Cale was currently in his room at the inn in Puzzle City. He was sitting in the chair closest to the window and was peering down at the list of names.
"Can't use Bob or Beru," Cale mumbled to himself as he crossed out the two names.
It would be weird for him to use one those two names. Bob was the alias Beru had first used when Cale had patched up the Dark Elf from a nasty injury.
Going through the list, he crossed out a few more names. "How did father and mother go through this?"
Ron chuckled at his distraught young master upon entering the room with a tray of snacks.
Cale looked over at the butler with a frown on his delicate features. "How did you come up with Beacrox' name?"
The expression on Ron's face went from a benign smile to a loving, far away look. "My wife came up with his name." He let out a soft, amused-filled chuckle. "I believe she took the name of her weapon and combined it with the name of my stealth arts."
"Hm," Cale's brows furrowed together as he thought over what Ron had told him. Ron's wife had come up with a name by combining the names of two things that were important to her. Maybe he could do the same for the dragon.
He scribbled the God's name down on the piece of paper before rearranging the letters to form a different name that was still similar to the original.
"Which sounds better? Muru? Muir? Muri? Miru? Irum? Urim? Urum? Or Uri?"
"The young dragon asked you to come up with his name."
Cale scowled at Ron's reply. It seems that he was doing this alone without help. He looked down at the list, tapping the pen to the paper. "I think Miru sounds the closest to Miuru, but I'm not inclined toward it as a first name."
"Then what about using it as a familial name?" Ron suggested. "I'm sure the dragon would prefer having two unique names."
Cale scowled at the old man. Ron had gone from mildly helpful to overly annoying by increasing his workload in a nanosecond. He turned back to the list hoping it would illuminate something within him.
He needed something that would be meaningful and unique. But what would be meaningful to the dragon?
There wasn't really a thing or place that held ties to the dragon. The poor thing had been held captive and tortured for the two years of its life, and the parents that would hold significant meaning to the child were more and likely dead.
He felt like banging his head. He was running out of ideas, and nothing so far sounded unique enough to suit the young creature. He should be glad that he was at least halfway done with his task.
Cale looked over at Ron, needing the distraction. "Are you going to tell me where you and Beacrox has been disappearing to?" One or the other have been disappearing at regular intervals.
"A mere curiosity," Ron supplied. "One where you will bear the fruit of labors, Young Master."
Cale cocked a perfectly arched eyebrow at the cryptic man. "Are you going to tell me what it is?"
"In due time."
He scowled at the man before muttering a few curses under his breath about unruly servants before glancing back at the list of names. Maybe he should pull out a dictionary and maybe a few maps or something. He was really running low on ideas.
"Bring me a dictionary and some maps," Cale gave Ron the order without looking up.
"Is there a particular map you are looking for, Young Master?"
"No. Bring me one for all the kingdoms that you can find."
"I will return shortly, Young Master." Ron bowed before leaving the room to complete the task.
"What the fuck would be a good name?" Cale muttered to himself. This was so goddamn annoying, but it wasn't like he could refuse the cute little dragon.
He set the papers aside once again and grabbed his glass of wine, which Ron had thankfully refilled before leaving. He was hoping to be able to grant the dragon's wish and give him a name, but he had no idea that it would be this difficult and mentally draining.
Cale drained the glass of wine and looked at it as if it held all the evil in the world. Like the lout he portrayed himself as in both lives, he grabbed the bottle and drank from it, not bothering to pour it into the glass.
Ron returned after Cale was already halfway through the second bottle. Ron gave him a stiff benign smile, still not completely comfortable with allowing the young master to drink but did not complain or try to correct his behavior. It wouldn't be all that surprising if the boy had experienced a far harsher life then what had been described, so Ron decided to let some of the crude behavior go without correction.
Ron laid everything Cale had requested on the table. Cale placed the bottle of wine on the end table by the chair he was sitting in and made his way over to where Ron was standing, straightening out the maps until they laid perfectly.
"You hope to find a name with these?"
Cale nodded, not bothering with a vocal answer as he looked down. He needed to come up with new ideas and quickly. He didn't want to ruminate on the matter during the entire trip because he wanted the dragon to be able to leave Puzzle City with his wish granted.
. . . .
Cale and the young dragon were enjoying a light lunch in their room. It had been three days since Cale had come up with the perfect name for the dragon, he had just been waiting for the perfect opportunity to reveal the name.
He brought his drink up to his lips and frowned when the bitter, sour taste of lemons hit his tongue. He put the glass down with a loud clang and glared at Ron. "I thought I've told you that I hate bitter things."
"It is good for your health, Young Master, and you will need it today."
Cale scowled at the old man wearing a benign smile. "And why in the fuck will I need it today?"
That benign smile widened and actually started to look genuine. "Beacrox and I have located an Ancient Power. We have been studying the wind patterns for the last few days. You may retrieve it after you finish your lunch when the winds have decreased to their lowest point." That benign smile dropped momentarily. "It will be dangerous since we cannot protect you from the winds, which is why you need your strength today."
Cale felt his cheeks hurt when a wide grin pulled at his lips. "Excellent news. Hopefully it will be a human base power."
"That is what we believe. I found it curious that Young Master Taylor Stan would stay in this city for so long and came to the conclusion that he was searching for something."
"And this Ancient Power might be it," Cale concluded.
The black dragon smiled and gave a small, excited flap of its wings. "That's great human! We can grow stronger to destroy our enemies together." Since Venion Stan had been properly taken care of thanks to the crown, much to the dragon's disappointment, it had decided that Cale's enemies were its enemies.
"Yes." Cale then turned his beautiful smile onto the young dragon. "Along with good news, I have come up with a name for you. I hope you like it." The dragon's blue eyes sparkled and its wings fluttered again as it waited for the next words to come out of Cale's mouth. "The name of a dragon should be just as unique as the dragon itself. I have come up with Miru for your surname and Raon for your first. They are unique and do not exist in this world so they will only be used to describe you if you'd like to use them."