Authors: Carmella Jones
“Father will be like that for the next few weeks, but after that you might be able to talk to him. Maybe. I know everyone is keeping their distance at the moment. It’s for the best,” Syrenth suggested, as he knew what his father could be like. It was coming up to his mother’s anniversary, so Tazour normally kept himself to himself to shield his mourning. It was wise not to get on his bad side, as he was the most unpredictable at this time.
“I don’t know if I have a few weeks honestly,” Rasenth replied. “My clan has new hatchlings, but not enough food to go around at the moment. I’m more than a little upset at the woman who bore the children when she realized we didn’t have the most food to begin with, but what’s done is done. Now, I just need to find a source of food to sustain everyone, however your father seemed less than interested when I proposed trading with him,” Rasenth said, hoping that this might pull at Syrenth’s heart strings a bit. He seemed like a very well intentioned soul, so there was a chance.
“Oh, that’s terrible!” Syrenth answered, as it did tug on his emotions quite a bit. Their tribe had never faced such a problem, not since the great blizzard sixty years ago. Syrenth didn’t want to allow hatchlings to die of hunger. There was plenty of food to spare down here, especially with the elk coming soon. They would have enough to feed well over five times their current number.
“I know father won’t help but maybe I could get you an elk or a moose or something. I can’t strike a deal with you, I don’t have that sort of authority, but I’m sure I could probably grab one or two for you. At least that could help for now,” Syrenth suggested, as he couldn’t in good consciousness allow others to go hungry. Even if the ice dragons were a completely different tribe, they were still dragons, and Syrenth would be happy to give them aid, so long as his father doesn’t find out.
“That would be very kind of you, and as long as you take care not to let your father find out, I would very much appreciate the help,” Rasenth replied, glad that his scheme worked. However, it was still rather cold out, and Syrenth was still soaked, so he figured it was best to get going. “Well, I’m going to tell everyone the good news. In the meantime, you should go inside near a fire so you aren’t too cold,” Rasenth urged, and then he was on his way back to tell the tribe what he’d accomplished so far.
“Wait!” Syrenth called, as he wanted to know the details of their secret little mission, just so he knew when to act, otherwise Rasenth wouldn’t get the extra food. It wasn’t like Tazour would allow Rasenth access to the village for awhile.
“When do you want me to bring the food? Where should I meet you?” He asked, as he needed to be prepared. The thought of a warm fire was definitely tempting, but he wanted to be sure of his task before he set out on it.
“You don’t know where our caves are, boy?” Rasenth asked, surprised that Syrenth was that ignorant of the geography. Then again he was a lucky dragon in the sense that there had never been any war between the fire and ice dragons of the area during his lifetime, and really never any major war in the fjord since the ice dragons were chased out. Given that, it wasn’t really completely necessary for different tribes to know where to find one another for anything other than diplomacy, which was clearly something that Syrenth wasn’t too interested in.
“Just go up north to the mountains whenever you can sneak away from your father. I’ll tell the sentry to be on the lookout and guide you to our caves. It’s easy for newcomers to get lost,” Rasent replied.
“Thank you, Rasenth. Have a safe journey,” Syrenth spoke softly, bowing his head in respect and as a farewell gesture, then went back to getting his water and bringing it back to the village for his father. He felt rather happy about that unexpected meeting and he couldn’t wait to see the elder dragon again. Syrenth just felt good to be useful.
Rasenth just waved goodbye to Syrenth and then turned into his dragon form to get home faster, and then he put Lyshara on guard duty for the night watch while he made a modest fire in an unused cave for Syrenth’s comfort, then just waited for Syrenth to come.
Chapter 3
As Tazour was busy building his ornament, it was relatively easy for Syrenth to sneak away from his homeland. He told his dad he wanted to fly around the forest, and Tazour just told him to be back before sunrise. So, with permission given, Syrenth took off in his dragon form. He was a young dragon, barely over one hundred, but he was very quick on his feet and in the air. He flew to their hunting grounds, watching as the elk slept soundly. They didn’t even see hear him coming.
Syrenth swooped down from the clouds and nabbed two adolescent elks. With them in his claws, he shot back up into the sky, and flew off to the north, keeping a good altitude so that the sentries didn’t catch him leaving the borders.
The young dragon managed to meet with the sentries in good time, and he was guided to the cave where Rasenth lay. It was cold though, very cold, so Syrenth was quick to move forward to the small fire and lie down beside it, soaking up it’s heat and relaxing.
“I’ve got your elks,” He said, a little hesitant as he was a bit tired. That was a long flight for him, as he had never travelled across their borders, and the winds were unfavourable for an inferno, but he managed it nonetheless.
Lyshara was a bit surprised to see that the young Inferno dragon was sitting next to the fire. She honestly wanted him off of their territory right away, but seeing as he was feeding them it would be overlooked. So she simply took the elk to the hatchlings and their mother, the only ones that really couldn’t hunt. Now that everyone wasn’t hunting for three mouths that weren’t contributing, hunger wouldn’t be as much of an issue. However, she still wouldn’t be too accepting of Syrenth, especially if he stayed long.
Rasenth, on the other hand, was happy to see Syrenth, and he put a woven blanket around Syrenth and then took a seat a few feet away from the fire. “I’m very happy that you did this for us. That will feed the babies and their mother, and be a nice snack for the kids at that,” Rasenth replied. “I really can’t thank you too much for your generosity in the matter.”
“It’s fine, don’t mention it,” Syrenth chuckled, snuggling up into the blanket and relaxing. “I can’t very well let little ones go hungry after all.” He would need rest before he went back out into the elements to fly home. He certainly didn’t have the energy to make that journey for a little while, so he hoped he was allowed to rest in Rasenth’s company, at least for an hour or so.
“You seem tired. When is your father expecting you home, Sy?” Rasenth asked, happy to let Syrenth stay in the caves, as long as it wouldn’t get him noticed by his father. In fact, the longer he spent around Syrenth, the better. Rasenth would do his utmost to keep Syrenth on his side, and more importantly, providing food.
“Father wants me back by sunrise at the latest,” Syrenth replied, as Tazour knew the boy liked to get up and run around the forest to play when he couldn’t sleep, and would just let him have a late morning, so long as he finished his chores the next day.
“In that case, you should stay here for tonight. The winds are worse at night when it’s colder, and with it being dark you can’t see as well. I’ll find a place for you to sleep in the caves,” Rasenth replied.
“Thank you. I appreciate the kindness. I don’t really want to face that wind for awhile,” Syrenth replied, as he really was glad to have somewhere he could rest. He hoped he could still get home on time, but if he couldn’t he would make up some excuse to his father. He was sure enough of that.
“Come morning, you can just ride on my back in your human form, okay? That way you don’t have to face the wind,” Rasenth offered, as he knew that it was hard for a fire dragon to manuever in the icy cold and powerful winds around these mountains.
“If you are sure that’s okay, then I’d be happy to. As long as Father doesn’t see us anyway,” That was Syrenth’s only worry. If his father caught them, he’d probably threaten war, as he would assume something was going on if Syrenth was riding on Rasenth’s back. he could even be banished if Tazour was in a really bad mood, he was unpredictable this time of year after all. Syrenth didn’t think it would come to that, but it was the worst case scenario.
“I won't let your father see us. He will probably try to kill me. Of course, he is no match for me, but it would be rather annoying if he did become hostile. So, I can assure you I will be careful,” Rasenth replied. He would put Syrenth on the far side of the mountain so he wouldn't be seen by any of the Inferno clan.
“Good, I don’t want to get into too much trouble, but I’m glad I could do this for you,” Syrenth spoke after a good sigh of relief. He didn’t want to incur his father’s wrath, so he would try and be as careful as he could.
“So, where am I sleeping?” Syrenth asked, stretching his wings a little as he was ready to curl up and lie down. At least if he could have his own cave, and he was alone, he could make himself a bigger fire so he could feel warmer in this cold, desolate place.
“Well, there aren't any extra beds, but my bed is large enough, if you aren't opposed to that,” Rasenth replied. No one else would share a bed in his clan, and so unless Syrenth wanted to sleep on the floor then he would have to join Rasenth, which he really wanted.
“Sure, I suppose I can at least keep warm that way,” Syrenth nodded, and changed into his human form, as he highly doubted the beds were dragon size. So, he stood up and looked towards Rasenth, ready to be lead to his bed for the night. He didn’t think anything ill minded here. It was merely sharing a bed with a platonic friend who he was helping. There was nothing sinister or bad there, or so he assumed at least. It was perfectly okay as far as Syrenth was concerned.
With Syrenth ready to retire to bed, Rasenth took Syrenth to his chambers and he changed into some sleep wear behind a light blue divan, and then he motioned to his dresser drawers. “Find something comfortable for you to sleep in. There's some warm clothes there,” Rasenth said.
“Thank you Rasenth,” The young dragon replied, and managed to find something that looked comfortable and warm, so he slipped that on and waited for Rasenth’s instruction to get into bed. he didn’t want to intrude after all.
For some while, Rasenth just let Syrenth stand there without inviting him onto the bed, mainly because Rasenth already gave him the permission earlier by inviting him to stay there. At least, Rasenth considered that permission, so the elder was simply wondering why Syrenth was hesitating. “Are you having second thoughts, Syrenth?” Rasenth asked.
“What? No. I umm… Sorry,” Syrenth stuttered a little, and just got into bed with the elder dragon. He considered that permission enough for now, so he got under the blanket and curled up into a little ball, just so he could help keep himself warm.
Once Syrenth was in the bed, Rasenth moved closer to him so that their backs were touching, considering that a little shared body warmth would probably go a long way. Even ice dragons had body warmth in their human form, so he was happy to do what he could to make things better for his little helper. After all, he did want Syrenth to come back.
Syrenth certainly appreciated the extra warmth, he was happy with whatever he could get. So, after a long yawn, the young dragon soon drifted off to sleep, his exhausted body was grateful to finally have some rest.
As it became evident to Rasenth that Syrenth had fallen asleep, Rasenth turned over in the bed and wrapped his arm around Syrenth and pulled the young dragon to his chest. Syrenth smelled absolutely intoxicating, but Rasenth didn’t want to startle Syrenth by starting anything in his sleep. Rather, Rasenth just took a few whiffs of Syrenth and relaxed, but he kept the young dragon close all night through, but when morning broke, it was time to take Syrenth home.
Rasenth jumped out of bed and was quick to get himself dressed, then he checked the outside temperature. It was freezing, as always. He wasn’t sure what he expected, but the winds were too fierce to make Syrenth fly all by himself, so Rasenth resolved to help Syrenth down.
“Wake up, Sy. Your father will start wondering where you are if you try to sleep the day away,” Rasenth said, shaking Syrenth by the shoulder to help get him up.
Syrenth groaned a little as he was disturbed from his sleep. His eyelids fluttered a little until they eventually opened and Syrenth looked sleepily up at the older dragon.
“Morning already?” Syrenth asked with a yawn. It was certainly wise not to linger here much longer, but Syrenth wasn’t awake enough to realise that yet. He needed to get home before his father started tearing down mountains to look for him.
“Yes, morning. And it’s near sunrise, so you’re going to have to go before your father starts searching for you,” Rasenth replied.
“Oh, right. Okay. Let’s go,” Syrenth said, then got up out of bed, stretching his limber arms before getting up and waiting for Rasenth to take him home, as he assumed the deal from yesterday still stood.
“You’d probably do well to put your clothes from yesterday on,” Rasenth advised. All his clothing was made up of very pure white wool with some ornamentation. Even in the winter, when it was cold and the people of Syrenth’s tribe were bundling up, Syrenth would still stand out like a sore thumb considering there weren’t any sheep in his territory, and his tribe wasn’t one to trade.