Chapter Three1

Four days later, and Rin crept back into the Tower; cold, starving, and exhausted. The morning after the Crystal Ball Incident, Melfus had conjured up a little device that Rin could carry in his mouth, that would magnetically draw the broken pieces to it. He wrapped a satin bag around Rin's neck, which would hold the pieces, and sent Rin off. The first two days went well. Every part of the forest Rin went to, he only had to take a couple steps before the device and his self were covered in shards. But after he had scoured the entire forest, he had to go into the rivers and ponds. That was a job he detested and by the time he had finished, Rin was so cold he could barely move. 2

Melfus even had the nerve to send Rin into the surrounding mountains, where of course, there were even more shards. By the fourth day, Rin had explored the entire forest three times, the mountains twice, but the rivers only once. He asked the animals living nearby to not tell Melfus. The animals, many of which Rin had befriended, had helped Rin gather the spare pieces that he missed, which had helped him finish sooner. 3

Rin sleepily climbed up the stairs of the Tower, anxious to drop the bag off and crawl into a nice warm fire. He found Melfus sitting in the library. Taking a tentative step inside, he called out to Melfus. "I'm back."4

"Ah, Rin. Wonderful. You may come in." Melfus put down the book he was reading and got up. Rin went over to Melfus, not even stopping to give him a friendly nudge, and waited for Melfus to slip the bag off of his head. Once it was off, Rin lumbered over to the nearby fireplace and stepped right inside of it. He did three circles before lying down, sighing in pleasure. 5

Melfus shook his head and turned to the bag, dumping its contents onto a nearby table. There was an identical pile next to it, much larger and glinting in the glow of the firelight. Rin watched Melfus through half closed eyes as he went about muttering and grabbing various items. The fire was very warm and the crackling of the logs beneath him lulled him into a well deserved sleep.6

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A couple hours later, Rin began to stir. He could hear voices speaking, but since he wasn't fully awake then, he dreamed part of the conversation.7

"You mean Rin didn't get all of the pieces?! He worked himself unconscious for you and yet you-"8

"Shhh Castiel! Can't you see he's sleeping?"9

There was a pause then a sullen," yes, you're right."
Rin pictured the first voice as an angry bear, who was waving around a fish on every syllable. The second voice appeared to him as squirrel holding a too large acorn. This was very comical to him and in his dream, he couldn't help but start to chase them around the room, the squirrel chittering angrily while the bear tried to hit him with the fish. 10

"WHAT?! How dare you! How can you even ask that of him?! Are you insane you old coot?!"11

Rin jumped back from the bear, afraid of its swinging fish. He had made it angry. 12

"Castiel, I don't remember asking for your opinion. I only took the courtesy of telling you because I knew of your fondness for him."13

"So you're just going to send him to his death are you? He has no idea of the world outside of these mountains, no thanks to you. How can you expect him to do this? He won't survive! Rin can barely survive a day in the woods!"14

"Castiel, he has to do this!" 15

There was a loud thump following that last sentence. Rin looked away from the bear to see that the squirrel had thrown the acorn at him.16

"Rin doesn't have to do anything! Especially for you! All you do is use him for your own needs! Go out and get those pieces yourself damnit and leave him out of this!"17

The last yell was so loud that it startled Rin out of his semi-conscious state and he jumped out of the fire, unaware that there was no bear or squirrel chasing him. He blinked his eyes then shook his head, trying to wake up a bit more. After doing a little stretch and shake he looked up to see Melfus and a giant unicorn staring at him.18

"Cass! When did you get here?" Rin ran towards the unicorn and happily rubbed his belly. The unicorn was much taller than Rin, and Rin's head only reached the unicorn's underbelly. The unicorn, whose name was Castiel, was a brilliant white, just like fresh snow, with a long silky mane and tail that flowed like water. His eyes were a startlingly bright blue that always reminded Rin of ice. And his horn, the aspect of Castiel Rin loved most, was very long, slowly spiraling into a tiny, but very sharp tip. Unlike most other unicorns, his horn wasn't white nor gold, but rather a soft silver. Rin loved Castiel and never ceased to be amazed by his beauty.19

"Oh my! Rin you're too hot. You're burning my stomach." 20

"Oh, I'm sorry Cass." Rin came out from under Castiel and sat beside him, now fully awake and very happy. He smiled at Castiel and said," I had a really funny dream. A bear and a squirrel were chasing me, and they were really mad. The squirrel threw his acorn at me..." 21

Castiel sighed and turned to Melfus. "See what I mean? How can you expect this of him? Not only is he inexperienced, but he's too young!"22

"Castiel, I realize you had many tragic instances with humans, but stop letting that affect Rin. I don't want him growing up hating humans the same as you, just because you bullied those ideas into his head." Melfus sat calmly behind a great oaken desk, glaring at Castiel. 23

"I don't hate humans," Rin said quietly. He could sense both of their anger, Castiel's more severe. Melfus had hit a thin nerve.24

"I do not bully," Castiel growled," ideas into his head. I just teach him how to be a dragon, NOT a human's slave." With that, Castiel turned and stomped out of the room. 25

Rin looked from the door to Melfus, back to the door. "What... What just happened? Why were you two fighting?" Rin was close to tears, but he tried to be strong and hold them back. He hated when others were mad, or upset. 26

"Rin..." Melfus sighed before going on. "I have something very important to ask of you. It's a big task, I hope you can handle it." 27

Rin sniffled a little and continued to stare at the floor. Melfus didn't even care that he had hurt Castiel. All he cared about was those stupid crystal pieces. 28

"Rin, I need you to leave the Tower, and the mountains, and head to the closest human city."29

"W-What? You... You want me to leave...?"30

"Only to collect the remaining pieces of the globe. They were carried on the wind, but not too far. It shouldn't take too long."
Rin stared at Melfus, feeling hurt and unwanted. Why was Melfus pushing him away? Making him do all this? Maybe Castiel was right.... Maybe he was using him as a slave, a pet, instead of a friend.31

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The next morning, Rin stood outside, on the top of the Tower. The wind was blowing ferociously, but he didn't care. Today, he was going to leave the Tower for the human world. Something he had never done in his eighteen years. The thought scared him, but, as he constantly reminded himself, he had always wanted to travel the world, possibly even find his family. This was as good a chance as any. But somehow he couldn't shake off the feeling that he was really only going to do this for Melfus, as was his reason for every other thing he did. 32

He hadn't seen Castiel since the night before, which saddened him further. After the conversation with Melfus, Rin had gone into the forest to find his friend, but he was nowhere to be seen. He had searched one more time that morning, but again there was no luck. Maybe he was going to have to leave without saying goodbye.33

"Rin? There you are. Did that insane old wizard ask you already?"34

Rin turned around, and felt the first spurt of happiness that day. He ran forward and nudged Castiel's muscular chest, happy to see him again. "I was worried about you. How come I couldn't find you?"35

"I didn't want you to see me when I was upset. Did he ask you to go into the human world?"36

Rin nodded sadly.37

"What was your answer?"38

"I.... I said... Yes..."39

Castiel snorted angrily and turned away from Rin, probably to hide the anger in his eyes. When he felt a bit calmer, he turned back and said," I'm going with you then."