by Katie Cherry
His eyes shine and I can tell he’s pleased. “Sweet! I would love to spend the day with you.” I notice he doesn’t mention Eric. Smiling, I turn away so he doesn’t see my blush. As we near Eric’s cave, a dark green blur flies from the entrance and knocks Lloyd onto his back. He gasps in surprise.
“Who’s afraid now?” I laugh, teasing him a little. I gently pull the snarling Eric from his shirt. He winces a little as his claws scrape over his skin again. His claws have pierced right through his shirt and he’s bleeding. Now it’s my turn to gasp. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I should have come before you and warned him…” Lloyd cuts me off, sitting up and holding up a hand to stop me.
“No, it’s fine,” he winces, his other hand on his wounded chest, trying to stop the bleeding. “It’s alright. They’re just scratches; it’s nothing I can’t handle.” I’m not convinced, however. After setting Eric down and explaining to him that Lloyd’s a friend, I turn my attention to his wounds.
I gently pull his hand off so I can examine it, but it’s now covered in too much blood. I go to my backpack and grab a small washcloth, getting it wet with water from my water bottle and gently dab at the scratches, washing away the blood so I can see how bad it is. Lloyd grits his teeth from the pain, but he doesn’t make a sound. “They’re pretty deep, but they should be fine,” I decide. “The only thing I’m worried about is them getting infected…”
He stands up and smiles at me, then reaches down, grabs the bottom of his shirt, and pulls it over his head. Getting what he’s doing, I wrap it around his chest and tie it so it won’t come undone. I try to ignore his lean, muscular body, but I can still feel my face getting red. Turning away from him, I return my attention to Eric. I sense from his thoughts that he’s sorry he hurt Lloyd. I smile and suggest that he go over and apologize.
He walks toward Lloyd, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. I can see that Lloyd is still nervous, although he doesn’t move away from the dragon. Eric stops and looks up at him, cocking his head to the side as if he’s contemplating him. He then ambles forward and nudges at his hand with his head. A small smile starts creeping over Lloyd’s face as he rubs Eric’s head. Eric starts rumbling- his version of a purr, I guess, and leans into his hand.
After a couple minutes, Eric decides that he’s had enough and stalks back to my side. Lloyd grins at me and stands. I do as well, little Eric perched carefully on my shoulder. It doesn’t hurt, though, because he retracted his claws. Hmm… A sudden realization strikes me. Eric is more like a house cat than a person would think. He has retractable claws, he ‘purrs,’ he eats like a cat, and is friendly and curious like most cats. This is interesting, but I decide to think about it later.
“Okay, I guess he’s not so bad,” Lloyd admits. “…When he isn’t attacking me, that is,” he adds, scratching under his jaw, just where he likes it. He coos and wiggles so much that he falls off me. He’s quick enough, however, that he manages to open his wings, so he glides to the ground rather than crashes into it.
He then runs around in circles and says to me, “Come on, Kysta! Come!” His language expands every day. Laughing, I follow him, Lloyd right beside me. I let him lead us, so we don’t go anywhere fast since he keeps chasing birds and butterflies, among other things. I suddenly remember that Nora is hunting. Sure enough, I soon hear an indignant squawk as a red-tailed hawk lifts from a nearby tree and wings its way toward me. I hear Nora’s voice in my head, protesting.
“Stupid dragon! Hunting birds for fun! I was just about to catch a nice, fat mouse, too! Ugh! You need to train that thing better, Crystal!” I laugh as she settles on my shoulder, her feathers all ruffled.
“Yes, I know. Sorry about that, Nora. He’s just young and excited; this is pretty much his first time out of his cave.” She mutters a bit more, then settles down. She starts preening herself, getting her feathers to settle back down, as Lloyd and I continue after Eric.
We follow him for about two hours when he finally gets tired. Lloyd and I sit down on a large boulder and Eric climbs into my lap and falls asleep. Nora takes advantage of this and takes off, looking for another mouse. Lloyd and I are then left alone. We snack on some of the food I brought along, the awkward silence between us growing.
“Um… how are your scratches?” I ask.
“I don’t know. Let’s check,” he says. I carefully untie the shirt and slowly peel it away from his skin. It’s stopped bleeding.
“Ah, good,” he says. “I get to put my shirt back on! It’s a little chilly walking around shirtless,” he laughs, pulling it back over his head.
After a while, Lloyd points out a peculiar bird sitting in a tree nearby. I notice that its feathers are the same color as the feather I got on the First Challenge from the tree person. It then suddenly turns and cocks its head at us. It locks eyes with me and seems to take an interest in me. Taking wing, it soars over and perches on my knee, inspecting every inch of my face. I freeze, and so does Lloyd. It glances at the sleeping Eric and tilts its head like it’s puzzled about something. I suddenly wonder just how intelligent this bird is and get a little nervous. Leaning down, it opens its beak and plucks the feather from my boot. It drops it in my lap, stares at me once more, then suddenly turns and flees before I can do anything. Lloyd stares at me with curiosity.
“What was that about?”
“I have no idea,” I respond softly, watching as the bird disappears among the trees. I hope he doesn’t ask me about that feather… I think as I tuck it back into my boot, worried that I wouldn’t know how to respond to the question. Luckily, he doesn’t, just continues looking in the direction the bird went, a thoughtful look on his face.
Without saying a word, we both stand and begin walking after the bird. It’s intrigued us and we want to try and find out more about it. It’s not like we were heading in any particular direction anyways. I carry Eric for a while, but he soon wakes up and is ready to go again. I laugh and put him down so he can run around some more. Lloyd and I sit under a tree covered in blue-green moss to get some shade as we wait for Eric to tire himself out again, which I figure won’t take too long.
Lloyd watches him, a slightly puzzled look on his face. He turns to me. “How old is Eric now? Is he older than two weeks?”
“Yeah, it’s probably around there,” I respond. “Why?”
“Well… it’s just that baby dragons begin learning to fly at about his age. I’m just wondering why he hasn’t even tried to fly yet. Normally he should be launching himself off of everything he can find, trying to fly,” he comments as we watch Eric crouch and crawl along the ground toward a rabbit. “I mean, it usually takes a few days to figure it out, but he should still be trying by now.”
“Hmm… yeah, you’re right,” I realize. “I wonder why that is… do you think we should try to teach him? I mean, we can’t really do it ourselves, but if we get him in the air, his instincts should take over, right? That is, if he doesn’t panic and fall… maybe we should start out low- not too high or anything.”
Lloyd agrees, so I go over to the unhappy Eric, who is returning without his prey. I kneel in front of him, scratching him in his favorite spot, which cheers him up. “Hey, Eric. I have a surprise for you!” I sense interest from him.
“What? What is it, Kysta?” I smile at his excitement.
“We’re going to teach you how to fly!” I sense his excitement disappear, only to be replaced with anxiety. He hasn’t ever seen anyone or anything flying except birds, I realize. So he’s afraid… but the ground is no place for a small dragon. Or even a big one. Dragons rule the sky- it’s where they belong. The only problem is… Eric doesn’t want to learn. He’s satisfied with the ground. He doesn’t know his true potential. …I need to figure out how to teach him about the joy of flying… but how?
Sighing, I pick him up and walk back to Lloyd, sitting down beside him. When I tell him about the problem, he frowns.
“I might be able to show him how to fly if I turned into a dragon myself�
�� but there’s a problem with that.”
“What?” I ask, surprised. “What problem? Is that not your actual Gift?”
“Oh, no,” he laughs. “That’s not it. That is one of my Gifts. The problem is that in the form of the dragon, I would almost definitely lose myself to the power and strong emotions that all dragons feel. It is the single most dangerous form for a shape-shifter to take,” he says, his face and voice conveying just how serious he is. “Very few have ever mastered it and returned- but they were all eventually driven mad by the need to have that power and freedom again. …So obviously I don’t think that would be a good idea for me to attempt.”
“Oh.” I frown. Eric squirms out of my arms, impatient and wanting to run around some more. I watch as he begins stalking a squirrel. But… that doesn’t make any sense. I did it. I turned into a dragon and was fine… it was just as easy as the tiger… and I’m nothing special. Confused, I search my feelings to see if I can locate any obsession to return to that form. All I find is an exhilarating memory of the power and freedom. I would love to be a dragon again, but not… not so bad that I can’t resist it. It was just a fun experience. However… that experience did seem to change me. Not drastically, but I am still a different person now. In fact, I haven’t even noticed it before now. But now that I look back… mastering the dragon’s emotions helped me to conquer- for the most part- my own. I also seem to look at nature and… everything… differently. Everything just seems a little more… beautiful, precious, and unique. Interesting… but how am I so different from all those other people? This is a question I don’t have an answer to, so I shake off the questions and return to myself. Lloyd is looking at me, an intrigued and slightly concerned look on his face.
“What?” I ask, confused now myself. Could I have been too deep in thought for too long? What if he’s now wondering what I’m hiding?
He clears his throat uncertainly. “Um… it’s nothing. It’s just… you completely zoned out for a couple of minutes there. What were you…” He stops, looking down at the ground. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t pry. It’s just… you reacted kind of strange when I told you about shapeshifting into a dragon. Have you… actually done it before? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he adds hastily, looking up at me. I smile and decide to tell him. Maybe he can help me figure it out.
“Well, I tried shapeshifting during the Challenge so we could travel faster, and I figured a dragon would be something that could move quickly and carry Nathan as well. So… I just pictured one and turned into it, I guess. I was distracted by the feelings for a while, honestly, but… I don’t know. When Nathan called out to me, it wasn’t difficult to snap back into myself. In fact, it might have even been easier than when I shapeshifted into a tiger when Vlad was judging my aptitude for Gifts.”
He listens attentively the entire time, not interrupting or even reacting at all. He just patiently waits for me to finish. When I do, he frowns, looking into the distance, pondering. He does this for a few minutes before I interrupt his thoughts.
“Um… so what do you think? Am I a freak or something?” I ask, unwanted desperation creeping into my voice. He turns and looks at me, surprised.
“Of course not!” He grabs my shoulders, looking into my eyes. “Listen to me,” he says, his voice so intense and full of emotion that I can’t not obey. “You are not a freak. That is a negative word, and you are anything but something negative. You are special- that much I could tell the first time I saw you.”
“Really?” I whisper disbelievingly.
“Really,” he affirms, holding my shoulders more gently. “Everyone noticed, actually. There were envious whispers about you from girls the instant you showed up. All the guys… well, let’s just say they were all hoping that you would be on their team… myself included. It seems the only one who didn’t realize it was you.”
He waits for me to absorb this information. “But… I’m not. I’m not special. I haven’t done anything extraordinary… I can’t do extraordinary things… I’m just a normal girl that couldn’t ever get anyone- especially a guy- to notice me in any sort of positive aspect!” I break off, my throat tight from trying not to cry. The only guy who even got close was Brandon, I think as the tears start to flow and I can’t hold them back anymore. And I only saw him for a few minutes… I missed our date… Sudden sorrow overwhelms me, and I start sobbing uncontrollably- something that has never happened to me in front of another person before, especially since coming to Zilferia and putting up the front that I was strong and unfazed.
Lloyd seems to be at a loss for what to do. He eventually puts an arm around my shoulders and guides me into his embrace. I put my head on his shoulder and just let it out. Lloyd keeps his arm around me as he leans back against the tree. He lays his other hand on the back of my head, doing everything he can to try and comfort me.
“I… I’m sorry,” he whispers softly. “Maybe I shouldn’t have brought it up… but it’s true. All the girls want to be you, and all the guys want to be with you. Which makes me a pretty lucky guy,” he adds thoughtfully. “To be here, spending the day with you. But mostly I’m lucky to be your friend. I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you.” I pull back a little so I can see his face. My eyes are still red and watery, but I don’t care. I smile at him.
“No, it’s not your fault. It’s just… a little overwhelming to think that someone actually… likes me. In fact, I don’t think my family even likes me very much,” I confide, gazing into his sympathetic, deep, blue-gold eyes. “So I’m lucky to have you as my friend.”
He smiles at me, and I smile back. My emotions finally let out, I feel exhausted all of a sudden. I can tell Lloyd feels the same. We lean back against the tree together and close our eyes. My muscles are completely relaxed. Both Lloyd’s presence and the soft smell coming from the tree comforts me. As I drift to sleep, I hear a distant voice. It sounds worried, but I am too tired to focus, so I ignore it as my mind slowly shuts down. Then, I am no longer aware of anything around me, least of all the pestering voice.
<<
Nora arrives just in time to watch them both fall asleep. She’s instantly panicked. Oh no! She thinks as she nears them. Princess… didn’t she realize what this tree was?! How could she not know about the Hausdorff tree? She’s disbelieving as she realizes that the boy, Lloyd, didn’t recognize it either. Thaddeus told her about this tree less than a week ago! Well, it’s obvious that she was kind of out of it then, but still! Just look at what trouble she’s gotten into now because of it!
She flutters around them, not daring to get too close. She calls to Crystal again. “Princess! Princess Crystal! Please, wake up! You are under a Hausdorff tree! It has sedative properties to put anyone who comes near it to sleep by exhausting them emotionally! You should know that! Please, get up soon or else you might not get up at all!” Crystal doesn’t respond, but continues her deep slumber, her head resting on Lloyd’s shoulder.
Frantic, Nora flies high into the air and cries out, magically sending the distress signal echoing through the forest. Since she is a Familiar, any animal that heard her call will have an impulse to help her. And through magic, the one that is most likely to be able to help will arrive first. Nora settles down on a rock close to Crystal and continues trying to wake her as she waits for help, but there is no response.
“Greetings, Familiar. I see that you are in need of some assistance.” Nora looks around for the source of the voice, but is unable to detect where it came from at first. She then zones in on an exotic looking blue bird. She notices that when it moves, its feathers appear to be green. She wonders about this strange bird, but decides she has no choice but to ask for his help.
“Yes. My companion is stuck in the Hausdorff tree’s trap. Could you please help me?” The bird flies down beside her. She’s surprised at how little noise he makes, but doesn’t show it. He’s bigger than her, but she isn’t too intimidated. He tilts his head to the side as if thinking about it.
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“I could…” he replies, a teasing note in his voice. “But why would I want to?” Sighing, Nora decides to use the only reason she can think of to convince this cocky bird to help.
“Because she is Crystal Dragon, daughter of Pearl and Alexander Dragon, King and Queen of Zilferia; and she needs your help. Please. I will repay you if I can, as I am sure Crystal will as well.”
Now the bird really is quizzical. Finally, he responds. “That does not matter to me, nor to my companions. We have nothing to do with the King and Queen. We have our own leaders. So, if that is your only reason, I’ll be on my way.”
Nora panics and flaps up in front of the bird as he begins to leave. “Yes?” he asks, surprised.
“Wait,” Nora insists, hovering in front of him. “I don’t know what will convince you. But I still need your help. So, if it pleases you, I will show you everything that I know about Crystal. I know more about her than she knows herself. Maybe something about her will convince you that she is worthy of your help?” She pleads desperately. Every minute wasted is a minute closer to Crystal’s death. She has no time to waste, so she tries her best to get this strange bird to stop and assist her. She hopes it will be enough to save her.
This offer seems to intrigue the bird, so he agrees. The two land again and look deep into each other’s eyes. Nora transfers all the information, not holding anything back that might help Crystal’s case. The whole process takes less than a minute. Nora gets fidgety when he doesn’t immediately reply, but forces herself to stay still and wait for the bird’s decision. Finally, he responds.
“Very well. My people and I will help. I have already contacted them. They are on their way.” Nora is shocked, but grateful and relieved.
“Thank you! Why did you decide to help us, though? If you won’t have anything to do with the King and Queen?” she asks, curious.
“Because she is the chosen one. A Dragon-human with immense power and yet is kind… it is foretold that she will save the Sohos from a… problem we have. You will find out later. For now, don’t ask. Zeke will want to tell you at a later time.” Confused, Nora nods her understanding and acceptance.