FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 5

Far north of Cilrev, a cold tension held out between two dragons. The first one, scales black enough to be completely invisible in the dark, was deep in thought, focusing. The second, whose scales ranged from bright orange to shiny bronze, only watched, quickly tiring of having to wait.

'Have you found him yet?' Thalen asked.

'No.' Black answered tersely.

'When will you know?'

'You know there is no way to figure that.'

'But you know you are running out of time however.'

'I do.'

'And you know the punishment for-'

'Don't remind me!' he growled.

Thalen was only amused by this. 'So is that all it takes to scare you?' He asked, his golden eyes lighting up with a spark of malice.

'...Of course not. Now leave me alone so I can continue my work.'

'But your work is no longer here.'

'What do you mean by that?'

'This is not working. If you are not skilled enough to locate the mind of a mere hatchling, then you would be better suited to leaving and getting the information up close.'

'I will be killed if anyone finds me!' Black complained, his tail beating the ground.

'Then do not get found.' Thalen answered simply, grabbing Black's tail between his teeth and giving him a rough pull towards the exit of the cave.

'Fine! I will go! Just stop it!' A wisp of flame escaped his muzzle in annoyance as he pulled his tail away to walk out into the freezing cold outside.

The other dragon followed, adding to Black's annoyance. 'You better hurry, it would be a shame if-' His thought paused as the black dragon took off, intentionally kicking up as much snow as he could manage up in his face. He quickly shook what he could off and melted the rest almost instantly as he sent a burst of fire after the dragon in response, nearly reaching the tip of his tail before it was pulled away as Black distanced himself. Thalen snorted in derision as he watched the dragon struggle to gain balance against the rough wind before walking back into the cave to find someone else to pester.

Black didn't slow his pace in case Thalen changed his mind and decided to follow him. How he hated those orange scales! There was no doubt in his mind that he was a favorite of Thalen's to constantly push around at every opportunity. Maybe it was because he was the only one who resisted his bullying, but he didn't care. He hated him ever since he arrived at this wretched place, and he wouldn't object to leaving for good if it meant getting away from him. That thought enticed him and quickly spread in his mind. Yes, perhaps once he finished this assignment, he could finally leave after collecting his reward. The south was where it was nice and warm, unlike here where everyone was freezing half the time. He could carve out a spot for himself to live, and he wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore. He shook himself from his fantasy and reminded himself of his job, right now he had a dragon to catch, a dragon by the name of Talek.

***

Back at Cilrev, when morning came, Nyolnen took it upon himself to rouse everyone before the sun could show itself above the tree-covered horizon.

"This will be a tougher walk, and far longer too." He told them, handing each a large and very heavy backpack to carry, except for Talek, to whom he only apologized for waking so early and forcing him to become the translator once again when he would rather sleep.

"What's in the bags?" Chris asked, having trouble lifting his own.

"Mostly food, but I also brought a few tools and a couple weapons should we need them."

"Weapons?" Dave became quickly interested. He looked over his bag and found a few strapped to the outside. A couple small daggers, sheathed so they would not cause any unwanted damage, and a bow, not unlike the one Nyolnen carried. But what truly interested him was a sword, almost a meter in length, which in his mind looked like a hero's blade. He looked it all over, admiring everything he saw.

"Do not touch that." Nyolnen commanded before Dave's hand could creep up to the hilt. The elf's tone was more than enough to make him understand, and he left it alone without question. "Now, with all of you ready, we can go." He announced, heading to the door.

"Aren't we going to eat first?" Chris questioned.

"You are carrying a bag full with food. You may eat that while we travel. Now let us go."

As they left, Chris fished a few ripe fruit from the bag and passed one to Dave and one to Annie. When he offered one to Nyolnen, the elf politely refused and said he could do without.

Cilrev was quiet that morning, and they did not pass a single person as they left through the southern exit, except for a single guard that gave a bow to Talek as they passed by him.

The road was hardly a road at all, being only a gap in the foliage caused by the people who traveled on it. Towards the mountains the path led, mountains which could only be seen if one were to climb up through the thick net of leaves that hovered over them, which is precisely what Dave was asked to do when the road gradually faded into nothing.

"I can't climb up there! The branches are too high up!" He complained.

"If it was not possible, I would not have asked." The elf responded cooly. "We need to know where exactly we are right now, so I have chosen you to figure it out."

"Shouldn't you know how to get where we are going already?"

"I do not normally travel this road on foot." And with that, he quickly dismissed the question.

He gave in. "Fine, I'll try." Leaving his carryweight there, he walked up to one of the trees and started feeling around for a handhold. The tree was quite thick and extremely rough, having many cracks that he could easily fir his whole hand in. However, he still struggled to lift himself from the ground.

"Moron." Annie muttered.

Talek was quite amused by the sight.

"Take off your shoes." Nyolnen advised. "It is easier to climb bare-footed."

He quickly slipped out of them and prepared to climb once again. He expected the tree's bark to break off as he put his weight on it, but he was surprised to find that it easily held firm, not even making a noise to indicate any strain. It was tough to climb at first, but once he reached the branches it became simple to finish the climb to the top. The only problem he really had was that whatever he might be feeling between the cracks of the tree. He nearly let go and fell off when he found a massive spider crawling up his arm, but he managed to flick it away before he either fell or revealed his fear.

Finally he broke through the canopy and was met with a rush of light and a beautiful spectacle all around him. The forest was a vast sea of leaves, with waves where the ground was higher or the trees taller. Behind him, Cilrev's giant tree poked above all the others like a nail that someone forgot to hammer, but it was the mountains that dominated the scene. A massive row of stone teeth jutting up from the ground. To the left they went as far as he could see, while to the right they quickly got smaller until they went away completely.

Once he had seen it all, he began the much scarier task of climbing back down, but before he could begin to lower himself, he noticed something hovering over the mountains. He turned to see it, but it vanished as soon as it appeared behind the mountains. Somewhat disappointed, he started to climb back down.

"What did you see?" He asked.

"Just mountains and trees really. I think I saw something else on one of the mountains, but I couldn't make it out when it left."

Only Talek could sense the elf's amusement, but for now, that would remain another secret.

"Did you see where the mountains stop? That is where we are headed."

Dave pointed through the trees south-west. "That way. Why don't they just make a road?"

"Roads are not normally necessary where we are going."

"And where exactly are we going?" Annie cut in.

"It would be better for you to wait until we get there to find out." His tone for that answer was enough to silence any further query. "Now, let us be off." And on that note, he started traveling once again.

The others, although a bit upset, quickly picked up their burdens and continued their venture through the trees. With them a silence followed, even the crackling of leaves underfoot seemed to go away. Just when Chris was going to start speaking to break the uncomfortable silence, Nyolnen surprised them all by speaking instead.

"Chris?" He asked without turning.

"Umm, yeah?" Chris ran up to the elf's side.

"Why do you think you are here?"

He was not ready for that. "Umm, why are you asking?"

"Because you seem to want answers so badly for questions you should already be able to guess the answer for."

"Oh, well, I guess I'm here because Talek met me, right?"

"And do you know why he chose to meet you?"

"Me of all the people he could have chosen? Not really, and I doubt you will tell me."

Nyolnen was silent for a moment. "You will learn with time. You still have to learn how to simply take care of Talek, but I believe you should start to learn more than just that. Talk to me tonight. I will explain more to you."

When Dave and Annie did not react to that, He realized that Talek was not translating.

'They will learn too, but they have no reason to know now.' He explained. 'They still have things they must learn on their own first.'

Somehow Chris felt like he was part of an experiment he didn't understand, but he kept that thought to himself. "How much do you plan to tell me?"

"Plenty."

That was enough to keep him excited for the whole day. Not even the pain from the pack digging into his shoulders upset him, though the same was not true for the twins, who complained about the weight, argued about who was carrying more, and complained more.

More than once they had to stop to let Talek hunt, taking the time to have a snack themselves, though Nyolnen seemed to eat far less than the kids did. Tree after tree they passed, growing closer to the mountains. The ground began to grow uneven, and boulders rested where the ground allowed it. Walking through the terrain was difficult, and several times one of the group would trip on a hidden rock under the leaves, and the bag making their fall twenty pounds more painful.

When they finally stopped, their hands were bruised and dirty. As Chris liked to point out, Talek was cleaner than he was.

"Alright, this is where we stop." Nyolnen announced.

They wasted no time to drop their things and find a tree to rest against, exhausted.

"Annie, there are sleeping rolls in your bag, would you bring them to me?" he requested.

Grumbling a little to herself, she complied, quickly finding them and pulling them out. Three large and tightly packed rolls of some extremely hairy animal's hide, stitched together to function like sleeping bags.

"I think we have a problem." Dave pointed out.

"What would that be?"

"There are only three rolls."

"Is that a problem?"

"Well, yeah, there's four of us."

"Exactly, but Chris will not be needing one." At seeing the confused look the youths gave him, "Well? Go on, you better get yourselves comfortable. Chris, as always, you will be sleeping against Talek, but stay awake so we can talk."

The twins began to settle down. Despite the warm and fuzzy look the rolls had, they itched horribly. Chris could tell when they finally fell asleep once they stopped rolling around with discomfort.

Nyolnen sat down in front of Chris, who was questioning how he was supposed to fall asleep out in the cold. "I would not be surprised if you were waiting for this moment to come." He started.

"Then you won't be surprised."

"Good. Where do you want me to start?"

"Umm..." He had other questions he wanted to ask, but he noticed the sleeping bags first. "Is that leather? Shouldn't you be against using leather?" He asked, bringing up the elven stereotype he had seen in movies and read in books.

Nyolnen was amused. "That is what is commonly said about people like me from Cilrev, and for many it is true. However, many of us still see the value of the materials animals can provide, with all due respect for the animal for the sake of tradition. However, I do not think it is I you want to learn about."

"Why did Talek choose me of all people?" He blurted out.

He sighed. "That is not a question I can answer myself, but who would you trust with your life, Talek?"

'I chose you because you were the right one to choose.' Talek's vague answer came.

He was disappointed at not getting a better response, but moved on. "Umm, okay, well could you explain more about dragons themselves? Like other than just how to take care of one like you said."

"I will tell you, but only if you really want to know." He said, sounding somewhat concerned.

"I want to know." He answered with what confidence he could manage.

"Very well." He began. "As you should know, dragons think like us and often grow to be far smarter. They are treated by most as equals, and often, superiors even. Now, most dragons are different with a few varying features, such as color and tail shape, but their internal anatomy has never been recorded."

"Why is that?"

"Because it would be disrespectful of course. So as you also know, dragons like Talek are able to speak with their thoughts. They are also able to weld their minds to someone else's at hatching. I believe you know what I am speaking of?"

"Yeah..." He remembered his awkward first encounter with Talek that left him tired and confused.

"This is what you do not know, this kind of link is supposed to be made only with other dragons, usually with one or both of the dragon's parents."

"Parents?" Yet another thing Chris had yet to think of. "Who are your parents Talek?" He asked the dragon.

'Lanidith and Farena. I miss them.'

"That is another thing to explain. Dragons are able to think before they hatch, usually a week before, so they can draw knowledge from those around them. It is unusual for so much to be learned in only a few brief days, but Talek had to in order to bring you here."

That confused him. "So this was planned?"

"Not all of it. Talek was supposed to return to his parents to hatch with them, but it seems he hatched early, and so had to link to you instead."

Chris had to think about that for a while, petting Talek slowly to relieve the anxiety building up in him. "So, in a sense, I am like a parent for Talek?"

'That would be accurate.' The dragon confirmed.

Chris was quiet, he even stopped his petting. "Well, what will his real parents think?"

"We will find out soon enough." The elf's words didn't do much to console him.

"What do you mean?"

"I thought you would have guessed. We are traveling to the caves where a large group of dragons, including Talek's family, live."

"What will happen when we get there?"

"That brings us to why you are here and what led up to it. As I said, much of this was planned. The plan was that Talek would secretly observe wherever he ended up, which happens to be where you lived, before returning." He held up his hand to halt Chris' impending question. "Do not ask, that is all I can say on the matter. I am not quite sure what will happen to you all, but I know that no harm will come your way, though you Chris will be of most interest."

"Because I'm linked to Talek?"

"Exactly. I must ask again though, do you want me to go on?"

"Well, umm, yeah, how else will I know?" Chris was confused. Why was Nyolnen so hesitant to explain?

The elf let loose another sigh. "Very well. I will tell you what I can. A link like this has never happened before."

"Yeah?"

"So a link is only ever supposed to form between dragons, yet under the circumstances, Talek had to link with you instead. This has never happened before, yet since it cannot be undone, we have to wonder what the link will do to you both."

He was worried by this. "I will be alright, right?"

Talek looked over at him reassuringly. 'I would never let our bond hurt you.'

The elf's look was much less reassuring. "That is kind of you to say Talek, but there are things still out of your control in this matter. As you should be aware, Chris, you are eternally tapped into Talek's mind, and you can hear his every thought and feeling as your minds are held together. In your situation, there is a problem though. Dragons are known to be masters of the mind, with an incredible amount of willpower. This means though, that certain emotions and instincts too have to become more powerful in order to even have an effect on them."

"I think I'm beginning to understand where you're going with this. So it's going to affect me through the link?"

"That is my theory. I am sure you have felt his emotions before?"

"Yeah, but it didn't really affect me."

"That is because the link is young, and still weak right now. You are barely brushing the dust off a mountain of emotion. By the end of the month, the link will have grown, and you will find that his emotions and thoughts have a lot more control over you than they should. I am afraid to think what will happen by the end of they year."

This greatly scared him. "Afraid to think? Do you have any clue what might happen?"

"My guess is that with instincts overwhelming you, you may begin to forget...well...that you are human."

He didn't know how to respond.

The elf wasn't any help. "I think I have said enough for tonight. By the end of tomorrow we will have made it to the dragon caves, perhaps we can talk more then." He slipped into his own sleeping bag, which was larger to fit his tall figure, and before long, was asleep like everyone else.

"Well, umm, I learned a lot from that." Chris remarked to himself.

'You learned what you had to. I am happy to have those secrets told.'

"What do you mean?"

'Can you not tell? It pains me to keep secrets from you, and before long, I will be more than happy to reveal the rest of them, but for now, it is for the best that I wait.'

"Yeah...did you have any clue that this might happen if you chose me?"

'To be honest, no, I did not. But I do not regret my decision still.'

"But what if something does happen?"

'Then I will do everything in my power to help you, but for now, you are tired. You should sleep so you can think better in the morning.'

"Thanks, but how am I supposed to sleep like this? It's freezing!"

'Lie down and let me help.'

He moved over so he was lying on his side next to the dragon. Rough was a good word to describe it. The soft dirt and leaves under him combined with the hard dragon scales next to him was not a comfortable feeling, but it was easy to get used to. He shivered when the cold from the ground quickly made it's way to his skin, nipping at it. He was thankful for the more practical clothes Nyolnen had given him, for they at least helped somewhat to fend off the cold, though not well enough to prevent him from beginning to shiver.

Quickly Talek extended a wing over him and pulled him close to his side. Heat began to collect under his wing, making it easier to finally start to relax.

'Thank you Talek.' Chris thought to the dragon.

'You are always welcome.' The dragon thought back. 'Goodnight Chris.'

'Goodnight Talek.' Quickly after that, sleep began to wash over him.

The dragon curled up around where Chris lay and began to fall asleep with him, thinking to himself for a while. 'There is no doubt about it.' He thought silently to himself. 'It is only a matter of time before his poor mind starts to collapse. I just hope I can prevent it from hurting him, but I suppose only time will tell. Even so, it would be interesting to observe, as long as it ends well.' And with that, sleep caught him, and he was swept into dreams of flying and chasing down fat, delicious deer.

When Chris woke, it took a while for him to remember where he was. He was in near complete darkness, with only a dull green glow weeding it's way through Talek's wing above him. He pushed up on it and a rush of cold morning air greeted him from outside. Reluctantly he rolled out into the cold and stood up so he could look around while his eyes adjusted to the light.

Dawn was just passing, and all the others were already awake, except for Talek, who still slept soundly.

Nyolnen was first to notice him. "Ah, you are awake. We will be leaving soon, so you should wake Talek so we can go."

"Oh, umm yeah." He kneeled down to pet the dragon on the nose. 'C'mon Talek, we've gotta get going.' He thought warmly, though he jumped back in surprise as the dragon gave a toothy yawn.

'Good morning.' His thoughts had a lazy tone to them. 'Do we have to go now? I am still tired.' He adjusted himself on the ground to be more comfortable.

'Yeah, sorry, but we do. Come on, let's get going.'

He yawned again as he rose. 'Alright, but let me eat first, I'm hungry.' Before anyone could react, he awkwardly ran off into the trees to hunt.

At seeing this, Nyolnen sighed with disappointment.

Chris looked up at him. "What?"

"I am only just realizing that once we get to the caves, we will have to ask Talek's parents to help take care of what you cannot."

"Like what?"

"Mostly teaching, since you have little knowledge of anything here, and certainly no knowledge whatsoever of how to fly, but in addition to that, there are other responsibilities which you cannot fill."

"So we ask his parents for help?"

"Exactly." For once, he noticed Chris' worrying. "Here, do not be upset, eat something." He offered a ripe yellow fruit to him. He was glad to take it and start eating in a vain attempt to calm himself as the worries of last night's conversation returned to him.

Before long, Talek returned, which thankfully was what it took to keep Chris from breaking down into a fit of worrying. After that, it didn't take long for them to pack up and continue their traveling once again.

They got closer and closer to the mountains, and the greenery steadily began to disperse, which made room for more rocks and boulders. When the group finally made it to the end of the mountain range, it was clear that they were no longer in the forest, for the scene had drastically changed from a lovely green forest, to a dry, yellowed plain dotted with rocky patches that poked up from the ground about a foot or two high. Not far behind them, there was a clear edge to the forest that ended with the mountains and went no farther, looking like a green haze in the distance.

Around the edge of the last mountain the group walked, and it could be seen that a second row of mountains stood not just behind the first, leaving a wide valley between the two. Nothing showed up to hunt, which annoyed the dragon since he quickly became hungry again, his stomach growling like an engine, and Chris had to repeatedly assure him that he would be fed eventually, but was just given the childish response that eventually was not soon enough.

Dave had not slept well the night before, fatigue was showing under his eyes and every now and then the group would have to wait for him when he fell behind. Suddenly, some time past noon, he dropped his bag and stopped. "I've had enough, I'm tired."

The others stopped and Nyolnen turned to face him, sighing. "You will survive walking a while longer, let us just continue."

"But I'm tired! I need to sleep..." He whined.

"I would advise against being a problem for us." The elf warned.

"There is no way you can make me get up."

A flicker of annoyance showed on the elf's face, and he took a step forward, but suddenly Annie interrupted.

"Hey! Look there!" She shouted, pointing up into the sky ahead of them.

It took Chris a moment to see what it was, but when he did, his eyes widened in fascination. A dragon at least ten times Talek's size soared over them, and in the span of a minute, it had all but vanished far behind.

"That was a dragon!" Annie was first to exclaim.

"Of course it was. Do you expect me to say it was something else?" Nyolnen asked, amused with her surprise.

"Well, umm, no, but why was there a dragon?"

"Because we have almost made it. Now, Dave, are you going to get up or are you going to continue sitting there?"

Dave was silent for a long, thoughtful moment before picking up the bag and rising to his feet again. "Fine, let's go."

They began to walk at a much more accelerated pace from then on with new motivation. Boulders were everywhere in the valley, blocking out whatever lay ahead. It was exciting to pass each one, for they couldn't be sure whether or not it was the last before they arrived at wherever they were going. Time and time again they were wrong, but they were still excited none the less. They were all motivated by the thought of seeing more dragons, and they did. Dragon after dragon flew over them, and for each one they stopped to watch.

"It is growing late. They are flying out to hunt for their families before night falls." Nyolnen explained.

Even Annie's sour mood had sweetened at the sights. "That's nice..." She remarked.

He gave a slight smile. "Yes, and it is but one of the many things that they do." He continued, making Chris feel uneasy.

'Do not worry.' Talek tried to calm him. 'It will be alright.'

"I hope so..."

After a while longer, after passing yet another massive rock that blocked their view, they could see it. Finally they arrived at the end of the valley where the mountains joined together in a rocky V. Between the ranges was a large pool of water that must have collected from melted snow, around which an excessive amount of moss grew. Seeded into small cracks in the mountain which gradually filled with dirt and dust a few small but beautiful trees grew. Other than that, the only greenery in the entire area was the lichen that gave the mountains a slight tinge of blue-green.

A countless amount of caves were drilled into the sides, and dragons of all colors were gliding from one to another. The kids watched all they could see, awed as they began to carefully climb up the rocky slopes to one of the caves. The sound of so many pairs of wings flapping was overwhelming, but not nearly as much as the sight of the dragons they belonged to.

"So this is it?" Chris asked once they reached the cave's entrance.

"Indeed." The elf answered him. "Talek's family should be down there."

Talek was the first to enter as he suddenly broke off into a sprint.

"Talek!" Chris called after him as he vanished behind the stone walls. He wasted no time to drop his things and start running after him, but he was nowhere near able to keep up. Quickly he tired and began to slow to a walk, giving him a moment to think.

The cave easily echoed all kinds of sounds, from Talek's running ahead of him, to the twins calling for him back at the entrance. Sound wasn't all that it held though, for the cave seemed to maintain plenty of light even though the entrance was far behind him. 'Perhaps some kind of magic?' He guessed. The walls of the place were rough, and in some places, jagged even, yet the ground was smooth as if someone had spent their entire life sanding it to perfection. The air was not the most pleasant, as it was uncomfortably warm and carried an odor which had to be the result of dragons staying there for so long.

It was not long before he reached a part of the cave that opened wide to house a variety of things, though he payed attention to nothing other than Talek curled up with two other hatchlings his size, one a fiery red and the other a sky blue. Together they all lay against a much larger dragon of a forest green color, which was close, but not quite Talek's sea green. His shoes squeaked against the floor as he came to a sudden halt, catching the dragon's attention. Not at all sure how to react to seeing this, a brief moment of silence followed. "Umm, hi?" He said awkwardly.

The large dragon simply nodded. 'It is a pleasure to meet you. You must be Chris, correct?' She asked him. Her mental voice was similar, yet different from Talek's in it's own strange way. The words seemed to carry both the message and the identity of who was speaking, not to mention it's own tone, but that was harder to notice.

Chris was surprised and slightly flattered that she already knew his name. "Umm, y-yeah." He stammered. "Are you Talek's, well, his mother?"

'I am.' Those two words were nearly crushing for him to hear. 'Farena is my name. I heard there were others with you.'

"Oh, y-yeah. Talek was in a hurry to see you I guess and so I went ahead with him."

'Then, while your friends are on their way, that gives me time to get a good look at you. Come closer.'

He was slightly nervous at hearing that, but still he came forward till he was standing only a few short feet in front of her.

She lowered her head to his height and looked him over with green, perceptive eyes. Her head alone was enough to dwarf Chris, being over three times his size. The thought of her angry terrified him. Her next thought was worse than any anger she could have shown. 'Hmm, you do not look to be the most able person. Certainly not someone I would have picked.'

He winced. "Umm, s-sorry."

'No, do not be. He chose you. We can only assume he knew what he was doing.' She nudged him towards Talek. 'Go on, be with him. Let me see how my son has been cared for.'

He complied, moving over to rest against Talek, though it all became extremely uncomfortable when Farena laid her head down to rest, with one massive eye looking right at him.

Luckily for him, that was when Nyolnen and the others arrived, drawing her attention away from him. The elf was first to approach the dragon and bowed respectfully to her when she looked over. There was a quick mental conversation which nobody else could hear, and finally, Dave and Annie were brought forward.

"They do not speak any of our languages, so you will have to listen for meanings." He advised, pulling up a wide eyed Dave.

'There are ways to fix that.' She thought as she turned her attention to him.

Dave did not do well to hide his fear toward the massive dragon, which made Chris wonder if he looked that pathetic himself in that position.

"Well, uhh, hi." He started, though he was interrupted when the dragon suddenly tapped his forehead, or rather his entire face with her muzzle, almost knocking him over.

'There, that should make communicating easier.' She thought, somewhat amused by how he stumbled back.

"What did you do?" He asked, though his question answered itself when he realized that he was speaking Relnisk as Chris had learned to do overnight.

'I assume you already figured it out?' The dragon asked when his face contorted with confusion.

"Umm, yeah. I-I think so."

'Good, now come. I do not want to push you away from your friends unnecessarily.'

Whatever she meant by that confused him. "Umm, thank you, I guess." Awkwardly the boy walked over to sit by Chris.

Finally she looked over to Annie, who had been staring right back in astonishment, though once she noticed the giant eyes turned towards her, she turned away to hide her face.

Farena blinked, a little surprised at her unnecessary embarrassment, but she wasted no time, tapping the back of her head and into her mind, providing the knowledge of language the girl would need in only a few moments before pulling away again.

Startled by the sudden contact, Annie looked back again at the dragon. "Why did you do that?" She asked, covering her mouth in surprise when she found herself speaking the new language.

The dragon ignored that. 'You are upset.' She sensed. 'You should rest and calm down. Come here.'

"Umm, alright." Without another word she walked over to sit against the blue hatchling, who was farthest away from the boys.

Nyolnen stepped forward. "Now that you can all properly understand me, I would like to introduce you all to Talek's mother, Farena, his sister Farenith, and his brother Ralend."

Annie nearly jumped as the hatchling she was lying against yawned as he woke, roused by the mention of his name, and the weight of the girl next to him. When he looked around and saw so many unfamiliar faces, he was as surprised as they all were. 'Who are you?' He asked.

Nyolnen gave a quick bow to the hatchling. "Ralend, it is good to see you awake. This is-"

'Chris, Dave, Annie, our brother Talek, and you are Nyolnen. Am I right?' The red hatchling cut him off, suddenly springing to life with a playful glow in her eyes.

The elf was not ready for that. "Oh, erm, that is correct Farenith. I see that you are awake too."

'I am.' With that, the young dragon rushed over to Talek, pushing the two boys away to get to him. She roughly shook him awake with her forepaws, a feat Chris never would be able to accomplish, and gave him a playful lick on the face to be sure he stayed awake.

Chris didn't hear the quick mental conversation between them, but by the time he got back on his feet, the two hatchlings were rolling around on the ground, holding eachother in an attempt to pin the other to the ground.

It was a heated battle, even if it was only playing, though it finally ended with Talek sprawled out on the ground, his legs all held down so he couldn't move.It seemed to have been a close match though, for they were both gasping for breath. After a short pause, Farenith collapsed by Talek's side, and before anyone knew it, they were both asleep once again.

The others all found themselves watching the scene and the sudden action, but when it was finally over, Chris and Dave were left awkwardly standing there, watching the dragons sleep, though they quickly moved to Farena's side before the attention could move to them.

Nyolnen spoke up. "Since it seems you should, more or less, easily settle in, I suppose I should begin to head back to Cilrev."

The kids were shocked. "You're leaving us already?" Chris asked.

"I have done what I have been asked to do, I-" He paused suddenly, a look of surprise on his face. "If you insist, Farena. Erm, it looks like I will be staying here a while longer, just to be sure you are all alright. Annie, Dave, you two should sleep over here in-well, alright Farena. I suppose you two can stay with the dragons, but I will just sleep outside, this is just a little too unnatural for me." For a brief moment, it was clear that the elf was upset, and to an extent, confused even. But he quickly turned away to move the bags to the side of the cave before hurrying out.

'It is late, we should be heading off to sleep now.' Farena thought, and on cue, an ache from the day of walking began to build in their legs. 'Follow me.' She nudged the hatchlings awake, if only barely, before rising and starting to walk down deeper into the cave with her three hatchlings close behind.

It was not a long walk, or rather a run, for the kids had to be quick to keep up with the larger dragons, or perhaps they just ran so they could sit down again sooner. Chris wasn't sure what the difference between this cavern and the last one was, only this one was completely devoid of anything other than a large depression where Farena laid herself, the three hatchlings pressing up against her side once again. A worrying thought crossed Chris' mind when he saw the slightly larger depression behind her, reminding him that there was still one parent of Talek's that he still hadn't met yet.

Farena crashed his train of thought, 'Why are you waiting? Come, lie with us.'

Dave was more than happy to comply, rushing up to her side, though he quickly moved over to Farenith's, preferring her softer, thinner scales to the older, tough ones.

Annie followed with a slight smile that she couldn't manage to completely hide on her face as she walked over to lie with Ralend.

And lastly, Chris went to Talek, resting his head on scales that he had become familiar with in just over a week.

Once everyone had comfortably settled, Farena spread her wing over them all, surprising the kids with the sudden lack of light. But the moment of surprise passed, and there was silence.

'Sleep well.' Farena thought softly to them all as she laid her head down on the cool stone floor.

Chris wasn't sure if it was really her doing, but with those words he instantly fell into a peaceful sleep.