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Chapter 9: Silver wings

Katrin gazed at Mistica to leave her behind with Lorkor. Watching her for the first time be free and dart off between the trees. She pushed herself into Lorkor's flank. He was nice and warm. It was comfortable to know that even with nothing in the way of bedding, she would not be cold. Trough her unpreparedness left her uneasy about her whole situation. She left everything behind, even things she did not want to leave behind. Memories of her mother, her room, her whole life.

Now she was with dragons, no way back, even if she could make it back right now. It was both a liberating feeling and the most upsetting she ever felt. She did not doubt Mistica was going to take good care of her, but she did not know if she would ever be comfortable with the idea of life among dragons.

“She is a kind dragon," Lorkor commented happily. “I can't believe some dragon wants to call herself my mother. "

Katrin petted the green dragon's flank. “Haven't you had a mother when you hatched?"

“No, I hatched alone near a fire in the hatchery. I never seen dragons apart from the other hatchlings. That was not until I got transferred to the training fields, that was. “

“oh? did you have a rider then?"

“No, they said I was too young to take a rider. What is strange since Börh told that his first rider raised him from hatching, just like most dragons. I don't know what changed between then and now."

Katrin pondered a bit about it. “Perhaps," she wondered out loud, “What ever happened with Mathew and his dragon happened? When Mistica told his name, Lieutenant Amberheart got upset enough to threaten us.."

Katrin subconsciously touched her back, instantly regretting it when she felt the pain that was emanating from the touch. Her back was still covered in scabs, and felt hard and sore.

“Are you alright?" Lorkor sniffed her back, his nostrils flaring with whatever scent he was breathing in. Katrin straightened her back to reduce the stretching placed on the scabs.

“Yes, I am alright," she replied.

“You don't smell alright, I can smell your blood. "

Katrin reached to her back again, this time more carefully, and traced her hand across the skin on her back. The scabs were warm and felt like rough scales. She her hand traced down until she felt a drip of warm fluid on the back of her neck. Bringing her hand back to look at what it was, she could see the ruby colour of her blood coupled with the metallic smell that soon entered her nose.

“you are injured!" Lorkor called in panic, getting restless under her back. His movement hurt her back even more than it already was.

“Easy Lorkor, Easy. I am alright" She tried to calm the struggling dragon. “it will be all aright if you ease up a bit. Let me rest and it will all be fine" She touched his snout and rubbed it until he quieted down a bit and no longer struggle that much.

Mistica did not take long to return. Soon the black dragon reappeared from the dense forest, this time carrying three deer carcases in her mouth.

“Lunch has been served! Anyone want deer?"

Katrin could not deny her own hunger and she was quick to stand up even if her back aced up again. She looked at Mistica, placing the deer carcasses on the ground and push one to Lorkor, who happily snatched it.

“Oh, uhm, I just wonder, how would I eat?"

“I have an idea. I saw mother do this for father a fair bit of times. Katrin, can you search for a good pile of wood and a flat stone? I will prepare the meat for you."

Katrin looked at Mistica for a moment before walking into the forest. She was stopped, however, on the edge of the forest by Mistica.

“Oh, and Katrin, please don't strive too far. "

Katrin let out a small laugh about Mistica's comment and shouted “Yes mum!" back

Collecting the firewood was not a straightforward task under normal circumstances. With the scabs on her back, it bordered on torture. However, if it was torture, this was for a worthy goal of having something to eat. She could smell the blood herself, as some scabs reopened and bled slightly. At this rate, she would need a new shirt fast.

Even trough the pain in her back was getting stronger, she did not want to let herself down. She had been battered and bruised before. She collected each piece of wood and tested it for dryness before adding it to her pile of firewood. By the time she came back from the forest with the firewood and a large flat stone she found on the floor in her hands. Mistica was walking back with the carcass of a single deer.

Mistica dug a large pit near Lorkor and directed Katrin to it. Now in here, add a good layer of wood. "

Katrin slowly bent for over and executed Mistica instructions, building a loose a pile of wood on top of what Mistica placed the stone.

“Okay now, Lorkor, could you please light this for us?"

Katrin dived away from the fire, stared at the sudden heat. But it had a desired effect as the fire started to crackle and heat up the stone. Mistica placed the lump of deer flesh on it, causing it to sissle.

“And now we wait," she called out, happy, before diving into her meal. Katrin never had seen a dragon eat in such an awful display as just now. Sure, she saw Mistica eat before, devouring pre-cut pieces of meat. But the blood and bits of the two dragons tearing their meals apart was something else to behold. Together with the sounds of breaking bones under Mistica's powerful yaws, she was reminded of just a few days ago in the stables.

_ Katrin could not help but to look helpless how Mistica took the doctor's leg in her yaws. Her maw closed around the leg and where the teeth pierced his skin, blood struck down._

It all happened too fast and before she knew it, with a snap and gut wrenching clench, the dragoness tore the limb clean from the doctor's body. The dragoness kept the limb in her mouth for longer, almost as if she was considering eating it. Before spitting it out at a guard.

“Katrin? Are you alright?" Mistica had stopped eating, her she was just about to start on her second deer before looking at her. “You are white as the snow."

Katrin slowly looked at Mistica, seeing some blood dripping from her maw. She did not quite know what to say to the dragon, what to ask. Would you eat a human? Was a question she thought of, but surely that would not be a question she dared to ask, or even wanted to answer. Through the answer, she got anyway.

“Would I eat a human?" Mistica echoed, thinking and pondering the question. “I never considered eating a human before. Unless that leg counted on eating a human... Perhaps I have considered eating human flesh before. I think I would if a human was attacking me and I need the nourishment. But I don't kill and eat for pleasure. Besides on, unlike most of my prey. Humans and dragons share an intellect, whereas my prey, however sentient, share that not."

Mistica's answer disturbed her, and she now looked at the meat cooking away on the stone. For a moment she could see the leg of the doctor in on the stone instead of the deer meat, then suddenly a flash of anger came, a flash she couldn't hide in her voice.

“So that's why humans see dragons as beasts" tough when she spoke those words, she felt mortified to hear herself and she became even whiter. She already was a white only known to those who paint with lead white. Slowly she turned her head to look at Mistica, worried about if she would be angered.

Mistica snorted. “And here I thought you were beyond that irrational hate towards dragons." She paused, judging by Katrin's facial expressions. “Perhaps some things are too deeply ingrained into your mind to be torn away in mere weeks."

“I am sorry," Katrin spoke softly to Mistica. The black dragon at first did not acknowledge the sorry. She reached with her paw forwards and flipped the meat on the stone by pinching it between her two claws.

“Accepted." She finally spoke. “Trough Katrin, let me ask. Would you eat a dragon if you had no other choice?"

Katrin watched Mistica's right eye ridge raise after she asked the question. Was that her being cocky? she never seen this expression from her or any dragon,

“Mis...." Lorkor started, then suddenly changed his mind. “Mom... wouldn't that be unfair to ask?"

Mistica startled a bit, before realising that she indeed made herself an adoptive mother. “I don't think so. She asked if I would eat humans, so I would like to hear my rider's answer."

“well I..." Katrin stumbled, then a horrible thought entered her mind. I mean I would... If it would be save me. “I think..." She lowered her head. “This is not a question with a simple answer for me."

Trough Mistica edged in. “Katrin, when you are emotional, I can hear your thoughts. There aint nothing to be ashamed of, you only admit that you feel the same as dragons as dragons about humans. But I have to admit that the subject is rather grim."

Katrin gave a huff at Mistica “How come you can freely read my mind when you like! But I can only hear what you want me to hear."

“Now that!" Mistica grinned smugly. “Is an interesting question. Humans are less mentally empathic. Not unlike dragons who have, besides our draconic, multiple ways of communicating. From scent markets to this mental communication. This doesn't mean that humans are always doomed to cannot communicate mentally. My father has reached the singularity with my mother. Trough, if you want to know about that whole shabang, you must speak with my father and mother." She seemed to think for a moment. “Actually, if you want to become a rider, I think it's best to speak with my father. "

Katrin had to do a double take, first about the whole mentally empathic situation, then about becoming a rider. “Wait, rewind, you mean if I want to become a rider? But you are a wild, no wait, a free dragon. Who will I be a rider of?"

“Me? Our faiths already have intertwined themselves. I heard my father discussing having more embassies in the human kingdom we have our tribe in. We could give the term Rider a new meaning." She reached over to nudge her snout on Katrin's shoulder. Giving a small eep, not only because she was startled, but also because the nudge made her back ace again.

“you are a big softy," Katrin bit through the pain not to let Mistica know. “A big scaled softy. All this threads about hurting people yet with me you are almost like a cat."

“Even a cat will claw its owner if it feels threatened. So yes, your comparison is correct. Trough, if I really was a cat, I would have been offended I wasn't fed on time and I had to hunt for you.Speaking of which," she nosed Katrin again. “I think your food is ready. "

Katrin turned her head to look at the lump of deer meat and took two sticks that looked clean and were easily whipped off to move the meat to a bitter part of the stone. She pondered how to best eat the meat before Mistica came in for the rescue again and used her claw to cut up the meat in more manageable bits.

“What, where would I be without you Mistica" Katrin said and ate. Mistica took this as a leave to devour her own prey, through this time she turned her back on Katrin not to show her devouring the door in all gory details. The deer flesh had a strong wild flavour she was used to of wild animals, trough it was unseasoned and had little other flavour. Katrin almost found it a shame of the meat to eat it like this, though the rumble in her stomach edged her on. She overcame the knot in her stomach when she took a small bite of the meat. Now she realised how ravenously hungry she really was.

Mistica herself ate her meal in silent despite her ability to actually speak with her mouth otherwise occupied. When Katrin was about to take the last bite of her meal, Mistica interrupted Katrin.

“I wonder where you were without me. From what I understood from Amberheart, your complete acceptance into the corps hinted at me not taking any other riders. Where would you be if I weren't abducted? I know where I would be, safely and warmly in the coils of my mate.'"

Katrin set the piece of meat she was about to eat back down. Thinking about the question for a bit. “Well, my father wrote me up to the Corps. He is not that powerful at the court but he would have enough influence to make that happen. So perhaps with another dragon, being brainwashed into treating that dragon like hell like all the other riders would do. I don't know why, but my father was all too keen on getting me the hell out of the court and away from the other ladies-in-waiting. Perhaps he heard the rumours."

“What rumours?"

Katrin blushed a bit. “The rumours that me and a friend of mine often spend long days together behind locked doors, showing each other devilish things. "

“And where are those true?" Katrin could see Mistica reaching over to her and look at her with a devious smile on her face.

“OI!" She said “Personal!"

“Well, if you say so, Trough, if you are fully willing to be and stay my rider, you will meet my mate, and you will eventually notice what I do with her."

Katrin now turned into a redder colour than a tomato. “Mistica why!" she scolded. “Think of the hatchling."

Mistica turned slowly to the hatchling and observed him. “Lorkor should think more about sexuality around his age, anyway. When I was his age, my mother taught me a lot of things. Its and important part of one's body and you should not be ashamed of it." She then turned to Katrin again. “Look, I am now only speaking to you. Lorkor is still busy with his meal, me might hear something he might not. But I just want to know you how far have you pushed it. Within what I understand, horrible restrictive norms."

Katrin came closer, and she whispered. “We kissed and touch each other's boobs" she expected Mistica to laugh but she did not. Instead, she nosed her cheek.

“So there is plenty more to explore for you in the future. I hope for you that you find someone to explore that with." She turned back around, and in a quick motion, devoured the last of her deer. “finish your meal. I don't think we should stay here for much longer. I want some distance before we need to spend the night, and we still have to think of a plan." Mistica edged Katrin on.

Katrin finished her meal in a few quick bites and stood up nor caring to cover the fire instead she let it burn out. Mistica lowered herself again and nudged Lorkor to finish his meal as well. Katrin, no longer fuelled by adrenaline, getting herself on Mistica's back was a lot more painful. She got on Mistica's back, but not without her feeling another scab opening up and bleeding. At this rate, she would need to go back into an infirmary to heal up again.

Mistica set off again, this time at a somewhat slower pace to allow them to move between the trees more effetely. They were still running but no longer for their life and Mistica pointed her head a bit more around to seek directions.

“So when you where planning to tell me you are injured," Mistica said after a while, moving between the trees, it felt like Mistica had taken a direction to move to, but what direction was not known for Katrin.

“I thought you would know. "

“No, I don't know. I saw you bleed when Amberheart showed you naked and broken. But you never told me the extend. I want to hear it from you. Tell me how injured you are."

Katrin flustered a bit. “I did not know!" she protested. “I barely remember anything after the flogging. The last count i know we were on fifty flogs or so, after that it was all a blur."

“Katrin." Mistica pressed on. “I care about you. Tell me how badly."

Katrin sighted “Stop moving for a bit I will show you" and mistica just did so, stopping in the middle of the forest and turning her head around to look at Katrin on her back. She turned around and undid the leather corselette that was around her chest, and unhooked her shirt. Even though she had to show the bandage that holds up her breasts, it did not feel like with everyone looking at her with the flogging. This felt safe and thrusted. She slowly lowered her blouse and uncovered her back, filled with scabs to Mistica.

“What!?" Mistica's mental voice boiled in anger. “What did they do to you!?" She moved in to inspect her back, bloody and covered in scabs. There was hardly skin on her back that was not damaged by the flogging. The worst damage was around Katrin's spine.

“they... they stripped me down and flogged me. For all to see... I just remember the staring eyes looking at me like I was some kind of animal and... and," She stopped talking and just sobbed instead.

“Katrin," Mistica cooed softly. Nudging her cheek and giving it a soft lick. Licking away her tears. “I am here now. My actions are unacceptable. I should have paid attention to the warning signs, not disregarded them. But I thought my freedom was justifying everything. Making me blind to see others like you, like Lorkor, were also in danger. I am sorry."

Katrin turned around and pushed Mistica's head against her body. Her snout against her belly and her eyes just about her breasts. She holds her two arms around the base of her head to her neck. Holding her close while warm tears flowed out of her eyes and dripped onto Mistica's cold scales.

Lorkor looked uncomfortable at the moment the two had. He did not know where to look, but his eyes kept on being drawn to Katrin's back and the amount of wounds on her back.

Katrin kept the embrace for a solid minute before breaking away and dressing up again. Mistica gave an award smile before returning to head her in front of her again, ready to run further when Katrin was finished with her uniform. And so they ran further and further without for Katrin having a clear direction.

Mistica stopped when dusk was casting over the lands and forest. The forest had cleared up as they reached one edge of the forest. Out there were farmlands that spread wide and there were dragons flying in the sky, circling around a village or city that was in the middle of all these fields.

“We can't move in the daytime. It's too risky." Mistica observed the dragons flying in the sky. “If they spot us, we would be done."

“And I am tired," Lorkor chimed in. Katrin helped herself from Mistica's back and stretched her legs. Walking to the edge of the forest and gazing out over the fields. Her eyes scanned the horizon to see any trail that others would come this close to the forest to see her and the two dragons. When she could not see any sign that the road that was near the forest was well travelled, she moved back and petted Mistica on her neck.

“We still need a plan. You want to escape the kingdom. We have two choices: go over the mountains of despair, trough that would require flying."

“And even with that, my father barely survived the trip covered in warm clothes over those mountains. You have none of that and none of the flying experience to know how to breathe up there." Mistica added.

“We could go around the mountains, but that will take time. But I have family near the border and they need to travel for a month to reach us, or go by ship."

“But your family doesn't go by running dragon. Trough, for that we need a map and know where we currently are. "

“A map, especially that far towards the border, is expensive," Katrin scratched her head. “Plus, I doubt that this town will have such a map. Going back to the capital is obviously not an option. There is a city close by we can reach and risk a trip, but I didn't bring money with me."

Mistica moved forwards a bit to look through the leaves of the trees and two fields that were getting darker with the setting sun. “We can reach the new city by sunrise. Is there a forest we can hide in there? Perhaps it is best to take this issue one problem. We can sleep in the morning and you can go into the city and score a map."

“And when will I sleep?" Katrin crossed her arms at Mistica. “Besides, leaving you two sleeping alone wouldn't be a good idea. What if you get captured?"

“You can sleep in Lorkor's saddle. And if we get discovered, we are doomed anyway. Lorkor might escape, but I will be captured without a doubt. It doesn't matter if we sleep or not. If we get discovered, we get captured. If we get captured, well, I doubt we will see freedom ever again apart from freedom in death."

Katrin took a deep breath and just gazed at Mistica. “I hate this plan Mistica, There are so many unknowns."

“Life has many unknowns you can't control. I simply try to make the best of the situation faith has dealt. Though I am open to ideas, we have until the sun is fully set to make our move."

Katrin took this time to ponder their situation, sometimes out loud to Mistica, thinking of ways to get a map, including getting several smaller cheaper maps, maps that could be bought with soliciting for money. Perhaps even working some days. But that would increase the time they need to escape and while they were hidden for so far, every single day in the kingdom would increase their risk of being captured.

In the end, by the fall of the sun, Katrin made herself comfortable in Lorkor with no saddle, something that was difficult with no pillows, blankets or even a straw bedding. She found a position and strapped herself in so she would not fall out if Lorkor suddenly moved. Under the cover of the night, the two dragons ran according to Katrin's directions. Running on the edge of the fields and keeping out of sight of the dragons.

When Katrin looked forwards, she could hardly see Mistica, her black scales where effective camouflage in the night, the only hint that was given about who was running in front of them was the red swirls in her scales and her silhouette that blocked the moonlight.

Katrin laid herself down again, trying to sleep even trough Lorkor running was shaking her. Soon, however, because of a combination of her tired mind and the fact that Lorkor's running was rhythmic, she drifted off into a somewhat disturbed sleep.