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CHAPTER 9:
There was no freer feeling than when I was flying through the clouds, the moisture of the air sizzling against my burning scales. Smoke puffed out of my lungs, clouding the view in front of my eyes for a moment, but then it would clear as I inhaled. I loved being a dragon, soaring atop mountains and letting my hundreds of thousands year old instincts take over.
Incidentally, my argument with King Elijah had given me a lot more time to give in to my instincts. Before he had broken my spine, I spent almost all my time at the palace, but it seemed a bit too idiotic to continue that pattern. After all, Marco had left. I no longer had any reason to spend so much time there.
Unfortunately, I had way too much free time. I was still suspended indefinitely from my job and while I had a new boyfriend, Incendio was almost always busy doing fairy stuff that I couldn’t quite comprehend. I found myself missing my job more than ever. At one point in time, it had been the most important aspect of my life.
I found myself unconsciously flying toward the main base. I descended upon the tallest mountain, one I had grown up on. It was common practice for Dragons to have many children, but little time to rear them. Dragons were creatures who relished their freedom and getting their adrenaline pumping so children were often left back at their parents base to be raised by whomever happened to be around at the time.
While my mother, Pria, had spent a lot more time with me than some other dragon parents, she was still gone for a majority of my childhood. She had been one of the strongest warriors and rarely had time to come to the base and play mother. This was the case for many dragons. Child rearing was a community project for my people. Pria may have birthed me, but her entire squadron had raised me. In that sense, we were all family. We all loved one another and would die for one another.
When my feet touched ground outside the base, a group of dragon children were already rushing to greet me. “Commander Kric! Commander Kric!” They cried, coming to sear their flesh against my scales. Young dragon relished the burning sensation on their sensitive flesh. It was a common belief that the more heat they took in, the sooner they would be able to shift. That was the end goal for all dragons. The sooner the shift, the sooner their life really began.
I allowed them to run their hands along my dragon form for a few moments, knowing I had once been in their shoes. A dragon who hadn’t yet shifted was listless and lacking in spirit. It was an uncomfortable feeling. Eventually, I shifted back, enjoying the squeals of delight that came from the children as my shift emitted a powerful ring of fire. When it died down, the children were all tinged red, their body slowly healing their burns. “Hello little dragons. How have you been?”
A chorus of answers assaulted my ears and I attempted to take it all in. They followed me like moths to a flame, their excitement heating the air around us. It was such an innocent occurrence. Dragon children had little control of their own fire, constantly running far hotter than necessary, singing the ground beneath their feet.
“There you all are! No running off during training!” Tiki, a large male warrior sighed before he noticed who the children were with. “Oh! My apologies Commander! I was unaware you would be coming.”
“It was a last minute decision.” I explained. “Don’t let me interrupt. Children, back to training.”
The children didn’t whine, all eager to show off in front of each other. I followed behind them, watching as they filled up the courtyard and began to spar at Tiki’s direction. Children as young as four were taught to fight children twice their size. “Nashi! Flip him!” Tiki ordered a five year old boy who was currently being restrained by someone who looked almost ten. In a second, Nashi had him on his back, his small body gasping at the strain but a large smile on his face.
The boy that had been flipped smiled at him too, patting his head in a congratulatory manner before getting back up and attacking him again. “Switch partners!” Tiki declared and the children shuffled around, caring very little about even fights. Dragons knew that fights were almost never even and it was best that we be taught to fight at a disadvantage. “Do you call that a punch Myak? Fight like dragons children! Fight like warriors!”
“Dragons pack a mighty punch!” One passing dragon warrior, Jadi, called out to the sparring children.
“Dragons love to hear a crunch!” The children chanted back.
“Dragons fight and fight to kill!” Tiki recited.
“Dragons will is the mightiest will!” The children responded.
“Dragons don’t need height or mass!” I jumped in.
“Dragons need to beat your ass!” The children roared.
I walked through the fighting children, correcting their form when needed. Tiki tripped a few kids at one point, warning them against their bad balance. They all smiled through it, exhilarated by throwing or receiving a punch. At the end of the session they were all out of breath, but beaming. One girl was holding her nose, blood dripping down her face from the final punch. “Get cleaned up and Hela, reset jiko’s nose. Dismissed.” Tiki ordered. They all nodded and took off, still rough housing with one another until they disappeared into a bunker.
Hela stopped Jiko just before entering the bunker. “Ready?” She asked. The other girl nodded. Hela grabbed hold of the smaller girl’s nose and with one swift movement, forced it back into place. “Son of a bitch!” Jiko, a seven year old girl, hissed. Hela just laughed, wiping the blood onto her pants. Tiki and I smiled at one another, remembering our own youth.
“I used to love fixing a broken nose.” Tiki sighed wistfully. “I’ll miss working with the children.”
“Oh, are you set to head out today?” I asked.
“Yes. Commander Maja brought home a small unit and is taking one out with her tonight. I miss the battle, but it’s been a nice break here with the kids.”
“Is Maja here?”
“Yes sir. She should be on patrol at the back gate.”
“I’ll be going to see her then. It was nice working with you Tiki.”
I heard Maja before I made it to the back gate, her irritated voice reaching my ears and making me smile. “I’ll say it one more time! You are to stay at home base until given different instructions.”
“We would Maja.” Trem told her.
“But Kric told us to watch out for you, remember?” Ven finished Trem’s sentence.
“I did say that.” I chuckled, coming up behind the arguing three.
“See? Kric outranks you Maja.” Trem informed her.
“Kric.” She ignored the two idiots that were teasing her. “You’re back.”
“Just for a visit.” I informed her. “How are you enjoying my job?”
“Kric, you have to believe me. When I told the king’s, it was never about getting your jo-“
“Please Maja, you’re a lot of things, but you’re not nearly the type of dishonorable person who would try to cheat your way to commander.” I explained for her. “If anything, i’m sure you’re miserable being me. Isn’t that right?”
“These two never listen!” She whined, pointing to the laughing guy’s behind her. “Plus, did you know how many dragons just constantly pick fights for no good reason and then call requesting back up? Then I have to pull a backup squadron out my damn ass!”
“It’s our fiery blood.” Ven defended.
“She’s been doing a great job.” Trem chuckled. “Although with all the pulling out her ass, it must be gaping now.”
“Kric!” She whined her familiar whine. “Make them listen!”
“You’re the commander.” I teased, knowing she definitely wouldn’t have accepted this job if the kings hadn’t told her to. Maja wasn’t one for leadership roles. Ever since we were children ourselves, she had always enjoyed having a strong leader. Plus, i’m sure Ven and Trem had really been giving her a hard time. “I’m kidding. Ven! Trem!”
“Yes sir!” they said in unison.
“What nonsense are you two up to?”
“Maja wants us to stay here instead of going back into the battle with her!” Ven explained.
“She’s being so unreasonable!” Trem added.
“We need someone here to train the children. Tiki has been on base long enough. He’s restless.” Maja countered.
I thought for a moment, watching as both sides bickered. “Fine, Ven, Trem… go to battle.”
“Kric!” maja cried as the idiot’s cheered.
“It’s fine maja. You could use more warriors anyway. I’ll make sure to come back daily and train the kids.” I promised her. “They’re better off with me anyway. Those idiots slack off too much to work with the children.”
“It’s true.” Ven agreed.
“We’d only teach them bad habits.” Trem informed us.
“On purpose.” Ven added.
“Fine.” Maja grumbled. “Please tell me you’ll be back to work soon.”
“I’m working on it.” i sighed. “It’s just been… complicated.”
“Well uncomplicate it.” She groaned. “We need you kric… you’re much better at being Commander. I know it and the other dragons know it. They respect me because i’m your sister, not because I deserve it.”
“Maja.” I sighed, pulling her into a hug. “You do deserve respect. You’re a fine warrior.”
“I am.” She pulled away to look me in the eye. “I’m a fine one, but you’re great.”
“It’s true.” Ven and Trem agreed.
“You two are awful little brothers.” I sighed, rolling my eyes at my siblings. “Listen, you’re doing great. I’ll keep working things out so I can come back as soon as possible.”
“Amazing! Family hug!” Ven cheered, the two wrapping us in their hug. “I’m so glad we worked that out.”
———————
Incendio’s p.o.v.
“Let me go!” I jumped back, feeling Celosia’s firm grip keeping me from breaking the circle. I wanted to open my eyes, but I knew it would disrupt the image the elders were studying. I was frightened, however, there was no way for me to calm down.
“Please! Please let me go! I have a child!” My heart broke as the woman in my vision pleaded, no one acknowledging her words. She would not be let go. I knew that much.
I tried to observe the human, ignoring how battered she appeared and attempting to make out other details of the scene, but all I could see was her desperation. It was an almost palpable being in the room. She needed to be let go. She needed to find her daughter. She needed to be free.
“Tell us where the others are.” The voice was ominous and filled my body with foreboding.
“I can’t!” She insisted, her entire body shaking. “They just want to live out their lives as humans! They don’t want to be found! Please, leave them be!”
“Humanity is foolish.” The voice chuckled. “You don’t know what’s good for you. My people are offering immortality to you and your family.”
“We don’t want it!” Her voice did not waiver.
“The will of our moon goddess is not for you to decide!” The voice became a person, a tall man with no clothes on. “Do not fear me. Once you are turned, you will understand.”
“No. No! Please, I don’t want-“
I was unable to stop my eyes from snapping open. The rest of the elders followed suit, looking completely unfazed. “I don’t understand.” I whispered, my entire body shaking.
“There is a small faction of human beings living on the outskirts of our new societies. They are those that refused to be turned when the mass shifting began. King Elijah had pardoned them. It seemed a cruel effort to force any way of life onto another. There were not many who chose to stay human so it seemed a small matter. For decades they have been allowed to live out their lives away from us. We had a healthy relationship with one another.” Udiya explained. “When the moon people heard of this small band of people, they did not see it in the same light as our king had.”
“They began to hunt them down, forcing them to change. The moon people are attempting to grow their numbers by turning those who had opted out.” Celosia continued. “The humans are finding it a difficult task to stay hidden. They have stumbled upon a forest in an attempt to outrun those who hunt them. They have entered our forest and have made camp.”
I held in my gasp. The issue wasn’t that the humans had sought asylum within the trees. That was understandable. The issue was that the trees would not stop moon people. Trees held fairies and fairies could not fight. “If the humans remain here…” I trailed off.
“They will come for us as well.” Udiya finished. “Our coven may be destroyed.”
“What do we do?” I asked, turning to look at each elder individually. All seemed unsure of what to say. “We have to protect the coven.”
“Yes, but to chase the humans out would be to Destroy them.” Celosia added. “To let them stay would be to destroy ourselves.”
“So what is there to do, incendio?” Udiya asked me as if I had known the answer all along.
I looked around, noticing how most of the other elders were deeply concentrated on something. They must have been searching the future, attempting to find an answer in the murky images.
I could only do the same. My eyes closed, immediately trapping me in a world of my own design. I began to scroll, as slowly as possible, through the possible futures before me. I tried not to flinch as I saw death, so much death my stomach turned. Most of the dead were fairies, lives taken to accomplish a much more important goal. The death was senseless and gut wrenching.
I stopped searching, unable to bear the images. “The decision lies with you Incendio. The rest of us have tied. Go to the humans. Do as you see fit.” Udiya spoke up.
“I cannot.” I told her, my wings flapping rapidly behind me. “That is a Job for a real elder.”
“Incendio, elders are made, not born. To be an elder, you must do as we have done. Search your mind incendio. Find an answer.”
——————
Humans had always seemed peculiar to me. The way they lived was so torturous, a hell of their own creation. They created a system to rule them. They forced themselves to lead miserable lives for no greater purpose than it being the precedent they had always known.
When it was time for a species to take over, Most humans gave in willingly. They had led such pointless, miserable lives until that moment. The opportunity to be something greater, stronger, and happier was hard to pass up. Most humans had always felt a sense of powerlessness. They held the potential for incredible intelligence, but lacked the physical ability to be anything more than evolved apes.
Still, there were those who loved who they were. The humans that refused to be turned were granted the freedom to live out their lives in hiding. King Elijah had refused to change any human against their will, but worried that the wolves would turn all the people that had been left alone. They were safer in hiding, or so we thought.
I watched the humans, so weak and fragile, huddle around a small fire. They hugged one another, seeking comfort from the harsh forest. If they were like us, they would hardly feel the cold. They would not cower away from every sound that erupted from the dense woods.
I sat atop a well hidden branch, wondering what to do with the poor animals when the decision was taken from my hands.
Warriors, from the palace, erupted from the tree line. I almost fell from my hiding spot as Vampires seized the small band of humans. “No! Let me go!” A little girl cried.
“You’re not permitted to be here.” A warrior declared once all the humans were detained. “You are hereby under the control of the king of the sun people.”
“No, no the king said- he said we could be free.” An older woman explained, trying to pull free of the Vampires light grasp. Her strength was nowhere strong enough to escape.
“King Elijah ordered that all remaining humans were to leave this continent. You are not allowed to be here.” The warrior told her. “You’ve forfeited your deal.”
“No.” A man cried. “You don’t understand.”
“It’s not our job to understand. Your matters will now be taken up with the King himself.” The warrior said ominously.
“King Elijah-“
“King Elijah has stepped down.” The warrior cut off the human man. “The true King, King Cyan, has demanded you be brought to the castle. There, you will be able to decide between execution or to be changed into one of us.”
“No!” They all began to cry, tugging at my heart.
“Enough!” I jumped at the commanding tone. The voice silenced all the noise of the forest, putting everyone on edge. The man appeared, chiseled chest and fiery aura. “Soldiers, return the captives to the palace.”
“Yes sir, Commander Kric.” The warrior bowed, motioning for the rest of the soldiers to follow.
Once the clearing was empty, I flitted down. Kric was just about to leave before he caught sight of me. “Incendio.” His face instantly brightened as he turned to me. “I was looking for you.”
“The humans.” I said instead.
“Oh, yeah. I found them while I was searching for you.” he explained. “I called Cyan and he demanded they be brought in.”
“You.” I tried to stifle my gasp. “You are responsible for the suffering of the weak creatures.”
“Suffering? It’s hardly suffering. They’re being taken to a fancy castle.” Kric scoffed. “Wait a second, you knew they were here?”
“Of course.” I told him. “You terrified them. They-“
“Incendio, the humans are dangerous! You should have told me they were here!”
“They are not dangerous! They are a less evolved species. They have not harmed anyone.” I countered. “They should be released.”
“They’ll bring death wherever they go. They used to kill one another for no reason.”
“That same argument could be made about dragons.”
Kric stepped back from me, stricken. “Dragons kill to protect defenseless little fairies who allow wolf bait to run around their forest. If dragons didn’t kill, you’d be dead.”
“We all die.” I argued. “You have damned the humans to it far before their time.”
“I’m sorry, did I do something wrong? I did exactly as I should have. If the kings knew you were harboring human beings, you could be charged with treason. It’s against the law for humans to enter our land Incendio!”
“They did nothing wrong!”
“They did something wrong the second they crossed the ocean back to us! They put a target on your head the second they entered the forest! If you think you could stand between a moon person and a human being, you’re wrong.”
“You have no idea who the enemy is.” I told him, pressing my hand to his cheek. “Not everyone seeks to kill.”
“Unlike dragons?” He added for me. “You know, if you think so little of my kind, why are you with me?”
“I do not think little of you.” I answered. “I just disagree with this decision.”
“Well, you had the opportunity to make your own, but you didn’t. Then it was my chance and I thought about the dragon children back on base, the kings, the prince, the other boys, and then I thought of you. All of you would be put in danger if humans were left to wander about the kingdom. It was my choice to protect those I loved over those I pitied.” Kric leaned away from my touch. “Dragons kill. It’s their choice, just as it was my choice to call in the humans. In the end, I think it’s better to make a decision and stand by it than to do nothing and criticize those who do. Someone was bound to do something about it Incendio. It could have been you, but it wasn’t.”
“Because actions have consequences.”
“So does saying nothing. You may think that doing nothing is hurting no one, but look around. If you think what i did was so wrong, you had the power to change it, but you didn’t.” Kric pointed out. “So don’t be angry at me. Make sure you act the next time or you have only yourself to blame for the consequences.”
I narrowed my eyes, feeling particularly angry at the dragon. I knew he was right, but I also knew that I was comfortable watching and not acting. After all, here I was with him, not pretending we weren’t mates, but not telling him we are either.
So there’s an update! Did you guys enjoy it?
Remember, you’re guaranteed an update that same week if you comment on every paragraph of the most recent chapter! I’ll follow and dedicate the next chapter to you as well!
Anyway, feel free to leave me the feedback I so desperately crave:
-What do you guys think about Kric’s view on actions?
-What should happen to the humans?
-How do you feel about Kric helping out with little dragons?
-What are you guys still waiting on? Any questions?
Thanks so much for reading my darlings <3
Vote, comment, follow, etc. <3
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