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This female had been in his home for less than two days, had pestered him and lingered on his territory for far longer, and now she sought to change his personal areas for herself. To add to and evolve them, as if she wished to leave her mark upon them until she forever changed them.

The places she’d left her peach-and-vanilla scent suddenly scalded his cool scales, and his heart picked up.

With the Duskwalker looming at her back, Linh shoved everything that may be of use into one of the chests that wasn’t completely broken.

Okay. So he’s laughing with me and playing pranks,she thought, as she shoved in another candle.That’s good... right? If I keep on his good side, maybe he won’t make me leave? Hopefully I can convince him to be my friend.

Linh was trying her hardest to not upset him, even when she stupidly kicked him for joking with her.My emotions are so all over the place, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing anymore.She liked him a lot, but he also freaked her out.

She internally grumbled, while shoving an oil container into the chest.

Most of the items didn’t have much rust or water decay, so she figured that the contents of these chests had only been taken from the water recently. The outsides, however, were caked in sediment and barnacles, which likely protected the insides as well as locked them shut without brute strength.

She asked Nathair to help her break open a large ceramic jarthat was nearly the size of her torso. She thought it may have been wine, due to its mauve colouring and smell. Unfortunately, she’d accidentally knocked it over immediately after he’d opened it, rendering it useless when it shattered.

Gosh. I am not having a good day.

She’d slipped twice, fell on Nathair, and now broke something delicious. Thankfully, there had been a few smaller jars, and she took two, so she had something to cook with. The calories would do her good, and it was better than eating food with no spices.

Wine stops fermenting.Considering it’d been so airtight that not even seawater had leaked inside, she considered it safe for consumption.

Once Linh’s loot was safely packed, she turned to Nathair.

“Is there anything else inside the ship?” She spared it a glance, her gaze roaming over it where it lay decrepit on its side.

He shook his head and picked up the chest to take it to the upper level.

“Actually,” she started, fidgeting with her hands. Nathair paused and tilted his head at her, and her shoulders lifted in uncertainty. “I was wondering... is the beach safe? I would really like to go into the sun, and I’ve never seen the ocean up close before.”

She tried not to be horrified by the creepy way his head turned a near one hundred and eighty degrees as he looked over his shoulder. Seeming to think on it, or maybe he was doing his weird senses scan or something, he eventually nodded. He placed the chest down at the bottom of the incline.

He seemed extra cautious about her and her ability to misstep even on a flat surface as they climbed down from the rocks. Linh removed her shoes to leave them behind and toed the sand.

It’s warm.She hadn’t expected the sand to heat, especially not in the first week of spring. A smile curled her lips.

For the first time, she heard Nathair slither as the tiny grains shifted and even squeaked under his tail. He appeared to put more strength into his slide.

I guess it’s too loose for him to cross the sand properly.

“I’ve always wanted to go to the beach,” Linh stated quietly as she walked, feeling the ground, the sun on her back, and the way the salty wind caressed her. “If you go to the highest point of my village, you can just see over the cliff. I’ve always wondered what a beach looks like, as I was only able to see peeks of cream along the shore.”

Linh halted and turned to look at the gigantic cliff wall that had to be a kilometre high. Then she closed her eyes and lifted her face to the sun. She took in its warmth, and the way the light filtered past her eyelids. It felt like heaven against the chilly wind.

“It’s so peaceful,” she muttered, letting the song of the ocean cascade behind her.

She heard the froth of water, the crashing of waves, the whistle of the wind slicing over it, and even the occasional gurgle.

Her cheeks twitched when a strong hand wrapped beneath her jaw. She didn’t flinch, nor recoil, even when she opened her eyes to Nathair. He hadn’t steered her, but he didn’t need to.

Towering over her with his daunting height, he peered down at her with bright-yellow orbs. He swiped her cheek with a clawed thumb, yet was careful with its glossy black point.

She didn’t tear her eyes away from his snake skull and the golden hairline cracks that glittered brightly in the sunlight. Even one of his dark horns had a ring of gold just halfway.

The sight was quite mesmerising.

It looks like his entire face was broken.Most of the fractures appeared just behind his eyeholes, and the right side of his split jawbone had a gold line in the middle, as if it’d been snapped in half.Whatever shattered his skull sure did a good job.

Her heart both swelled in pity for the pain he must have been in, but in relief that he was alive and well.