A New Routine [Closed]

Two weeks. It had been a full two weeks since Magnus and Helena had left. Everything was going well, Alain had been healing well. Serenity got caught trying to sneak into his room while he wasn't in there. He caught her each time, but her attempts didn't cease. At least, they didn't cease until about five days ago. She had made it a habit to try and mess around in Alain's room to entertain the both of them. With him injured and unable to travel upstairs quickly, she deciding playfulling picking on him was the only way to entertain each other, excluding making sure he was fed, clothed, clean, and comfortable. But for some reason, her playful antics had changed in the last five days.

Serenity would always make sure he was resting and as comfortable as he could be. She'd clean a few things up and then leave the house for a couple of hours. And as the days went on quietly, Serenity became a little more jumpy. It was like she was worried about something, like she was constantly scared. Every noise that didn't come from Alain or herself, Serenity found herself jumping, having been startled. She'd run to the direction she heard the noise coming from, looking around out a window with a worried expression, and then go back to what she was doing. When doing this, she'd even often place her hand over her heart, take a deep breath, and let it out as if trying to calm down.

And during the mornings, after breakfast was finished being eaten and the kitchen cleaned, Serenity would disappear. When Alain went to work, he'd usually come back to the house with dinner already on the table. All five times over the last five days, he did not. He'd come home and she'd be in different areas. The first two time she was washing the floors as if they'd been dirtied. The third and fourth, she was in the shower and her clothes (if he saw them) were covered in dirt. And the fifth, she actually came running in the house and up the stairs as he got home, covered in dirt, and saying "Sorry, sorry! I'll get dinner ready as soon as I'm done in the shower! I promise, I promise!"

And today on the sixth day, nothing went wrong. Alain would walk into the house and everything was perfectly clean. Serenity was dressed in a nice dark blue winter dress with slippers she had bought in the town and an apron wrapped around her. Since it was cold outside, Serenity cooked a large stew pot and bread to go with it and was setting the table as Alain stepped into the house. "Welcome home! Dinner is actually ready this time." she stepped out of the kitchen and looked toward him with a smile. At this point, Serenity's hand was fully healed. After harming her, her powers accelerated her healing a bit once she was able to calm down, so those bad burns were gone.

"Here! Let me get your coat." Serenity hurried to him and helped him with this things, hanging his jacket on a coat rack near the door. "How was work?" she asked in a cheerful tone, everything seemingly going back to normal. "Come eat dinner, unless you're wanting to rest or shower first." she told him as she stepped toward the kitchen, "If so, I'll put the fire down on low and wait for you."

Date: January 2nd

Serenity was a little surprised at how tired Alain was. The moment she saw him, she gave him a pity smile. She felt so bad for him. His injuries weren't healing anywhere near as fast as her arm was; this actually kind of worried her. It's also one of the reasons why she was doing her best to perfect her Warming Technique, to be able to ease his pain more often. When he went toward the couch, Serenity made sure to help him get comfortable. Before he laid his head down, she put a pillow behind him. Once that was done, she moved toward his feet and happily helped him remove his boots, making sure to be careful as she did, and placing them on the floor at the side of the couch.

"I'll eat in a little bit..." she said, hiding a worried tone, "Let me get you a blanket." Serenity rushed off to find a blanket, returning with one thirty seconds later. She laid hit over him to make sure he was warm and then sat down on the floor next to him. Sliding her hand up the blanket, she set her palm on his stomach. And with a deep breath, she once again started the technique she had been practicing since he was injured. "My hand is doing much better... I seem to heal a lot faster than you do; it slightly worries me." she admitted, her head lowered and eyes closed as she concentrated. While she started this, Alain would notice that it felt like she perfected this ability some how.

Unless he chose to speak, it would be quiet between the two of them over the next few minutes. Serenity would sit very still, concentrating very hard on easing Alain's pain at a much higher level than before. And about five to ten minutes later, a strange scratching coming from behind her. Serenity was given a rather large fright and almost jumped out of her slippers. Turning her head back toward the door, she blinked a couple times, and smiled nervously to Alain. "I'll go see what that is..." she said as she got up and stepped toward the window. She looked through the curtains and did see something, but when she did, she closed the curtains as if she were hiding from something.

"I-.. Uh..." Once again the scratching came and she jumped, "I-it's just an animal. If I open the door, I'm afraid it will run it." She seemed to be speaking the truth, but it was very, very obvious that she was nervous about something. Serenity ignored the scratching as it came once more and hurried over to Alain's side. "Now... where were we?" she said as she went to site down next to him, but a sudden bang came to the door, causing her another fright. "HEY!" she shouted toward the door in anger, having almost slipped and fell, "STOP THAT!" Serenity narrowed her eyes further, watching the door for a few seconds. A few moments later, she sighed and looked sheepishly to Alain.

Serenity froze in thought for a moment and then looked to Alain. She blinked a couple times and tilted her head to the side. "A bear?" she asked, confused at what he had just said, "It's not a bear... You had a bear that came around here enough to be scared of a broom? And how did someone as kind as your mother instill fear in a bear?" Serenity had been caught off guard by that. Alain's family was funny, a little odd, but funny. And then he mentioned something about a pig? The fact that he was half asleep made Serenity wonder if she should just shut up and allow him to fall out completely. The things he was saying weren't making any sense at all; it had to be because he was so tired.

"It's nothing." Serenity told him, placing her hand at the top of his head and running her fingers through his hair, "Just sleep." Alain was so cute when he was tired! She was keeping her cool, but she wanted nothing more than to pull on his cheeks and cuddle him! But no, she had to be calm about this. She had to make sure he healed and she didn't make it any worse. She kept silent and sat down next to the couch. The moment she thought it was all going to stop, another bang came to the door, but this time there were four of them. Bang, bang, BANG, BANG!! The banging got louder with each one, as if something was trying to get inside. Serenity immediately ran toward the door.

"That is ENOUGH!" she opened the door without thinking and out of anger. As she did, nothing was there. She stepped out the door a bit and looked to the left and to the right, but nothing was there. She turned back into the house and shrugged toward Alain, if he was looking at her. She smiled and started to close the door, but something stopped her. In fact, Serenity suddenly went flying back as a large black thing shot through the front door. Serenity rolled along the floor, sliding through both of the chairs and hitting her head on the tables leg before she finally stop. "Owww... Mmmm." Serenity wrapped her arms around her head and curled up, rolling around the floor in pain.

A moment later, a large thud sounded from behind the couch and the floor shook. Serenity sat up, looking to Alain to see if he was okay. "I'm sorry..." she whined, thinking she was in trouble. Hearing a low growl coming from the right, she turned her head to see two bright green eyes peeking out from the side of the couch. A look of horror appeared on her face. She was about to say something when a small yapping came from behind her. She looked back to see a little white flurry ball of puppy running across the floor toward her, covered in snow and dirt. "No, no! You can't come in here!" Serenity crawled up to the little guy as it hopped into her arms and went to take it outside.

Before she could, another growl came from behind the couch and she looked back toward it. Two green eyes still stared at her from the shadow behint he couch. The eyes disappeared for a moment, hiding behind the couch before two large claws (nails retracted) came up over the top of the couch. The white puppy yapped at the black dragon that appeared over the back of the couch, hopping out of Serenity's arms and running around the couch. The moment this happened, the dragon kept backing away, being chased around the living room until it noticed the lit fire. The dragon stopped and stared at the fire. The puppy almost ran into it, but the dragon's tail stopped that.

"Oh..." Serenity whined and the dragon looked to her, "I'm in so much trouble..."

Serenity knew that this was bad. She had been keeping a secret from Alain, but she didn't know how to tell him that she had been taking care of a dragon and a puppy! It's not something that just comes up in casual conversation. She also knew that stressing him about something that she thought she could handle was only going to mess with his wounds even more. Seeing him fall off the couch, Serenity's eyes widened and her mouth opened when she gasped. "Alain, I-..." she was interrupted when he began to question her, but his question confused her. He seemed to be blaming her new friends for a mess, but it took her a second to realize exactly what he was actually talking about.

"Oh, n-..." she stopped again when he blamed the puppy, "Alain, that's n-..." Serenity took a step back from him when he actually flailed toward her too. Her heart began racing. She hated when she was in trouble. She rarely to never was actually on someone's bad list, so it effected her a lot easier than it would most. Serenity sort of froze up, which her two little friends noticed. The dragon stepped over to her side and nudged at her a bit. He wasn't small at all. In fact, he was an odd size between great and ordinary, as if he was growing more. Once Alain said to get them out, Serenity motioned for the dragon to walk out of the house and it did, using it's tail to take the puppy with him.

"Okay." Serenity said and began heading to the kitchen. The dragon sat there in the doorway, glaring angrily at Alain, but soon slowly closed the door by himself. As Serenity walked off, a knock came to the front door. She knew who it was and walked toward the door, opening it. "Here you go, Miss Verdant." a man dressed in a delivery uniform from Colburn's pharmacy handed her a package, "Got the medicine you said you needed." "Thank you." she replied kindly and waved goodbye. Once the door closed, she opened up the bag and headed to the kitchen. Returning a moment later with some water and two pills on a small plate, she set them on the table in front of Alain.

"Here. I went to town earlier to get your medicine again. I asked them for a stronger dose, so this should work better." Serenity explained, but not once did she look up to him. Even when she began walking away, she made sure not to let him see her face. She stopped behind the couch and stared toward the kitchen. "Just to let you know... None of any mess that was in this house was made by them. Today is the first time that they've been here..." she explained calmly, "And the only reason they did that was because they were worried about me not visiting them like I had been... It happens when a new routine gets interrupted by grocery shopping and visiting the pharmacy."

Serenity vanished into her room for a few minutes and came out fully dressed in boots, thick pants, a thick jacket, and mittens. "Desserts in the fridge. I know you like Key lime..." she straightened up her jacket and walked to the back door, "I'll be back in an hour or two." And without the normal sweet goodbye that she'd always give him before she left somewhere, she walked out of the house and slammed the door behind her. The most he could probably hear, unless he went after her for some reason, is her boots running across the porch before she was completely gone. And for that hour or two, Serenity would not return to this house, at least until she was done...

Serenity may have said one or two hours, but she was gone much longer. In fact, she was gone for five hours; it was far into night before she came back. And when she returned, she didn't return alone. The back door slammed open, very similarly to how it had before, with a loud bang. This time, nothing flew in like a ninja overhead. Instead, a small white puppy slowly and silently waddled his way into the house. Behind him, with heavy thuds for each step, a black dragon with shining green eyes made his way in from the darkness, completely ignoring Alain. On top of the back of his dragon, a small green haired young woman laid, her hair fallen over her face, and she knocked out.

The dragon moved over to the fire place. If the fire was out by now, he'd relight it. If not, he'd slowly slide Serenity off of his back. Any time Alain would try to get close, he'd hiss and growl at him, layind down around Serenity, wrapping his tail around her as the small white puppy cuddled up against her side. Looking at Serenity, she was absolutely soaked. Her skin was pale from the freezing cold weather and her right arm was bloodied up. She wasn't dripping blood, but it looked like something had bit through and tore at her skin. Finally, she was covered in dirt and her chest was moving rapidly up and down. Alain would be able to easily hear how heavy and strained her breathing was.

Water dripped down from Serenity's soaked hair. Her skin was still very pale, but she was slowly warming up. Her breathing stayed labored, almost feeling like it was getting worse. She did not budge when he talked to her the first time. She didn't wake when he wrapped her arm. When he pressed the cold of the pie against her head, she reacted by staying exactly how she was. A low whimpering growl emited from the black dragon that lay under Serenity. The small puppy whimpered as well, nudging her hand uninjured hand with his nose. Suddenly, Serenity began coughing rather harshly, enough to cause her to lose her breath. Her breathing became heavier when suddenly...

"NO!" Serenity screamed. She shot up from her unconscious state and flailed her arms rapidly, as if she were fighting off Alain for some reason. It took her a couple of seconds to realize who was now standing over her. Finally, she stopped and looked at him with the most horrified look on her face. "Alain... A-Alain?" Serenity reached up and touched his face as if she didn't believe it was actually him. Once she realized it was, she closed her eyes and a few panicked tears fell from her eyes. She looked like she was ready to freak out, scream, or throw up, telling which one it was at this point was difficult. "Agh! Ow." she suddenly felt the pain in her arm and looked toward it.

"What happened...?" she looked around, hearing a low growl. She looked over to see the dragon and puppy, her eyes widening, "You can't be in here..." Her voice was low and airy. Her body was shivering horribly. She curled up a bit, hugging herself to try and warm up, looking back to Alain. "H-How long have I been gone?" she asked, blinking in confusion when she noticed the pie. "What are you doing with the pie?" she asked through chattering teeth. The dragon behind her nudged her by moving closer, wrapping his warm tail around her waist. She looked to him and then back to Alain, worried about being yelled at again. "I... can't remember... what happened." she said.

Serenity looked toward the fire and began to think very hard. As she thought, it seemed like she fell into a trance as memories returned. She closed her eyes, having a few flashbacks of what had happened. A moment later, she snapped out of it and froze. She looked down to her chest and stared for a moment. "Oh god..." she muttered the two words in a horrified manner. She reached up and lowered her zipper, but as it lowered, it became obvious that there was no shirt. She lowered it more and confirmed that the only thing she was wearing under it was her bra. She quickly zipped up her jacket again, closing her eyes, and just nodding a couple times as she forced herself to stand.

"I... need to use the restroom... an-and change clothes." As she walked, the dragon and puppy just followed her. She didn't even make it half way to her room before falling, but her dragon friend used his head to catch her and slowly letting her down. She sat there, still breathing heavily in her freezing cold clothes, and just held herself, trying to calm down enough to walk.

Serenity's body was shaky as hell and Alain would be able to feel how badly she was shaking the moment he touched her. Serenity kept quiet most of the time, thinking to herself as she was lead to the bathroom. When he acted like he was going to leave, Serenity's had shot out toward his shirt and clenched it tightly. She couldn't even look at him, but she begged him not to leave. "Please, don't leave." she said under her breath, her tone broken. He agreed to stay and Serenity suddenly dropped over the toilet and began throwing up. It took a little less than a minute for her to stop. Her stomach was only hurting because of the nerves and adrenaline that had been pumping through her veins before. She was calming down from a shock that she would normally had never been able to handle.

Alain helped her over to the bath and she turned on the warm water, waiting for it to get hot. Once it finally did, Alain asked her if she had it and she looked back to him. She stared for a moment and weakly shrugged. She shook her head and looked back to the bath as it was filling. Her teeth were still chattering as she spoke, "I-I.. d-don't care... I-It's fine..." For Serenity to not care whether he stood there and watched her soak nude in a tub, something was obviously wrong. After some time, when the bath was filled enough for her to lay down into warm water, Serenity began removing her clothes from her body. When she dropped her jacket, there was no shirt under. When she removed her boots, no socks. And when she removed her pants, no panties. She was only wearing a bra under everything.

Serenity stepped into the tub, her hands and arms shaking as she tried to sit down into it. She slowly lowered herself into the warmth of the water, feeling her body stop some of it's shivering from the cold, but she was still shaking from everything else. She curled her knees up, wrapped her arms around her legs, and set her head on top of her knees. Her hair fell over her body, some of it floating around in the water as the bath continued to fill until it was turned off. Once the water got high enough, she would turn it off and then lay back in the bath, staring up to the ceiling. "I remember..." she said as she placed a hand on the top of her forehead where her bump was. She closed her eyes, her hair falling over her breasts using the convenient censorship technique, as she just laid there quietly.

Out side of the bathroom, a black dragon that knew he could not fit without breaking something, sat in the hallway and just watched. A small puppy kept running around, chasing the dragon's tail as it moved back and forth. Hearing the yap of the small pup, Serenity turned her head toward the two new friends and then smiled. She looked up to Alain and tilted her head back a bit. "I went too far, I guess... There is a group of hunters out there, outside of the bounds of this community. They tried to capture him..." Serenity motioned toward her dragon friend, "I told them not to, so they turned on me..." Serenity closed her eyes as she explained, "I've never been touched like that before, it was horrifying... I got away, but their dogs chased me..." Serenity motioned toward her injured arm, which she kept out of the bath. After he had gone out of his way to wrap it, she wasn't going to mess it up.

"I picked up Shiori, t-the pup, and ran... She actually bit one of them..." Serenity giggled, causing herself to cough, "You know that lake in the middle of the forest a bit north of here? I wasn't paying attention to where I was going because I looked back to them... Next thing I knew... Bang..." she tapped herself on the forehead where her bump was, "Rock hit me... I fell down that one hill... and slid over the lake. I was barely  able to toss the pup onto land before the ice broke... I thought I was going to die, but he saved me... He dove into the water and pulled me out, brought me home..." Serenity sit up and hung herself over the bath a bit, reaching out toward Alain's tummy, setting her hand over his wound, "I was worried that it'd stress you out. I wasn't trying to lie, but I guess it came off that way."

"The pup was on the porch... he wanted food and I watched the dragon fall out of the sky..." Serenity sighed sadly, "I don't know why I felt the need to go help him, but I don't regret it. He's been protecting me since then and if it weren't for him, I'd be dead now... Of course, I probably wouldn't have been out there either, but..." She removed her hand from Alain's stomach and let her arm hang over the bath, staring over to her worried dragon friend. "I'm alone while you're at work... I love being here with you, I do, but I'm still alone most of the time... Taking care of them gave me something to do..." Feeling warm enough, Serenity dunked her body under the water and came up moments later, the color having returned to her skin. She stood up and stepped out of the bath, grabbing a towel off the rack.

"I am now able to use that ability a lot more because of how often I practiced on him..." Serenity said as she wrapped the towel around herself and walked over to the dragon, pointing out a large scar across the chest of the dragon, "There isn't very many bonds stronger than when someone saves your life and takes away your pain..." Serenity smiled and tilted her head a little to the side, a tear falling down her cheeks. "And because of that, I'll find another home for them soon..." she said nodding. She wasn't referring to her and the dragon's bond when she said that, no. She was referring to the night with Carl, him giving her a new home, defending her from his father, and tolerating her all of this time. "J-Just give me some t-time, okay? A-At max a month... I won't even name him, I promise. Is that okay?" Serenity set a hand on the dragon's head, practically begging Alain to give her that...

What Alain meant and what Serenity thought were very different things. His mind set was blaming himself, but hers was of disgust with herself. Because of this, seeing him unable to look at her, she felt herself starting to break down. She wanted to get to her room and just cry. Hearing Alain move, she could tell he was coming toward her, but she wasn't completely sure she would be able to handle much right now. She was going to walk away. She was about to step completely out of the bathroom when Alain's arms wrapped around her and she froze. Her dragon friend moved forward and placed his head against her tummy in his form of a hug, pushing her back into Alain a bit.

"He's crying..." Serenity felt herself practically melt into Alain. Her shaky hands reached back and gripped the side of his pants. As he spoke, she didn't catch that he was angry at himself, but thought it was at her. "I won't." she immediately replied to his first statement. "I won't..." she replied to his second. "I won't, I won't!" she said again, leaning forward a bit as if she were trying to get away from him. She let go of his pants and grabbed onto the towel that was wrapped around her, holding it in place as she started trying to fully pull away from him, but when she heard that first I'm sorry, she leaned back into him. She lifted her gaze to look back into his eyes and shook her head.

"What are you talking about?" she turned toward him and reached up, placing her hands on the sides of his face, "Alain, you did nothing wrong. I shouldn't have ran off the way I did... I was just so angry... I wasn't thinking right..." She lowered her head and  let go of Alain's face. "Apparently I don't think right very often at all..." she mumbled under her breath, and ran her hands resentfully through her hair, "I... can't... I don't think I can do this... I'm not used to... it. I... was better off alone, you were better off without me. I'm used to being able to do what I what, when I want, how I want... I have never lived with anyone before. It's like I forget that this isn't even my home, it's yours!"

Serenity began pacing back and forth, pulling rather harshly at her own hair, but then stopped in front of him. "Why? Why do you want me here? I'm nothing but a bother. Besides cook every morning and night, clean your home, do your laundry, and... and... What am I here for?!" Serenity asked and then pointed at him, "You confuse me. You make me angry, sad, happy... and I don't even understand why. I don't understand... men, people. This is why I should have just stayed in the hut! At least there, I was alone because no one else was ever there, no one was actually around, I lived in that manner. It wasn't because the person that was supposed there to be was constantly gone."

Serenity stared wide eyed at Alain, her heart racing as she listened to him speak. It was heartbreaking. He just didn't get it! But the only reason he wouldn't get it is because he didn't feel the same way. She understood that; that was fine. She liked him and wanted to be around, but she didn't just want to be his maid! She'd feel better if even one night of the week they'd go out and do something. She felt trapped in this house. No matter how warm and comfortable this house was, Serenity felt trapped and alone in it. She needed a reason to stay, to want to continue on being here with him. And when he raised his head to tell her she could move out, her eyes widened even more.

Serenity watched Alain move along, each of his honest words stinging harder as they came. He set his hand on her shoulder and walked passed. Serenity just closed her eyes and watched him walk up the stairs. "YOU'RE AN IDIOT!" she shouted suddenly, "EVEN MORE CLUELESS THAN I WAS!" Serenity stomped her foot, causing the puppy and dragon to back away a bit. She glared at Alain as he turned around and stared down at her, his expression quite tired and depressed. Seeing he wasn't going to say anything, Serenity just raised her shoulders, as if she were going to start yelling at him. Unfortunately, she didn't and just sighed, dropping them in defeat and shaking her head.

"Why won't you just kiss me?" she said in a slight whisper. She brought her hand up to the towel again and clenched it tightly in her hand. "I'll be gone in the morning." she told him, looking toward her bedroom, "I don't need you to pay for anything either. I've got my own money." Serenity didn't even glance toward him. She pat her dragon friend on his head and walked to her bedroom, silently shutting the door behind her, trying her best not to cry too loudly. From there, she proceeded to pack up everything she owned, get dressed, clean the room, and walked out of the house. She didn't even go to sleep. She picked up her puppy, walked out, and began down the road.

And once she got to a certain point, she looked back to Alain's house, dropped her suitcase, keeping everything really important, and was gone...

Alain stood still as she said that she would be leaving. Why did he feel like this would be the last time he'd see her? Why did he feel that this would be the last time that these two would see one another as a friend? And most importantly... why did he want to see her again? Why was her face—her amazing, smiling face imprinted so hard in his vision that his entire boddy shuddered at the thought of not seeing that again?! Why, why why?! Why was this woman so different to him?!

Was it because she met his parents? Was it because he saved her life? Was it because that she was attractive? Was it because she was nice and sweet? Was it because she could cook? Was it because she healed him? Was it because he protected her? Not a single one of those things could be it because other women in his past had experienced those same things. And that's when another puzzle piece fell into place. It was not that she had done any one or two or three of those things. It was that she had done all of those things.

But there was one thing left, and the itching of curiosity eventually ate him up to the point that he was able to peel away the flesh of mystery to find part of the truth hidden within. As she tried to leave, Alain stood in the doorway. His eyes were just as tired, but more sad. Those dull blue eyes could barely look at her tear-scarred face. "Stay the night... please..." He placed both hands on her shoulders. "You're important to me..." He then slid them behind her back, bringing her into a tight hug. "I don't want to see you hurt again... So just... please stay the night, Serenity."

Alain was still mad at the fact he couldn't protect her. That he couldn't heal or save her the way she had done him. That he was basically nothing but a bump in her life. And that bothered him. He had failed to protect her once. And Alain would never, ever let himself live it down if it happened again—whether he was acting as her shield or not. "If you still want to leave in the morning, I won't stop you..." His tears were now drying and his voice scratchy, "Even if I want you to stay."

"So..." Alain stepped back and took her hand. He began to focus, and his Arcana poured onto her hand. Although visible for a moment, a mark in the shape of a sword quickly disappeared into her flesh. "That will let me know if you're ever in danger. If you ever need me, I'll feel it. And I'll come to protect you." Little did she know that no one else could have this bond. "I can try to warm up the stew if you'd like... I was waiting on you to get back before I touched it." He smiled just as weakly as before.

As Serenity walked toward the front door, she saw Alain standing there. She stared at him for a moment and then looked the other direction. "Excus-..." "Stay the night... please..." he interrupted her. Serenity looked up to him a little confused. "You're important to me..." "And you are to me, bu-..." Serenity stopped speaking again when he pulled her into a hug. "I don't want to see you hurt again... So just... please stay the night, Serenity." Serenity just stood there in his embrace, unsure of what to say. She clenched the handle on her suitcase a little harder, unsure of how to react. She was ready to walk out and leave this place behind, but now...

"So, you do want me here..." Serenity rubbed the top of her hand, a little curious about the mark he had just given her, but she had another question that needed to be answered. She glanced away from him and smiled softly toward the ground. "I just wish I understood why..." she whispered lightly, "I'm sure there are other people, other women, you could hire to do a better job than I can... who won't sneak a dragon around your neighborhood, won't almost die because they ate the wrong thing, or, or... smack your Father..." Serenity looked down to her suitcase and then back up to Alain. She looked him straight in the eye, her expression softening, but then looked back to her dragon friend.

"I'll stay... I don't want to break my promise... So for as long as you want me, I'll never leave you..."