by Ruby Dixon
Her spontaneous affection is a gift. I rub my nose against hers, locking my hands around her waist. Your friend is not here yet. We have time…
Sasha chuckles, but I can smell the bloom of her arousal. “Maybe…maybe just a quickie.”
The human Emma arrives a short time later, and my mate still smells of my seed, her cheeks still flushed from our quick, intense mating. I have put on the annoying pants that she requested, and scratch at them absently as Sasha hugs Emma in greeting. They chatter, my mate’s thoughts scattering here and there as they talk about a red fruit and things to eat. Emma is another obsessed with food. I suspect it is because humans are poor hunters.
They head to the back of the store, where the vines grow so thick that they come through the broken glass and spill onto the floor. I trail behind, keeping an eye on my mate as she and the other human talk. They enter the overgrown chamber and pick through the plants, exclaiming when they find one that they like. There are orange things called “pumpkins” that they grow excited over, and green long things called “zucchini.” There are flowers and vines and a scatter of black plastic pots. In Sasha’s mind, this is a garden center, and I wonder at the people that built this. The gardens I remember were full of fountains and stone walkways and…
I frown to myself, rubbing my neck at the memory. I do not remember more than that. Even that small fragment causes the ravens to flutter close, hovering in wait.
You okay? Sasha’s thoughts burst through my murky ones.
Just a strange thought.
About gardens? I saw the image. She works busily next to Emma, acting as if we are not talking in our minds. It is still a secret from the other human, because she does not wish for her to feel isolated. Maybe it was the place you lived before, Sasha suggests.
No, I did not live there. I recall an image of it, but never entered it. The dark thoughts swell, and I push them away. Is this garden to your liking?
It has potential, Sasha tells me, and her thoughts are cheerful. She picks up one of the green things and shows it to Emma. “Look at this one!”
Emma says something about learning to like the taste, and Sasha giggles. Most of Emma’s words are nonsense to me—I still have not bothered to learn the human language. I pick up her thoughts through my mate’s mind, and that is enough for me.
“There are so many veggies,” Sasha exclaims, her mind brimming with all of the foods they have gathered. “Have you ever canned anything before?” When Emma makes a sound of dissent, Sasha grows sad. “I don’t know how to do this.”
Emma suggests books, the story containers that Sasha loves so much.
My mate lights up at the thought. “A bookstore! Surely there’s one around here somewhere! We could find lots of books on how to prepare food. I bet we could find lots of books about survival, too. Maybe we could pick up some hints from them.”
Emma likes the idea and gestures at the store. A visual of something with wheels—a bicycle?—flashes through Sasha’s head.
“We can do better than that,” my mate tells her and beams at me proudly. “Dakh can fly us.”
I can feel the stark terror coming off of Emma. The stink of it clouds over her normal stench. She does not like the idea.
“It’s safe, I promise. It’s not fun, but Dakh would never drop us. Right, baby?”
I would never drop you, I tell her. Her, well…as long as she is your friend.
Going to ignore that, Sasha tells me with amusement. To her friend, she says, “It’s totally safe. I promise.”
They talk about it for a while longer, and then a short time later, we are at the front of the store. I rip off my pants and change to battle form even as the females secure the bags they have on their backs and talk about where to find the books they want. A library, they decide, or a bookstore. As long as we follow the long, paved path called a “highway,” we should find one.
How is your arm? I ask Sasha as she approaches. Does it ache?
It’s good, she tells me, and flexes it. She only stopped wearing her sling yesterday. It has taken her a long time to heal, and I worry that she is too fragile. I’ll let you know if it hurts, she promises me. I won’t overdo it.
I nuzzle her. Good.
“He’s going to grab you, Emma,” Sasha explains to her friend as I get to my feet and spread my wings. “But don’t be scared. Just hold on tight, all right?”
The human female is pale, but she nods.
I scoop up my Sasha first, holding her gently. I am always careful with my delicate human, though she prefers most times to stay on the ground instead of riding with me. She does not like being in my claws. She must want these books badly to volunteer a flight. I pick the other human female up, and her fear intensifies.
“It’s all right,” Sasha reassures the other. “You’re safe. Now, are you secure? Hold on, because the initial launch is a doozy.”
Emma tells her that she’s ready to go.
Ready when you are, honey, Sasha tells me.
Hold on tightly, my infant, I tease her. Sasha’s laughter is torn away as we launch, and Emma screams aloud. Both humans clutch at my talons, but I have a good grip and would never drop either. I make my ascent as smooth as possible, beating my wings slowly as I take to the air. When I catch an air current, I glide along the highway, tracing its route back toward the broken stone ruin that Sasha calls Old Dallas.
Look for bookstores, Sasha tells me, her thoughts faint and overwhelmed. She sends me pictures of things to look for. I’ll check for them, too, since I know they might be hard to find.
Should we go by scent? I ask her. Your stories have a very specific scent to them. The pages have a dusty, almost musty sort of smell to them, and I know I would recognize it on the air if there were a lot of them.
Oh, that’s a great idea, babe! You’re so smart! Her thoughts are full of pride and affection.
It makes me want to do more for her. I swoop lower to the ground, ignoring Emma’s newest little scream of alarm. I will find you these books, I promise my mate.
I know, babe. That’s why you’re the best.
Careful, or you will make me land so I can fill your cunt with my seed again.
Dakh! I can feel her embarrassment, and her small hand smacks at my scales. Behave!
I want to nuzzle her hair and pull her close so I can smell her, but her little friend is quivering and frightened in my claws, and we are supposed to keep our communication a secret. So I send my Sasha my thoughts and focus on sifting through the stink of the old human hive. There is an overwhelming smell of metal and filth, along with the far more comforting scent of char. I flare my nostrils as I glide over the rubble. At first it is spaced widely apart, with a few of the square human dwellings here and there along the highway. As we grow closer to the human hive, though, they grow more and more clustered together, until they are everywhere, bleeding their scents into the air. Rotten things, ash, metal, dung—all of them mix together, and I have to concentrate to hunt for the one particular scent that my Sasha wants. The dry, dusty scent of her beloved books. I circle wide, find a hint of what I’m looking for, and veer off in a new direction.
The scent grows stronger, and I know I am on the right path. “Over there,” Sasha calls out, pointing. I see her focus—a large square box with a green roof and many glass windows covered in dust. Her excitement bleeds through her thoughts, and even Emma makes a happy noise. “You found it, Dakh,” my mate calls, pleased. “That’s fantastic!”
I am pleased to make you happy, I tell her with a low rumble, gliding lower.
Do you smell anyone around other than us? Any other humans? A tinge of worry crosses her thoughts.
I check the air before I land, but it is devoid of human scents. There is nothing. You are safe. I land on my hind legs, my wings fluttering as I settle down, then tuck them against my body. I gently uncurl my claws and release my humans.
Both Emma and Sasha stagger and wobble forward. Emma drops to her knees on the ground, hea
ving, and my Sasha looks pale.
I nudge at her hair with my nose. Not feeling well?
Just disoriented, she tells me, putting a hand to her brow. Being under you and flying makes my stomach turn quite a bit. I wish I had a saddle like Claudia did. She didn’t seem as queasy riding on her dragon’s back.
Where can we get such a thing? Tell me and I shall go retrieve it.
That’s just it. I don’t know. She offers Emma a hand up and then glances over at me. I was in such a hurry back when Fort Dallas was being attacked that I didn’t pay much attention. I don’t know where she got a saddle or even how it was set up. I don’t know how she managed it. I wish she were here so I could ask her.
Shall I fly you to Kael’s nest so you can talk to his mate?
“Huh?” Sasha is so startled that she turns and gazes at me, brow furrowed.
“What is it?” Emma asks.
“Oh, um, nothing.” Sasha looks flustered. “I got confused. Let’s see if we can get into the bookstore, shall we?”
The humans approach the front of the store, where the double doors are chained, and Emma pulls out something jingly and begins to mess with the locks. Lockpicks, I pick up from my Sasha’s thoughts.
Don’t change the subject, Sasha sends to me. What do you mean, fly me to Kael’s nest?
I send her a mental image of the drakoni male and his mate. Do you want to talk to his human? I can take you there.
She glances up at me, shock rippling through her thoughts. You…you can take me to see Claudia?
If you like, yes. Do you want to go now? I reach for her again.
Sasha puts a hand up. Wait, no, I mean, we can’t go right now. Emma and I need to grab these books. But…I’m just shocked. It never occurred to me to ask you to take me to them. We’ve just been so busy…and now I feel foolish. But you can hunt them down, can’t you?
It is as simple as getting into range and opening my mind to connect with Kael. I will do so for you.
Oh wow. I can’t believe I never thought about connecting to them. I’m so silly. I feel ridiculous for not even thinking about it.
Emma looks over at my mate. Through the filter of my Sasha’s mind, I know that Emma is asking if she’s okay.
“Just thinking about something,” Sasha admits. “Dakh and I are going to visit a friend tomorrow.” To me she sends, Is tomorrow all right?
Of course, I tell her. We can go now, if you wish.
No, I want to stay and finish up with Emma. I don’t want her to feel abandoned. We’re all she’s got.
Friendship is very important to my Sasha. I understand. Tomorrow, then. I settle in to watch the females as they work.
Emma replies, and her tone is friendly, but the look on her face is strained. She is instantly wary. She does not like change, this one.
Sasha smiles at Emma, oblivious to the other’s body language. “Yes. My friends that I used to live with back in Fort Dallas—Claudia and Amy. Claudia is, ah, dating another gold dragon. I haven’t seen her since they left the fort.”
Dating. As if they are not bonded at the spirit. I am amused at my mate’s delicate way of putting such things. Is that how you view our bond? A “date”? From her thoughts, I can tell that a date is a casual excursion, a fun way of flirting with another. Date, indeed.
Erm, no. She flicks a glance over at me. But I’m not going to go around telling her that you’re my mate. That’s just weird. Humans don’t say that.
What do humans say, then?
You would be my husband, but we’re not married. There was no ceremony. And it feels weird to say “lover” because then it implies we’re only in it for the sex. So “date” it is.
Humans are strange.
Emma is talking again. She looks surprised at Sasha’s words—picking up on “date” as well, I see—and asks a question.
“No,” Sasha says, chuckling. “It’s not common at all. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s against every rule in the book. But I didn’t ask them, and I’m not going to. I don’t know if I’m ever going to return. Fort Dallas is…different. Less free.”
The other human replies, and her tone is full of anger. She rips the now-unlocked chain off the door, and her eyes narrow as she spits words into the air.
I tense, ready to tear her limb from limb if she even breathes the wrong way on my Sasha.
It’s all right, Sasha tells me, though she is surprised by Emma’s vehemence as well. She’s just upset. I think talking about the forts triggered a few buried emotions for her. She’s just telling me how much she hates them and how they’re not a good place to live. Then, aloud, she says, “I’m not a fan of forts, either. What did they do to you?”
Emma answers negatively, shaking her head. She holds open the door and says something else.
She’s changing the subject, Sasha tells me. I won’t pry, though I’m curious now. “Well, one way to find out if it’s been raided.” My mate ventures a smile and then says, “You know, you’re welcome to come with us if you just want to get to know a few more safe, friendly people. I promise you, Claudia and her sister are really great. I’ve known them for years. We all banded together after the Rift and looked out for each other. They’d treat you well because you’re a friend of mine.”
Emma shakes her head. Judging by the sideways look she shoots me and the images that fill Sasha’s head, she has concerns about me yet.
“Dakh? He’s harmless.” Sasha sends me a thought full of amusement.
Emma mutters something, and an image of me stripping off my pants fills Sasha’s mind.
She giggles. “It does take some getting used to. Clothes just aren’t a big deal for him.”
Emma’s grumpy expression and response are unintelligible to me, but Sasha collapses into a fit of laughter. I try to interpret the meaning from my mate’s thoughts, but all I get are strange images and an emphasis on my “big deal” and how Emma is tired of seeing it.
Humans are odd creatures.
33
SASHA
I’m a bundle of nerves as Dakh scoops me into his claws the next morning for a “visit” with Claudia and Amy. I’m a little worried that Emma’s going to think I’m abandoning her. We’ve become close over the last few weeks, and it’s nice to have a female friend nearby. After our enjoyable book-scrounging adventure yesterday, it just confirms how tight we’ve grown in our friendship. On the other hand, I’ve missed Claudia and Amy desperately, and I can’t wait to see them. I want to see for myself that they’re alive and well and healthy.
And I guess I want to know why I was abandoned.
It feels weird to have that traitorous thought, but it’s climbed in my head overnight and now it won’t go away.
I tell myself that I’m being too hard on them. That I could have easily found them with Dakh’s help. That perhaps Claudia and Amy didn’t know where I’d gone. Except…Claudia has a dragon, too. She knows Dakh stole me away. And she’s been with her dragon longer, and her dragon knew that he could talk to Dakh…
There’s just something about it that doesn’t add up, and it makes me uneasy. I mean, if Claudia wanted to find me, she would have looked a little harder, right? We’re not exactly hiding.
You are worrying too much, Dakh chides me. Do you not wish to go?
“No, I want to go,” I tell him as he extends his wings, ready to launch into the air. I’m clutching a gift-wrapped box of tampons—a present and apology for dropping in unannounced, and I’ve fixed my hair and even put on a bit of makeup, which made Dakh get very confused. He didn’t understand why I was painting my face if I wasn’t going to war.
Which is another tidbit I need to add to my journal when we get back.
Then why are you so worried? I thought you wished to see your friends.
“I do! I just…I don’t know.” I guess I feel like if they really cared about me, they would have found me. Maybe that’s my self-doubt speaking, but I can’t help but wonder about it. Claudia moved heaven and earth to get
Amy back, and I know they’re sisters, but she couldn’t have tried a little harder to find me? Really?
Perhaps her mate is being overprotective, Dakh suggests as he takes to the air. Or perhaps she does not wish to leave her sister unguarded. If she is a female alone, her scent will draw other male drakoni to the area.
Oh my God. Of course. Claudia’s still protecting Amy.
I immediately feel like an asshole. That has to be why she hasn’t come for me. I pat Dakh’s claws. “Wait. Before we go, let’s go back. I want to bring some perfume for Amy. She needs to mask her scent like Emma does, and there’s enough to go around.”
Ten minutes later, I have the presents in a gift bag and I’m back in Dakh’s claws. His words have filled me with a sense of relief, and I’m looking forward to seeing my friends once more. I let my own lack of self-esteem get in the way of our friendship, and I’m just being silly. I send affectionate thoughts to Dakh, so happy for his support and his presence.
He nuzzles me as we fly. Do not think so strongly at me or I will land us early and take you to a quiet corner so I may claim my mate and cover her with my scent.
I giggle to myself, because I know what that means—and I don’t hate the idea. But I’m anxious to see my friends again. Maybe on the way back, I tell him. Just stay away from Emma’s gas station. We don’t want to traumatize her more than she already is by seeing your “big deal.”
You say one thing, but your thoughts indicate something else. It is very odd.
I just laugh and laugh.
Some days, the world is full of promise and excitement, and today is one of those days.
We fly high for a time, and Dakh amuses me by flying through some low-hanging clouds and then flaming them away. He’s like a cat with a toy, and I don’t point out that the clouds and their dampness are ruining all the care I spent on my braids this morning. It seems like a silly thing to fuss over when we’re having such a great time. We descend lower, and I can see the tall fingers of the buildings in Old Dallas. Dakh tilts a wing, and we swing about, circling low as we drop closer to the ground.