When a foreign bee enters a hive not of their own, there are multiple outcomes that may happen. There's a slim chance that the bee survives and is able to stay in the hive, in other cases the bee is either killed or driven away. In my home, Acrine, the forest was plentiful with beehives. We harvested some of the bee's honey for our own uses. I studied the bee's behaviors in my spare time just for the hell of things.
At this moment, I felt much like a foreign bee who went into the wrong hive and was not welcome within. But, in this case, I was in a dragon's nest who held the same behavior.
My vision was becoming accustomed to the darkness of the cave, but I could not make out the color of the scales attached to the dragons. I internally scoffed at myself, it would not matter what dragons were going to kill us, we would die no matter what.
"We are not dying. Not today twoleg." Naxan growled through my mind. He had positioned his body so that a leg was in between me and most of the dragons. His tail lashed viscously behind him, I heard the sound of barbs protruding from his body. He probably looked like a porcupine.
"Pork pine?" Naxan's confusion momentarily pierced the bond but was soon replaced with anger as one of the dragons swiped a heavy, clawed foot in his direction.
"If we make it out of this, Nax, I'll show you what a porcupine is." I moved closer to his body as the dragons tightened their circle around us.
Naxan's chest rumbled as he opened his mouth to reveal a gullet of flames. Lightning flashed before the cave's entrance, illuminating the inside for a few moments. I caught a glimpse of red and purple bodies around us. I'm going to use my deductive reasoning skills and assume that these dragons were birthed from fire. How lovely, I thought bitterly. We were going to be roasted alive.
"Maybe twoleg will. Not Naxan." He sassed.
What a comforting thought to know that my dragon cared about me so little.
"I care!" His voice vibrated within my skull, its assault tormented my brain and left a dull ache.
The flames building in his gullet grew brighter, illuminating the purple dragon right in front of us. Its scales started of purple on its face and then faded to a dark red wine colour the rest of the way. The yellow in its eyes were glowing with Naxan's flame pointed right at them. The dragon stepped back a couple of steps, sensing the danger before it.
I sensed another creeping closer than the others dared. It was on my right, I was between it and my dragon. I turned towards it even though I could barely see it, the outline of its head barely registered in my vision.
Lighting flashed again outside, illuminating the cave in a soft glow. Then, we were left in the dark once again.
The dragon spat out a heaping pile of red, liquid rock before my feet. I scampered back until Naxan's side was pushed against my back. It barely illuminated the features of the dragon, all she could see was red and sharp teeth. Violet eyes were glowing in front of the molten rock.
I recognized the dragon. Or so I hoped that this was the same dragon that Naxan and I had saved from the hunter's trap. I put my hands out in front of me and walked one step forward. The dragon snapped its jaws at me, I barely saved my fingers from being chewed off.
Naxan rounded on the dragon and was about to release the flames formed in his maw, but I stopped him. "Nax, wait!" I said out loud. I then turned to the dragon again that watched the obsidian dragon warily.
"Calm," I spoke quietly, hoping that this was the dragon I thought it to be. The dragon's baring mouth softened and he raised his head. His nostrils flared as he took in mine and Naxan's scent. His defensive stance relaxed and his eyes held a knowing recognition. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.
The dragon then turned his head to its companion creeping closer to us and snapped his jaws in its face. He growled out deeply till the cave vibrated and the loose rocks clattered around. "They saved my life. They are friends." The dragon's voice felt like fire ripping through my brain. I tightly held my hands to my head until the pain wore off.
The nest of dragons that surrounded Naxan and I were reluctant to disperse, but eventually, I heard their grumbling and they broke apart their ranks. It seemed like dragons were honorable creatures. That's twice now my friendly actions have saved mine and Naxan's hides.
"We are honourable. Dragons of fire were protecting territory. We are trespassing." I placed a hand on Nax's snout and silently revelled in the moment of not being a pile of charcoal.
I turned to the dragon with violet eyes. "Thank you."
The dragon stood tall, extending his neck, and towered over me. Naxan did the same, but he was slightly shorter than the red dragon. I shook my head slightly while looking towards my dragon. "No, thank you." His voice was quieter than before, but I could still feel the heat lace within his words. "You freed me from a shameful death. To you, I am in debt for life." I felt the ancient tone in his voice, as old as the first flame created.
I bowed my head and smiled softly at him. In return, he lowered his head and settled on the rock beside me. I learned from Naxan that a dragon laying down in front of someone means they are comfortable and they feel safe. It is a more vulnerable position for a dragon to be in, but I still did not doubt that he couldn't easily ward off imminent danger from how he was.
Naxan decided he didn't have to stand at his full height and sat on his haunches, wrapping his tail around my feet. I leaned into my dragon, absorbing the heat radiating off of him.
"So, you are the tiny rider living on the island. Why are you not amongst your own kind?" The red dragon's gaze was intense as he stared at me. It may not be intended, but it was definitely intimidating talking to an unbonded dragon.
"My people don't want me." I spit out bitterly but quickly rein in my emotions. I don't need to speak in such tones with another dragon. "Because I am a female, they think I'm not worthy to be a dragon rider."
The red dragon snorted, and I could smell hot, smoke billowing around me. It tickled my throat and made my eyes water. "How wrong of them to think in such ways. Females are far more vicious in nature than males are."
"That's how it has always been." I shrugged my shoulders like it meant nothing to me, but really, it burnt a deep hatred within my gut. "To my knowledge, I am the only living female dragon rider. I heard from a friend that if females show characteristics of a rider, they are never seen again." I didn't even want to imagine what Henry had meant by that, but in my gut, I already knew. "I left my home before anything could happen to me. That is how I met Naxan." Watching him, I could tell Naxan was paying attention, but his gaze was also circulating around the nest, observing what was in the shadows.
"How fitting." The dragon's voice was humorous in my head. "A dragon of the shadows paired with a female. Both are seen as outcasts in the world they live in. You two are in interesting pair." I had asked Naxan before about his kind, but he knew very little. Only that his breed was very few and they were solitary animals.
The vibrato sounds of thunder rumbling in the storm outside made it clear that it was not yet over.
I felt a question bubbling in my throat I felt I needed to ask. "Have there been other riders paired like Naxan and me?" My thoughts returned to the hunter I had run into on this island, the look in his eyes when he realized I was bonded to a dragon he called a Valairex.
The red dragon nodded his head slightly. "Before my time, there was a rider paired with a dragon of the shadows and they were feared for the power they held. They rallied dragons together and waged multiple wars, dividing the lands and their inhabitants."
"Are you speaking of the..." I stopped myself, deciding to say a familiar term. "Silver eyes?"
The dragon nodded his head. "Yes. As well as many other creatures. They divided the lands, broke apart the earth, and separated everyone with water."
I tried imagining Pontheugh back when the land was still together, how large it would be.
"Their power-hungry nature was the death of them. Raeder's dragon, Scylla, lay dying after one of their battles. Her dragon rider took his own life after she went, but that didn't stop the war he started. Division in species was created, biased opinions were created, and traumatic memories lived on through the living. He was a tyrant, sparing no mercy to anyone." The red dragon's maw rose into a small grimace, showing off his teeth in a menacing manner. "Raeder enslaved dragons to his army, riderless and mindless. They only followed him, listening to his commands and carrying out his bidding. They were dangerous, and they had no rider to keep them sane. As it was what he wanted. A devoted army who only listened to his commands. What better way than doing that than taking away a dragon's other half and making them believe he was the only thing who would love and protect them?"
My heart tore at the thought of Naxan being enslaved to a life of war and not being able to do a thing about it. Mindlessly following every command whether it be killing or burning cities down. They must've been incredibly lonely without the other half of their soul to show them the way out of that misery. No wonder they went insane; I couldn't imagine a life without Naxan, and I didn't want to. My entire life I always felt off; strange. Until I found Naxan, then everything came into place and I felt whole. It was hard to explain, but I felt like I could finally live.
I felt Naxan shift behind me. A smaller purple dragon came up to Naxan and circled around him. He growled to the purple dragon warningly. Although she seemed slightly afraid, she continued to circle him, sniffing him and butting her head into his side. She looked young, her curiosity getting the better of her. He got up from sitting and showed her his teeth, a deeper growl vibrating from his chest.
"But he obviously failed." There were dozens upon dozens of dragon riders who bonded with their dragons.
The purple dragon butted her head into him again and ran off, Naxan hot on her heels. I silent worried as I watched him disappear into the shadows. "Play nice, Nax." He didn't respond, and I didn't intervene. The young dragon needed to learn what limits could & couldn't be crossed.
"For a while, he succeeded. Those who followed Raeder carried out his plans of enslaving the dragon race." She could see a slight glow coming from the dragon's chest as his voice became hitched with anger. "Through all these years, it is still being done. Our kind being captured by your kind." I felt a tinge of worry run through me, his voice held hate as he spoke about my kind. It was clear that he did not like humans. How fortunate for me that I was standing right in front of this angry dragon.
"Don't worry twoleg. He likes you." Naxan communicated with me through our bond. Even though I could not see him, I could still sense him near me.
"Our species used to be plentiful, now we are scarce." He finished off, a thick plume of smoke billowing out of his mouth and nostrils as his chest flared a brighter red.
I nervously bit my lip. "My kind is working to destroy the dragon hunters."
"They should work faster. It is only a matter of time before dragons of all species are completely wiped out. Dragons are being hunted every day. It's going to get to a point where there will be a larger amount of riderless dragons with no other thought than to kill. The war that happened centuries ago is starting again, it's just a matter of time before it happens again." The dragon paused for a moment, watching the thick shadows around us. I could feel Naxan zipping around the darkness, playing with the other dragon. "You have been paired for a reason, maybe that reason is to end what your kind has failed to do for centuries."