Cas and Bram stood side by side in identical poses, their arms folded across their chests, heads titled slightly and confused frowns contorting their features.
'Are you seeing what I'm seeing?' Cas asked.
'Vada fast asleep against a hill that's shaped like a dragon?' Bram replied.
'Great, so I'm not crazy... but am I dreaming? Hit me or something!'
'It's pretty lifelike, don't you think?' Bram noted, taking a step towards the sleeping girl.
She looked so different when she was asleep, he thought. Her face was free of its usual frown replaced by a look of serenity that he'd never before seen. She looked smaller and more vulnerable from this perspective. He crouched down to get a better look at her. Even though there was still some distance between them he could feel the heat that her body radiated, Diya felt so cold to him now and more distant than ever, he reflected.
Unable to resist, Bram reached a hand out towards the soft skin of Vada's bare arm, to wake her he reasoned. Before he was able to make contact, however, the hill formations stony tail shot up slamming into his stomach, swatting him like a fly.
'Bram!' Cas yelled, running after him across the hill all the while trying to keep one eye on the dragon that wrapped his sister up in its scaly embrace. 'It's the real deal Bram, eyes and all!' he said, helping the hulking Dragonkin to his feet.
Vada began to stir, making soft mewling sounds as she stretched with a smile.
'Do not be alarmed Kin, but we are under attack,' the dragons velvety voice explained.
In those brief moments between deep sleep and slowly waking, Vada had thought the dragon was just a dream, conjured by her exhausted mind to ease her heartache.
'By who?' she asked, attempting to stand. The dragon held her tightly with its tail, refusing to allow any wriggle room at all.
'Vada!' Bram boomed, 'Where the hell did this thing come from!'
'Thing?' The dragon raged, taking to its feet. 'I am a powerful elemental creature, he is but a boy and he dares to disrespect me.'
'I can explain, kind off,' Vada replied still struggling against the tail that had slowly begun to shed the appearance of rough stone and lichen to reveal shimmering scales of the richest emerald green, flecked with gold, that shone as the sun peaked out from behind its cloud cover.
'You do not need to explain a thing to him,' the dragon asserted, 'you are above him.'
'They're kin too, the shorter one is my brother,' Vada replied, Bram frowned but Cas had heard the voice of a dragon before so he quickly realised what was happening.
'Yes, I was too brash, I can smell the blood of your brother,' he replied loosening his tail slightly, Vada quickly scrambled over him to create space between them, 'But the big one, I do not like.'
'You and me both, buddy!' Vada chuckled.
'Why can't we hear him?' Cas called out, daring to walk closer now that his sister seemed to have sedated the creature enough to be released from its grasp. The dragon turned towards him with a great snort of hot air.
'Perhaps I didn't wish to address you,' The dragon answered him, expanding his voice to include all three of them.
'That voice... in my head,' Bram mumbled 'Cas, hit me, I think I'm the one who's dreaming!'
'In that case, I've got to ask, why are you dreaming about my sister?' Cas laughed.
'You see Kin, he is beneath you,' The dragon commented dismissively. 'What's wrong, your face is red, are you hurt somehow, I can't sense an injury but I've only recently awoken-'
'She's blushing!' Cas howled, Vada turned away abruptly, hating her uncontrollable colouring.
Bram faked a cough to hide his smirk and the dragon turned on him growling.
'What are you two doing here anyway?' Vada snapped over her shoulder.
'Bram suggested we come up here to train,' Cas replied, 'it's a good thing we found you up here though, Takashi and Uldrin were looking for you, it seemed pretty serious.'
'They were?' Vada spun around suddenly and began back towards the village, her mind suddenly flooded with all manner of worries about the safety of her people and the management of the village.
'Awfully happy about that aren't you,' Bram scoffed, 'I don't think I've ever seen you move so fast.'
Vada threw him a glare but otherwise ignored him until she heard a hiss of wind and a thud followed almost immediately by a grunt. She stopped and turned just in time to see Bram hit the ground in a spray of dirt and small stones.
'He isn't an enemy!' Vada yelled at the dragon as she ran to the fallen kin, the dragon merely snorted and turned away like a tantrum-throwing teenager.
'Bram, are you okay?' she asked lifting his head carefully, his eyes shot open as a coughing fit full of dust rattled his chest.
'What is that beasts problem,' he complained, pulling himself into a sitting position to glare.
'I didn't like your tone or your insinuation!' The dragon argued.
'Vada, you can't bring the dragon to the village, if this is how he reacts to Bram I'd hate to think what he'd do to the princes.'
'He's right...' Vada turned to the suddenly sullen creature, 'do you have a name? I can't just call you dragon.'
'You could not pronounce my true name, therefore, you may call me Aegar.'
'Okay, Aegar. Do you think you could hide out up here?'
'I don't like the idea, but I will. Should you call to me, I will come.' He replied turning his back on them to lay on the very edge of the cliff.
The three Kin watched as the dragons green scales faded to grey and moss sprouted along the surface of his back camouflaging him against the landscape. With his back to them, it was impossible to make out any of the dragons identifying features, any passerby would take the mound at face value and be on their way completely unaware of the sleeping beast beneath the lichen.
-
Rather than cut through Riska's lower village, the trio of Kin circled the outskirts hoping to avoid the Riska Guard until Vada was able to speak to the princes. An uneasy feeling snaked around her gut and she couldn't help but recall the way she was dragged away from her siblings.
A kind of treaty existed between the mountain villages and the Kin but it wasn't set in stone and circumstances had changed drastically with the influx of new Kin, perhaps the Chieftains felt much more threatened now that their numbers had grown.
'I thought you said you didn't know where she was!' Takashi barked, aiming his glare at Bram, the moment the trio entered the village of half-built houses.
'The Chieftains have gathered Vada, they know about the new Kin and they're uneasy,' Uldrin explained. Vada balled her fists and cursed under her breath.
'Let's go,' she only managed to take a single step towards Riska before a heavy hand gripped her shoulder, halting her.
'Eat first,' Bram insisted.
'And form a council,' Uldrin added.
'A council?' Vada replied frowning.
Bram pulled his hand away with a gruff grunt and stomped away to speak with Diya who was gardening nearby.
'It would appease the Chieftains if you had a council that could inform your decisions, the way they all do. The councils are a way of protecting the interests of the village by preventing Chieftains from making dangerous decisions unchallenged.' Takashi explained.
'Oh yeah, that worked out great for Riska-' Cas began.
'Cas, you will be my first council member.' Vada interrupted him.
'Naturally,' he grinned.
'Vada, he's just a child I don't think-' Takashi began to argue but Vada held up a hand to stop him mid sentence and continued to address her brother.
'Go and tell Vin I would like him to join us too.' Vada instructed, ignoring the prince, much to Cas' amusement. He threw Takashi a quick smirk before racing away to find their old family friend.
Vada looked around at the people milling back and forth, searching for a particular face.
'When are the Chieftains meeting?' She asked.
'Noon,' Uldrin replied, 'I'll come back to escort you all when it's time.'
'I can do it,' Takashi volunteered eagerly.
'Father wants you by his side today, you're the new High Guard. Concern yourself with security,' Uldrin reprimanded, pointing his arm in the direction of Riska and pinning his brother with a glare until Takashi marched away. 'He's so immature and forever arguing with me,' Uldrin groaned shaking his head.
'Have you met Cas?' Vada chuckled, 'and don't even get me started on Bram, that boy boils my blood to no end!'
It was funny, Vada thought, how quickly impressions could change. She and Uldrin had butted heads at first and now he was the person she felt the most at ease around, he was supportive and respectful, helping to guide her into the new leadership role that she wasn't at all trained for, or perhaps even ready for.
'Cas is immature because he's young, Takashi is a year older than you!' Uldrin replied aghast, 'Bram doesn't phase me anymore. Takashi, however, can't stand him,' the prince laughed oblivious to Vada's internal evaluation of him and the way she looked up at him so thoughtfully as he spoke.
Heavy footsteps approached them but neither of them paid any attention, they were too busy discussing their brothers and laughing.
'Wait until you meet the twins, Antin and Atohi, they're a real pair of knuckleheads. Tuari, on the other hand, is our quiet, scholarly brother. He's been desperate to meet you-'
'Eat,' a gruff voice interrupted, shoving a bowl of oats and jam towards Vada.
Uldrin gave an awkward cough in response to Bram's fiery gaze, 'he's right, enjoy your breakfast. I'll see you later.'
When Uldrin excused himself, Vada accepted the bowl and turned to Bram. He was looking away from her, gazing up the valley, his eyes narrowed, following Uldrin's path back to Riska.
'Thanks for the food,' Vada mumbled, suddenly uncomfortable alone in his presence.
'Whatever,' He glanced down briefly but the sight of her agitated him so he turned away. Diya was watching them from the garden and unease filled his heart, squirming within him. He adored Diya, whereas Vada only aggravated him and set his temper ablaze. Just as he was about to walk away from the new Chieftess, her voice caused him to halt.
'Join my council!' She blurted suddenly, her eyes squeezed shut, afraid to meet his gaze if he turned around. He said nothing at first and Vada's breath caught in her throat as she waited for his rejection.
'Ok, I'll see you here at noon.' He replied without turning to look at her and leaving the moment the sentence left his lips.
-
'Does she like the oats?' Diya asked when Bram returned to her side.
'I'm sure she will, thanks for making it.' He mumbled, clearly lost in thought, conflicted it seemed. Diya's gaze turned knowing as she watched him unconsciously begin to pace.
'That prince is very handsome,' she commented with false innocence, 'Chieftess Vada is very lucky to have his attention. An heir to the village up the hill, I hear. Quite a catch.'
'He's smug if you ask me, and his brother is an idiot-'
'Still, she seems quite taken with them. It can't be easy for her, having all of this responsibility thrown at her. I've heard about her life before all of this, it doesn't sound like she's ever had an easy time of things,' Diya explained, suddenly very melancholy.
Bram stopped his pacing to look at Diya. She was watching Vada sitting on the grass where Bram had left her, eating her porridge, lost in thought.
'She seems so lonely,' Diya sighed.
'She always has people around her-' Bram rebuffed halfheartedly.
'Does she have anyone she can truly lean on though?' Diya argued, 'it's not just about being surrounded, it's about feeling like you don't have to always carry the load. It's about knowing that you can take a step back and have faith that someone else will step up in your place.' Diya heaved another heavy sigh and turned back to the girl in the distance, 'I'm not convinced that she has that.'
'You're very interested in her all of a sudden,' Bram grumbled, uncomfortable with the topic of conversation. Diya had always had a way of subtly reprimanding him and he hated it.
'Where would we be now if it wasn't for her, Bram?'
'Home, I would have saved us!'
'Home? Your father's village?' Diya stared square into his eyes now, challenging him, 'the two of us, together?'
'Yes! Always-'
'Why?' Diya demanded, surprising herself.
She had meant only to tease him, to encourage him to look at himself and think about what he wanted rather than upholding foolishly made promises. Suddenly she felt nervous of his reply, afraid of things changing so much between them that they couldn't salvage any form of relationship.
'Diya,' Bram replied, lifting her chin gently so that she looked at him once again. Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears and her brow furrowed with heartache, 'I will alwas be here for you, nothing will ever change that.'
Diya looked away. In the distance, an empty bowl sat abandoned on a small circular patch of flattened grass.