{"sf1_id":2265821,"sf2_id":"3eg0GKWm","title":"Chapter 3: Stars","author":"CaptainMemes","words":7189,"posted_at":"2025-06-30T17:58:51.000Z","tags":["Dark","Death","Dragon","Human","Interspecies","M/F","Modern","Non-Anthro","Quadruped","Romance","SFW","Scales","Slice of Life","Slow burn","Violence","extinction","wholesome"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/2265821-chapter-3-stars","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/3eg0GKWm","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/cd/fc/cdfc3299-ba5e-4036-bab2-3a9529d53d88","description":"The stars look down as dark truths are revealed...","content":"The night had shown itself once again.\n\nAlmost complete blackness had taken over like all times before, a shroud of the canvas of space, filled to the brim with shining constellations of stars, planets,\u0026nbsp;suns…\n\nOf course, they were all distant, but they still revealed the might of their great bursts of power, even light years away.\n\nAnd all of it wouldn't be complete if it wasn't for the sacred celestial body that was the\u0026nbsp;Moon, its craters difficult to see, but a source of comforting light in the shadows it remained.\n\nIt was like a father to the children that were the far away forms of cosmic power that seemed to explode in brilliance.\n\nIt made one feel so small, so\u0026nbsp;insignificant.\n\nHow could it not?\n\nMany creatures didn't even pay any attention to it. Most just saw it as another phase of their programming, knowing what to do and what\u0026nbsp;not\u0026nbsp;to do, all for the sake of survival.\n\nPerhaps that was why the peepers quietly made their nightly sounds that both annoyed and…calmed\u0026nbsp;all the other critters.\n\nSure, it could've got on one's nerves, but at the same time, the repetitive nature could just as easily hypnotize anyone into a sense of security, knowing that this occurrence happened all the time simply as a part of nature.\n\nOr\u0026nbsp;it was a lullaby to those willing to hide away, to stay safe from the unforgiving wild that was the day's polar opposite, to provide something…familiar\u0026nbsp;to fall asleep to, even under the illusion of safety it provided.\n\nMaybe it was a distraction for those nocturnal masters of the dark, using it as a tool to easily grab a kill to live another day, or to possibly steel their nerves, to give them the utmost focus on what they want, what they\u0026nbsp;need.\n\nIt was how life went.\n\nIt was just the start, and yet, was the end of something,\u0026nbsp;anything.\n\nCase and point,\u0026nbsp;them.\n\nShelby Grant's home was\u0026nbsp;empty, but not for reasons one may think.\n\nSure, there were a couple lights on, shining through the windows like some mock Sun, but the creature that was meant to inhabit it was absent.\n\nNo. Nobody was there.\n\nInstead, the woman with muddy blonde hair was in a\u0026nbsp;position in a place one wouldn't expect.\n\nShe wasn't inside the shelter.\n\nNo. Instead, she was\u0026nbsp;on\u0026nbsp;it, and she wasn't standing or sitting, but\u0026nbsp;lying down.\n\nHer spine, head, and shoed feet were on the dark blue navy shingles that granted some smoothness to her posture, her knees propped up into the sky at a slight angle than on a level surface.\n\nOne could ask,\u0026nbsp;how on Earth did she get up here?\n\nWas…magic? Serendipity? Or just some hidden compartment that held a ladder or simply a window?\n\nWell, the answer was also nearby, but the source wasn't expected either.\n\nIt was a body. A creature.\n\nAn organism known simply as a\u0026nbsp;dragon.\n\nThose white scales.\n\nThose slightly ash-colored breast plates.\n\nThat prehensile tail.\n\nThose great draconic wings of powder-white membranes.\n\nThose two horns of perfect cones.\n\nAnd the eyes.\n\nThe bright blue eyes that shimmered greater than even the brightest of sapphires.\n\nThe dragon, a\u0026nbsp;drake, was placing his spines from his back with his folded wings relaxed to his sides, his three toed and clawed forepaws bent forwards on his breast, body a bit to her right.\n\nThe woman, a human, was Shelby Grant, and the drake, a dragon, was Sybus.\n\nShelby had a brown sweatshirt on with some jeans on as the bumpy bottom of her boots gave her some traction. Even as the folded roughness of the pants went into her joint, it also gave her some additional friction against the minor slope.\n\nSybus's snout and orbs faced what he had known for all of his lifetime, taught meticulously by his caretakers when at a young hatchling age.\n\nThe\u0026nbsp;stars.\n\nThey were the most familiar to him, able to identify if\u0026nbsp;this\u0026nbsp;one had more brightness than\u0026nbsp;that\u0026nbsp;one, or if a new twinkle had come into the fray to join its shining siblings.\n\nIt was the ghost dragon way, to chart these celestials in your mind, and to cherish and remember them for all of time.\n\nHow else were they to survive?\n\nThey thrived on the night because most other dragons didn't or couldn't. It wasn't their domain, but they played by its rules to take the utmost advantage of it.\n\nTo them, the night was a woolen\u0026nbsp;blanket, comforting them compared to the brightness of the day, which exposed before their peers. Such a thing terrified them to no end, especially when…\n\nW-When…\n\nNo.\n\nEnough.\n\nSybus couldn't think about\u0026nbsp;that. He just couldn't, not\u0026nbsp;in such a moment like this.\n\nWith\u0026nbsp;Shelby.\n\nNow, one of the great scholars of the world may wonder, how\u0026nbsp;did\u0026nbsp;they get here to lie next to each other?\n\nWell…\n\nWe needed to start from the\u0026nbsp;beginning.\n\nShelby was back from her work, her\u0026nbsp;job, hanging up her jacket and getting out of her boots to retire for the night, only to be met once again by the ghost dragon Sybus. It was like the other times where the drake just simply phased through her walls and made his way inside to greet her, not with something…unexpected\u0026nbsp;like their second meeting, but like the other ones after.\n\nYes, Sybus and Shelby have been meeting up at her house over the last few months, and it was both\u0026nbsp;difficult\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;easy\u0026nbsp;to see\u0026nbsp;why.\n\nOn one hand, or paw depending on who you were asking, there was always this…fascination between the two, an\u0026nbsp;interest\u0026nbsp;if you will.\n\nFor Shelby, it was obvious. This was a new dragon species the likes of which the world has never seen before, and she was establishing first contact, so there was an unmistakable privilege there.\n\nBut there was also something else, something that the woman couldn't pinpoint regardless of how hard she tried.\n\nHer mind just kept coming back to him, how kind and sensitive he was to cater to her despite her being a different species than him.\n\nIt just didn't make any sense. All other males of her own race simply discarded her like\u0026nbsp;nothing,\u0026nbsp;or she cut them from her life before they did any damage to it with their false promises and masks of generosity, only to realize that they looked at her in all the wrong ways instead of\u0026nbsp;love, but\u0026nbsp;Sybus?\n\nHe treated her with the utmost respect, not as a female, but as a\u0026nbsp;person. He was shy and afraid to be prone to failure, but it was towards himself, not to make her like him or to butter her up for something else, but to simply appear like a good person, one of kindness and compassion.\n\nBesides, his personality both made her curious and\u0026nbsp;sympathetic.\n\nThe latter was because he was once a mess, a thinned out dragon who had no right to suffer that way and always shaking upon making the slightest of mistakes and feeling terrible for those insignificant errors not of any fault of his own, and the former since it made her ask…questions.\n\nHow did he end up like this? God, no dragon should've been like\u0026nbsp;that! Slowly shriveling away into nothingness right before his body began\u0026nbsp;cannibalizing\u0026nbsp;itself…\n\nIt wasn't right.\n\nAnd why was he so silent about it?\n\nIt's been about three months since they first met, and he was still quiet about it.\n\nWhy?\n\nWas it because he didn't have the courage to speak up about it, quietly believing his doom would come if he so much as vibrate a\u0026nbsp;vocal cord\u0026nbsp;about it? Or was he simply a victim of the instinctual pride the vast majority of Dragonkind had?\n\nOr was it something\u0026nbsp;else\u0026nbsp;entirely?\n\nDid he…\n\nDid he…not want it to concern anybody?\n\nNo, such things had to be taken seriously! Sybus shouldn't handle this burden by himself!\n\nIt was selfless, but it was also\u0026nbsp;ridiculous.\n\nBut what did she know? She was living in an organized society with none of the dangers associated with the draconic one in the background, always within the shadows. It wasn't her fault for not understanding the\u0026nbsp;dragon\u0026nbsp;way, even if she was bonding a bit with Sybus.\n\nYes, she was…\n\nSybus above all else was kind and warm despite his scales being quite cold. Hell, he smiled and laughed with her, even if his soft-spoken nature may have got\u0026nbsp;in the way, but all in all, he was getting better around her.\n\nHe wasn't as deprived of nutrition and looking like a stick as before, fleshing out his muscles characteristic of a dragon, while still remaining sleek and lean.\n\nWhy?\n\nWas it some sort of boost in\u0026nbsp;confidence?\n\nWell, she was inclined to agree.\n\nShe noticed little things about him that changed ever so slowly, but came out nevertheless, like his\u0026nbsp;stutter, or…lack\u0026nbsp;thereof. Before, he stumbled with his words, always shaky and jumbled while still portraying ideas and sentences. It gave off the impression that he was seriously nervous about speaking with somebody else, or, well, a human anyway.\n\nBut that was the kicker. Sybus did it both out of fear and in an attempt at carefulness. He always thought that one of his letters or even the way he would speak one of them would be offensive, which was obviously a little too much, but the other reason was something else entirely. He always felt indebted to her, regardless of how much she told him that it was generosity at heart and that she didn't want anything else in return. But he always put her on a pedestal, not as some item like other people,\u0026nbsp;men\u0026nbsp;especially, but in terms of…friendship.\n\nThe ghost dragon was special, not just because of\u0026nbsp;what\u0026nbsp;he was, but also\u0026nbsp;who\u0026nbsp;he was.\n\nA person caring about her values despite not having any reason to. He could've just went and vanished into thin air and never return, but he came back.\n\nWas it…something else?\n\nDid it have to do with why he was living on threads when they first met?\n\nShe didn't dare ask him about it. It was likely personal, and she didn't want to overstep boundaries.\n\nIt had to come naturally, so she didn't press or even question it.\n\n...\n\nSybus also had a bit on his mind.\n\nHe kept coming back to her home at night because of her being his lifeline when he was about to starve and have his insides eat themselves\u0026nbsp;out, but…\n\nAgain, was it for another reason?\n\nWell, Shelby…\n\nS-She was…\n\nKind, compassionate, generous, careful…\n\nHonest.\n\nShe was honest about herself.\n\nShe didn't run away in fear, and she made that stance clear.\n\nShe gave him food and a person to talk to, and she was truthful in her intentions.\n\nShe didn't even ask about his personal life.\n\nWhy?\n\nWas it for…some bit of\u0026nbsp;trust?\n\nYes, it was…\n\nShe didn't want to barge into his affairs by forcing him to reveal it.\n\nWhy…\n\nWhy…t-they…\n\nNo, stop it.\n\nSybus, this is something that you…\n\nY-You…\n\nShould…\n\nS-Should he…?\n\nHe sought to meet her again tonight, after so many Moons.\n\nIt's gotten a little more chilly as of late, but still quite warm enough for his friend.\n\nYes, Shelby was a friend…\n\nShe respected him, and he back. He wasn't some annoyance, but a person, one who thought, talked, worried, laughed, cried…\n\nBahamut knows he's been alone for so long.\n\nIt wasn't because he was a\u0026nbsp;lone wolf, but because…\n\nB-Because…\n\nRight,\u0026nbsp;right. He flew to her home and just walked through her walls with his ghostly strengths and greeted her.\n\nOf course, she said hi and that it was nice to see him.\n\nIt appeared that she was a bit of a lonely soul too.\n\nThe woman asked if there was anything in particular that he wanted to do, or if he just wanted to talk the night away before her eyes began drooping.\n\nNow, the very idea that the human was giving him the reins on the night's activities was in of itself a sign of goodwill.\n\nBut what would they do?\n\nHmmmm…\n\nNow, the art of conversations was a surefire way to chip away at the hours left in her system, but…\n\nThere was something else.\n\nAs Sybus flew here, an idea hatched in his head and spread to his spirit.\n\nIt was quite dark out today, except…\n\nThe\u0026nbsp;Moon. The\u0026nbsp;stars.\n\nThe lights that guided all ghost dragons to their destiny, to their way home, or what\u0026nbsp;would\u0026nbsp;be their home.\n\nWas this…a\u0026nbsp;sign?\n\nWhat…\n\nW-What was it?\n\nBahamut always had his ways needling thoughts and ideas into existence within the embroidery of time and space, fate being one of them.\n\nThe sky held by the night was his canvas, to paint the known and unknown, the beautiful and the scary.\n\nPerhaps that was why the Ghost Dragonkind cherished the sparkles in the sky as a piece of his truth, always shining, and yet remaining hidden some nights.\u0026nbsp;Maybe\u0026nbsp;even his\u0026nbsp;creator\u0026nbsp;had a sense of\u0026nbsp;humor.\n\nHowever, there was one thing Sybus couldn't deny.\n\nThey were beautiful tonight, shining like a million comets in a still shower, gazing upon him as if to ask, 'What will you do young dragon?'.\n\nPerhaps it was another one of Bahamut's trials, making him feel this way.\n\n'Why don't you show her what your kind holds sacred? Show her the beauties of the world you value so dearly?'\n\nIt was something all creatures shared, but whether or not they\u0026nbsp;understood\u0026nbsp;it was a different story.\n\nThe stars and the Moon were a tale in of itself, always open, always gazing upon the world below, beckoning them to act, to speak, to\u0026nbsp;feel.\n\nA guiding wing, and yet\u0026nbsp;openness\u0026nbsp;incarnate.\n\nYes…\n\nHe knew what to do.\n\nThe conversation started between the two like any other, except Sybus wanted to go further…\n\n“Shelby, I have an idea.\"\n\n“Why don't we stargaze tonight?\"\n\n“W-What?\"\n\n“Y-Yes. T-They're quite beautiful tonight.\"\n\n“S-Sybus, there's no place to do that, well, besides the ground outside.\"\n\n“W-What? B-But don't you have a perfect spot on your cave?\"\n\nShe didn't correct him not turning\u0026nbsp;cave\u0026nbsp;into\u0026nbsp;house.\n\n“W-What? B-But I can't get up there. Unless I get a big ladder.\"\n\nHe didn't ask what\u0026nbsp;that\u0026nbsp;even was.\n\nHow would they do that?\n\nWas his idea dashed?\n\nWait…\n\nThere…\n\nYes! That's right!\n\nHe knew what to do.\n\nBut…\n\nWould Shelby want to do it?\n\n“I-I know how to get there.\"\n\nShe listened.\n\n“I'll just fly you up there.\"\n\nWhat?\n\nF-Fly…her…up\u0026nbsp;there?\n\n“I…I…\"\n\nShe didn't know what to say.\n\n“I-I don't know Sybus. Y-You don't have to, I mean…\"\n\n“I-I mean, what if I fall off? I…\"\n\n“Don't worry. I won't let you fall and get hurt.\"\n\n“I\u0026nbsp;promise.\"\n\nSurprise and warmness filled her.\n\nHe…\n\nH-He was doing this?\n\nF-From the kindness of his soul?\n\nW-Why?\n\nShe didn't deserve such a thing.\n\nAt least…nobody told her she did.\n\nShe already said that Sybus didn't owe her anything, but this?\n\nThis was of his own volition from his own soul.\n\nShe knew what it was.\n\nCourage and compassion.\n\nHe wanted to do this.\n\nBut…for both of them? Or her?\n\nHe had a big heart, the big goof he was, but that was only a part of the equation. Sybus put forth an idea for what to do.\n\nNow, that wasn't to say that she already wasn't nervous, for\u0026nbsp;Sybus would…have to…carry…her.\n\nFor one, it seemed like a fever dream experiencing such a thing human only think of in their wildest fantasies, and on the other hand, it seemed…like…God, she couldn't put her finger on it.\n\nIt felt a smidge…wrong…and…selfish. Why would the dragon want to spend such energy…on\u0026nbsp;her?\n\nAnd hold her with his paws as he lifted her up with his wings? It seemed like such an honor, and yet she didn't deserve such a privilege.\n\nShe always gave, but never asked for anything in return, and yet, Sybus was doing the same.\n\nNow\u0026nbsp;that\u0026nbsp;was true\u0026nbsp;friendship.\n\n“I-I, uh…o-okay.\"\n\nThe drake noticed the trail before the permission, but saw through her eyes and mind that she was simply nervous, that she didn't know what to think.\n\nNo, he would share this beautiful\u0026nbsp;gift\u0026nbsp;with her, the gift of\u0026nbsp;flight, if only for a few seconds.\n\nSitting on his rump, he extended his wings and held out his paws out to grip onto her.\n\nShelby gulped.\n\nShe…stepped towards him, right in front of his chest plates, feeling the coolness emanating off of his scales despite not touching them yet.\n\nThe woman\u0026nbsp;was within his reach, and yet, he didn't move. He waited until she got her bearings to decide for herself when to act.\n\nThat was true consideration for one's own thoughts…\n\nHer face gained a bit of a pink flush that warmed up her cheeks.\n\nShe's never been this\u0026nbsp;close\u0026nbsp;to him before.\n\nHowever, she was an adult. She'll find her way out of an uncomfortable situation of it ever came to that.\n\nWell, not that she would when she was with Sybus.\n\nWhy?\n\nHmmmm…\n\nNot even she truly knew.\n\nShe inevitably and slowly took her bare hands and bent her elbows to surround her arms around Sybus's barrel.\n\nThe scales were very\u0026nbsp;cold, but…not too uncomfortable.\n\nShelby couldn't help but notice the drake flinching at the sense of his hide being touched.\n\nThose hands felt…warm.\n\nGhost dragons usually hated the warmth, but…\n\nIt was like the feeling you would get from a nest.\n\nHome.\n\nYes…\n\nThis\u0026nbsp;was\u0026nbsp;supposed to happen.\n\nSybus then removed his forepaws from the ground and pulled them around the human, gripping her from just under her shoulder blades.\n\nShelby got a jolt from it, but it dissipated quickly.\n\nShe's never felt the power, and yet, gentle strength of those paws before, but they gave off the sense of…\n\nOf…a\u0026nbsp;bond…?\n\nBut…\n\nWait…\n\nWhy did they hold each other…inside?\n\nWeren't they supposed to…?\n\nHowever, the next part drew great shock out of her.\n\nHe expanded his great wings, and yet, they never hit anything.\n\nWhy?\n\nThey became ethereal, becoming semi-translucent as he has done before.\n\nIt went from the tips of his wings, to his body, and inevitably, his legs and paws.\n\nAnd then to Shelby.\n\nShe didn't have time to comprehend it as she felt the alien sensation of somewhat cold shower on her body as it spread to her too, even if she looked to the right and left to see why.\n\nAnd then…\n\nThe\u0026nbsp;liftoff.\n\nMatter was of no concern, for with this power, it held little barrier to them.\n\nShe gasped as her feet no longer felt the ground, like she was in free fall.\n\nBut instead of down, she went\u0026nbsp;up.\n\nThey\u0026nbsp;went up.\n\nSybus held his snout to the ceiling to gauge their journey as his back paws left the floor's surface as well.\n\nThey\u0026nbsp;floated.\n\nShelby was in somewhat of a mental frenzy trying to perceive what was occurring, but…\n\nShe knew she was safe.\n\nSafe with Sybus…\n\nShe looked up, and let out a sharp gasp again when the ceiling was about to possibly smash into her face.\n\nExcept, it\u0026nbsp;didn't.\n\nHer eyes shut, expecting her head to bang against it, only to feel…\n\nNothing.\n\nShe just felt her body phase though the objects, like she was being slid into a new pair of clothes with the transition from the first floor, all the way to her attic.\n\nWhen her eyelids peeled open, she instantly became mesmerized.\n\nShe saw them.\n\nThe\u0026nbsp;Moon. The\u0026nbsp;stars.\n\nThe\u0026nbsp;tome of existence.\n\nHer mouth was agape.\n\nSybus…floated\u0026nbsp;them up here, to her roof.\n\nEven on a slope and when Sybus made them a part of the physical world once more, she held her balance as she looked where she was stepping.\n\nAnd that ended up into\u0026nbsp;here\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;now.\n\nThey were just stargazing, quiet as they silently counted the faraway suns, either, white, blue, or something else entirely.\n\nIn fact, they may be something else.\n\nA world out there? Or perhaps another realm of possibilities? One with people like them?\n\nSentience was such a gift, to understand, to feel, and to worry.\n\nIt was something humans and dragons held so dear, for without it, they would be nothing but\u0026nbsp;animals.\n\nIt was all thanks to God and Bahamut for such a thing.\n\nAnd so, they both lied down on their backs, looking at the stars in their own way.\n\nTo be honest, Shelby never quite understood them. She knew what in essence they were, at least scientifically. They were\u0026nbsp;suns, so unbelievably far away, that it only served to prove that they were the brightest things in the universe, or perhaps a faraway planet, either\u0026nbsp;habitable or\u0026nbsp;uninhabitable.\n\nThe fact that some created such great tales in constellations was also an interesting story to tell, the very idea that some of them were choregraphed into such great pictures of the day's polar opposite.\n\nHowever, she never spent her time looking at the night sky for anything. They never moved, although, they only\u0026nbsp;sometimes\u0026nbsp;came out to play.\n\nIt wasn't her fault. She was so busy and her capacity for activity after hours at her job was rather low, so there was no reason to face something that was always there.\n\nHowever, she did this because of\u0026nbsp;him.\n\nSybus.\n\nShe didn't understand it, but she surmised that the dancing twinkles meant a lot for a dragon species accustomed to the night. However, it only served to showcase the differences, and yet, bring out the similarities.\n\nOf course the everyday human didn't pay the most attention to it except the most nocturnal of night owls, but the dragon race was more serious about values and traditions. Shelby realized that earlier than most, even after only about\u0026nbsp;four\u0026nbsp;years after the integration, and, well, Sybus was getting to her. He started to engulf her mind a bit, especially after the continuous meetings that went from a month gap in between their first confrontation and the second, to weekly, to now after a day or two.\n\nShe enjoyed the company, even if she was a bit of an introvert from all the men\u0026nbsp;ogling\u0026nbsp;at her before.\n\nThis world thrived on\u0026nbsp;cooperation,\u0026nbsp;now\u0026nbsp;more than ever with the dragons.\n\nStill, Sybus was…different.\n\nAgain, she couldn't place the feeling anywhere except her\u0026nbsp;bowl\u0026nbsp;of a skull to let it stew in.\n\nA mystery, both in of himself, and to her feelings.\n\nWhy…was she...so…?\n\n...\n\nSybus also wanted to do this, but for a different reason.\n\nEver since she saved him that fateful night, his debt to her was sealed, despite her protests that she didn't need such gratitude or even any sort of thank you.\n\nNo, she deserved it all. He would be a goner without her.\n\nAnd, with these new implementations of his powers, it asked him to rethink what he could do, made him a bit more…creative.\n\nMore\u0026nbsp;brave.\n\nAnd interactions with the woman also helped with that.\n\nPerhaps…not all humans were bad?\n\nNo, that didn't change those people before chasing him with loud bangs and flashes with their boom sticks, but it gave him hope, and such a thing led to even more praises for the woman in his mind.\n\nBut that didn't change the frequency of the visits to her.\n\nWhy was he always drawn here? To Shelby?\n\nNow, a dragon would simply attribute this to Bahamut. He always worked in such strange ways.\n\nBut here?\n\nIt was more of a\u0026nbsp;jumble\u0026nbsp;than he thought.\n\nIt was like untangling his tail out from a shrub.\n\nIt happened all the time, but you still had to figure it out.\n\nBut for now, it was just him, Shelby, and the stars and Moon, something Ghost Dragonkind praised.\n\nIt was Bahamut, pure and simple, as he knew these stars like the back of his paw. They formed complex webs that all had meaning, all had\u0026nbsp;purpose. The alignments were a map and a way to find home, along with one's destiny.\n\nWhich likely led him here all those Moons ago…\n\nWhy?\n\nWell, he was still figuring it out.\n\nRegardless, they were also beautiful, even if he had studied them countless times.\n\nHe could go on and on about it if he really wanted to, but just relaxing with his great friend would suffice for now.\n\nStill, there was this nagging feeling in him, one that wanted to break out.\n\nHe knew for certain that he could place his trust in her. She wasn't afraid of him, and instead wanted to do things with him despite their sleep schedules being completely different. It was an unnecessary sacrifice, but one she chose to make, something he couldn't decipher like the stars.\n\nWhy?\n\nAfter all she's done for him and how much kindness he received without reason as to why besides her just\u0026nbsp;wanting\u0026nbsp;to, he had that thought fly around in the sky of his cranium once again.\n\nShould…\n\nShould he…\n\nT-Tell…?\n\nT-Tell…her…?\n\nHowever, he was interrupted for the first time during the night on her…uh…roof.\n\n“Y'know…\"\n\nShe began to break the ice, to begin such a conversation, one that could affect him in more ways than one.\n\nSybus tilted his head to her listen.\n\n“I've never taken the time to look at the sky at night, but there's a whole other world out there somewhere.\"\n\n“There's…billions upon\u0026nbsp;billions\u0026nbsp;of stars…out there, I mean. Probably more than I can count or can even see.\"\n\n“And some of them? People say that the different colored ones are even planets just out there.\"\n\n“Some of the stars are even suns, like the one we have, or some are moving that are comets, well, I least I\u0026nbsp;think\u0026nbsp;they are.\"\n\nSybus had to unpack this.\n\nHowever, what he got instead was a slightly open maw and a…emotional shock.\n\nW-What…?\n\nAll of his life, he dedicated his life like many other ghost dragons to harness his powers and understand the mystery of the stars, but…\n\nShelby brought him many possibilities he never even thought of.\n\nHe saw many stars and go their meanings, but…b-billions?\n\nEven the alien word seemed like a lot.\n\nThe ones that were observable made complete sense to him, but the mere idea that their were possibly an infinite amount of them than the scope of the planet shook him.\n\nA-And speaking of…planets!?\n\nHe…\n\nH-How could there be…?\n\nT-There were worlds like theirs, just hanging out in the great beyond?\n\nIt…\n\nI-It was…\n\nWhat…\n\nHow…\n\nAnd\u0026nbsp;comets! Sure, he knew what a shooting star was, but a comet? What was that?\n\nIt just hit him.\n\nDespite the fact that the ghost dragons have spent their lives to the night, Shelby, a human, a creature feared by them, knew of this already?\n\nI-It simply made no sense.\n\nHow?\n\nBahamut, how did…\n\nWait…\n\nWait, what was…\n\nSybus saw it, his neck curving to get a better posture to glimpse at it.\n\nIt was…\n\nI-It was\u0026nbsp;red! And moving!\n\nIt was a bit above them and moving to the left! And it was…going\u0026nbsp;on\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;off?\n\nBut…wait, why was it\u0026nbsp;red?\n\nAnd…moving!?\n\nWas it…\n\nHe let out a gasp.\n\nC-Could it be? On this night?\n\n“O-Oh! Is that a\u0026nbsp;shooting star!?\", he let out like a child leaning from his caretakers what this phenomenon was.\n\nHowever, despite his excitement it was instantly shot down.\n\nWhy?\n\nBecause of Shelby.\n\n“Uh, no. That's a\u0026nbsp;helicopter.\"\n\nUh…\n\nWha…\n\nW-What…?\n\nA…\n\nA…\n\nA…heli…cop…ter…?\n\nW-What…\n\nW-What was a…heli…copter?\n\nHis maw was unlatched a little in confusion.\n\nHe had…no idea what this…thing\u0026nbsp;was, even as his eyes were glued to the faraway crimson glint that was unbelievably a long distance from them as it went to the left of their location.\n\nJust…what was this…helicopter?\n\nA…human\u0026nbsp;thing perhaps?\n\nAnd…\n\nWell, now he was flush with\u0026nbsp;embarrassment, as evidenced by the slightest tint of red on his white cheek scales.\n\nSybus, you incompetent\u0026nbsp;child…\n\nHe was the pride of the ghost dragon race, and yet he didn't know or even consider this when he made himself appear to be a scholar of the observable stars, and in front of\u0026nbsp;Shelby\u0026nbsp;no less.\n\nHe probably gave off the impression that he was really more than he made himself to be, especially after telling his friend about his knowledge of the night sky before.\n\nNo. Now he kind of felt a little bad actually.\n\nHe wasn't a liar. Dragons were many things, but only the most\u0026nbsp;selfish\u0026nbsp;of dragons were unfaithful with their words, but that didn't matter, as he may have given off the idea that he was full of himself instead of making a mistake.\n\nJust…what…how\u0026nbsp;could one know about such a possibility, like this…heli...copter?\n\nNow, it also felt like his worldview was\u0026nbsp;narrower\u0026nbsp;than it should have been.\n\nBut it only made sense because…\n\nB-Because…\n\nBahamut.\n\nNo, Sybus, she wouldn't reject you because of this, right?\n\nNo, no, she was a friend.\n\nA f-friend…\n\n“O-Oh…\", Sybus admitted his error, gazing down at his ashen chest plates after the light disappeared behind a forest to their left.\n\nShelby understood.\n\nHe likely felt a little ashamed to be not only be inaccurate about the red glare being something it wasn't, but was also in a weird spot where he was honest about he knew about the other side of celestial coin to the day, but didn't know what\u0026nbsp;they\u0026nbsp;knew.\n\nHumans were astronomers for, well,\u0026nbsp;forever. It was always something that fascinated those willing to learn about the great endless space outside this piece of existence,\u0026nbsp;a strange and great mystery that captivated Humanity for most of its time on this planet, even when they never fully understood it.\n\nEven now, nobody had concrete answers\u0026nbsp;about its laws and what could be out there.\n\nMaybe another time in the future, but…well, that's if they even wanted to. The expanse of eternal blackness in the void was something that was defined as a part of the unknown.\n\nIf there was one thing all creatures feared, it was just that, the\u0026nbsp;unknown.\n\nIn a way, perhaps the ghost dragon perspective was for the best. They knew Earth's star systems better than even the best of Humanity, regardless of if the scope didn't expand beyond that.\n\nAnd so, Sybus was not to blame, but that was the thing.\n\nHe\u0026nbsp;did\u0026nbsp;blame himself.\n\nHe likely saw himself in the thought that she saw him as a liar, when in reality, nobody knew about everything, the drake being no exception, so it was rough seeing him like this, especially since his world view with these revelations was being challenged.\n\nThe fact that he was concerned…at all really showed how much he cared.\n\nRough all things considered.\n\nPoor Sybus…\n\nHowever, everything changed after that.\n\nWhy?\n\nSybus.\n\n...\n\nThe drake released his lack of confidence around his friend and regained a sense of calmness once more.\n\nWhat?\n\nShe…\n\nS-She…didn't comment on it?\n\nWhy?\n\nWas it…\n\nOh.\n\nOh Bahamut.\n\nWas it…respect?\n\nHmmmm…\n\nThey appeared to know both ends of the spectrum in the knowledge of the night, that was for sure.\n\nHe knew the planet's stars and Moon, and she knew some of the mysteries outside of that.\n\nHumanity and Dragonkind…\n\nHis powers drifted a bit around her mind, asking if she felt this way about understanding his limits and didn't point it out, and instead…accepted it.\n\nAnd…\n\nWell, she\u0026nbsp;did.\n\nShe saw that he felt bad and understood.\n\nUnderstood that it was no fault of his own.\n\nThat…\n\nThat…was\u0026nbsp;friendship,\u0026nbsp;trust, and\u0026nbsp;honesty.\n\nAnd as such, this inescapable voice in his head began asking the\u0026nbsp;question.\n\nThe…forsaken\u0026nbsp;question.\n\nShould…\n\nS-Should…\n\nS-Should…h-he…\n\nS-Should he…tell her?\n\nTell her his deepest and darkest\u0026nbsp;secret?\n\nThe explanation for\u0026nbsp;everything?\n\nWhy he ended up in her house to feast on her food in an act of desperation all those Moons ago?\n\nWhy he looked so…disheveled and on his last flicker of life?\n\nUntil…\n\nS-She…\n\nUntil she…saved\u0026nbsp;him…?\n\nSaved him?\n\nBahamut.\n\nYes, he…\n\nNo, she deserved to know.\n\nThey were friends, no deception, no lies.\n\nSpecial.\n\nHeartfelt.\n\nPowerful, in the soul.\n\nShe cared for one about to literally become nothing more than a ghost, only for her to save him out of the goodness of her spirit.\n\nYes.\n\nOne deserving of such a thing.\n\nIt was the one thing he could do after all the time they've known each other.\n\nHe needed to.\n\nBahamut, guide my words, and give me strength, and if not, then grant me your eternal mercy…\n\nHis face went to Shelby's with a very fearful and concerned gaze, his arched bent in the most extreme bit of nervousness as he began to curl his barrel towards her, propping himself on his foreleg, the woman doing the same in his direction, but on her right elbow.\n\nThis instantly grabbed her attention as she looked to the right into his bright sapphires that glowed in the moonlight.\n\n...\n\nWhy…Why was Sybus like this?\n\nUnfortunately, her answer was to come, and to say it wasn't pretty would be an\u0026nbsp;understatement.\n\n“S-Shelby, I-I…\"\n\nHe faced down towards the rough shingles.\n\n“I-I have a confession to make.\"\n\nWhat?\n\nA confession?\n\nWha…\n\nW-What…was this?\n\nWhat was Sybus talking about?\n\nHis eyes went back into her chocolate ones.\n\n“B-Bahamut, I-I've never told another soul about this, I-\"\n\n“No, you don't have to if you don't want to Sybus.\", Shelby stated firmly, shaking her head a bit in emphasis.\n\nShelby was truly a light amidst darkness, a flash from the one endless shadow that even a ghost dragon couldn't flee from.\n\nIt was a reinforcement of her kind nature, but no, he had to tell her.\n\nIt was the only way.\n\nThe only way to get this off of his chest, not only for Shelby, but also himself.\n\n“N-No. I have to.\"\n\nH-Have to…?\n\nW-Why?\n\n“S-Shelby, I-I'm sorry, for being a mess and everything, I…\"\n\nA sigh from his maw came out.\n\n“I'm a\u0026nbsp;dragon, and yet I was\u0026nbsp;barely\u0026nbsp;one, u-until you\u0026nbsp;saved\u0026nbsp;me.\"\n\nHer heart got warmer at that, but Sybus should feel this way! He…\n\nWait…\n\nW-Why…was he saying this? W-Why…\n\nW-Why was he this way?\n\n“I-I'm sorry. I-It's just that there's so\u0026nbsp;few of us left, and…\"\n\nW-Wha…\n\nW-What...?\n\nS-So…few of us?\n\nW-What could…\n\nOh.\n\nOh God.\n\nOh dear Lord.\n\nNo.\n\nNo.\n\nI-It…\n\nIt…was…?\n\nI-I…\n\nLost.\n\nShe\u0026nbsp;was lost.\n\nHe\u0026nbsp;was lost.\n\nThey were\u0026nbsp;both\u0026nbsp;lost.\n\n“F-Few of us?\", she repeated.\n\nGod.\n\nShe wished what she was thinking wasn't true.\n\nShe wished it wasn't\u0026nbsp;fucking\u0026nbsp;true.\n\nSybus curled his eyes to the dark roofing once more.\n\nIt was out there. It was a slip of the tongue, but now she had an idea.\n\nThere was only one place to go once you reached the tip of the mountain.\n\nDown.\n\nHe returned his brutally honest and scared face to the woman's and spoke once again.\n\n“Y-Yes. I-I…\"\n\nHe gulped.\n\n“S-Shelby. Our numbers are\u0026nbsp;low.\"\n\nDear God.\n\n“I-I…I-I could be the\u0026nbsp;last\u0026nbsp;ghost dragon for all I know.\"\n\nNo.\n\nDon't say that!\n\nP-Please…n-no…\n\n“B-But…\"\n\nAnother exhale.\n\n“I-It's…b-because…\"\n\nBahamut, preserve me. Help me find a way out of this eternal nightmare…\n\nSave me…\n\n“I-I-I-I-It's…because…\"\n\nBahamut\u0026nbsp;did\u0026nbsp;save me.\n\nShe\u0026nbsp;saved me.\n\n“It's because…\"\n\nShelby.\n\n“It's because we're being…\"\n\n…\n\n…\n\n…\n\n...\n\n...\n\n“…hunted.\"\n\nNo.\n\nNo.\n\nGod no.\n\nNonononononono…\n\nH…\n\nH-Hu…\n\nH-Hunted!?\n\nGod, Lord of all, w-what…\n\nW- **Why!?**\n\nShe wanted to believe it was a\u0026nbsp;lie, but…\n\nWhy…Sybus…?\n\nBy…?\n\nHumans?\n\n“B-Because of our powers, the\u0026nbsp;others, t-they…\"\n\nNo.\n\nShe felt like\u0026nbsp;throwing up.\n\n“T-They're…afraid\u0026nbsp;of us.\"\n\nChrist.\n\n“T-They're scared that we'll…kill\u0026nbsp;them in their sleep, scared that we could walk through their caves and steal their food, a-and…\"\n\nF-Fuck me…\n\n“T-Take their\u0026nbsp;hatchlings\u0026nbsp;away…\"\n\nShit,\u0026nbsp;fuck.\n\n“N-Not even\u0026nbsp;shadow dragons\u0026nbsp;could do that. They didn't want to be scared anymore, so the dragons…a-are…t-they're…killing\u0026nbsp;us. Killing us\u0026nbsp;all.\"\n\nFuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!\n\n“W-We're all so scared and try to hide, but that stopped working, so we always have to move, a-and…\"\n\nOh.\n\n“T-Then the humans tried to shoot us with those…Bahamut-forsaken\u0026nbsp;boom sticks. T-The other dragons took all of our hunting grounds, a-and…we didn't have anything left, w-we…\"\n\n“S-Shelby, I-I'm sorry, I-I…\"\n\n“No. Don't be.\"\n\nW-Wha…\n\nW-What?\n\n“N-No, Shelby, I…\"\n\nShelby...\n\nS-She...\n\n“A-Am I…a\u0026nbsp;monster?\"\n\nNo.\n\nNo, he wasn't.\n\nNever.\n\n“No. It wasn't your fault Sybus. It never was.\"\n\nHis chest swelled with higher temperature than usual.\n\nW-Wha….\n\nW-Why…did he feel…this\u0026nbsp;way…?\n\n“You're\u0026nbsp;not\u0026nbsp;a monster.\"\n\nH-He…\n\nH-He's…not?\n\n“You were about to\u0026nbsp;die. There was nothing you could have done.\"\n\nA few moments passed of nothing.\n\nThen, a sigh from the human came from her mouth.\n\n“I-I don't want you to die, I…\"\n\nA brief pause.\n\n“I-I'm sorry Sybus, sorry that this happened to…you all, I…\"\n\nNow, a\u0026nbsp;swallow\u0026nbsp;from the woman's throat.\n\n“I-I understand.\"\n\nWha…\n\n“Y-You're my friend Sybus. I…care\u0026nbsp;about you.\"\n\nW-What?\n\nF-Friend…?\n\n“I promise you.\"\n\nP…\n\nP-P-Promise…?\n\n“You'll be\u0026nbsp;safe…with me.\"\n\nWhat?\n\nWhy…?\n\nWhy him?\n\nWhy do help him?\n\nWhat did he ever do to deserve such kindness?\n\n...\n\nDamn\u0026nbsp;them.\n\nDamn them\u0026nbsp;all.\n\nDamn the\u0026nbsp;dragons.\n\nDamn the\u0026nbsp;humans.\n\nDamn the\u0026nbsp;world.\n\nFuck…fuck\u0026nbsp;them all.\n\nHow…w-why…\n\nJesus Christ,\u0026nbsp; **why!?**\n\nW-Why…\n\nThis was enough to make people everywhere full of fear and bring them to\u0026nbsp;tears.\n\nShe\u0026nbsp;was almost driven to tears.\n\nHow…\n\nHow could the world be this way?\n\nHorrible.\n\nTerrible.\n\nPutrid.\n\nDisgusting.\n\nShitty.\n\nFucking…\n\nShe barely kept a cool head as her mind was slowly being eaten out by the Grim Reaper with all the death in the world.\n\nThe ghost dragons were now just\u0026nbsp;that.\n\nGhosts.\n\nNothing.\n\nDead.\n\nGone.\n\nDeceased.\n\nJust a figment of one's imagination, a tale to keep hatchlings in line.\n\nAnd it was\u0026nbsp;mortifying.\n\nIt showed just how dangerous Dragonkind can be. It wasn't just the ones left in the old world finding offense in Humanity, but also amongst\u0026nbsp;themselves.\n\nThe ghost dragons had the privilege of life like all creatures of the world,\u0026nbsp;hell, the whole\u0026nbsp;universe. They were just\u0026nbsp;different.\n\nIt was the gift of life that you used to create your own path, with your own choices, not the color of your scales! Of…what blessings Bahamut gave them!\n\nAnd\u0026nbsp;humans! Shame on them! Didn't they see their suffering and how much pain they felt? How\u0026nbsp;desperate\u0026nbsp;they were?\n\nDid they just see them as nothing more than a\u0026nbsp;nuisance!?\n\nLike… a mosquito that you wanted to zap with an electric swatter?\n\nLike doe…that ate your bird seed and you wanted to shoot it…with a\u0026nbsp;cannon?\n\nA…\n\nA…\n\nA poor and lonely soul with\u0026nbsp;nothing.\n\nH-How…\n\nHow could they all do such a thing!?\n\nIt wasn't\u0026nbsp;fair.\n\nBut that was the thing.\n\nLife\u0026nbsp;was\u0026nbsp;never\u0026nbsp;fair.\n\nIt didn't matter how much you tried, a curve ball was always headed your way, but this was\u0026nbsp;too much.\n\nHow could the dragons do this? How could her race do this?\n\nIt was much more complicated than one may think. While in the integrated society, dragons seemed to be all for happy cooperation, but now, it felt so much darker outside of her walls than she thought.\n\nAnd…Sybus goes home every single day? And constantly be under the shadow of\u0026nbsp;fear?\n\nWas\u0026nbsp;this\u0026nbsp;what they wanted from them?\n\nTo forever terrified of death?\n\nWhy?\n\nSo they couldn't be scared\u0026nbsp;themselves!?\n\nTo her, it was\u0026nbsp;bullshit.\n\nYou think that\u0026nbsp;they\u0026nbsp;are the most dangerous creatures in the world?\n\nLook at yourself in the mirror.\n\nAsk\u0026nbsp;yourself\u0026nbsp;that question.\n\nThey…\n\nFuck.\n\nThis was too much.\n\nBut she was honest.\n\nShe knew the truth now, and she\u0026nbsp;understood.\n\nSybus was her friend, one of the only ones, and with his knowledge, now she had an even stronger connection with him.\n\n...\n\nW-Wha…?\n\nS-She…\n\nS-She…\n\nS-S-S-She…\n\nSpeechless.\n\nQuiet.\n\nTorn apart.\n\nBut put back together.\n\nBy\u0026nbsp;her.\n\nHis savior.\n\nHis friend.\n\nHis…\n\nHis chest was…warm?\n\nW-Why…did he feel…tingly…inside?\n\nHow?\n\nHow…\n\nWhy did she…?\n\nThat was when it hit him.\n\nShe was not a friend, but a\u0026nbsp;best\u0026nbsp;friend.\n\nThe ones that stood by your side through thick and thin, not because they wanted something in return, but just because they simply\u0026nbsp;could.\n\nNow he understood.\n\nWhy her incessant kindness confused him.\n\nNow he saw her as a person who cares.\n\nShe was a purely heartfelt soul who loved life.\n\nOne who wasn't perfect, but looked past the flaws\u0026nbsp;for the sake of others, to help them from a deep hole, one\u0026nbsp;so dark and so cold.\n\nHis face went from timidness to gladness, like the\u0026nbsp;weight of\u0026nbsp;the world was lifted\u0026nbsp;off his shoulders.\n\nHe felt…happy.\n\nNot laughing or satisfied, but just…happy.\n\nThe back curve of his mouth went up ever so slightly in a small smile.\n\nBahamut sent him to steal from her, and now, he understood now that it was for a\u0026nbsp;reason.\n\nWhat\u0026nbsp;was\u0026nbsp;that reason? He still needed to walk this path, but now he had help to find his way.\n\nShelby Grant.\n\n“T-Thank you.\"\n\nHe had to hold back his emotions to keep his head on straight, but it was the most gut-wrenching, and yet soul-warming thing he's ever said.\n\nIt was true in every sense of the word.\n\nHe would be dead without her, and now, he would be have nobody to talk to without her.\n\nTruly a beautiful soul.\n\nThe fact that she promised him safety was brave.\n\nDragons never broke promises, so this made the vow impact him even harder.\n\nShe was willing to do anything to help him.\n\nAnd you know what?\n\nHe would be her friend either way.\n\nAnd she…\n\nShe…\n\nW-Why did he feel like…her soul…completed\u0026nbsp;his?\n\nHis heart was pumping more blood in his veins and created this…feeling\u0026nbsp;in his chest.\n\nWhy…\n\nWhy did his heart feel like it was jumping out from his rib cage?\n\nAnd…\n\nD-Did Shelby feel the same way?\n\nThen…\n\nThat was it.\n\nComprehension and understanding.\n\nThe rest of the night of stargazing was more…calm.\n\nBoth gave each other a nod before returning to their spines and watching the night together.\n\nAnd, as Shelby placed her hands on both sides of herself to stick herself on the slope of her roof, something…happened.\n\nThe dragon moved, but not in a way most would expect.\n\nAlmost like instinct was acting on its own, Sybus unfolded his long left foreleg from his chest and raised his wing the best he could while his joints scraped against the friction-inducing fake ceramic on the house, placing the paw on the rough and coarse flat pieces of synthetic material.\n\nThe texture was a bit uncomfortable, but that was hardly the point.\n\nHis paw mindlessly slid along the joined surfaces of the shingles, and…\n\nAnd…\n\nShelby noticed it.\n\nRight away\u0026nbsp;in fact.\n\nThe woman's hand, palm down on the roofing, felt something on top of hers.\n\nHer warm flesh…felt\u0026nbsp;another's.\n\nIt was Sybus. His paw engulfed her own, but not in aggression but…in this newfound\u0026nbsp;bond\u0026nbsp;of theirs.\n\nThis unbreakable friendship.\n\nEven though she felt the underpaw of his foot on her hand, it was only a minor note that she took in her brain.\n\nWhy?\n\nWhy did she…not do anything, or…say anything about it.\n\nShe barely even paid a single\u0026nbsp;note.\n\nWhy?\n\nYes, the strange great mystery of not knowing answers to questions.\n\nWhile one may be disappointed or even irritated at that fact, another way to look at it was to just let go, to accept it as reality and leave it at that.\n\nBut this…\n\nThis never left Shelby's mind. Not for a\u0026nbsp;second.\n\nWhy…\n\nW-Why did she…accept\u0026nbsp;it?\n\nAccept\u0026nbsp;him?\n\nWhy…?\n\nWhy didn't she notice it as…different…out of place?\n\nGod only knows.\n\nBut that didn't change reality.\n\nShe paid it no mind as the drake joined his paw with her hand and they mindlessly released their worries and simply defined it as the strange way their creators toyed with fate.\n\nFate…\n\nSuch an odd thing.\n\nSure, you could change it, but that may end up getting you there to begin with.\n\nSometimes you had to let loose, to release your tension and not ask questions.\n\nNo needs, no wants.\n\nJust be…happy\u0026nbsp;for a change.\n\nAs they joined their hand and paw together, they continued facing the starlight above, for as the stars looked down, they saw the start of something.\n\nThe start of\u0026nbsp;what?\u0026nbsp;The start of something new? Something bright and warm? Or cold, dark,\u0026nbsp;dangerous?\n\nBut there was one certainty, something they couldn't deny.\n\nMaybe this bout of stargazing was to lead to something\u0026nbsp;special.\n\nThey\u0026nbsp;were special.\n\nTo each other.\n\nWell, they didn't know the full story. Minds to preoccupied with these revelations, and they wouldn't be the last ones.\n\nWhy?\n\nBut then there was this nagging feeling contained within the confines of their cranial bone.\n\nWhy…\n\nW-Why…\n\nWhy did they…feel\u0026nbsp;this way?","series":{"name":"A Ghost in the Hall (Old)","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/2256366-chapter-2-don-t-scream.json"}}