by Kay Murky
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Daninackin stretched his pale yellow wings wide, then furled them again over his back as he settled down. Around him in the small valley the rest of the attack forces drawn from the Allied armies sat waiting for full dark. Just one line of hills lay between them and their targets. Soon the enemy would find itself trapped in its own snare.
Dani did not like the idea. Subterfuge within subterfuge. Like his name, he liked to have things open, above board. Clear vision. What a name to saddle a dragon with. He huffed a soft sigh and turned his head at the sound of someone approaching.
{: You’re troubled, old friend. :} The Commander of the Fehrarkon, as the un-partnered humans and dragons of The Onla were known, spoke directly into Dani’s mind. The big brown dragon landed in front of Dani, sat back on his haunches and lifted his left arm to present the spread claw. Dani copied the movement, touching Karragh’s extended talon tips with his own, careful so as not to injure his own or his friend’s sensitive ‘fingers’ with the sharp talons. As he did so, he studied their bracelets. The copper bracelets were a sign of honour and bravery. They had won theirs ten years ago in this same area when their team had extracted the imprisoned human warriors of the Allied armies from behind the enemy lines.
Dani’s wide bracelets had three lines of inlaid lacquer twisted around them; thin purple and green veins to show his status as journeyman level mage and healer, and the slightly thicker red swirl of the junior officer. Karragh’s had one thin line, a green one. The other two lines of red and purple were thick swirls of colour: commanding officer and master mage.
Regret flowed through Dani, and he stopped just short of feeling envious of his friend. It was his own fault though. He could have moved on when Karragh had done it. Instead he had doggedly kept on where he was, hoping with each passing year that one of the new recruits would be a suitable fehrar; a partner for him. Or maybe even a halshin… a partner to bond with. There too, Karragh had been wiser than him.
Dani dropped his claw and lowered himself to the ground first, waiting for Karragh to follow suit before he replied to his friend’s statement. {: Just wondering about time flying past. I have just decided that this is the year I give up waiting and go for further training. And that reminds me. Baratorn on your bonding. :}
Dani’s conscience gave a sharp twist as he uttered the congratulation. Was he really happy for his friend? {: The warrior is a good match for you. It’s just going to take a bit of time to get used to thinking of you as part of a team. What are you going to call yourselves? Kargesh, or Raghkar? Rock of Gold sounds a bit better than Stone Rock, I must say. If it was me, I would go with the first choice. :} He did not try to hide the humour in his voice as he teased his friend.
Karragh hissed softly and pulled his head back in surprise. {: How did you know? :}
Dani lifted his upper lip in the dragons’ version of a smile. {: Obvious to someone who knows you as well as I do, old friend. The two of you had been looking at each other the way two youngsters do when they can’t decide whether to pounce on that tail or not. And now you both look like a pair does after a successful and satisfying tail-chase. I’m not dull, Kar! :}
The big brown dragon huffed, looked away and pulled his neck down between his shoulders in a sign of draconic embarrassment. {: Clear vision indeed. We’re trying to keep it quiet until it’s been sorted out with the Elders and my partner’s people. :}
{: Well, it’s given me hope that maybe I’m not so silly, hoping for a fehrar or halshin. But I’m not going to wait any more. Time to move on. :} Dani looked in the direction of the hills they were supposed to attack in a few hours, and a shiver went down his spine. Impulsively he decided to share his misgivings with the Fehrarkon Commander, aloud this time.
“I’m not happy about tonight. Something’s not right.” This statement drew the attention of the few other dragons and humans close enough to hear them.
“What do you mean?” Karragh turned his head back and studied Dani with narrowed eyes. “Those with a bit of foresight saw no problems in our plans, and even the Allied commanders could not fault them.”
“Not the plans. I went over them several times, and they’re all good… brilliant, in fact. Just something… something doesn’t feel right to me. I just can’t put a talon on it.”
“Well, we’ll soon know. From the way General Sheldrangur is stretching his neck, they are ready to give the order to go. See you later.” Karragh touched his nose quickly to Dani’s neck, in the way good friends showed their affection, before ambling off towards where Oshnacki, the human half of the team of generals known as Shelosh, had now joined his draconic partner.
That left Dani once again to wait. As junior Healer commander he was in charge of triage. His talent for being able to spot the extent of injuries, whether to human or dragon, and make a quick diagnosis as to who could be saved and who was beyond hope, was useful in battle situations. The Healer Command team of Mineltan remained with the bulk of the Allied Armies, leaving it in the capable claws of Dani and field medic teams to sort out the aftermath of this little battle. Their task was to do emergency first aid, then sort and transport the wounded to the healers’ tents that had been set up behind the front line.
Hopefully they would get more than just a couple of marks rest before the main battle started the following day. Somehow Dani doubted it. There were only four marks left to midnight, and about seven marks from midnight to sunrise. From his previous experience he knew that if it took them two marks to take those enemy positions, it would take at least six or seven marks to clear out the wounded.
Team Shelosh’s mental voice reverberated through the minds of the Onla among the assembled as they counted down for the attack, the two Generals’ voices merging into one. {: Remember; get in place, report, then wait for the order to flame, then back off and only interfere if it seems that the ground crews can’t cope. En… si… kat… USH! :}
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