Chapter 28. Tarakona

The three of us spent most of the night clearing out the barn to see how much of it was still salvageable. Tarakona's landing had destroyed half of it to the point the planks from that side was only usable as firewood but I tried to salvage as many of the nails and other metal parts as I could. I had to give her scales credit as there was a lot of stuff here that would have been life ending for someone else.

Zeldi had been great at this as she'd found a night light of sorts and was using my duel spear as a makeshift hammer and saw to get rid of the wood around these pieces. Don't think this is what Daxel had in mind when he gave it to me but I was using what I had available.

Tarakona had turned out to have almost perfect night vision. Thus she had been dedicated removal expert of everything that didn't look like it could stand by itself. Once most of the broken parts had been removed she busied herself filling in the small crater her landing had caused. Her size made a huge difference in how quickly it was done.

It was also surprising to learn she was a frost dragon. I should have known this from her colour but I had assumed she could breathe fire like fantasy dragons I'm use to. Turns out she can freeze water and turn any of her surroundings into a winter funland with just her breath.

After that discovery Zeldi had kept her distance, seems my little mare didn't like the cold.

I'd taken the opportunity to place the food barrels and dresses in the house to free up some inventory space before joining them again.

With all of the potentially dangerous things removed I went to explore what was left of my barn. It was... Disappointing. Even in the dark I could see how little had survived.

Most of the fence posts I'd been saving were gone and even the extra hay in one of the stalls was floating away in whatever wind still blew. Only a single wall remained standing but even that was generous as the top was completely gone.

[I feel I must apologize again my Master. This was not my intention when I asked to be a part of your farm.]

"Don't." I responded picking up the three surviving fence posts. "You have nothing to apologize for if what Zeldi has said about producers is correct. Having you bond with me is worth the barn, not that it was that usable anyway."

I didn't look very hard but it seemed Zeldi's old milking machine had also been a victim of the crash. Oh no. What a shame... Anyway.

[But it was something you had here. Are you not mad that it is destroyed?]

I was getting use to her way of speaking. Still a little unnerving but nice in a way. It was also very much female and held a slight tinge of innocence that made it so desirable.

"Eeeh." I shrugged as an answer. "It had a single use as storage and that was it."

Zeldi off to the side looked like she was about to fall asleep on the grass. She couldn't gain the buff from her milk unfortunately so it made sense. Trying to get her to drink her own milk in the first place had been a hassle in itself so I hadn't pushed.

I did a quick jog to catch up with her before planting a kiss on her forehead and forcing her to go to bed. She didn't even fight me which said a lot.

Tucking her onto the mattress that I hadn't replaced yet was a little annoying but Zeldi didn't even notice. She was out like a light the moment her head touched. I sneakily milked her into a bottle just a little bit so that I could keep the stamina regeneration buff active throughout the rest of the night before joining Tarakona again. Not that my mare even noticed.

[You care about her don't you?] The dragon seemed to hum when I returned.

"Part of my job as a deed owner." I replied.

[No. Your job is to provide us a place to live and all our daily necessities. The care is extra.]

"Agree to disagree there." I said back with a scoff re-evaluating the damage again. "I need her just as much as she needs me. Plus how can you treat someone with a consciousness like nothing but an animal?"

Was I completely disregarding some people on Earth? Yes.

"There's also the whole compatibility thing between livestock and the deed owner. That's a very good insensitive to actually care about those on your farm."

Tarakona let out the dragon equivalent of a laugh. It was deep and seemed to shake the trees off to the side. When she finally stopped her piercing blue eyes found mine in the darkness.

[So the only reason you care so much is because you fit inside her?]

The dragon brought her face in front of me, the size difference making her head bigger than my whole body.

[No. You don't need to answer that. I can see the loneliness that she chases away in your eyes. Maybe I too will be a part of that, if you'll have me?]

"I am definitely not going to say no." I hesitated before adding. "We might have to complete your quest first. I don't think even the magic of this land will substitute our sizes."

Tarakona snorted a breath of chilly wind towards me.

[Males and their one track minds.]

I ignored the comment and returned my attention to the barn. Luckily most of the flooring was still intact so it wouldn't be too hard to fix. The only problem would be rebuilding the support beams. A task that was possible especially with the trees both on and off my property but would be extremely difficult without tools.

My shop was an option but required Zeldi and I wasn't going to interrupt her sleep. Or cut things in the dark.

[I feel I have asked too much of you right now.]

"You have definitely given me a challenge but not too much. Regardless of all the compatibility stuff you are still my producer now so it's a request I will complete. Somehow." I said but had to continue again. "It just might not be done tonight. Not going to lie I can't see as well as you can so unless you build the whole thing yourself I have to wait for the sun."

That seemed to please her so I took a sip from the bottle of Zeldi's milk to refresh the buff. Didn't seem right to sleep in a bed if Tarakona couldn't.

"Can I ask what my request to you actually said? It was a quest reward so I don't actually know." I asked as I started to sort through Zeldi's pile of nails. A task I gave up on pretty quickly due to the lack of light. Zeldi had taken the night light with her and I'd forgotten to ask for it.

[It was a bit of a essay really, but it boiled down to describing you and what quest rewards you had as well as the farm itself and the condition it was in. There was also the mention of Zeldi but other than saying she was a milk maid and happy with you there wasn't much.]

"And that made you want to bond yourself to me?" I asked dubiously.

[No I'll admit. The truth is the feeling of desperation that comes to every unbound Livestock was getting to me. I would wake up from nightmares about hunters skinning me alive while taunting that I should have found a farm while I had the chance.]

"Bloody hell. Zeldi made it sound like it was nothing more than an annoying itch."

[It gets worse the longer you ignore it. The feeling of vulnerability grows until you eventually succumb to it. Part of the reason I wanted to come here was that everything that your request said was that you were trying to make both Zeldi and your lives better.]

There was a little bit of hesitation in what she said. "Was there something else as well?"

[There was but I'll keep it to myself.]

Playful smugness seemed to come into her voice with that.

"Are you ever going to tell me what else there was?"

[Maybe.]

We both rolled our eyes at each other then fell onto childish giggles.

"Fine keep your secrets then." I said after I got some air back into my lungs. "But can you at least tell me what buff your eggs give them?"

[Planning on eating them already?]

"Possibly. Haven't decided if I should sell them or keep them for myself." I replied.

Tarakona let out another snort of white frost.

[I don't know. I left my old den when I found out I had the potential to be a livestock because I lived close to a different farm. Didn't want to make a mistake and bind myself to it if I had a bad night. So I traveled far enough away before I found my previous den and have been breaking every egg I've laid since. Whatever buff they give cannot benefit me so I saw no point in keeping them.]

That makes sense. Zeldi had been falling asleep because of similar reasons.

[I fear that we may have company.]

Tarakona growled into my mind as her head whipped up to face the boarder of my land.

[The hunters who shot me down have caught up to me.]