Ch 22- Departure

After waking up the following morning the entourage started to prepare to set off for their flight back to their Homestar. Casey used this time to spend by Ryiens side. The two went out of the tribe for a walk; Ryien held Casey gently in his arms as they strolled about.

After walking for a while the two arrived at a large clearing filled with red flowers, Ryien slowly put Casey down and sat with him before speaking. "Can you change into your human form?". Casey gave Ryien a puzzled look but did as his friend asked and the next moment a gorgeous young man appeared in front of Ryien.

Ryien raised the corner of his lips into a slight smile and picked a red flower. He held it carefully and looked down at the vibrant youth before him. Ryien raised his hand and brushed Casey's hair behind his ear and delicately placed the flower with it. He then proceeded to slide his hands through Casey's hair and placed a light kiss at the end of his hair.

Casey's pale face flushed pink as he watched Ryiens careful movements in bewilderment. Ryien took in this look and gave Casey a sad smile as he held his hand. "It's been an honor getting to know and teach you Casey. Although I won't be by your side for a while; please continue to think and remember me okay? I'll come to you again as soon as I can".

"Silly Rye". Casey bowed his head for a moment exhaling a small sigh. "Make sure you come back soon. Mac and I will wait for you". Ryien looked at his silly, innocent smile and felt a bit disheartened hearing his words.

'I don't care about Mac, I just want you to want and care about me'. After this brief exchange, the two made their way back to the tribe in silence. When the time finally came to leave Casey held Ryien tightly; with small tears coming out of his eyes as he said goodbye.

Sitka come over to hold Casey's shoulders, he nodded towards Ryien before taking Casey in the spaceship. The Nova tribe were all gathered around the ships waiting for their esteemed guests and benefactors to leave. Mac stood outside the door and stared at Ryien for a moment before walking over and shaking his hand.

"I'll take good care of him, make sure you see him soon, or else he'll be sad". Mac dropped this sentence and before receiving an affirmation, he turned around and walked into the spaceship.

Casey left his father and Mac's side and went to his room alone. He stared at Ryiens figure from the window as their ship took off. Once the Nova tribe was no longer visible Casey sullenly turned from the window and sat blankly for a while. After an hour of sulking, Casey smacked his cheeks hard. 'Snap out of it! It's not like we won't meet again'. Casey exhaled a sigh and decided he needed to distract himself; so he got up and thought he may as well explore the spaceship.

The spaceship was rather large; three floors tall and had many rooms. Casey had only been on the first floor and decided to go and explore a bit on the other floors. He made his way up to the third floor and was caught off guard when he saw several unfamiliar people walking around on this floor. When the people noticed Casey's presence they all bowed towards him; Casey felt very uncomfortable. As Casey turned around and was about to run back to the lower floors he heard someone call his name. He turned his head and glanced over; he saw his fathers familiar secretary and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hello, Sara". The young woman smiled gently at Casey.

"Are you looking for your Sir Aki? He's in the control room, I can guide you to him if you'd like". Casey's eyes lit up he thought it'd be super cool to go to the control room; then he recalled Mac and thought he would probably like it too.

"Can I go grab Mac first? I think he'd like to see it too!".

Sara pursed her lips "I'm sorry young master, but the equipment in the control room is special and we don't want outsiders to see it. I ask for your understanding in this matter". Casey was already in a sensitive state from leaving one of his companions behind, he was very unhappy hearing Sara's words.

"What do you mean by saying outsider? Mac is my family! There's no harm in him seeing anything, I trust him and want to keep him by my side". Sara was sweating bullets as she observed Casey's stern expression which didn't fit his beautiful face. "This… let me speak with the master and see what he says. I'll be back in a moment". Sara bowed and dashed away to speak with Aki regarding this matter. Casey stood still, puffed up in aggravation; he turned and went straight to find Mac".

Mac watched in astonishment as he saw Casey running towards him and pouncing on him. Mac held Casey and could vaguely feel his fluctuating emotions, he lightly touched his silky hair. "What's wrong?". Casey pursed his lips and spoke in an aggrieved manner. "I'm not too sure either, it's hard to control my emotions right now. I don't feel like… well me. Maybe too many things have happened too quickly and it's affecting me too much".

Mac patted Casey's back to help soothe his tense emotions. Mac couldn't help feeling concerned, his little dragon is normally gentle and kind, such an aggressive and tense mood isn't like him at all. Mac pondered and recalled Ryiens words in the past about how Casey's mentality would change after his growth phase. Mac worried that his dragon would change in a negative way, considering Casey's past depression and weakness he pondered for a moment. "Why don't we go see and talk to your dad, I have some concerns to ask him".

Casey stared at Mac and nodded he grabbed Mac's slightly cold hand and went to find Sitka. When they arrived at Sitkas room Casey gave a soft knock on the door. When Sitka opened the door and saw the odd expressions on the two he quickly invited them in. "What's wrong?".

Mac glanced at Casey and spoke up " after a dragon's growth phase will they have any physiological or mental changes?". Sitka was stunned and stared at Casey blankly. "Why do you ask?". Casey answered, "I feel like my feelings are a bit out of control, and am easily agitated".

Sitka mulled over Casey's words for a moment and fell into deep thought.

"Ah". He glanced at his son and recalled he had lived his life as a human up til a little ago.

"Hm, maybe it's your human mindset that's conflicting with your dragon nature" Sitka had mumbled softly but both Casey and Mac heard it. Casey was stunned "what do you mean?".

Sitka sighed "what I mean is that the nature of humans and dragons are fundamentally very different. Up until recently, you've lived as a human, this wasn't too much of a conflict when you were a cub as cubs are simple and their nature and instinct are basic. However, now that you've gone through your growth phase, your dragon nature has become stronger and you either consciously or subconsciously are rejecting it. Which will lead to mood swings and various internal conflicts".

Sitka stared Casey in the eyes "you need to stop fighting your nature and accept yourself Casey. You are the future king, and you need to let go of your human thinking as it will only hurt you". Casey fell into a daze hearing Sitkas words 'am I rejecting myself?' Casey felt lost. He didn't think he wasn't accepting himself and didn't understand Sitkas words and thought maybe his dad was wrong. Casey sat quietly not saying a word, Mac next to him was anxious seeing his reaction.

Casey didn't want to think about this in front of his dragon father so he gave a light goodbye to Sitka and walked out with Mac. Mac could see Casey's troubled appearance he paused for a moment "why don't you change back to your other form, I'll take you around the ship". Casey nodded blankly and Mac caught a small silver dragon he lead him straight to the observation deck. Casey looked up and saw the blooming stars and space out in the distance and showed a small smile looking at the beautiful scenery.

Mac lightly stoked his back and spoke softly "what do you think about what Mr. Sitka said?". Casey lightly shook his head and whispered "I don't think I'm rejecting my nature". Mac stared at him and said lightly "are you sure about that? Dragons are at the top of the chain and many races worship them. Dragons are typically arrogant in nature and act as rulers, they don't need to seek others' approval, and speak and act out their thoughts and desires bluntly. Tell me Casey does that sound anything like you?".

Casey felt hurt hearing Mac's words but he knew what he said was right and he knew he really didn't match any of those words. Casey was more cowardly and feared speaking bluntly because he didn't want others to hate or leave him. He said all this to Mac who gave him a slight smile. "You shouldn't be thinking this way. You are the future king of your race, you should be the most confident and forward person. You will have absolute power and should be acting as such".

Casey felt he could understand a bit better after Mac's words and heaved a heavy sigh. "Even if I understand I can't just change who I am". Mac lifted Casey to meet his eyes "we'll work together to build up your confidence, don't lower your head or give in to anyone. From now on try putting your thoughts and interests first". Casey really felt conflicted hearing Mac's words, it really went against his thinking and he felt a faint repulse towards such actions. Mac saw Casey's disgusted gaze and knew it would be a long journey, so he whispered soft words of comfort and dropped the topic.

The two sat together and just watched the stars pass by their ship in silence, each brewing on their own thoughts. The two of them had already been sitting for half an hour when the door to the observation deck was thrown open. Standing there was a heavily panting Alec, he immediately spotted Casey nestled in Mac's arm and was about to throw a fit. His noble and beautiful fiancé was once again in another man's arms like a pet cat.

Alex inhaled a few deep breaths to calm himself down, he stomped over domineeringly. He saw the innocent eyes of his fiancé and froze, he lowered his eyes and decided to pursue his fiancé being soft was definitely the best way. So the next moment a small golden dragon appeared and held its tail in his claws and fumbled it lightly; appearing a bit coquettish.

Casey stared at the gold dragon in a daze. Alec's dragon form looked very different from his own. Alec had two sets of wings, a large pair like his own and a smaller pair further down his back. He also only had one large horn in the middle of his forehead and his tail had small spikes going down the whole tail. Alec's gold scales had a beautiful shine that reflected light, Casey thought his dragon form was even more handsome than his human form.

Casey slowly crawled out of Mac's arms and approached the small gold dragon. Alec was watching Casey closely, he saw his eyes dilate and his pheromone condense. Alec was very pleased seeing this reaction and boldly propped himself so Casey could completely look him over. Casey took the opportunity and circled around Alec twice then he lightly head-butted Alec and nuzzled against him. Alec was overjoyed and turned his head to look at Mac in a condescending manner.

'Now this is how a dragon should act' Mac thought with a sigh, he looked at the two with a tangled expression. Mac stood up and was ready to leave to give Casey time to socialize and learn from his own kind. Casey however heard the movement and shifted his focus back to Mac. Seeing Mac wanted to leave Casey opened his wings and flew to follow. He landed on Mac's shoulder and looked back at Alec, Casey had a hard time fighting the desire he felt towards this gold dragon. Casey wondered if it was because of the dragon instincts that drew him to the other so much. Casey felt a bit scared at the illogical influence Alec had on him and he urged Mac to leave quickly. Although Mac showed no emotions through this whole exchange he felt greatly relieved seeing Casey urging him to leave that other dragon.