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“Look,” Kim Dokja says. His eyes remain focused on the grassy field, a focal point centered in his view. A field of beautiful flowers, blooming across an endless wave of verdant. Under the glistening moonlight, it’s more stunning than ever before, the tide of flowers swaying under the night winds.
The white glow emanated looks more magical than magic runes ever could look. Moon flowers glisten as if they were little white stars across the black murky sky.
Yoo Joonghyuk snorts, a huff pitched high. After travelling with this bastard for so long, he already knows what that means. A sound of approval. He too thinks this sight is stunning.
Kim Dokja chuckles a little. Back then, Yoo Joonghyuk had grunted in a disapproving way when he’d seen the thousands of little bugs that swarmed in an endless abyss—too, they resembled stars, but they were dangerous, exceptionally so. Like a venus flytrap, exuding nectar to bait prey in, those bugs acted as piranhas, luring prey with beautiful, stunning lights before snapping them up simultaneously.
Yoo Joonghyuk too disliked the sight of those flowers in the biting jungle, pretty pink, exuding a fine mist that could incapacitate an elephant. Still, from afar, they were wonderful to gaze upon, their petals swaying in hypnotic patterns that even he found himself entranced by.
Yoo Joonghyuk has been a hard dragon to please, and perhaps, an even harder dragon to impress. Having this mundane sight, resembling the night sky, impress him so, was enough to warm Kim Dokja’s heart.
…Well… now that he thinks back to it… Uh…
Perhaps all of those encounters were a little more dangerous than he had thought they were at that moment.
But… as a well-seasoned mage, Kim Dokja had nothing to fear when encountering these spectacles. Maybe if he were a little younger, a bit more green, he’d have fallen into these death traps without a second thought, gobbled up, bones and all. But nowadays, a flick of his hand would usually be enough to dispel anything that got too close to him.
And besides… travelling with a dragon usually guaranteed his safety, believe it or not. Any gaps in Kim Dokja’s judgement had been supplemented by Yoo Joonghyuk, and no matter how often Kim Dokja whines about the bastard’s stubborn personality, he’s a surprisingly good companion.
Kim Dokja pats his snout, a practiced gesture. Yoo Joonghyuk flicks him off, but the action—akin to a rebellious teenager—forces another laugh to bubble up in Kim Dokja’s throat.
“Let’s go grab some flowers, Joonghyuk-ah.”
He’s already set foot towards the field before his sentence completes, his hands a little eager to do some work. It’s been a while since they’ve been able to relax like this, with them being constantly attacked by stray creatures in the forest. The one con of having a huge dragon companion is the fact that surprise and subtlety goes completely out the window. Not a single day is allowed to pass without someone, or something trying to one up Yoo Joongyuk.
It’s good that Yoo Joonghyuk’s more than capable of handling all these challengers alone. Sure, Kim Dokja’s a powerful mage, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to rest. Still, the sheer sight of seeing hundreds of woodland creatures swarm them at nearly all times of day is enough to tire Kim Dokja out. If not physically, then mentally, at least.
The field is ripe for picking, and it does hurt Kim Dokja a little to trample over the beautiful field, picking away flowers that complemented the sight, but there’s a reason for it. The constant attacks haven’t come with a cost. Their health potion expenditure had been entirely too high this month, simply because Yoo Joonghyuk had been battered constantly by enemies.
So Kim Dokja, picking these flowers, is simply a consequence of that. Either way, they’d have to do this anyway, with his mana potion supply running low, too.
There’s no sound, other than the occasional snap of a stem and Yoo Joonghyuk’s obnoxiously loud breathing. Somehow, Yoo Joonghyuk manages to keep the sound of his steps quiet.
With almost a full satchel of flowers, Kim Dokja glances over to Yoo Joonghyuk, just to see what he’s up to.
He covers his mouth, a chuckle bubbling up again.
It’s a funny sight, seeing Yoo Joonghyuk try to pick flowers with his claws first, then his fangs, then giving up entirely. He’s already left a trail of broken stems in his wake by simply wading through the field. It’s pitiful, but there’s nothing to be done about it.
“Go sit over there, Joonghyuk-ah. Let me deal with it.”
Yoo Joonghyuk gives him a forlorn glance, but obediently walks out of the flower field. He settles down, like a comfortable cat in a bed, sending quakes through the ground as he does so.
Kim Dokja picks one last stem, placing it in his bag, before wading out of the field. It’d do him no good to decimate the population of flowers right now. Besides, he’s already gotten more than enough.
“Hey, Joonghyuk-ah,” Kim Dokja says.
Yoo Joonghyuk’s head snaps towards him. He tilts his head, an inquisitive look flitting through his sleepy pupils.
Kim Dokja sits down right beside him, falling with an “oof” as he gets settled. He pats himself down, ridding any grass or stems that stick stubbornly to his clothing. His hands pull out a few flowers from his satchel, and he quickly gets to work.
Yoo Joonghyuk releases a snort as he watches his fingers weave through the flowers, stems interlaced one by one. Again, it’s a sound Kim Dokja knows to be questioning, inquisitive, a “what are you doing right now,” if you will.
“This… I’m making a flower crown. You know what that is, right?”
He stares into Yoo Joonghyuk’s eyes, and they tell him all that he needs to know. That damn look practically screams, “Are you stupid?”
Kim Dokja laughs again, full-heartedly. “Hey, calm down, will you? I was just making sure.”
Yoo Joonghyuk grumbles, another gust of air forced against his side.
“This… My mom taught me how to do this, when I was young. She braided each and every stem together, showing me step-by-step. Ah… finally. I’m done.” Kim Dokja sighs in relief.
He holds it in both hands, the petals of the flowers still glowing their luminescent touch. Kim Dokja nods, signaling to Yoo Joonghyuk, and Yoo Joonghyuk lowers his head. The flower crown is placed atop his head, falling gently right between his massive horns. It’s barely visible, but the sharp glint of the flowers makes it appear as if he’s captured starlight between his imposing horns.
Yoo Joonghyuk releases a satisfied huff. Kim Dokja smothers him in pats for that simple action.
“Wow, you bastard. You’re finally appreciating my efforts, huh?”
As if protesting, Yoo Joonghyuk’s tail jabs at Kim Dokja’s side, forcing a yelp out of him. He swats the tail away, before giving Yoo Joonghyuk the nastiest glare he can muster. Patting himself down, he sighs.
“Mia is asleep right now, right?”
Yoo Joonghyuk offers a snort of assent. His tail pokes at Kim Dokja’s back.
Huh… Yoo Mia has been asleep on his back all this time? Kim Dokja rubs his chin. He didn’t know she was that much of a deep sleeper.
“Hm… Well, they’re not as beautiful as they are at night… but, they still look fine during the day.” He holds another flower crown with delicate hands, his touch stunningly gentle.
White envelops the petals, the stems, and the leaves, encasing it in an ethereal touch. The petals are frozen, emanating cold, preserved until the morning sun hits. Kim Dokja smiles.
Yoo Joonghyuk lays his head atop Kim Dokja, nearly burying him. He nuzzles against his entire body, wrinkling his robes.
“Hey, Joonghyuk-ah! Stop… stop… my robes! You know, shit! you dragon bastard! These robes cost me—!”
Yoo Joonghyuk snorts again.