   |   Fallout Night likes this.
  • Okan-Zeeus
    Okan-Zeeus   ·  July 9, 2015
    This is all so dumb. English is dumb.
    Thanks for the link though, Tolveor. I'll take a look at it.
    If you don't mind me asking, did you just recently read Chapters 14-16? What did you think of them back to back? I always worry that releasing ...  more
  • Tolveor
    Tolveor   ·  July 9, 2015
    Are you sure its not: "I returned to the spot where he was lying" Just to add to the confusion.
    I'll throw you a link and maybe it clarifies itself. Its all to do with the presense of objects and subjects and such, plus 2 verbs that mean slightly di...  more
  • Breaker
    Breaker   ·  July 9, 2015
    They do that to everyone. I only looked it up because "laid" didn't sound right.
    Normally "lay" is present tense, but the past tense of "lie" is also "lay". So Chase lies on the ground (present), he lay on the ground (past).
  • Okan-Zeeus
    Okan-Zeeus   ·  July 9, 2015
    Thank you, Breaker. Laid and lay are words that always confuse me. I assumed the former is past tense while the later is present tense. Why does "lay" work in that sentence?
  • Breaker
    Breaker   ·  July 9, 2015
    Awesome chapter! We're really seeing the dynamic between Chase and Dar-Meena grow.
    Dar-Meena is definitely my favorite character out of the lot; her perspective is always entertaining to read from, and she also draws out the best of Chase's personal...  more
  • The Wing
    The Wing   ·  July 9, 2015
    Yes, another update! And boy are you lucky to have a reader like Andrew. 
    Anyway, I love it when Chase drops his cold and calculating disposition to adopt a warmer, more snarky and familiar attitude.  This is the start of a beautiful friendship. I h...  more
  • Okan-Zeeus
    Okan-Zeeus   ·  July 9, 2015
    Aw... Thanks man. Guys like you are the reason I write this series. You're awesome. ^^
  • Andrew Paredes
    Andrew Paredes   ·  July 9, 2015
    Man, I love this. Keep it up, I check daily to see the progress on the next chapter. I even made this account just to feel more involved with supporting you.