Generosity

Pain.

He'd never woken up like this. It was like having a nightmare and waking up in a cold sweat. Only instead, at every movement your body made, it screamed back in protest. He gasped in pain and tensed, only making it worse.

"Relax." It was a masculine voice with an aged rasp. Demanding, but not harsh.

Emre couldn't do anything but obey. He allowed his body to go limp and the pain lessened to a point. It was hard to tell at first but he was laying on a soft surface. It was a stark contrast to sleeping on dirt or bark. It was an extremely welcoming feeling after having not felt something this soft in weeks.

He was on a bed. A soft bed that must have been stuffed with thousands of feathers or something similar. The room he was in was small with barely anything inside. A small wooden nightstand sat beside the bed and as Emre slowly moved his head he could see a figure sitting in a chair closer to the foot of the bed.

It was an older-looking man with obvious crow's feet at the corners of his eyes. Despite looking old, he still sat with a straight back and held a leatherback book in his large well-worked hands. It seemed like he had been reading before Emre woke. He was looking up at him now with soft, wise-looking brown eyes.

His crumpled-looking shoulder-length hair reminded Emre of salt and pepper. Mostly black with strands of gray. His beard wasn't thick but seemed well-kempt. He was wearing just a simple set of commoner-looking clothing.

"How are you feeling?" The man asked as he folded a corner of the book and set it upon his lap.

'Like crap.' Emre responded through Telepathy.

"Well, it looks like you feel good enough to be snarky." He chuckled out.

'Absolutely not.' Emre retorted. 'I feel like my bones will break if I move.'

Twisting his head, which was the least painful part of his body, he was able to look at his body. All of his cuts and burns were bandaged. Even his torn wing which had been split seemed to have been brought together and bandaged up. His body smelled like pungent plants.

The man must have used herbal remedies to treat his wounds. If this man hadn't been there Emre would have definitely died. That corruption hadn't left Emre any chance to even try to heal himself. He got pummeled so far into the dirt it was almost his grave. He'd heal himself now, but he didn't know if he could fully trust this man yet.

"I think you have a few broken ribs so not moving works in your favor." The man spoke lightheartedly.

'What's your name?' Emre asked, looking back toward him.

"It's Ragan. What about you?"

'Emre.'

"Well, nice to meet you Emre. You got beat up well by that dark creature." He crossed his legs as he chuckled. "I thought you were gonna die. Most usually do."

'I thought I was gonna die too…' Emre sighed out. 'Thank you for your help.'

"Sure thing. Those monsters have been appearing more lately. That was the first time I saw one that was that strong though."

'Just my luck.' Emre scoffed. 'Did you kill it?'

"No, it got away. I injured it pretty bad though. I was more worried about whether you were gonna live or not." Ragan gestured with his hand to him. "Usually if something is injured by one of those the wound festers quickly. Seemed your body was fighting against it though. First time I've seen something like that."

'Me too.' Emre answered as if he didn't know the reason.

He figured it had something to do with the fact that he was a radiant dragon but there was no way to be sure. His touch burned the creature so it would only make sense that his body would be more resistant to the wounds that it caused as well. He remembered seeing his scales shining brightly against the shadows that were trying to spread to the rest of his body from his wounds.

'Are those things not normal around here?' Emre then asked.

"No. They only started appearing recently. The village nearby has been trying to get adventurers over to help kill them since they seem to be killing livestock and overkilling game in the woods."

'Is that why you're out here?'

"No, I live out here. This is my home you're in, y'know." Ragan snorted. "I do try to kill 'em when I get the chance though."

'You seemed pretty strong against it. Stronger than me at least. I barely made a scratch.'

"Oh, so you didn't get completely pummeled, huh? If you landed a hit that is."

'No, I definitely just got pummeled even with a landed hit.' Emre sighed. 'It caught me off guard.'

"Ha, whatever you say."

Ragan then leaned back in the chair.

"So, you're a dragon, huh?"

'Great observation.' Emre responded sarcastically.

"Hey, I saved your life, you ungrateful punk." His brown eyes narrowed "What kind of dragon are you supposed to be anyways?"

'I'm a Faerie Dragon.'

"Huh, never heard of it."

'I'm not surprised.'

"What, are you a one of a kind?"

'That I know of.'

"Of course. Your type must be extinct if you're that weak against a creature like that. Aren't dragons supposed to be big and mighty?"

'Hey! This big and mighty one is still learning!'

"Is that it?"

'Yes! I have some pretty cool abilities already! If you accidentally cut your finger cutting carrots I'll make it feel all better.'

"Jeez, my teacher wasn't wrong when she said all dragons are egotistical."

'I just offered to heal your poor cut finger! That's not egotistical.'

"What cut finger? Besides, healing? The only people who can heal are people who have radiant magic."

'Yeah, and?'

"Are you implying you are able to use radiant magic?" His brows raised but he didn't look amazed.

'Am I?' Emre responded nonchalantly.

"Little punk, quit messing around." His eyes rolled. "I'm going to start breakfast. I'm starving since I had to watch over you all night."

Ragan stood up and placed the book on the chair and headed for the door at the other end of the room. Emre watched silently before speaking up again.

'Hm… Thank you for helping treat me.'

"You already said thanks."

Ragan waved his hand in dismissal as he closed the door behind him. Emre could hear as his footsteps moved around in the other room.

He didn't seem so bad. He seemed curious at first when Emre implied that he could use radiant magic, but it didn't really act like he cared that much. It was a good sign, but Emre decided he'd still hold off on actually using his magic for now. If he didn't move it was bearable but still felt like his scales were constantly throbbing with irritation.

Emre felt bored as he waited and decided to use the two stat points he had gained from killing the first corruption. His stats were slowly getting higher over time. Plus his skills kept leveling up. His stats looked better and his skill list was getting so long.

[ Name, Emre ] [ Radiant Faerie Dragon ]

[ Lvl, 15/30 ] [ Exp, 450/800 ]

[ Stats ] [ Stat Points, 0 ]

[ Str, 10 ] [ Dex, 12 ] [ Int, 16 ]

[ Con, 9 ] [ Wis, 12 ]

[ Skills, Swimming [Lvl 6], Climbing [Lvl 2], Venom Bite [Lvl 8], Venom Spit [Lvl 2], Claw [Lvl 4], Ambush [Lvl 7], Perception [Lvl 6], Stealth [Lvl 6], Light [Lvl 1], Healing Touch [Lvl 2], Light Bolt [ Lvl 1], Radiant Flame [ Lvl 1], Healing Breath [Lvl 1], Radiant Flame Breath [Lvl 1], Dragon Detection, Telepathy, Circle of Protection [Lvl 1], Radiant Claws [Lvl 1], Dispel Magic [Lvl 1], Dragon Aura ]

[ Titles, Other-Worlder, Tirian's Angel, Frog Slayer, Destroyer of Corruption ]

Then suddenly the door opened with a creak. Emre almost jumped at the sound after having been focused on reading his status. Ragan's head had popped into the room.

"Hey, do you like bacon?" He asked only for his brows to furrow. "Wait, do you even kno--"

'Absolutely! Yes! I would love some bacon.' Emre interrupted, his voice was very excited as it directly entered Ragan's mind.

Bacon! He was going to be eating actual cooked food! Not the raw meat he's been living off for weeks. Human food was really the best!

Ragan looked surprised at Emre's excitement before nodding. "Alright, it'll be finished soon." He said with a shrug.

He silently wondered about this dragon as he pulled back into the other room. Most dragons were known to be regal and noble with an aura of arrogance. He just so happened to run across a small dragon getting attacked by a dark creature and definitely not winning. Not to mention that the dragon seemed to be young just by the way he spoke. It was truly curious.

Emre was even more impatient now as the smells of the food in the next room slowly seeped through the cracks of the door. Now that he thought of it, however, he wasn't even able to sit up properly… Just giving a quick heal to his broken ribs would help in that right? It shouldn't be too noticeable...

He silently watched the door for a moment before cautiously moving his hand to his chest. Although his shoulder was sore from the burns that the creature had left, the herbs were actually a bit cooling. If Ragan started to come in he'd just have to stop healing himself right away.

With his hand on his chest, he quickly cast Healing Touch. His eyes narrowed at the very awkward, but strangely not painful, feeling of one of the bones moving back into place. He had to use the spell two more times to heal his ribs all the way, but it only took a minute to do.

He felt relief flood into his chest and let out a small sigh as his breathing became less painful. He also realized that healing himself didn't give him any experience. He should have noticed before but he had been more worried about lessening pain and regaining his energy instead when he got injured before.

With his pain lessened, he risked trying to alter his position. Right now, he was laying on his right side, the side that hadn't been scratched and burned. Using his right arm he shifted his elbow under him so that he could slowly prop himself up. Just fixing a few ribs lessened most of the pain, but his side and hind leg especially did not like the movement.

Wincing, he was able to get his upper body propped up by his elbows. He allowed his hind legs to remain mostly limp as he pressed his weight down onto his forearms to keep his balance.

The door behind him then opened and Ragan stepped in with two wooden plates. Emre turned his head and gazed at the fresh steaming breakfast with starry eyes.

"Wow, you're able to sit up?" Ragan commented with raised brows.

He walked over and set both of the plates upon the small nightstand before pulling it closer to where Emre was laying. Emre pulled himself toward the food, wincing at the sharp pain that darted up through his body.

'Barely.' He answered as he looked at them.

They each held a hardy steaming meal. There were two eggs, a few slices of bacon, two bread rolls, and a fruit that he didn't recognize. His mouth began to water and he looked up at Ragan.

"What are you waiting for? Eat." The older man picked up his wooden fork and started to dig in.

Emre also had a fork on his plate but he ignored it and simply leaned his head down and began to eat as an animal would. It was best that Emre didn't show that he was accustomed to using human utensils. Ragan didn't seem to mind though since Emre wasn't making a mess.

They both ate without a word until they had finished their plates. Emre had finished before Ragan and had laid back down on his side with a satisfied sigh. Eating human food was so nice. His belly felt nice and full and he even had company. Ragan placed his fork down and leaned back in his chair before releasing a burp.

"Ha, eating with someone else is way better than alone." Ragan said as he placed his hands upon his stomach.

'Definitely.' Emre agreed with a small sigh.

"Ah, by the way, you're welcome to stay here until you're fully healed."

Emre's head lifted up in shock. His golden eyes widened. He wasn't sure what he was expecting from this, but it still surprised him that Ragan was being so generous. He almost wanted to be suspicious. So much so that his shocked expression changed to uncertainty.

"You don't have to. But if you leave with all those injuries right now you'll probably be screwed." Ragan stated.

Emre could just heal himself if he wanted to. It took a lot of mana to do so, so it would take time, but he could do it. His mana right now was even low because he had used his Healing Touch three times just to heal his ribs. Was there a reason to stay here?

He thought back to the Black Swamp. He had resided there for three weeks utterly alone. No one to socialize with. The soldier unit with Silvis was his saving grace but even they left to continue on with their lives. He could stay here. But was Ragan trustworthy? Was he helping Emre to gain something in return?

Would his nonchalant smiling face come to stab Emre in the back?

Ragan seemed to notice his hesitance and his lack of a response and simply nodded with understanding.

"You don't have to decide right now. You can leave whenever you want." Ragan stated as he stood up from the chair.

He collected the empty plates and pushed the nightstand back into place near the head of the bed.

"Okay, I'm off to take a nap. I've been up too long."

Ragan stretched and casually left Emre, closing the door behind himself without another word. Emre couldn't find himself to respond. He was lost in thought.

Should he risk it?