A Morning Conversation

While it was nice to know that there were dragons close, as that meant they had at least a chance to encounter the fire dragon. Or at least Jonas hoped that was the case. Even though he didn't have any idea of whether or not that would be the case.

Still, he couldn't help but wonder what the dragon passing by might have been doing. Especially since it didn't seem to have noticed their camp. Unless it didn't find their presence concerning to it.

Which was entirely possible as far as Jonas was concerned.

It wasn't like the mythology of dragons that he was aware of was consistent or even clear as to how dragons acted. Plus, he couldn't recall if Elmo had come across anything in regards to the behavior of dragons on this world when he looked into where they might be able to find dragons.

When the noise had returned to where they were waiting to see if the dragon would appear, they went to look for the dragon, and found tracks of the dragon about maybe a mile away. Although, Jonas couldn't see how any of the trees in the area, except maybe some of the really tall ones would have been moving enough for Elmo to have noticed them, given what his reason for heading to that end of the damp had been.

Not that he had a reason to doubt Elmo, just that his reason felt a little odd to him. Though, aside from the tracks, they didn't find any sign of anything that would have indicated a dragon.

Yet, he wasn't deterred. If the search for the dragon they were looking for would end that easily, then it might not even be worth calling it a challenge. Even though he had no idea how easy it was going to be to slay.

Still, he wasn't about to let that incident dampen his mood. He was feeling almost as good as he had when they first started leaving the king's palace. Mostly because being stuck in this single location for a week because of the parasites had been a real pain.

As such, he was eager to finally be able to start moving again. The only problem he had right at that moment was the fact that it was just before dawn right then. So, the only other ones who were awake were those who had drawn the last watch.

Unless they were an early riser like him, despite the fact that he was confident that he'd only woken up this early simply because he was so ready to continue moving on.

"Oh, sorry, didn't think anyone was awake at this time," Jonas heard someone say, causing him to look towards the sound, to find Lance, looking sheepish.

"What's there to be sorry for?" Jonas asked, feeling a little confused at his reaction. "I was just sitting here waiting for everyone else to wake up. If you want to share the burned out fire with me, that's fine with me."

Jonas had been sitting by one of the many campfires that were spread around the camp, though this one had burned out the night before and he hadn't felt like starting it up on his own.

"It's more that I thought I might be interrupting," Lance said, as he started putting branches over the fire, clearly getting ready to start the fire again.

"Actually, I didn't even notice you until you said something," Jonas admitted, finding amusement at Lance's look of embarrassment, trying not to laugh or even chuckle.

"You didn't?" Lance asked. "What were you thinking of then?"

Jonas sighed as he looked into the distance. "What was I thinking about?" he mused. "Mostly about the dragon that came close to our camp yesterday. How we'll be able to start moving again today. And what more will happen before we even see a sign of the fire dragon."

"How serious is the problem with the fire dragon?" Lance asked, making Jonas wonder what Lance is thinking about in relation to why he, Kim, Elmo, and Elin were wanting to slay the fire dragon.

"Couldn't say," Jonas replied casually, unsure how else to put it. "The forces that brought us here made it clear that fighting the fire dragon and killing it are our next tasks."

Jonas wasn't sure if he should even tell Lance that much, but couldn't think of a way around it. As it wasn't like there had been a manual or guide for them to work with.

"Is there anything you can tell me about those forces?" Lance asked as he started creating sparks with some flint and steel, getting the fire started.

Jonas shrugged. The king hadn't absolutely forbidden them from saying anything that he could remember, and the announcer had only started that they couldn't get any help when completing challenges. Nothing had been said about not telling the locals about the fact that they were from another world.

However, he still hesitated about telling anyone. It wasn't like it was his secret alone to share. He couldn't say how Lance might take it or whet might come after that. All he could really be certain of was the fact that once he told Lance, there wasn't any way of making him forget that fact.

Or at least any way that he had available to him that he could be certain of working. Technically while he could kill Lance, that felt rather extreme and, since he couldn't be sure if the others would have a problem with Lance knowing or not, could potentially be completely unnecessary.

Still, he couldn't just leave the question unanswered either. So, he sighed and looked at Lance calmly.

"You'll have to ask that again after I talk with the others," Jonas replied, hoping the seriousness of what he was going to say was made apparent to Lance. "I'm not sure if they want that information out or not, so while I could tell you, I don't think it would be very respectful of them to not give them a say about if that is told to others or not."

"Is there some secret that I shouldn't know about?" Lance asked.

Jonas shook his head. Not so much in response, but just at the whole situation, with all the complications that abounded with it, that even he was still working at sorting out.

"Not really a secret," Jonas said, trying to figure out the right word to use. "More like the answer would contain information that I don't think would be right about me sharing without the permission of others, since it involves them as well."

Lance cocked his head a little to the side, giving Jonas a perfect picture of a confused expression. If he had a camera, he might consider taking Lance's picture and trying to make a meme out of it.

"What's so funny?" Lance asked, startling Jonas back to the present, where Lance's confused expression had turned into an annoyed one, bordering on irate.

"Sorry, just thinking about something else," Jonas replied. "Just looking at you a moment ago made me think of where I came from and, I guess it made me a little nostalgic."

He knew he hadn't been nostalgic, but it certainly was an answer that he knew would be less problematic than if he had given an honest answer. Especially if he was able to figure out how to explain things like memes and pictures to someone who would consider that a type of magic.

"What about me made you feel nostalgic?" Lance asked, his voice containing nothing but pure curiosity.

Which merely annoyed Jonas because it limited his ability to dodge the question.

"What about you?" Jonas mused as he wracked his brain trying to think of what excuse he could use. He waited a minute, but nothing came to mind. He doubted Lance would wait forever, which meant he needed to say something sooner rather than later.

"Well, I guess it would be more about just the way the light was lighting up your face," Jonas said, finally deciding to throw out some crap and hope Lance bought it. If nothing else, it wasn't like he'd be able to disprove any of it. "It made me think of a friend I once had. He would often get confused at some of the simplest things, even though others made fun of him because of it."

"How do I make you think of someone like that?" Lance asked, sounding like he wasn't sure if he should be offended or not.

Jonas waved his hand as if to blow the suggestion away. "Nothing about you exactly. Just the way you looked a moment ago is merely what made me think of him," he answered, hoping that would be the end of it.

"So, you're saying I'm nothing like him?" Lance asked, his eyes showing that Lance wasn't completely buying what Jonas was selling right then.

Not that Jonas could blame him, but it made it clear that Lance wasn't as gullible as he'd first thought. Which really was more to Lance's credit than anything else.

"Well, technically, everyone's like everyone else in some respects," Jonas replied, trying to think of how to end this topic without having to create a wall to block any further inquiries. "Like how you and I are similar in shape, if nothing else, because you have two arms and legs, just like I do."

Lance nodded, as he listened to Jonas, and Jonas hoped this would be the end of it.

"Yeah, I understand that now," Lance said, "I just had to make sure that this wouldn't have been an insult to have been compared to this friend of yours."

Jonas took a deep breath as quietly as he could and let it out in relief. He was glad that's what Lance was focusing on and not other aspects about it that Jonas was more worried about.

"So, is this gathering open to whoever wants to join?" a woman's voice asked startling Lance, although Jonas wasn't sure why this would be considered a private 'gathering' since it was still out in the open.

"You're free to join," Jonas said, nodding to the sentry that was coming back from their post.

"Good," the woman said, taking a seat to the side of the fire. "I was hoping to get something to eat soon. There wasn't anything available when I was woken up to take this watch."

Jonas nodded, He could understand being hungry at this point, especially from someone who had been on watch.

"Well, I don't have anything to cook here, so you'll need to find something on your own," Jonas replied. "Lance was the one who started the fire, so it's not like I'd planned this.

"If you're going to cook something to eat, you should cook enough for me and Elin too," Kim said as she started walking over from a nearby tent. "Elmo might be getting up soon as well, but he can go to another fire."

Jonas couldn't help but sigh. It looked like his quiet morning was over now.

Not that he was that surprised. After all, while the others had been asleep, it was only a matter of time before they woke up and started to get ready for the day.