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Chapter 4

"Oh is that so?" The Grey Dragon smirked looking at me again. "Well then, since it's his first time, and as a bit of an apology for making him feel uncomfortable, I'll give him one on the house!"

"Really!" Cody beamed as the Grey Dragon ladled out some stew into two wooden bowls and handed them to us. "Thanks!"

"If I may ask," The grey Dragon said, looking at me. "What species of Dragon are you? You have some of the characteristics similar to my breed, but you're obviously different. I'm guessing you've got more in you than just Zangarian* blood?"

_ Zangarian Dragon _ _ - A species of Dragon that is most commonly found in the Tribal village of Zangar. They have Dark Grey/Black scales, leathery wings and white horns on their heads. Pure breeds don't have any type of feathers, fur or hair on their bodies. _

I felt my face flush at his questioned, and worry crept into my mind . I looked to Cody, who gave me a friendly smile. It's meaning was clear 'just tell him'. Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves I looked to the Dragon and said;

"I'm a half breed. I don't know what species of dragon my father was, but my mother was a Rovarian Wolf*

_ Rovarian Wolf _ _ - Brown and white pelted wolves that hail from the Tribal village that Malakye grew up in. Their village is located on the Rovarian Plains. The Rovarian Wolves are known throughout the Tribal lands as one of the more aggressive tribes against Dragons. How and why this hatred took root has been forgotten by most as the war between many Tribes of Wolves and Dragons has been going on for over ten generations. _

The look of shock on the Dragons face as I mentioned my heritage made me incredibly uncomfortable. With haste, I picked up my bowl of stew from the counter.

"Thank you for the food." I said humbly before making way to a table at the back of hut, as far away from the Dragon as possible. Cody followed me and sat down opposite from me.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Cody asked.

"He hates me now. You saw the look on his face." I whispered, scowling into my bowl of of stew instead of looking at Cody.

"Don't be silly!" Cody scoffed. "He was just shocked to hear about your Wolven heritage. I was too when I heard it. I mean the wolves; in particular your old tribe, hate Dragons! Imagine his surprise that one of them actually mated with a dragon."

"Yeah I guess..." I replied reaching under my poncho and grasped at my mother's pendant, my last reminder of her. My father had given it to her because they were in love, at least that's what my mother told me. How did they expect their relationship to work?

"Guess nothing. If he truly hates you he would have kicked us out by now!" Cody reasoned. I simply nodded and took a spoonful of my stew. It was tasty. The thick, flavoursome, gravy and the lumps of Horishma practically melted in my mouth. Then came the spice. It burned like fire and made me gasp aloud.

"Yeah it's good isn't it?" Cody asked with a chuckle. I simply nodded, unable to talk just yet. My eyes were streaming with tears and I felt my nose begin to run. Despite the initial shock the spices left a pleasant tingling sensation in my mouth. I took another mouthful, and cautiously swallowed, finding that it wasn't as bad as the first time. All too soon I had finished my bowl. Cody finished soon after.

After leaving we slowly made our way back to the caravan, stopping to look at the various wares that were for sale. "Man I love Draconian designs!" Cody exclaimed as he looked at various pieces of pottery, strewn across the table of one of the stalls. I said nothing I just watched my friend having fun...friend...I never thought I'd ever have one of them. It made me feel all warm inside. When we made it back to the caravan Eric was all ready there.

"We have permission to set up in a stall tomorrow and till then we have a hut reserved for us in the trading district." Eric said. "They don't have many rooms, so we're going to have to share. I'm sure though, that you all agree it will be nice to sleep in a real bed for a change, even if we have to share."

"If it's all right with you Eric, Jason and I will stay and sleep here with the Caravan." Michael said. I saw a knowing smile creep onto Eric's face. I saw the same look on Cody's face and I gave him a confused look.

"Well, I guess you haven't noticed then... Jason and Michael are lovers." Cody whispered so no one else could hear.

"Seriously?!" I asked. I just managed to keep my voice down.

"Yeah, they tell everyone their brothers because they look similar and because they're so close, but the truth is something else entirely." Cody explained.

"Wow..." I said glancing their way and imagining the pair of them making love. I winced as a flashback of Kaleb raping me assaulted my conscience.

"Something wrong?" Cody asked.

"No...no, I'm fine." I assured him as I tried to force the memory to the back of my head.

"Now then, anyone who wants to come to the hut is more than welcome." Eric said as he turned to leave. Aceh, Cody and myself followed him.

It was now late afternoon, and the village market place was beginning to quieten down. In the Market Place each stall had a hut allocated so that the vendors could store their goods. If they were travelling traders like Eric, it gave them a roof over their heads for the night.

"Well this is it!" Eric exclaimed as we stopped in front of an empty stall with a small hut directly behind it. "We got lucky really. The previous vendor here left this morning." Eric explained as he opened the wooden door to the hut and entered, we all followed him in. It was small, no bigger than my mother's hut had been back in the village. There were two decent sized beds on either side of the room, big enough for two people if they didn't mind sharing. Both beds had a curtain that could be pulled shut to give a bit of privacy if needed. Suddenly realising that I'd be sleeping very close to whoever I'd be sharing with, I felt a bit embarrassed. The others didn't seem daunted by this prospect, so I decided to just suck it up. But then I also realised that I might actually have to share with Aceh, and that was a terrifying idea. I hadn't even managed to have a conversation with the Tiger, and now I might have to share a bed with him.

"All right then, since we have to share, and Aceh and Malakye are the biggest, it wouldn't be fair to make them share a bed. Cody would you share with Aceh?" Eric asked.

"Sure thing Eric!" Cody giggled. "I get to cuddle up to the cuddly kitty cat!" Aceh didn't find this amusing, and he glared at Cody for a few moments before snorting and turning to sit down on the bed. Cody jumped on the bed next to him and began to bounce around. I would have laughed, if I wasn't worried that Aceh would kill me for doing so.

Cody showed no fear around the massive Tiger. I was grateful however that I wouldn't have to share with him myself. I didn't mind sharing with Eric as he had in all honesty become the closest thing to father I've ever had. He taught me things I need to know to survive in the wild and in social situations as well. He nursed me back to health and took the time to talk to me so I wouldn't be bored when I was bed ridden. Yep, if I've ever imagined what it would be like to have a father, then it would definitely be along those lines.

"Come over here Malakye so I can check your wounds." Eric said, motioning to the bed. I made my way to the bed and pulled off my poncho, revealing the bandages on my shoulder and side. Eric immediately began to remove the dressings, and examined my wounds gently running his fingers along them as he checked for any remaining tenderness and possible infection. Once he was satisfied he put my bandages back on. "They're healing nicely, in a couple of days you won't need to wear the dressings at all. They will leave a couple of scars but considering the outcome if we hadn't found you I think that's an acceptable compromise." He said critically. Once he was finished I put my poncho back on. "So, have you decided what you're going to do? You're now healed enough to leave if you so wish, and make your own way in this world." Eric asked. Cody obviously heard what Eric said about me leaving and showed a face of worry.