Chapter Text
Leaving his dragon companion outside to sleep on a pile of fruits he didn't eat, Kinich headed inside the humble place he called home. He lost control over his body from that moment onwards, his feet thankfully having enough strength remaining to take him to the floor mattress. With every step hurting and fatigue catching up mercilessly, the hunter was ready to pass out as soon as he laid down. Early ending days were always welcome, after all. Instead, he began zoning out in a rather uncomfortable position he couldn’t bother getting out of.
When was the last time he’d cleaned the house?
Or the last time he’d seen the Traveler? Venturing all around the world had a special effect on people like them, they could be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. He still worried about their whereabouts whenever it crossed his mind.
What about the last time Ajaw had behaved so placidly? That thought stuck out to him the most.
Closing his eyes shut, Kinich recalled the events of the day. He wouldn’t classify anything they’d done from morning to evening as out of the ordinary. In fact, life had been too ordinary lately, his daily routine practically turning into a loop. What could be done about it? Nothing.
Ajaw had yapped his ear off with trivial matters during the usual chores, complaining about why he, the self-proclaimed Almighty Dragon Lord of all people, had to occupy himself with such boring jobs. They’d then had a strange encounter with a group of people who wanted to make things difficult, resulting in the fight his companion wanted so badly.
That part had gone well too.
No, hold on.
Kinich opened his eyes again, clutching onto his pillow, a gesture that helped him dive into a deeply focused state. The battle itself wasn’t something to fuss over. However, when he tried to picture their enemies, the face of a weird, creepy-looking young wizard came to mind. Must’ve been an unskilled one for his magical blow to bounce and accidentally hit Ajaw.
Did that mark the beginning of all the anomalies? The lack of empty threats and insults? The inability to fly around without flopping? The resting on his shoulder until they made it home?
It shouldn’t have been a major problem. Ajaw was noted for his ability to come out of unfortunate situations without a scratch. Furthermore, if it really came to that, he could always force the dragon to pay Ifa a visit.
Thanks to his eased nerves and the long list of tasks staring at him from the wall it was pinned on, Kinich could not resist the clear need for rest for much longer, slowly drifting into a dreamless sleep.
A subtle wind passed by as if on purpose to disturb the hunter, the wooden walls providing little protection against it, but what really woke him up was the first rays of sunlight illuminating the room as well as his face due to their angle.
“Five more minutes…” He grumbled to himself. If it weren’t for the commissions he’d accepted days ago, taking money into account before the consequences, he could afford to give in to his desires.
On the contrary, Kinich had never gotten out of the house that fast, only an excuse of a sandwich in one hand and his beloved claymore in the other. It was going to be a busy day.
A busier day than experience and a to-do list could prepare him for.
Soon would he find out that on the very spot he left Ajaw the previous day laid no longer the dragon itself, but a human who resembled him to an immeasurable degree.
He estimated his approximate height to be no more than a few centimeters taller than Paimon. His yellow hair with light green streaks were occasionally caressed by the wind, the tiny braid on the left side perfectly untouched each time. His sunglasses were on the ground, presumably having fallen from the top of his head. Not to mention the rest of his clothes which displayed a horrible sense of fashion, exactly the kind of fit someone who recently hit puberty would deem cool. A jacket no one else would wear in Natlan, the land of hot climates, colors at least matching those of his hair, was complemented by ripped jeans and sneakers.
Kinich had a lot to judge, yet even if he wasted a considerable amount of time observing the sleeping figure in front of him, he couldn’t be less concerned about how the human presented himself. A more important issue had to be uncovered first, a question, the answer of which he already held.
Who was that?
Better yet, was he whom Kinich assumed he was?
Lowering the weapon to the ground as gently as one could do with a claymore, in order to not accidentally wake the other up, Kinich knelt down next to him. The boy’s head was half-buried in between his arms. Still, placing a hand on his cheek and slowly bringing it down to his chin, he managed to make him lift it up.
As he had guessed the instant he saw him, the orange mark unique to only one creature he knew was there, apparent on his right cheek. A pair of slightly opened, dark green eyes stared back at Kinich, the vertical pupils resembling a cat’s. His suspicions were cleared alright.
“C’moooon…jus’ five more minutes…”
“Good morning to you too, Ajaw.”