Dragon Blood

Eighteen: Blue

She angled down again and flapped her wings quickly to land, but she completely biffed it. She had waited to long to slow her descent and ended up somersaulting on impact. The air whooshed out of her and she landed on her back, her feet in the air. She could feel the slight impact of the footsteps of the golden dragon as he approached her, and soon his glittering snout came into her view. She stared up at the Alpha and quickly rolled over to rise to her full height. His head rose high above hers, reminding her of their size difference, and he stared down at her, sizing her up. She did the same to him, admiring his strong physique. She leaned up on her toes, stretching her neck out to nudge his jaw with her snout playfully.

He backed up a step, staring down at her as she gave him a playful look. She snorted up at him and leaned down on her front legs, her hind end in the air. His golden eyes narrowed as she swiped a paw at him. The Alpha lowered his head and sniffed her curiously, although he still seemed a little confused at her behavior. As if no one had ever played with him before. She jumped away with a light-hearted growl. She was simply ecstatic at her new freedom, and she wanted the share it with him. She wanted him to join in her good mood.

She bounded into the prairie grass, enticing the large golden dragon to follow her. She rolled over into the grass, letting it itch her sparkling scales and inhaling its fresh scent through her own nostrils for once, not as second hand from Skylar's experience. When she rolled over to look up at her new friend, he hadn't moved. The Alpha stood stock still, watching her, not moving a muscle. She sat up and stared at him. He appeared... lost. His nostrils flared as she approached him once again, this time in a slower fashion as she tried to understand why he wasn't engaging with her.

She could feel him trying to talk to her, his mind brushing her through the mind link all dragons shared. But without Skylar, she couldn't understand him. He spoke the language of the humans to her. She wanted to talk to him, wanted to understand him, but the only way for the time being was through body language. Until Skylar was conscious while the blue dragon was in control, she would be mute to the other dragons.

She took another step toward him, baring her teeth in an attempt to entice him to chase her. She'd seen the dragon be playful with Skylar, nudging her and diving without warning, why wouldn't he do the same with her?

She walked around him, studying his large, bulky, yet graceful form, watching him the way he had studied her. He was a fine male, not that she had many to compare him too, but she doubted that few could hold a candle to him. His head followed her as she walked in a circle around him, their tails brushing as she passed him. He growled softly at her aloofness and she lifted her lip in response. That got him to spin around and face her. Finally! A response from the stoic dragon. She pounced at the Alpha male, bumping into him and taking off again. This time he hesitantly trotted after her.

She wiggled in triumph at finally getting a response from him. She jumped away faster and he picked up speed. She let a happy roar loose and stopped to run back to him, rolling at his feet in the grass. He huffed hot air at her, growling softly at her silly behavior. But she blinked up at him, completely unaffected by his warning. She nipped gently at his leg, and that was enough to set him off. He pounced and pinned her to the ground, his golden body looming over her. His huge paws were braced on either side of her neck as he stared down at her, impressive teeth slightly bared.

Being in such a vulnerable position beneath a dragon, especially an Alpha make, would have given her cause to tear his belly open with her back claws. She would have asserted her dominance and taken the dragon out without hesitation. So why didn't she mind that this dragon stood over in such a way? Why did her body heat up with the way the beast looked at her, his eyes holding the same heat she felt? Her instincts told her it was because she belonged to this dragon, and that he belonged to her. The blue dragon didn't mind that knowledge at all. She trusted him completely. He wouldn't hurt her, or assert his dominance over her in such a way.

She leaned up slowly, but confidently, and licked the underside of his jaw. The golden dragon rumbled in approval, leaning down to run his nose along her own jaw, inhaling deeply as he nuzzled her. She surprised herself by turning her head to give him better access. She was reminded of when the man Orion had sniffed Skylar upon their first meeting. The blue dragon had been appalled by his actions then, defensive at such a possessive act when they'd just met. The Alpha in her had balked at the action, but now that she'd met him, liked him, she couldn't help but let her own satisfied growl escape her throat.

When he looked down at her, meeting her gaze, gold on blue, she felt a tug inside of her. A tug towards him.

His eyes widened slightly, she new he'd felt it too, and he stepped away from her. Magic pulsed through the air as he shifted into human Orion once again. Confusion washed over her at what she'd just experienced, and the golden dragon had seemed to feel the same way. So why had he left her, giving over to his human side again? They'd only been together a short time, and she wasn't ready to end it yet. The man who replaced him stared up at her with a pensive look. He spoke to at her, his deep, rumbling voice filling her ears with gibberish, but she got the message. He wanted Skylar back.

The blue dragon had no idea how to let Skylar back, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to. She was finally free, and she wasn't ready to give that up yet. She backed away from Orion and growled. Perhaps he should let the golden dragon come back to her. She preferred his company over this man's. Let Skylar deal with him. She wanted his dragon.

Orion glared up at her, not at all afraid. She backed away again and lifted her lip slightly. His face softened at her reaction, and the tone of his voice was pleading. She wondered if Skylar would let her out again, if she relinquished her control. Skylar was unconscious in the back of her mind, something she knew her human counterpart hated, so she wasn't even around to push the dragon out of the way. She wasn't aware to take control again. How the was blue dragon supposed to give control back to someone who wasn't awake to claim it?

Orion stepped toward her again, his deep voice rumbling up to her, pleading for Skylar. The blue dragon looked out over the ocean, up into the sky, knowing that she could be flying again before he could stop her. She could fly away, live with the Wildlings as a dragon. The golden dragon would come after her. They could be together. She could tell Orion knew exactly what she was thinking because his eyes widened slightly and he shook his head, his voice slightly more desperate in tone.

She let out a huge sigh and laid on the ground, imagining Skylar taking over again. There was plenty of time to fantasize about living free, away from any humans, dragon or not. Her only consolation was that the cage was broken. Shattered. The black Alpha had been right; forcing the shift when it wasn't a full moon had destroyed the cage. It had been painful, but it was gone forever. She was free to roam Skylar's mind, free to share their body as she liked.

As she imagined Skylar coming back, she felt her control slipping away, and the pain of her body changing forms overtook her. Horns and scales retracted into her body, teeth shrunk and lost their points, joints popped, and bones cracked. She knew that for this to be less painful they needed to shift back and forth more often, but she wasn't looking forward to building up the tolerance and strength for it. A groan escaped her before the blackness overtook her and she was stuck inside Skylar's body once again.