{this story is fiction do not believe in it}
'thudd'
A sudden sound came from behind me. I looked back and saw the little boy fall flat face on the ground. He must be exhausted, we have been walking nonstop for three hours.
Dermis saw the scene from the front and spoke.
"Shall we take a rest then"
"Sounds good"
We all sat in the midst of a giant field. There were no creatures or large tress in sight. Just an open endless green field.
'growl'
I looked for the place that familiar sound came from and it was obviously from the little boy's tummy.
"It's time huh?"
Dermis said as I lightly laughed at the little boy getting embarrassed.
"Hey kid, do you like stew?"
"...."
He didn't reply again and just stared at Dermis's face while biting his lips.
"Stew it is then!"
"I can't believe, how much does a human need to eat?"
"Most humans eat twice a day but the little ones need three meals a day"
"You seem to know a lot about humans Anal"
"Yes, I grew up with humans. There are so many kids his age back home"
"Wow, it's fascinating. I only need to eat once a day or once in two days"
"I'm the same Kyoko"
"Me too"
Dermis also added while lighting the fire and setting up the ingredients for the stew.
"Whats wrong, you look worried"
"Oh, Kyoko. It's that, we don't have enough water."
"I hear a stream flowing nearby, shall we go bring some water"
"As expected of a demi's ears, amazing"
Kyoko and Dermis left, leaving us three to ourselves. A bit later, Tremious spoke out.
"I eat once every 100 years"
(He must've wanted to say something too) I thought to myself.
"Wow, dragons sure are different"
"The last food I ate was 37 years ago and I'm still full"
"What did you eat?"
"A serpent"
"Ew, a serpent? But they taste awful"
"Not really, as long as you know how to prepare it"
"How do you prepare it?"
"It's easy, first boil it for a hour to remove the poison"
"One hour isn't enough"
"Even if we boil it for a day, all the poison still won't be removed"
"Does your mana prevent you from getting poisoned?"
"Yes, the poison gets weaker when you cook it for a long time"
Tremious added more to his words as I kept on listening to him. In a moment, I realized that we had gotten pretty close. Close enough to chat like this casually.
It always bothered me on how different Tremious was. He wasn't like the other dragons- prideful and selfish.
He went along with whatever Dermis said and even helped us so many times, when he could just not.
"And then you can eat it whole"
"What about the skin? It's full of poisonous spikes"
"Just need to remove it"
"Isn't a broth better? Why eat it fried"
"Broth is better but I prefer having krakens as broth more."
We chatted as the little boy sat close to me and quietly listen to us talk.
'growwlllll'
This time the growl from his tummy was more louder. He must have gotten more hungry, since me and Tremious were talking about food.
Tremious scoffed lightly and slightly smirked at him before talking.
"This boy can eat a whole horse now"
I laughed lightly as I stroked the little boy's hair back. Thankfully before the boy died of hunger, Dermis and Kyoko had come back.
***
As the night drew closer, Dermis suggested something.
"Why don't we name him?"
"Hmm?"
"It's a bother to address him as a 'kid' all the time"
"That's true...."
"We should name him then!"
"Alright, any ideas?"
"How about Slimes glob or or kraken blowl"
" 'sigh' you are just spitting out things that you want to eat Dermis"
"Hehe you caught me"
Dermis shrugged as he kept joking around, I forgot for a while that he was a type of person that didn't stay serious for too long.
"What about, Malvis?"
"Why his name Kyoko?"
"I don't know, his name stuck to me for some reasons"
"You must miss him"
"I think so"
We all silently pondered for a while and then....
"Ororon"
"Hmmm? Did you say something Tremuos?"
"Ororon, the child's name"
"Ohhh!!! It's a nice name!"
Dermis jumped excitedly as I kept staring at Tremious. He was unexpectedly taking part in this.
I think I have judged him wrongly. He was a better guy than I expected.
The little boy was now named as Ororon. Dermis came near Ororon and again knelt down to his level. This time he held Ororon up and swang him around on the air while excitedly chanting his new name.
"Ororon! Ororon! You are Ororon!"
Ororon's face looked a little flushed and then he smiled brightly for the first time ever.
"....., did you just smile?.....!!!...Wow you smiled!!!! Look, look he smiled!"
Dermis jumped around happily as I felt something in my heart. It was the same warm sensation I felt when I saw Dorro and Rosa happily playing around.
I looked beside me and saw the same sight. Kyoko also had a bright happy face as she laughed while seeing Dermis being silly. Tremious tried his best to look like he didn't care but I managed to sneak a peek at his face when Ororon smiled brightly.
The day settled in happily...
***
"Ahhhhhhhh"
An unknown sound came from a distance the next day. With the unbearable heat, the party members were already wiped out. Dermis carried Ororon on his back and they all huffed and puffed due to the heat.
The noise had alarmed the party members, as they looked at each other in confusion. The smart demi spoke out.
"Did any of you catch that?"
"Yes, it came from that way I think"
"Should we investigate?"
"We should!"
The brave man in the white coat spat out bravely.
"I don't think all of us should go Dermis"
"Yes, she is right"
"Then, me and Anal will check it out. Ororon you stay with Tremious and Kyoko"
Ororon nodded in response, and the two of them went ahead to investigate in the bushy forest. The forest was registered in the map given by Malvis. However the name of it unstelled Anal.
'Devils Dom'
They walked along the forest and then their eyes caught on an unexpected sight. It was a tiny man who was laying flat face on the ground, while a large tree trunk rested over his body.
They both hurried to the little man and panicked.
"Are you alright sir?!"
'uhg...uff'
The man groaned, he was still alive.
Anal thought for a moment.
(How can he breathe through those giant beard)
His olive coloured beard covered half of his face. And he wore a metal armor around his head and upper body. The man was a dwarf.
Both of them used some of their Manas and managed to lift off the giant tree trunk.
"He is very injured, he needs medical attention right away"
"Hold on sir, I will carry you on my back"
Dermis carried the dwarf on his back and hurriedly bought him to Kyoko, who knew one or two things about treating someone.
Kyoko was stunned to see the sight in front of her, but she managed to ignore that feeling and focus on his treatment.
***
"How's it looking Kyoko?" I asked as I helped as much as possible.
"The large injuries have been cleared out , so it's gonna be okay"
I gave a sigh of relief as I looked behind to see, Dermis trying to comfort Ororon. He looked the most worried right now. Of course because he is a child, a child heart is pure.
'cough, cough'
The dwarf struggled, since he tried to talk.
Kyoko hushed him up.
"Sir, you can talk later. Just focus on your recovery now"
The dwarf struggled to smile and just closed his eyes.
Tremiois pulled both me and Kyoko aside and spoke in his usual cold manner.
"If a dwarf is near this place, it means we are closer to that kingdom"
"Yes, we can get help from him after he recovers" Dermis added.
"Yeah...."
Ororon came to my side and held my cloth again as he looked up to see my face. He barely reached my belly button, he was a little shorter than Tremuous.
He seemed to have caught onto my anxiety.
I must say, the day is coming closer than I anticipated and I was not happy with it. The day for him to part with us was coming nearer. I bitterly smiled at him, though the worries were properly reflected on my face, I still didn't wish to show my worry to him. I stroked his little head with affection and he clinged onto me.
***
"Are you awake sir?"