FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Hello and welcome to the fourth installment of this series.

It has been a while since the last, but as I said, I am aiming to pick up a little pace, so I can wrap this series up in a few parts. As always, feel not just free but encouraged to leave feedback of any kind. In that sense, enjoy, hate, whatever you like, just do it with passion. Hopefully see you to the next part

Bordox

PS: Huge thanks to :iconInsanityRot: and :iconNon2: for lending me their time on this one.

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It was as if Eldyr fed them something special, the scaly lumps now reaching well over Tondan's hips, even if on four legs. Playing with them had become a dangerous affair as well, and he had to make sure to stop each time they even remotely used their claws, as a stag's skin was not nearly as protective as a dragon's scales. Still, it didn't prevent them from besetting him almost every day, all while their father insisted for him to “fight back."

It was far easier to make such suggestions when you were a colossal lizard who didn't run the risk of getting sliced in two out of carefree jest. On one hand, it was not like Tondan didn't trust the four, but on the other, he painfully noticed his control over them slipping further each day.

Like today when he finally sat down at the table and the first snarl already echoed from outside before he had even begun to prepare breakfast. These naughty beasts could track him down by his scent even if he decided to sleep somewhere else, and they had slowly but surely learned how to use their sixth sense as well. For now, it felt like a rasp drawn across his scalp each time they attempted to communicate, they improved though despite frequently misinterpreting his emotions.

In his usual abstruseness, Eldyr had tried to explain it like autumn leaves dropping. According to him, it was easier to see the amount that fell than the reasons the tree had for shedding them. 'A leaf of despair,' he had said, 'smells more like the turf underneath your paws, while a leaf of happiness is shed with the sound of water.'

“Oh shut up!" he yelled when another roar broke his line of thought -- not a very loud one due to their age, yet the unmistakable cue that they would not wait for much longer before they began going berserk. Possibly, at least. The hope of then surrendering quietly was still there when he didn't respond for a while.

He listened, then hesitated, but it seemed that they had grown silent indeed, blissful peace engulfing him until he heard a thumping sound from outside -- no, not outside.

Wondering what it was, the noise returned -- individual clicks this time, scratching sounds, rhythmic almost, then a snarl and another thump, all resonating from his walls. “Oh no, you aren't..."

When he flung open the door, the first thing he saw was Exan laying sheepishly on the ground in front of him. Deifel playfully jumped away from him, all while Ansura stood suspiciously against the side of his house. Suddenly, a weak whimper sounded from above him, closely followed by scratching noises, and a green tail dropping against his face from the architrave. “Forlen! You snot, get down here. Now!" Tondan commanded and stepped outside, but the young only put more effort into climbing up. It would have looked cute how the dragon struggled and padded on the angled surface if the construction underneath hadn't started giving off displeased groans in the meantime. The young's wings flared out for balance; nevertheless, it didn't stop him from slipping time and time again. “Forlen! Now!"

Still no reaction but even hastier attempts to escape his ire and seek shelter on the roof. “You want to play then, you spoilt brat, eh?" the stag eventually grumbled, and while the winged lizard was quick, Tondan was quicker to latch onto the dangling extremity. A yowl resounded from the dragon when he was tugged down roughly. An attempt to break free failed, and once the stag exerted his full weight, he had no change but to give in.

“Don't even think about it," he barked when the blue dragoness to his right eyed up his roof suspiciously as well in the hopes that he was sufficiently distracted. “None of you. Stay off my home, keep quiet in the morning, and spare me the hungry looks by the bloody gods! Get lost! Adorable scallywags."

With a determined kick, the stag encouraged the bleating young underneath his hooves to leave, luckily arguing the rest out of starting anything as well. He was pretty happy with himself till he spotted them setting up in front of the other house instead to cry out for Keliara and her husband. Only when he threatened to chase them off again did they give off frustrated snarls and finally headed off for another adventure. He would need to apologise later on, he realised. They had to understand, but if they started being afraid, they would lash out one day, and when that happened, losing a bit of his sleep would be the least of his concerns. Apparently he hadn't been quick enough in his efforts though, now hearing voices from his friends and neighbours. The young had done it anew.

With a weak smile, the stag looked around the valley and ran his gaze over the lush fields of grass that had grown marvellously lately. Nearby stood the proud barn they had finished last autumn, and he vividly remembered the dragon frequently complaining about his role in construction. While agreeing to help them out of sheer boredom, he was also the only one able to lift the huge roof truss and similar parts. If they had been more, it would sure have been easier, but Tondan doubted that even if they hired someone, they would peacefully work alongside or even in sight of the dragon. Apart from the barn, they had also finally started the endeavour of planting a forest. The soil provided a rich foundation, and all it further needed was time to grow. It was a project for generations, nothing compared to the life of a dragon, yet he cared for the project as well, and it felt strangely relieving to the stag to know that someone would witness the end of their efforts.

“Naturally, I care for you and your insignificances, little one," said dragon suddenly commented and quietly expressed his respect for Tondan's outburst from earlier, “You will still live long enough to have them grow into a majestic forest, long enough for your kind to uproot it, burn it down, or shape it into the shelters and furniture you are so proud of." Another example of the giant lizard not taking his promises seriously. “I honour each single of my oaths. When you focus your miniscule mind this much on me however, it is like a call for those who listen, myself in the situation we find ourselves in," the dragon simply responded without the slightest hint of guilt.

He paused for a moment, then a flicker of an impression swept through the connection -- a short trail of people walking outside the valley. The dim morning sun gave away little details, but they seemed just off the outskirts of the black stench. “Those refugees are passing by closer each cycle. It makes my scales itch," Eldyr grumbled while Tondan felt the dragon's wings rustle as if they were his own, “I would prefer if your kind just slaughtered each other and gave this world time to heal."

The stag thought, considering Eldyr's words, but finally sighed and returned inside to have breakfast. “And you would miss none of us."

Slightly nudging the cervine's mind, Eldyr took further hold of him and said with a serious tone, “I would miss you and every single life lost in the war. Kings, farmers, hatchlings, grown creatures -- I would pity every of them. Few do harm, but as a kind, you are lost. It is inevitable."

With that, he retreated, leaving the evanescent, shapeless glob of his thoughts on the matter though, which felt strangely like a conversation Tondan remembered having had tomorrow. The stag had perpetual issues to fathom the dragon's thinking, but Eldyr still argued that it would be an important ability for him to learn.

Summer arrived; the crops had grown, and so had the hatchlings. Nothing unexpected. Keliara practiced her magic under the dragon's guidance, and while she still required his might to do anything, what he gave her started to take shape increasingly well. In some cases, it meant moving a stone along a line; in others it meant letting water ripple from a distance. After the first outburst, she had worked hard to get the flow under control. Nonetheless, the dragon left nothing good on her attempts. Every time he felt a life end outside of their valley, completely unrelated to her efforts, he made it harder for her to gain his approval, every flicker of doubt or weakness another reason for a berating, but she made progress nevertheless.

Life went on until one morning, as the three sat next to the river, all but one the young playing in the background, while Exan laid inertly in the water and enjoyed the coolness. Rapidly approaching, a giant shade started spreading over them, who had announced himself quite a while ago with the resounding flaps of his wings. The sound of Eldyr's slowing down muffled all their conversations as gusts of air blew over them, and with a massive impact on the ground, the dragon landed. The colourful bunch only paid attention for a fraction of a second before they went back at each other's throats again, contrary to the three friends. When Eldyr played his head next to Tondan, he had conveniently captured their unshared attention.

He noticed, then closed his eyes and grumbled, “Do not let me disturb you. Finish your talk."

“Eldyr, what is it?" Tondan responded and started scratching the scaly wall next to him. Latter probably felt nothing more than when an ant ran up Tondan's leg, but the dragon purred nonetheless.

“Two groups of bipedals are headed for the valley. You have two cycles to decide whether to let them starve or lose your home. After that, you would probably start finding the first of the hunted." As the stag now stopped his ministrations, the pleasant vibrations turned into a snarl, urging him to continue. Meanwhile, the other two threw glances up to the scaly mountain.

“What are you implying? Who is coming?"

“Victims of the war, twenty people. Families, unarmed," Eldyr responded while sharing his memories, “Mercenaries are a cycle behind. The last do not know of this place; the first have no choice but to come here. Fear is driving them, but still, I am truly concerned that this place does not further seem to possess its fright towards your kind. Nonetheless, desperation has many ways to make one unreasonable. And I am not certain whether you can even help the supposedly innocent."

Tondan didn't understand at first, then started piecing together that it wasn't their supplies that he was worried about, by far not. The last summer had been fruitful as they had overestimated the amount of crops that they would need, and the forest behind the mountain range had more edibles than they could ever consume. It was the people that concerned the dragon. He didn't trust them since the incident. Tondan smiled at the prospect of the giant lizard being afraid of mere 'morsels'. “What is the reason behind all this? No soldier would go to such--"

“Spare the thought, little one. Bipedals never needed a reason to leave their world in shambles, they just relish their ignominy and invent lies and stories to justify it afterwards. Make your decision. They are your responsibility, and all I can do is warn you and live with your judgement."

“And what if we decided not to help?"

“... I would turn down everyone you do not deem worthy to live among yourselves; in the rare case that they even found the entrance. It is the most of an impact I can have on your kind's fate in good conscience."

Nodding curtly to mark the end of their conversation, Eldyr extracted himself from their heads again and rolled onto his side to kindly nuzzle his one son's head. The green drake reacted only slowly as he snapped after the fatherly jawline. Latter bit back a finger's width away from the young's neck, but that only set the fledgling off further. Soon, he jumped around the dark colossus, pounced, rolled, and dodged every half-hearted attempt of a defence that slowly but surely turned the green surface into a black and brown mud hole. A wing was used as a ramp up on the back, and while the two went on with the uneven tussle, the three had time to discuss.

As a first step, they had to ponder the situation as a whole. It was nothing they had thought about when moving here, or rather being moved, nor something any of them had done before. Such decisions had always been reserved for the rulers, the provost, always someone else. It sure was distracting as well with the noise of the dragon rolling about, splashing in the water and tearing up the developing grass. Points were discussed, agreed on, rejected, but everyone had their opinion, and so in the end, it ended on a tie.

Semon wanted to leave them as they were; if they came, they came, but he didn't expect them to take the more difficult route up the mountains. There was a smaller passage at the northern end, but it was hard to find if one didn't know what to search for.

Keliara, on the other hand, intended to go and assist them. Considering the circumstances, this would probably mean to indeed welcome them into their life for as long as the war lasted. Not that it would be their desired outcome, nonetheless, it was the only way to ensure their well-being and a choice that might come up by their wishes as well when they came here. Tondan had the same opinion, but still, the only things all three could agree on was that the mercenaries had no place among them. Keliara wouldn't go against her husband, Tondan wouldn't decide against either of them if it came down to it, but Semon couldn't stop one if they decided to move out on their own either.

At last, the discussion ended when Eldyr intervened again. In the meantime, the other siblings had found interest in their father and laid splayed out across his belly and wings, occasionally taking turns in climbing up his neck and jumping off the curled neck to be caught in his paws again. “Ructious things will never finish a discussion by obeying their nature," he finally stated, blocking all their thoughts with his presence, “eat for now. I will fly out with my young for a while. Furthermore... Semon... I carry no intention to act against your pending decision."

The equine didn't seem happy about the invasion of his head in the slightest, but took it with a dissatisfied huff. Nodding shortly towards his wife, he began marching back to his home, noticing but ignoring that she didn't follow behind. The young stared after him for a moment, their looks especially curious, then Eldyr turned onto his belly, sending his young to scatter around him to not end up flatted. A fatherly roar made them climb into his offered paw, and with a few ear-bursting flaps, he lifted his form to the skies. Tondan watched after him gaining altitude for a moment, how he effortlessly headed up to the noon's sun.

“Am I a bad person to think what it would mean if he never returned?" Keliara scoffed once she could be certain to be out of his range, “after all he did for us, I wouldn't want him to leave, if for nothing else, then at the very least because he has finally found peace. But what if he did? Imagine for just a moment... we had our old lives back. Would it be worse, different, or even better?" Looking down at him, the bovine saw nothing but shock in his gaze, but he had never known anything else. His life had been a nightmare before the dragon. She had kept her friend company, helped him recover, but contrary to him, she had had a father, a future without the dragon. Not one with Semon on the other hand...

“If you want to leave, he won't stop you. I can't. I have nothing besides him, no other reason to be as happy as I am right now," the stag responded, “You will never have to ask me what side I choose."

“I don't ask you to choose, just to imagine. It's not good for you to focus your entire life on him."

“As I said: he is the only focus I have, and don't take this the wrong way, but since you have Semon as close to you, you don't share much time with me either."

He soared along on a current, the wind dragging at his claws, his offspring in his grip. Their consciousnesses laid cuddled against his, with their bodies even closer as the wind this high up would have cut into and through their frail wings. If it wasn't for him, its determined claws would tear them apart. The touch of a lilly tickled his deeper self as his daughter reached out to him, to the impression of the outside. A smooth pebble rolled through the petals, the other female noticing her sister's interest.

It was the first time for them to be this high up, in fact, and he deeply enjoyed the ripples of pleasure and curiosity that washed over their minds. The other two were too busy coiling into a single bunch to fill the warmer spot on one of his pads. For the time being, he was fully satisfied to feel the open sky, show his daughters what they would become; what they would have to protect. Another change of the winds shook his body and the four in his care before a turn of his tail compensated the impact.

Their thoughts were only briefly disturbed, then they returned to the glowing orb, mixing and deforming with impressions. His fledglings' minds were so much more flexible than Tondan's or even the morsel's, but not as developed. It would grow with time; time he would give them, regardless the cost.

Their bodies however... it was due. They would feel the wind this day, feel what they had been denied in this life of leisure. Not at this height, but they needed to sense what the wind was capable of. Eventually, he reached out to the other two and pulled them closer in, joined them with the sensation. The dark blue dragon felt their legs and tails twitch, wing muscles adapt in tandem with his when he deepened the connection to his perception but slowly extracted his thoughts from the joined self for them to gain the experience undisturbed from his considerations. Family. That's what they were, if he wanted to express it in bipedal inability, but there was so much more. Fledglings their age were bigger, stronger, and while he had suspected that they would end as such disappointments from the moment he had laid eyes upon their eggs, he had kept them. They should not be alive as it went against everything he stood for, and while any other dragon would have left them to die, he was too kind to their brittle existences.

The lily kicked out as he sank lower again, into more comfortable heights for the young. By now, the four had caught a whiff of what he planned despite his distance, a stray thought probably having wandered where it shouldn't have. It sparked both excitement and a nervous tingle in them, in all except for the black one. The now dissolved pebble gained shape again while the fledgling retreated and started bouncing around in the small enclosure. Soon, it stirred the others back to activity after their father had reached the altitude of the higher mountains. The larger dragon hummed, then opened his paw slightly with the wrist still shielding his young from the wind. Slowing to a halt, he beat his wings to hover in place and finally nuzzled down at the colourful pile. Four tiny heads looked up at him, snarled and giggled quietly, and finally aligned at the edge of his paw, only a step away from the abyss. They hesitated, but their father emphasised his intention to catch them.

Another common blink up at him passed, the dragon staying hovering in the air, then the first jumped. The pebble's black wings unfolded, and she flapped once, her brothers following right after and her light blue sister dropping a moment later as well. All of them never left his presence's grasp, yet some needed it the most. His first and last were not very successful, and while they all started to drop upright, the two misaligned one wing and rather tumbled towards the ground instead of the graceful descent a real dragon would have presented intuitively. Their brothers hadn't felt safe enough to fully extend their wings, an even worse disappointment, but that was what saved them: less surface for the wind to catch.

It was far from an actual flight as well; how they fell only gradually slowed, and the father had to catch all four in the end, but as they all sat in his maw, just the one the bipedals called 'Forlen' had a slight tremble in his legs. Another. They just needed another, he promised himself, but as good as he was at sensing other's emotions, his own doubt could hardly escape his perception.

After a straining day of tending for their crops again, the sun finally sank behind the mountain tops. Tondan looked out at the fiery glow that still lingered on the scarp's tips, hearing Semon and Keliara laugh behind closed doors. Through an opened shutter, he knew that he would see them holding each other's hand, the rings Eldyr had given them glowing and pulsing as both enjoyed each other's company to the fullest, but aside from the first glance over his shoulder, he just left them be. With the dragons gone, it almost felt like the home he had felt again, the quiet nights after Kodar's travel to the afterlife.

He laid back against a stone, tried to shake off the illusion that he could join the couple just a stone throw behind him to expunge his loneliness. To make matters worse, his antlers were itching again as the fresh skin was starting to shed, but that sensation moved to the back of his head when he looked out at the horizon and spotted a black dot return. Against the low sun, it was hard to tell, but he could have sworn... While he absently scratched at the thin, furry pieces, the large figure grew as Eldyr approached. Still, he couldn't believe his eyes despite seeing clearly now. Four colourful spots hovered on his sides, all slightly in front of him to escape the dropping winds around their father.

Tondan's heart stopped beating for a blink when one of the two green suddenly turned over and fell a building's height, then was caught in a blue cloud of air compressing under his flailing wings. “Little one," Eldyr greeted, but the dragon's consciousness felt different. Little cracks ran across the dried out surface that usually smoothly glided against his, spikes and rough sections protruding every now and then before sinking back into the rest of the stream.

“They... fly."

“Yes, they fly. At last." The tiredness in Eldyr's voice was clearly audible. Just like when people slurred their speech, finding words seemed to become more difficult for him when he was at the limit of his endurance. Under the stag's worried gaze, the small group eventually reached him, and while the largest kept his height, the other four set on to a landing next to him. It didn't work as intended as the worn out young were too eager to get on the ground again and dropped more than they flew, except for the one green Tondan eventually recognised as Exan. The latter slowly sank to the ground, and even before the magic's tough had dissolved, Tondan could hear the rattling snore. The rest of the bunch rolled through the grass as long as they had momentum, then laid down quietly and panted with the little breath they had left.

“My young are under your care until the sun rises over the rim anew. If I have to supervise them for any longer, a life will be lost tonight," came Eldyr's ragged voice when he glided off in the distance. It sounded like the command it was, yet when the stag inspected the young, he could not find a reason for the dragon's concern. Even Deifel could barely lift her head now that her father didn't support her anymore, and he doubted that she would recover until next evening.

“Come on, you can sleep inside. Who knows what the weather might bring," he smiled, however, not even the opportunity to enter the forbidden cave seemed to breathe life into the four. Briefly considering leaving them outside, he realised how frightening Eldyr might be if they got hurt under his watch, so finally, the stag sighed and wrapped his arms around the first scaled lump. Ansura just warbled slightly to his heavy groans when he tried to lift her, “This used to be easier." After a few more attempts, he finally found a position where he could use his entire body to lift her limp mass without too much of her dragging behind through the grass. The dragoness didn't seem to notice his efforts, and even when he dropped her in the corner of his hut, nothing but a weak chirp escaped the young's maw.

The next one went a little easier with the practice from the first, and after a bit of effort, the four finally formed a pile on the farther end from the entrance. Whatever they found comfortable about this position, he soon heard them hum in a poor imitation of their father, and so he could finally go to sleep, surprised that his back had withstood another torture.

A wide yawn marked the end of the stag's slumber. He looked around his home, but the young seemed to be gone. The door was still closed yet intact. 'Have they climbed through the window?' he mused and placed his hooves next to the bed and shakily stood up, only to be welcomed by a pained shriek and a blue wing quickly pulled back. The respective young frowned up at him, and as he looked around the room again, he had to notice the four having taken their positions all around his bed -- his own personal guard.

Ansura's messy thoughts soon washed up against his consciousness, trying to retell their adventure yesterday, but even the images came imprecise, more like a dream. Voices emerged from the puddle -- memories of Keliara and Semon discussing something, but their words didn't make sense. 'Kern unruspel scaars int ...' He listened closely, but at some point had to realise that it was just sounds mixed together.

“You'll learn it some day, young lady," Tondan replied while he sat down on the ground next to her and began stroking the smooth scales, “But you are making progress." How much she actually understood was hard to guess. Nevertheless, the attempt at words stopped, and she returned to sharing her impressions. It had been a long day for them, and their father had only taken a single break to rest and let them drink a little. In the end, he had forced them to fail until they had eventually learned it and even beyond, never giving in with the difficulty of their task. All taken into account, it was no wonder how tired they had been and that underneath the pride, a dull pain covered all her memories. The connection flickered when the dragoness' head sank back on the compressed earth that formed his floor. None of them would be much trouble for the rest of the day apparently, and while he enjoyed the idea of having a little peace, he also pitied the young.

Peace... there was something left to...

His mood sank immediately the moment the memory of the upcoming decision returned. Tondan groaned when he moved over to the door, quickly searching his improvised shelf for a loaf of bread on the way and tossing each of the young a bit. None of them took it; with Deifel still soundly asleep, just a happy chirp came from the two who spotted their unexpected treat.

Keeping the last slice for himself, he went outside and walked over to the field of vegetables they had started last spring. The harvest would be rather meagre, sadly, but maybe some of the refugees knew how to cultivate them sufficiently. If only Semon wasn't as stubborn. While he himself had been afraid at first about the idea of strangers coming into their life, three years of meeting the same people every day, the same routine... he strangely even started missing the pub brawls.

“How are they?" called Keliara from down at the river, where she and her husband had their breakfast as well.

“Dead. Mostly," he replied and kicked after a brown leaf, “We can replant half of them, and if we get lucky, they will grow something until autumn."

“Then let us hope that it will be tastier than this bread," the horse joined in and took another gutsy bite, “but think about sharing it for a moment, then consider risking it again."

The one sentence neither wanted to hear but ultimately had to. Still, it dragged down everyone's mood in an instant.

“And now think about them starving and wishing for something as simple," Keliara grumbled in return. A moment passed of them just staring at each other, then the equine stood up with a sudden yell, “then invite them here, for Treshken's damned sake! If it pleases your oh so giant heart!" A disgruntled throw launched the remainder of his breakfast over the river before Semon stomped off. A furious glance over his shoulder made very sure that none of them would follow behind. Considering to do so anyway, Tondan quickly disregarded the thought, then looked after the forgotten bread.

Normally the four would have picked it up by now and would have had the lark of their lives thrashing it out who had earned what share. 'Not today,' he chuckled to himself. The young... another problem to solve. Keliara seemed to have lost her appetite as well and kept staring at the flow a few feet in front of her hooves.

A grave silence set between them, then she eventually sighed, “Gather some food and water. We leave soon."

“Let us talk to h--"

“This is the closest we will get him to agree. We must act before he changes his mind again."

The plan was simple. Eldyr had told them what path the first group had to take until they reached Azkural's border, so all they had to do was find them before they went on the longer journey around the mountains, where they would inevitably catch them too late. It was made worse by the fact that the dragon wouldn't help them in bringing the people, leaving them the reigns on how to proceed but not willing to assist something he didn't like in the first place. When Semon returned later that day, still angry but understanding, the others had already prepared their packs in the barn and were ready to leave. He hesitated, pausing in front of Keliara, then eventually put up a friendlier face and hugged her tightly, “I bid you farewell. I hope that you will find them in time."

“Are you not going to hold a grudge?"

The horse carefully thought for a moment, then shook his head, his mane softly swaying in the mild evening's breeze, “No. I just hoped that we would have had an alternative."

“It is still not certain whether they are going to be willing to stay."

Semon shook his head again, although he appreciated the attempt at conciliation, “You know as well as I do that this would not solve their problems; just prolong their suffering. No one in their right mind would choose to leave."

“We have a dragon."

“We indeed have a dragon, but I would not count on that," Semon laughed and wrapped his arms around her one last time.

Clearing his throat, Tondan caught their attention, then started moving towards the valley's exit, “We will still have a trip to make if we plan to reach them in time. My friend, would it be too much to ask of you that you look out for the fledglings? They are still asleep in my house."

“I will. Return soon nonetheless! Deifel will be restless."

Both waved their goodbyes, then the pair turned around and headed for the distant wall of the cauldron, a small gap between the ridges only to be located if one already knew about it.

For as long as they could, they followed the river up north until it went into a soft curve and eventually disappeared into the eastern range to dive down between the rocks somewhere. Already being close to their destination, the two were soon to reach the narrow gap that had almost collapsed under Eldyr's rage back in the days of old. While any other way except for the south ridge lead over steep paths, dangerous for even the former residents, as the dragon had told them, the only comfortable entrance for non-winged creatures was the southern range.

Here, the wide gap looked like a giant axe had struck down, the following avalanche of rocks almost having closed up the way. In his rage, Eldyr had further loosened the unstable steep and accidentally, nonetheless to his pleasure, trapped the people who had tried to escape this way. Only time had cleared the passage once again, wide enough for two waggons to barely enter or leave next to each other. The ground was still largely composed of boulders with black soil marking where plants had once fought to gain control over the landslide.

Keliara looked up the steep walls when a few rocks tumbled downwards. Eyes watched over them, green, from atop the cliff. Eldyr kept his minatory gaze over every of their steps as they walked through the crevice, never shifting his body as they walked below their brazen guardian. His presence was a warning. They left the dragon's realm, and whatever they did at this point was their sole responsibility. He wouldn't interfere.

Eventually, the massive body retreated and left them to their conversation again, just a determined roar echoing of the jagged walls almost as a word of parting. Realising they hadn't taken the time to properly talk in two seasons, conversations came up every now and then until long after they had left the imprisoning ring. It were simple matters: the harvest, the upcoming projects, her marriage with Semon... Neither wanted to think about the next day; or the ones after for that matter. The prospect was too dire to be comfortable. Eventually, they had reached the foot of the long slope outside where trees found enough depth to live, and once the sun started hiding in the distance behind the treetops, Tondan almost couldn't see their home between the looming logs. The curved road through hill and wood had been forgotten for a long time, but was still visible as a line of younger trees and shrubbery.

As the sun finally settled underneath the horizon and the last remains of dim light left the world, he and Keliara had set up their camp underneath a giant oak tree. A small fire cut through the night, and both were very relieved to finally be able to drop the heavy packs they carried. “Sometimes," the heifer sighed and picked up a waterskin to eagerly quench her thirst, “I wonder where I want all of this to end."

She drank another sip, then passed him the container, “I know that you do not wish to talk about it, so hear me out at the least. Eldyr has no use for us, yet our home will always remain under his mercy. Please, Tondan, do understand me. I... trust him. He is your friend, and I am grateful to be trained by him. Just... what if he breaks one day? I know almost nothing about his past and even you have no imagination of what... a century of grief can mean. Just consider that we might lose our friend one day and walk up to a beast we thought time had tamed. All we have could be gone in a blink, including our lives."

The stag nodded as he poured a good amount down his throat and wiped his muzzle dry with the hem of his shirt. “You are right in that I don't even want to talk about it. I will not doubt a friend of mine behind their back; never betray him out of an obscure chance. He has never turned against you since the first day and will never do so again. And that is the end of this topic, the end of our conversation. I am tired, and tomorrow will be a new day."

“It will indeed be," she frowned in return, but let the topic rest afterwards. Instead. Tanking the thin blanket from her bundle, she put it on the ground, adjusted it, then sat down.

“Keliara. I am grateful for your worries, but I ask you to leave me my way here. If you do not believe me, then don't; don't attempt to convince me of your idiocy though," he added as he prepared his own spot.

The heifer nodded, then quietly replied, “I will. You were right though; we need to get some rest."

With little less to say, the two had soon dozed off, none of them thinking about the dragon's missing presence that usually guarded their rest. The possibility to be surprised by a creature of darkness and dusk seemed so far away, so miniscule. Comfort corrupts, expectations deceive, yet in the end, the night went by quickly, and when the first morning sun barely threatened to leave the horizon's vail, a flock of noisy sparrows were the only creatures to interrupt their sleep. With the heifer being the first to wake up, she initially planned to wait, but her fluttering heart didn't giver her peace until she started preparing her bundle again. In turn, it didn't take long for the stag to open his eyes as well, and he slowly blinked.

“I had hoped never to do that again," Tondan frowned when he felt his back ache from the bumps on the ground. Stretching for a moment, watching her efforts, he then eventually proceeded with his own belongings as well.

“If they have not diverted from their path, we should meet them at noon," Keliara stated and finally finished the last knot on her bundle.

“Let's hope that we find them in time." He grunted in agreement and threw his belongings into his pack as well. The shared ones were still untouched and ready for the journey, so as soon as he was done, they were on their way again. Today, Tondan felt the dragon's touch on himself occasionally and noticed Keliara experience the same when she scratched her horns as soon as they started shining ever so slightly brighter in the few beams that broke through the leafy roof.

It was one of those moments when suddenly, a low grumble sounded through their heads: “Take care, you two. Little one... you in particular." It was not the deep, smooth voice that Eldyr possessed, but rather a dry sounding hum that barely made it through the connection, probably due to the distance and the amount of focus it required him to reach them in the first place. It wasn't quite clear why Eldyr insisted on his tone of voice in general, as it was pure vanity to begin with, for he had no throat built to produce such sounds. All Tondan knew, however, was how uncomfortable it made him to hear the difference. So when he finally saw the shine ebb off, the heifer shook her head, then frowned towards her friend.

“Sometimes I think that he has a particular interest in unsettling me, especially since we have started training. Is it because of what he claims I am? Is there something wrong with possibly being a sorceress?"

The stag smiled back and gave her a rough nudge with his walking stick. “I like how you are. You are a lot more determined, even if a little more distant since you two started your practice."

“Even more?"

“Indeed." She laughed and returned his push. He didn't dare to nudge her again, simply focussing on the march for the moment instead. With the sun travelling further along its path, they continued through the woods. Another short break gave them room to breathe, and once Heleia's light shone right on top of them, the two heard the first fragments of a conversation; words chiming through the trees.

Keliara's ears flicked as she noticed them as well and paused the story she had just told about her first snow she still remembered. Her steps slowed, and so did the stag's before they stopped and looked at each other. “We found them."

“Yes, we sure found them."

“And now?"

The heifer attempted to smile, but couldn't hide the nervous sting that shot through her. “I don't know. We should be welcoming them... I think, maybe-"

“Keli! By the gods, Keli!" a call echoed through the forest.

The heifer huffed in surprise, then looked down the path ahead. Nothing, just the trees and the winding path ahead.

“Keli! Over here!" it called again, and while Tondan still wondered where the noise was coming from, she already spotted a pair of pointy ears peeking over a distant hill.

“Eli?"

“Yes!" the stranger replied as a fox's head poked up alongside a waving arm. Even before the stag vaguely remembered Keliara mentioning a vulpine friend a while back, she had already dropped her pack and was rushing off.

When he arrived at them shortly after, she was already half on top of the young fox and buried her in a crushing hug while a group of people stood around them with deep concern. They indeed looked like the ones they had headed out, for with dirty fur and limp limbs. Even the horns on the family of bovines looked like they were about to fall off. “Oh, how long has it been?" his friend called out while he inspected the rest, finally lowering his own equipment and placing it on the ground next to Keliara's pack he had carried for the last steps.

Among the refugees were five other bovines, a family apparently, and six foxes, 'Eli's family with three siblings, judging by the looks. The father already had one of the kits on his arms, and the rest were close to collapse as well. In the back stood a collection of nine individuals, mixed together from multiple species; the pity rest that had nothing left but themselves and possibly a single family member if they got lucky. “Elimere, who are these people?" a stoat of them spoke up as he sank against a trunk, “Ah, what am I even asking? We have no time. We... must..."

Whatever would have come next was cut off by tiredness setting in when the strain overcame him, not for the first time during the last days probably. “What are you doing here?" the fox named Elimere finally squeaked out, and Keliara responded as soon as she had let go of the smaller female.

“We... we brought food and water. Oh, it's so good to see you!" Upon her speechless stare, Tondan had already started opening the first of the bags, producing a water skin and passing it to the closest adult to him, who first started sipping at it carefully, then, as he was convinced that it was indeed water, poured more and more down his throat before he realised that he wasn't the only one in need.

“But how-"

“Not now. Come, eat first. We can talk later, and you look like you haven't had something in a while."

“We have enough for everyone," Tondan clarified at the people now slowly closing in. Their eyes pitifully portrayed how little they trusted him, but the prospect of something else than suffering drove them forward. In the back, Keliara had started a conversation with the fox and her parents, explaining where they came from, politely leaving out the part of a colossal dragon guarding the valley. The ones who listened could barely believe their ears, but the pair's presence gave undeniable prove to their claims.

"Why are you fleeing in the first place?" the heifer finally asked, leaving a deep, almost visible cut in the common mood. Eldyr had just given them their outside situation, but as she had already mentioned, it was unusual for a chase to be as extensive.

“What do you think will happen if you do not follow their orders?" the mustelid in the back, a little off the others responded, then sighed, “If you don't provide for the hungry beast of the army? What you see before your eyes is the pity rest of what used to be our home." The stoat sat up and considerately let his gaze flick between the two. “But you still owe us an answer to who you are as well. Azkural, you say... Mountains too steep to climb, a curse of old, but you insist that you live there," he paused, then continued in an almost melodic voice, retelling something from his past. “A stag, a heifer, and a horse, companions of darkness, a winged beast to end all existence. It murdered the whore's father; it devoured the mother and set fire to the village. Beware of Toden the sinner." He raised his head. “You found us for reasons unclear to me, so answer this: Are you the whore they spoke of, he the sinner?"

Silence set upon the group, and the formerly gratefully accepted food became nothing more appealing than the rocks and twigs that had kept them company throughout the recent hardship. Tondan first just watched them stare all the sudden, then slowly responded; “Even if I were this 'Toden the sinner', what would it change? Do you think that I have poisoned the food?"

“So you are Toden?" another one intervened.

“No. I am Tondan. And whatever tales you might have caught, they do not walk for a day to bring you what you need."

“So what about the beast then?" the stoat returned.

“There is no such beast. Just stories," Keliara sighed, even starting to sense a mild betrayal in her friend's eyes. “It is the last of our intentions to hurt you all. Trust us or not, but it's the truth."

A small smile crept up on the stoat's face, “Please do not confuse my concern with ingratitude. I would never doubt your intentions about what you've already proven; I am merely wondering about the claims that could also be a stretch from the truth." He paused once more before finally pushing out of his seat and gathering what little he had left. “It also doesn't matter what lies or not you tell. We need to leave soon, so we don't have the time for the discussion this would require. Regardless, more so because of your kindness, I'd invite you to come with us for the short rest of our journey, even though you will probably be the only one to witness its end."

“The lice must have already dug further into your skull than I thought," Elimere's mother suddenly intervened, “we will all survive. Especially now that we have met these humble souls. Have faith in us."

Widening his grin, the stoat seemed to consider a smug answer for a moment, then decided against it. “So. What will you do then, humble saviours? What are your plans for our fate?"

Keliara passed the stag a look, nervously kneading her hands by now and he started explaining. The offer to come back to their home sure sparked some hope in some, fear in some other, but still, none of the escapees seemed to be particularly fond of the idea. Their reasons were quite obvious. If he was honest, Tondan wouldn't have trusted two strangers with convenient timing in such dire times as well, but still hoped for them to show a shimmer of reason. The impenetrable forest would continue for another few days, the civilisation outside nothing better than what those people had fled from, so the only hope would be to flee for a while longer, somewhere not already drenched in the blood of the conflict. It would be an endeavour none of them would survive.

In the end, the decision was delayed with the imminent danger surely and determinedly approaching each weak heartbeat they rested. So with full stomachs yet empty hearts, the group started their journey down the winding path for as long as it would guide them. The fork was to come soon enough. Until then, the company would suffice despite the fleck of uncertainty that remained. The calming presence of the imperturbable sun continued its path across the sky, and by the time it became too dark to continue the journey, the tired lot had made it back into the dragon's sphere of influence even though none except the two knew. It was a trait both had acquired throughout the three, or in Tondan's case, many more, years they had spent with him, rarely being free of the watching presence. At the moment, he just listened, focused on their environment, evaluated, and 'sought inspiration in the trees' as he called it, but in the short looks Tondan gave Keliara when no one watched, she knew that he felt it as well, the lizard's concern for their well-being. At that thought, a low grumble sounded through her head, but Eldyr decided not to deepen the topic, a blessing given their current situation. “It is best if we stopped now," she finally stated and slowed to a halt, the rest of the group too tired to oppose. Strangely, the stoat, Hedrik, had not spoken a word during their travel but instead focused on watching them both intently. He had probably noticed her short flinch when Eldyr had made contact with her, as he now was approaching in the calm manner he had never dropped since he had been bodily able to. “So... why are you doing all this, Keliara?" he asked, this time without catching too much attention from the rest. Frowning at the question, she straightened her back and finally replied, “to help the people. Even if Eli had been no part of your fellowship, I would have done my best. Everyone deserves a life in peace, even the more uncomfortable individuals such as yourself. What is your reason?" That made the stoat laugh quietly, yet when he saw the watchful gaze Tondan had on them even throughout his conversation with some of the others, he scoffed and leaned in close. “I am searching for the dragon; I have been for years in fact, even after I found a new, if temporary, home among those good people," he whispered, “Rumours are a powerful tool, stories, as you said. I came to these people years before I caught the tale of your escape, and ever since, I had dreamed of the day I would finally get to meet it." “What reason would you have to meet a terrible beast, a shatterer of worlds?" “If it was only that, none, I have to admit. But think about the past. If the legends hold true, such a creature would have seen the world's creation, they would have witnessed Uska's blessing of life and would have watched Trakendes shape the lands. Even at the slim possibility of it being able to communicate, it could give me more than any of my studies. It would be invaluable." Keliara considered his words for a moment, then replied a little harsher than necessary: “So you are a scholar? I hope that you will find what you seek, although I question your success." “We will see, milady." He leaned back and let his gaze swiftly flick over her posture. “We will see."

Next morning came, and with it the clouds. Dark and heavy, they had approached in the darkness, and now hung minatorily above them. Tondan awoke with a bizarre tingle on his fur, and as soon as the dragon realised that he was awake, the feeling of heavy raindrops hit his entire body as if the weather unloaded its might exclusively on him.

Just a heartbeat later, the sensation stopped, but it was still enough to jolt him fully awake and grant him the attention of the entire group of tired bodies around him. “It's nothing," the stag quickly insisted; didn't lose the unsettling stares though, “We... we should eat and leave before the rain. The treetops will only provide shelter for so long."

After breakfast, their water supplies already almost depleted, the group indeed headed on and it didn't take long for the first heavy plops to resound from above their heads. Thunder started rumbling in the distance, flashes lighting up the leaves while the people below shivered at every unloading of the god's might; all expect three. Keliara was walking with Elimere's family while Tondan spent time with some of the loose bunch, Hedrik in attentive tow. “Listen, Tondan," the latter eventually started cheerfully and thumped his walking staff down a touch more firmly to catch the stag's attention, “listen to the ancients' rage. Doesn't it frighten you?"

Scoffing slightly, named one latched onto a young cat who stumbled over a root, then carefully replied, “It does, but if it was the god's intent to hurt us, they could have done so already. Stay strong in your faith, and they shall not direct it towards you."

“My faith is a complicated matter, good deer. I prefer to choose my own path for life, just as I believe you do." The stoat grinned about his own words and took a strange pride in the fact that under normal circumstances such could have brought him on the stake for heresy. Especially his profession typically kept the people alerted on people like him, but now his sins merely dripped off the frightened people's ears like the first droplets that made it through their natural roof.

“Not long until we reach the entrance!" Keliara called from the front in-between grumbles, but they all knew that it was just her encouragement. At the current pace, they would only arrive in the later evening and while the late summer's rain wasn't as harsh as the winter's snow, it took from them where close to nothing was left to take. Eldyr's presence still lingered, now stronger as they were closer to their home, nevertheless, he did not speak to them. He just watched them suffer, showing neither joy nor pity.

'Tell Semon that we are safe and sound, Eldyr. You don't seem like you have something better to do anyway,' Tondan eventually thought, sparking an amused chuckle against his mind.

“It was your decision to suffer, little one," the dragon replied and retreated from Tondan again, just briefly returning to inform him that the horse knew about their situation. Suddenly, as on cue, one of the fox young let out a heavy sneeze while one of the bovine parents stumbled over a slight ditch and splashed into the soaked ground. Not that it would have changed a lot about their appearance, but the way they fought back onto their hooves pitifully betrayed what fight must happen below the stoic surface -- all for the children.

“At least, we have water for now," a drenched squirrel next to the stag grunted and kicked after a loose twig, even missed and almost suffered the same fate as the bovine if another would not have caught her.

As the day progressed, they came ever so closer to the ring of steep mountains that both marked and guarded Azkural, making it the almost impenetrable fortification it was. The branch of the path around it was passed some time later, but either no one noticed or cared particularly anymore. In the muddy, brown everything, it felt the same where you walked.

Finally, with an uneasy feeling, the two guided them up the final stretch along the now newly formed rill that the rock slope once was and straight towards the hidden crevice at its side. From here, the rising mountain's foot was even more deteriorated than on the inside, and for anyone ignorant of the narrow road of smaller gravel and stones, it would have just looked like a massive rockslide that had torn down a portion of the slope and gushed its rock down its sides. “There is a cave not far inside!" Keliara called out over the clattering water as she entered between two larger boulders, waving the ones behind her to follow.

Inside the cut, the rain got even worse, the gathered masses of nature's life now streaming down the steep walls that reached up most of the way to the smaller tops around. The onslaught didn't stop and threatened to wash them out of the crevice again, but waiting for the sky to clear up was not an option. The night's chill under relentless rain would have claimed even the strongest of lives if they stayed outside, or the mercenaries could have caught up to them the next day. Either way, they were forced to push on. With all of the stone surfaces slippery under the water's influence, it didn't take long for a pained scream to resound from the front of the line, though.

“Eli!" Keliara cried out, and when Tondan had pushed himself through the others, he already saw his friend kneel over a motionless fox with crimson red washed down her forehead. Her parents were too shocked to say anything, staring, fearing for their daughter's life. Meanwhile, the heifer was inspecting the girl with shaking swiftness, although he doubted that she was very thorough under these circumstances.

“She's breathing!" Keliara finally reassured her parents, but still had to scream to pierce the waterfalls around them, “but we need to get her to safety. We are almost at the tunnel. Let us just hope that it isn't flooded." With the help of her mother, she heaved up the smaller fox onto her back and placed a determined step further down the path. It looked truly inspirational until her hoof met a patch of moss as well, and only three others could catch her.

“As I said, it won't take long," she grunted, then pushed on again while even her own hopeful bravado started crumbling. Indeed, the cave was near though, and the slightly uphill run had kept out most of the water. One after another, the bunch almost dropped through the opening, hooves and paws still slippery from the rain, and as the last finally slumped down onto the hard ground, there it finally was: safety. It was written on every face, resounded in every careful movement; it almost was the pain in their sore muscles.

As one of the first, the stag had a place deeper down the tunnel and could easily oversee the entire group, how they sheepishly grinned at each other, realising how much luck they had had. Meanwhile, Keliara assured them that the mercenaries would not be able to follow them here, checking on Elimere's breathing every now and then. It came steady, but quietly, barely more than a whisper, all while the injury on her head kept shedding its crimson essence. A linen cloth, drenched like everything else, was tightly wrapped around her head, and it held the flood in for now, but no one knew for how long it would last. Still, she was under her parents loving care, and while Tondan felt the dragon's presence lingering between them, he also noticed the relief among the group. More than the immediate gratefulness for their seeming saviours, they had an aspiration again.

“Well, let us thank our saviours," Hedrik suddenly stated, sounding concerningly genuine for once, “You offered us shelter, and here we are, protected from wind and weather. Let us see what the future has laid out for us."

“We... can come with you, can we?" one of the calves asked before being shushed by his father.

“Yes, you can," Keliara responded, “until the war is over, or longer. It is for you to decide." Seeing the concern on some faces, she hastily continued, “Or leave. Our offer is nothing more than that. We just came to help." Tondan nodded in approval, painfully aware that Semon would be less than happy about the arrangement.

“Gracious gods, I see." Hearing Hedrik's voice was both soothing and uncomfortable. His calm tone carried a peculiar softness, while his captious intonation sent shivers down their spines.

“Don't be so dramatic," the bovine father intervened, then tightly embraced his son. “We are alive. We have ourselves, and maybe, we will find a new home soon as well. Whether it's here or elsewhere is for tomorrow to show." Pressing his son to his chest once again, he eventually sat back down. It felt awkward to speak up after such a declaration, but someone did, agreed with the bovine. Another joined in, fuelled by their hope. Doubt, sure, there was that as well, but still, the promise of a lasting escape from their fear started something inside of them. After all, hope was a powerful motivation. In young Elimere's case, the only thing she had right now -- her family the only ones not cheering.

“Hope is futile, life is fragile, and you are lost the moment you are born; everyone is," Eldyr's voice suddenly sounded through Tondan's head, “You all sit around and play and act like you could escape your nature. The half-dead is there, yet you ignore it while pretending to pity for it and its parents, but inside, there is not a single one of you truly worried about this thing."

'Keliara is,' the stag responded in his head, but only felt the dragon's amusement.

“You genuinely do believe that, little one. But neither of you asked for my help. Sure, you are afraid that I might refuse it, and you might be right with that assumption, but not even the thought to beg for it had crossed both of your minds as far as I see it."

'Stop. We can't. They would run in their own demise; they would-'

“And you think that I would respect their presence forever; keep a distance? Tell me to cast you out of my heart, and I will do. However, do not expect me to leave my realm to your control, do not expect me to stay from where you are mere guests for as long as I tolerate you; as friends I explicitly add, but not as rulers. It is my mate's tomb, and for as long as I live, I will not surrender it to your meaningless lifespan, least of which for the emotional state of twenty animals."

Right as the stag tried to counter, his mind was already filled with the dragon's pressing his thoughts against the tight enclosure's walls like an icy flood. It filled up the entire rest of his head, then the dragon softly turned the stag's head towards the first one of the people, Elimere's father. The fox sat next to his daughter, eyes strained to watch every single movement she made or didn't, and under Eldyr's influence, the stag was slowly fed the thoughts of him -- just the outer layer, but enough to sense the rough workings of the male's mind. They were frighteningly dull, as the dragon didn't even need to point out.

'They have been through a lot,' Tondan silently argued as the lizard's mind retreated a little bit again.

“But you would be wiser to treat them like the animals they are right now and take control over their deeds and fate than to think of the person they might return to. If a bird broke its wing and laid on your doorstep, you would either take its life or aid the wing than to talk to it and ask for its wishes. Think about it, little one." Tondan shook his head when the water spiralled down a hole near his left temple and the deep voice echoed off.

Luckily, Hedrik was too distracted to notice anything apart from the young bull in front of him asking him about something. The siblings were similarly curious about the topic, and so they had completely taken hold of their mustelid instructor. About the rest of the group... they were mostly busy with their families and other companions in misfortune, so he could be sure not to have caught the attention of anyone of them, definitely not the three who already looked asleep. People, a herd -- he had no idea. To his right, Keliara still took care of her patient; all the sudden, she looked distant, though. As he threw her a questioning look, she responded with a careful nod, then seemed to proceed with her conversation with the dragon. In the end, it only lasted long enough for him to open his pack and inspect the completely soaked food; not that much was left after the two days anyway.

“She agrees with you again, little one." In his shock of the sudden intrusion, he almost dropped the backpack; however, even after he had calmed down again, something remained -- something about how Eldyr had said those words. With this light touch, not much of the dragon's emotions seeped either way, but Tondan was still certain that his friend could feel the rage that ignited at this very moment.

'And if she didn't? What if she didn't? Would you have rather followed her words than mine?'

“You feel betrayal."

'I just don't appreciate you questioning my decision behind my back. If I wanted her opinion, I would ask her myself.'

“A very inconspicuous form of communication," the dragon chuckled and briefly commented on the stubbornness the stag shared with his father. Eventually, he continued, “So you wish to leave her out of such decisions? Your friend through life and adventure?"

'No, but... I don't want you to question my decisions, even by her. Inform her of it, but if she argues, let me take care of it.' Another laugh-esque wave shook the dragon's mind, then all the sudden, a spike protruded from it.

“The bird is dying," he said, back in his cold, neutral tone, “you took too long to heal it." Tondan didn't understand at first. What bird, what... A cry broke out next to him.

“Elimere! Elimere, wake up!" Whatever the fox's father muttered next quickly got lost in the general clamour that echoed off the stone walls when the young girl slumped down unnaturally; even people in their sleep were stiffer than her now.

“She's not breathing! Father!" her sister called out as if the information changed the fact. While the dragon retreated again, the first sobs broke from her siblings as Keliara shook the soft body with more and more desperate thrusts.

“Eli, listen to me! We are almost home, Eli. Come on, answer me!" she yelled, but still, the fox did not react. Her father pushed the cow away, her mother and the others just looked away in a strange resignation, and Tondan started to realise. Seeing the panic in the parent's eyes and Keliara's attempts to tickle forth just the last bit of life from the girl, he hesitated. Was this single life worth risking their entire effort? Only when one younger sibling broke into tears did he finally make a decision.

“Eldyr," he whispered, not registering that it wasn't limited to his head anymore, “I am terribly sorry. Eldyr. Would you please help her?" The dragon did not respond. Tondan felt his presence lingering at the verge of his consciousness, watching the events unfold yet not intervening. “Eldyr. For the gods' sake, Eldyr!" By now, his words had turned into a shout that easily caught the half of the group's attention even through the noise and panic, including Keliara, who continued to stare at him with both concern and relief. She was glad not to be the one to have asked, nonetheless fearful of what was to come.

The other's question of whom he was talking to was soon answered as the dragon's voice suddenly seemed to resound through all their heads, everyone in the cave except the two pressing their paws and hands against their ears in a desperate attempt to silence the intruder of unknown origin. “Yes, little one? What do you need?"

“Do something! I was wrong. Now get here you lazy snot of a beast!"

“I made clear not to interfere with your decision, and--"

“She is here now, inside the valley for all I care. You mountain-rutting bastard, I take responsibility and decide that you will help her. Now!"

“Your wish is my command, glorious leader," the lizard chuckled while a different thunder exploded outside.

It was as if the very soil they were standing on came to life when the mountain shook and a cascade of stones violently crashed down into the crevice. Some retreated further into the tunnel, some froze in shock, but quite a few, including Tondan, rushed to the entrance to see the reason for the disturbance. Against the black, tattered sky stood a figure, lightning strikes illuminating the monstrous dragon that slowly climbed down the rock formation. This damned beast had known that this would happen. Eldyr had just waited for his entrance, this obnoxious monstrosity.

Wet scales reflected each light pulse, and Eldyr's dark blue made it almost impossible to guess his actual size. His wings spanned the entire space between the walls before he folded them in to get deeper down. The others couldn't move, too panicked from the sight, but soon found motivation as the creature approached, bared fangs clearly on display while a deep growl shook the air and burst the clear river of rain that streamed off Eldyr's back. Right when he lowered his long neck and craned it down to the shivering mass of bodies did a bolt of light find its target. In a blink that stretched out indefinitely, eye-searing streams of pure white shot over the dark surface and outlined what none of the refugees had ever wished to see.

Shortly lighting up like a spark, the dragon briefly faltered, slumped, and visibly lost control as he dropped deeper into the crevice. Once remotely recovered, he answered with a roar towards the heavens nonetheless, while steam rose from his body, quickly washed away by new rain to replace the boiled water. His movements were shaky, his mental contact gone for a moment, then he finally sank completely into the gorge and pushed the onlookers inside with his snout.

Scales scratched ear-burstingly along the rock while darkness engulfed the opening. Fragments shot everywhere, then the head stopped, stuck apparently. The ones who had been pushed inside just laid there, the rest fled as far as they could guess the path in the dark, still keeping eye contact with the green orbs that ran over each one with a derogatory frown. Finally, a red glow emanated from the monster's throat and illuminated them like a campfire.

“Get her over here," he commanded dryly, but even Keliara and Tondan were too stunned to react immediately. “Move this disgusting lump here, by the ancients, or you can wear her as a coat." Now the two understood, and although Elimere's father desperately clung to his lifeless daughter, the heifer just tore her from his arms and dragged her over to the massive snout. “It is hard enough to take care of you, even when I feel my body. Pesky lightning," he grunted, but glared sternly at Tondan before the latter could even ask whether the dragon felt good enough to help the girl. “Closer," the dragon demanded, his consciousness strangely disordered, the words usually clear yet now fractured and rattling.

“Don't, please," the girl's mother cried from the back when the two placed her daughter against the dark blue surface and strings of azure bled from his muzzle.

“Animals," Eldyr just growled through the group's heads, then closed his eyes. “You chose, little one."

And with that, the small body started shaking, not from her own strength but from the beast filling the small vessel with as much of his mind as it could bear before burning up. He ignored the screams from the bipedals and dove down for the shards of her presence dissolving into the environment. A memory, a thought, some pure, shapeless intelligence -- so much was at the verge of collapse as he weaved himself into the breaking structure and made her a part of himself. The itch on the thing's head closed as the dragon's life gushed there as well, lest what he achieved wouldn't crumble when he left. “Quiet, thing," he hummed when the heart picked up activity again and she hastily gasped in, the basic structure starting to form again. “Rest now and you shall become whole once more."

Patiently, the dragon plucked at her parts, collected the bird's feathers, and patched the wing. A few were lost, but most made it back to their owner. Whether he had swallowed a few, he was unable to judge, but all he felt was the soft familiarity of a life when the presumably last fragment slid in its place. Eventually, a shudder ran through the young vessel, and he pulled out of her before her mind would fully awaken and contest the space his own occupied.

Blinking his eyes open again, the dragon sensed his presence slowly recovering from the storm pulse while he reached out to the bipedals again. From forty-two eyes, bare terror returned his looks, the little one with a deep concern and the weasel in the back... This thing looked interested. “What a peculiar creature you are," he said, making contact, but felt the bipedal flinch back under the unexpectedly direct connection.

“My... my honour to finally-"

“So you searched for me. Royal scout, interesting." Instead of deflecting his prodding now, this thing tried to allow it and relish in the touch, even though the lizard could feel the pain it caused. “I will ask you exactly once," he then continued and gave the strange otter a bit more room, “so answer with the care you dedicate your life as well. What is it that you want from me, and what does your lie use you in that affair?" The thing tried to answer in his head, ultimately only produced meaningless memories, though. Even the short contact with it had confused it too much.

“A legend. Scroll... ancestors," broke from its muzzle, “a mission." What else could he have expected from this thing. The little one had perceived this specimen as rather erudite -- a misconception, it seemed. He waited for a little longer, then pulled back from the bipedals entirely. A short jerk finally freed his head again, then the dragon sat back further into the grove and placed his head next to the frustratingly tight tunnel while the thunder-torn light of the storm gushed back in. For now, he would listen; just listen to the bipedals in their tumult.

True to their nature, the bustling herd soon started their arguing again, at least after the sleeping fox had been hastily pulled to seeming safety by her parents. With a monster close by, none raised their voices too much, still his sensitive ears easily picked up every single word through the rain and growling of heavens. Their heads were too boring to explore either way, so he rather reached out for the birds in their nests outside, foxes in their holes, even a family of boars cowering under an uprooted tree at the moment. It was calming to know that life returned -- pleasant life, not the one next to him. The little one and his friend, even the morsel's mate was interesting. All had purpose and a place in his life, but those new.... These were nothing but a pest. Famished, demanding, incapable. One day, they might become useful when they had recovered. Maybe.

As he continued to pay attention to their heated conversation, only one thing seemed to be certain: the individuals to blame. He? A pet... Oh, he could show them who was a pet to whom. Arrogant existences. When eventually a stone flew from one of the more impulsive ones towards his companions, he intervened and stopped it in its tracks. It was cowardly to attack someone harmless from a distance. Even before he shattered the cat's ankle and wrist with his might, he could hear the pleasantly shocked gasps from inside, then turned his attention back to a particular fascinating deer in the distance.

Friends of the dragon were not to be touched, so much they understood now at the very least. It might have been the only thing they did, sadly. Still, their animosity continued to leave a foul taste in the air. Some voices of reason were soon buried under primitive fear again, and so he kept waiting -- waiting for something to happen in that cave.

“Dragon," an insecure voice suddenly called out, while a dark figure stepped out of the rock tunnel. A quick glance at its mind confirmed that it was the confused rat from earlier, who seemed to have gathered his thoughts quite a bit again. “Oh mighty dragon, I need to talk to you," he yelled again, but was too blind to spot him the twelve steps away in the brief pause of lightning.

“Yes, liar?"

“I meant to ask you something."

“As much is obvious," the dragon growled, then leaned forward to finally catch the shadow's attention. “What is it that you wish then? It is not wisdom that you seek after all."

“No, it is not," the liar replied, unusually calm as the giant head sank onto the ground next to its figure, “I hoped to find you as our king's mission. It is peace he seeks and you can help him in his noble quest."

“Does he want to hand over his sceptre to me, the pointless crown? His sigil?"

“No, but-"

“Then it is not peace he seeks but power. Your search has been in vain, and I discourage any of your kind to test me anew." He smiled and his lips curled upwards, a notion these bipedals found very interesting to share in their culture.

“What have I done, emperor of the skies, to enrage you?" the pesky creature tried again, “I cannot believe that a noble... eminence like you does not long for an end of this conflict."

“It is your conflict, liar, and your kind never asked mine for anything but our fury. And I advise you to leave before you spark mine or find yourself in more than mere peril."

“You are no monster, dragon," the rat stated as he was about to retreat, “and our king does not desire one either. You saved the young Elimere back in there. You are a good force in this world."

The dragon's laughter resounded from the rock walls, and every pulse sent another shiver through the herd inside. “You call me a good force, even though you have witnessed with your own eyes what I do with each breath and each of my steps. My mere presence is enough to move mountains, yet you believe in my morality. Ask the whining cat in there what good I am to the world."

With any further commentary prevented by a gentle pressure on the stoat's throat, he slowly retracted his head, then informed his small companions that he would keep watch. Another reminder of his dissatisfaction quickly sent the liar back into the cave before he softly chuckled over the little one's decisions. He would have simply left the miserable creatures in their despair; still, the two were determined to stay. Adjusting his wings and legs a final time, the dragon hummed softly. As he finally breathed out his desire to stay awake, the dragon sent one half of his mind to sleep, the other spread into the environment, tasted the rain, and tickled the thoughts of the creatures. Rest came over the bipedals, the animals. Some of them fought it, especially the aggressive feline; however as soon as he pushed a little further, even the toughest laid down, yawned, then fell asleep after a long and exhausting day. He would keep watch over all of those tiring individuals.

Possibly only for tonight, there was nothing to fear.

Dawn already greeted Tondan when he stirred from slumber. Tilting his head slowly, he realised that he still laid in the cave, but now light was streaming through the opening. Outside, the ground sparkled in anticipation of the day while the entire group was still soundly asleep. All except Keliara and himself. What a coincidence. Rising on his hooves and quietly stumbling outside with her, they were already met with a familiar dragon head grumpily eyeing down at them while the rest was tightly packed between the rock faces.

Tondan could barely suppress a snort upon noticing the dragon's bad mood and was rewarded with just a short poke, lest he'd not dare to do more.

“You two seem very happy with what you achieved so far," the squished lump of scales noted, then slightly shook himself, sending a glistening cloud of droplets down to earth alongside some of the loose debris. His anger still was pressing intently up against their minds, and so Keliara responded for both of them.

“Yes, and we have all right to. They are alive and in as good health as is possible under these circumstances. What happened yesterday was necessary."

“No, it was not. They are the outside world. Anything beyond these mountains is predestined to rot under your kind's corrupting influence, and you know it. I will not oppose your decisions, tiny friends; just know that I will not help you for as long as these stubborn things are so determined to end what we have built."

“They are not."

“Oh, yes they are, little Tondan. Your companion, the elongated fur ball, is on a mission for your rulers, the very ones that send the mercenaries after them. All he did from the start was to locate me and add myself to their futile conflict. The cat is a murderer, the bird's family are thieves, and the others are simply disgusting existences." Tondan stared up at the dragon in disbelief, but before he could form an accusation, the dragon already replied, “I did not intrude on their minds. What your kind calls 'dreams' is an expression of the deepest desires your people have; a pit of filth in their case." A long pause followed in which the dragon idly washed at the borders of their consciousnesses, then grunted, “Whatever you do, it is better to leave them for now. They cannot miss the path now, and if they wanted to come along, they will. If not, it will be their decision. Or you make it for them yet again and drag these things on until they stab you at night. Frightened animals are dangerous ones."

He retreated again, still making sure the two caught his displeasure about the stranger's presence, then stood up, placing his paws on either side of the grove to reach one down for them to climb in. Looking at the heifer, Tondan quickly thought and had to agree with the dragon; Keliara, on the other hand, hesitated. “I don't like it either, but he is right, my friend." Tondan waved for her to come as well, but when she didn't follow up on it, he could feel the dragon shift above him and pull his paw in. “Eldyr, wait. Let her come in."

“She will not, little one. The tiny morsel is stubborn." The paw closed against the dragon's chest, and with the outside cut off, Tondan felt as if he had made a grave mistake while he was lifted higher and higher away.

Soon, he felt the dragon fly downwards again. A shock ran through the massive figure as he set down on the budging ground, and eventually the enclosure opened. Semon already expected him, but when the horse noticed that the second person was missing, he gave the stag a stern look. “Where is my wife, Tondan?"

“She stayed with the others. She is fine, their anger is mostly targeted towards me."

“Do I understand this right, Tondan?" Semon countered nonetheless, “You left my wife alone with an angry mob the night after a dragon supposedly almost killed them, a dragon under her command no less. And you took the only one able to protect her with you?"

With the bubbling anger of his own frustration slowly breaking its way, Tondan one was about to respond when the dragon's voice violently pushed their argument aside: “You two are forgetting that whatever might or might not happen to her right now is on her own accord. Moreover, if one of these animals would or could currently break her bones against her will, even a stick, I would be surprised. There is no reason for either of you to worry. Otherwise, I would not have left her there." Both sure wanted to argue against that statement; however, the dragon just turned around and walked off to the river, leaving them standing still and confused like tree stumps. A loud roar erupted from his throat, and before Tondan realised what it was about, the door to his house flung open and four chirping bundles tumbled outside. They scuttled over to their father, snarling and chortling as they dove against his form and expressed what seemed to be the draconic equivalent of a hug. It was hard to tell as the five rarely spoke to outsiders about what customs they had, and neither Tondan, nor the others had ever had enough interest to ask.

“You left Keliara behind, my wife and your best friend. And all I have are her will and Eldyr's opinion. If you ever did that again, I would be very angry with you." The stallion's voice was calm but left no room for doubt that he was dead-serious.

Conscience-stricken, the stag nodded at his friend and eventually spoke up, “As you said, I will never leave her again like this. Nonetheless, you know her. If she does that again, I might have no choice next time."

“And you will do anything to stop her anyway!" The stallion yelled at Tondan, immediately catching the dragon's attention as it made his young pause their play. Deifel stared at them in curiosity, her paws parting the side stream of the river she stood in, while her siblings laid further downstream, limbs wrapped around each other while cleaning somewhere in the chaos, not knowing whom they were at there but not caring particularly either. Their father growled, the four snarled in a deficient imitation of him, then all returned to their activities again. Just Eldyr left a disgruntled note in the two's heads about their ineffectiveness to communicate compared to the noise they made, then roughly nudged his daughter with his snout, sending her tumbling multiple times her body's length.

The black dragoness seemed strangely happy with his efforts, and while she lunged at his snout with fiercely glowing eyes, Tondan turned back to the horse and said, “I am worried about her as well, my friend. Listen; she is safe there. Let us just wait for her return and then we can continue this discussion. Speaking of returning..." he smiled weakly, “What did the fledgling still do in my house?"

Semon just returned his questioning look with an apologetic frown and rubbed the back of his head, “I am truly sorry, but the four simply couldn't stay out of it. After a day I gave up and just let them have it. They are... hard to control."

“No, it's alright. They mostly know how to behave in there. I just hope that they have not searched my chest. I own little, but that is not to be chewed on regardless." He laughed softly and roughly patted the taller equine's back, “Now, tell me. How has it been while I was gone?"

The rest of the day went by with the two males exchanging their recent experiences, and while it left the stallion slightly more worried than before, he also knew a lot better what the dragon had meant earlier. As the sun slowly sank behind the horizon, the dragon finally roared as he rose out of the water again, then collected his young and made his way back to his own cave. The parting thought he sent them was strangely kind, a reassuring feeling they would never have expected from the lizard, then he let out another bellow and slowly but surely left them in deep silence, not even disturbed by his flapping wings.

Almost as if they had been hiding intentionally, Tondan only then spotted the group approaching in the distance. They still had a while to walk, but they would be there soon, undoubtedly having seen Eldyr depart. “I fear for the future," he finally admitted to the stallion as he started gathering twigs and billets from his supply to construct a fire. “I really do." It was the first time that he had let on his doubts about their endeavour as openly, but for some reason, he felt the need to do so now, almost as if it would efface his guilt if it ever turned out to be a mistake.

“I do so as well," Semon quietly responded after a while of helping him, then gave the stag a short, insecure smile. “but I think that you two did right on them. Fear clouded my decision, and it still does, but what would it have told us about ourselves if we didn't even help those in dire need? What would our future have been if we left them to die?"

“Quieter," Tondan hummed upon the first spark, “safe, and with a slightly less disgruntled, still murderous beast in sight."

“It wouldn't have been the adventure we now have."

“No, it wouldn't."

When the group arrived not soon after, mostly guided by the dutifully stoked flames, Tondan had to notice that some were missing. Six of the nine loners were still present, including Hedrik, but without the cat as expected, as well as Elimere and her family. The bovines were gone. “Not a big loss," Hedrik commented, still it left a light feeling in Tondan's stomach to know that part of the people he had gotten to know remained in peril. Strangely, knowing about the stoat's true intention changed very little about the stag's perception of him; it just gave him the peculiar allure of the unknown. Even if he meant a threat, probably a tame one as long as he didn't convince Eldyr, and that was almost impossible to happen.

Regarding sleeping spaces, with the young gone and the barn still far from its limits, they had plenty of room to spare despite the plenty of people to consider. Neither of the three would probably forget the eyes some of the refugees made when they spotted the stock they had accumulated. It was nothing compared to what they would have achieved at home with the abundance of help, but it was impressive nonetheless, it seemed.

“The soil is excellent," the stag absently commented when the first prepared their bedding, then paused as he noticed the look on some of the adults' faces.

“This is a graveyard, Toden... Tondan. We walk on our ancestors remains while they died in horror from this beast. It was it, wasn't it? Regardless of what it is now and why you trust it; this is this monster's territory. Never forget. That's how they get you. When you stop remembering. That's how they get you. That's how they get you. That's how they..."

Elimere softly reached up to her father and pulled him onto the wooden floor, where his muttering continued, but quietened down. “It is safe here, father. It is a good place."

The older fox nodded, then flopped onto his back, “It is a good place. We will leave before I believe that."

Tondan gently nodded to the family, waved the others, and finally headed outside. When he closed the door behind himself and deeply breathed in the fresh air, the deep petrichor, a fraction of him thought about what the fox had said, but the majority had already made peace with it. It laid in the past and there it should rest. As he slowly sat down against the wooden wall, idly raking his fingers through the soil, the improvised hinges of the door sang. Out stepped Elimere, quickly glancing over at him, then averting her gaze. Step by step, she snuck closer and eventually dropped next to him.

“What is it?" he chuckled, still she hesitated. “Do you have a question for me?" he asked, and she nodded.

“I wanted to know... is that monster your friend?"

Oh, it was such simplistic thinking, but he had been in that age as well, so he responded patiently, “yes. He is. The dragon is a good friend. Sometimes a little bit scary, but that is only something he does to defend himself against baddies."

“So he is good then?"

This let Tondan stutter for a while. While he trusted Eldyr unconditionally, 'good' was not a term he would use to describe the dragon. “He... is nice, but he has done bad things. That is why your father is afraid of him."

“I know. He made this place dead and all the people here."

“And that doesn't scare you?" Tondan asked, and the fox girl considered his question herself for a moment.

“We are not dead," she finally concluded and looked up at him expectantly.

“You're right, we are not dead, but the others think that you are going to be if you stay. Do you believe them?"

For a moment, she looked around to see if anyone was listening, then leaned in to hush into his ear, “No. Father always lies. The dragon ran away when we came. He must be scared."

Tondan smiled at first, then it occurred to him that she had slept through all the conflict with the refugees. She had missed the argument, even Eldyr's presence. “Do you know what happened at the cave, Eli?"

“I was tired and fell asleep, so I sat on Keli's shoulders, and she walked there. When I woke up, it was nice again. I hate rain."

“So they haven't told you about Eldyr?" he tried again, but as expected, she shook her head.

Just when he thought of how to explain it though, a furious voice came from inside as the improvised door flung open. “Elimere! Come inside. Now! And you," the fox's mother stomped outside (rather tumbled with as much intent as her condition allowed for), “you stop twisting our daughter's head with such impure thoughts. She is a good girl. The beast did nothing. It was us who saved her, not it."

“The dragon saved me?" the girl asked, but was harshly interrupted by her mother. “No. And this is the last time I want you to call it that. It is a monster that would have eaten you if not for us. Sleep now." The adult fox glared at him, then realised what she had done and quickly muttered, “oh, please. I Apologise for my rude behaviour. After all you have done for us... I..."

“It is alright," Tondan replied and stood back up, “It is good to see that someone takes such good care of her."

The vixen attempted a smile, still brought up nothing more than a flicker on her muzzle, then stepped inside and closed the door behind herself. A moment passed where Tondan just stood there, heard their guests settle inside, and finally walked off to his own home. 'Eldyr!' he thought, relieved when he heard no answer.

Night and day switched places, then once again. They ordered one's life, gave a measurement, a consistency. As this cycle would never fail, so would rain, wind, and fear. Fear took many different faces, not all at once, but still always present. She had known fear for as long as she lived, but lately, she had woken up without the constant companion. Looking at the stallion next to her at the table, she would have liked to say that it was his presence, but no. He was the centre of her life, its driving force, but not its foundation. She absently nibbled on a dried berry they had picked some time ago, noticing her husband's interested smile yet didn't react to it. He was essential, but their fate was ultimately dictated by something else, someone in fact.

“We have neighbours now," he stated and looked outside, where the first stumbled out of the barn. “All the time when it was just us, both of us and Tondan, I mean. Was it that boring with us three? Three years, two of them in peace, and look what we achieved." She nodded, then joined him at the window, pressing against him and feeling him respond in kind.

“It was good; it still is, but I could not have slept soundly knowing that we left twenty people to die."

“Now you left eight. I am truly happy for the rest, but what will you do about those who did not follow you?"

His question cut into her flesh, but it was the truth. “I did all I could to convince them. That will have to suffice. We all did good or bad things in the little time we had, and they left on their own accord. I didn't like it, but it wasn't by my actions either."

“You called Eldyr."

“Tondan called Eldyr."

“So are you mad at him?"

The heifer sighed while her husband slowly stroked her horns and only reluctantly responded this time. “No, I am not. As much as I would like to, he was right in calling for help. And even if not, Elimere is only alive because he did so. You have not met her before... all of this, but every time we came through their village, she was so happy to see me. If she had lived back at our old home, I wouldn't have left." When she returned to their table, he followed closely behind, taking a seat opposite to her.

“Nothing left besides us."

“Nothing left besides us," she repeated the oath they had sworn the day Eldyr had murdered and swallowed her father.

Outside, their guests and new neighbours had now mostly woken up and started streaming out on the lawn. The children were immediately headed for the river against their parent's will, while latter stood back and carefully inspected what they had not seen in yesterday's darkness. What they had also missed were the large claw marks all around the water and the ditch next to it that rather resembled a swamp than the lush grass everywhere around it. “There is... a lot of explanation left," Keliara sighed when she finished her breakfast and headed outside to greet them.

“He is still present," Eldyr noted later that day when the group had mostly settled with the logistics and just had to seriously consider whether they would rather spend their time here in the barn or go through the effort of building something more permanent at the risk of abandoning it next spring.

“Whom do you mean?" Tondan asked, sitting on a rock further up the slope and watching the bunch go through some planning with Keliara.

The dragon growled through his head, then let the impression of Hedrik wash through their connection. As per usual with the dragon, it included a lot more smell and taste than he found comfortable, the latter gained through experience as Tondan had learned the hard way when he had first met him. “I would have preferred it if the liar had left. He is stubborn, but he will not live long enough to convince me. He is just a pest, just another of your kind."

“You really hate us, don't you?" Tondan frowned and received a gentle nudge against his presence as a reward.

“No, I do not. Your kind means to me as much as the trees, the soil, the very air. You are part of this world, and all I judge are your decisions and your thoughts. Live or die, it is all the same to me for most of your conspecifics." While an almost loving stroke ran over Tondan's mind, he just listened to his environment and let the gaze roam. Birds in the air, ferals occasionally sneaking in the giant cauldron -- all things that he had never deemed to be possible a year ago.

“Look what we can achieve if we try," the stag responded, “and now that there are more of us, we can do so much more. Don't you see? They are a chance."

“Yes, little one, they are a chance, not a guarantee. Imagine what someone is capable of who leaves half their companions behind. Animals require guidance, as I said."

“And what is with your kind, dragons? You praise violence, demand strength, and everything you do is fighting for dominance," Tondan shot back, getting thoroughly annoyed with the lecture on his supposed species. “Have you even considered diplomacy once -- a society with laws, rulers possibly? You represent the traits you hold against us yourself, a world of battle and individuals."

Now he had caught the dragon's attention as he felt just a little more of the sticky flood stream around him: “So you think that we fight for dominance, little one? That it is all a game to us?"

“Yes! You even teach your young the exact same lesson: be strong and fight for your place in life."

The dragon laughed deeply as the stag felt a shift in his presence, normally meaning that he set out to fly. “What would our world be without a fight? Why do you follow your degenerate statues? Why, by the gods, as you like to say, do you choose to live a life of dependency? Because they force you. Every weakness is a vulnerability they exploit, and when you cannot fight, they end your existence out of sheer will. You, little one, have forgotten how to fight and lost your life in the process. Only I brought you back from the dead and led you into the light. Without my strength, you would not have survived the last winter, so do not direct your anger towards it as easily." Humming softly, Eldyr's voice turned smoother, and he slowly extracted himself from the stag. “I was too weak to protect my mate. If you remember what I only shared with you, little one, you will see that I failed her and she chose the wrong. Regardless of what you said, it is a battle I lost. That is who we are; that is why we fight. Every weakness separates us further from eternity."

The warm feeling around his mind slowly returned, streamed though his body, and when Tondan eventually leaned back onto the rock surface, it felt more like a bed than the cold boulder it was. A real bed, in fact, no straw filled mattress. Not that he had ever owned one or even touched one, but he imagined it to be like this. “Things happen in life, and even if it is endless as you claim, you can't blame yourself for living it anyway. Similarly, you can't blame us for living in an unideal but acceptable way." Just the warmth proved that the dragon was still there, as he didn't answer now. A deep sigh and a gentle pat had to suffice in his opinion.

Laying there for a while, the stag slowly breathed in and out, in and out again, until a shadow dropped over his eyes. “Are you alright, little one?"

At first, he thought that it was Eldyr speaking to him, but when he opened his eyes and blinked, it started to make much more sense why it had been such a soft voice. “Elimere. It is a pleasure to see you," he chuckled and sat up, stretching his back, then looked down at the young fox standing next to the boulder.

“The bird has arrived," a certain deep voice suddenly echoed through his head and retreated as swiftly as it had come, sadly taking the warmth and softness with it as well.

Tondan just could call his played gratitude after it before it vanished completely. Staring down at the nervous girl, he gently patted the rock next to him and moved a bit so she could hop up, “don't you want to play with your friends?"

His question hung there for a moment before she replied, her voice quiet, almost sad, but not quite. “They are not my friends."

Another stare, another silence. “None of them?" he enquired again, still remembered his time as a fawn, though. It had been lonely times when Keliara hadn't been around, and as much as he hoped that she would have a better fate, the small eyes told him otherwise.

Eventually, she looked back at him and shook her head, “I like my brothers and sisters. The others are so... different. They are no fun."

“What do you mean by 'different'?"

“They are mean and then laugh. Ewan wants to be a knight when he is older. He is the meanest."

Even though he remembered the lessons his father had tried to give him, Tondan felt hardly prepared for this. At first, he wanted to tell her that she wouldn't need the others, biting his tongue before he could send her down the same path he went, however. “Oh," was all he could produce in the end. “And how was it at home? Did you have friends there?"

Her eyes widened, and the most adorable smile washed over her face; soon before she started bubbling like a waterfall, “There were Kara and Kere -- they were sisters but looked like each other -- there was Edi, Kemen, Laris,..." Name after name came blabbering from her muzzle, and Tondan was afraid she would never stop recounting their adventures when a first sob broke from her.

Elimere probably didn't notice that she started repeating names by now, the words more a stutter between heavy breaths, then she finally collapsed. The tears flowed freely, and she rolled into a tight ball next to him, her fluffy tail curling up around the shivering rest while name after name dripped forth. “I miss them all so much!" the girl eventually cried out when her tiny fist hit the stone underneath her, “I miss them miss them miss them miss them..."

Tondan had placed his hand on her shoulder. There was nothing he could have said that would have made her feel better, least of which bring back what she lost, so he just did... something. The little fox immediately latched out and pulled the stag's hand in with a force he hadn't expected to come out of her. While the sobbing continued, it started to slow now at least. “I am your friend, Elimere. And as long as you are here, that won't change," he eventually said, knowing how dull it sounded and how painful the goodbye would be if they parted in a few seasons, but still, it felt right in the moment.

The fox didn't seem to care anyway and just stared up at him in a sudden curiosity. “You are?"

“I am," he stated again, this time a little more determined seeing the effect it had on her. Sitting up, the crying was forgotten. Wet streaks still lined her muzzle, but it was far from the pitiful sight from before. Sitting up, she still clung to his arm and even tugged it harder against her chest when she cuddled closer.

“One sure could use such words to describe our relationship, Tondan," the fox said without a care in the world now, one of her ears twitching peculiarly. While Tondan shivered under the sound of that, she jumped up without a warning and dragged him behind her, though.

“Where are we going?" he asked, did not receive an answer though; not from her at least. As if she had known, a call sounded over from their improvised settlement, and the next thing he noticed were a lot of people running quickly to the southern 'border' where the grass was slowly replaced by the crops they had planted. Some stared blankly into the distance, some sprinted back to the barn to alarm the others, but most were still unaware of the object of interest. Not for long, though.

While the first of their calls had been rather quiet, what now came was far more clearly and immediately alarmed the entire group. “A dragon!" Tondan chuckled at their panic as they had already successfully survived an encounter with Eldyr, but even when he looked at the horizon, he couldn't spot the winged shadow approaching. The others seemed to do so, and although his friends tried to calm them as soon as they arrived at the clamour, the people continued to yell and shout like ferals in a wildfire.

Then he finally spotted the 'danger' in the form of a black shadow stalking through the fields. At first, Deifel just watched the group with wide eyes, occasionally flapping her wings in irritation, then she turned to lunge forward.

Visually pleased with the results of ten people immediately backing off from her, she continued to round them and did so again, closer this time, and with a happy snarl. None of the people knew that it was a happy one of course and dispersed even more, and to make it even worse, the stag could also spot three more shadows on their way through the grains, yet to be noticed by the panicked bunch.

So he sped up his steps, and was now the one pulling Elimere. Meanwhile, Keliara seemed to give up keeping their guests under control and turned for the perky dragoness instead. “Deifel!" he heard her shout, watched her move in while he approached as well, but the young just replied with a frustrated warble and started circling in the other way around now, strategically positioning the group between her and the killjoy. “No, Deifel. Stay back!" the heifer commanded again and was promptly ignored.

Quite the opposite. As he had mostly reached the group, he could still only watch as the black troublemaker lowered herself, then charged right into the heart of the gathering. Screams echoed from the mountain pan's walls when they burst apart like a raw egg, and the black spear burst through them without even coming close to any of the adults.

Most of the younger had made it out of the dangerous area as well, but two of the loners who hadn't been taken care of by their missing parents could do little but stand there in shock when they collided with a cute, chriping, yet fast-moving wall of scales. The first toppled over, grazed by a wing shoulder, and the second one caught her full impact.

The poor squirrel was lifted up in the air by the dragon's head crashing into his legs and rolled onto the dragon's back. Visibly annoyed by the extra weight, Deifel came to a sudden stop, freezing in her tracks and scraping through the ground while her load was launched a step further.

With a slow stroll, she then closed in on the boy, but before she could reach him, Tondan was there, cries of terror running through the onlookers. “Back off. You pesky thing, away with you." This time, she listened, and while he let go of Elimere's paw and stepped around the back-padding squirrel, she seemed to realise that it was over. It didn't keep her from complaining though, pouting snarls burning painfully in his ears while her mind pressed against his with more intent the closer he got.

She was not nearly as far with speech or communication in general as her sister, and so it was a mere unordered mess of memories of her playing, Semon shouting at her, Eldyr cleaning her against her will, and her view on Tondan's approach. “No, you can't play with them. They don't want to."

She snarled again when he was just a foot away, until he reached for her snout and hooked his fingers into her nostrils. While it was not very comfortable for either of them, it was about the only place on the continuous log that were her neck and head where he could hold her without slipping constantly.

“You can watch, you can ask for someone to play, but never," he pulled a little harder, “do that again." At first, she struggled, bucked, and grumbled, then it trotted alongside him.

“Don't even think about it!" Keliara yelled at the remaining three when she spotted them as well, and luckily, those were easier to order around.

While the bystanders seemed to calm down though, Tondan heard steps approach from behind as soon as he had let the dragoness go.

Before he could react, a small paw reached out and pressed against Deifel's ink-black flank, the orange somewhat stinging from the contrast. Almost immediately, she whipped around and focussed her eyes on the fox. For a moment, Tondan expected the dragon to jump right at her, but she just sniffed, tasted the air, and from Elimere's slight yet sudden tremble, he guessed that Deifel had made mental contact with the girl as well.

From one heartbeat to another, her red eyes snapped back at the stag. “Father," she expressed with what little she could, before turning her attention back at the fox in front of herself. A flash of black suddenly darted from the dragon's position, and within a blink of an eye, the fledgling was on top of Elimere, growling playfully while she nudged her head against the fox' from time to time.

The girl just looked up at Tondan for help, spotting him grinning and staying back despite the first screams that came from the crowd over the display of apparent violence. When the dragon slowly grew restless, he finally gave in, “She wants you to play with her. Knock her over to get her off yourself."

“But that's mean. I don't want to be mean."

“Trust me, it isn't. It's nothing but a game." Despite his attempt at being encouraging, all he earned was an even sadder fox.

“I... I don't want to be mean. It's no fun," she cried out, the first tears now forming in her eyes. Tondan looked over his shoulder to the others, catching some of them staring at the scene with quite the curiosity now, still not even Elimere's parents dared to come closer. “It is bad."

The girl's sob brought Tondan's attention back to the two, and he was just about to drag the dragoness off her, but then, something happened to Deifel. She hesitated all the sudden -- something very much unusual for the gay creature. She even backed off, then started circling Elimere, the latter watching her with widened eyes.

Eventually, the black dragon stepped in again, licking the salty liquid from the fox's face without really understanding what it meant. In that moment, Tondan realised that no one had ever cried in her presence. She knew anger, fear, and happiness, still nothing could have prepared her for this.

At some point, the young seemed to understand that something was not normal about this individual and she looked at Tondan for help, prodding his mind for a moment, then returned to her accidental victim again. Some of his thoughts seemed to have made sense for her, as she now chattered quietly and eventually dropped next to the fox. As she now placed her head next to the girl, Elimere flinched back at first, then just looked at the dragon before carefully running a paw over the round muzzle. Deifel seemed to approve and even started humming softly while rolling even closer. Cuddling and play fights -- the perfect childhood for a dragon, apparently.

Now, the girl's mother stepped forth, however. The vixen's tail whipped behind her frantically, while she puffed out her chest to somehow look more impressive than the nervous wreck she obviously was. “Elimere. You c-come here now. Move back from that... thing."

No reaction from the girl, who was far too captivated by the scaly surface; still she seemed too afraid to step any closer. “I said y-you should come. Elimere! Daughter!"

“It is nice, mother," the girl eventually responded with a tinge of sadness flowing along, “I want to--"

“You won't bring such a pest to our place to sleep, young lady. Now get out of the dirt!" A sudden wave of courage seemed to have caught the older vixen, as she now reached out and pulled her daughter on her hind paws and swiftly away from the abomination. “Pray to the gods that they condone this sin. You will stay away from these monsters from now on, or, by my mother's grave, I will teach you..."

The remaining berating was thankfully lost to the wind. Nonetheless could Tondan see her twist and turn young Elimere's paws and arms in search for something that might have stuck with her.

“There is nothing to fear!" Tondan eventually announced to the surrounding mass, “Return to... what it was that you were doing." At first, none of them was willing to move and turn their back to the very disappointed lump of scales. In the end however, they dispersed though and left the other soon-to-be dragons room to join their sister.

“Wonderful. I... what were you thinking, you little beasts?" the stag finally sighed as he reached down to continue where Elimere had left off. Deifel just chortled and pressed further into the touch while the rest slumped down as well. The warbling pile didn't care less about their surroundings than how much attention they got from it, but Tondan saw it in the people's eyes. Who had formerly been determined to stay now questioned their decision. Too early, too sudden, two days of dragon seemingly too much for the regular folk.

Hedrik still stood there, grinning strangely relaxed. He stepped in and smiled at the black form rolling on the ground. Something about his attire immediately caught the pile's attention, as Exan was the first to waddle over his siblings and drop against the stoat, when Keliara didn't follow his invitation. “Do they have names?" Hedrik asked as he sat down to the young and started clumsily patting the green dragon's back.

To that, Tondan smiled, then noticed a curious head against his side. “It is complicated. Eldyr just tends to describe... their... taste. The happy one there is Exan, the two there are Forlen and Ansura, and this particularly nasty lady here," he softly tugged at the inky wing next to him, making her turn around and giggle even happier, “goes by the taste of Deifel."

A moment passed while the stoat nodded and grew more confident with the green mass, smiling softly and looking over at the dragon's brother. “How do you distinguish the two? Blimey, he is so... present. It is hard to describe."

“Forlen has golden eyes, while Exan has yellow ones. But all four are so inseparable that it doesn't make a difference whom of which you call." It took another while of patting the black creature and her sister before he spoke up again.

“And oh, the most precious moment is when you leave the house and all they show is the joy to see you. They are such wonderful things. But you don't care, Hedrik, do you?"

The accusation made named one look up from his distraction again and painted a deep concern over his face. “What are you saying? This is a dream. I--"

“He means to say," Keliara suddenly joined in, having just watched the exchange with little interest for more fledgling at the moment, “that the sole reason you are here is Eldyr and what he will never do for you." She muttered something to herself, then continued, “I don't ask you to become Eldyr's friend, not even understand his motives, for not even we completely grasp them. But don't pretend that you enjoy the young's presence when you merely like them as future allies for your ruler's army."

While he kept stroking Exan, encouraged by the ignorant young's warbles, he fell into a stern silence. When he dared to stop just for a heartbeat, though, a short twitch shot through his small, round ear. His tail jolted to the side while his eyes widened. “I... didn't know..."

“There are many things you do not know," Tondan grunted and stood up, his desire for community more than satisfied right now, “you are not as scared as the others, but you are exactly as foolish it seems."

When Tondan had left for his own home and sat back on the simple chair, Eldyr carefully touched his mind, then deepened the contact once Tondan welcomed his presence. “You sent the fledglings, didn't you? It was your idea for them to come and 'meet' the people, wasn't it?" he grunted, then beat his seely table, “You risked everything we worked for, and some of those who came might still leave after their experience today. With your stubbornness, you probably ruled more to death just to prove our incapability."

“I have done nothing such, little one," the dragon hummed, “My young decided to visit you and as a result, they did."

“Nevertheless, you didn't take actions to stop them."

“You wish me to stop my young from going somewhere you never owned to begin with? It is their hatch right to explore their realm." He nudged the stag's mind with his, even bringing him off balance for a moment, then engulfed him in a deep flood of thoughts.

“No," Tondan said, still having to fight for every word, as the dragon invited him to a deeper connection and embraced him in a softness barely imaginable for a beast as huge, “but you could... have waited for at least... Eldyr, give me room!"

“This debate tires me."

“It is important."

“No, little one. I am right, and you are simply too limited in your head to understand," he growled as he almost retreated entirely, “I need not to have this conversation. It serves no purpose but to calm your petty conscience."

“We are discussing 'my kind's' lives here. Our responsibility; at least as long as you don't break your word."

Eldyr snorted at his defiance and let him feel every bit of his contemptuousness. “No, Tondan, we are discussing my kind's offspring inside of my home, while most of what you built here originates from my presence. You are a guest in my realm, as I already stated, and you either make decisions for the narrow-minded animals and keep them here, or you cannot complain about the path chosen in their stupidity. I will neither help nor--"

“Spare me the speech. You are disgusting! Those are people with emotions and memories. We live the life we choose and are not to be kept like cattle!" Tondan wasn't sure yet and didn't care particularly whether someone outside heard him yell by now, inevitably deeming him as a madman talking to himself, and so he went on, “I am tired of your airs, Eldyr. I cannot stand your arrogance believing that simply because you have lived, and will continue to do so for centuries, you have the authority to rule our world."

“You keep bringing up the same unnecessary aspects. I saved your life more than once, little one; the fox you are so fond of would have faded into nothingness if not for my intervention. I, Tondan, prove my presence contrary to your gods, and still you have doubted them fewer times than myself."

“So why is it then that dragons are not considered as such, rather monsters?"

“Because we don't follow your rulership, little one. Your kind does not like the uncontrolled."

Scoffing, the stag stood up, “maybe your kind is better to be controlled."

“And who would be capable of such?" Eldyr replied with immense amusement seeping from his mind, “Your precious gods? Give them action and presence, and I will slaughter each you send after me. A pity they do not exist. It would have been fun." Laughing a last time, the dragon retreated again, leaving the stag alone in his quiet home.

This creature was neither god nor monster. It was worse.