75 Land (1/2)

Ling felt something tickling his cheek. He was lying on his side on what felt like a hot, sandy ground, long enough to dry his clothes. It was probably late noon by now, with the hot rays of the sun touching his exposed skin. How long had he been sleeping then?

Another poke touched his cheek, making him aware of a small shadow shading his face from the bright sun. It was soon followed by several pokes which made him grumble and squint his eyes, trying to open it. However, it looked like he couldn't move his body yet. Even just to open his mouth to complain was difficult.

As he was thinking, he realized that he could actually use his 'mist' now to shield himself from whatever was poking his face. However, they might treat him as an enemy when he finally reached a land now after all those storms in the sea.

Then, he immediately remembered that he didn't even know where Maga and the crew were so he couldn't be hostile in this new land. Suppressing his 'mist', he checked his body's status, determining when he could move.

Suddenly, a shout came from somewhere nearby, ”Laki! Abe! Where are you? I told you not to go too far or we won't bring you here again!”

Nobody replied but then, there was a whisper beside Ling, ”That's mom. I told you we shouldn't go here.”

”But I wanna see the bodies washed here like grandpa told us,” the girl replied, sounding sulky.

”Well, I don't think grandpa told us the story for us to look for it. If I remember correctly, he also never wanted us to go near here.” The boy paused, then spoke again, slowly. ”I think he actually wanted to scare us so we wouldn't come here.”

There was another poke on Ling's cheek. ”Ok,” she sighed. ”Looks like this wasn't the same as grandpa's story anyway. This body's still breathing.”

”Then, let's go.” Soon, the shadows covering Ling's face were gone. He wanted to stop them and ask where he was now but he still couldn't move. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, he could finally feel his hurting muscles, so he knew he would soon be able to move.

It was after a few hours when Ling was finally able to sit up. His muscles were still hurting, hence, after carefully getting into a sitting position, he bowed his head to rest it on his knee. Then, he had to support this posture with his hands propped on the ground so he wouldn't fall back down.

After a little rest, he noticed that the sun was already near the water's horizon. Therefore, he knew it would soon be dark. Before that, he had to find Maga and the crew then.

Looking around, there were no other people in this piece of the shore. Aside from the water, sand and rocks—some of it forming a cave—he couldn't even see any living creatures here. The children earlier probably came from the other side of that huge cluster of rocks separating this shore to the bigger piece of this land.

When Ling could finally stand up and walk, he went to the small cave-like protrusion in the rocks first. He had seen a movement in the water there earlier.

Unfortunately, even though the sun had not set yet, the light didn't reach this part of the shore. He was cautious at first, only peeking at the side of the cave entrance to see in the dark.

However, after a glimpse, Ling rushed inside. His legs skidded on the rocky ground as he hurriedly sat down. Still, the scratches on his knees and legs—which were also touching the salt water in the cave—didn't bother him.

His concern was fully on the huge creature inside the cave. As he got near, he touched the warm body beside him, then breathed a sigh of relief when he sensed that the other's breathing was stable.

Once the drumming of his heart calmed down, he could hear the slight snoring coming from the dragon. Ling smiled a little.