Dragons and Mantises

There weren’t always dragons in the valley. In fact, they’ve only started spending time there in the past couple of centuries. I miss the valley, especially the music of their voices. Did you know they have four voice boxes? One in either nostril, the usual one in the throat, and one where the nostrils join the windpipe. Maybe I should move back to the valley, although such a journey might not be good for someone of my age.

I can’t believe it’s already been two years since they left. Should this reach you before the dragons arrive, I want you to see how long before you see them you can hear the faint wisps of song drift over the horizon.

I hope you kids are doing well and taking care of your father. Your cousin got over a fever last week. We were all scared she wouldn’t pull through, her father in particular. The flash flooding has been low this year. It worries me for the winter. Also, your aunt is pregnant for the first time. She hasn’t introduced us to the father yet, but she’s been glowing for some time now.

Lots of love,

Daddy Jack

Dear Daddy Jack,

I know dragons haven’t always been in the valley. I asked Teacher Maude and she said you were right, they’ve only been coming here for like two-hundred years. That’s crazy to me. It seems so long ago, but Dad’s house is like three-hundred years old, so it can’t really be that long. We actually have a competition going in the village. Whoever hears the dragon’s song first gets a free dinner. Naturally, it’s a bit honor-system based. How would we prove who had and hadn’t heard it first anyway?

I’m excited for their arrival. I haven’t seen Blue (you remember Blue? He says you were friends when you lived here) since they left. Writing that out, it feels so obvious. Of course I haven’t seen Blue since they left. He told me he’d bring me stories from the lands they visit and I told him I’d teach him what our legends said about dragons. It gave me a couple of years to learn about our take on it.

You should at least visit, if not move back to the valley entirely. You may be old, even for a grandpa, but you’re not old, ya know? You could probably beat most of the parents in the village at anything you wanted to. Even Dad thinks so, I just asked him.

That’s exciting that Aunt Dinah is pregnant! I hope the guy she picked is cool. I wonder why she hasn’t brought him around yet. That’s unlike her, normally she brings her men around as soon as she can. Unless… Maybe he’s special? Let me know what he’s like when you can.

And Medora had a fever? That’s exciting in a bad way. Is there a word for that? I want to say terrific, like terrifying, but terrific sounds too positive to me. I’m glad she pulled through and is doing well now. I should write her. But what would I say? I’m sure she gets all the updates through you and I don’t really have anything interesting to say to her right now.

Love,

Evie

P.S. Dad’s doing great. His leg is healing up and the doctor said he should be able to teach on his feet this year.

Dear Daddy Jack,

My last letter probably hasn’t reached you yet, but I heard the song today! I think I was the first, but I won’t say anything. I’ll just sit and enjoy it in the quiet moments. I got excited and just wanted to share.

Love,

Evie

I’m glad you were able to hear the song first. It doesn’t matter who wins, but feeling like you’re the only one who can hear it makes it feel special. It sounds like it’s a song meant just for you.

I do remember Blue. You’ll have to let me know how he’s doing when he gets there. Are his antlers still bone-white? I always wondered how he kept them so clean. You should ask him about shedding the antlers. They aren’t quite normal antlers, after all. Also, not to brag, but at one point I could say his real name. Took a lot of effort, and some facial contortion, but I did it.

Good to hear your father’s doing well. I expected nothing less. Still, I needed to check how he was doing. If you ever decide to have kids, you’ll understand that need to know how they’re doing when you can’t check on them yourself.

As for writing to your cousin, you shouldn’t worry about what to say. A letter saying, “Hi, it’s been a while” can mean plenty. Awkward start, sure, but it’s better than nothing. Eventually, you’ll find something to talk about. I’m sure you will.

Lots of Love,

Daddy Jack

Dear Medora,

Hi, it’s been a while. What’s new in your life? How have you been? I was thinking about you the other day and figured I should write to you. realized I wanted to write to you. It’s been a long time. I don’t even know what to write about or ask you. I think I was first to hear the dragon song last week. We haven’t seen any yet, but they must be getting close. The song is clearer every day. I miss how we Remember how

Your cousin,

Evie

Dear Daddy Jack,

I tried writing to Medora. It’s taken me a couple of days since then to figure out what to say to you beyond that. The dragons sound so close, but I can’t see them yet. I still don’t know what to talk to her about. It’s been so long. I was thinking maybe----

Sorry for the smear. Someone shouted that they could see the dragons arriving. I ran out to look and sure enough, there was a blue one walking down the mountains on the far side of the valley. Just one. I think it was Blue.

We sent a group out to go check on them. Regardless, it’ll be a few days before they return or that dragon makes it here. It looked like he had his wings spread, but there was something missing. It was like it was just the leading edge. I hope he’s alright.

I’ve never seen one alone like that.

Worried,

Evie

Evelyn,

I don’t know what to write about either. I do really appreciate the sentiment, though. That’s nice that you were the first to hear the dragons. I’ve never heard their song.

Respectfully,

Medora

I’ve never seen one alone like that, either. I hope everything is ok, Evie. Please keep me informed.

Medora said she got your letter. She was very smiley about it, but you know how she is. It probably didn’t translate very well in how she wrote it.

Love,

Daddy Jack

Daddy Jack,

They came back with Blue draped over a couple of wagons. He’s still unconscious. His wings have been torn to shreds, like an old flag in the wind. One of his antlers is broken in half, the left one. He hasn’t opened his eyes in days. He’s definitely still breathing. We can see that in his breast and the little sputters of flame that lick his tongue. We can hear it too. It’s this fluttering chord, dissonant and sloppy. I don’t think he’s just sleeping.

None of the others have shown up yet.

In happier news, Dad’s been hobbling around this week. In short bursts. I thought you might like to know.

-Evie

P.S. Happy Birthday! I know it’s soon and I hope you have a wonderful day.

Medora,

You don’t have to call me Evelyn. You can if you want, but you don’t have to. I didn’t realize you’d never heard the dragons’ song. I’d invite you to come listen, but there’s almost none of it this year, not worth the journey at all.

I’m sure Daddy Jack will tell you why if you ask. I wrote to him about it and I don’t think I can handle writing it down again.

It’s almost his birthday, so I’d like to enlist your help for a favor. Enclosed is a gift for him. Please give it to him on his birthday. From me. Or us, if you like.

Your cousin,

Evie

P.S. Can you believe he’s like 85? He doesn’t seem that old to me.

Enclosed: A note reading, “Happy Birthday, Daddy Jack! I hope you can find a special place for this. Love, Evie,” and a glistening blue scale, about the size of Evie’s palm, wrapped in paper.

I want to thank you for your gift, first and foremost. It was very thoughtful. I hope Blue recovers enough that one of us can tell him about it someday.

That’s good to hear about your father. I knew he wouldn’t let an injury where he kept the limb keep him down forever. I remember when I nearly lost my leg the first time. I thought that was it, I’d be down forever. Turns out it’d take a few more misadventures before it gave up on me and needed to go away. The peg gets sore, but it’s nothing compared to the pain it used to be. Give your father some love for me.

My birthday was a good day. The local members of the family put together a picnic and a lovely little hike and we spent the whole day together. It was quiet and peaceful, just the way I like it these days.

Lots of Love,

Daddy Jack

Dear Daddy Jack,

I’m glad

* * *

Evie heard coughing cellos and a low, rumbling growl. She jolted to her feet and sprinted out the door, knocking her chair and ink bottle over in the process. That sound could only come from one thing and it meant there was a chance he was awake.

A couple minutes later, she rounded the corner and saw Blue holding his head up. Evie tried to stop running and, in her shock, forgot how to, skidding to a stop several yards past the turn. She got off the ground, not noticing the fresh tear in her right sleeve and pant leg, and jogged over to the dragon.

“Blue…,” she started, unsure of what to say. She tried again. “Are you ok? I was so worried! What happened? Where are the others? Are they alright? I missed you.” Evie felt like she had other questions, but didn’t know what they were or how to articulate the feeling.

“That looked like quite the tumble, Evie, are you ok? These streets are not particularly soft,” hummed Blue. He brought his head down to eye level and inspected Evie’s arm. She realized her hand was wet. So was the top of her calf. The air stung her bloody scrapes. Evie looked where Blue was looking and saw her torn sleeve and pant leg.

“I’m fine,” she lied. Evie didn’t usually hurt herself at all. Falling with enough force to tear through her clothes and skin was unpleasant, to say the least. Blue made eye contact, raised his eyebrows, and hmmphed with a low resonance. They weren’t eyebrows, really. They were eyebrows like a dog has, the muscles, motions, and expressiveness with none of the distinctive color or texture.

Evie conceded, “Ok, I’m not fine. But you’re worse! Tell. Me. Everything.”

Blue stretched his tattered wings and scratched his shoulder with his antlers.

“I will. It is not a brief tale. You may want to tend to your wounds first. This will take some time.”

Evie thought about protesting. She opened her mouth and raised her hand to explain why she couldn’t wait. The blood on the side and palm of her hand changed her mind.

“I’ll be back before too long. Of course, this means I’ll be taking notes for Daddy Jack too,” she said before she walked off, wincing occasionally and with a slight limp.

“I would have it no other way,” said Blue, the music of his voice filling the air around Evie as she walked.

Walking in her door, the first thing Evie noticed was the ink bottle, sideways and empty followed by the now totally black sheet she’d started on earlier.

“Dad’s going to be so upset when he sees this,” she said. She walked straight to the cupboard where they kept the writing supplies and grabbed a fresh bottle and bled a bit on most of the paper grabbing a stack to take with her.

“Evie! What did you do?”

“Well, I heard Blue wake up and I rushed out. I’m sorry I wasted the ink and stained the table,” said Evie.

“What?” Evie’s dad looked around, confused for a second before spotting the table mess. “Oh, that. That’s fine. Why are you leaving bloody foot and hand prints around the house? Are you ok?”

“I’m fine, Dad. I didn’t expect Blue to actually be awake, so it surprised me. I was running as fast as I could and forgot how to stop. I tripped and slid on the street.”

“What I’m hearing is you’re not fine, but you’re too excited to admit to it. Let me clean you up a bit. And walk when you go back,” he said.

He cleaned her up and bandaged her scrapes. Evie made her way back to Blue, writing supplies in one hand, previously upended chair in the other, and a snack made by her father in a bag slung round her shoulder.

“You look much better,” said Blue as Evie rounded the corner. His voice rang gently and lingered on the final syllable.

“I feel better,” she said and then waved at Blue’s injuries. “Now tell me about what did this to you.”

Blue nodded, giving Evie a little bit to get settled. And he began to tell her everything.

* * *

Dear Daddy Jack,

I’m glad you had a good birthday and enjoyed my present. Sorry for the blood on the paper. I hurt myself rushing to see Blue when he woke up. He’s doing better and he told me what happened to him.

In their ancestral land, which most of the dragon aeries gather in for two year cycles, they were attacked by a congregation of mantids. I laughed when he said that, because when I see a mantis, it’s relatively small and seems so gentle. Apparently, the problematic ones are enormous and controlled by a strategically clever queen of some sort. Blue said he doesn’t know a lot more about their queen, just that its existence is a bit of draconian oral history.

Anyway, the mantids attacked and managed to eat a bunch of dragons. Some got away. Blue came here because he considers the valley a safe place. I don’t know what he was thinking. We can’t protect him from insects that can kill dragons. He only escaped because they grabbed his wings instead of his legs or body. Easier to tear your own wings to shreds than get eaten alive, I guess.

Side note, I guess the two year cycles are a tradition from when the world had a different seasonal pattern or something. He wasn’t too clear on that. I guess it was a difference in ages past, like when we sometimes gather in the winter or like bird migration patterns.

Since you’ll ask, Dad’s getting around fine right now. He gets tired easily, still, and has a limp, but he’s doing great.

What should I do? Should I do anything? I want to help Blue, but I don’t know how I can. I don’t know if I can.

Love,

Evie

P.S. Doesn’t Medora like learning about bugs? Maybe she knows something. I think I’ll ask her.

Dear Medora,

Hi, how’ve you been? It’s been a while. Sorry about that. You like insects, right? Blue got hurt fighting giant mantis things. The normal size ones seem so gentle, just perched on door frames and branches sometimes. Apparently the giant ones have a queen or something, like bees, but it’s smart. At least, it’s tactically intelligent. If I remember correctly, you’re into bugs--- You know things about insects--- What could the dragons do to fight back against these things? How could they even hurt the dragons? I mean, they’re dragons. Armored, agile, fangs and claws, great eyesight, etc, what could beat that?

Sorry, I got a bit ranty for a second there. I dunno. I’m curious and I think a bit afraid. Anything you might know will help.

Thanks,

Evie

I don’t know what you should do. I do think you should do something. Maybe ask Blue what you can do for him? He may have an idea of how you can help. If you do, let me know what he says. I’d like to help too, as much as I can from here.

Also, Medora got your letter. She was quite excited about it. As you remembered, she’s more than a bit fanatical about insects of all types. Her letter may be a couple of days behind mine, she’s fact checking what she remembers and trying to find record of the big mantes you mentioned.

Other than that, there’s not much going on here. Your aunt is quite pregnant, so we’ve been spending lots of time helping her. I get more and more curious who the father is every day.

Lots of love,

Daddy Jack

Dear Evelyn,

Thank you for the letter and asking a question I find so interesting. I spent a couple of days in the library looking for information on your giant queen mantis, to no avail. I’ll keep looking and send you any information I encounter that you might like.

Otherwise, and I’ll try to keep this brief, you’re grossly mistaken about the mantises you see around. They’re violent, carnivorous creatures. They sit and wait, ambushing their prey with lightning fast movements. Once they get their grip on something, it won’t escape. Their jaws are powerful enough to tear through beetle shells. Mantises have five eyes, two that can see all around them and three more simple ones on the front of their head. Given the chance, they’ll eat lizards and birds that are about their size. Not to mention their agility. Some species can fly as adults, and all species can leap quite far and control their body position in the air with extreme precision.

In short, they’re incredible. I have no trouble believing large ones would be able to eat dragons if caught off guard.

They’re usually solitary creatures, though, on account of their cannibalistic tendencies. Having a queen of some sort is weird for creatures with that type of behavior.

Anyway, fascinating, terrifying, awesome.

Best,

Medora

* * *

Evie looked up from Medora’s letter, sighing as she leaned back in her chair. Eyes wide, she stared into nothingness for a little bit, processing. To no one in particular, she said, “Well, that’s more than a little disturbing.”

Evie stood up and started walking to Blue. Daddy Jack’s advice to ask him how she could help seemed sound enough. Why hadn’t she thought of that before? It’s such a simple answer to wondering how to help. Ask how to help. That must be better than nothing.

“Blue,” she said upon arriving, “I was wondering, uh, h-how I can, um, help with… I dunno, your recovery or fixing what happened or whatever… ya know?”

He made an introspective sound, like chords in motion. Evie looked at her feet, hands behind her back, twisting the toe of one boot into the ground.

“I just… I want to help but I can’t think of a way to. Daddy Jack suggested I ask.”

“I appreciate that,” Blue said. “It takes a lot of courage to ask. What are you willing to do to help?”

“Anything.”

“I thought you might say that, Evie,” he said, “but I have never met someone who really means anything when they say that. When I have the strength, which should be soon, I will return to my homeland and find the lair of the Mantis Queen. She will be no more. I would like some company for the journey, as it has grown longer than it once was for me. And, should we survive, a written record of the events and discoveries along the way will be better than the oral history the dragons will have of it. Will you come with me, as friend and scribe? I ask not that you fight the battle with me, for it shall be too dangerous. I only ask that you accompany me and tell of the journey to those who would listen. At the very least, tell Jack. It may give him some nostalgic joy.”

The music of Blue’s voice expanded and flew until the last few sentences, where it began to crack and shift and made the air itself want to quietly weep.

* * *

Dear Daddy Jack,

I asked Blue how I can help and he said I should go with him while he hunts down the Mantis Queen. He doesn’t want me doing anything dangerous, just providing friendship and a record of our journey.

He said if I tell anyone about our trip when we come back, make sure to tell you about it. Then he said something about you having some nostalgic joy. Could you explain that for me?

I’m excited. And nervous. And a little bit scared. But mostly excited. Dad is a bit worried, but he trusts Blue so he’s ok with this too. I don’t know what to expect at all.

I’ve been trying to work out if there’s a way to keep in touch while I’m gone. It’d be nice to keep you, Dad, and Medora up to date and hear from you. Especially if she learns something about the Mantis Queen. I’ve decided that’s her official name now. It fits and I’ve got nothing better.

There aren’t supposed to be towns beyond the valley, so there’s likely no post. You know the direction we’re heading. Maybe you can come up with something and let me know via whatever means you come up with.

Anyway, love you, wish me luck, and I’ll be back eventually!

Excited,

Evie