The tension in the tavern "The Weary Stag" could have been cut with a dagger. Mika was shooting daggers at Lian with his eyes, who in turn looked like a frightened deer, while the burly Harlan simply stared at the colossal metallic figure now dominating his establishment, unsure whether to offer it a drink or flee to the hills.
It was the dragon who broke the silence. His head turned slowly, eyes of blue light fixing on the barkeep."We need a room. One that... accommodates me."Harlan blinked, snapping out of his stupor."A… a room? Yes! Of course, noble sir! For your… uh… intimidating presence that scared off the Umbraclaw hounds, your stay is on the house! We have the old stable out back—it's big and clean! Perfect for… uh… someone of your stature.""Let's go!" Mika grabbed one of the dragon's claws with both hands, pulling him possessively. "And you," he said, glancing over his shoulder at Lian, "stay away from my dragon!"Lian just blushed deeper and waved, shrinking behind the counter.
The "stable" was, in fact, a spacious and surprisingly clean barn, with fresh hay bales stacked in a corner and large double doors that opened to the starry night. The air smelled of wood and earth. The metal dragon sat on the packed dirt floor, the sound of his armor settling echoing through the space. It was the first moment he'd had to process the avalanche of information.Mika, on the other hand, was restless. He paced back and forth, his tail twitching irritably."That kiss thief… So shameless! Can you believe the nerve of him? Shows up and 'oh please, mister dragon, may I kiss your cold, metallic cheek?' Pathetic!"The dragon remained silent, his optical sensors observing the wooden beams of the ceiling. His internal processor was trying to reconcile the memories of his former life with the reality of his new body."You're not going to say anything?" Mika finally stopped in front of him, hands on his hips. "You're not even a little bothered that that bland little boy used you?"The dragon's head tilted. "Used? It was a gesture of gratitude. Harmless. Irrelevant data.""Irrelevant?" Mika huffed. "A kiss is never irrelevant! Especially the first one! I should've been the first to kiss you!""My name is not 'you'," the dragon's voice was softer than before. "And it wasn't my first kiss."
The statement caught Mika off guard. His entire irritated posture crumbled, replaced by genuine curiosity. He sat cross-legged in front of the dragon, wide-eyed."Wait. You've kissed someone before? With that mouth? How does that even work? Doesn't it hurt? Was it a dragoness? Another machine? Tell me everything!"A low sound, like the hum of a cooling system, escaped the dragon's chest. A sigh."I wasn't… always like this."Mika tilted his head. "What do you mean?""In my previous life," the dragon began, his voice a monotone of facts, "I was human. A man." He paused, as if accessing a corrupted file. "I was a game designer. Famous, even. I created worlds like this one for people to explore. People liked my games… my work. It was my purpose."Mika was mesmerized. "A human? You? But… how did you…?""I died," the word was cold and final. "My body had a design flaw. A condition. One night, while I slept, my brain suffered an overload. A seizure. And that was it. System shutdown. Game over. The next thing I knew was… this." He gestured with a claw to his own body. "Waking up in this cave."
The silence that followed was deep. The revelation hung in the air, heavier than the dragon's armor. Mika, who until then had only seen a mountain of metal to tease, suddenly saw the soul behind the facade. A man who had lost everything."Wow," Mika whispered, his voice devoid of any flirtation. "So… you're really from another world."The dragon nodded slowly.
Mika hugged his own knees. "My old life ended suddenly too," he said quietly. "I didn't die peacefully in my sleep. I watched it get ripped away from me."Now it was the dragon's turn to focus all his attention on Mika."I had parents. A normal house, in a village not far from here. But that was before Neth'Rakul's rise, when his monsters swept the land without mercy. One night, they came. Shadows with claws and fire in their eyes. My parents… they hid me. Fought. And I heard the screams." Mika's eyes became glassy, lost in memory. "I did what they told me. I ran. I ran and didn't look back. I was just a boy."He shivered, despite the mild night air. "I survived. For days, alone in the forest. Until a woman found me. Her name was Lumi. A reclusive mage. She saved me. Fed me. And… she listened."
A sad smile touched Mika's lips. "I told her I always liked cats. And that… I was never interested in girls, only boys. She didn't think it was strange. She just smiled and, a few days later, gave me these clothes." He pulled at the sleeve of his shirt. "She said if the world was an ugly, scary place, then I had every right to be as bright, fun, and true to myself as I wanted, meow. It was her way of giving me a new armor."
They sat in silence again, two echoes of lost lives meeting in the stillness of a barn. The dragon, a world-builder trapped in one of his creations. Mika, a survivor dressing in joy to ward off the shadows.Slowly, Mika stood and walked up to the dragon. He didn't crack a joke, didn't tease. With a gentleness that betrayed his usual personality, he nestled against the dragon's massive torso. It was surprisingly warm—a gentle heat emanating from the energy core in the dragon's chest.
The dragon tensed.[PHYSICAL CONTACT DETECTED. THREAT: NULL. PROTOCOL: …AWAITING.]
Mika rested his head on the smooth chest plate, closing his eyes. "Thanks for telling me," he whispered. "Now… you're not just a cool dragon. You're… Kael." He tested the name he'd heard Lian murmur. It felt right.The dragon didn't respond, but he also didn't pull away. The warmth of his core seemed to increase slightly."I'm sleepy," Mika murmured, his voice already drowsy. The day had been long and full of emotions. Feeling safe for the first time in a long while, nestled against the most powerful being he had ever known, he fell asleep.
Kael'Zarion, the Metal DragonDev, remained still, listening to the boy's soft breathing. He looked at the sleeping figure leaning against him.It wasn't a nuisance.It wasn't irrelevant data.It was… a connection. The first true bond he had made in this world.
Slowly, with a care that seemed impossible for a creature of his size, he moved his massive tail, gently curling it around them both—a protective shield against the darkness outside.[PROTOCOL: VIGILANCE MODE ACTIVATED. PROTECT ALLY.]