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Tik Tik

I stood beside the magnificent Katadanyatarinya upon a balcony once part of the structure where the bees had built their colony. This balcony overlooked a series of cells in a sprawling cavern untouched by the massive and unending construction project. When I glanced at my dragon companion, I saw a mighty leader whose eyes could catch anything, even in the most piercing darkness.

She had taken on a bipedal form after having impressed me with the grandeur of her full draconic glory. Though she still towered over me and most of the bees, she was sized just right for the queen to look only slightly up at her. I took it as a measured tactic. She wanted the queen to respect her but still know that she was above the order of the bees here.

"They have the discipline to rival that of any army," said the dragon. "And they do their work with the dedication any leader would hope to accomplish without being ordered to do so."

"The Dragon's Heir Tribe would have loved to have workers as dedicated," I answered, slipping my legs over the side of the balcony and grasping the rails, kicking my feet as I watched the procession of work.

"Perhaps they would, but that time is over. You've seen to that, little one. Of all the lives touched by a dragon's will, yours is perhaps the most disruptive."

I gripped onto the poles, contemplating the drop so far below and into the waxy structures of the bees. Workers were busy building up a lumpy cell much larger than the ones around it. They stole furtive glances at one another.

"I know you know of the history of your people," Katadanyatrinya says, placing her hands on either side of the railing above me. "You have published a good deal of your knowledge thus far in various volumes, and you know of the one known as Straiesha. And you know of your parentage."

I scratched the stone columns, pushing my butt forward, teetering on the edge of that precipice. "I don't know many things and want to find out everything."

"Everything is dangerous, little kobold," says Katadanyatrinya. Fortunately, I've met you here and now because I can help guide you as the Dragon's Council wishes it to be."

That was what I was dreading this whole time. I couldn't be anything more than a pawn to a dragon. It is a fear that I've harbored for some time. Perhaps in writing it now, I can allow the thought to seep into the mind of those who need to hear it. But at that moment, I was stuck and forced to listen to the words, no, the commands of the draconic knight.

I let my hands slip, and my body fell from the balcony.

A moment later, massive hands clapped together, squeezing me between strong palms. Katyadanyatrinya lifted me and brought me face-to-face with her. "Are you well, little one?" She asked. "Need you some rest or energy?"

"We can help you!" a worker who flew in with another worker buzzed.

"Please, sit down!" said the second worker, who took from her companion globs of wax and molded them into blobby chairs for us to sit upon. As they worked on Katyadanyatrinya's, the dragon shook her head and said. "It's alright, and make it the same size.

The dragon placed me upon one seat, and then with the mighty and effortless magic that only a dragon can possess, she shrank her form down further, her magnificent scales smoothing out, her horns becoming straighter and lighter, her imposing visage becoming sleek and, dare I say, beautiful.

I am a strange kobold. I can admit that. I've met many kobolds in my life, both inside my tribe and from all sorts of kinds without. I had never beheld one who held as much dignity and beauty as the tall and thin kobold woman before me, sitting opposite me with the poise of a lady and smiling toward me as a companion and not as a superior.

Despite the heart beating in my chest, I knew this was just a facade that only heightened my longing and stirred my emotions.

"You're staring, Tik Tik," Katyadarnyatrinya says, a soft giggle rising from her mouth. "Does this form bother you?"

I took a deep breath, gripping the wax table the bees had just finished. It was still warm. "No," I lied, offering her an awkward and toothy grin. "Just surprised you'd stoop to a kobold's level."

"Everyone has their place in things in the hierarchy of life," the dragon said, hands resting upon her lap. She nods when a bee approaches her with a cup.

The bee dripped a white substance from her head and into the vessel.

"Dragons naturally fit in a place where they can choose the place they sit upon. Obviously, this means they often choose to be at the very top. Sometimes, it's good to move toward the bottom."

The bee pours from the cup the substance into two other cups. To Katadanyatrinya, she hands one, and to me, she gives another.

I swipe the cup and say, "So, does that make you a switch?"

I quickly gulped down the drink. It was a bitter, acidic thing, and I clutched my chest as the slimy substance slid down my throat.

"So, this is the famous flirtation of Tik Tik. And here I thought you were too intimidated by me to attempt your natural and casual style."

I placed the emptied cup down on the table, my hands shaking. "And would you believe it if I said I am intimidated by you?"

She snorted. "I am no fool, Tik Tik. You sought to escape me by throwing yourself from the balcony. No doubt to flee with a flying spell or your teleportation device." She sipped her drink, closed her eyes, and shook her head involuntarily before placing the cup on its saucer. Smacking her lips and with teary eyes, she said. "I came here to protect the bees, not to control you, but to warn you."