I'm rewriting a book I've been working on, and was wanting a little advice. Plot-wise, here's what I have: A soldier in a garrison (Arsien) sees a dragon flying towards the mountains. Dragons should be extinct, so this terrifies him Arsien goes into the mountains the next day, to see if the dragon's there or not. He encounters the beast, and nearly dies, but it seems to 'run out of steam', and collapses. He then sees a boy pulling himself out of the rapidly-disintegrating carcass, and naturally takes care of him until he wakes up (still in the mountains). The boy (Elenxes) convinces Arsien to take him through the mountains and across the sea to his homeland. My main issue: How does Elenxes convince Arsien to do anything? True, he can turn into a dragon, but I'm still uncertain as to how a skinny, half-dead guy convinces a loyal soldier to abandon his post.
I'm thinking that there needs to be a strong connection between the two characters. So Elenxes uses guilt or appeals to an even greater extent, than he has so far, to Arsien's protective instinct. Or the Dragon event changes Arsien's outlook in some substantive way. He realises the boy can steer him to a new truth or a better life goal. Possibly the change from Dragon to boy is symbolic for Arsien? Or possibly the near death experience stimulates the change.
Now that I think about it, the change does symbolize Arsien's arc, from a fanatic dick to someone who realizes that neither side of the war is perfect. The near-death experience too, almost getting burned alive does put things in perspective.
I know it's overplayed but maybe Arsien has/had a younger brother about Elenxes' age. Because he wouldn't want his brother to have been abandoned out in the middle of nowhere, he can't bring himself to abandon the boy, so decides to travel with him until the boy seems safe. Maybe it isn't a younger brother, but a personal experience of his where he was lost and alone at around Elenxes' age and remembers how much he wished someone had been there to help him. I don't know, I'm just spitballing here. Hope it helps.
Directly this is impossible in any way ... Nobody is forcing him to do it right now. The boy will seem suspicious to the soldier and he will go to the camp and put the boy under lock and key until they figure out who he is (What if he's a spy or a criminal?). After that, some event may occur, an attack on the camp, or a special task, or you can come up with other options, as a result of which they will become comrades against their will(This means that the soldier at the beginning may not want to travel with the boy, but he will be obliged.). Over time, you can develop their relationship and motivation. Good luck.
Basically? Time and common experiences. They need to develop emotional connection strong enough to overcome his feeling of duty - he needs to come to care for the boy. Otherwise, there is basically nothing Elenxes can do to convince him. I guess surviving through dangerous trek together would help with that, though.
