Cici threw up outside of the tent provided for them. They at least went a little further out, crouching down behind a tree to do so. It would be downwind of their tent, so they wouldn’t smell it.

How Cici had enough presence of mind to think of something like that, Cici had no idea. Cici just knew that they did not want to smell their own puke at night. It would only make their stomach churn more.

Cici was ill with the implications of what was sitting in their tent.

A bag. All they had picked up was a damn bag with a heartbeat in it. A child. A baby.

Why the hell hadn’t Cici connected the dots then?! What was wrong with them?!

What is currently missing right now? What was all over the towns, the streets, the roads? Why was there a damn war going on?

The humans had stolen the Dragon King’s egg after killing the Mother who had birthed the egg. How had Cici been so damn blind? So fucking dumb?

But the only fairness Cici could give themselves was…why the hell would they think that they would stumble across it? Who the hell would think that? That would be an insane level of cockiness that Cici just couldn’t muster. Cici had terrible luck, but this…this was something else entirely.

Cici couldn’t even hand this off to someone else. This was too big. Too heavy. And they didn’t trust anyone else.

How could they? It was clear to Cici that this egg wasn’t tucked away for a good reason. The egg had been found surrounded by dead humans. Cici was intentionally hiding their identity, yes, but there was a good reason for it. Humans didn’t like humanoids like Cici, and they would especially not like the fact that Cici had found a living being in a bag.

The humans Cici was travelling with?

They would never trust the egg with them. They would either think it was too valuable for Cici to have, or they might destroy it. Cici had to figure something out. They had to make sure that no one else found out what they had found, but there was a big, glaring problem.

They were in the middle of the forest with a troupe of humans who weren’t known for being the kindest. If Cici ran away in the middle of the night right after they had raided and cleared a group of dead bodies?

Cici would be hunted down by far more superior figures and caught and tortured. Cici shivered just thinking about it. Cici shivered again, worrying if they were going to throw up again. Their body had stopped dry heaving, but that didn’t mean it was done expelling.

Cici felt feverish with the implications of what they had to do. They had to get in contact with a dragon. That was the most terrifying thing that Cici could even consider. It had been a nightmare that had plagued Cici when they were a child. Cici came from a relatively long-lived race, but nothing could hold a candle to how long-lived dragons were.

They were also known for holding generation-long grudges. One of said grudges was against her people, and Cici could feel themselves beginning to hyperventilate just thinking about how Cici was going to have to reach out to them. How was Cici going to keep their cool? How was Cici going to get out of this without dying?

Cici couldn’t transform into their true form. They would have to do the exchange completely as a humanoid, and that was also risky. The Dragon King had made a statement declaring that humanoids could bring the lost child to him personally, and that they would be rewarded handsomely.

There was a catch, of course. They had to prove that they weren’t a human. If they were caught using magic to hide that they were a human, it was an immediate death. If they were caught as a regular human, it was immediate death. If you refused to change, it was immediate death.

Cici couldn’t breathe.

Cici wanted to do the right thing. They were going to do the right thing, it was just challenging to realise that in the name of saving a child, there was a high probability that Cici was going to die in the process.

That was a lot to take in.

Cici could hear the crunching of gravel and dirt approaching and they straightened up, wiping their mouth with trembling hands as they watched one of the few humans that they got along with approach. The only reason why Cici got along with them is because Cici saved their life when they joined the camp.

He was a younger man, covered in scars, with a bandana wrapped around his head to keep his hair out of his face. He was rough, very rough, but Cici was used to it. Honestly, if Cici hadn’t saved him, there was a chance they wouldn’t have even been allowed in the mismatched group. At least, that was what the men in the group told them when they were drunk around the campfire.

Cici stared at him as he approached. They could feel how the man was scanning their form, taking in their body, and watched as the man frowned, turned, and spat on the ground nearby.

“Why are you looking at me like that? You look like a damn frightened rabbit. What do you even have to throw up anyway? You’re just skin and bones, Cici.” He said, sounding upset. Cici gave a wobbly smile.

“You know that I have a bit of a weak stomach. We just got back from a lot of pretty ripe dead bodies. My stomach must be a little upset over it.” Cici said, lying through their teeth. They had no issues with dead bodies.

How else would Cici have gotten their parents' bodies down from the gallows in the middle of the night?

The man, Nayhan, stared at Cici. He eyed Cici up, scanning them again before he grunted, crossed his arms, and glared at the smaller form.

“Sure. If that’s what you want to say. A girl like you should be taking care of yourself. What kind of man would want to take care of you if you’re unfit to give birth, Cici?” There he went again. Mistaking Cici for a woman.

Granted, he wasn’t quite wrong. Cici was just…Cici. Until Cici decided to have kids, which they had no intention of doing, Cici’s gender was…nothing. They were humanoid, but androgynous. They were slender, thin, and could come across as a boy or a girl, but Cici chose not to have a gender. It would probably make their life easier, but gender was tied so tightly to their culture and there were already so many parts of their culture that they had to give up that…

That Cici wanted to keep this one little thing.

Cici sighed, looking toward Nayhan, and giving a small smile.

“What if I don’t want a husband, Nayhan?” Cici asked, and Nayhan stared at them, blinked, before his face flushed.

“You want a wife? Fuck, Cici, there are barely any women out here! I’ve only met a handful of women who can swing a sword well enough to take another woman as a wife. You’re shooting for the stars!” Cici couldn’t help it, they laughed. It was a soft sound, a little rusty, but Nayhan’s face turned a brighter shade of red at the sound.

“I apologise. I’m not laughing at you. I just think…you’re right. There are so few women out here who can do that that I just found the imagery quite amusing.” Cici told him and Nayhan smirked slightly. He scratched the back of his head, looking pleased with himself, then he sniffed.

“Gosh. I like it when you use those big words of yours. You sure you didn’t run away from some rich family?” He asked, leaning in and looking worried. He knew that if that was the case, the rest of the crew wouldn’t hesitate to sell Cici back to their family.

Cici smiled at him softly, shaking their head.

“My parents are dead, and I don’t know if I even have grandparents. I promise. Not from a rich family.” Cici said, pretending to cross their heart over their clothes. It was a rather serious way to make a promise, and held a lot of weight for the humans here. They only had one heart, and the promise meant that the person they were speaking to had the right to stab them if they were lying.

Nayhan’s eyes widened, glanced down at what Cici was doing, and then back up to Cici’s gaze. He nodded slowly, before he looked around.

“Alright alright. Let’s not get into the heaviness of it all. Lucas said you got a nice bag? Is it nicer than the rest of the loot?” He asked, pivoting to something that made Cici’s heart race in their chest. Cici gulped, before moving away from the tree towards their tent. Out of everyone, Nayhan might be the best person to show what was going on right away.

Simply put, Nayhan was a uh…simple man.

There was no crime in that. Cici found it quite endearing, but also knew that because Nayhan was so simple, that also meant he didn’t have a care about…ethics. At least for Nayhan, if you were good to him, he was good to you.

That was how their strange, awkward friendship had formed. Cici considered it a friendship. They’d had so few friends throughout their life that this little bit of kindness was warm, welcoming. Even if Cici wasn’t quite sure when it would end.

Would this be the moment? Cici wasn’t so sure. Cici just knew that while the others were greedy in the truest form of that word, Nayhan wasn’t.

So, Cici needed to take a gamble on him. They had to. If Cici didn’t, there was no way they were getting this egg back to the dragons who were missing it. Cici just had to find a way to convince Nayhan that this was the right choice. For humans, for everyone. Otherwise, Nayhan could rat her out to his people and Cici would be screwed.

Forget losing their life to the dragons, Cici wouldn’t even make it that far.

Cici pondered all of that as they moved towards their tent. Nayhan held the tent flap open for them, a simple gesture that was usually used for women. Cici’s lips curled up slightly. He was rough around the edges, but he was a good man.

As good of a man as one could be as a looter.

“Well, the bag was normal, but I found something strange inside it,” Cici said, glancing at Nayhan. Nayhan furrowed his grow, looking angry while Cici knew he was actually concerned.

“Strange? By your standards? That’s not good. Does Lucas know?” He asked and Cici shook their head slowly.

“No, not yet. I’m…scared to tell him.” Cici admitted softly. “He’s going to want to do something with it, and I just know the whole trope will get killed if he does.” Nayhan looked at Cici seriously, his gaze taking in the fact that Cici was trembling, pale, and had just thrown up.

“This is serious, isn’t it?” He asked roughly and Cici nodded. He turned, running his hand over his face with a sigh. This was the moment. Nayhan either decided to listen to what Cici had to say, or he left.

That was the choice he had to make. Cici held their breath as they waited.