{"sf1_id":1553546,"sf2_id":"ve3PXYqm","title":"The Contact","author":"Jubatian","words":7934,"posted_at":"2020-03-02T17:56:00.000Z","tags":["Alien","Cave","Caving","Dragon","Forest","History","Sci-Fi","Space","Wyvern","cavern","mythology","whimsical"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1553546-the-contact","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/ve3PXYqm","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/05/ea/05eae3b4-455a-47a7-b17a-c32bb469d5ea","description":"#12 of Dragons \u0026 Wyverns\n\n(2016)\nSome weirdness from a rather literal first person perspective.","content":"The contact  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nWeird.  \n  \nI felt a slight insanity listening the rattle of the wheels, the blur of the  \ntrees as the train to Miskolc carried me east.  \n  \nI couldn't believe that guy lived there. Somebody who apparently liked caves,  \ngiving me a map to a seemingly unknown one in the heart of the natural  \nreserve where we were supposed to meet. Not even just at the entrance, but as  \nhe described, inside!  \n  \nWas I a fool to fall in for that? For some kind of trap of a weirdo? In other  \ncircumstances, likely. In those I received this strange invitation, it was  \nsomething just too out of place, something beyond merely odd.  \n  \nAnimal spirits, totems, kinks for furry and scaly things, and of all those  \nquirky wretches there weren't more than two of us who would dare to venture  \na mere mile past the boundary of civilization by their own feet. Stumbling  \nupon a third such person was something out of ordinary. The place he set was  \nclearly quite far in unless he had access to the forestry roads.  \n  \nHe didn't post a lot, a few digital paintings and some mostly dragon fiction I  \nthought nice, but without much reception. Maybe for they didn't involve  \ngulping down things wriggling alive, neither voluptuous descriptions relating  \nbodily fluids and other orifices. He just appeared to be a sane, probably shy  \nor maybe just not all that much interested guy from some English region,  \npreferring to do it his way no matter the public's interests.\n\n\u0026nbsp; However, he seemed to like science fiction and various dragon anatomy bits,  \nand felt quite intelligent on the matter. We exchanged notes on each others  \nwork, sometimes even arguing on one or another thing, occasionally returning  \nonly after months. Then, after some debate drifting a bit out of control, it  \nhappened.  \n  \nHe invited me. He reassured me he wasn't any angry, just saw I lived near, and  \nwished to meet me in real.  \n  \nIt would be one stupid way to die by being bludgeoned to death in a remote  \ncave for an argument over wyvern anatomy. I couldn't help but chuckle about  \nthe thought.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nThe city was still fresh in my memories for my time in university, I didn't  \ntake more than a few minutes until I got on the tram, then half an hour later,  \non the bus to Omassa. I wished to take the narrow gauge train, which  \nterminated where I had to get off anyway, but there just wasn't time for that.  \nIt was a long trek through the mountains.  \n  \nIt was even beyond the regions I usually traveled, the many springs, creeks  \nand small caves I knew, except for the Huba where I could pick up some fresh  \nnatural water. After a modest stretch, the instructions diverted me onto an  \nunmarked forestry road not far from the ski resorts of Bankut.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; I liked walking, especially those remote areas of which I knew many nearer to  \nthe city. The dirt road was pleasant, only slightly wet but nothing to frown  \nat with some decent boots. Beeches and oaks arched over, their tangled shrouds  \ngiving a gentle shade.  \n  \nA mile later I found the spot where I was to look for the cave. He gave me  \ncoordinates which I just marked on an old map I had and used in the past, not  \nhaving, neither preferring a smartphone. It shouldn't be difficult to find, I  \nreasoned.  \n  \nI was wrong.  \n  \nThe region was a gentle hillside with exposed boulders, the kind I recognized  \nas a very good sign to offer at least some small cave, yet there wasn't any,  \nand the foliage was truly detaining. Thorn bushes everywhere. I tried to find  \nfootprints, first checking back at the road, but there just wasn't any.  \n  \nIt pissed me off, such a screw up. Still, I was determined to find it,  \nscratching myself in the shrubbery as I pushed through boar tracks hoping to  \nfind something. Neither anybody responded to the few \"hullo\"s I exclaimed,  \nalmost as if I totally missed the spot.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; More than an hour passed before I found something.  \n  \nA low, wide arch, the highest point just below my chest, hidden deep in  \ntangled growth, roots hanging from its ceiling as it opened from a slope. It  \nsurprised me as it wasn't like how normally cave entrances looked like, yet as  \nI checked it with my torch, it indeed continued.  \n  \nThe immediate area however seemed to be empty, without a trace of any visitor.  \nI threw down my packsack to change into my weathered volunteering clothes to  \ngive it a brief exploration.  \n  \nA gently sloped irregular rocky chute led down a short way, almost so high I  \ncould stand, until reaching a small chamber. It seemed like a good place to  \nset up a base, with some convenient large boulders to leave unnecessary gear  \non protected from rain or possible trickling water, but it was empty.  \n  \nJust where the hell he was?!  \n  \nI suddenly heard a deep ominous rumble picking up.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nEarthquake! I lost a few valuable moments until I realized, until I broke out  \nof my stupor to make a decision. I rushed to ascend the chute, but it was too  \nlate! Horrified, I saw the outside light vanishing as the entrance collapsed.  \nJust then, as if it solely wanted to trap me, all the sound ceased.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Where the opening was now was a mess of small rocks tangled up with roots.  \nThere wasn't even a little hole remaining, flicking off my torch, complete  \ndarkness engulfed me.  \n  \nI didn't panic. Fear, sure, but not panic. Reason. A hint of fear was always  \nwithin me, what if, what if a cave just collapsed upon me. I still lived, had  \nlight, backup light and batteries, food and water. I saw it wasn't a lot  \nseparating me from the outside, but it seemed very dangerous. I felt I could  \nprobably get it loose, probably needing nothing more than a small tug, but  \ncertainly it would all roll down the chute crushing everything in the way. I  \nneeded to devise a tool to dislodge it remotely. I wished if I had some rope.  \n  \nSilence, blackness. I settled on a safe boulder of the chamber, out of the way  \nif the plug happened to dislodge on its own, trying to think it over. This  \ncave couldn't have been completely unknown. Previous explorers might have left  \nsome gear somewhere which I could use. Maybe I wasn't even alone...  \n  \nI wasn't.  \n  \nA faint, muffled scraping. Somewhere deep there was someone, maybe him.  \nAnother noise. I saw no light, everything remained pitch black. For a moment,  \nI thought to flick up my torch.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Fear. Rock slid on rock. Whatever it was, it approached. A dislodged stone  \nbounced away. I felt it getting closer as the scraping noises intensified, and  \nI knew it was something huge, inhuman!  \n  \nI fell behind the boulder, shivering. I didn't dare to make light despite  \nknowing whatever it was, it didn't need any to sense my presence. My thumb  \nbounced over the button. Slow breaths, it was almost in the room. The sliding,  \nscraping noises ceased. I felt a faint breeze. I threw the switch.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nA huge dark reptilian face hovered over my shaken being, I kicked myself back  \nflat against the rock, expecting the pain, the teeth sinking in my flesh in a  \nflash. The torch fell and suddenly went out. Then...  \n  \nNothing happened.  \n  \nSlow breaths. I was glad I visited a bush before descending. The beast didn't  \nrip me apart outright. I couldn't believe it. Silence. I hoped it wasn't one  \nof those stupid vore stories. Think... Think, damn it...  \n  \n\"Are you...\"  \n  \nDeep, rumbling voice interrupted me.  \n  \n\"Glad you pieced it together...\" I felt a gust of warmth. \"Without pissing  \nyourself.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Suddenly something dawned upon me.  \n  \n\"Bloody hell! Was this all necessary?! Damn. Make some light here.\"  \n  \nAnimatronics. Sure it was some elaborate mess. This crap might be crawling up  \nonto Youtube in minutes. He didn't give shit, I poked around in the darkness  \nto find that blasted torch. Light.  \n  \nThe reptilian head having two gently curved horns sat on a long, massive neck  \nsprouting from a huge barrel of chest, besides which the forelegs rested,  \ntheir proportions and form hidden by expansive folds of loose skin which I  \ntook to be webs of wings. Scales shimmered, dark scales with some formations  \nof reddish patches, appearing very much real. It was a ginormous wyvern  \ncrammed in the confines of the small chamber, the rear of which probably  \nextended into the tunnel behind.  \n  \nIt was awkward. The thing seemingly posed, arching its neck, raising horns and  \nspikes, looking at me sideways by a red eye, oddly with round pupil unlike  \nreptiles.  \n  \n\"Okay, okay! You are f'king beautiful, but please...\"  \n  \nI couldn't finish it. The beast raised on its feet, hovering its head and its  \nwide toothy jaw unnervingly close to my face while crawling wholly into the  \nroom, grabbing boulders on the walls by its wing claws, making me back up  \nuntil I realized I was in the middle of its coil, the long tail curling in and  \nwrapping around while I was pushed against its belly.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; A soft belly under the rubbery thick scales, feeling very real just as the  \nominous toothy grin.  \n  \nAn uneasy tingle ran down my spine, hinting it just wasn't any animatronic. He  \nbegan with a faint deep tone, flicking tongue just shy of licking me.  \n  \n\"Secretly watching those, aren't you? A juicy touch... warm gulps... a  \npleasant rest deep, very very deep...\" He suddenly raised the head, as if  \nsearching for a thought, before quickly he almost spat, \"I don't think there  \nwas a way out\", then returned with a warm, blowing exhale and an almost too  \nvery mellow voice \"Sounds enticing, eh?\"  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nI almost fainted. For a moment I maybe wished if I fainted. It just couldn't  \nbe, it was someone else's blithering imbecilic fantasy. It couldn't be real!  \n  \n\"Sorry, I am sorry!\" I cried out. \"Spare me, please, damn it, please stop!\"  \n  \nThe huge jaws retracted as I slid to collapse, leaning against the soft  \nunderside of the beast. His voice rumbled again.  \n  \n\"Will you behave then?\"  \n  \n\"I will, I swear I will... Please forgive...\"  \n  \nI still didn't want to believe I got stranded in a cave with a creature which  \nwasn't supposed to actually exist, but my senses defied my thoughts.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Forgiven.\" The tension slackened, I felt lighter as he neither returned to  \nthat unnerving proximity. \"I understand you need a while to process this, my  \nphysical presence. This cave is vast, and I have a lot more convenient  \nresidence for a pleasant discourse if you came along. A bit of fresh air will  \nonly do good for the soul.\"  \n  \nHe shifted, pulling his massive body forth, to get his fore facing the tunnel  \nleading further down while I took my belongings. There wasn't any point in  \neven thinking about the collapsed entrance anymore, even if it wasn't his  \ndoing, I was sure he could easily remove the rubble. At least I hoped so, that  \nI was meant to get outside eventually, not someplace where it would absolutely  \ncease to be of any concern.  \n  \n\"I also hope I can conceive you that I have a few rather reasonable points on  \ndragon anatomy.\" With that, he began, pushing into the tunnel where I could  \nonly follow him behind for his chest and wings almost completely filled it.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nIt was a long, cramped way down. I could walk, descend, just taking care of  \nnot stumbling over the irregular mess of boulders, but it was still barely  \nwide enough for the wyvern. I followed just behind the tip of his long,  \nslender tail showing some spiky growths, sometimes hovering, sometimes  \ndragging along the rocks. I wondered about the origins of the place for it  \ndidn't look like natural limestone caves with its dry bare rocks and  \noccasional roots, suggesting we still weren't much below the surface. Yet it  \ncontinued, down, only down for what it seemed several dozen meters without a  \nchange.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Then, with a twist of his body, the beast disappeared, dragging away his tail  \nrevealing a dark opening, my torch soon illuminating a solid, smooth rock  \nwall ahead. I walked forth, stunned, witnessing the proportions. The tunnel  \nopened onto a slanted fissure between smooth cliff faces, the height of which  \nI couldn't make out, but the more unnerving, the bottom filled with loose rock  \nwas also at least four meters below. He stood on it, advancing sideways  \nleaning against the cliff, using his wings like arms to guide his body. Even  \nthen I was barely level with his shoulders.  \n  \nI let myself slide down, realizing I might not be able to climb up myself  \nwithout anything to hold on. It probably didn't matter. If he wouldn't help, I  \nlikely wouldn't ever face this obstacle anyway. I gulped down these concerns,  \nfinding my way through the rocks after him, occasionally looking up, trying to  \nmeasure the gigantic fissure, but my torch couldn't reach where the cliffs  \nprobably met.  \n  \nDown, ever down. I observed his motions, where he found footholds to find the  \nmost stable way, but his legs being longer than my entire height, it just  \nwasn't all fitting for me. At least I knew which boulders wouldn't pancake me  \nif I relied on them for my descent. I thought I wouldn't want to be below him  \non this path.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; The cliffs finally met above, with every step the peak of the fissure coming  \nlower until it suddenly ceased, continuing in an irregular tunnel, then with a  \nfew smooth, almost flowing patches, speleothems also made an appearance.  \n  \nAfter a pair of tight turns, I wondered how he even tackled those, it opened  \nup into a rather spacious slightly sloped room, with some larger formations  \nhanging from its ceiling, the first place where seemingly he had some freedom  \nto move. I traced the walls with my torch, observing the small flowstones and  \noccasional draperies, absorbing their beauty. He walked forth slow and  \ncareful, not diverting from the path he seemingly used.  \n  \nStill, it wasn't anything truly exceptional, a rather large, but somewhat bare  \nroom for a limestone mountain. It continued, gently descending, occasionally  \ntightening, but nowhere so much to make him crawl, until it suddenly ended  \nwith only a smaller hole high on a wall. He pranced, grabbing its edges by his  \nwings, and with an otherworldly nimbleness, wriggled himself in.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Ridiculous.  \n  \nI struggled to follow his disappearing tail, almost falling down twice as I  \ntried to find holds, to find myself in another narrow rocky tunnel with roots  \nhanging from its ceiling, he already long gone. I made haste, slipped on a  \nrock to slide down a way for it was again an odious atrocious chute.  \n  \nA dragon... Or wyvern, whatever. I fumed trying to stay on my foot as I  \ntackled the hazardous cave floor. I could have enjoyed discovering it with a  \nsane friend, but this didn't make any sense. What the hell this beast was  \ndoing contorting itself through hundreds and hundreds meters of vile rocky  \npassages?!  \n  \nHe was nowhere. I continued down, down on the steep slope searching for stable  \nfootholds, until I noticed the chute gradually changing, becoming smoother, as  \nif covered with algae. I thought I caught a faint gust of warmth, but just  \nthen, I slipped again.  \n  \nI couldn't stop, no matter that I was aware, that I managed to lay flat  \nagainst the floor, my legs couldn't catch a reliable foothold as I kept  \nsliding down in that awful chute at a frightening speed!  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nFaint light. I laid on a smooth, flow-like formation having an odd, greenish  \ntint. Warmth, I realized it was unnaturally warm for a cave.  \n  \nAs I managed to scoop myself up to see where I was, I froze in amazement. It  \nwas still a cave, it continued forth, the smooth floor littered with what I  \nthought stalagmites and complete columns until an arch beyond which all I saw  \nwas pure white light.  \n  \nI walked forth, waiting for my eyes to adjust. There was algae, moss growing  \nin the cave, and further ahead, even plants. Then I reached the entrance.  \n  \nGrass, small bushes and colorful flowers, a meadow with a small hill in the  \nmiddle, then I noticed a butterfly. Vines tangled up, reaching towards the  \nsky, sprouting leaves, hanging like whimsical ropes tied to the nothingness.  \nI stopped to remove my boots and socks, setting all my gear down under the  \narch to continue barefoot. Warmth, I felt the soothing softness of tender  \ngrass, a hint of summer. Then something hard and flat, like a pebble, I bent  \nto pick it up to shockingly realize it was a sparkling ruby.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; What was this place? Did I hit my head? Was I still alive?  \n  \nI wandered in amazement, although as my eyes adjusted, I realized I was still  \nin some sort of cave whose ceiling was miraculously illuminated, strange  \norganic growth hanging from it, sprouting the several columns overgrown with a  \ndiverse variety of vines. I stumbled over more odd gems and coins with a  \nyellow shine, neither of which I dared to move, to upset whatever order this  \nwondrous place was made by.  \n  \nEden? A pair of disturbed swallowtails swirled around until they found a more  \ndistant bush, elderberry by the scent and its white blossoms. A faint trickle  \nof water gave a direction. I thought I wouldn't be surprised if I came across  \nthe trees of Knowledge and Life somewhere.  \n  \nThe trickle however led me through a thicket of butterbur with leaves wider  \nthan my torso to a small lake hidden by a couple of tangled up short trees,  \nwhere I found the wyvern.  \n  \n\"You could use a bath, don't you think?\"  \n  \nWith a huge stretch, he emerged from the water, some pondweeds slid off of  \nhis shimmering dark skin as he shook his body, before padding away by a  \ntrail which he seemingly used. He left me alone at this serene little place  \nwhich I was rather grateful for.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; I soaked myself to wash off the stains of caving. It was nice. He allowed me  \nprivacy, something I certainly wasn't in the position to request if it didn't  \nfit his whims.  \n  \nI retained myself from spending more than necessary in the lake, lest I should  \ntest his patience. When I was done, I followed the trail, then with a little  \nwandering, and admittedly some gazing in wonderment about the miraculous  \nplace, I found him.  \n  \nThere was another, larger arch on the far end of the meadow, opening into a  \nwide cavern with the same stalagmite and column formations like I saw where I  \nmade my rather graceless entry. The most impressive feature was, however, a  \nmassive pile of sparkling gems and golden coins on the top of which he laid  \nsprawled out.  \n  \nI hesitated, unsure whether it was right to approach him onto what clearly was  \nhis hoard.  \n  \n\"Come\", flowed his mellow deep voice.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nWarily, I climbed up to settle beside him. As I made my sitting, I swept a few  \ncoins aside, one bounced away, another I involuntarily picked up. It was old,  \nsomewhat worn, a creature resembling a bull on one side, on another, the face  \nof an emperor.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"That's from the ancient Roman empire, depicting August. Who you referred as  \nGargouille later had most of these in his hoard.\"  \n  \nWith a jerk as if I touched fire, I dropped it. That very coin alone probably  \nworth more than several days' if not weeks' salary if it was true! I watched  \nas it bounced and rolled, down on the side of the vast mound of frighteningly  \nsimilar coins.  \n  \n\"How... How this could be?\"  \n  \nHis tail curled in, sweeping, disturbing the riches as if they weren't  \nanything more than the sand on a beach. He leaned on his side, loosely coiling  \naround me. He dug a wing-paw in the pile just beside me, raising, letting the  \ncoins flow free between the thick, clawed fingers.  \n  \n\"Heritage... Let's just say it's heritage, from quite a few dragons, indeed.\"  \n  \n\"Mind if I ask, what happened to them?\"  \n  \n\"Those times, those wicked evil times... Choking on a toothpick was a rather  \ncommon hazard back then, so good it seemingly worked, leaving only humble  \nmyself behind, eh?\"  \n  \n\"No... That's stupid... I don't think anybody would even dare to approach you  \nwith a single sword and maybe the companionship of a horse... I still hardly  \nbelieve what I see. If you are here, just how, how it could happen?\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Those dragons never died, they left about a millennium ago.\"  \n  \n\"It just doesn't make sense, and all these riches, they just left it behind?\"  \n  \nI scared, I thought I pressed it too much. He jolted, snapped his jaws,  \nspitting out the word \"Trinkets\", before returning to continue.  \n  \n\"Yes... The glimmer... Gold, diamonds, rubies... They sparkle, sparkle in our  \neyes, they divert, they mesmerize!\" His claws sunk in the heaps of coins,  \nthrowing a good gust of them against his chest. \"Yes... Load makes it  \ndifficult to navigate these caves... Especially on the way out... But...\"  \n  \n\"But we can part it... They weren't evil. In Bulgaria, they still faintly  \nremember them as Zmejs. But once they left it was easy to corrupt the  \nmemories. It was easy to pretend to slay the beast who had his needs, to gain  \nthe admiration of the people. Just to tax them blind, boasting on the ridicule  \nlest they should dream of his return!\"  \n  \n\"It is sad. We wished to let you free, to see what you can achieve yourself.  \nTo see what are you. We still stand by it. Time heals, old corrupted legends  \nmelt away, but many more grave concerns raise instead. I am the last, an  \nobserver to oversee what happens in your world for our people.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"You mean there are... Just where all those dragons went?\"  \n  \n\"Yes, we exist. We are waiting for you since a while. We are here, very near,  \non planets of the stars you call Alpha Centauri.\"  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nIt made my head swim. I stared bleakly, down the sparkling mound beneath, the  \nopening, the miraculous garden.  \n  \n\"How?... Hell, why? How this can be...\" My voice trailed off meekly.  \n  \n\"Calm. I see it's still a lot for you to grasp\". He slowly heaved himself onto  \nhis arms, then feet, his tail gently sliding away. \"But for who in your world  \nit wouldn't be... Come.\"  \n  \nCoins, sparkling gems tumbled and rolled as he descended from his massive  \nhoard without even looking back to see if I obeyed. I felt a radiance of  \notherworldly confidence, he just didn't need to, I felt he would sense, he  \nwould know if I did anything against his will, and it was indeed difficult to  \nnavigate those caves! I followed him just a little back, beside his tail,  \nsilently listening as he continued.  \n  \n\"Gods, mysterious beautiful places of your mythologies, they all had roots.  \nThis what you see here is merely a shadow of what once was. Your world still  \ncarries marks of our people, the massive caverns of Indonesia are maybe which  \nretained the most of their former glory. There were a few who saw these places  \nin their heyday, the dragons who created and lived it, and returned to tell.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; For a few paces he remained silent as we ascended the grassy hill, disturbing  \na variety of butterflies and grasshoppers in our way, their sudden glimmer  \nreflecting the occasional sparkle of scattered gems hidden in the growth.  \n  \n\"The people of the past, simple, frail beings fearing the power of Nature  \nunable to understand her devices looked upon us like gods, mighty creators who  \ndevised the world and could bring cultivating rain or devastating flood.\"  \n  \nHe settled down near the top, letting his wings slightly sprawl out, his  \nfaintly shimmering red eyes suddenly meeting mine.  \n  \n\"You, however matured, the fruit of knowledge ripened. Today, you could grasp  \nwhat we are made of, and you fear coming possession of this knowledge.\" He  \ndiverted, speaking out into the void.  \n  \n\"This old bag of flesh and bone wrapped in sparkling shiny scales is nothing  \nmagical. You could drive a stake through my chest, and I would die just as any  \nof you. What sets us apart are how we think and live, if you fancy to call it  \nso, our technology.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; He turned towards me again. \"But first, on the matter of this bag of flesh and  \nbones...\"  \n  \nSuddenly, with a frighteningly swift motion he pranced, snapping out his  \nexpansive wings and tailfins. He was huge, ginormous, his head several times  \nmy height above, towering on his long robust neck almost sickening to look at  \nagainst the brilliance of the ceiling! I realized what he meant maybe apart  \nfrom giving me a scare. For most part, the body matched my expectations,  \nhowever those wings were short and broad with a leathery skin like those of  \nbats, much like how dragons were commonly portrayed rather than what I thought  \nfitting for efficient flight.  \n  \n\"Surprised, eh?\" He came down with a single fluid motion, furling up the webs  \nneatly just as his clawed paws met the ground.  \n  \n\"I admit you had some decent reasoning with those, and indeed true, my wings  \naren't fit for any great distance. We need some fairly strong breeze against a  \nhillside to have some fun soaring, but that's fine with us.\" He again lay  \nbeside me, letting his tail gently curl around.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Those old myths had some sense in them. We aren't beings of the air, merely  \nusing our capability of flight to enrich our possibilities on the ground, and  \nas such, we have wings for agility, short enough to not get in the way. Also,  \nthere never was a dragon with both arms and wings. We saw a lot in our long  \nhistory, but never came across such a creature.\"  \n  \n\"Many of the old depicted us rather well, but our fluid and swift motions  \nfooled several others to see things which weren't, then in the past millennium,  \nthose all mixed up.\"  \n  \n\"I was surprised you figured it out we had tailfins, quite essential even for  \nour short flights.\" Then, leaning on his side, he lifted his entire long tail,  \nwith the fins folded tight, revealing only as spikes until it thinned out to  \nstill continue for probably twice my height.  \n  \n\"Don't you miss anything?\" I was dumbfounded over what I should be missing.  \nThen with a sudden swiftness, with a deafening boom sending butterflies  \nfleeing, he whipped in the air!  \n  \n\"Some depicted our fins as a sharp edged spade or mace which then persisted,  \nnot believing that this bare tail of ours could be just that lethal if used  \nright, without us having to worry it getting stuck.\" He gently let it rest,  \nagain curling around limply, shy of any indication of such a frightful power  \nhe just demonstrated. He snapped his jaws. \"Eh, those are but old tales today.  \nI believe you are the more interested in what makes this place be.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nI was, for sure, lost speechless in awe as this mythical beast continued to  \nreveal his world where fairy tales suddenly became reality. He closed up, his  \nmuzzle maybe a bit too near for my convenience, speaking in a low, almost  \nwhispering tone. \"I believe you will recognize one of these...\"  \n  \nThe huge jaws opened, his tongue pushed against the roof revealing two  \nopenings above each other, one of which I took to be a glottis. Before I could  \nrealize anything, a needle thrust out of the other, its lethal looking sharp  \ntip hovering mere inches from my nose.  \n  \nI pulled back in frightful shock, faltering before regaining my consciousness.  \nWhat the hell did he mean with it? But he already returned normal finishing  \nwith just a small lick on his chops. Then it dawned upon me.  \n  \n\"Holy cow!... You are really doing that?!\"  \n  \n\"Yes!\" He snapped in exclamation, \"That's indeed another thing you deducted  \nfairly well!\"  \n  \nIt all pieced together. A lush, wildly diverse organic environment within a  \ncave, a place where it shouldn't be existing, a miraculous craftsmanship of  \nsome otherworldly power! Something I thought was only possible in fiction, my  \nvery elaborate science fiction of genetic manipulation, and it turned out to  \nhappen for real!  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; He had a needle to inject agents, probably viruses into creations of Nature to  \nshape them by his whims, and by that he crafted this very place!  \n  \n\"Damn you...\" Tears ran down my cheeks. \"Damn you, all the time, you were  \nhere... I so wish to know, to understand you!\" I stumbled, fell towards him,  \nembracing his neck, unable to quench my stirred emotions. He lay still,  \naccepting, only the faint buzz of insects breaking the silence.  \n  \nMinutes passed. I grabbed, stroked the smooth surface, feeling the texture of  \nhis scales, a creature almost stepping out of my very dreams. Calmness. I only  \nwished to just be there, grooming this massive being for his delight, to leave  \nthe world above with all its mundane hostility. He laid leaning on his side,  \nhis upper wing resting on his body mostly exposing his belly. My hands  \ninvoluntarily traced towards there still lost in my thoughts. What if... Just  \nwhat if...  \n  \n\"I see what you are thinking.\" His voice was mild. \"You could say it... But  \nthen you said it to a dragon. I wouldn't like you for it. You still have  \nthings to do outside.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; He rolled onto his side, gently pulling me onto his wing just beside his  \nchest, pushing me down until I laid on my stomach, to rest my head on my  \ncrossed elbows on his arm as if it was a pillow. His webs, the rubbery smooth  \nsurfaces, faint twitches and warmth of life completely engulfed me as I  \nlistened the soothing sounds of Nature mixed up with his shifts and the gentle  \nrhythmic thumps of heartbeat.  \n  \n\"You like it there, don't you?\"  \n  \n\"Yes... Very pleasant. You are... Wonderful. Wish I could just... forget, to  \ncease, to just be with you.\"  \n  \n\"Don't tempt it or it shall find fulfillment... It is sad you created a world  \nof which so many wishes to escape... Even if that escape was this lonely old  \ndragon's belly.\"  \n  \n\"How old are you, anyway?\"  \n  \n\"Let's just say I lived through all your history our kind witnessed. But  \nbefore you would ask, yes, that part of your fiction also holds truth.\"  \n  \n\"Holy... You mean... You are immortal?!\"  \n  \n\"Just as you described.\"  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nWild revelations, amazing surprises after surprises kept storming my feeble  \nweak mind as I talked with him with long pauses, enjoying his pleasant warmth,  \nthe tingling sensation of live flesh engulfing me as I laid between the folds  \nof his wings.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; He told about his immortality, how they maintained themselves, the exchange of  \ngenome among them, how his own genes were held in stasis embedded in this very  \ncave for his prolonged solitary survival. It was scary, scary how this place  \nwas his prison which he voluntarily chose to observe with as little  \ninterference as was reasonably possible.  \n  \nHe furnished it well with the help of the knowledge of his kind, a complete  \nself-sustaining little pocket running almost entirely on geothermal energy in  \nwhich a complete cycle was maintained.  \n  \nWe awoke for a walk, him showing the features, the important devices of this  \nseemingly whimsical place without any sane order, which in truth had every  \nnook and cranny rather meticulously devised.  \n  \nHe had synthetic food, a yellowish viscous substance pooling in a small  \nlimestone basin, having a faint scent of honey mixed with elderberry. By my  \npuzzled look, he offered I could taste it. Would I sprout wings, I asked with  \nsome worry, yet he reassured it was just a finely devised mixture of necessary  \nnutriments for dragons. Then I gave it a try, but didn't find any appeal in  \nit, having a very faint gust of sugar drowned in a much stronger flavor of  \nlard. The poor beast!  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; For the other end, he also showed me a secluded alcove overgrown and covered  \nwith tangled trees, bushes and vines, with a slimy hole serving as a squat  \ntoilet. Whatever went down there would be dissolved and broken down by the  \nvegetation to eventually reform and return possibly into the food basin.  \nGross, I thought. I probably wouldn't have dared to sample it if I saw this  \nbefore.  \n  \nFinally, we returned to the hoard room, where he approached a strange  \nirregular glassy section of the cave wall, which soon came to life. It was  \nsome kind of holographic device, slowly clearing until it showed the crisp  \noutlines of a frame, in which to my utmost surprise, a Linux kernel started to  \nboot up.  \n  \nHe settled down on the scattered coins and gems making the edge of his hoard  \nmound, and seeing my confusion, he explained.  \n  \n\"You see, our ways are rather different. We don't have the kind of computers  \nyou developed, but to understand you, we had to adapt. That what you see there  \nis our organic neural networks struggling to emulate a nine years old machine  \nof yours although with recent software.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; The booting process slowly chugged along, progressing onto the window manager,  \nwhich I recognized, one which was quite basic, but very light on resources.  \n  \n\"These are admirable, complex inventions, it is a pity you don't share their  \ndetails even among yourselves, furiously clinging onto them like a dragon onto  \nhis hoard. Nevertheless, I regularly send open source software home along with  \ndetails by which my people can devise the proper hardware to run them.\"  \n  \nA little while, and the system seemingly settled, he with means unknown to me  \nstarted to interact with it. A terminal window popped up, characters rolled  \nin, a file manager started, the cursor skimming fast over the heaps of files  \nand directories. Then, from somewhere I heard music picking up.  \n  \nI recognized it.  \n  \nIt was Vivaldi's The Four Seasons.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \n\"Beautiful... Your culture can be so beautiful...\". He laid on the pinnacle of  \nhis hoard, enjoying, engulfed by the soothing melodies, the gentle touch of  \nviolins on the ears as the progressing concertos filled the room. Fullness, by  \nhis arms, I felt like there was indeed an orchestra performing for us, it had  \nsuch a fine acoustic.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; He invited me, again laying on his side, letting me rest on his wing, to feel  \nhim, to be engulfed by his live flesh. I pushed myself against his chest, the  \nsoftness of his belly caressing my legs, the slow breaths. The music, his very  \nbeing guided me onto the land of dreams.  \n  \nA gentle push awakened me, the tip of his muzzle. It was dark, only a faint  \nlight seeped in through the arch, leaving the room in an otherworldly twilight  \nspeckled with the myriad of sparks of coins and gems. He let me scramble off  \nso he could rise with a stretch, sending a glimmering spray of riches down the  \nmound before he walked off, indicating me to follow.  \n  \nI looked up in wonderment, the ceiling which was so dazzling before now only  \nshowed an intricate web of luminous growth, some hanging down onto the vines,  \nthe whole cavern was like the void of space speckled with stars as the  \nscattered occasional gems hidden on the meadow reflected the faint light.  \n  \nWe approached the pond to settle in the tranquility of the occasional croaks  \nof frogs, him on the trail, me under a couple of large butterbur leaves,  \nwatching the dance of sparks on the gently rippling water. Night, such a  \nstrange and unusual place! I remembered those occasions when I was out in the  \nwoods indulging the otherworldly different beauty.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"I still fail to understand. This is a wonderful place, but I feel like if it  \nwas inspired by our natural beauties. You must have liked it here. How you  \ncould convince your people to leave?\"  \n  \n\"The main reason is what I told you, yes, it took a while. We enjoyed  \nourselves, to explore, to see and indulge a new interesting world. But we  \nrealized something important.\"  \n  \nHis eyes sparkled as he turned towards me.  \n  \n\"You know your history, especially the past decades in astronomy and space  \nexploration. Just what are you almost always seeking for?\"  \n  \n\"Earth-like planets?\"  \n  \n\"That's just one thing. Origins. You are searching for your origins, to piece  \ntogether how the material world formed, to understand the unknown, to rule out  \nthe hand of God. How the universe came to be, how the galaxy formed, how your  \nSun and planets came into existence, why can this humble little Earth can be  \nsuch a pleasant sanctuary in the harshness of the cold void supporting life.  \nHow that life began, and matured.\"  \n  \n\"We are old, we drift with our Alpha Centauri since probably before the dawn  \nof mammals in your world. We saw many things, followed suns taking shape and  \ndying, planets forming and crumbling apart for an unfortunate orbit, and also  \nwe met quite a few intelligent beings in our unintended travel through the  \nvoid. They however all were old, settled races, the spark of intelligence,  \nthe uprising of civilization from the nothingness still remaining an  \nunfathomable miracle through all those ages.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Then you found us.\"  \n  \n\"Yes, and we didn't realize what we were witnessing until it was a bit too  \nlate.\"  \n  \nIt took a few moments for it to sink in, silent, listening the frogs hiding in  \nthe reeds by the calm little pond. Such a simple minuscule place for the  \ninsurmountable grandeur of such a decision!  \n  \n\"And... What would you do once we discovered you?\"  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \n\"You already did.\"  \n  \n\"What?\"  \n  \n\"Yes, you know about our presence.\"  \n  \n\"Then why, why it wasn't announced anywhere! I so wish if our world knew about  \nyou!\"  \n  \n\"Just think it over a little bit. Your myths may be corrupted, but they were  \ntrue in that we tend to have a rather dominant nature. We shape things to our  \nliking. Your powers are screwed, unable to handle the influx of change and the  \nnumerous newly brewing problems, you are on the verge of suffocating under  \nyour own explosive advancement. Your people feel it and are very dissatisfied,  \ntheir anger is boiling and tripping things over. Just what would you think  \nhappen if we, dragons, suddenly reappeared?\"  \n  \n\"You mean you hold yourselves back to avoid stirring it further?\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"No. We do nothing on our part. Those few who know fear of us, they fear of  \ntheir already dubious positions shattering if the wide public came aware. They  \ndo all they can to postpone it happening. The recession was a good excuse to  \ncancel NASA's promising Space Interferometry Mission which might have detected  \nour planets. They also have a long history of guiding several interstellar  \nradio message projects to make sure no response could arrive in their  \nlifetimes. They tread on a thin thread, but so far they managed to stay  \nabove.\"  \n  \n\"But why... Why don't you intervene? Why if you see things aren't right?\"  \n  \n\"What's right or wrong is in your hands for the time being. We want to see  \nwhat happens, and we are aware that, so you may call it, our experiment may  \nfail if you ended up destroying yourself.\"  \n  \n\"But... What about this beautiful blue planet? Would you let her die, too?!\"  \n  \n\"Yes. It is up to you to not let it happen. The universe is a cold, merciless  \nplace in which we drift helplessly. In two hundred thousands years, our world  \nwould get so far from yours that we wouldn't be able to cover the distance  \nanymore. We colonized very few worlds... And it grieves us greatly to realize  \nwe can only send messages, racing through the void for countless years until  \nthey ever arrived. We know they are out there, fellow dragons whom we will  \nnever see so long our galaxy lives.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Only the croaks of frogs broke the solemn silence, the luminescent ceiling  \ncovering upon us like a true sky in its vastness, the twinkling stars many  \nhundreds of lightyears away swimming in the cold void. What was distance? I  \nfelt so frighteningly small.  \n  \n\"Then... What would you do to us if it happened?\"  \n  \n\"That's up to your people. Unless your civilization crumbled apart, we would  \nrespect you, just like those ancients we met in our long history. You are  \nunique. We would loathe to destroy what you created, the creators, but you are  \nin a great turmoil. If you cried out, we may come, and in need, assert our  \ndominance to save those looking up on us from your own evils. We wouldn't want  \nto do it. We wish if you completed this difficult path on your own.\"  \n  \nA difficult path... I felt lost, reality so cruel and merciless. Why we keep  \nfailing? Why? If... If only finally the seals broke, somehow it got out! If  \npeople knew they lived, they walked among them! But that would mean our  \nfailure, failing to create a lasting civilization on our own, crying out for  \nthe dragons to dig ourselves out from the rubble of our own collapsing  \ncreation.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Somewhere people were rushing, laborers cramming in the subway for the night  \nshift, office workers pushing carts through a mall in a frenzy of late  \nshopping, a teenager blaring metal, a toilet flushed, a poor sod ramming a  \nneighbor's door to cease drilling holes in his wall, all toiling ignorant  \nwith their petty daily matters, completely unaware of what was after  \ntomorrow.  \n  \nRipples ran across the pond as a frog paddled towards the reeds to join the  \nnight's chorus. The dragon, cautious to avoid stomping the butterbur, laid  \non his side, resting, barely hovering his jaws above the ground. A small  \njolt, and I knew I could climb between his wings.  \n  \nSerenity. I listened the faint rhythmic thumps of my otherworldly alive tent,  \nfeeling the smooth rubbery surfaces, the pleasant soothing sensations of his  \noccasional twitches. Safety. His presence engulfed me, touching the most  \nprimal instincts, a wish for protection, a shelter against the cruelty of  \nthe world, the cold merciless vastness of the void. I belonged to him, and it  \nfelt right.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nA pleasant breeze, the scent of life, a faint buzz. Daylight seeped through  \nthe entrance of my shelter, the thin gap between his arms. I didn't wake. I  \nfelt him, my head resting on his wing, I enjoyed the smoothness, the texture  \nof scales pressing against my skin. Slowly I rolled to face his massive  \nchest, I almost involuntarily reached out to rest my palm on it, to feel the  \ngentleness of his long, sleeping breaths, the faint regular jolts of his  \nheartbeat.  \n  \nAlone... To be alone, confined, so far! My hand slid tracing his body,  \nstroking, feeling... Legends, myths, ancient powers all coming together,  \nforming, solidifying into shape, to reveal in him, an overwhelming impressive  \nreality! I couldn't help but cuddle against him to let the thumps of his heart  \nreverberate into me, barely noticing how I dug my feet into his soft flanks,  \ngrooming.  \n  \nSuddenly he shifted, and embarrassed, I found him looking down on me as he  \nraised his wing a little. I froze in fright, whether I did anything wrong,  \nbut he didn't say anything. Instead, he laid back, and gave me such a long  \nwrapping embrace with his leathery webs which I shall never forget!  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"You shall prepare.\" He rested on his side as I returned from the lake,  \nwashing my face. I knew it had to come. I had to part him, to return the  \nsurface, to continue my trudge wherever I left off as if nothing had  \nhappened.  \n  \nHe was a wise, sane person behind all that mighty flesh and to us almost  \ngodlike powers. I realized I didn't even consider the possibility of him  \nturning on me to gulp me down, I trusted him, the word of a dragon. He was so  \ndifferent to the characters of our fantasies, yet so fitting!  \n  \nMy boots and packsack rested where I left them, under the arch. I was glad it  \nwas so, that there was no chance for any item from his miraculous cavern  \naccidentally ending up within. It was his world, and it held nothing of  \ngreater value than him, his trust and companionship! I shall offer myself for  \nhis gullet than venturing to challenge this gift.  \n  \nI looked up into the blackness of the chute, the long, difficult path ahead.  \nA last glimpse. He serenely rested under the arch of light, looking after me,  \nas if for a farewell.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Then, just as I was to begin, I heard his mellow rumbling voice. \"Come. I  \ndon't want you to carry such a vile last memory of my place.\" He held his head  \nlow in front of me as an indication that I should ascend. The spikes of his  \nlimp crest were unnerving, but they were blunt and curved slightly downwards,  \nso I climbed to lay on his neck, and firmly grabbed his horns.  \n  \nHe launched into the blackness. There was no light, and I truly needed both my  \nhands to prevent myself falling. His head didn't wobble much, but it  \nintensified, wildly shifting and moving by his shoulders, and I felt like a  \nfreight train was following us as he thrust himself through the narrow  \npassages rasping and scraping the rocks occasionally sending boulders  \ntumbling downwards. It was frightening, I had no clue where I was, only that  \nI had his body beneath me which if I lost I felt like I would fall helplessly  \ndown into an eternal void.  \n  \nSuddenly I lost my footing, almost sending me to panic, clenching on the  \nhorns, nearly yelling out my horror before I realized we reached the giant  \nfissure where he was advancing leaning against the cliffside. If his slightly  \nsloping neck didn't give some support, I believe I would have fallen to my  \ndoom as my hands wore sore desperately trying to avoid slipping.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; The last stretch lost in swirl, the dazzling confusion of my exhaustion. A  \nfaint gloom, a chill breeze carrying the smell of cave. Silence, only broken  \nby some distant, frail chirps.  \n  \nI scooped myself up. I recognized where I was, in the small room below the  \nrocky chute. Light seeped in from above. I was alone.  \n  \nMy head swam, I could barely heave myself to stand, to assess my situation.  \n  \nWhat happened?  \n  \nI wasn't sure.  \n  \nI looked down into the darkness of the other passage. I knew I was in no  \nposition to do any further exploration to reassure myself of the verity of  \nwhatever I remembered.  \n  \nFaltering, I scrambled up the chute, onto the fresh outside air, the forest. I  \nsat, holding my head, still spinning.  \n  \nThen I felt a rumble picking up, but just as I realized it wasn't my ailing  \nmind playing tricks on me, it ceased.  \n  \nI looked back, and there was no opening to be seen.  \n  \nOnly the unbroken forest soil continued as far as I could see.  \n  \n  \n\\* \\* \\*  \n  \n  \nIt took me months to understand, to get over myself, my own frailness. Some  \nfierce arguments I regret today.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Maybe I understand today.  \n  \nI only wish we all did some day.  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"Dragons \u0026amp; Wyverns","previous":"https://sofurry.com/s/ynZl6K5e","next":"https://sofurry.com/s/5nzqBqam"}}