Kurt paced furiously across the room at the adventurer's guild hall, boots scuffing the stone floor. His mind wouldn't let it go — that moment, that exact moment when the pathetic, sword-fumbling runt had somehow turned into a force of nature.
"Maybe he wasn't a dragon... maybe... maybe he was a cursed monster of some sort. Yes! That had to be it! No way someone like that... someone so pathetic... could be stronger than me!" His voice seethed with venom.
His fist clenched around the empty mug he'd been holding. He hurled it against the wall with a sharp crash, shards scattering across the room.
"Confound it!" he roared. "How did he beat me?! How was he so strong?!"
His breathing came fast and shallow. The injuries he had sustained during the battle were anything but insignificant. Images of the fight danced through his mind — Hibana's awkward stance, the clumsy way he gripped his blade.
"He barely knew how to hold a sword properly!" Kurt spat. "He was pathetic! A weakling!"
His fingers twitched toward his naginata — still propped in the corner, its polished blade gleaming like a mirror. But Kurt noticed that the shaft now had a dent where Hibana had caught it.
"And yet…" His voice dropped to a whisper. "One minute he was flailing around like an idiot... and then suddenly..."
His fist slammed into the wall, knuckles scraping against the stone. The pain barely registered.
"...Then he hit like a siege engine..."
His eyes locked onto the reflection of his own face in the blade of his weapon. His jaw tightened. His fingers trembled.
"No... no. It wasn't real. It couldn't be real. I'll find him... I'll prove it."
He turned back to the mess he'd made — shattered mug, overturned chair, scattered maps — and a cruel grin stretched across his face.
"He's mine."
Hibana lay motionless in the middle of the growing camp, his dull green eyes half-lidded as he stared at nothing. Around him, the kobolds worked tirelessly, their scaled hands hauling wood and stone to build new huts. Some had gone hunting — they'd returned quickly, the Fey Wilds providing them with ample food.
But Hibana barely noticed. The hunger gnawing at his stomach didn't matter. The ache in his limbs didn't matter. The cold void inside his chest was all he could feel.
Near him, Dundru sat quietly. His yellow-scaled hand rested on Hibana's neck — firm, steady, but unsure of what comfort it was supposed to provide.
"You were strong," Dundru said at last. "The mage said you almost killed a Bloodhound. You should be proud of this! Any dragon would be!"
Hibana's head turned slightly, his gaze finding Dundru's. His voice was dry and hollow.
"That's not what I want to be."
Dundru's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
Hibana exhaled slowly. "The only dragons I've ever known… they were terrible." His eyes drifted upward, watching the shimmering branches above. "They'd have killed you. And everyone else they thought was weak. They wouldn't have just done it to win — they'd have done it to watch you suffer." His voice faltered. "But that's not me. Or… at least I didn't think it was."
Dundru stared at him, clearly confused.
"But you didn't kill him," Dundru said. "You won."
Hibana's throat tightened. "No," he murmured. "I almost did. I lost control… and if Kurt hadn't run, I would have killed him. Not because I needed to — not even because I wanted to. I was just… rage. I couldn't think. I couldn't stop." His claws curled into the dirt. "I would have killed him. And I don't know if I would have even cared."
He turned his head away, his breath shuddering. "That terrifies me."
Dundru's grip on Hibana's neck tightened, not out of comfort, but frustration.
"Why?" Dundru's voice hardened. "If you were strong enough to kill him… why didn't you?"
Hibana blinked, turning back to him. "Because it was wrong."
"Wrong?" Dundru's face twisted in confusion. "But... he's your enemy. Enemies don't get mercy." His fingers flexed against Hibana's scales. "If you didn't finish him, he'll come back. That's what they do. You said dragons kill for fun. Humans kill for greed. That Bloodhound's no different. He'll return stronger, angrier… and he'll kill you if he can."
He paused, his voice low and grim. "That's what happens when you let an enemy live."
Hibana's gaze softened. "Dundru... that's not strength."
Dundru's brow furrowed deeper. "What else is there?"
Hibana swallowed hard. "There's… there's more to strength than just being able to kill." His voice wavered. "I don't know how to explain it, but... real strength is knowing when not to kill. Knowing when to stop."
Dundru's expression didn't change. He looked at Hibana like he'd just spoken gibberish.
"You're strong because you can kill," Dundru said flatly. "What you're talking about… that's not strength. That's weakness."
"No," Hibana said quietly. "It's not."
Neither of them spoke after that.
Dundru's hand lingered on Hibana's neck a moment longer before he stood and walked away, muttering under his breath. Hibana heard his parting words — barely more than a whisper.
"I don't understand you."
And with that, Dundru was gone.
Hibana continued to lay down. Looking at the forest when he heard another pair of footsteps approach him. This time it was Tsu. She looked down at him with that same empty expression she always had. her golden eyes seeming to stare right through him, burning a hole right into his soul.
"I knew it! You are a dragon after all. Only a dragon would lay there feeling sorry for itself like you are now."
Hibana looked at her. "But I.."
You think this helps anyone? You think sitting here, wallowing in your own guilt, will erase what you've done? Or what you almost did?" She scoffed. "You nearly killed a man because you couldn't control yourself. And now you think laying here in the dirt makes that right?"
She stood up and turned to begin walking away. "This is the first time I've seen you act in a way a dragon would... Pathetic creature!"
Hibana's anger welled inside him. But he shook his head, and got up on his haunches to face her. "What would you have done?"
Tsu stopped walking. She paused for a moment and she looked back at him with one narrow eye. "What would I have done?" she repeated, her voice sharp as a drawn blade. "I would've finished him." Her fingers twitched near her sword hilt. "I would've killed him — because that's what this world demands."
She turned around and faced him. "But you didn't, did you?" Her lip curled slightly. "You failed to finish the job. And now you're lying here, sulking — feeling sorry for yourself." She scoffed. "I've seen many like you before — fools who think regret means something. It doesn't."
Her gaze sharpened, her voice cold enough to cut stone. "You want to know what I would've done?" Her hand shifted away from her blade, curling into a fist. "I would've kept moving." Her voice dropped to a bitter whisper. "Because you either survive… or you die. And no one's going to mourn you either way."
She turned to leave, but paused. "So get up," she muttered over her shoulder. "Or stay down and rot. Doesn't matter to me."
Hibana sat there. Silent. Lost in thought for what felt like hours.
Tsu's words lingered in his mind, like a splinter too deep to pull free. Pathetic creature...
That thought stayed with him. But that dagger she had intended for his heart was the pain of truth. To him, It was refreshing. "I'm not pathetic, and I'll show her why." He thought.
At last, Hibana rose to his feet and made his way toward Solryn's tent — a soft lavender structure that stood out against the earthy tones of the camp. The faint scent of herbs drifted from within.
Solryn spotted him approaching and leaned against the tent pole, arms crossed. "Ahh, there you are. Done sulking yet?" His grin was sharp and smug. "I honestly thought you'd never finish."
Hibana stopped in front of him, but instead of answering, he smiled — warm, steady, and sure.
Solryn's smirk faltered. He narrowed his eyes. "Hmmph... If you're expecting some profound insight on how you handled that Bloodhound, I haven't the faintest idea." He snorted. "Frankly, it's a miracle you're still breathing."
"I'm not here for that," Hibana interrupted softly. "Tsu will help me learn how to control my powers... and so will you."
Solryn blinked in disbelief, then barked out a laugh. "That's preposterous! I don't even know the first thing about your powers! And furthermore, Tsu is a trained samurai. What she's even still doing here is a mystery beyond even the mind of Ordos himself."
Hibana's gaze shifted toward Tsu. She was sitting beneath a tree far off in the distance, her back against the trunk, her nodachi resting across her lap. Her face was impassive, but her presence alone was answer enough.
"She's still here," Hibana murmured, more to himself than to Solryn. "And so are you. And while you're both here... I need you."
Solryn's smug grin twisted into something more serious. "And why should I care?"
Hibana's voice steadied. "Because those kobolds need you both too. It's here, in this place, that I intend to survive — to build something better. And I want more to come here... people with nowhere else to go. People like you." He took a breath. "I'm going back to that village. I'm going to start making a difference."
His gaze hardened, fierce with conviction. "I don't care what this world says I am. What do you say I am?"
Solryn's smirk returned, but this time it lacked its usual arrogance. "Off your rocker... But honestly? A complete enigma." He chuckled dryly. "To walk away from a mystery like this?" He tapped his temple. "Why, that defies everything I stand for — and I'll not have it!"
Hibana chuckled softly, more relieved than amused. He turned his eyes back to Tsu, still sitting beneath the tree, distant yet ever present. "And look at her, Solryn..." His voice quieted. "She's still here too. Maybe that mystery keeps her here as well."
Solryn scoffed. "Perhaps... but there's nothing simple about that one." He unfolded his arms, more thoughtful now. "Now... about these kobolds. What exactly do you intend to do with them?"
Hibana followed Solryn's gaze to where the kobolds worked. They moved with purpose, hammering wood, stacking stone, and carving out a new life from nothing.
"I intend," Hibana said quietly, "to protect their new home."