Ch 8- Determined

Mac slept especially poor on this night, maybe his subconscious couldn't handle all the recent fluctuations and unease. Mac rarely had any dreams, but tonight he had one that gripped his mind and had him jolt awake with his heart pounding. In this dream, the communication tower finally received a response and a few dragons arrived to their tribe.

These dragons grabbed Casey and forced him to go into their spacecraft with them. Casey struggled to break free from them and kept calling his tribe for help; he could see tears shimmering down his face like beautiful crystals.

In the dream however Mac turned his face away and only whispered "they can give you the best of what you need. Go". After a few of the people dragged Casey away he could barely hear his cries; the leader of the group walked toward Mac and his grandfather.

The man reached out to shake his hand and thanked Mac for contacting them. He then waved his hand and his men brought out a compact space aircraft and handed him a large bag.

"This is your reward for turning him to us". The cold-looking man said. Mac hesitated in the dream and asked "He will be well loved and take care of, right?".

Upon hearing Mac's words the man's face dropped by several degree's and he sneered at Mac.

"If you really wished that then you wouldn't have blindly contacted others using him. What happens to him is no longer your concern. Just take the benefit and forget our exchange here".

The man only left these words before turning and leaving. As the door to their ship closed Mac could hear Casey's desperate crying and screaming, then the aircraft took off leaving their planet. Mac woke up in a cold sweat and looked next to himself and saw the silver dragon which calmed down his nerves.

"It would never be like this in real life" Mac reasoned in his mind and calmed himself. "What we're doing is for the best". Mac continued to hypnotize himself and finally settled down. He sat down his hand and gently touched the dragon's tail and paused before lowering his eyes to take in the sight of the dragon.

For the first time Mac felt fearful that he was getting too attached to the dragon. They had only been together for a few days and he was already having nightmares about him. Mac felt too swayed by the silly, dependent, and affectionate gaze the dragon often showed him.

He took one last glance at Casey and determined in his mind to draw a line between them. He couldn't get too attached and needed to keep himself in check. After steeling his mind Mac stood up and left the room without looking back.

When Casey woke up he saw Mac was no longer there and sprung up. He washed and got ready as fast as possible and then went out to find Mac. Mac was already sitting at the table eating breakfast hearing the noise he raised his head and met Casey's eyes. Mac felt uncomfortable when he saw that warm and excited gaze falling on him.

"Morning, I have a lot of work to do today so I have to eat first and head out. Would you still like to go to Rose's today or would you rather stay at home and rest?". Casey's head drooped hearing those words, he didn't want to study today but he also didn't want to be alone.

"Can I help you?". Casey asked with a hopeful gaze.

"I'm afraid you can't today, sorry Casey".

"Oh. Well I'll go see if I can be helpful around the village then!".

Mac showed him a slight smile and nodded in understanding. "You eat first then you go do whatever makes you happy, okay? Don't be afraid to speak out to others". Leaving those words Mac stood up and headed out.

Casey watched the door close and slowly continued to eat his food. "It's rather tasteless". He thought to himself blankly. Casey shoveled the rest of his food into his mouth, sorted out the dishes and went outside.

"Where should I go". Casey looked around with a blank face. The next moment he flew up and headed in the direction towards the fields. Upon seeing the Shera who oversees the field work Casey promptly flew down and landed right in front of him.

"Is there anything I can do to help?". Casey spoke with bright eyes and the older Shera didn't have the heart to tell him no. So upon hearing Casey's words he tilted his head and thought for a moment.

"Ah! I actually think we have the perfect job for you. It time to sow the seeds for the next harvest. The ground is already prepped and ready, do you think you'd be able to distribute the seeds across the designated fields? With flying, you should be several times faster than us".Nodding his head Casey patted his chest; a lovely smile beaming on his face "you can count on me".

Thus Casey began his first ever hard labor. He had a large bag strapped to his back and flew towards the fields trying to distribute the seeds as evenly as possible. Casey may be able to fly but he was extra cautious to make sure the seeds were sown properly; so that his tribe won't lose out in the next harvest. It took Casey several hours to finally finish sowing everything. He felt exhausted as he slowly flew back to the Shera in charge.

As soon as he landed Casey collapsed into a dragon pancake; laying flat on all fours. "Are you okay?!" A few of the workers nearby saw his collapse and ran over. Casey showed a sweet smile "I finished sowing the seeds to the fields! I'm just a bit tired now and need to rest". The Shera heard his words and felt a bit surprised. Normally it takes them a while two weeks to sow the fields but Casey managed to do so in a few hours.

The leader of the fields walked over and rubbed Casey's head. "That's amazing Casey, thank you for helping us so much. Why don't we all take a break and have some lunch together?".Casey was super excited after receiving his praise and happily followed the group to have a late lunch.

During this time Mac had once again been walking for a few hours to reach the trading market. The last time he went he asked all the sellers and vendors to look through their items for the last pieces he still needed.

As he walked Mac couldn't help his mind from drifting back to the small dragon. "It's good to stop myself now," he thought. But he found his thoughts had to accept. Mac really liked Casey and the presence and happiness he brought to the village. Mac had never felt so conflicted in his life but was determined to follow his grandfathers orders.

Upon arriving to the market he made his way through the vendors and luckily enough by the end of the trip he had the rest of the parts needed to rebuild the communication tower. With this bag of parts in hand, Mac walked back towards his village with heavy footsteps.

Mac walked into the house close to dusk and looked around, but he didn't see Casey. Mac let out a small sigh of relief and went in his study to sort the parts he collected.

Casey had been having a great time with the Shera from the fields and continued to help and follow them in the afternoon. The group was very enthusiastic towards Casey and taught him many things about farming and how to take care of the plants and fields. Casey listened to everything they taught very attentively.

After discovering that he may not much spiritual power Casey thought he may need to change his way of thinking. Without spiritual power he may never go through a growth phase or at least it would take a very very long time. So this village may end up being his permanent home.

"I shouldn't give up as Mac said, I can train a little everyday while focusing on other things" Casey declared to himself.

He knew he had support and the Shera tribe obviously like him very much so he started thinking maybe he should forget about dragons and just live a peaceful life with this tribe. With such thoughts in mind Casey figured physical labor like the fields would be best fitted to his sturdy(questionably) body. So he learned even more seriously and kept the field workers words tightly in his mind.

By the time the group was done and ready to leave for the day it was already late evening.

Casey rushed home; as he walked through the door he saw a wrapped plate of food in front of his seat at the table. Casey glanced at the food and turned his head to look for Mac. He knocked on the door to his bedroom but didn't receive a response. He then walked to the study and knocked on the door, he heard rustling and footsteps behind the door before it was slowly pulled open.

Mac looked down a Casey "finally home?".

Casey thought he heard a bitter tone from Mac but looking at his peaceful face; he assumed he heard wrong. "Yep! I worked out in the fields today". Casey trusted Mac the most and would openly share his thoughts and feelings to him.

"I think I won't be able to grow for a long time, so I want to find my place in village and help not as a guest but rather as a long-term resident". Casey showed a wide grin to Mac and continued. "I'm not giving up on learning spiritual power I'm just going to cut back and slow down on my learning and not prioritize it quite as much as before".

Mac felt quite surprised that Casey could adjust his mindset so fast. He felt relieved that Casey wasn't depressed and found a direction for himself. At first he felt tempted to tell Casey about them trying to send out messages, but after seeing his resolve and peace Mac threw the idea aside.

"That's great to hear Casey. If you're planning to become a permanent resident would you like your own home then?".

Looking up at Mac Casey softly spoke "I think it'd be hard to live on my own for now and also I don't want to trouble to tribe to build a new house just for myself".

Mac also felt the same way to an extent but he wanted to cooperate with the dragon as much as possible, yet he also felt that putting more distance between them would be better for himself. Mac didn't speak out any of his thoughts as he simply nodded to Casey's words. "As you get to know the people of our tribe more, if you find someone you'd rather be with don't be afraid to voice out your opinions, okay?".

Casey turned his head sharply at Mac's words. "Does he think I'm a burden and not want me now?". Casey thought to himself, he suddenly felt a bit depressed. He determined in his mind that he would work harder and be more proactive in taking care of the home so Mac wouldn't want to throw him to others.

"I'll keep your words in mind". Casey solemnly stated. "Have you already had dinner?". He then asked In slight apprehension.

"Yes, I left you a plate. I still have work to do and cannot accompany you".

Casey looked even sadder as he heard Mac's words; his tail fell and it dragged on the ground as he nodded and turned away.

Mac watched the dragon's dejected figure as he left. He held a hand against his forehead and felt so bad for hurting this child's emotions. He slowly leaned back against his chair and covered his eyes with his hand as he took a deep breath; continuing to tell himself this was for the best. After he sat for a moment and gathered his composure he continued to put the parts together.

Casey walked to the table and ate with a sullen expression. He felt that Mac acted a bit distant from him today, but he thought maybe it was just him overthinking. After all Mac was busy and it seemed he really didn't have the time for him. Casey started to wonder what it was exactly that made Mac suddenly busy, but out of fear of being disliked he couldn't bring himself to ask.

So Casey walked back to his room and practiced the breathing exercises he learned from Rose before. As he practiced his mind slowly drifted off and Casey fell asleep.