It was supposed to be Leon�s watch but the little Felpool had nodded off some few hours ago.

Ashton was the only one awake. He couldn�t sleep. He just sat staring at his fellow companions. Gyoro and Ururu in particular. The two-headed dragon that had once been attached to Ashton�s back where no longer a part of him.

It had been over a week ago, they had been checking out a cave that villagers said housed strong monsters that were terrorizing their villagers. While dealing with the monsters they came upon a cure by complete accident.

One moment the three of them were attached, the next they were separated. Even Gyoro and Ururu, which surprised the two of them very much. But the two found out soon enough that they could merge and separate at will which delighted the two dragons whom had been attached their whole lives. In their separated forms they were both considerably small, like chibi dragons with wings. And when Gyoro and Ururu remerged they retuned to their original form.

Everyone had been so happy for them and the three of them had been happy. Had been.

Ashton let out a heavy sigh. He had been the one wanting to separate from the dragons the most. But now he had such an empty feeling inside. Most of his life he�d been alone. Next to no friends and he always traveled alone. So after being possessed by Gyoro and Ururu he�d gotten too used to their presence. But now they were gone and he was back to being just plain Ashton.

Gyoro and Ururu could have left after being separated but they choose to stay with everyone. Helping out as much as they could. And they were very helpful. When fighting in battles Gyoro and Ururu�s elemental attacks proved very useful. So much so that no one seemed to pay much attention to Ashton at all. He tried to get their attention too but he was always overshadowed by the things Gyoro and Ururu did. They more or less ignored Ashton unless they wanted him to translate for the two dragons. Strangely enough he could still understand them even after the separation.

�Do they even care at all? Would they be upset if they woke up and I wasn�t here?� Ashton looked over at Percis. �She wouldn�t care. She�s treated me like I don�t even exist from the start.� Ashton looked upon the faces of Claude, Rena and Celine, his original three traveling companions. �The only reason I started traveling with them was to remove the curse from me. I said that I would stay with them until they took responsibility and found a way to return me to normal. That�s the reason they put up with me.�

Gyoro snorted in his sleep and unconsciously whapped Ururu with his tail. Ururu growled in his sleep but neither dragon woke.

�There�s no shortage on swordsmen with this group. What do I have to offer? I�m clumsy and cowardly. They don�t need me at all. They�d probably be better off without me. Celine always tells me that I�m the most annoying person she knows.�

The fire crackled and another ember rose to the air and died out fading into the enveloping night.

�I�ve been alone my whole life. Never had friends. So why is this any different? Why did I think it would change? If it hadn�t been for Gyoro and Ururu I wouldn�t be here. I would have just continued on by myself. They probably wouldn�t have wanted me with them in the first place anyway. They only let me come along out of guilt. So what�s keeping me here? I�m back to normal, and I said I wouldn�t leave till then.� Ashton looked around at him companions once more. �What is keeping me here?�

The very next day Claude and company woke to find that they had all been sleeping without someone keeping watch.

�I can�t believe I fell asleep. I�m so sorry!� Leon apologized yet again. This was the seventh time he had done so.

�It�s okay Leon, no one was hurt and nothing was stolen.� Rena patted Leon on the head reassuringly.

Ururu started squawking trying to get everyone�s attention. Gyoro didn�t join in he was still sleeping.

�What�s wrong Ururu? Ashton can you- huh? Where�s Ashton?�

Everyone looked around and saw no sign of Ashton, except a note that bore his handwriting.

There was a general amount of shock that traveled amongst the group as each one read the letter.

�That idiot!� Celine, the last one to read the letter, crumpled it up and threw it to the ground.