Chp.46: You can change the world

The three dragons moved away a little from all the other people present, and returned to the river bank. Rhaegal and Haku didn't say a word the whole time, but they didn't stop even for a second to look at a rather angry Darbi, who didn't dare say anything since he was sure that otherwise they would make him pay.

Once they reached a point where surely no one could eavesdrop, the three of them sat down and then Haku spoke: "Let's go step by step" he said. "First, for the safety of everyone here, I propose that we avoid talking about that story about the badgers"

"Oh, come on, it was just an innocent prank!" Darbi exclaimed trying to justify himself.

"You say that because it wasn't you the one who was attacked by those hellish beasts!" Rhaegal grumbled "I guess you enjoyed watching us squirm trying to shake them off!"

Haku sighed. Indeed, he too was quite angry about that story. Of course, the badgers hadn't hurt them, since they hadn't the slightest chance of opening a wound with their tiny claws and teeth in a creature at least eighty times their weight and covered in very hard scales, but still they had been a great nuisance. The badgers were really not afraid of anything and had jumped at him from every direction, and this thanks to their surprise had led him and Rhaegal to act in a confused way and to bang their heads against each other. It had taken them nearly five minutes to get those damned little animals off their backs, also because the badgers they managed to knock over didn't run away, they just came back to attack them. The only silver lining to that story was that at least they'd tasted the badger meat. "As I said before, let's avoid talking about it. I don't want to fight" he repeated. Darbi seemed happy with that proposal, and Rhaegal also seemed to agree, even if he still didn't stop glaring at his brother.

Seeing that at least that situation had calmed down, Haku continued: "Second, I have nothing against it if you want to have fun with the newcomers, Darbi, even if I would like you to avoid telling embarrassing episodes of our life. But you can't let your guard down in that way. You were so distracted that Rhaegal and I managed to get behind you without you noticing. If we were an enemy, we could have attacked you and you would have been unprepared"

"Haku, you're too paranoid. How many enemies can there be around here? We're literally in the middle of nowhere" Darbi retorted. "We can afford to have some fun here"

"It doesn't matter if we're seemingly in the middle of nowhere, we can never let our guard down! I thought it was clear after all this time" Haku snapped. "We cannot know what dangers this world holds for us. Even if the situation seems peaceful, something could always be approaching in the shadows. Have all the fun you want, but always keep your eyes, ears and nose active"

"Haku is right" Rhaegal said. "Darbi, we've risked our neck too many times. There's no point in risking it for a simple distraction. We can laugh and joke even without putting ourselves in danger"

Darbi sighed. He knew that his brothers were technically right, they had proved it many times. But from his point of view, it wasn't a bad thing to let his guard down and have some fun once in a while. After all, not only were they in the middle of nowhere, but they were also surrounded by professional gladiators, and to top it off there were their sisters who were sure to be keeping tabs on their surroundings. With these assumptions, he believed that he could afford to relax. However, he didn't contradict them.

Haku took his silence as a declaration that he understood, so he continued with the conversation: "And third, which is also the main topic... we came to find you because we would like to hear your opinion on a certain matter. Even if after what we have seen and heard I am seriously starting to doubt this choice"

"Me too" Rhaegal said.

Darbi tried to convince himself that his brothers weren't serious. "Okay, no problem. Is it about your... trust issue?"

"No, we fixed that" Haku replied. Well, 'fixed' was a big word, but at least they had come to some sort of mutual understanding. "It's about the future. We would like to know what you think we should do"

Darbi was somewhat confused. "Please, be more specific"

"You know the plan, don't you? Cross the desert and get away from the newcomers" Rhaegal explained. "Well... the fact is that some of us... without telling names... are starting to doubt this plan. Yes, well... some of us would like to be able to explore the world better, interact more with newcomers, building new relationships. Stop running away and that's it"

"However, we are also aware that this isn't our choice. This world leaves us no choice" Haku said. "None of us can imagine a future other than what we have planned. So, since you said you believe in that 'change direction' antics... maybe you can help us see a path that we don't see at the moment"

Darbi was silent for a moment, and his gaze was absent, as if he were reflecting on those words. Then he shook his head. "It's not our choice, huh? What happened to the Haku who yelled 'I am the one who decides my destiny!' in my ears?"

Haku felt a little embarrassed by that question. "That Haku grew up, Darbi. He grew up and understood that he can't change the whole world"

"Really? And why not?" Darbi asked. "Did you even try? How can you say that you can't change the world, or at least a small part of it? We are dragons, have you forgotten? We can change the fate of entire nations with a single gesture"

"Yes, but we will be able to do that only when we'll be adults. And even then, we either get killed or we run away" Rhaegal pontificated. "We can't… how is it you said? Change direction, that's it. Maybe we can try to be different, but surely the rest of the world won't. It doesn't matter if we keep saying we don't want to hurt anyone, that we just want to see the wonders this world has to offer, that we have enjoyed spending time with the newcomers and would like to continue… they will always see us for exactly what we are, predators. It is like asking a mouse to trust a cat. And if the newcomers fear us, how can we change direction? How can we hope for a different life than the one we planned?"

Darbi sighed. "I never said it would be easy. Indeed, it will certainly be much more difficult than just running away. And the chances of failure are very high. But at least, we can fight to try to live, not just survive" he said. "Listen… we are outcasts. We are what everyone in this world hates and fears. But if we aren't the ones trying to change things, if we just keep running away, then who will ever change the world? You said it yourself once, Haku, sooner or later the newcomers will colonize every corner of this world, so what will we do? Where will we run away to when the time will come? Now we want to run away to the oasis, tomorrow we will run away to the ocean, and then what? When the newcomers will arrive there too, where will we go? Will we fly away to the stars?"

Haku didn't answer. The truth was, he didn't know either. His plan had always ended in taking his siblings to a desert island far from any inhabited land and settling there, living almost entirely off fishing and never meddling in the affairs of the newcomers. But he knew that that really couldn't be a long-term solution: if that were enough, then all the dragons would live on coasts or islands, and their species wouldn't be on the brink of extinction. In addition, there was always the risk of being discovered. If the newcomers had known that there was an island full of dragons, they would have destroyed it to ward off any future attacks. It would have been like finding a wolf den near a village: even if the wolves had never done anything, the villagers would have killed them to prevent them from attacking livestock and people. And this without even taking into account the important and dangerous presence of the gods, who were still entities almost incomprehensible to them. Therefore, Haku didn't know exactly what the future held for them; he had thought about it many times, but he had never been able to give a precise answer. He had therefore decided that he would simply continue with the plan and then once he reached the ocean he would start evaluating other solutions.

Seeing his uncertainty, Darbi continued: "Haku, you once told me that you wanted to save us all from the brutal and insensitive life we ​​would have, and you are doing it. But now, from my point of view, you have only two choices. You can surrender to the ruthless laws of this world, and merge with them while continuing to escape, and spend your life in fear that something will go wrong. Or...". A smile formed on his face: "... you can destroy the laws of this world"

Haku looked at him strangely. "Destroy the laws of this world? Do you have any idea what you're saying?"

"Of course. Don't we like the current laws? Very well, then let's tear them apart and create new ones. Let's build a new world, one step at a time. A world that is the way we want it" Darbi replied.

"How do you plan to do that? You remembered that we are not omnipotent, right?" Haku asked somewhat skeptical again.

But to his surprise, Darbi shrugged. "I don't know how to do it. I'm not good at thinking. I already know that I won't be able to change this world... yet I believe it anyway. Because I know that you, Haku, instead you can do it, if only you will convince yourself of this" he answered. "You have an extraordinary mind, something none of us can match. We are all smart and clever, but you… you are on another level. You have the ability to change the rules at your will. You already did it many other times, even on a much smaller scale. I can't do it, I have no ideas. But I have faith in you. And I know you won't have the heart to force our siblings to give up what little happiness they got in this last year to pursue a life based only on survival, even if safer. That's why I believe in changing direction. Because I know that if you want it, you can change the direction of the whole world, not just of us"

Haku felt quite flattered by those words, but at the same time very confused and scared. It seemed impossible for him to feel so many emotions all at once. And yet... "You give me too much credit"

"Or maybe you're giving yourself too little" Darbi said. "We've all always trusted you, Haku. Now is the time for you to trust yourself"

Haku sighed. "Changing direction... would be a stupid move. The move of a madman, an idealist, a visionary... the move of a kid"

"Yes, that's true" Darbi said with a smile. "But you are a kid, Haku. This is something that all of us tend to forget too often"

Haku remained silent, not knowing how to retort. He didn't say anything for several minutes, then he whispered: "I... I'll think about it"

"Gorgeous!" Darbi exclaimed. "I know you will make the right choice"

"Yeah..." Haku didn't seem very convinced. Soon after, however, his expression became more ferocious. "But now that we no longer have a reason to refrain from fight, let's talk a bit about that interesting story about the bargers"

Darbi blanched. "But... I thought you wanted to let it go..."

"You won't get away with it that easily" Haku replied. "You have ten minutes"

Darbi didn't understand. "To what?"

"To increase the distance between you and us. Running" Rhaegal explained, who in turn was licking his claws with the typical look he had when targeting a prey. Darbi gulped, then he turned and started running in a random direction.

Rhaegal waited until their brother was far enough, then he turned to Haku: "You really don't want to chase him, do you?"

"You know me too well. I just wanted to give him a good scare. We'll probably find him face down in a ditch tomorrow morning" Haku answered with a small laugh, then his tone became serious: "Do you agree with him?"

Rhaegal thought about it for a moment, then he said: "Personally, I agree with almost everything he said. I have no idea how to change the world, but Darbi is right that continuing to run will solve nothing. But I'm sure of one thing: if there really is someone capable of changing the world, it's you"

Haku grunted. "Last time I tried to change things, I hurt you. How can you trust me?"

"You hurt me, yes… but you also saved us all from a horrible and lonely life" Rhaegal replied. "Nobody ever said you aren't allowed to make mistakes, Haku. Everyone does. But don't dwell on them alone when judging yourself. You're not as dangerous as you think, and you've done many good things for this family"

Haku felt a little heartened, but he still wasn't convinced. "Perhaps we should wait until we become adults. I mean, go to the oasis and wait to unlock our domain. This way, even if things go wrong, we would have the opportunity to defend ourselves"

"That would be a wise choice… but something tells me it's in reality just an excuse, and that in a little over eight years you'll be making up another one" Rhaegal replied. "Personally, I feel that if we let go of the few bonds we've built now, we won't have the chance to build new ones. It's smart to wait until we're adults before making big moves... but isolating ourselves completely could preclude any form of contact in future"

Haku sighed. His brother was right. After all, who would ever talk to and believe an adult dragon? It was hard enough to make connections with newcomers while he and his siblings were still kids. When they grew up it would be impossible to have a dialogue, unless they had already built bridges before. "I need to stay alone for some time" he said in the end.

Rhaegal nodded. "I imagined that. I'll leave you to your thoughts" he replied. "Besides, unlike you, I want to take serious revenge on Darbi. Now I'll teach him why he shouldn't lure us into a badger den!"

Haku laughed slightly upon hearing those words. He turned to reply, but his brother had already run off. Left alone, therefore, he lay down on a rock and observed the starry sky above him.

Was it really possible to change direction? Could he change the world? It seemed too arrogant to believe that. But his siblings had had some good experiences during that year spent with the newcomers... and Haku didn't want to deprive them of the chance to really live, instead of just running away. And honestly, even he was sick of thinking only about surviving. He wanted to try and experience what it meant to live without fear, without worries, chasing his dreams and ambitions. He wanted all of them to experience that kind of life.

When the sun came up the following morning, he had made his decision.