Dragonheart Part 5
Pink shafts of dawn filtered through the shutters. A songbird's warbling urged Heero from his peaceful sleep. By degrees he let the morning sounds carry him to a state of awareness. For awhile he was content to lay still letting the new day gradually encroach on his consciousness.
The tempting scent of cooking hastened his waking up. Opening his eyes Heero saw Duo sitting by the fireplace stirring a steaming pot. His flowing hair was braided and the tip touched the floor.
Duo tapped a wooden spoon on the pot's side and set it aside on a plate. "Good morning." he greeted as he stood and stretched.
Heero moved with obvious effort. His shoulders were kinked, his back was stiff and his rump was bruised from the pervious night's backward fall. The after effects of his wine overindulgence made his head feel was twice as heavy and three times as big as it should be.
A tacky film clung to his eyes offering a blurred view of his host. "Mornin'." he mumbled rubbing away the stubborn film with the heels of his hands.
Duo squatted by the bed. "Wing has been fed and our breakfast is ready. Why don't you go to the well and wash your face." he suggested quietly so as not to further irritate Heero's hangover.
Cautiously Heero sat up and, with stiff joints protesting, eased to his feet. Duo took notice of his friend's limited flexibility. "After we eat I will take you to a place that will lessen your soreness. Now go on before the porridge gets mushy."
When Heero returned, more awake if not totally loosened up, Duo had set two bowls of oat porridge on the table. Freshly picked berries and honey added taste to the otherwise bland breakfast. Refreshing water helped to clear Heero's foggy head and improve his energy levels.
After helping Duo clean up the dishes and tidy the house, the Dragon Keeper and his friend took the path opposite the one leading to Shinigami's cave. The two travelers were in no hurry as they traversed the trail that wound lazily through the woodland. Trees swayed and the perfume of a dozen different flowers wafted in the intermittent breeze.
The path forked to the right ending by a ring of russet rocks that jutted abruptly from the multi-colored forest floor. Heero could just make out a subtle noise and see an oddly tinted mist drifting up from the circle's center.
Duo pulled a small pouch off of his shoulder and paused to observe his friend's reaction to the secretive pool. Cautiously Heero braced his hands on the ring's rocky rim and was surprised to find that it was unusually warm. Suddenly the thought that another beast might call the mysterious place home made him draw back
"There is nothing lurking there." Duo declared as he began to remove his cloths.
Heero cast a second guarded glance but was careful not to lean too close. "How do you know what I am thinking?" He was feeling quite uncomfortable with Duo's apparent ability to read his mind.
"Your body language speaks louder than your thoughts." Duo answered with an amused tone.
Heero pivoted about intending to issue a curt comment on his friend's cocky attitude but he found himself once again muted by Duo's state of undress. In the daylight his skin was creamier and the breechcloth more transparent as it did little to preserve the young man's modesty.
The mixture of sunlight and shadows that played over Duo's almost naked body confirmed that he was indeed human. But his display of unashamed innocence, his purity of spirit told Heero that Duo had the soul of an angel. The silver cross lent further conformation to Duo's angelic status.
Duo reacted to Heero's focused study with a shy smile then lowered his eyes to stare at his feet.
"I was interested in your cross." Even though Heero's statement was not totally truthful he did not want Duo to believe his attention was rude or lustful. Quite the contrary...he appreciated the stunning man standing before him.
Duo lifted the scared symbol to eyelevel. "It belonged to my mother." he sighed, "It is all I have to remember her."
"I'm sorry."
Duo nodded then broke the awkward silence. "Maybe if you undress neither of us will feel uncomfortable."
Heero took a deep breath, put aside his inhibitions and began to disrobe. He was surprised by his uncharacteristic bashfulness. As a soldier he had bathed with other males and thought nothing of it but this was not a matter of necessity. This encounter with Duo was of a casual nature and despite his encouragement Heero found himself plagued with his own bout of shyness.
Thankfully Duo did not stare as Heero's shirt and trousers were shed to reveal a muscular chest, flat stomach and trim hips. Duo did take notice of the ragged scar on Heero's shoulder and the longer whitish line running diagonally from just below his right nipple to his navel.
"Scars of the body and the mind." Duo thought to himself as the disfigurements provided graphic testimony to Heero's physical suffering and an explanation for his night terrors.
*********
Heero and Duo, both in a state of near nudity, sat in the hot spring's blue-green water. "This is nice." Heero declared as balmy bubbles pulsed over his chest and soothed his aching shoulders.
"The water has many healthful benefits."
Heero sighed as he closed his eyes and allowed the healing water to do its job. A light breeze feathered on his face chasing away thoughts of beasts and the worries of war.
Duo opened the pouch and extracted a handful of long-stemmed plants. "I know another way to help you feel better."
Curiously Heero opened his eyes and found Duo's smiling face looking back. "What's that?"
Duo rubbed the leaves between his wet palms. The pressure produced a milky sap that quickly coated his hands with a frothy foam. "Wet your hair."
Like a dutiful soldier Heero held his breath and ducked under the warm water. When he surfaced his heavy hair was plastered to his face and shoulders.
"Turn around." came the next playful command. Heero obediently complied.
Duo scooted up to Heero's back and began working the sap into his soaked mane. Soon a slick lather was expertly worked into his hair. As Duo's nimble fingers massaged his scalp, a hint of mint lent a soothing scent to the luxurious treatment.
Heero leaned back into the wonderful sensation letting his entire body to go limp against Duo's chest. "That feels so good."
"I told you I could make you feel better."
It took much too little time for Duo to coated every dark strand to it's lengthy end. All too soon the delightful shampooing was done. "Now rinse."
With extreme reluctance Heero gave up the comforting contact and slipped under the water leaving a trail of sudsy foam in his wake. He bobbed back up from the blue-green depths and shook his head like a great shaggy dog. Duo threw up his hands batting the whipping locks. "Behave or I will get out." he announced his intensions to withdraw from the mock assault.
The last thing Heero wanted was to be deprived of his friend's company. " May I return the favor?"
Without pause Duo sloshed around giving his pool partner full access to his braid. Heero pulled the tie free and carefully undid the water-logged tresses. Copying Duo's technique Heero crushed more leaves and began the task of washing Duo's considerable amount of hair.
After Heero's attentive care Duo's hair was as shiny as silky spider webs glistening with morning dew. Now both men leaned back against the warm rocks with clean hair and revived spirits.
"You said you would tell me how dragons and humans came to live together." Heero reminded his host of his pervious promise.
Duo wiggled to find a comfortable position for his storytelling. "A hundred years ago a family was traveling across the Great Mountains. A band of highwaymen set upon them leaving only one survivor, a young girl named Meilan. She tried to find her way off the mountain but soon hunger and exposure took their toll and she laid down to die.
But when the lost maiden awoke she was not in heaven but in a cozy nest. A female dragon named Nataku had found her and settled her among the dragon babies. At such a tender age the child had no fear and quickly learned to live happily with the dragon clan.
Nataku, being a very wise dragon, knew that Meilan needed to be with her own kind so when she turned thirteen the dragon cradled the maiden in her claws and took her to a forest outside a valley village.
Meilan was sad to leave the only family she could remember and promised that every year on Spring Equinox eve that she would wait in the same forest. Nataku made an oath that she would return and take Meilan back to her mountain lair until the Autumn Equinox signaled the end of summer."
Duo paused to brush soggy bangs from his eyes. "Year after year Nataku kept her promise. Meilan grew older and one Equinox eve she introduced her daughter to the faithful dragon. More seasons passed and Meilan's daughter had twins, a boy and a girl and they, too, accompanied their mother and grandmother on their visits with Nataku."
Leaning closer to Heero, Duo lowered his voice in an air of secrecy, "I am a direct descendent of Meilan's lineage and Shinigami is one of Nataku's sons."
Heero nodded in acceptance of Duo's family tree however he had to admit that had he not seen Shinigami with his own eyes he would have thought that Duo was mad. "I wish I had your simply faith. I have a difficult time believing anything that is beyond what I can see or hear or touch."
"If I had not known Shinigami since birth I, too, would have been skeptical."
Heero shook his head, "I could never be like you, I could never surrender my trust, not totally."
"Because of my upbringing I view life differently but I still have many doubts about myself and my place in this world." Duo confessed giving Heero another reason to believe that he was of the human realm. "But let us not dwell on troubling things like doubts or fears. We have been given a beautiful day and we should not spoil it with negative talk."
"One day," Heero proclaimed with sadness, "then I must continue my journey home."
"Then we shall not waste another moment in idle conversation." Duo stood and held out his hand, "Let me show you more wonders." he invited as Heero took the offered hand.
*********
Heero and Duo laid on their backs watching the light play hide and seek among the leaves. As the noonday sun dried their bodies and brightened their spirits, they took simply pleasure in enjoying each other's company.
They spoke of pleasant things, happier times. But a twinge of sorrow clouded Heero's improved disposition as he wondered what his reception would be when he finally arrived home.
Would his father welcomed him or reject the wayward soldier that was once his son? Heero had changed, been transformed by unspeakable violence and he knew that he would never be the same again.
Heero also knew that if the proud Lord Odin could not find it in his heart to forgive his son, that in spite of the pain, he would still have no regrets about answering the King's call-to-arms.
Heero, too, was proud but it was not vanity or haughtiness that ruled his pride. No, a sense of honorable morality..."doing the right thing"...would allow Heero to go on.
"Let's get dress and eat." Duo suggested.
Maybe this Dragon Keeper was more angel than human and his friendship was meant to save his soul. *You will be all right.* Heero's inner voice promised.
"I would be honored." Heero replied out loud to his friend's invitation to dine.
*********
Lunch was potatoes and the mushrooms gathered the day before boiled together. Flat bread, cheese and wine rounded out the simple but satisfying meal. While they ate Duo related more tales of his life as a Dragon Keeper.
He told about last winter when the snow was too deep to travel and how Shinigami had flown him to the village once a week to buy food. Of course the dragon had hidden in the woods and Duo had to avoid questions concerning how he made the weekly journey.
"There were people who believed that I was a wizard able to turn into smoke simply by wishing." he joked at the villager's primitive superstitions.
Heero did not think the matter was something to be taken lightly. "Weren't you afraid that they might come after you?" he asked in all seriousness for his friend's safety.
"When I was fifteen several men got drunk and showed up outside my house one night demanding that I surrender to the local magistrate and face changes of being in league with the devil." Duo recalled, "When I refused their not-so-polite request they prepared to break down the door. At the first angry shouts Shinigami reared up above the trees and sent a spray of smoke and sparks over the stunned men."
"I bet that changed their minds." Heero laughed as he realized that Duo had no need to fear anything.
A wisp of sadness flickered over Duo's eyes, "Yes after that night I had no reason to worry but it also isolated me from the villagers. Whenever I went into town no one would talk to me but the outcasts and the Gypsies."
Heero nodded as he remembered how he and his father had separated on bad terms the day he left. "I know how it feels to be rejected."
"The situation has improved. I do have friends among the Gypsies, they understand how being different can cause isolation but," Duo bowed his head and let out a weary sigh, "it is still hard."
"I would like to meet your friends."
Duo's head snapped up and his violet sight narrowed as he studied the soldier sitting opposite him. "My friends...why?"
"Because they are a part of your life and they make you happy."
"But the villagers..." Duo began but was cut off by Heero's raised hand.
"The villagers are unimportant, I don't have to answer to anyone about the company I keep." Heero leaned closer letting himself bathe in the brightness of Duo's incredibly beautiful eyes. "I will saddle Wing and we will ride together and I will hear no more reasons why we shouldn't go."
Heero secured his sword to his belt, put on his cape and went outside to ready Wing for his and Duo's ride into town. Duo redid his hair, slipped on his coat and secured the door.
Duo slid up behind Heero and held on to his waist. Tapping his heels Heero put Wing into motion. "Let us see what is around the next bend."
TBC...
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