Silverwings and Small One

I have never in my life liked humans, or human children; a fact that still stands true today. Humans are filthy, loud, disgusting creatures, and their offspring are even louder and filthier. It is for this reason that I chose my Dwelling-Place as far from humans as possible. My forest was once a calm, quiet place; filled with fatted deer good for hunting, and clean, clear water for drinking and swimming in. I very much like the water, as it cools my scales when my Spark grows too hot. If I had it my way, I would curl up in the bottom of my Pool and lie there forever... but Small One would never allow it.

Small One is very dear to me, although things didn't start out that way. She cannot hold her breath as long as I, and fears deep water like most of her kind. That, and she always insists on getting herself into trouble. Just last week she tried to fight off a group of human poachers by herself, and the week before that she got herself caught in a pair of their Metal Jaws. It took hours of licking for me to heal the wound after, and she refused to sit still until it had healed fully. I suppose I can't fault her for being so brash and foolish. She is, after all, a human, and stupidity is unfortunately a common characteristic of her race.

Small One has been by my side for nearly ten Summers now. When I look at her, it's difficult to imagine that she's the same creature I discovered to begin with. Back then, she was little more than an infant, hardly able to walk on her own, and would cry incessantly.

Goddess, how she cried.

I seriously considered just eating her and being done with it, but to tell the truth, I'm glad I didn't. As she's grown, Small One has become a more than tolerable companion. For one thing, she can feed and clean herself now, which is a blessing, and she doesn't cry nearly as much as she used to. Despite her fear of deep water, she has allowed me to start teaching her to swim now too, although she does not take to it as naturally as a Drake Hatchling would. Again, I cannot expect her to. Humans were not bred to swim in the sea or fly in the sky as we, otherwise the Goddess would have given them fins or wings instead of the scale-less, fleshy appendages they have.

After our swimming lessons is when she goes out to hunt. In the early days, I had to hunt for her, but now she is quite capable of hunting on her own. Well... for the most part. She has no claws nor sharp teeth, which would make everything so much easier. She has discovered, on her own, how to build small snares like the human poachers who encroach upon my Dwelling-Place, and they are impressively reliable I must say. The problem is that she is averse to dispatching of the prey she catches, and as a result will either let them go or ask me to do it for her. In truth, I don't mind doing so. It's much cleaner than if she did it herself, and more humane. It also saves her the trouble of having to build a fire to cook her food, a skill she is also not very adept at yet.

She usually comes back rather quickly from her hunts, but the last time it took her much longer than expected. Fearing she'd gotten herself in trouble again, I pried myself out of my deliciously relaxing Pool and set out looking for her. It took no time at all for me to catch her scent... toward the Eastern edge of the forest.

I've warned her time and again to stay away from there; the human village sits on the Eastern border of the forest, an addition that I am not at all happy with. In the two decades its been there, they've done nothing but cut down more trees to build their own Dwelling-Places and eat all my deer. Small One knows that humans are wretched, and can be dangerous in large groups, but there are times when her curiosity gets the better of her. Still, they are her kind, so I cannot fault her curiosity.

As I flew over the treetops toward the Eastern edge, grumbling to myself about her stupidity (a common practice I find myself doing), I spotted her in a clearing a half a day's distance from the village. I circled down lower, but paused when a familiar, rancid stench met my nostrils: there was a human down there with her! My lips curled into a snarl as my wings folded back, executing a swift, perfect nose dive toward the clearing. The further I descended, I could hear loud voices; one of which belonged to Small One. Fearing that she was in danger, I fanned out my wings to slow my descent, creating a thunderous snap, and shook the ground as I landed firmly with a roar. My Spark kindled hot in my breast as I prepared a Flame, but Small One ran over and held up her hands for me to stop. Her large, mismatched blue and brown eyes were wide yet calm as she put her arms around my muzzle, stroking and scratching my scales in just the right way to settle me.

I hate when she does that without permission, but I admit it does feel heavenly. After all, who doesn't enjoy getting their scales scratched?

I belched a soft plume of smoke after my Flame died down, then narrowed my eyes at her crossly. "What have I told you about hunting in the East?! I understand your intelligence is limited, but I thought you were smarter than most of your species!"

Her bronzed cheeks puffed with anger and she blew out her own breath in defiance. "I'm not stupid," she snapped, "and I was being careful, I promise!" I realized she was still holding my snout, ensuring that my gaze was still fixed on her entirely. When I tried to pull away gently, her grip tightened.

"What are you hiding, Small One?" I demanded.

Her mismatched eyes darted to the side, unable to hold my gaze any longer. "Nothing, Silverwings," she said. I knew in an instant from the sudden change in her scent and by her tone of voice that she was lying. Her heartbeat began to quicken as well, and I could feel the fingers frantically scratching my scales start to dampen with sweat.

"You lie," I snorted, more disappointed than angry, and pulled my head out of her grip. She seemed shocked that I caught her in her deception, which was so transparent a blind Hatchling could have seen through it. Most puzzling to me though was that she was fully aware of my mastery of perception, and yet she still attempted such a bald-faced fib.

As I've said, humans are imbeciles.

I scanned the clearing quickly, my nostrils flaring and smoking, for the other human I'd smelled. In less than a minute, my sharp senses directed me to a clump of berry bushes to the South-East, upon which I pounced and tore from the earth by the roots with my teeth. My claws extended, ready to tear the interloper to ribbons, but something gave me pause.

The human laying on the ground before me trembled with fear. It was a male child, about the same age as Small One. Large, jewel-like tears rolled down his cheeks as he stared back at me, while endless choked whimpers crawled forth from his throat. He reminded me a great deal of how Small One was when I found her: frightened, helpless, pitiful... or, maybe it was just the pungent, unmistakable odor of urine emanating from him that was triggering my memories, reminding me of her younger days.

For a moment, I considered lowering my claws, but then I reminded myself that this was a human. If I were to allow him to live, he would eventually become a man; he would then in turn destroy more Dwelling-Places of my kind, drive us to starvation, and hunt my dwindling kin for sport like the rest of his wretched, ignorant race. I reared back my claws again with a thunderous snarl, ready to obliterate him from existence with a single swipe.

Small One, however, suddenly dove into the path of my claws. My excellent reflexes allowed me to stop inches from her proud, impertinent little face as it glowered up at me. "Get out of the way," I growled, "He's dangerous!"

Small One's eyes shone with determination, but her expression was more pleading than enraged. "He doesn't look dangerous to me," she snapped, "he looks scared. Let him go, Silverwings... please!"

"A-Are you... t-talking to that beast?" a frail, quivering voice suddenly chimed in. Small One and I both startled, and diverted our attention to the boy.

Small One quickly turned her eyes back toward me, locking her fiery orbs onto mine. "He's not a beast," she muttered, "...and yes. If you want to live, stay quiet."

I blew out another plume of thick smoke in frustration, but at the same time I can't help but feel proud of Small One. I have taught her well never to turn her back upon a Drake. Showing one's back is to display vulnerability, and open oneself for attack. She held my gaze with such fearlessness and determination that - as usual - my anger dissipated quickly. In truth, I could never be angered with her for long. Often times I wondered if she was part Elf-Maid or Siren, because of the spell she constantly seemed to have me under. My Spark was growing uncomfortably hot now as well from summoning it so suddenly and so fiercely, snuffing out my anger and reminding me that I would need to cool it soon.

With a defeated grumble, I swept her under my wing and curled up in a patch of shade to rest for a moment. If I had been able, I would have flown us both away immediately, but at the moment I didn't have the strength. Swift flying is tiresome for Drakes of my age, and my smoldering Spark was tiring me out even faster. As such, I had no choice but to sit there in the shade until my Spark cooled enough on its own to allow flight. Nothing, however, kept me from snorting smoke menacingly at the boy on the other side of the clearing.

He stood slowly, brushing bits of twigs and dirt off his face and clothes, just watching the two of us for a few moments. Over the course of several minutes, he began inching towards us, and his terror seemed to morph into curiosity. He came within arms' length of my right wing, but when he reached out to touch it I uttered a low, rumbling growl. He leapt back with a small yelp, but didn't retreat any further.

This unsettled yet intrigued me; the last time I had seen a reaction like that was the day I found Small One. She was afraid then because she was lonesome, but from the start she had never been frightened of me; a characteristic I admit perplexed me for quite some time. This boy, however, seemed easily intimidated and maintained a healthy distance from my person. Perhaps this human wasn't as stupid as others like him, a trait he and Small One also seemed to have in common. Could he and Small One be related?

"That is quite close enough," I warned, as he took another step nearer. "Move another toe toward me, and I shall incinerate you where you stand, Cretin!"

"You won't either," Small One grumbled, struggling to leave the safety of my wing, "Right now, you couldn't toast a marshmallow."

The boy's brown eyes darted nervously from Small One to me, "I-Is it talking again? What did it say? Is it angry?!"

Small One blew her frizzy charcoal curls out of her face irritatedly, "He's angry alright, but he won't hurt you. Can you really not hear what he says at all?"

I rippled my wings indignantly, "Of course he can't. No human ear can grasp the graceful, complex tongue of the Drakes. It's simply impossible. Their minds are too infantile to-"

"Will you shut up?!" Small One barked. Her sudden, irate outburst had me stunned, as she had never dared to speak to me in such a manner before. It was an odd sensation: no being had ever rendered a Drake speechless before, to my knowledge, and the fact that she just had made me incredibly irritable.

"If you were any other Human," I snarled, "I would eat you where you stand for such insolence!"

She rolled her eyes - actually rolled them, right there in front of me - and huffed out her breath, "Yeah, yeah; like I haven't heard that before." A second later, she then wrinkled up her nose with giggle and scratched the scales on top of my snout, "C'mon, don't pout, Silverwings. It's not a good look for you."

The boy started to smile a little too, which also made me uncomfortable. I don't like it when humans become too familiar (except in Small One's case); familiarity is often the first step to recieving a sword through one's gullet. I growl at him again, but it doesn't seem to hold the same effect it once did.

Alas, it was my own fault.

Whenever Small One scratches my scales, every time I seem to produce an uncontrollable low trilling noise from my throat. It is rather shameful, really, but nothing I do seems to stop it. As such, the intimidating growl I attempted to summon came out as more of a deep, embarrassingly docile purr, which made the boy smile more.

"I've never seen a dragon up close," he mused, reaching out again to touch my wing, "much less one that's all white. I didn't think there were any dragons left in the world at all."

"And who's fault - pray tell - is that?!" I retort, pulling my wing away from his grubby little fingers and belching another small plume of smoke. The smoke, by now, is all for show unfortunately. My Spark has grown cold in my contentment, and it would take too much energy to conjure up a Flame at this point.

"Don't blame him," Small One chided, bopping me on my snout lightly with her fist, "He's not even old enough to hold a sword right I bet."

The boy frowned indignantly, "I am so! I've been practicing with a sword every day for the last two months, so there! I have to practice, if I want to have a chance at being a Queen's Knight someday."

Small One tilted her head curiously, "Queen's Knight? What's that?"

The boy gawked at Small One, aghast, "What's that?! Are you mental?! Queen Elanora's Knights are the bravest, strongest, most fearsome fighters in the world!! Only the best are chosen to be one."

I snarled lowly and dug my claws into the soft earth. "Egg-Breakers," I spat, "Nest-Defilers... Murderers! You wish to become like them?!"

Small One translated for me, and the boy's proud face suddenly fell with shock. "No," he stuttered, seeming genuinely confused, "N-No, you're wrong. The Queen's Knights aren't anything like that! I've seen them in action, at tournaments, and festivals and-"

The boy fell back onto the ground with a shriek when I suddenly sprang forth, pinning him down between my paws. "You lie," I roared, "That abhorrent creature you call a queen and her wretched Knights destroy everything in their path! Their swords, spears and axes drip with the blood of my kin... and you aspire to be just like them!! You're the same; you and all humans are exactly the same!!!"

I am embarrassed to admit I didn't see what happened next coming.

For all my vast talents and mastery of perception, I allowed my rage to cloud my senses; a Hatchling's mistake. As such, I wasn't aware of more humans entering the clearing until it was too late, and was barely able to move my head out of the way before an arrow scraped past the end of my snout. It was quite a close shave, too, chipping a few scales above my upper lip, which curled into a snarl at the intruders. Had I been a Drake three hundred years my junior, the small group of farmers before me would have been reduced to cinders before they even knew they were dead. The unfortunate truth of the matter, however, is that I was not. I loosed a bellow at them that shook the pine-needles loose from the trees surrounding the clearing, and belched more smoke, intending to frighten them away. I was halfway successful, as several of the humans dropped their axes and sickles and ran. The bulk of them, however - the ones who seemed more versed in combat by the swords and bows they carried - held their ground.

I knew I wouldn't be able to kill them all, not without getting myself or Small One severely injured in the process. One of the humans, a woman, was already trying to coax her away from me, but I would have none of it. I kindled my Spark and belched a small Flame, driving her back, and curled my neck around Small One protectively. "We must leave," I ordered, "Get on my back. Hurry!"

Any Drake worth their scales would never allow a human - or any being - to straddle their back under normal circumstances; that's what dumb pack animals were for, after all. This was something Small One was also well aware of, but she sensed the urgency in my voice and recognized the gravity of our situation. Without hesitation, she climbed up my foreleg and settled between my wings. As soon as I felt her take firm hold of my dorsal spikes (which was surprisingly painful), I took to the skies immediately. Angry shouts followed us, as did a few arrows, but before long we were far out of reach.

I circled high above the clouds for a while, using my pale coloring as camouflage against the misty billows. There is a reason I have survived so long whereas several of my more pigmented kin have not. However, I fully admit their coloring makes for better camouflage on solid ground, a trait I have often been jealous of in the past. If I were green, blue, red or brown, then I could hide myself easily in my forest Dwelling-Place, or in the Glittering Sea to the West. My vision as well is not as strong as other brightly colored Drakes, a handicap I have possessed since I was a Hatchling. This is why I have come to rely so much on my senses of smell, hearing and taste, and how those humans had gotten so close so quickly without my knowledge. I am no fool; my poor vision and advanced age make me a ripe target for the humans, which is why I take whatever measures I can to avoid them... and, of course, to keep Small One out of harm.

I was so focused on being angry with myself that I hadn't realized there were quiet, mewling whimpers coming from my back. Truthfully, Small One had been so quiet, I had almost forgotten she was there. I craned my neck backward trying to look at her, but all I could see of her were her toes resting on the top of my foreleg. "Small One," I ask softly, "are you alright? Were you injured?"

I felt her nuzzle my nape gently, and a wetness on my scales there that didn't come from the clouds surrounding us. "I'm cold," she whimpered.

I could tell from her scent and the taste of her tears when the wind shifted that she was not crying out of discomfort. The taste of those tears I have become well acquainted with over the many years we have been together. Small One rarely cries in discomfort anymore, as she knows how I despise it.

In these tears, all I tasted was sorrow.

Instead of pointing out that she had lied to me again - which seemed moot - I executed a bank turn and began circling lower toward our Dwelling-Place. I reasoned that I had flown long enough for the humans to have lost interest, and I was growing exceedingly weary too. I landed in my Pool with a heavy sigh, but kept my back and wings elevated a little so that Small One would remain dry. She took longer than expected to climb down from my back, then used my neck and head as a footbridge to walk to the shore. Normally I would be livid, having such an undignified thing happen to me, but I was shockingly more concerned with the state of my young companion at the moment than I was my own dignity.

I brought my head closer, to better scan her with my stronger left eye, and studied her from head to toe. My sharp nose detected the scent of iron, directing me to Small One's calves. "You are injured," I observed, raking my tongue gently over the small abrasions from knee to ankle to expedite their healing, "My apologies. I didn't realize my scales were that sharp."

"They're not," she mumbled, "I guess I was just holding on too tight. It's okay, they don't hurt." She studied the ground as she spoke, fidgeting with the tattered hem of her too-short dress. It reached her feet when we'd met but now hung just above her knees, showing just how much she had grown since that day. I had often thought of sneaking down to the Eastern Edge to procure her more clothing befitting her new size, but the risks had always been too great. Something would have to be done soon, however; before another Summer passed the garment would surely be too small altogether. Perhaps I could fashion something out of leaves or skins...?

I shook my head, dismissing the thought and bringing my attention back to her face. My eye was so close to it that her coffee colored skin reflected the bright pink glow of my iris, yet still she refused to take her eyes off the ground. "Look at me, Small One," I asked, my voice soft but commanding. She complied slowly, showing off the tears still pooling in her lower lids. Gently as a mother cat, I flicked my tongue against her face to lap up the tears. "You are sorrowful," I observed, perplexed, "Why is this so?"

Small One scrubbed the sheen of saliva from her cheeks with her forearm and grimaced. "I'm not," she said.

Another lie.

She sniffed again, then wrapped her arms tightly around my snout. "They tried to hurt you," she murmured, burying her face in my scales, "just because you attacked that boy. You could have been killed, Silverwings! Why did you do it? He didn't even do anything!"

I was incredibly confused by her words. More than that, I felt a strange stirring in my breast; it was an odd, inexplicable feeling I often had around Small One, that was strange yet strangely pleasant. I had never felt this way before meeting her, and it was this feeling alone that prevented me from eating her many, many times over the years. Eventually I pulled out of her grip and ruffled her hair with a warm puff of air from my nostrils. "No human can kill me," I said, perhaps a little too confidently, "They are too slow and stupid. The boy angered me with his impertinence, and besides that he would have made a fine meal. Ergo, two birds one stone."

Small One's eyes bored into mine angrily, "Now who's lying?! You swore to me you'd never eaten a human, and that you never ever would!" Her fingers brushed the chipped scales on my snout, which were surprisingly quite tender to the touch. When I gave an involuntary flinch, Small One looked as if she may start weeping all over again. "If no human can harm you," she asked, her full lips quivering, "...then how do you explain this?"

I growled softly at her logic. I'd trained her to be too smart, it seemed, a practice that had nipped me retroactively on the tail. "I am not as young as I once was, Hatchling," I reminded her, "When my Spark grows too hot, my scales become brittle and require quenching in snow or cool water to temper them again. 'Tis nothing but a scratch; they will re-grow by midday tomorrow."

Small One seemed satisfied by my answer, but the concern in her multichrome eyes burned ever bright. Once I finished my swim, I curled up in the shade to dry off. Steam billowed from my tempered scales when I laid down in my cavern, where Small One came to sit by my side. She curled up tightly to my ribs, and pulled my wing down to act as a blanket when the evening shadows started to lengthen. "You might think you're smart, Silverwings," she yawned, "...but you can't fool me. You were scared today; I could smell it."

I opened one eye, appalled and insulted by her outrageous claim, but she was already asleep before I could offer a rebuttal. Instead, I simply snuffed a cloud of smoke indignantly over her head, and held her tightly to my body with my wing, "Me, afraid? How preposterous. Sleep well, Small One; dream of beautiful things, for I shall give you a proper tongue-lashing come sunrise."

* * *

A heavyset guard clad in armor puffed down the corridor towards Queen Elanora's chambers. The evening was late, and it was suicide to interrupt her in her nightly ablutions. Still, the matter was urgent, and he would rather be chastized now than be executed later for not telling her what he knew sooner. The guards by her chamber doors - a pair of Queen's Knights - prevented his entry until the queen gave her permission for them to let him pass. Honestly, he wasn't sure how she gave her orders to her Knights; it seemed as if they could read her thoughts... or, more accurately, that she controlled theirs.

When the doors opened, he saw her sitting at her vanity table. Not many had looked upon the queen without invitation and lived to tell the tale, and even fewer had seen her in her night dress. The guard knew it was foolish to look, but his baser instincts could not resist taking in her ravishing beauty when the opportunity presented itself. Queen Elanora looked at him through her mirror, not dignifying him by speaking to him face-to-face. "Speak," she murmured. Her voice was as soft as crushed velvet, but held a power that made him quiver.

"Y-Your Immenence," he gulped, giving a sweeping bow when he remembered himself, "I apologize deeply for this intrusion, but this cannot wait."

The jeweled comb delicately sliding through her long, silken raven tresses stopped for a moment, then she spoke again just as softly, "You try my patience, Guard. Say what you have come to tell me, and then I will deign for myself whether or not it is worthy to grant your continued existence."

The guard wet his lips and fidgeted anxiously, "Sh-She was spotted, My Lady... in a forest just beyond the Glittering Sea. I only just recieved the news myself, not an hour ago."

The queen's shoulders tensed, "Who was spotted? Speak plainly!"

"Y-Your niece," the guard stammered, sweat rolling off his face, "I offer my apologies again! W-We thought she was dead, but-"

The guard's eyes suddenly widened as the metal collar of his armor plates began to heat and warp, tightening themselves about his neck. Queen Elanora slowly stood and turned to face him, her mismatched blue and brown eyes glowing with anger. "That child," she hissed, "is dead... along with her parents. Did I not decree that this be so the moment I learned of her birth, these eleven years hence?!"

"Y-Yes... Y-Your Grace," the guard gasped, trying to loosen his metal collar in vain, "...y-you did. A-A girl... of the proper age was seen today though! Sh-She had the eyes... of a royal... a-and there was... A-A Drake... with her!"

Suddenly his collar cooled and loosened, making him fall to his knees panting in relief. "A Drake," she repeated, intrigued, "Are you certain?" The guard nodded, too frightened to utter another word. He had heard that the queen possessed a strange power, but never in his wildest dreams did he believe such a thing to be true. Queen Elanora thrust her hand to the ceiling suddenly and her vanity table flew across the room, splintering itself against the wall. The guard uttered a frightened shriek and cowered before her, but was then yanked back upon his feet as if he were a marionette with invisible strings.

Queen Elanora was standing inches away from him now, her beautiful ebony face twisted with rage. "You will find this girl," she snarled quietly, "You will slay her, and bring me her head. The Drake you will capture, and bring to me alive. Do you understand?"

The guard began to nod vigorously, then blinked in confusion. "Alive?" he repeated, "B-But, Your Majesty, wouldn't it be wiser to just slaughter the beast?"

His collar tightened once more and glowed red hot, but the same invisible force held him upright. "I need that creature alive," Elanora growled, "My reasons are my own! Begone now, and know that should you fail me, I'll have your head instead!!"