Spring, 1325

Ten hours after their initial encounter, the flames had died down to its embers, but the two figures remained up, warily looking at each other in silence. Logan was exhausted after the fight and the wounds sustained, but every time the hunter began to doze off, he would suddenly remind himself that the dragon would take the opportunity to kill him and so force himself back awake.

“So what more do you want from me? I have told you about myself and amused you tonight with the miserable story of my life.” Logan finally called back towards the draconic eyes glowing at him in the darkness.

“Again, I want to express my apologies.” Came the response.

“Yah sure, whatever.”

“Frankly, I want us to have a working relationship. I want to be able to trust you, so as to allow our compact to actually work. We won’t try to kill each other until we both recover from our injuries. Can we at least have that?”

“No. You will get nothing from me.” Logan snapped by in reply. “There is nothing you can take from me that you could later use to harm my people. I will not compromise with you, though you spared my life. I will respect your decision and honor my agreement, but nothing more. We are not friends.”

“I never asked for your friendship- I only asked for a deal. You are the one that came to my home to attack me! Why can you never see that I am not your enemy?” The dragon exclaimed in exasperation.

“You stand for everything that is evil in the world! You dragons are the cause of all this misery I have suffered and you and all your ilk will pay for that sooner or later!” Logan cried, getting angrier by the second.

“So, this all you have left in life? To try to kill yourself and take down as many of my people as you can?”

“You do not know what it is like to grow up without anyone to depend on!”

Mera's eyes rolled. “And that makes you so special?”

“Your people killed my parents!”

“As did yours!”

Logan suddenly stopped. “You are an orphan as well?” He finally asked as the words sank in.

Mera swiftly averted his eyes and turned away.

“My name, Meratezatgh, means one without family.” He said to the floor.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize-“

The dragon dryly cut him off: “This is a violent land; and you are far from being the only one to suffer. Nalbin is filled with orphans such as you and I, and you have no more moral superiority than the next guy. Stop whinging.” Still averting his eyes, the great wyrm fell into the shadows and went silent again.

Logan spat at the flames. He rubbed his knuckles and stared at the darkness of the cave around them.

The flames crackled down providing little light that danced among the shadows.

“Dang it.”

***

The two figures kept lonely vigil with each other, united by their common bond, divided by their mutual enmity.

Finally, the hunter summoned up the courage to speak up. “I’m sorry Mera. I didn’t- shit. I didn’t know. I didn’t consider that others may suffer.”

Mera took a long, hard look over at the hunter, before finally nodding. “Well, I appreciate that.”

“Well, since we have the rest of the night, tell me what happened. Perhaps then I could understand you more.”

A faint smile came across the dragon’s snout. “Very well. I can do that.”

---

Bob Dylan - All I Really Want to Do

Ink from  neharoh! Color from myself.