FSE

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1) First Meeting.

Again, I woke up. My heart was racing, my body shivering, and my breath coming in quick gasps. I moved the sheets and grimaced. I'd known what I'd find before I even moved the sheets. I was hard, and there was a large pool of liquid below my throbbing shaft. I cried then, cried because of my reactions to the dreams, of the beast with fangs longer than my arm. It was fuzzy, indistinct. It roared and rampaged, killing indiscriminately, then it turned it's eyes to me. It's body peppered with arrows it screamed with fury and charged at me. Every time I woke with its jaws lunging for me, with a hard on and my body suffering from lust. I curled up and cried, willing my erection away. I was messed up. In more ways than one.

I woke up to morning light parting between my curtains. Dawn. My fear woke me and I got up, stripped my bed, and raced in the nude to the washing machine. I dumped my soiled bedding in it, added the powders to make the bad stuff go away, evened out the displacement, closed the lid, and made my selection. Immediately it started up, humming and spraying water into the contents. I quietly exited,closing te door, and moved to my room, listening for the sounds of my parents or siblings waking up. I pulled open the closet on my way there, and pulled out a mattress protector, a sheet set including pillows, bottom and top sheets. I slid the door shut with a gentle pop and made it back to my room without further incident. Sweat peppered my body from my fear, and I made my bed as quickly as I could. I grabbed my spray on deaodourant and quickly sprayed the length and bredth of my bed, the air of my room, the carpet. I grabbed the towel hanging off the bedpost, and the luxury body wash I'd purchased in secret.

I left my room, and quickly moved to the bathroom. When we'd moved here I'd purposely chosen my room for the dawn light that would wake me each morning, faster than the others. I had to be careful. My family... my family weren't like me. I was different. I know, I know most people say that, but I reallywas dfferent. I could feel the emotions people had, hate, anger, rage, sorrow... I could feel it all. My father, he held a deep, deep burning anger, and he'd been imprisoned for that anger a great deal of times. My mother was like him, though different. She hated those with a skin darker than hers. She loved my father... if you could call it that. Her love was dark... twisted. Love was something I couldn't feel alot of, and that made me scared of others. I often wondered what my love looked like to others like me.. if there were any. Would it be as dark, twisted, and clingy as what my moer's looked like? Or would it look like how I envisioned love? Soft, pure, all encompassing, protective and above all, accepting.

I wiped my eyes and stepped into the shower, turning on the cold water. I felt the water hit me, then trail down my sin, yet another feature of my difference. I could not feel temperature changes. I could feel the wind upon me, water, earth, fire. I felt pain, but my body couldn't distinguish temperature changes. When I was about 12, I started to lose the ability, and by 15, I couldn't tell the difference anymore apart from the fact one could hurt. I wet my hair, and grabbed for my Pantene Pro-V shampoo. I couldn't deal with that fructus thing, the chemical smell of fruits set my nose off horribly. That's probably why my siblings used it. I poured a beyond decent amount, and lathered the full length of my hair. I'd fought my father many times on the subject of my hair, and had suffered many times. However, the last few fights I had done something to him no man should ever do to another. I kicked him in the place that would hurt him the most. Later he'd beaten me and shaved me bald after strapping me to a chair. I went to child services, and almost fell ill. After stepping into the lobby all I could feel was from them was indifference. They didn't care, about me, about them, about anything. I asked for forms, filled them out, handed them in, and was told to wait ten to twelve working days for a reply.

I stood under the water, letting it hit the top of my scalp and drain through my hair at the back. It was one of the few pleasures left to me. It was a calming effect that turned to a type of bliss. I closed my eyes and just lost myself in the calming sensation for a moment. I opened my eyes once more and grabbed my conditioner of the same brand as my shampoo. I removed a generous quantity and slipped it into my hair, massaging my scalp with my finger tips to get it in deep. I clawed my hair gently, to coat it. I turned the shower head away from me, facing it to a wall, then grabbed my specialy body wash. I found it, years ago, and it's proven difficult to find since then. It's called St Ives, swiss vanilla body wash. I loved it dearly. It offered a vanilla scent to your body, while moisturising it, adding a soft gleen to anytin soaked in it for a moment befor eit's removed. I used a soft bristle back scrubber to scrub my entire body with four pumps of the stuff. I used it on my face too, but I had a St Ives lotion I used for that afterwards. I washed off the back scrubber, the reset its position upon the wall. I turned the shower head down, and stepped into the water. I closed my eyes and turned around inside of it. I raised my arms and sluiced the water around my body. I made sure all of me was clean of the foamy suds that smelled so good, and also that the conditioner in my hair was well removed. I stepped out of the shower after checking to make sure my groin and ass were free of left over soapy remains.

I grabbed the towel, threw my head forwards causing my hair to launch upwards, then down in front of me. I grabbed the stray hairs from the back of my neck and moved them forwards before placing the towel upon the top of my head. I grabbed two handfuls of towel, tucked the edge over the tops of my ears as I pulled it taut, then wrapped my sodden hair in the towel. I turned the towel over and over again so that it would 'wring' the water out of my hair, I then made it so tight that there was a very slim chance that my hair was anything more than damp. I released my hair, grabbed my body wash, and hid it under the towel. I felt my father wake, and moved my ass to my room in order to get dressed for school.

School ended, and I was left alone once more. No siblings watching me, no teachers in my father's group keeping an eye on me, no mothers watching what I do with their children. Seventeen years of age, and I was held in contempt by all who viewed me. I had made the mistake, once, of answering my father truthfully when he asked about my sexual orientation. When he asked me, I was 12, and confused about everything. I liked both boys and girls, and had been told that makes me bi. So I told my father that I was bi. He had stared at me in shock, and then I felt and saw his rage blossom. I was moving before he could even get up, but I was no where near fast enough. My father hospitalised me when I was 12 years old. I never made the same mistake again. When next he asked me, when I came back home covered in casts, what my secual orientation was, I answered straight as an arrow.

I looked out at the afternoon sunlight, and just started walking. I had no set destination, I had no idea where I was going, I just started walking. Before I knew it, I was miles from anywhere, appearing to have jumped from one place to another. Again, a difference. There were moments, when I went back in time, or moved faster than normal. Going up and down hills to get to school, I've left late for some reason, and suddenly found myself arriving at the first bell, fifteen minutes before I left the house. I sometimes travel distances in a fraction of time. A hill that takes five minutes to traverse, suddenly takes one if I'm in a desperate hurry. I don't remember climbing the hill, just climbing partway, and then the other side going down.

I blinked, and stared at the glade around me. When did I get here? I turned around, and saw my footprints. I did not recall moving through the brush to get here, yet my clothes were scratched in places, and had leaves upon my bag. My body moved of it's own accord, and I faced a small hollow in the glade. It looked like someone had shaped it, just big enough to crawl into if one wanted. I looked at my clothes, and wondered what I should do. For some reason I wanted to go in, but I was held back by what would happen to my clothes if I did. Then I started thinking about where this place was, and theorised that it was unlikely I'd be found soon. That decided it and I took off my bag, placed it at the mouth of the hollow, pushed it, and crawled after it. My shorts were just high enough to escape the dirt of the ground, while my back was just low enough not to hit the roof of the tunnel. I pushed my bag along, and checked my watch every now and again, hitting the glowing face button to shed some light upon the tunnel. I switched the light function to five minutes, and pressed onwards.

After the seventh press of the light feature, I felt something. Not with my hands or feet, but that part of my mind that sensed emotions. It felt vastly different from the minds I'd touched upon in all my seventeen and a bit years. It was strange, clouded, untouchable. I could catch flickers of emotion, brief displays, but not much else. The space around me opened up, and up, and up. So much so that not even my accustomed eyes and wrist watch glow could reach the top. This confused me, because as far as I could tell I had been in a long, straight tunnel, with no mountains around for as far as I could see in that glade, trees or no trees. I put my bag back on after dusting it, and used the glow of my wrist watch to look around the vast space I was now in. For a moment, I wondered if this could be my sanctuary, my home far, far, far away from home. If I just disappeared and came here, there were berry bushes in the glade, I'd even seen what looked like wild carrots growing in with some mulberry bushes. The only thing that was stopping me from doing so, was that mind I could feel. My body moved, and once more I walked.

I walked to that large mind that pressed upon my own gently. I realised after the first press, that it could feel minds like I did. Overjoyed, I rushed towards it, then remembered the other that had felt minds like I could, and shut down as quickly as I could. I shut down my ability to feel others, and became nothing but a leaf in the wind. He had hurt me badly. He'd seen the inner most parts of my soul, then used them against me. He'd become immune to my intrusions, showing me only what I wanted to see and find. He'd taken me to an underground bar, struck me in the back of the head, and left me there for the biker's pleasure. The only thing that had saved me, was that it was a gay biker bar. Though they were a harsh lot, they also had rules, and because of those rules, I was dropped off at a hospital so the back of my skull could be seen to.

I continued walking in the direction that presence had been, not knowing if I was going the right way or not. I wasn't willing to open myself up to the same tactics as he had used upon me. Once I saw the owner of that strange mind, I would decide if I would let them in or not. I did not have long to wait. My watch sparkled against darkness infront of me, and I almost walked into it. I stopped, and held my watch up against it, my mind struggling to make sense of it all. I reached our with my right hand and touched it, moving my left wrist to try to identify what it was I was touching. It was large, about four times my height in width, and was apparently a right angled cylinder. The reflective darkness was like a large snake scale, each one about the size of my entire hand. I poked one, and it didn't so much as budge. I pressed my hand against it, and shined the watch light around it, watching as the light was absorbed by the strange scales carved from what I could only think was obsidion. I shined the watch at the floor, wondering if any scales had fallen from higher up due to aging, and found nought. I sighed, and decided to see what I could of the large monolith. What was it? A lizard? A snake god? Maybe a monstrous creature that had the face of a human, or a mask?

I made my way around it as the limb had indicated the head was. I found its paw after a moment's walking, and found claws bigger than I was. They were oddly shaped, like a cat's claws, able to retract and extend at will. Minutes of slowly walking along what could only assume was the 'neck' of the massive statue, and I bumped into smething. I turned my wrist and found glowing white ivory. I marvelled at its size. It must have come from a truely massive animal, and I was some what relieved that no one else had found this statue yet, for most likely they would have destroyed the ivory, selling it on a market for millions. I walked its length, then around it's dulled tip. I walked back to the base of the ivory, and found a frill that I had walked into on the other side. I shined my light upwards, and barely saw the faint reflection of a second ivory horn. I smiled, hoping that no one else would find this thing, I didn't want it to be destroyed, it was much too beautiful for something so unsightly as greed. I continued my walking, and found the large head attached to such a long neck. I moved infront of it, and saw it for what it was. A dragon. A massive, massive statue of a dragon. Hand carved from one single piece of massive obsidion. This thing would have had to be priced in the billions for sheer beauty and ancient carving that had left no chip upon it's tremendous hide. The eyes were closed, making it look as though it were in a state of sleep. It had large, forward facing nostrils about twice the size of my head.

I frowned slightly, realising that someone had to have been here recently, for there was not a speck of dust upon the thing, nor was there any trace of dust except for the dirt of the tunnel. This entire area was like well swept pavement. I opened up my mind, opened it up to the other mind like mine that was nearby somewhere, and sat down in shock as it enveloped me in size less than a foot infront of me. I stared at the dragon, feeling it probe my mind gently, and I saw as it woke. The clouded mind lost it's cloudiness, its eyes opened and it saw me. Its mind shut down like I had forced my own to do, and it's head reared back with a speed that pulled me forwards as the air rushed to fill the spot.

_ How dare thee mortal! By what right doth thee dare intrude upon mine home?!? I shall make thee but a meal! _

I clapped my hands to my head as something similar to a voice bored into my very mind. I screamed at the pain. I wanted it to stop, I didn't want to hurt. I reached for that mind that was yelling at me, and back handed it with all the fear and pain I was feeling.

_ Whu- _

The beast moved. It flew, sideways, uttering a deafening roar before it crashed into the wall on the otherside. The pain stopped, the mind no longer yelled at me. I collapsed in tears, shaking, escaping from death by some miracle. The ground shook, and I knew the dragon was coming back. I didn't care if it ate me, just so long as it didn't yell at me again. I closed my eyes tightly as it breathed at me. I felt that presencce press at me, and closed down. I locked my mind down so hard I was left numb. I couldn't feel emotions anymore. I should have been terrified, but I just felt indifferent. Nothing mattered, because I didn't care. I calmed down quickly, and stopped shaking. I slowed my heart, my breathing, and grew calm once more. I looked up at the massive snout, held just above me, and said something in a bored voice.

"Just eat me and get it over with." My tears were drying on my face, my sweat was also drying. I felt no fear, I felt no terror, I felt nothing. Something pushed at my mind, but I had closed down so hard it was nothing but a faint scraping for attention. It could have been pushing at my mind with incredible strength, but I had closed down everything, I had become nothing. It raised it's head beyond my sight, and spoke in what could have been a soft voice, but was nearer to a hoarse voice.

"Young mortal, I apologise for my actions. I did not realise one with an open mind was intruding upon my sleep. Please, open up again, do not close your mind." I shook my head at it.

"No. I wont let you in. Everyone gets one chance, and you used yours trying to kill me. So just get it over with. I'm tired of this life already, I'm tired of everyone showing me what I want to see and then using it against me, just eat me already! If you wont eat me, then step on me! You have more than enough weight in one paw than I can withstand with thirty people!" I stood and yelled the last of that, my hands in tiny fists as new tears trailed down my face. A bright flash blinded me. I shielded my eyes as well as I could, but was half blinded by the brilliance. A form touched me as the harsh light faded in an instant. It tugged my arm down with massive strength. Lips, human lips, touched upon my eyes. I opened them to look at a man, taller than me, with skin as dark as obsidion. His eyes were deep, deep purple and slitted like a cat's eyes. He held no expression upon his face, and his strength appeared to be so much that my struggling caused him no ill effects.

"Please human, let me in again. It has been long and long before another has even seen me with an open mind." I stared at him, and tried to feel rage, but I'd shut myself down to far, I couldn't feel negative emotions at all, forget positive. I stared, indifferent, and waited. He stared at me, and let me go. I let my left hand touch upon my arm, looking for the bruising I thought was there, and felt nothing but faint skin. I turned, confused, wondering if I'd shut down so far that I couldn't even feel pain. I pressed my light function, and was near blinded! I covered it with my hand, and blinked at the flash spot. He was also blinking. How long had my light been off? Why was I able to see in zero light? I looked into his eyes, and found no answer. His eyes were mere reflective pools, showing nothing.

"Are you going to kill me or not?" I watched his eyes flash with fire for a moment, before he answered me.

"No human, I am not going to kill one who has such an open mind. I have travelled thousands of worlds, singing for my love, and this is the only one where I got a response. Your mind may have touched hers once upon a time, please, let me in, I need to find her." I looked at him, and decided what the hell. I lifted my will, and immediately the force pressing upon me rushed inwards, then stalled and entered more slowly. My eyes widened as I realised I had just withstood the mental invasion of a powerful dragon. My legs dropped from under me, and he moved in an instant, an arm wrapping about my body and preventing my fall. I felt him touching and exploring deep within my mind, I hid no part from him, and he saw my entire life. The hard arm wrapped about my body turned gentle, his other hand coming up to stroke my cheek. He touched upon a painful memmory, and I reacted instinctually, hugging the body close to me and turning my face away as I relived the memmory.

He moved on from that memmory, and searched others. My family, their reactions to me, my hidden heart, my knowledge that I could do things others couldn't. He paused at that, and searched my memories for what I could do that others couldn't. He saw my realisation that no one could feel emotions like I could. I pushed a memmory at him, and showed the one other I'd found that had my ability. I showed him how i'd fallen for him as he showed me what I wanted to see. I showed him how tippy I'd been at finding someone who matched me as I followed him into a bar he'd found, and then my shock and horror as he cracked me over the back of the head and told those assembled to do whatever they wanted with my body. He moved on from that, and saw my jumping from one point to another with no idea how I'd gotten there in such a short time. He watched my most memmorable memmory of leaving my house at 08:15, yet arriving at school at 07:15. He explored the entirety of my memmories, my life. He skipped memmories that involved me sleeping, stripping, using the sanitation facilities or showering.

Hours or minutes later, I had seen the entirety of my life, as had he. I looked at nothing, and just listened to his breathing. He withdrew from me, and I felt like my heart had been taken with him. I had no idea how I hadn't committed suicide yet. My life was full of nothing but pain, anguish, the one love I thought I'd had was nothing but a lie, and I was punished for being me. I felt a heart beat under my chest. It was heavy, weighted down. And before I even realised I'd apologised.

"I'm sorry..."

He pulled me away from him, and I saw his eyes glittering. "Why would you apologise?" I looked away from him and tried to think of an answer. He pulled me back to him and forced me to look into his eyes. "Would you like me to be your friend?" I blinked at him, not even daring to hope. "If you want, I can be your friend. You can find me here, and we can talk, about anything. I will tell you about the worlds I've visited, along with the female I'm looking for."

"You'd do that for me? You'd let me come again.. even knowing what my life's like?" He nodded, and I sucked up the feeling of crying. I pushed lightly and he let me go. I dropped a few inches to the floor below and wavered, his hand helping me stand still.

"Close your eyes for a moment." I did as he said, and light blazed behind my closed eyelids. "When you next come here, I'll have more than just light within this room. It will be a far more welcoming place for visitors. I will now place you outside this realm, and into the welcoming glade. If you ever want to talk, just follow your feet." I nodded, my eyes closed. He placed his hand upon my temple, and I wobbled, disoriented. I opened my eyes to the glade in the evening, and wondered just how long we'd been there. I stared upwards and watched in fascination, as the sky slowly reversed itself, dusk leeching backwards accross the sky, the night sky losing it's stars and visibility. The dusk turned to afternoon light, and I was returned to a point, today, just after I'd entered the burrow. I hiked my bag up on my shoulder, and ran home.

2) Questions and Secrets.

I stared up at the ceiling of my room, nursuing my bruised side. Wondering if that had been just a dream, or reality.... I tried to imagine the location of that glade. I rolled over, facing the stark wall that had once held a library of books. Its plain off-white coating hid the recess I'd carved for my treasures. It was no filled in, found after the library had been taken, just one more things that was too girly to have. I placed a hand upon my hair and stroked it, pulling it over the right side of my neck. Had that dragon been real? Had he really changed shape because I was too terrified of his actual body? I couldn't fathom an answer. He said he was looking for someone, a female. His mate? Sister? Mother? How did dragons have young? Were they birthed, or did they hatch? I rolled over, the questions buzzing at me like flies of annoyance. I closed my eyes, enforced stillness within both heart and mind, and slowly drifted off to sleep, my dreams turning strange.

Once again, I was in that place. It was dark and wet where I was, strange things rumbling outside my prison. Every once in a while my prison and I were picked up, turned. Something wet brushed around us, heat being transferred, and then we were set down again. I swam within my prison, rotating without a need for air. The beasts rumbled and growled, minds pressing upon me. I heard harsh barks, shrill cries, and felt despair from the minds around me. One of them, touched by fever, gripped me in my prison. It's mind was touched with darkness, and I could feel that darkness trying to seep into me. I cried out mentally, wanting to be anywhere but here, and just like that, I woke up.

I stared up at my ceiling, not even needing to check. I wasn't hard, there was no pool of semen, it was just a dream. A dream of darkness and voices, but a dream. I turned to my right, and looked out at the star filled sky. I wanted to see the dragon again, I wanted to ask him questions about my dreams, about the things I could do. And deep down inside, I wanted to be hugged again. I wanted to feel another's love and know it was real. I wanted to feel wanted by another, even if I had to sacrifice everything. I'd lied to myself about Tom, I knew I had, and it had taken the dragon rifling through my memmories to make me aware of the fact. I stared at my wardrobe door, and thought I saw a sheen of light. I blinked, and the light was gone. I sighed again, closed my eyes, and went back to sleep.

I stared at the mountains that shadowed the sun's light. Had there really been mountains there all this time? Someone hit me in the side of the face and all those that had seen laughed. I closed my eyes, and felt around me. The one that had struck me was running around the school building to come up behind the group. I found darkness in his mind, his humor was sick. I poked further into his mind, as the dragon had done to me, and received memmories.

I was out in a field somewhere, smiling. A cat was meowing at me, and I pet it. It had a collar on, bright pink that said 'Maisy'. I took the collar off of her, and held her tight. She mowled, but didn't struggle. I put the collar into my pocket and slowly placed my hands about the cat's neck. She looked at me with eyes that knew nothing, innocent. I smiled wider, and slowly gripped tighter. Now she struggled. Her paws pushed at my hands, her claws taken from her by her owners. She let out strangled mewls and hoarse rasps. Her body shook and she wriggled as she gasped for the precious air I was denying her. I watched her vain struggles, smiling all the while. She huffed, her tongue poking from her small mouth, eyes slowly shutting as I squeezed tighter. She evacuated her bladder and bowels, and I started to giggle. She let out one more pitiful mewl as my hands around her neck tightened still. I felt something pop, and she gave one last shuddering movement, before lying stll, her eyes looking at me. I laughed aloud, and set her down upon the earth next to the home made campfire. I then pulled out the pocket knife from my back pocket, flicked the blade open, and started to remove her eyes, those precious witnesses that needed to be destroyed.

I screamed. I was running before I could even realise it. They were laughing at me, as was the tainted one. No one knew what I had just seen, and no one would. I ran for the mountains, tears running down my face, snot liquified by my sadness. My heart bled for the tiny life that had been snuffed out. I wanted to kill him in return for what he'd done, but knew I wouldn't be able to even scratch him. I had no power, no strength. I didn't even have evidence to say he killed the cat. I was pushed and shoved, their minds awash in sick glee as they thought I was crying because I'd been hit. I pushed at their minds, and they moved, not having the ability to stop me. I ran past the gap I'd unconsiously created, and headed to the dragon. I needed him to tell me what to do, I needed someone to hug me and embrace me, to tell me everything in this sick world would be better at some point. I was in the glade before I knew it, and stopped at the entrance to his cave. What right did I have to burden him with my needs? I sat down upon the grass and stared at nothing. I was being selfish, like I always was. I pulled my knees up and wrapped my arms around them. Mother always said I was too selfish for my own good, and now I was trying to burden someone else with my lies about magic.

A little fact tried to push itself into my head, but I shoved it away. I knew nothing. I knew not of the hate that filled everyone, I knew nothing of the love I was yet to find and supposedly existed. I also knew nothing within this world that would miss me if I just ceased to exist. I dived down deep within my 'self' and tried to erase my very presence. No one needed me, and I did not wish to see those things that boy had shown me. I cried for the cat that had died,a nd realised there were probably millions that had suffered like circumstances, not all by his hand. If there was one, there were likely thousands like him that perpetrated those acts. I didn't want to be here, I didn't want to be anywhere. I pulled my existance into a smaller and smaller bubble. I pushed and pulled my 'self' around me smaller and smaller. My 'self' got more and more cramped, and it started to hurt. Something touched me, and I violently pulled myself away from it, wanting nothing to know nor touch me. I shoved, forcing my self smaller and smaller, knowing that eventually I'd either die, cease to exist, or self implode. Something brushed the outside of my 'self' again. I thought about theone person, or thing, that might miss me, and offered a soft 'goodbye' to that creature. Light stabbed through theshell of my existace, and ripped me upwards into a body cold and full of pain.

I screamed in agony as I moved, and then louder as my moving brought pain to me.

_ You foolish, foolish human! What in the names of the gods were you thinking? Do you have any idea what was happening to your body? You could have Died! _

That voice, like before, punctured my mind and drew agony. He was angry at me, but not to the point of making my head bleed with his mental voice. My body was nothing but pain, each tiny movement brought pain, a breeze accross my skin, the shifting of the floor beneath my back, everything caused pain.

_ If I hadn't felt your presence withering away in the glade you would have died for sure! How dare you try to commit suicide in my presence! _

I tried to say I was sorry, but my mouth was dry, like paper. My voice was non-existant, and my eyes were closed. I opened up the only part of me that didn't hurt and showed him why.

_ I ought to spank your ass fo..... _

He looked at the memmory I had taken, looked at what it had done to me, and swallowed his next words. A hand was placed against my head, and all the pain turned to nothing. He picked me up and held me, as one might a child, cooing in my ear as tears raced down my face.

"Foolish little human.. I'll never hate you. You're not being selfish. You just want things to be peaceful, for others to love each other like they're supposed to." He kissed along my neck, my skin pulling taut where his lips pressed, goosebumps crossing my body. His hands rubbed my back, slipping under my shirt to touch skin to skin. "I'd forgotten you humans liked false skins in order to protect your selves from heat, cold, and social hiccups." I pushed a memmory at him, about losing the sensation of hot and cold. He pulled my face from his shoulder, and looked into my eyes, confusion the first facial change I'd ever seen him make. He looked at me with one eyebrow raised, and the other lowered. I felt a brief glow of happiness at knowing I wasn't the only one that did that when puzzled by something. He set me down, but held onto my hand. I felt like a child with an adult.

"Can I ask your name sir?" The hand around mine squeezed slightly.

"My true name is unpronouncable to those not of dragon ancestry, but the name I chose for my human form is Vincent." He smiled at me, and we started walking around his cave, torches lining the wall, and expensive looking rugs upon his floors. He pulled me to a large concave dome within the floor, covered with hundreds of furs, and lay down upon it, tugging me down with him. "May I ask your name?"

I nodded, and answered. "My name's Julian. My parents thought I was going to be a girl at birth, so I was Julie for a time, but when I was born they changed it to Julian." I avoided his gaze and looked at the rugs we were on, trying to identify all the animals they'd came from, and wondering if they'd been killed like the cat.

"No, these hides are all magical fabrications. They are not from real animals, and anything coming from a real animal is most likely hair, blood samples, or bones from an old one that has died." I thought popped into my mind, and he answered. "Yes, I can read your mind, just like you can read mine if you want to." I shook my head at the thought, looking anywhere than at him. "The reason I'm reading your mind, is because you have things you want to ask, but wont allow your lips to do so. You wanted to know how dragons are born?" I shook my head emphatically. "Well, like most races, the males breed with the females. The females take in the male's sperm and at the time of their choosing, allow the sperm to germinate one of their eggs. The egg germinates dependant upon the mother's will, either quickly, or slowly. When it reaches a certain size, the female will get into a birthing position, and push the egg into a nest full of the finest of bird down. She will then lick it to test it's temperature every once in a while, rotatate it to allow each side to gather heat as she lies next to it." A thought popped into my head before I could think of something else. Vincent offered a polite cough.

"No, I don't think I'll show you what a dragon's penis looks like." I was blushing, very, very hard and begging his forgiveness for my rudeness. His arm moved from my hand, to embrace my shoulders and pull me into him. I rested my burning cheek upon his shoulder and tried to think of something else, quickly.

"What's a dragon's age limit?" I nodded against his shoulder. "Well, I'm seven hundred and fifty-thousand years old. Going by age appropriation to humans on this world, I'm about twenty-five years old." I stared up at him, then had a thought that I quickly erased, but not fast enough. His eyes turned sad. "Yes, in that amount of time you'd be nothing but dust in the wind." I thought of something quickly, and this time he thought about it before answering.

"I don't know. Dragon magick isn't like the magic of humans. We are beings that exist in all realities, giving us a larger pool of mana to draw from. Humans, only have the pools of their respective planets, and onl a few have the ability to see beyond, and gain the pool of one or two more planets." I thought about my dream, and wondered if it was possible for a dragon to jump dimensions while still in an egg. Vincent grew very silent. He looked at me with a blank face, and I looked away, thinking of something else to ask him. The arm around me tightened for a moment, and I wondered if I should go home to have a shower and leave him be.

"Shower? I'm not familiar with that human item." I pictured it for him, the stainless steel showerhead and neck it was attached to, the knobs for hot and cold water, and then I showed him the workings of those, picturing the valves the handles controlled, the split pipes that became one at the the start of the neck. The two seperate pipes leading down from the handles, one towards the boiler, the other to the water main where all the houses drew their water from.

"Interesting. I could probably make something like that for you, if you wanted it." I shook my head, pushing at the side that said yes and threw another question at him.

"Yes, people and dragons both are allowed to love whomever they want. Within our world, there is an over abundance of magic, and humans marrying animals have some rather intriguing offspring." I blinked, and wondered about the mythological creatures written in books, and he nodded. "Yes, goats and humans breed the satyrs, grphons with eagles and horses. I've no idea how that pair came about, but there are some interesting theories some of the other dragons thought up." I smiled up at him, and felt all the nastiness of my life just slide off of me and drop, leaving just me and Vincent in this moment.

His hand pet my head softly. "If you want, I'll teach you a little about magick." He laughed as my mind was full of buzzing questions in an instant. "After your shower!" I froze, thinking about the items at home. "Don't worry, everything you'll want will be there when you open the door." He stood up, and helped me to my feet as well. We walked up the slope of furs, and he took me down a long hallway. He peered at indentations in the rocks that lined the hallway, then stopped at one and poked it with his finger. It gave way, and a door outline appeared in the rock. There was even a handle to pull the door open with! He offered a gentle push to my back.

"In here, is whatever you desire for your shower. Give me a minute to heat the pool, and you can have hot water too." I shook my head at that, thinking to him that cold water will be fine, there was no need to go further than that. I opened the door to darkness. I reached to my left and flicked the light on. It blinked and buzzed overhead, it's dark yellow light barely enough to see by. The bathroom was grungy, unused. THere was a smell of something long dead and stale within it, a towel rack held a shred of cloth. The items I used to shower with were there... somewhat. The giant pump bottle of st. ives was covered in fungus, the shampoo and conditioner were covered in something black, and the shower itself was of extremely dilapidated quality. I stepped in and closed the door upon Vincent's words. I stepped into the shower, tugged off my clothing and placed it upon the wooden bench next to it, and turned on the cold water. Black liquid sprayed the back of the shower wall, chips of dirty tile blasting from it and hitting my skin, cutting me in places. I looked above me, and spotted the pipe. I smiled, and looked below, seeing the drain pipe. I started to hum. I was alone, no other was nearby, Vincent wouldn't enter here, so I started to hum. The pipes above and below magnified the hum at certain levels in pitch, creating an atmosphere that was simply spellbinding. I could only do it when alone, but when in a shower with no others anywhere nearby, I hummed, releasing my soul. The shower head spat, abruptly turning clear water instead of the black gunk from before. Humming all the while, I went about my usual cleaning.

"So how was-" Vincent stopped talking, staring at the sparkling room I was exiting. I frowned at him.

"If you wanted to change the room you didn't have to put a spell on it while I was washing. I thought you were a decent dragon that didn't spy on others. The least you could have done was comment about m apparent singing." I turned away from him, releasing my hair from the towel and rubbing it, the other extremely large towel wrapped about my middle.

Vincent caught up to me after a moment. "You were singing?" I flicked my hair backwards.

"Humming, but it's still using my voice. I never sing. Ever. Humming is the closest I'll ever get to it, since I know I can't sing." Vincent leaned in close and started to sniff me. "Hey!" He grabbed my arm and held me in place. I frowned at him, and sighed. Dragons. He sniffed up and down my body, pausing mostly at my hair.

"You put something nice smelling in your hair. It smells of human chemicals, but not like the fake scents normal humans use. Your skin also smells of something very nice." I tugged my arm from his hand, and turned, continuing to walk.

"I can't handle certain scents, and I like the vanilla bodywash. It's damn hard to find that thing as it is." I stepped out into the dome of the cave, and planted my hand upon my face.

"Your clothes are washed, and over there." I looked to his hand, then looked to where he was pointing. My seemingly washed clothes were in a small heap upon a chair. My shoes were on top, and even they looked sparkly clean. I turned to him, and he answered my yet to be asked question.

"Yes, it was magick. You can use magick for cleaning as well as other things." I filed that away under interesting, and went to my clothes. I found my hairband in my right shoe, and my comb in the left. I pulled out my comb, completely forgetting about Vincent's existance for a moment. I draped both towels on the back of the chair, and stood there in the nude, combing my hair first over my face, before flipping my hair back and combing it normally. I put my comb down, then grabbed my hairtie with my right hand, slipping my thumb and forefinger through the loop. I pushed the ring finger of my right hand through the loop and spread it by opening my hand. I combed all of my hair into one spot with both hands. I grabbed a hold of it all with m left hand, and threaded it through the hairband. I pulled the hair through the band with my right as the left pulled the band taut, twisted it once, spread the band again, and passed it to my right as I repeated the first steps. I did two more times after that, thoroughly trapping my hair and preventing movement. I then grabbed my clothes, and put them on, one piece at a time.

I turned around, and finally realised I'd just stripped and dressed in front of someone else. Vincent was smiling at me, and I couldn't handle it. I turned away with blush, profusely apologising mentally. His laugh echoed through the cavern.

"Think nothing of it Julian, I rather enjoyed the knowledge that you were that welcoming of me you'd forget I was even here." I peaked at him, and he beckoned me to him with his arms. I watched the light of the torches sparkle upon his obsidion body, and wondered how such a massive dragon could ever become such a small, insignificant creature.

"I'm hardly insignificant. This is a false body. Oh, it's real enough, it's just that this body is a fabrication of magic. I'm controlling it from the dimensional pocket I summoned it from. I can feel, touch, taste, hear, everything I can with my dragon body, it's just if this body dies, I will suffer no ill effects, becase it's not me that dies." I looked at him, and thought a question. He nodded.

"Yes, there are times when such a body is necessary. I have faced human mages who thought my body grotesque, and humans in general dislike our kind." I blushed as my thoughts betrayed me. Vincent chuckled, and then he pulled me from accross the room, into his arms. Like muscled obsidion, he embraced me and all of my thoughts, my worries, and my fears escaped me as I found the one place I could ever find comfort. Had I a cat's throat and vocal muscles, I would have purred in pure contentment. There is no way to describe in the english language what this being made me feel. I closed my eyes for a moment, and that comfort enveloped me completely.

I woke with a start in the pit of furs. I reached out in the darkness, and felt hardened scales underneath my fingers. My mind was a mess of questions, and Vincent's mental voice answered me.

Don't be afraid, you've only been sleeping for a few hours. I thought it was best to cover you since you felt so secure in my presence.

The ground shook, and light seeped in. Apparently I was underneath Vincent. I looked up at his massive form, and felt not the fear I had felt the first time I'd seen him, but a growing sensation that I hadn't felt before. A small smile twisted my lips, and I curled back up in the furs. I was comfortable here. Nowhere else had I felt this sensation. I guess this is what people call the sense of a well loved home. Vincent had to love this place dearly to promote this feeling.

Actually, I hold no love for this place. It's merely a place within which I may traverse the worlds looking for my love.

That phrase poked me. And I tried to speak as he did to me.

Vincent.?

I felt his mind turn to me, a thought and a breeze.

A little louder please Julian.

I sighed, trying to concentrate.

Vincent?

His entire body rumbled. I postulated a query as to whether I should move or stay.

No no, stay. Your mental voice.. It's something I've not heard in a long long while. Please, continue.

I remembered that. He'd been alone for so long, looking for his love. I asked my question.

Vincent? About this love of yours, why are you looking for her?

Vincent's large body shuddered above me. A bright flash blanketed my vision, and I was treated to his human like body draped over mine. His eyes glittered with a deep purple light as he gazed into my eyes.

"Dragons, have one mate their entire lives. We may enjoy others if we want to, but our lifemate is so much more than just a partner. We share our lives with each other, one can not die while the other lives. Lifemates compliment each other completely, each is the missing half of the other. There have been pure male or pure female pairs, but each of them knew the gender of their other half. I can not thoroughly explain what a lifemat emeans to dragons, I apologise for that. I can only really say that a lifemate is so much more than a human spouse, and far more binding than human marriage."

I nodded at Vincent, and tried to envision what that meant to me. My other half, one who would protect me, have fun with me, enjoy my company as I enjoyed theirs. I tried to picture a woman fitting that description, but no matter how hard I tried, the image was replaced by Vincent. I sighed, erasing the image of the dragon's dark magnificence, and wondered what magick was like. Vincent raised himself off of me, his eyes searching.

"You want to know how to use magick now?" I nodded at him, opening up my mind and letting him know that if he did not desire to teach me, I would not press further. He smiled and stroked my hair.

"I'll teach you. But first, I need to explain the basics of magic." Vincent sat up, crossing his legs before me. "Magick, as opposed to human magic, uses the worlds one is connected to as a source of mana. I told you earlier about the pools the planets have?" I nodded at him."Well, each pool requires certain skill to access. Humans gain access to their planet's pool through effort, while dragons must work to close their access to the pools they can use. Would you like to guess as to why?" I crossed my legs like him, and thought about the question for a moment.

"Because dragons have access to such a wide variety, all of that mana would make them explode if they tried to hold it all at once?" Vincent's smile brightened my entire day.

"Yes, I suppose you could see it that way. That's the closest I've ever seen a human recognise the significance on a first try. Yes, if a dragon tried to access all of their mana at once, it would be like a dam bursting, with the dragon as the dam. A human, can only use so much mana from their planet's pool. On the rare case that a dragon is blinded by their magick, and turns into a blight, other dragons disguise themselves in order to fight and neutralise the offending dragon. Rogue dragons, normally only happen when two inseperable partners suffer a great tragedy. Your stories of knights riding their horses to face dragons, may actually be two transformed dragons seeking to put an end to the rogue dragon's pain."

Vincent inhaled, then exhaled slowly. "The main force between using magick, and being used by it, is the user's will. You must be stongly willed in order to use and shape mana into the spells you cast. You need to recite incantations while drawing from the planet's mana. If you falter, the spell will blow up in your face. If you're lucky."

"What if I'm not lucky?" Vincent looked deep into my eyes and gave me a stare that urged caution.

"Pray that you're just lucky. Sometimes the mana will use the user, and create something monstrous. Now, if you understand the very brief explaination, I will show you how to call light." I almost lept upon him with joy. Vincent held up a single hand, his palm flat and facing upwards. "Concentrate upon the light you seek, call for it, ask for it, summon it." Slowly, a small globe started to appear in Vincent's outstretched hand. It looked like it was pulling beams of light from around us, into a small point just above Vincent's palm. "You will the mana to take shape as you desire, you press it into the form you want. This, is one of the most basic of all types of magic." I watched his hand move, and the glittering globe follow his hand. I wanted more than anything to be able to do that, to create something from nothing, to offer light to the void.

Vincent closed his palm, extinguishing the light. "Now you try. I will do my best to make sure you don't do anything drastic, but you shouldn't have any problems. You have a very strong will." I nodded at him, and tried to do as he had just done. I reached out, trying to find the mana he had just used, and found nothing. I frowned, and tried again, reaching further and further, searching for this force that he had just used. I felt his hand upon my arm, and I retracted back into myself, looking at Vincent.

"The mana you seek, is not around you, but under you. Rarely will you find mana around you, ready to be used. Besides, the way you were looking was wrong for a human. You can only tap the mana beneath your feet." I nodded at him, and tried again. I spread my consciousness about me, and Vincent helped. He pulled a small sliver from the planet, and I watched the almost invisible movement. I followed the thin stream down, down, ever so far down, untill I hit the pool. I was almost too late in pulling back, and barely stopped myself from falling into it. I thought about all te stories of magic d ever heard, filtered them, and postulated theories about use. I touched the pool, lightly, and withdrew a small speck of mana. I flew back up into my body, remembering the location of the pool. Something inside of me clicked, turned. I hit my body, and knew something was wrong.

_ Pour the mana into me Julian! Hurry! _

I stared up at Vincent's large body, glistening within the torch light surrounding is cavern. I tried to ask what was going on, and then I felt it. Beneath my feet, it was surging upwards, a tide that was demanding it be used. The planet's mana, unused for so long, was begging for release. Something within me told me, that if I gave the mana to Vincent I would no longer be able to touch this planet's pool. Scared, I did something stupid. I held the rushing tide in check, and shaped it.

_ Julian! _

I shaped the mana, quickly, without words, without voice, using just my will and body. I gave the tide my body, and used it to dance with light, darkness, and fire. I rotated and twisted, ducked and rolled, jumped and span. I was a ballerina, a bird, a wolf, a leopard. I cast images of light and magic, displaying hopes and dreams, visions of the past and the future, and I started to sing. I offered voice to something that came not from human vocal chords. I offered light, and primal heat within my song. I sung of winters missed and springs of time, summer's heat and autumn's love. I twirled, and caught Vincent's large head within my sight. I smiled and sang, twirling for him, offering heart and soul to him. I echoed my soul throughout time, and ended my song with a heart churning cry of longing. I summoned the remaining mana the planet was giving me and launched skywards. I drew level with Vincent's face, and unleashed a small torrent of magics, showing him my soul, and asking for his response. The tide left me, returning back to the planet's heart, and Vincent's large paw came out to catch me as I was released from the magic's grip.

_ How...? _

I smiled up into that face that I knew, and did not know, feeling naught but peace and comfort.

3) Dragon Song.

Once more, my dreams moved without my consent. I was back within my prison, the one of darkness and liquid. My heart was beating in fear. Darkness, cruelty, death, it chased me like a hound with the scent of a fox. My dream was full of twisting turns as my prison and I tried to escape the darkness that chased us. The darkness reached out, scoring a hit against my prisaon and causing pain to my dream self. Light stabbed into my prison from three diagonal slits in my prison, and I saw horror. Dripping yellow eyes glared at me, lights twirling about us, galaxies, stars, planets, a human city. I reached out, and staed in horror at my scaled arm, my three fingers and thumb, before darkness crashed against my prison, sending me tumbling into the chaotic below.

Hush Julian, hush.

I woke up to Vincent's dark body around mine, my heart beating with fear, sweat coating my body. I looked up, and found a much smaller version of Vincent's dragon body curled about me. He moved an arm upwards, tucked it under my butt, and pulled me towards his neck. I wrapped my arms around his neck, mindfull of his frill. I welcomed his darkness into my heart and soul, and gripped him tightly in order to stave off the feeling of fear.

Vincent's paw spilt, mutating beneath my rump. A moment's time, and a scaled hand cupped my ass as he held me close to him. I closed my eyes, and tried to think o a reason as to why I was having these nightmares more frequently now. Vincent's nack moved under me, and I felt him rest his head upon mine lightly.

Julian.... May I ask you a pesonal question?

I nodded into Vincent's neck, not opening my eyes.

Have you ever.... Thought you were female?

My mind buzzed. Did I deny? Did I agree? There were times, lots and lots of times when I would have traded anything to be female, to not be male. Though, had I been female, my life might have been a lot more depressing than what it was now. I'd seen the news articles about rape, I knew it happened even in my city. Being born as a guy may have been better than being born female, but yes, I wish I had been female, then my desires wouln't be so bad.

I see...

Vincent didn't move, but somehow he seemed to shift his hide, and it glittered with energy. Though my eyes were closed, I could still see it with that part of my mind that felt the emotions of others. I touched upon his hide with my inner 'self', and Vincent allowed me into his heart. I touched upon a memmory, and was confused by it. I asked, and received, permission. I pushed gently at the memmory, and watched it unveil before me.

What do you mean she's not here?

The slightly larger elder drake nodded his aging features towards me. My anger was touched upon by his choice not to speak. Two hundred and fifty-thousand years, and I was still nothing but a child compared to the elder's two million years of life. He moved his fading green hand to point to a tapestry he'd had crafted. It showed the darkness as it surged to engulf the worlds we were charged to protect. Smaller dragon depictions glittered with golden thread as they moved to the morphous blob that as poised above a few planets. I turned my gaze back to him, anger burning in my heart.

My mate, if she's not in this world, then where is she?

Again the elder pointed to the tapestry. I glared at it, and lost my temper. I fumed at it, turning it into expensive ash. The elder dragon sighed despondantly at me, his eyes showing pity. The flame of my anger burned brighter. Why did he have to take his vow of silence a half century ago? The elder pressed his palms together, and a pool of liquid flashed into existance between us. About to lose my temper again, the elder touched his claw to the pool, and images raced accross its surface. I stared avidly, hoping to find the location of my soulmate, my other half. Darkness stared at me from the pool, and I knew fear. If she had died before our mating, then she was lost. Was that why the pool showed nothing?

The elder cracked my head with his gnarled staff, a giant limb from the evermore tree. He pointed at my hand, then at the pool. I touched a claw to the water's surface, and watched the events of a small egg. My scales almost rattle off of me as I recognised Syriolgorakren and her lifemate Shiriktiriokra. I saw Syriolgoragren's muave body move about a single egg within a small nest. Could this be my beloved? I watched, avidly, but that feeling of impending doom could not be shaken. I had flown to that same den with my sire when communication with the family had ceased. I looked up to the elder, knowing my fear was showing. His eyes were cool, neutral. He motioned me to continue watching, and I did.

I watched Syriolgorakren test her egg's heat with her tongue, then turn it lovingly. Shiriktiriokra's brilliant blue hide rushed over the egg in it's nest, heading towards the cave's entrance. Syriolgorakren's head twisted, her teeth bared. She launched at the entrance as one of Shiriktiriokra's wings flashed by, minus his body. I pushed my will into the pool, forcing it to face the entrance, and saw hell. Hobruun, tainted dragon swallowed by the darkness that sought to destroy all. I watched his cracked and broken body obliterating the two dragons of legend, each known for their strong magical abilities. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see the moment when Shiriktirokra's head was bitten off. The elder poked me, and I opened my eyes.

Hobruun stared in hunger, stepping over the corpses of two of the most powerful dragons in recorded history. He reached for the egg, his dripping yellow eyes alight with lust and hunger. A moment before his twisted claws could grasp a hold of the egg, it vanished. Hobruun let loose a silent roar, and also vanished, most likely chasing the egg.

I stared up at the elder dragon, and wondered just how on Gaia I could find her, alive.

Please, master, how can I possibly find her? I do not know the greater magicks, my sire has forbidden me from learning because he sees it as a tool of the darkness. Please, if I am to find my mate, I need to learn about the greater magicks.

I prostrated myself before the elder dragon, all thoughts of anger vanishing. My mate needed me, and she needed me now. The elder touched the pool, and I was shown the future. I looked at a self well beyond my current age. I watched my future self open, and sustain, a dimensional rift. He opened it wide, wide enough to be comortable for a drake of his size. He shaped mana into the earth, and blasted a hallway of endless doors. I knew, each one would be linked to a world, somehow I knew that she had jumped betwen the dimensions in order to escape the darkness. My heart glowed in pride, hoping that my mae would stay alive long enough for me to find her. I watched him open one door, and start to sing his, and my own, dragonsong. I felt the meldies playing within my chest as the image faded, the pool turning clear once more. I looked to the aging drake, and asked one last question.

My mate, will she stay alive long enough for me to learn what I need to find her?

The old one nodded his head. I ground my teeth, and resigned myself to years of learning in order to find her, my one and only mate, my other half, my sister soul.

I dropped the memmory, and felt shame. I blinked tears away, and turned from Vincent. He let me go, and I stood up, blinking at the soft light of the torches. I felt .... I felt like a peeping tom, prying into Vincent's life, feeling his heart's loss at knowing what he'd have to do to find her, if he found her. I also felt jealous, that he'd do all this for someone he didn't even know. My heart hurt, and I wanted him to do that for me, to face adversity for my sake. And then I hated myself for those thoughts. I kicked myself mentally for daring to try to intervene, for daring to think, or even a moment, I might have found a new love with Vincent. I felt him raise his head, and realised I was still an open book to him. Horror struck, I denied reality, I pushed myself away from Vincent, away from the turmoil my heart was in, and vanished.

I looked around at my room, and dived for my bed. The old mattress squeaked horribly, and I bled my tears into my pillow. I was an idiot, a hopeless, love fool of an idiot. My door opened. and the brilliant glare of the hall light speared into my room.

"Dad! He's back!" I stopped crying, and new dread. I looked up to Melissa's retreating form, and saw my father's burly form wobble towards my door. I stilled my fear at knowing he'd been drinking, and stared at him with wide eyes. I blinked to Melissa's dark, cruel eyes smiling behind my father's body as he closed the door, moving the stick in his hand for a firmer grip. I had my back to the bead head in a moment, the bars pressing into my back.

"You leave.... for two days..." My heart tripped in its race of terror. He stepped further into my room, my single bed received one of his boots, encrusted with grime from his work in the quarries. His rage burned all the brighter for the dulling cloud of alcohol I saw in his mind. His eyes bored into mine, and I forgot all about Vincent, bracing my body for what was about to happen. "You fucking queer, how dare you disappear without a word and come back without begging my forgiveness!" The stick was raised, and came cracking down against my shins. I cried, but uttered not a sound. I knew what begging and moaning did. I felt the second one coming, and retreated into my 'self', away from the pain my body was feeling. I curled up, and waited for the body above to stop hurting.

4) Dragon Song PT2

Within the safety of my inner self, I dreamed. The body above me cried out in pain, but I ignored it, turning to my dreams. Colours opened before me, and a tumultuous wave ripped me from my suffering. I twisted within the shifting void, and so began my dream.

The two boys roughoused in a friendly manner, their tunics well kept, but also well worn. Their leggings were dusty, but aside from that, they were clean. Their leather shoes however, were soft and supple. Both boys came from merchant families. The one with dark, wild hair was the son of an innkeeper. His friend, the son of a carpenter. His bright yellow hair meant the girls went to him first, his mother's hair something rarely seen in the parts they lived. They sat on some benches, watching people as they walked by.

"Hey! They finally caught one!" Both boys turned only their ears to the conversation. Having been schooled on the market streets, both had learned the thieves art of invisible listener. They spoke and gestured to each other, keeping a conversation going that would fool even a thief lord. They listened to the excited boys talking behind them.

"Serious? They caught one? How?" A furtive glance and the two boys gained the identities of the group. They were Hadley's boys. That meant they were apprenticed to the city's thiefdom. The boys passed signs between themselves, a touching of fingers in a certain way. Silent communication of events to happen. It was so subtle that even if you were looking for it you might not have found it. The two friends had lived upon th city's streets so long, that they were used to the communication, and could tell at a glance what was being said. Their eyes tracked the small finger movements as the boys told of desination, location, and even the knowledge that there was a job to perform that night.

In silence, the friends rose from their seats, and left. Almost immediately the conversation started. The carpenter's son with yellow hair turned to his dark haird companion, almost dancing as they walked.

"A dragon! An honest to god dragon! Should we go see it? Mokrul?" The boy with dark hair nodded, going along with his companion's exhuberance. The boy smiled, delighted. "I wonder what it looks like? You think it has magic, or would a wizard have spelled it so it can't use it? Maybe the rumours are false, and it's merely a fire breathing beast?" His companion shrugged as they continued walking down the path towards where the dragon was being kept. Mokrul merely smiled or nodded to his friend's ramblings, uneasy about hearing of a dragon being captured. Unlike his friend of many years, his father had told him nothing but good things about dragons, telling him of their generosity to those who weren't close minded.

It didn't take them long to reach the city gates, where the knights had settled down with their prize. Some begging and pleading with the happily drunken men granted them access to the small tent within which their prize was being kept. Nervous, the boys gazed upon the luminescent white scales of the small dragon in it's cage. As the two boys approached it's prison, the heavily shackled beast up, raising it's head.

What are you doing here?

Neither of the boys showed any indication that they had heard the beast's soft voice.

Ah, I see. If you're here... Then that would make these two Mokrul and ... Sevren.

Boiling rage followed the last boy's name as it was spat with venom dripping from it's mind. A few scales upon it's pristine white hide turned dark, fading to black. It realised immediately, closing it's eyes and concentrating. The scales faded back into the normal white of the rest of it's body.

Leave now Julian, and tell Viksilrikrorne that his suspicions are correct. Only you can find me, but to do so you need to be fully aware that your life will change forever.

It's lips, her lips, twitched slightly upwards.

I woke to pain. I couldn't move. Breathing hurt. Nerves below skin screamed abuse and pain. Slowly opening my eyes, I saw afternoon light through barely cracked lids. My face pulsed with pain, I couldn't open my eyes correctly, my nose was clogged, it felt broken even without touching it. I moved my right arm, then stopped as pain told me it was broken, above the wrist and just below the shoulder. Tears welled and fell, the emotional pain even worse than the physical. The tears stung where they slid into broken skin upon my face.

_ JULIAN! _

My body bent, on instinct, and I bit my lip to keep from screaming. My teeth cut through, almost severing my bottom lip completely as I used pain to fight screaming, mind numbing pain. Skin upon my back stretched, the wounds bleeding again as the skin was stretched too far from barely scabbed wounds. Vincent's crushing mental voice drew back to a whisper, horror tinging his mental voice, the feeling of his words as I tried not to clench my muscles and bring more pain to my body.

Julian.. what happened? You were fine when you left, what happened?

I felt him touch against my mind, searching, and I locked him out. A full body shiver wracked my mind with more pain. And then something inside popped. My bruised eyes opened as wide as they could as I felt a presure slowly starting to build within my chest, and I feared for my life. A ghost of Vincent's mind whispered against mine, and he felt my pain, my agony, my dread. I felt claws wrap around me, and then I was no longer within my room. Vincent's dwelling, his cave, surrounded me, and then we were rushing towards the corridor full of doors. We barreled through a large set of doors at the very end, and crashed into morning light filtering through from the top of a circular structure. Caves dotted the walls of the place, dragons of all shapes, sizes, and colours flying about in the crisp morning air.

_ I NEED HEALERS! _ _ NOW!! _

Vincent's mental shout hit me hard, even though he wasn't directing it at me. The pressure in my chest moved to my throat. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't swallow, I felt sick, and there was absoloutely nothing I could do. Even through all the pain, I had just one thought. I had to tell Vincent about his love, it could only have been her I had dreamed about. I.. had... to......

I woke to fear and panic, large lizards moved about me, some snorted and spewed fire.

VINCENT!

I felt a slight response to my scream, and I latched onto it. I vanished from the monsters, dropped onto Vincent's back, and wrapped my arms tightly about his black neck. I knew there were others present, but I didn't care. Vincent had saved me. That's all I knew, that's all I cared about, I was safe with Vincent, no where else.

What's the meaning of this?

Vincent plucked me from his neck, and held me as I shivered, wide eyed. My head was a mess of pain, fear, shock. Vincent tried to soothe my distress, but I wasn't listening. My mind was going round and round in circles, reliving the pain, the fear, the knowledge of death. My heart beat sped faster and faster in fear, I was terrified of going home again, terrified that I'd be beaten again so horribly that I'd be beyond help, terrified, that my father would actually kill me this time. Darkness surrounded me as Vincent's paws blocked off all light, and I calmed down in the warm darkness.

You brought a human here, near death, knowing our laws, and still you protect it? I want answers Viksilrikrorne, I am not a patient drake.

I apologise elders, but it was necessary. This human.. This human is possibly the only one that knows the location of my life mate. He has done many strange things in the few days we have known each other, and is a pure soul. He's emotionally fragile because those within his world are horrible, horrible humans, like the ones we have here. He has suffered injuries from someone close to him, but he refuses to let me inside far enough to see what happened.

A rumbling snort echoed after Vincent's voice.

Your will is weak if you can't invade the mind of a single human. I will do what you can not.

Something touched my mind, gripped it tight, and ripped. I screamed mentally, Vincent roared with fury, and I pulled every single mental shield I had tightly around myself. I was left numb, cold, while things scratched against the walls I'd erected around my mind. I shivered slightly, no longer caring about anything. The darkness around me opened up, and I flew through the air, Vincent's large onyx body falling away from me as I dropped towards the stone. I landed badly, felt something in my leg snap, and that was it. I felt no pain. I felt no fear. I was empty.

A vicious creature of green and red roared at me, it's muzzle open wide. I felt the wind rushing about me, and felt nothing. I looked up into it's furious eyes, with my own blank and empty ones, feeling the light scratches turn into furious scrabbling. Darkness surged from behind me, launching itself into the red and green dragon. Flames were blasted from cavernous maws as the cavern I was in turned into a free for all. Beings many many times my height roared at the two fighting. I was given looks that I missed, my mind locked down and all of my emotions locked away. I was an empty being once again, immune to mental calls, untill my skin tingled with the feeling I'd only felt once before. Magic. My eyes turned, despite my uncaring attitude, to a glorious black and gold dragon who was writing with it's claws in the air. I felt the magic of the planet come as it was called, demanded, forced. The fighting dragons slowed, then a shimmer coated the red and green, it's speed returning to normal. Vincent's onyx coloured body, his pristine scales, were coloured with his hot red blood as he reacted too slow to ward off the other dragon's attacks.

Claws tore deep rents accross his chest. My chest. Something deep inside of me snapped. I imagined huge, gigantic wooden gates raising before me, glowing with runes, words, and numbers. I opened the gates wide, and felt energy fill me. I stood up, even with a broken ankle, and tipped the entire world on it's ear. I didn't care about myself, I didn't care about the world, I didn't even care if I died. Vincent's life, was an entirely different matter. Light, heat, sound, magic, it all danced around me, like it had that time I'd sung for Vincent. The power within me fluttered, and images danced accross my skin, almost like living ink. Fires roared, panthers danced upon two legs, the seasons turned and sung tunes accross my body and arms. I wrapped Vincent within a bubble of my will, my life, my energy, and negated the magic being used against him. I walked forwards, and carelessly backhanded a dragon with the power within my body as it dove for me, claws outstretched. It hit the wall of the cavern and fell, stunned. I caught Vincent's deep purple eyes with my own, and somehow knew my eyes were a shining, icy blue.

I knew almost nothing about this dragon. He knew almost nothing about me. I didn't understand the how, nor the why, I just knew it was. I loved Vincent. I let that love fill me, flow through me, and then I wrapped Vincent's large body in my love. I let it sink into him, fill him as it filled me, and used it's energy to see to his wounds, closing all of them in seconds. Four seconds, and Vincent was his usual, brilliantly inky blackness. I sent prongs of energy away from me, tying dragons to the cavern walls. I reached up to Vincent's deep purple eyes, and his claw touched my hand. The gates shut, the wellspring of energy left me, and I realised I was standing upon a leg that was broken. I dropped immediately, Vincent's claws forming a cage around me. I felt magic, and my leg stopped hurting as Vincent saw to the break. I opened up the shields, and let Vincent see my absoloute grattitude for him seeing to my leg, and winced as voices shouted within my mind.

_-s impossible! Humans can't know dragon song, nor use life song! It's impossible!

-needs to be studied, now. How long has it had access to our strengths? Did it kill one of us and steal the magic?

-the strength of it's mind! Did you see how it negated the slow spell?

-cent! How long have you had this little treasure?_

Vincent's body flashed, and a humanoid with Vincent's scales, wings, and head smiled at me. he wrapped me up in a hug, his wings wrapping around me. I lost myself in his embrace, and forgot about everything. I forgot about my life, forgot about my parents, school, and the cavern I now resided. The voices turned to a gentle buzz, Vincent replying to the questions. The feeling from before came back, the warmth, serenity, and the feeling of everything being just right.

Slowly, much time passed me by. The full sercurity Vincent's very presence offered me was beyond anything I could hope to fabricate, and as such I had not felt the passing of time, untill Vincent set me down within a bowl full of furs, like his own in his home, but different. I immediately woke to my surroundings, and to a great many dragons in humanoid form staring at me from the lip of the bowl bed.

"Are you finally with us?" I turned to the voice, finding a beautiful dragon the colour of rich rose quartz. Her eyes were amber pools, and the horns growing from the back of her head, were a long, brilliant white. I knew I didn't know her, but she looked at me as if she knew me. She knelt at the top of the bowl bed, and extended her hand towards me.

"I apologise now, but while you were entranced, I delved into your mind. I know everything about you, from birth to the present day. I know of no way I can express my sorrow, nor my regret at having pressed myself into your sanctum. If you wish to punish me for my actions, I will accept immediately, even should you ask for my death."

She had invaded my mind? Dread filled me. She'd seen what my family had done? She knew everything? Shock stuck me a hard blow. I could dive into anyone's mind I wanted, but I had never, ever breached their right to privacy, for her to do that to me.. to invade me so thoroughly...

Wrath. There was no other emotion. There was no other thing to call it. I exploded with fury. Dragons nearby were infuriated that she had offered her life, but I was contemplating it. I did not know her. I knew nothing about her. Yet she had seen everything I was. I could not forgive this. There was nothing I could do that would make what she did right between us. If I took her life, it wouldn't be enough. If I dived into her mind, I would despise myself for an eternity. There was no way, I could make it right. I looked up into her amber eyes, and saw her fear of me. I wanted to rip her apart. I wanted to torture her for years. I roared mentally, fighting my wrath, fighting myself, fighting everything.

A hand was pressed against me, and everything faded. My wrath was washed away, my hate was cleansed, my self destructive sorrow was purged, and everything slowly gained a happy glow.

"Remove your hand from me Vincent." Even my voice was starting to get that happy glow back into it. The hand was removed, and my wrath flooded back, but this time that was all that flooded me. I looked up into the eyes of this dragoness that knew everything about me, and decided her fate.

"I hold you to your word." Voices raged, both physically and mentally. Shouts were given, threats were made. "For the moment, you will leave, and never again be in my presence. If I so much as feel a tingle of your residue, you can consider your life forfit. You will never speak of what you stole from me, and if you do, your life will be forfit." A dragon moved, only to be held down by others who were in their natural bodies.

Do not interfere! His rights were breached, this is the gravest of sins. Be glad his requests are only small demands.

My eyes moved to a very, very large, grey dragon. His size was three times that of Vincent's, and his scales were dull with age. The grumbling voices settled, and I locked gazes with the dragoness again.

"I hold the right to change the requirements at will. If I summon you, you will come with all due haste, no matter what you are involved in. If you do not, your life will be forfit. I demand your true name." Dragons launched from their positions, their eyes red with bloodlust.

_ SIT!!! _

Dragons of all shapes and sizes fell, rocked by the powerful shout from the aging dragon. A heavy presence almost crushed those that rebelled against that one mental shout. The rose pink dragoness nodded her head.

"My true name is Sefiseriathurulkarerenroi. I shall do as you wish." Immediately she stood up, and left the bowl bed. For a moment, I felt saddened that she was leaving me, as though an old friend of mine was leaving, even though I didn't know her. My rage beat back the feeling, and I watched the dragons part for her. A large door opened, fire light showing against the darkness, and then she was gone.

"That was selfish of you Julian."

I turned, and my rage exploded once more within me. Worse yet, it was directed at Vincent. I never, ever wanted to be angry with him, but now I was furious. How dare he reproach me about my savage defence of my inner sanctum?

"While I thank you for what you have done for me, I will draw our friendship to an end. You have no right to say that I am being selfish. Sentient beings have every right to their own thoughts. NOTHING allows you to take my freedom away. I have never, Never, gone past what you wanted to show me. I have never overstayed my welcome within your mind, and I have never been so utterly infuriated with the invasion that has been done to me. Every single kind thought I had about dragons is dust. For all I care, you can all drop dead." Grumbles arose, held down by the weight of the ancient dragon. I looked up into Vincent's purple eyes, and his shocked gaze made me want to retract every single word I had spoken, they made me want to apologise for being selfish, and that only fueled my wrath.

"I consider privacy, sacred. I will be the first to leave if someone wants their privacy, I am insecure about my own. I treasure my privacy when I can get it. Return me home, to my world, and I will say my farewells to you." Vincent's lips moved, as though he was trying to say something, then they stopped. He nodded, placed his hand against me, and then I was flying through space. I was dropped onto my bed, where I sat and stewed, my fury unquenchable.

5) Dragon's Wrath

Viksilrikrorne's hands shook. How dare that little human make demands of him!

Viksilrikrorne. Swallow your wrath, the human was right in what he did.

Viksilrikrorne turned to the elder dragon, his purple eyes dark with rage.

Elder! How can you say what he did was right? He essentially banished Sefi from her home!

Is that what he did? Is my student's sight so limited?

Viksilrikrikrorne thought about the human boy's actions, and what the elder had said. He'd banished Sefi, demanding she never show herself to him again. But he was in his world now. He'd demanded she never speak a word of what she had found within his mind, which was actually rather level headed. He had allowed room for change, but the human he knew wouldn't follow her around just to make her life forfit, nor change the rules so that she would kill herself. Slowly, understanding, and sorrow dawned within him.

I see you finally understand. Had this been done to another of our kind, or to any other human, the dragon's life would be void. Even burried in righteous wrath, that human showed more forgiveness than anyone else would have. It is quite likely that he will eventually forgive her for what she did, but if her presence was near him, he would only feel rage, and be truly unforgiving. He showed much foresight in his demands. I wouldn't mind teaching him myself if he could forgive us for what was done to him.

Shock rippled through Viksilrikrorne once more. Uncertainty tainted his thoughts. His ordered mind was messy with shock. He'd only known the human for a few days, but aside from knowing the location of his mate, why did he feel so attracted to the small, weak human? Why had he risked death bringing the human home to be healed when his own small understanding couldn't undo the damage? His mind whirled in confusion. Where was his strength built over years of study and solitude? He was correct in his reproachment of the human, but why did his angry, hurt eyes haunt him?

Viksilrikrorne, protect that human. Right now, I do not care about your emotional attachments either for or against the human. That child is able to use lifesong, and you above all should know how rare that gift is.

Viksilrikrorne nodded his draconic head. A flash of light, and he was within his own body once more, his wings stretching to their normal length. A growl, and he folded his wings, all four limbs holding his body above the ground. His black scales glinted within the firelight of the torches. His large purple eyes absorbed and reflected the light. His eyelids shuttered, and images played against his mind's eye.

Viksilrikrorne. How much have you taught the human child about the world's magic? Did you inform him of the darkness that seeks to drag us all down to it's innermost depths?

Viksilrikrorne's eyes snapped open, and a look of dread stole across his reptillian face. The elder's already dull scales turned grey like firepit ash.

GO! That human must not be lost to us. Syriolgoraken and Shiriktiriokra's child must be found. She's the last of the old one's bloodline. Even if you must lose your life, she must be found.

Disheartened by his teacher's words, he understood though. He was well aware of the gift he was being given when he knew who his mate's parents were, however he'd waited a lifetime for her, another century or so was nothing. He was patient, he could wait. The human came first. That strange human that was making him start to question a great many things. In the blink of an eye, Viksilrikrorne disappeared.

How dare he. How dare they. There was no explaining my fury. It was unreasonable, illogical, and scary. Fury drove me, drove my thoughts, drove my heart. I got off my bed, turned, and stared.

There was blood all over my bed. There was blood along the walls by the door, along with body sized dents, cupping the blood smears. Blood splatters lined the other walls, long sweeping strikes of blood were drying against the walls. My already unstable fury hit a new height, and turned to something darker. I was at the end of my rope. One more thing, just one more thing, and I would kill. I didn't care if I died, but I would kill, and I would keep killing. I'd start with my father, then my mother and siblings, then the bully, maybe the entire school.

The beast that was my wrath widened jaws with ragged teeth, roaring, screaming, demanding blood, flesh, souls. Gods, it was like a beast, it really was. Unreasonable, unthinking, hungry.

My door opened, my father poking his head into my room, his dark, disgusting eyes met mine, and what little was holding back the beast of my wrath, snapped. Thought was never as fast as how I moved. My hand was around his neck, squeezing through the fat. His meaty hands struck my arm again, and again. His feet kicked my chest, and I tightened my grasp. My momentum threw us into the hall, past the bathroom and toilet, towards the kitchen and loungeroom.

One of my sisters yelled, a knife glittered, and more pain lanced through my arm. My free hand struck out, and bone parted beneath my raging fist. Still, my hand closed about my father's throat. I saw nothing but his thick, slimy, disgusting neck. I saw the arteries pulse, trying to deliver blood to the brain. I saw his traechea strain, crack, unable to bear the force of my murderous will.

I would have his life. For all he'd ever done to me. For all everyone had done to me. I would have their lives. I would feast, I would devour, I would slaughter.

_ JULIAN! RELEASE THE HUMAN! _

My eyes bled. My brain turned to jelly. All that furious strength left me with Vincent's yell, and then the beast showed it's true strength. It saw Vincent, saw Viksilrikrorne's true form, and unleashed itself. I left my house, turned to shadowy, inky darkness, and faded into Vincent's den. I coalesced in the darkness, and attacked the great black dragon. He never saw me coming. My hand, mutated, stretching, thickening into a paw of darkness with knives for fingers. I struck, and wrent Vincent's side scales.

He bellowed in agony, turning to face me with a look of fear, dread, horror, and I was pleased. The bloody hunger surged, and my other hand mutated, becoming a twining fleshy rope with razor edged suckers all along it's length. I wrapped my tentacle about Vincent's draconic body, and ripped holes the size of dinner plates in his scales as I launched myself to attack him again.

_ Julian! STOP! _

He ducked under my attack, his wings lifting, the breeze batting me aside. I saw it too late, paws the size of cars cupped me midair, and flattened me into the floor.

_ CEASE! _

I faded to darkness, to dust motes of black light, and moved beyond his reach. Again I reformed, again I attacked. Lights glittered, and the ground beneath my leaping form erupted in light. I struck out, my changed hands rebounding against the cylinder of light I stood within.

Now... Maybe we can talk. Julian, you have to listen to me, you need to let go of the rage. You're being used by the darkness, look at your hands!

I looked to my writhing tentacle and oversized freddy kreuger hand. He was right. I needed to make modifications, these would never do. A thought, and my tentacle hand split, and split, and kept splitting. Hundreds of super fine threads were now my hand, and each thread could suck the blood out of a cow in a few seconds. I just needed one to land on him.

Hot liquid dripped and ran down my face from my eyes. A thought, and the tear ducts responsible were removed. The beast within offered bloody and murderous congratulations, and we set our sights upon the magical working below. The beast drew a diagram, and I copied it. My claws dug beneath my feet, dug into the light, and we carved a viscious, destructive, ugly circle.

How do you know that spell....?

Fear dripped from his mental voice, and we were pleased. He would feel much fear before we were through. We would eat him, slowly, over many days.

"We will eat you dragon." My hand moved, signing runes. "We will eat you slowly, and savour your fear, you will be our first meal."

Julian, you can't listen to it. That's the voice of the darkness, the devourer of all, it'll eat you too!

Eat me? Hardly. It was my friend, my saviour, it had always been there, just waiting for me to ask it for help. My skin cracked, and bled darkness. Spines pierced the skin on my spine, needle thin and stronger than titanium. I could feel my ears shrinking, rolling in on themselves. It was a little uncomfortable, but I didn't stop it. I finished signing the sigils required, and stepped into the circle within the circle. The beast sought, and found, the world's magic it was looking for. Thick, ugly, bubbling, rotting mana flowed into me. The very touch made me scream mentally.

JULIAN!

Vincent's paws rocked the floor, fountains of light erupting everywhere as the planet itself tried to rid itself of me, of the otherworldy mana roiling within.

You blasted foolish mortal, don't kill yourself, I love you!

Everything stopped. The beast railed, and I told it to shut up or leave. I moved my eyes to Vincent's, and looked deep into his slit pupilled eyes. I saw fear there. I saw terror, hate, sadness. A small echo of his emotions whispered deep within, but it was merely a whisper. I wanted that love. I wanted so desperately to be loved.

Ignore him. You don't need love. Hate, rage, obliterate all before you with your wrath. I will love you, I will protect you, ignore the filthy dragon that lies, that invades your precious sanctuary at will, and sees fit to attack you without cause.

The darkness whispered, and I tilted my head in it's direction, listening.

Julian, listen to me. I love you, I don't care if you're not my mate. I don't care if you don't love me, I just want you to know, before you kill me, before you destroy everything, there was at least one dragon that loved you, at least one being that loved you, for you.

My eyes burned. I didn't want to kill Vincent, did I?

YES! Kill! Burn! Slaugher! Destroy all that stand against you!

I wavered, visibly, emotionally. The wrath that fueled me twisted in upon itself, seeking to reignite my burning fury once more. I recreated my tearducts, and once more that hot liquid bled from my eyes in streamers of clear, salty water. I wanted to be loved by just one person so damn much.

NO! Forget him! Look to me! I've always been here, waiting for you to call me!

"BUT YOU DON'T LOVE ME!!!" I screamed it, falling to my knees, angry at Vincent. Angry at myself. Angry at everything living and dead.

Julian..

I knew that voice. I looked up, and there she was, opalescant scales shimmered, ghostly, insubstantial. Blue eyes glittered behind Viksilrikrorne's overly dark body. The rage stilled as I looked up into her icy blue eyes. She closed her eyes. An expression of pain stole accross her face.

I accept the pain I cause myself, and I stop this now, knowing I wont be able to stop what happens next.

She looked up into my eyes, and smiled a sad, hurt smile, leaving me confused as rage beat accross my skin and the beast within screamed it's fury for my immovability.

Julian.. I know you feel nothing but anger right now, but trust me. Viksilrikrorne, will never hurt you. He will always protect you. You will understand why soon. Trust in Viksilrikrorne, and no one else. Promise Julian, trust no one else, this is important.

I nodded my head at her, as Viksilrikrorne turned his head to look behind him, then turned back to me, his expression unchanged. Had he not seen her? Was I the only one that could see her?

Symbols glowed upon her white scales, electric blue sigils skittered up and down her body. Her scaled hand opened, turning upwards, and blue fire coalesced. She looked at me, and her expression changed for but a moment.

Forgive Sefi, she meant well.

The blue fire left her hand, shot accross the distance seperating us, and splashed against the circular prison of light.

Ilu..?

Viksilrikrorne's mental voice, and then the fire was past the shield. It splashed against my body, and ate the darkness. I screamed. The beast screamed, and my world turned to pain. Nothing could survive against that torture, not even the raving beast within. I have no clue how long it lasted, but by the time I was strong enough to understand I was no longer being burnt alive, I was being held by Viksilrkorne's great dark paws, and pressed into the darkness of his hide. My limbs twitched of their own accord as my nerves still tried to tell me that my body was burning, without the fires touching me.

It's not possible. I'm seeing it, but I still can't believe it.

Lights flashed, and smaller arms wrapped around my body. His scaled hands trailed down my arms, untill his claws came to my hands. The tips pressed against my skin, and tugged gently. PAIN! I launched myself upwards, dragging one hand away from him while swinging the other. He ducked the swing and shushed me, his hands warming against my back and calmness seeping into me.

I'm sorry, I had to know, I'm sorry. Shhhh. It's alright, I won't do it again, I promise.

I shivered in his arms, naked, cold, warm, stressed. My arms, hands, legs, fingers, and toes twitched as phantom jolts of pain lit up my body. His neck rubbed against mine as a soft croon started to form in his throat. His throat virbrated, rubbing against my neck, sending all those pleasant sounds and vibrations into my skull.

I felt his claws against my back, rubbing lightly against the skin, and then I felt dread surge in me. The dragoness! I struggled in his grasp, pressing weakly against his grip. He pulled back his long neck, turning his eyes to mine.

"The dragon.. your love.. she said for you to trust your intuition. She, she was imprisoned, in a camp, a town. Mokrul and Sevren. She didn't like Sevren." I struggled against my body's weariness. Viksilrikrorne smiled at me, his eyes shining a more brighter purple. He kissed the top of my head, and a warm fuzzy glow suffused me.

I already know.

I smiled, glad, and scratched lightly at my hand, my fingernails catching against some hard, raised flesh. Looking at where I was rubbing, I saw a small sparkle of pale white. A weird thought entered my head, "Oh look, one of her scales is stuck in my hand". I smiled, glad it wasn't an illusion, and slipped into the warmth and comfort Viksilrikrorne offered, content once again, calm, at peace. I yawned, and he cupped me towards him, holding me up like a child sleeping in their parent's arms. I curled into him, and slipped into the lands of dreams... and nightmares.

6) A shard of truth.