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[quote=Ise]"Okay, okay, we can do this. Say, if we live through this...I'll take you both to a buffet in the city, kay? It'll be my treat."[/quote]

“Buffet? Gosh Ise! You sure know how to cheer people up.” Ran joked as his stomach growled again. 

He feigned coughing to hide the rumbling, but even the little dragons weren’t fooled. The two babies kept staring at him. He flashed a smile in their direction. He was pleased the young rider seemed to have perked up once again. No one was more excited than Toby! Even though Niran can’t see his partner in crime, he knew the boy was flailing and kicking about happily. He shifted in response to try to prevent the rope from tightening round his arms. A numb butt was good enough. He didn’t need his arms to go numb as well. 

[quote=Ise]"Hey, hold still you two."[/quote]

“Dang Ise! Don’t need to be so fierce,” Ran teased. “We should be happy Toby has so much energy even though we are starving. I mean literally! The witch wasn’t even nice enough to give us stale bread.” 

[quote=Ise]"I have the knife, don't worry."[/quote]

Ran kept silent once more to conserve as much energy as possible. He continued humming the melody of the Japanese children’s song he sang earlier. His fingers remained wrapped around the hilt to help Ise steady the dagger. The smaller dragon turned its head to look at the ceiling. It didn’t even blink. Ran looked at the same spot, but he couldn’t figure out what the cloud dragon was looking at. He felt the worn handle become more slippery by the minute as blood continued to flow from the gash along his palm. He squeezed his fingers even more tightly hoping to stop the knife from slipping. 

“Careful! My palm feels a little slippery.” 

The black dragon gave him a look, and the man instinctively winked. He suspected Ise’s partner knew he wasn’t being totally honest. The Aven dragons were way smarter than they appeared. Claudia would definitely laugh if he told her this. His former boss was such a huge fan of McCafferey Anne’s Pern series that she even asked him countless times to draw various scenes from the novel. Those mini projects helped him pass the many sleepless nights he spent huddled in a deserted office. Nothing was more stimulating than charcoal, acrylic paint, an empty canvas and a several thermos flasks filled with coffee. 

[quote=Ise]"… the count of three, tug on the rope."[/quote] 

“Wha…?” Ran responded dumbly. 

[quote=Ise]"One, two, three!"[/quote]

The sound of the knife clattering on the ground made him sit up. [i]Heave ho![/i] The three prisoners tugged once… twice…. thrice. One the fourth tug the rope snapped. Ran got up unsteadily and pulled Ise into a bear hug. He let go and promptly hugged Toby. The joking and encouraging came to a booming halt. Dust and bits of wood showered the party. A sense of urgency griped them once more. Both humans scrambled to follow the rider’s commands. No questions asked. A first for both of them. Pushing against the door was futile. No matter how many times he tried, Ran couldn’t get the door to budge. The illustrator took a deep breath. More force was needed. He scrambled down the steps and didn’t stop till he reached the wall facing the stairwell. 

With a loud yell Niran dashed up the stairs. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something glittery fall moments before the room was plunged into darkness. He took a misstep and fell. Ran curled up in pain as he tried to feel for the steps ahead. He miscalculated. Instead of touching the top stair which was on his right, he reached downwards towards his left. Soon he felt himself tumbling headlong down the entire the entire flight of steps. Quickly he pulled himself into a tight ball. The small maneuver prevented him from breaking his neck. He lay groaning at the bottom of the steps till an eerie blue light filtered through the entire room. He could just make out the steps leading up into pitch darkness once again. He pressed against the wall and began pulling himself up. Step by step he climbed till finally he reached the top of the stairs. He hammered futilely against the unyielding door. 

“Duck!” 

Ran craned his neck back and gaped. A huge ball of fire was shooting towards him. He stared mesmerized for a couple of seconds till his brain yelled at him to drop to the ground at the very last second. The blinding light caused his eyes to tear a little. Then it stopped. The room was plunged into darkness once again. Then the door swung open with a loud creak. Immediately Niran dashed out. 

“Freedom!” He yelled. “Ise! Tob…” 

The man blinked as he found himself staring right into Cobalt’s eyes. The black dragon took uneven breaths. Ran inched away slowly. He dreaded what was about to happen next. He prayed the little one would miss him this time, or it would be the second time this week. The dragonet’s mouth was now pursed tightly as wisps of smoke issued from its nostrils. Small stream of flames spewed from its mouth the moment it sneezed. The fire hit Ran’s straight in the chest and his eyes widened. His vest… was on fire!

“Fire! Keep away!” He yelled as he ran out of the ruins of the hut. 

His fingers tugged crazily at the burning garment. Failing to pull it free Ran quickly dove onto the ground right in front of him and began rolling around back and forth in the mud. He remained oblivious to his surroundings. He didn’t even realize that Cobalt was following him. The black baby dragon stood by Ran and stared curiously at the others there. However the moment it spotted the witch, it began lowering itself on the ground and covered its eyes with its front claws. It draped its tail over its snout.