Tourist Traps

[Magyar]

Hvit stopped, and let his hand fall from the vein. He sighed, hoping he wouldn't have had to explain himself, but here they were. No escaping now.

"You did nothing. Nothing wrong anyway. This was me, and my unwillingness..." he turned to her, a pained expression in his eyes, and began, "I have lived far longer than you. That much has already been said. But I don't know if that has really sunken in. It didn't for me, until recently. Sure, you may be sexually mature, but it isn't really the same. I've been thinking about pursuing a relationship for longer than you've been alive! Isn't that weird?! It definitely made me uncomfortable! What would've happened if I'd fucked you? I already have a hard time not viewing you as a hatchling, but you've been forced to mature faster than others. Still, the mentality exists. The fact that I even considered it was wrong! And it has nothing to do with you, not personally."

He turned away, and ran his hands through his hair, "It's just so... weird, I don't think you can even understand it from your position. You're just too young, and I haven't had a decent relationship with anyone in a very long time. This was the perfect combination of all the wrong things."

[DragonSong]

Melly winced as though he'd struck her with those words, unused to such language, and the ferocity with which it was delivered, even if she knew he wasn't exactly mad at her.

But didn't that rather prove his point? Didn't that make her just a scared little hatchling, bowing under the weight of an older dragon's words?

She swallowed thickly and dropped her eyes, and all she could manage to get out was, "Oh..."

For a few moments she was silent, just staring at her bare feet on the damp stone. Then she took a shaking breath and whispered, "I- I understand that. Thank you for...telling me."

She meant that, in a way. At least having a concrete answer was better than tiptoeing around what she said, afraid it was some aspect of her personality that he found abhorrent. But- gods, she almost wished it was something like that. Something she could work at, could change. This...

How could she add years she didn't have, experiences she hadn't yet lived through?

Her chest ached and she blinked rapidly. It was so silly- there was no need to be so upset, he'd told her the problem flat out, and she mostly agreed with him. It was weird, to think about being with him that way knowing that he was many times her age.

But that didn't change the fact that she wanted it.

"I, um-" She cleared her throat and looked away, trying to subtly wipe at her eyes. "Wh-why don't I head back? I can try to make some space for you to sleep as a dragon, if you like. Just...give me an hour or so before you follow."

[Magyar]

Hvit didn't say anything. He retreated to farther within the cave, but said, quietly, so that it was almost obscured by the waterfall, "I understand."

He kept walking, anfolkowed the veins into their shadow, until he could no longer see the glint of light on them. Still he walked, until he hit the wall, and sat down on his knees. There he sat, and would wait.

[DragonSong]

Melly hesitated a moment, then turned her back and leaped through the waterfall, taking her dragon shape as she did.

Her wings now thoroughly soaked, she had to strain just to keep herself airborne, and it was hardly the most graceful flight. She managed to get herself away from the lake and out over the canopy, then allowed herself to fall gradually, until she broke through the treetops and landed on the floor of the jungle, slipping and stumbling as she did.

Dragons didn't cry, but the soft keening sound that was coming from her throat was close to it. Melisma sniffed and shook her head, trying to force the heavy, painful ache in her chest away.

She walked as she did, determined to keep moving. That was all she had to do, just keep moving and get back home-

The treeline broke and she realized she'd unintentionally been walking toward the beach, which was usually a place of comfort and serenity. She sighed and stopped in her tracks, letting her head lower.

Her wings were still wet. She may as well let them dry in the sun before she tried to go home, right? On soft paws, she padded out onto the sand and lowered herself to lay down, staring out over the ocean with her wings spread wide so they could dry faster.

This wasn't working. She still ached, and gods she just wanted the feeling to go away! A part of her wished she'd never left her island.

But the world is so much bigger than this, and you know it.

With yet another sigh, the dragoness let her head come to rest on her paws and closed her eyes.

---------------------------

The people of Yoreiq were hunters and gatherers, but only for their own survival. There were no trophies mounted above fireplaces, no glory other than food and warmth associated with a good catch. But in the last few decades Yoreiqis were not the only humans on the islands.

And mainlanders had different values.

So when a party of traders who fancied themselves adventurers, out to claim exotic beasts to take back to their home, came upon a sleeping dragon that shimmered with every color of the rainbow, they couldn't believe their luck. And it wasn't even all that big! Furred instead of scaled, it didn't seem to be a creature of battle, as the dragons they knew were.

A plan was quickly formed. They had come prepared, hoping to take back some exotic creature as a trophy, and so the net they planned to cast over their prey was woven with a strong enchantment that made the rope chord as strong as steel.

Of course, once the net had been thrown they knew they would have to act fast. The leader would use his javelin, spearing the creature but not killing it, just wounding it enough to make it too weak to fight. Then would come arrows as the rest tied down the net, then a spell to make it sleep. Easy as winking.

"Go!"

The shout brought Melly awake with a start, her head flying up. An unfamiliar scent hit her nose and she snorted, moving to get to her feet-

The net fell over her like an iron cage and she squawked, thrashing in surprise, but her struggle only wrapped it tighter.

Then pain exploded in her side and her eyes widened. She threw back her head and shrieked, stumbling and flaming wilding, beating her wings that were still too damp to fly, even if she'd been able to. Panting raggedly, the world spinning around her, she tried to claw the spear-thing that had lodged against her ribs out, screaming with the pain.

[Magyar]

He may have been humanoid, but he was still a dragon, and so Hvit could hear everything. He heard her leave, and he heard her mournful call fade into silence. He had strained to hear it, and was still straining, waiting, when the cry hit his ears. Louder than he'd been expecting, it made him jump, and he twisted almost clumsily around, his eyes searching the exit of the cave. The waterfall had muffled the noise very slightly, but he had definitely heard it.

He waited though, thinking it maybe a roar of anger or pain, such as the ones he had often let out in times of overwhelming emotion. Then the second cry came, a sound of urgency laced in panic. And a third after that, immediately after. He leapt to his feet, and sprinted for the exit, barreling through the waterfall and leaping over the lake, flapping once, twice, and transforming in mid air. Another flap, then another each creating a dull thud as he started beating them faster, the sound reminiscent of a beating heart. A giant, overpowering heartbeat, that created ripples on the surface of the lake. He could clear the island in five minutes, but five minutes could mean the difference between life and death. Either way, he let out a ferocious roar, deep and guttural that tore through the trees and sent flocks all across the island into a frenzy. It looked as if all of the birds had left their nests, fleeing from the thunderous sound and were now flying in panicked chaos along the tree line.

Some flew at Hvit, and others he flew through, ignoring the way they slammed into his hide and fell dead to the earth. Only after one flew almost into his eye, and more than a few had cut his wings with their beaks and talons did he decide to fly up, and torch the forest below him. He let out a stream of red flame, dark smoke licking back up into the air as the green wood burned. He flew higher, cutting off the torrent of fire, and began to search for Melly. She could be anywhere, and he didn't know where. But with his announcement to the whole island, and the intense glow of sudden flame, his glittering white hide would dominate the sky to any who looked up.

He let loose another frustrated roar, cracking the sky with his bass rumble, a noise that you could feel in your chest a mile away. The noisy chaos of the jungle caused by his first roar and fiery destruction fell away, only the frantic flapping of birds remaining as the landlocked animals crouched near the ground, and all who walked on two legs looked to the new sound. Their dragon didn't roar like that. Only Adelans would know that roar, and they wouldn't stick around above ground to see who owned it. That was the roar of war.

[DragonSong]

"Come on, keep it down! Move!"

Melly couldn't see properly, couldn't think straight as pure, instinctive panic overrode her senses. She wailed and thrashed against the net, tail lashing and wings beating uselessly.

A flurry of arrows flew at her and she shrieked as four of them lodged in her left shoulder and the joint of her wing. Her leg buckled and she went crashing to her side, still struggling wildly, biting and tearing at the net with her claws to no avail.

In the chaos and shouting, voices laced with an accent she didn't recognize, another javelin was thrown. This one didn't lodge, but it scoured a deep gash across her back, diagonally between her wings, and she cried out, throwing her whole body against her restraints.

Finally, she seemed to make some headway, her neck and shoulders pulling free. But the net was tight around her dripping wings, pinning her back. If she could just...pull...free...

Something cracked, or popped, and Melly screeched as pain exploded down her right side. He wing hung limp and useless, and in her panicked daze she froze, and then the net was surging back over her, the strange humans shouting again-

What felt like days of struggle to her was really only a matter of a few minutes. It was just at that moment that the roar reached them, and time seemed to stop. Even the humans froze, eyes wide as they looked at each other, then to the sky.

Melisma searched the air frantically, her sides heaving with every breath. Her eyes lit on a familiar shape and she gave another desperate cry, though this one held words.

"Hvit!" Her voice was rough and cracked, nothing like the chiming melody her tone usually possessed. "Hvit, help!"

The humans ran. The strange tropical dragon would have been a fight, sure, but she was clearly not a creature accustomed to fighting. This monstrosity was, and even were he not just the sheer size of him was enough to send them fleeing for their boats with their tails between their legs.

Melly's vision swam. Her head dropped onto the sand and her sides worked like a bellows with every breath. She was losing blood fast; it matted her feathers and stained her coat. The enchanted net still tangled around her form, tight around the base of her throat and her shoulders, puling painfully at her useless wing. She gave a weak cry, then coughed, tasting blood. Her eyes fluttered, then slid closed.

[Magyar]

Hvit zeroed in on Melly's cries, and tucked his wings into a dive. From here he could see the humans who had tried to poach his friend, could see them fleeing before him. His anger was only stoked. Cowards, rats, the lot of them. They dared to do this, to one of his kind? They would pay in the dearest way he could make them.

He banked off towards their ships, obviously Adellan, and lit them up like so much tinder. The liquid that his flame consisted of was almost like an oil, and floated on the water, burning even where it shouldn't have. The ships had already been partially boarded, but those who had been fast enough or foolish enough to flee ahead of the pack roasted alive. The ships began to collapse, the pure heat of the fire weakening the wood at an alarming pace. Those who were left ran back inland, but another stream of blue-red fire ensured that they would never make it past the beach. The sand and water burned, the trees and boats burned, everything burned. It was all fire.

Hvit circled and flew back for Melly, who was now bleeding profusely and was unconscious. Panic began to settle in his chest as he dove and sent sand flying everywhere on his eruptive landing. He tore through the net like fabric, but was hesitant to lift the smaller dragoness, for fear of dislodging the harpoon, or perhaps hurting her otherwise.

[DragonSong]

Melly dragged in a long, ragged breath as the strangling grip of the net was relaxed and her eyes fluttered slightly, her mind stirring toward consciousness.

The heat of the fire was oddly comforting from this distance and she let out a long breath, then leaned in pain as every one of her wounds reminded her of its presence. She managed to twist her head slightly and blinked blearily up at Hvit.

"Y-you-" She coughed painfully and her head slumped again. "Are- are they gone?" she rasped, throat raw. Her feathers fluttered lightly in the strangely calming breeze that came off the sea.

[Magyar]

"They're dead." He growled, a snarl sliding onto his face. The low rumble that characterized him was higher than normal, an effect of his panic, and it peaked into what was almost a whine when he asked, "Where did they injure you? Can you fly?"

His tail lashed back and forth anxiously, snapping trunks absentmindedly and fanning the beach into a small dust cloud behind him. Today really fucking sucked.

[DragonSong]

The dragoness tried to stand, then gave a weak cry as her legs buckled again. She shook her head, panting.

"My- my wings. It's...dislocated. Broken maybe." She peered over her shoulder at her limp right wing and whimpered quietly.

What was a bird without her wings.

A sharp breath jostled the javelin in her side and she keened, clenching her eyes shut. "I- I can't get it out. It hurts, Hvit..."

If she sounded like a whiny hatchling, she didn't care. Her whole body flared with pain with every movement, every breath. And she couldn't stop thinking- why? Why had they done this to her? She'd never harbored anything but good will for humans before. Why had they done this?

[Magyar]

"I'm not entirely sure you should remove it," he said, "It may cause more harm than good right now... where are these villagers you speak of, the friendly denizens of this island? Surely they could help you if I brought them?"

Yes that could work. A dragon wasn't biologically fundamentally different than any other four legged creature, and though the wings could pose problems, surely these people could offer something.

"Where is the nearest village?" He asked again, the wheels of his plan set in motion.

[DragonSong]

Another cough, this one accompanied by a spray of blood on the sand. "South...east," she gasped, her breath rattling in her throat. "About- about a seven minute flight...for me."

Again she tried to stand, and again she barely had her front paws under her before she collapsed back onto the sand. She looked up at Hvit, panting, eyes wide and scared.

[Magyar]

"Don't move." Hvit warned. After sparing a worried glance for Melly, he spread his wings and launched into the air again. The flaps that were normally strong and decisive were jittery, unsteady. This wouldn't do. Hvit steeled himself, clenching his shoulders and tightening his jaw.

Three minutes later he'd landed amidst a fishing party just outside a collection of meshed huts he'd assumed were the village. After aggressively calming the terrified villagers down, Hvit had them direct him to the healer. Collecting the young woman and a few assistants delicately in his claws, by the eleventh minute he'd returned to Melly.

She was already worse for wear. Whatever skin uncovered by feathers paled,the sand around her soaked black with her blood. The smell only made his testosterone fueled aggression spike, mixing oddly with his ever-growing fear. It made him sick to his stomach. He released the tiny humans, taking absentminded care not to squish them as they began to work, his own helplessness just making him angry. He'd done as much as he could, but he should've been able to do more. He should've been able to do more.

[DragonSong]

The healer seemed to recognize Melly, and she gave a few sharp commands to her assistants as they set to work stitching and bandaging and setting. The dragoness gave a weak cry of pain when attention was turned to her injured wing- dislocated, the healer said decisively.

Melly was barely conscious, her breathing labored as she submitted to the humans' attentions. It became too much work to keep her eyes open- but then the healer was talking to her in Yoreiqi, telling her she had to stay awake.

"I'm tired," she whispered, not really sure who she was talking to. "Please, I'm so tired..."

Four human popped her wing back into joint with no warning and she screamed, her back arched and eyes wide with a moment of blind panic and pain. Then she collapsed again, panting.

[Magyar]

Hvit had begun to pace, his tail lashing back and forth. It was only when he nearly took the head off of one of the workers, and set a few of them screaming and ducking. It was then that he decided to lay down. When he was settled, the tip of his snout was only a few feet from Melly's, maybe ten. Just enough so that the workers could walk around her, but close enough that they weren't far from eachother.

Every time she groaned or yelped he couldn't help but wince, and grow darkly angry. Like a bonfire to be lit by a slow fuse, minutes away from erupting in a tower of heat and flame and light. He could do nothing, and that only fueled the fire that was yet to be lit. But his monumentous anger could be doused before it began. It all depended on her. If she lived... or if she didn't.

[DragonSong]

After what felt to Melly like hours, but was probably lass than one, the healer stepped back to survey the work that had been done.

"Do not let her fly," she said, turning to Hvit and speaking in heavily accented Common. "She needs rest. Much rest. Even then..." She spread her hands a little helplessly- the humans had done all they could. Melly's healing was in the young dragon's own hands now.

"Thank you. For protecting her," the woman murmured after a moment. Melisma had been a fixture of the island since before she was born. If she'd died or even been taken, her presence would have been sorely missed by the entirety of the island.

Melly's eyes were closed, but her breathing was just a bit more even now. Blindly, she stretched her neck forward a bit, then sighed. "I just need to sleep," she whispered. "Please. That's all I need..."

[Magyar]

Hvit regarded the healer with one large white eye, rumbling his acknowledgment of her orders. When she thanked him for keeping his little bird safe, he snorted. Then he frowned. That was oddly possessive. 

He extended his neck to reach Melly, touching the tip of his snout to hers.

"Then sleep little bird," he said softly to her, "I will watch for any danger. Rest."

[DragonSong]

The healer stepped away, beckinfing the other humans with a wave of her hand. It seemed to her that the foreign dragon had things in hand, and she did not want to risk irritating the massive creature with their presence.

When Hvit's nose touched hers, Melly sighed a bit and nuzzled against him slightly, but she was too exhausted to do much more than that.

"Okay," she whispered. She forced her eyes open a crack. "Thank you, Hvit," she murmured, voice still lower and rougher than normal. Then her eyes closed and within moments she was unconscious, labored breaths working her sides like a bellows.

[Magyar]

Hvit got to his feet, in the process leaving an indent the length of his body in the sand. He padded around the little dragoness, and laid down around her. By the time he'd settled into position, Melly had a wall of scales and spikes to protect her, and Hvit settled himself into a light doze. When she woke he'd hunt, or perhaps notify the bipeds. Until then, he would stay here, a bastion against danger.

[DragonSong]

Hours passed before Melly next opened her eyes. She normally only slept for snatches at a time, and she was groggy and fumbling when she attempted to raise her head.

"Oof." That was too much effort. And it hurt. Everything hurt. The small hole the javelin had left in her side ached and throbbed, the cut across her back straining against the stitches, and the joint of her wing felt like it had been pulverized with a hammer, puffy and swollen.

She tilted her head slightly as it came to rest on her paws, blinking up at Hvit. "How long-" Her voice creaked and she stopped, cleared her throat, then tried again. "How long was I out?"