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“What exactly do you know that would have you looking at me with such worry, Little Flint.”
It was a question and a command for an answer, one that has Celine staring at him as her mind frantically thought of a way to inform him of that impending doom that Devnar spoke about at the training grounds.
Bahamut set his plate down and stood up to lean intimidatingly over Celine, glowering purple eyes burning into her soul.
“Wh-when I accepted this quest, th-the quest giver told me that a squadron of the Chosen One is en route to… to…” She raised her shoulders up in a cowering motion with clear prayers Bahamut wouldn’t take this as reason to kill her. “To kill you.” She shut her eyes, readying for a murderous blow from the Dragoon only to yelp in surprise to the clawed hand that was gently placed on her head. This got her to peek up to his face to see him with a deeply ponderous expression on his rather attractive facade.
“I assure you, Little Flint, I will not dare take your precious life for you have already proven to me that you’re worth keeping alive.”
“R-rea-what-um-er-eh???”
Bahamut chuckled and knelt down so their faces could be on level, observing as his actions and words were returning the chef back into a more relaxed atmosphere. “So a squadron of this… Chosen One? Is coming to kill me? That is rather amusing information, that some mere mortals could think to take my life.”
“Mm, well, the Order of the Chosen One is something of a guild of fighters dedicated to serving the Chosen Celestial of the Goddess. I’ve heard from the patrons that pass through our village that they've defeated a few other Dragoons already thanks to some special weapons blessed by the Celestial.”
Bahamut snorted in disbelief, “They aren’t dead.”
“How do you know?”
“We may not be able to communicate but we can still feel each other’s life forces and I have not once felt any of them fade. We’re connected in ways that words can not be conveyed but thanks to this curse the most we can sense is whether or not we’re all still alive, which we are.”
“Oh…”
He shifted on his feet, tucking his legs and suddenly plopping his head on her lap, closing his eyes as if he intended to sleep on her in this position. She stared down at the fluffy white mane, flushing in sudden want to brush his hair that starts at the top of his temple and followed in a line to the nape of his neck. Noticing how his scales formed like armor that protected the sides of his head and covering his form like a knight. The only form of clothing he’s had on his form the entire time was the loin cloth on his hips that does graciously cover an area she dared not tread towards in her thoughts. What skin does show beneath his scales that shimmer like the night sky came off as the same color as the dark expanse between the shimmering stars, as if she does indeed have a piece of a dark star resting his head on her lap. She noted how this same pattern extended into his featherless wings and down his tail where more mane lined from the base to the tip.
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Giving in, she started finger combing the white mane and he didn’t move from his position.
“An amusing thought indeed. How much time do you have on your quest?”
“Oh, um…” As if in reaction to her want to see, the opaque quest box appeared before her eyes to shine the time of, “Eight hours and some odd minutes.”
“Good. If you should need me to move for your comfort then inform me of such a desire, I want to stay like this so I can think of how to go about a plan of action.”
It was as if he is doing what she didn’t actually know she wanted him to do until he actually did it and it left her feeling entirely fine with this result. “Can I braid your mane while you ponder?”
“It’s been ages since last a braid graced my mane, please do as you want with my hair.”
Celine happily obliged Bahamut’s consent for her to decorate his hair with braids, finding the white strands as soft and smooth as silk.
As the time passed she finished decorating his hair, using various beads and leather thongs that he summoned to her hands. Soon after, he summoned various game boards for them to enjoy playing together, all the while she knew he was scheming but was showing to be a gracious host to her presence. It was during a game that she succumbed to the need to slumber and he summoned up a comfortable bed and a chair for him to sit in as she rested.
When she awoke the opaque quest box informed her that she needed to stay for thirty more minutes to complete this part. “Wow, the time passed quicker than I anticipated.”
“Hm? Why would you think the time would have passed slowly for you?”
“I thought I’d be cowering and hiding in fear of you.”
“Hah! Yes, well, I suppose what was taught to you, though wrong, would have given you such an impression. I am happy to know that is no longer the case for you.”
“Mm, so, have you thought of what you will do now that you’re aware of that Order’s quest against you?”
“I have. You recall that I stated the coin I gave to your ancestors has returned to me?”
“Yes.”
“When it was returned, it meant my vow became disavowed. Your village felt it no longer needed my protection and thus ended my vow to them. I am free to make a new one.”
Celine shifted off the bed to stand up, Bahamut stood up in the same moment and waved away the furniture. He knelt down with his head turned down, then held up his palm to show a ring with a black gem embedded inside the band.
“mrith nomeno ifyugvreol, si, bahamut, wer dragoon di whedabra, vow ekess wux, celine, batobot si geou faestir wux mrith shio di ve kagh di batobot svabolen si tepoha. si vow sio ekess wux kagh tir lae wux meage di ve halkvri nelithral oupilic turot ekess dout seoyl usv wux douhvy thric throdenilt tuor di ve. nomeno vow si embue ekess nomeno ifyugvreol kagh thus tonoparir ve ekess wux. nomag si qe egrema ekess wux mrith nomeno vow?” Bahamut’s words spoke in a language foreign to Celine’s ears and she could only stand there staring in confusion to what exactly is happening right now. Why was he kneeling before her as a knight does to a Royal? Why was that ring now somehow glowing, not in a bright shimmer but as if the night sky wrapped itself around the circular metal.
“With this ring, I, Bahamut, the Dragoon of Darkness, vow to you, Celine, that I will serve you with all of me and of that which I have. I vow myself to you and do as you command of me until Death lays claim to your soul or you decide no more want of me. This vow I embue to this ring and thus bonding me to you. May I be bound to you with this vow?” Bahamut clarified in the common tongue this time, still remaining in that seemingly uncomfortable position for anyone.
“Oh! Ah…” It took a bit longer for her to realize this is his decision as part of some plan that she vaguely felt understanding towards. “Y-yes, you may be bound to me with this vow.” She reached her hand to touch the ring on his palm and in a swift motion without even looking he slipped the ring on her index finger. It felt warm and somehow it fit perfectly.
Raising his head, they locked eyes and for a moment there was a sense of deep connection that she picked up on this sensation of giddy excitement beneath his blank facade.
“Ok… so… I get that this vow? Is a part of your plan but.. What is your plan, exactly?”
At this he finally stood up, turned his back on her and spread open his wings, which at full length were twice as wide as him on each side.
“Now the fun begins.”