Nothing much happened that night. Melania finished putting away her groceries and then brought him some sheets and blankets to create a comfortable space in the living room.
After that, she went upstairs, and August was left on the ground floor by himself.
It wasn't as if that meant anything. All he did was set up his bed and lie down. His eyes were already getting heavy, whether because of the energy he'd spent throughout the day or all the food he ate.
'To sleep tonight and figure everything else out tomorrow…'
August sighed to himself, staring into the darkness above.
Were there really six more days worth of things for him to do?
'I don't know, but I'm definitely going to find out.'
He didn't want to spend the next six days wallowing in loneliness. If he couldn't find something to do, then he'd create something to do.
A positive mindset. It was August's best quality.
As his eyes closed and his consciousness faded into a dreamland, staying optimistic was his main priority.
***
August expected to wake up and leave before Melania even noticed, but he was completely wrong.
His morning was not fated to be a quiet one, and he…was not the first one awake in the house.
August's consciousness returned to him not because he was ready to wake up, but because he felt something strange.
'What…is that?'
He squinched his eyes as light flooded into his eyelids. Suddenly, the feeling of something poking at his cheeks brought him completely awake.
'What?'
He instantly shot up. His eyes opened and he looked down to his side.
"Ah!"
His sudden action surprised the being who was poking at his cheek, causing them to jump back.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})August scratched his head in confusion as he looked around, but he wasn't seeing wrong.
There wasn't one, but two.
They had jumped back together, and they currently stood a few feet away from him and stared at him with a strong curiosity in their eyes.
"You guys are…"
They were small creatures, roughly three feet long, who looked more like lizards than dragons. They had small wings attached to their backs and tiny horns that indicated that they were something more, but their general figures were far different from the dragons August had ever seen.
"They must be earth dragons."
August smiled. He looked around to see if Melania was anywhere, but it seemed she was still upstairs.
"Nice to meet you," he said, addressing the two young dragons.
Their eyes twinkled as if they understood his words, and though they were still a bit suspicious, they inched forward as their curiosity took hold of them.
'They must be young. Three or four years old at most.'
August was born in his human form. It was because of Damien's influence. Other dragons would always be born as dragons and would first transform into their humanoid forms when they were around ten years old.
August was an outlier, but that was one of the first things he understood in life, so it didn't surprise him.
The two young dragons hesitated to play because they didn't know if he was friendly. It was easy to sense from their movements.
'Well, she told me not to do anything suspicious…'
But, wasn't it fine to entertain them a little before he left?
August's smile widened. He activated his Azure Dragon Bloodline just slightly, allowing his horns and scales to grow a bit.
It was just enough for him to have a draconic aura that the children could recognize.
Their eyes sparkled when they realized that he was like them.
Young dragons would always have one of two personalities.
A portion of them would only ever recognize their families. They'd never trust others outside of their lineage until they grew and learned enough.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})The other kind was the complete opposite. They were friendly to any and all dragons, and were generally more inquisitive than anyone else.
August was a mix of the two, a true outlier, but these kids were obviously the latter.
The second they felt his aura, their eyes sparkled and they jumped at him, tackling him to the ground.
"Hahaha!"
August laughed at their silliness and entertained them well.
Since earth dragon children seemed to enjoy wrestling and playing physically, he summoned a string of water and waved it around to satiate their curiosity.
'They're like cats.'
August had never seen a cat before, but he'd seen them in Qinglong's memory and heard about them from Damien.
Watching those kids run around and chase the water string made him feel like those stories and memories were coming to life.
It also reminded him of himself as a child.
Just as he was fascinated with mana, they were enamored by any and all new things. They wanted to explore and learn, and that made August feel like they'd achieve great things in life.
'Ah…'
Perhaps that would be difficult considering their starting point.
August suddenly remembered where he was.
In a place like this, where even the architecture made one feel like there was no such thing as hope, how were kids meant to dream?
How were they meant to grow up and believe that they could be something outside of their circumstances?
And even if they did, what kind of opportunities could they have to make their way out?
'This is a problem.'
Dragons weren't meant to live like this. There was no justification that could explain these circumstances.
'It really is that bad.'
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})He hadn't seen those parts of Qinglong's memories. He'd only heard Damien's explanation.
August trusted his father above anything else, of course, but he also wanted to see the corruption in the kingdom for himself.
This was the start of it.
He'd only been here for a day, but he'd already found an issue rooted in the very core of this society.
'I guess it really is my job to change it.'
August shook his head.
'No, not just me.'
He alone wouldn't be enough to turn a rotten society into something magical.
'I need people. Allies and subordinates. People who will see this thing to the end with me.'
He really didn't want to do it alone.
A passion was reignited in his heart.
He'd always wanted to be a hero, but he didn't really know what it meant.
He wanted to save people, but he never really understood how.
He was young and ignorant. He had dreams without any substance, dreams that were impossible to achieve.
He was older now. Not fully mature yet, but enough to understand what he actually could do with his own power.
'My goal isn't something that needs to be held off until I'm on the throne.'
His goals needed to be slowly achieved as he aimed for it, and when he finally took that spot back and honored his ancestor, he could set everything in stone so that Arulion would become a real sanctuary for dragons.
August clenched his fist as he reaffirmed himself.
The string of water he'd summoned burst and splashed all over the two earth dragon children, which ended up being even more fun for them.
And, as if on cue, Melania walked down the stairs and froze at the sight she was seeing.
Her eyes turned cold, and when August saw her, he immediately knew.
'I'm in trouble, aren't I?'
