. : D R A G O N B O R N : . (a MCSM fanfic)

Chapter 18: Chosen

Even the howling wind seemed to lull as an awestruck silence fell over the little group.  Glances of amazement passed between the friends, and unspoken questions hung heavy in the air.

Petra frowned deeply, pushing herself into a half-sitting position, coughing painfully.  "I... think there may have been a misunderstanding here..."

The dragon furrowed his brow, tilting his head slightly.  "Are you not the Dragonborn?"

"I-- no-- I don't know..."  She shook her head, exhaling.  "I don't know..."

He traded glances with his companion, lifting his head.  "Certain or not, this at least warrants further investigation.  We must get you to Amryth at once."

"Whoa, whoa, back up," Lukas interjected, climbing down from Xann's back with the tome in hand, "The Amryth?  As in, Amryth, King of Dragons?"

The dragon raised his eyebrows.  "You know of our king?"

"Know of him?" Soren coughed, "He's practically a legend!  Well, for some of us at least..."

The dragon watched them for several moments.  "You are a highly peculiar band, that's certain," he murmured thoughtfully.  "Yes, we must get you back to Amryth, and the sooner the better."  He nodded to them.  "Forgive us for our attack-- we're not used to encountering trespassers under such... unusual circumstances."

"Well, we can't say we've met many dragons either," Jesse replied with a faint smile.  "Xann would be the only one before you..."  She sheathed her sword.  "My name is Jesse-- and these are my friends.  The one you called the Dragonborn is Petra, her friend with the book is Lukas, the dragon is Xann.  Over there we have Axel and Olivia, this is Soren, that's Harper, and the grumpy one with the potions is Ivor."

"Hey!"

The dragon gave a faint smile.  "The pleasure is all mine."  He bowed low again.  "My name is Fauth, and this is my little sister Aravii.  We're training to become guards of the king."

Taking this as a cue, Aravii slid quickly from her perch, coming to stand next to Fauth.  Her azure eyes gleamed brightly against the darkness of the storm.  "It's a real honor to meet the company of the Dragonborn..."  She lowered her head respectfully.

"It's an honor to meet you too," Lukas told them, gently helping Petra to her feet.  "As it stands, we could actually use a bit of help... we've been traveling for days, and several of us are injured..."

Fauth nodded once.  "Let us shelter near here for the night, and come dawn we'll fly for the kingdom.

***

They made camp in a small mountain cave as the daylight waned, lighting a roaring fire at the back of it and settling down near it.  For once, they rested easy-- with three dragons present, no mob would dare disturb them.  Nevertheless, Fauth sat in the cave entrance, rainwater dripping from his muzzle as he peered out into the storm.  He curled his long tail about his paws, huge wings mostly folded, though even so their tips nearly touched the cave walls.  Now that the dragons had settled down, it was easy to see the difference in size between them-- Aravii, much smaller and slenderer, was a little smaller than Xann, while Fauth had begun to grow into his large paws and massive wings.

Soren bumbled around the cave in an excited frenzy, frantically scribbling down notes and asking a constant barrage of questions-- eventually eliciting a growl from Fauth when he too eagerly reached out to touch the dragon's wings.  Aravii, however, was much more eager to provide answers, and asking a number of questions of her own.  For a while, her own stream of speech nearly rivaled Soren's, but eventually she too seemed to tire of the conversation and cautiously inched her way over to Xann, trying and failing at remaining inconspicuous as she scooted over to him.

"Are you a real Ender dragon?"

Xann, half asleep at Petra's side, blinked and raised his head.  "I'm told so, yes... though I hatched here in the Overworld..."

"Wow," she breathed, "So you're the son of the Lost One!"

"The... Lost One?"

Aravii shook her head.  "Forgive me-- that's what we call your mother.  She was the last of her kind, and... they say she vanished sometime after the war... everyone assumed she was killed when she disappeared, but... it seems she must really have just left the realm.  Can you really teleport?"  She rolled onto her back, blinking inquisitively up at him with her big blue eyes.

"I... don't think so... not yet at least..."  He scrunched his nose.  "The Book says that I can, but... I don't know how..."

"Oh."  Aravii seemed vaguely disappointed.  "How did you meet the Dragonborn??"

Xann glanced over at Petra.  "Actually, she found me," he explained.  "I hatched in her home-- that's a long story-- and she took care of me..."

"Really?  That's so cool!"  She gave a huge grin, and then seemed thoughtful.  "I've only seen a few other humans... and they weren't here to help..."

He lowered his ears.  "Oh... I'm sorry..."

"It's alright-- we didn't let them hurt us."  She studied him thoughtfully.  "Do you--"

"Aravii," Fauth interrupted, not turning to look back, "I'm sure our new friend is very tired.  Why don't you let him rest?"

Aravii pinned her ears, looking disappointed.  "Yes, brother..."  She rolled onto her stomach and scooted off again, heading over to investigate Ivor, who was taking inventory on his current supply of potions.

Petra seemed amused.  "She certainly is friendly..."

Xann exhaled.  "Yes... she is..."  He shook his head.  "I can't say I'm used to it..."

She chuckled a bit.  "Give it some time.  I suspect we'll be seeing quite a bit of her from now on."  She frowned slightly, growing pensive.  "You're speaking a lot more clearly now..."

He looked up at her.  "Really?"  He paused for a moment, thinking.  "I guess it helped to hear how other dragons say things... dragon speaking parts are a little different from human ones, I expect."

She nodded slowly.  "That would make sense."  She smiled a little, but her eyes seemed clouded with worry.  "I'm glad for you, Xann... you've found your home..."

He smiled back, but lowered his ears, sensing her unease.  "What's the matter?"

"I-- it's nothing."  She averted her gaze, then hesitated a little, looking back to him.  "I... I wish it were nothing."  Slowly, she let out her breath.  "This... is all a lot to take in..."

"You mean about the--"

"Yes."  She stared into space, brow furrowed.  "I... this is so much responsibility..."

"Do you believe it's all true?" he asked.

"I... don't know."  She sighed quietly.  "I don't want it to be.  I don't want to be some... some chosen one!  I... I don't want that burden..."  She looked down.

"It's so much to ask," he murmured, "I... I understand."  He exhaled.  "But I... I trust you..."

"I don't," she whispered, turning away, and covered her face with her hands.

He hesitated slightly, catching his breath, and then lowered his head.  "Lukas said it wasn't your fault," he murmured softly.

Petra let out her breath.  "I want to believe that," she murmured.  "I do... but..."

"But...?"

"I just... hate having everyone counting on me like this.  Because then it won't just me who ends up getting let down when I fall..."

Xann was quiet for a moment.  "Maybe it's not about who you let down," he told her softly.  "Maybe it's about who's there to help you get back up..."

She frowned thoughtfully, considering this.

"Lukas is right," he murmured.  "We have to get through this together-- all of us..."

Petra nodded slowly, exhaling.  "Yes," she whispered, "No matter what happens... we're in this together..."

Outside, the rain continued to fall, pattering steadily against the cold, bare stone as darkness fell.