Chapter 4 - Bonding
Law threw another piece of wood onto the fire, the hungry flames eagerly lapping at the dry wood. Dopple sat across from the inferno, looking into the orange flames intently as the fire continued to gain power.
The two companions had traveled for six hours, moving at a steady pace the entire time. Half way in Dopple was forced to rest, but Law, wanting to continue onward, simply picked her up and held her under his arm. Dopple had spent the first ten minutes after that blushing as she felt his arm wrap around her waist, her body being pulled close to hers.
When Law finally reached the edge of the forest, he was surprised to find not badlands, as the name of the location may imply, but a desert. Even stranger was that the two biomes seemed to almost start and end at a single point. Several meters past the treeline and the grass slowly began to change to sand. Still, it wasn't the strangest change in nature he's ever seen; Punk Hazard's climate was a nightmare.
Dopple had said it would take anywhere from nine to ten hours to reach her hive. Since they had been traveling for six hours straight, that only left another four more hours of walking at most. However, night was beginning to fall upon them, and nocturnal creatures were beginning to stir. Law had decided they would spend the night at the fringe of the forest and resume traveling at dawn. The desert landscape would be much cooler in the early hours, and he would rather arrive at the hive during the day, rather than at night.
So, for the remainder of the daylight they had, Law and Dopple collected wood and bark to use as tinder for a fire.
It had grown late now, and darkness had started to roll in. Silence had begun to settle between the two, driving Dopple insane with a need for conversation. She looked up from the fire to Law, watching him prod the burning wood with a stick. For little over a day now she had been by the human's side, and yet she knew nothing about him. All she knew was that he had some sort of magic she'd never seen before, and incredible mastery with a sword.
Besides that the man was an enigma. She knew nothing of his past, his friends, family or even where he came from! However, there was one lead she had. She remembered something Law had yelled yesterday.
Dopple squirmed as she gathered her courage to ask the question. "Law, can I ask you a question?"
Law grunted in permission to continue.
"Well... I don't really know much about you, and you don't really know much about me. Since you consider us friends, I was thinking we could share some stuff between each other."
Law looked over the fire at Dopple with a raised eyebrow. "What kind of stuff?"
"Personal things, like from our past perhaps. I mean, I figured you either lost or miss someone from your past, and it might help to share."
Law's fingers tightened around his stick. "What makes you think I lost someone?"
Dopple could hear the warning in Law's tone, but she pressed on, "Yesterday morning you woke up and screamed 'Corazon'. I'm guessing that's a name?"
The stick in Law's hand suddenly snapped in two. Dopple jumped in her seat, and looked at Law nervously, wondering if she crossed some forbidden line. Law had his eyes closed while he breathed deeply, trying to control his growing anger. Dopple wisely retracted the question, "O-On second thought, never mind! How about I tell you a bit about myself first, alright?"
Not waiting for an answer from Law, she began her story. "I was born roughly twenty years ago when the hive was relatively strong. My mother was just an average worker drone, and my father was a soldier in the Queen's army. They never told me exactly how they met, but they said it was 'love at first sight'."
Both Law and Dopple snorted in unison.
"So they paired together and soon after my mother got filled with his egg." Dopple noticed Law's confusion so she elaborated, "Oh, right, you don't know much about us. I'll be sure to describe the city to you tomorrow on the way there. Anyway, changelings reproduce through eggs, with every female drone having the capacity to mate. Still, it's usually the Queen who sires the most offspring, and she can incubate several dozen eggs at a time if needed."
"So getting back to my story, my mother was now pregnant with me, but unlike other species, we don't let the mares rest. As long as nothing serious happens, pregnant changeling mares can still work due to our strong exoskeleton. It's only a week before the birth do we let the mares relax for the coming delivery. During that time my father remained in the guard, and continued to serve the hive. Due to their schedules, they were only able to see each other a few times within the year. That all changed, however, the day I was born."
"According to my mother, my father left the guard within the month after my birth, and chose a job as a worker drone. The two asked the Queen for private quarters, and due to my fathers service, she granted the request."
"Is such an occurrence uncommon?" Law interrupted.
"It is. Most changeling's remain within the same field of work until the day they die. Furthermore, it's normally the nobles and higher ranking officials that receive private chambers. Most changelings sleep together as a community."
"So I was born in a comfortable environment and had the honor of knowing both my parents through my childhood, something else that's rather uncommon. Of course, nothing good lasts forever I suppose."
Dopple sighed and began to make shapes in the ground with her hoof, her eyes growing distant. "I think I was six or seven at the time that it happened. A neighboring Diamond Dog clan raided the hive, and they brought larger numbers of soldiers than they usually do. The militia posted at the entrance to the hive was overwhelmed, and the dogs rushed forth, looting and killing all in their path. My father had the day off, and he was showing me around his old barracks. We heard the commotion, and my father reverted to his old ways in an instant. I was thrown into a small cubbyhole while my father took a sword from a soldier's locker. I never saw what happened, but I could hear it."
Dopple shivered and scooted closer to the fire. "Yells, screams, and the sounds of death. Hard to forget something like that when you're just a child. I must have remained hidden for hours until it was finally quiet, and the first thing I saw upon exiting... was my father's still body. I screamed and passed out. I later woke up in my room with my mother crying while she held me..."
Law closed his eyes. "I'm sorry for your loss."
Dopple smiled sadly into the fire. "Thanks. It was hard after dad died and mom took it especially hard. For weeks she refused to have me removed from her eyesight. We both got through it though, and we grew stronger from it. Besides, looking back on it now that I'm older, I'm proud of my father. Apparently before he died he managed to take down several Diamond Dogs alone."
She looked up from the fire at Law. "Well, that's a bit about my past, albeit, the hard part. Judging from your reaction before, I'm guessing you also lost someone close to you. I just want you to know... I understand the pain of loss."
Law's eyes snapped open and he glared at the changeling. "While I'm sorry for your loss, you know nothing of true pain. I have suffered so much in my life it's a miracle I'm even alive right now."
Dopple recoiled at the harsh words, but steeled herself to continue, "Well then... why don't you tell me what actually happened."
Law's gaze was cold as stared at her from across the fire. "I am the sole survivor of a dead country."
Based on Law's demeanor, Dopple had prepared herself for an incredibly sad story about how one of his parents had died in a terrible accident. She would then proceed to offer him words of encouragement while the normally stoic individual broke down into tears as he was forced to remember said horrible event.
She was not prepared for what came out of Law's mouth.
The implications alone made her sob story sound like a stroll through a field of daisies. What could she possibly say to make him feel better about a situation like that!? She imagined what it might be like to be the last survivor of her hive. All her friends dead, her mother gone, and her home left in ruins. Her mind couldn't even begin to comprehend the destruction Law must have witnessed. She couldn't see how it could possibly be worse for him.
"I was ten years old," Law stated dispassionately.
Dopple didn't waste another second. She flew around the campfire and barreled into Law's chest, wrapping all four legs around his chest. unprepared for the sudden assault Law was forced to endure the mare's hug.
"I'm so-so-so-so sorry I brought that up for you! It must have been horrible for you and you didn't want to talk about it, but I had to force you to talk about it, and I thought talking about it would help you, but then you told me, and I-" Dopple's apology was halted when a hand clamped down on her muzzle. She glanced up into the annoyed stare of Law.
"Dopple, let go of me," commanded Law.
Dopple shook her head in defiance and pushed her muzzle into Law's chest. The pirate closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. If he had known the changeling would react in such a way he would of kept his mouth shut. He lifted a hand and created a room, encompassing the area around them. With a silent command Law exchanged the clingy mare for some sand.
Dopple yelped in surprise as she tumbled face first into the desert. She lifted her head to glare at Law, spitting sand out of her mouth. "What was that for!? I'm only trying to help!"
Law brushed the sand off of his clothes while he glared at the changeling. "I don't need nor want your help in this regard. My past is my own and what little I told you was more than I've told most others. I've come to terms with my life and how I live, and I would appreciate it if you leave well enough alone."
Dopple opened her mouth to argue, but it devolved into a sigh of defeat. "Fine, I won't push it."
Law nodded and laid back upon the cold sand. "Good, and keep what information you have to yourself. It's private and I don't want others to know. Now, go to sleep, we have a fair amount of walking to do tomorrow."
Dopple shook her head as she laid next to the fire, observing the still form of Law. How could a being with such a tragic past just want to ignore it all? There was something more to it, that Dopple was sure of. With a final sigh she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, the fire following soon after as darkness settled over the arid landscape.
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Well didn't expect THIS to crawl back out of the grave. Still nice to see it update.
6708508 To be fair, I posted a blog explaining what I was up to in regards to this story.
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu- I love this, but there aren't any more chapters. But I need more chapters, cause I love this story, and because I love it I need to see what happens next, but there aren't next chapters. Now I have to wait, but I don't want to wait. AGH!
Anyway, I love the story. Dopple and Law's best team. Cant wait for future chapters :D.
...
Does anybody knows where I can find a cryogen pod?
6708662 Haha, I'm glad you like the story! I'm actually uploading the next chapter tomorrow and it'll be almost twice as long as chapter 4.
What are you talking about? Clearly Brook is from his country and is alive and well.
Wait... something about that sounds a bit wrong.
6709286 Naw fam, Law is the only survivor from his country and the disease that killed it. The joke is appreciated though, haha
6709416 Technically that's neither true or false. The manga is only half way done and an individual from Law's past could show up.
6709461
I'm kinda of hoping some does show up, like a friend or even his sister. What a tearjerker that would be.
Since they had been traveling for six hours strait
Straight. A strait has to do with water.
All she knew was that he wad some sort of magic she'd never seen before, and incredible mastery with a sword.
'that he had'
"What make's you think I lost someone?"
'makes'
Since you started with how bad the Changelings were treated, I really hope you let them, or at least her have some sort of romance.
I like this version a bit more, than the one that Chrysalis would have to mate with every Changeling.
Well I would like to read more, I hope the next update comes a bit sooner, even if I just started reading everything, I just start to like it, and I´m curious about him meeting Chrysalis.