"Where are we going now?", you asked, only to get rid of the silence that made you so uncomfortable.

A smirk appeared on his bearded face.

"Why do you ask?", he glanced over his shoulder, expecting that you would sit right behind him. "Does the air smell different?"

With a gentle shake of your head, you slid back and let your eyes wander over the landscape instead of looking at him. Meeting his eyes made you feel restless. You didn't know how to react, nor if anything you had done was appropriate.

Everything felt like a lie, there was no cure for you, because everything that tortured you was part of your existence. You weren't cursed. Your blood was just fucked up.

"You're awfully silent.", he noted and kept glancing over his shoulder.

You shrugged.

"I've got nothing to say."

"What a tragedy... And I started to enjoy the conversations that you forced onto me."

A huff escaped you.

"That's a bold thing to say as someone who drags me everywhere without telling me.", now, you turned to him to look at him and smiled mildly.

He nodded and patted his dragons neck to tell him to keep flying without his guidance. As he walked up to you, a smile lit up on his lips.

"I asked you to join me and you agreed.", he said and pressed his hand onto your cheek to refresh the mark.

But before your skin started to feel the familiar burn, you slapped his hand away.

Confused, he tilted his head.

"Why are you always doing this?", you asked and rubbed the feeling of his touch away.

A soft breath escaped him.

You could have sworn that it sounded disappointed. But you didn't want to imagine anything.

He was a man with many reactions and little feelings. Nothing he did made sense.

So why would he be disappointed by a gesture so small and unimportant?

Sighing, you avoided his eyes. Only thinking about what he felt towards you was enough to make something inside your chest pull together. Travelling really didn't do you any good. You were starting to get attached to him, the first person that you ever met.

You were ignoring everything your mother had taught you.

"Do you dislike it that much?", Baldur suddenly asked.

An annoyed sigh escaped you.

"No. But... I don't know. It hurts."

"Everything hurts you. That's why I enjoy being by your side."

"You only ever enjoy my suffering."

A low sound escaped him. His hand twitched, wanted to grab you.

But you turned away again and looked down instead.
The dark surface of the lake appeared.

"We're back...", you mumbled and stretched out your hand to touch some clouds.

Without answering to it, he got up and guided the dragon into the depths. As it landed, the dust twirled up and the ground started to shake.

With both hands you crawled your nails into the scales to prevent yourself from getting thrown off. The wind chased through your hair and cut deep into your flesh.

Behind you, Baldur moved. He wanted to step forward and wrap his arm around you, but buried the desire and turned away instead.

As everything settled down again, you slid off the back without waiting. Cold sand pressed against your feet, mixed with icy water and the scratchy feeling of small stones. Red drops of blood mixed with the dark ground.

Your feet were breaking open again.

"Why are we here?", you asked as the cold water of the lake touched your toes. "Why did we go back?"

"They will come back.", he said and walked towards a cave that was close to the shore. "When they come back, we'll be here. I don't want to miss my chance."

Understanding, you hummed and picked up some wood that was laying around. It was a bit damp, but once dry would make good firewood.

You could already feel the humidity crawling into your flesh. It was only a matter of time until the skin would turn puffy and dark. A bit of warmth wouldn't hurt.

Especially since no person or creature that was wozu you couldn't provide it.

The dragons flame might would have done the trick. But it also would have burned you like a twig.

Thinking about it made you chuckle.

As the sound reached Baldur's ears, he looked up. Something inside his bright blue eyes sparkled. The corners of his mouths twitched, but a smile didn't light up.

He didn't want to smile, because it didn't make him feel anything anyways. All there was inside him was this desire to smile and he obeyed it. Just like the desire to take a piss or breathing. Not that he was able to enjoy any of this.

But every time your voice reached him, a laugh, a sound or words, he felt lighter. As if the curse would weaken in that very moment for a second.

"We will wait for a message from Magni and Modi.", he said as you entered the cave to escape the wind. "And if they don't call us we'll check on them in a few days."

A sigh left your lips as you let the wood fall into a corner and started arranging it to form a small campfire.

"Why are the two so important?", you asked and carefully glanced at him. "Can't you look for them yourself?"

He nodded.

"We could. But the two do the dirty work. And eight eyes see more than four."

A snort escaped you.

"They didn't seem very bright."

"They are not. But bright enough to see what I am looking for."

Again, you let out a huff.

"You must hate your family.", you finally said, watching the small waves of smoke that rose from the sticks.

His eyes jumped to you again. For a moment he just started without responding.

"They are fucked up.", he finally said. "But what do I expect? They made a coward like me. We all get what we deserve."

Your lips curled. But you didn't say anything.

After all, your family situation wasn't any better.