Chapter 10: For another's dream

Edward took the poster with the dragon off the wall, and then went to the bounty officer.

"I will be taking this one," he told him, as the man blinked.

"Are you certain? I mean, this is a dragon?"

"More than sure," Edward told him, and then smiled. Felix was standing before the booth, and waiting for him. Edward wanted to impress him.

Edward had managed to get Felix to not go to the sick section of the Emporium, and to keep his 400 gold coins for his license. Together with the 600 gold coins which the dragon would net them, he should be able to get his alchemy license without a problem.

"Well, if you say so. We don't pay upfront for SS ranked quests," the man told him, but Edward already knew that.

"Just keep people from coming to this location, ok? I don't want them attacking me, while I attack the dragon," Edward saluted the bounty officer, and then walked off. As soon as he reached Felix, he took a hold of his hand, and began to lead him away.

"There be dragons, Felix," Edward joked, wanting to lift the mood. Felix stopped in his tracks.

"What have you done?"

"Got us a bounty for a dragon," Edward didn't understand why Felix looked so pale. "Do you have so little faith in me?"

"Edward, you can end up burned alive. You can't expect me to be calm, when…"

"Hey, none of that," Edward waved his bunny off, giving him a carefree smile. "I will bag the dragon. You will see."

"You can't be so certain. What if you fail? How am I going to live if you end up crippled, or worse? Go back in the booth, and take something safer!"

"No, but it is cute that you care more about me, than your license," considering that a single license could take Felix out of the ranks of the impoverished, it really meant a lot to Edward.

"If you don't go back there, and return the quest, I won't talk to you!"

"Silence is golden," Edward told Felix in a sing-song voice, and clicked his tongue, when Felix closed his mouth, and then began to march towards the portal. "You don't know the way!"

But Felix didn't turn around. So, Edward jogged to him. They traveled in silence, with Edward taking point, when it became clear that he wasn't going to go back to the booth for something easier. Felix kept his promise, and kept silence the whole way.

Two days they traveled, leaving the forest behind, and moving towards the seaside. The dragon was of the water variety, and Edward tried to explain to Felix that there was no way it could burn him alive, but the bunny shifter didn't spare any words for him.

"Am I to go into an epic showdown with the knowledge, that you are mad at me?" Edward could smell the dragon in the air. The rancid smell of fish, mixed in with the rot from its teeth, was not something he wanted to subject himself to for long. He just wanted for Felix to wish him good luck. But the bunny shifter remained silent.

"Fine! I am going, and if I don't come back in flesh, I will come in spirit. And talk your ear off," with this, Edward turned to leave, but he was stopped by two arms coming to rest around his middle.

Edward felt lips on the back of his neck, and felt silly thinking that Felix must be on his tip-toes right now.

"So, I get a kiss, but no words of encouragement?" Edward asked, and he got another kiss, but again, no words. "Once I come back with the dragon's head, you will see how awesome I am. Then, you will have to talk to me, dear bunny!"

The chuckle he heard was a step in a better direction, and when the arms unwrapped from around him, he marched out with a bounce to his step.

The dragon saw him first, but Edward's barriers were always close by. The first wave left him with soaked up boots, and without any damage.

Edward made three giant golems out of the nearby rock formation, and sent them after the dragon. As they fought, Edward made a spear of pure mana, and began to aim.

He knew that he had just one shot. If he failed this, then he would need to run, and hope that the dragon won't follow. He waited, until the golems managed to cut up one of the wings of the dragon, and then sent his spear straight at the reptile's middle. He couldn't damage the head, despite it being by far the better target.

The spear went through one of the golems, making it explode. For one tense minute, Edward watched, as the debris began to settle. His nerves were at an end. And yet, when he saw that the dragon was pierced, he jumped in joy.

Now that it was deathly wounded, the dragon stood no chance against the remaining golems. Soon, its head rolled, and Edward came to the creature. He quickly collected both the body and head, as he was of a mind to sell the corpse for parts.

When he came back to Felix, the rabbit shifter ran to him, and hugged him tightly.

"I told you I'd be back," Edward said, whispering the words in Felix's hair.

"I saw everything. If the mana spear had missed…"

"But, it didn't," Edward said, smirking. Felix saw that, and narrowed his eyes.

"Why are you smirking?" Didn't Edward know just how much of a strain it had been on Felix's nerves? Didn't he know that he had nearly risked his life, and for what? For…

Felix realized with a start that Edward had risked himself for Felix's dream. The question was, why?

"What are you hiding from me?" Felix asked, and Edward tapped his lips. The bunny shifter gave the cat shifter a soft kiss, but pulled away when Edward wanted to deepen it.

"You will find out when you get wiser," even if Edward thought that it was madness, for Felix to get tangled up with him. Edward lived a dangerous life. And if Felix thought that dragons were so dangerous that they deserved for Felix to give out the silent treatment, then Edward didn't want to see how he'd react, once he went back to his usual bounties.

"Now," Edward continued, bringing Felix closer to himself. "Do you want some mint, and a couple of carrots?"

Felix tried to ignore the bribe, but the temptation was there. He slowly nodded, and was quickly given a carrot to munch on.

"I also like cabbage," Felix said, enjoying the sweet treat.

"Right, good to know," Edward didn't have any cabbage on him, but he vowed to buy some, as soon as he could. The idea that Felix would begin to nibble on cabbage right before him, made him grin.

"You know, you are a cute rabbit and all, but you never told me how you like your meat…"

Felix was just about to answer, when he heard the innuendo in Edward's tone.

"You are horrible," Felix deadpanned, considering throwing the half-eaten carrot at the sly cat, but then deciding not to waste the food.

"Hard, or…" and so, Felix decided to continue with the silent treatment. Something that persisted all the way to the bounty booth. Much to the constant excuses that Edward tried to use, to soften up his bunny.

And if Felix felt something like a minty scent in the air, coming out of Edward. Well, he simply chalked it down to the mint they both ate, and not the lovely home scent he normally associated the herb with.