Promising Memories
The last crate thudded onto the cave floor.
It was bigger than me, stuffed with every bit of clutter I'd shoved into the corner of the cabin shed.
Pots.
Pans.
Old plates.
Flint.
Needle and thread.
Bundles of dried herbs.
Emergency dried meat.
And even the map I'd opened most often since waking up in this world.
Honestly, it would've taken me several trips if I'd carried it all myself.
But Alduin had simply tucked the crate between his front paws and flown it over.
The little thing that once fit in my palms was now moving my entire life around like it was a single leaf.
The sight still felt strange.
"Haaah."
I straightened up and let out a long breath.
"That's the last of it. Moving's finally done."
"Krr."
Alduin rumbled low, the sound rolling deep through the cave.
The cave still felt unfamiliar.
A massive nest hollowed into the summit of the Cradle of the World.
Walls of black glass left by Alduin's breath.
A floor with flowing patterns like cooled lava.
Warm deeper inside, cold wind seeping in near the entrance. A strange home.
No creaking wood like the cabin.
Instead, even breathing made voices echo.
My single footstep came back to me several times.
When Alduin hummed, the floor trembled faintly.
I rested a hand on the crate I'd just set down and looked around.
We'd brought more than I'd expected.
I'd told myself we'd only take the essentials.
But then the pot was necessary.
The plates were necessary.
The map was obviously necessary.
The books had been too precious to leave.
Blankets were non-negotiable.
Needle and thread, too.
Dried herbs, too.
Not to mention the old cloth Alduin had first slept on.
One thing after another, and now most of the cabin had followed us here.
"Why does 'keep the move small' always fail?"
I muttered, tapping the crate.
"Krr?"
"Nothing."
We'd made three round trips to the cabin.
First for daily necessities.
Second for books and the map.
Third for bedding and food.
And this crate was the final load.
Though, to be precise, it wasn't three trips so much as three near-death experiences.
I acknowledged that Alduin had tried to fly slowly.
He really had.
He hadn't flown at the soul-leaving-the-forest speed from the first time.
But Alduin's version of "slow" was still quite fast by my standards.
The whole way here, I'd lain flat on his back, clutching his scales.
One hand gripping the bundle of blankets.
The other gripping my life.
We'd crossed mountains and clouds like that.
"Next time, fly even slower. For real."
"Krr."
"You were still too fast just now."
"Krr……"
"Don't sulk. You did well."
"Rr."
"But you were still fast."
"Rrr……"
"Praise and criticism can coexist."
Alduin lowered his snout, whether he understood or not.
Then he brought his face closer to mine.
Whoosh……
Hot breath stirred my hair.
My bangs flew back.
I narrowed my eyes.
"Hey."
"Krr?"
"Personal space."
Alduin came closer still.
His huge golden eyes filled my vision.
Inside those round, clear pupils, a tiny reflection of me stared back.
A woman with silver hair in complete disarray.
Her cloak half-flipped from flying, snow on her boots, exhaustion written all over her face.
Yet in Alduin's eyes, that reflection looked precious.
I sighed at those eyes.
"You really like pets that much?"
"Krrk."
Quick answer.
I finally raised my hand.
Alduin lowered his head at once.
His enormous head came down until it nearly touched the cave floor.
I placed my palm on the bridge of his nose, where the black scales met.
Warm.
But not burning.
It reminded me of the small warmth that once fit in my palm on the first day.
Only the size had become absurd.
I stroked slowly.
From the tip of his nose up to his forehead.
From his forehead to the base of his horns.
The scales around the horns were harder than the rest, with faint gold patterns embedded in them.
They had once been small and white.
Now they were longer and thicker than my forearm.
One wrong move and they could tear through trees.
Yet their owner was now lowering his neck for my touch, eyes half-closed.
"I never thought you'd get this big."
"Krr?"
"Would I not have taken you in if I'd known?"
Alduin opened his eyes.
The golden irises studied me.
He seemed to have understood the question somehow.
I hesitated for a moment.
The tiny black lizard that used to get tangled in vines and couldn't even flip over.
The child who choked on his own breath and coughed.
The troublemaker who burned the plate trying to eat dried meat.
That child had now carved a nest into the summit of the Cradle of the World.
Logically, I should have fled the forest.
When the dragon from legends appeared before me, I should have grabbed my life instead of feeling moved.
Dragons were national-level disasters.
In this world, the word "dragon" should have carried the same weight as demon kings or natural calamities.
Yet the first image that came to mind was still Alduin biting his own tongue and going "Keck."
I stroked the bridge of his nose a few more times.
"I still would've taken you in."
Alduin's eyes widened slightly.
"You looked too pitiful back then."
"Krr……"
"And you still look pitiful sometimes."
"Krr?"
"That face you make when you don't get pets, like the world's ending."
Alduin let out a wronged rumble.
Rrr.
The cave floor trembled faintly.
I immediately held up a finger.
"Gentle with the rumbling."
"Rr."
"Good. Well done."
I stroked the bridge of his nose again.
This time Alduin hummed carefully.
Small.
Very small.
Even so, a low echo returned from deeper in the cave.
Rr.
Rr.
Rr.
I felt again how large this home was.
Truly enormous.
At this size, it was less a house and more a beast's palace.
Actually, "beast" didn't fit either.
A dragon's nest.
That was the right word.
The entrance was wide enough for Alduin to enter with his wings folded.
In the center was a broad space he'd already claimed for coiling up to sleep.
To the left inside was the smaller area I'd decided to use.
Even that "small" area was much larger than the cabin's room, though compared to the whole cave it felt like a tiny nook against the wall.
I'd moved blankets, quilts, an old mattress, and a flat stone slab to use as a desk there.
Food went in the right inner area where the wind was weaker.
Worried that setting dried meat and grain sacks directly on the floor would make them damp, Alduin had fetched a flat rock.
"Fetched" was a strange word for it.
He'd actually torn a stone slab from somewhere on the mountain wall with his claws and carried it over.
To me it looked like something several people couldn't budge, yet Alduin had brought it in his mouth with a "Krr?" expression.
"Put that down."
Thud.
The floor shook with that single motion, and suddenly I had a food storage area.
Convenient.
Terrifyingly convenient.
"Anyway."
I scratched under Alduin's horn as I spoke.
"This is our home now."
"Krr."
"We'll go back to the cabin later. Need to check if we left anything."
"Krr?"
"You brought your first cloth, right?"
Alduin's ears twitched at that.
I pointed to the old cloth neatly folded beside my bedding deeper in the cave.
It was the cloth I'd laid in the box when I first brought him to the cabin.
Back then it had been large enough to wrap around his entire body with room to spare.
Now it barely covered the tip of his nose.
Still, I couldn't throw it away.
Alduin seemed to know that too.
He stared at the cloth for a moment, then slowly brought his nose closer.
Whoosh.
The cloth fluttered slightly in his breath.
"Don't burn it."
Alduin immediately held his breath.
I laughed.
"You can breathe. Just don't breathe fire."
"Krr."
Alduin carefully sniffed the cloth.
Compared to his massive body it was nothing more than a speck of dust, yet he stayed still in front of it for a long time.
He was probably remembering.
The small box.
The old cloth.
The smell of dried meat.
The fireplace light.
My hand.
The moment a home first existed for Alduin, after the day he got tangled in vines.
Watching him, my throat felt oddly itchy.
"You've grown so much."
"Krr?"
"I'm talking about you."
Alduin looked down at his own body.
Then looked back at me.
"Yeah. You."
I nodded.
"You used to fit in my arms. Now it feels like my home fits inside you."
"Krr?"
"It's a metaphor."
"Krr."
"Don't pretend you understood."
Alduin closed his eyes, satisfied.
I stroked the bridge of his nose again.
Petting had become a full-time job.
One palm wasn't enough.
Just the nose took forever.
Reaching the forehead required stretching my arm all the way out.
Touching the base of his horns meant standing on tiptoe.
Even so, Alduin looked perfectly content with whatever my hand could reach.
"Must be nice for you."
"Krr?"
"So much surface area to get petted on."
"Krr."
"Don't brag."
Rr.
The tip of Alduin's tail moved.
Thud.
A small pile of snow shook loose near the cave wall.
I turned my head at once.
"Tail."
Alduin stopped his tail.
"This place is big, but you still can't swing it around."
"Krr."
"Especially near my bedding."
"Krr."
"And the food."
"Krr."
"And the books."
Alduin's eyes wavered slightly.
I folded my arms.
"In short, even when you're happy, be gentle."
"Krr……"
"Don't sulk."
I sighed and raised my hand again.
"Good job."
Rr.
"You helped with the move."
Rr.
"Didn't drop anything."
Rr.
"And I didn't die."
Alduin's rumbling stopped.
I shook my head quickly.
"That was a joke."
"Krr……"
"Well, half a joke."
Alduin's eyes drooped again.
I hurriedly scratched the base of his horn.
"Anyway, you did well."
Rr.
"Really well."
Rrr.
"Our home is complete."
Alduin slowly looked around the cave after hearing that.
His huge eyes swept over the entrance, the center, my bedding, the food pile, the book pile, and the old cloth in turn.
He looked like he was checking something.
Memorizing with his own eyes the places I'd decided on.
That's where Lakia sleeps.
That's where the food is.
That's what not to touch.
That's the first cloth.
That's his spot.
Recognizing his gaze, I pointed to each spot with my finger.
"That's my spot."
"Krr."
"That's your spot."
"Krr."
"That's the food."
"Krr."
"That's the books. Don't burn them."
"Krr."
"That's the kitchen area. It doesn't look much like a kitchen yet, but I'll make it one."
"Krr?"
"Be careful with fire there too."
"Krr."
"And near the entrance the wind comes in, so we'll need to block it somehow later."
Alduin looked toward the entrance.
The wind from the summit of the Cradle of the World brushed past the cave mouth.
Whooooosh.
A little snow powder blew inside.
Alduin's eyes narrowed.
I raised my hand at once.
"No breath."
Alduin flinched.
"I appreciate the thought, but if you melt the entrance it'll just get bigger."
"Krr……"
"We'll try bringing rocks later."
Alduin's ears moved.
"Small rocks."
"Krr."
"Small by my standards, not yours."
Alduin thought for a moment.
Then tilted his head.
I pressed a hand to my forehead.
"This is going to take time to teach."
There were many rules to learn in the new home.
Most of the rules from the cabin would need rewriting.
The cabin had been a house that could collapse if touched wrong.
This place was a cave carved from a mountain, so it was sturdy.
That didn't mean Alduin could move freely, though.
One swing of his tail could send the food pile flying.
One flap of his wings could drop my bedding below the clouds.
A single bad sneeze could turn the books to ash.
I pictured our future life.
Water.
Fire.
Sleeping arrangements.
Food storage.
Blocking the entrance.
Hunting grounds.
A practice area for Alduin's breath.
A route where I wouldn't die.
There was a lot to think about.
And all of it had to be done with one dragon.
I looked up at Alduin.
He was still waiting for my hand with an expectant face.
"……You have no worries, do you?"
"Krr?"
"Right. At most you'd worry about hunger, pets, and me."
"Krr."
"Don't just agree right away."
Alduin closed his eyes, pleased.
I ended up laughing.
One of the most dangerous creatures in the world was now behaving quietly under my palm.
A dragon.
A national-level disaster.
A variable that hadn't even existed in the original story.
Those words should have been frightening, yet what stood before me was just a large child waiting to be petted.
I leaned my forehead lightly against the bridge of Alduin's nose.
Warmth wrapped around my forehead.
"Alduin."
"Krr?"
"Let's live well together."
Alduin's eyes slowly opened.
The golden irises held me.
"It's cold here, high up, empty, and the house is just a cave you burned out, but……"
I looked around the cave.
Black walls.
Reddish cooling patterns.
Piled belongings.
The old cloth.
My bedding.
Alduin's enormous body.
And beyond the entrance, the sea of clouds.
"It's still our home."
"Krrng."
This rumble was a little deeper.
But careful.
Alduin remembered that I disliked loud rumbling.
I smiled and patted the bridge of his nose with my palm.
"Good."
Rr.
"Well done."
Rr.
"And now……"
I slowly turned toward the crates.
"Time to organize."
Alduin's gaze hardened.
"Krr?"
"What? Why that face?"
"Krr……"
"Just because the move is over doesn't mean we're done."
Alduin stared at me in disbelief.
I folded my arms.
"Obviously."
"Krr……"
"If you moved it, you unpack it."
The tip of Alduin's tail slowly sank to the floor.
Thud.
A very small thud.
He looked genuinely despairing in his own way.
I couldn't hold back a laugh at his expression.
"The strongest creature in the world candidate, defeated by tidying up."
"Krr……"
"It's fine."
I opened the lid of the first crate as I spoke.
"You just move the big stuff."
Alduin's ears perked up again.
"Gently, though."
"Krr."
"And only what I tell you."
"Krr."
"And ask before you pick anything up in your mouth."
"Krr."
"Don't bite the books."
"Krr."
"Don't bite the pots either."
"Krr?"
"They'll get dented."
Alduin studied the pots seriously.
I opened the lid and began taking things out one by one.
A small life spread across the black cave floor.
Old plates.
Dented cups.
Herb pouches.
Sewing kit.
Dried meat.
Map.
Knife.
Wooden spoons.
The things brought from the cabin were shabby.
But the moment they were placed, one corner of the enormous dragon's nest began to look a little more like a home.
I sat on the floor and organized.
Alduin watched from beside me with his head lowered.
A face that refused to miss a single thing.
Occasionally his nose came too close and the items shifted in his breath.
Each time, I pushed his snout back with my palm.
"Back."
"Krr."
"A little more."
"Krr."
"Your 'a little' is my 'a lot.'"
Alduin thought for a long while, then pulled his face back by about a handspan.
By my standards there was almost no change.
I gave up.
"Fine. That's enough."
Rr.
Alduin looked satisfied.
I moved my hands again.
It had been a strange day.
In the morning I'd still been in the cabin.
By midday I'd been screaming in the sky.
By evening I'd set up a new home at the summit of the Cradle of the World.
And now I was organizing pots and plates inside a cave carved by a dragon.
Since possessing this world I'd experienced plenty of absurd things, but today ranked among the top.
I pulled out one last small piece of cloth from inside the crate.
An old rag I'd used to wipe the cabin table.
Rough and plain.
Still familiar in my hands.
I laid it on my lap and sighed.
"It's over."
"Krr?"
"Really over."
Alduin's eyes sparkled again.
"No, you already got pets earlier."
"Krrng."
"……Did you just make that pitiful sound on purpose?"
Alduin looked away.
The sight of a giant dragon avoiding eye contact was funnier than expected.
I dusted off my hands and stood up.
My legs still felt shaky.
My body was tired, my head dazed from the wind.
Even so, I walked over to Alduin.
And placed my hand on the bridge of his nose again.
"Last one."
"Krr."
"Last pets for today."
Rr.
"Don't make that world-ending face just because I said 'last.' I'll do it again tomorrow."
Alduin closed his eyes.
I stroked slowly.
The first day in the new home.
The summit of the Cradle of the World.
The highest place beneath the sky.
Inside the black cave, I was petting my first dragon's nose.
Beyond the entrance flowed a sea of clouds.
Inside, our belongings rested quietly.
And Alduin rumbled softly.
Rrrr……
This time the cave accepted the sound quietly.
As if this enormous nest was beginning to remember us.