Strachana by Judy Colella (i like reading books .txt) 📕

“That doesn’t…wait. Some of them have no human spouse?”

“Among dragons, even silver ones, there is a long-standing prohibition against such unions.  But as with any society, some there are who disagree with the rules, and these have chosen to protect us by providing cover for our presence here.” She adjusted her thick shawl and stretched her feet nearer to the hearth. “All that can be seen by the silver dragons of these mountains are the normal comings-and-goings of others of their kind in and out of a communal cave. They do not need solitude as much as other types of dragons, you see, so several communities of this sort exist – without the human element, of course.”

Zela nodded. “I see. No wonder you don’t leave.”

“Well, that and the extreme cold outside.”

“What of the warmer months?”

“Here, there are no warmer months, my dear. The ice never thaws and the snow always falls.”

“And what of your children? Do they go out?”

“No, not until they’re old enough to leave altogether, and then only if they can travel with a flock.”

“So they all learn to shape-shift, yes?”

“They must, if they wish to leave. Even surrounded by full-blooded dragons, they can be detected in dragon-form. In human form, their wings wouldn’t disguise them and they’d be spotted immediately.”

“How?”

“They smell different.”

That made sense, Zela thought. It explained, certainly, why a shifted dragon-form human couldn’t venture out alone; despite appearance, the child’s true nature would be detected. How disturbing…

“And what of your own children? You seem very young – do you have any?”

“Two. The oldest is of an age to start seeking a consort, which is why we have come here.”

“Of what age? And by what standard – human or dragon?”

Zela frowned, confused by the question. “Both, I think.”

Chalamar shook her head. “No, my dear. I think perhaps by human traditions, but her dragon half won’t be ready for quite a while yet. Unless, that is, you seek another half-breed to mate with her.”

Finding this description somewhat crude, Zela had to remind herself that this woman had lived among dragons and dragonkin for many more years than she had with one. “Well, yes. That was the hope.”

“Ah. Many of our children mate with full-blooded dragons, you see. But a few there are who seek others like them. They, of course, have no hope of ever leaving here.”

“I see.” The young woman wasn’t sure how to respond anymore, so she tugged her chair a little further toward the flames, gave her hostess a pleasant smile, and continued trying to get warm as she pondered all she’d learned.

Neri, meanwhile, was in deep discussion with several of the draconic members of the community. He was easily bigger, older and more widely-travelled than most of them, and they granted him immediate deference for his age and experience.

Once he and Zela had been introduced, he’d gladly shed the litter, having been assured that when it came time for them to leave, it would be reattached by the humans and their offspring. This enabled him to stretch his wings and flex his spine, both of which had grown stiff during the long journey.

“So there are no other Silvers in your part of the world, then?” one of the younger dragons was asking.

“I haven’t seen any.” Their speech was as guttural and sibilant as ever, but when they spoke among themselves, they didn’t hear it that way.

“Have you had to do battle?” asked another.

“Not recently. When I first left these mountains, it was another story, of course. Back then, the war between men and dragons was still at its height. Many of the Chromatics were about as well, protecting their territories from both man and dragon alike.” Neri was referring to the more colorful species of dragon – red, green, blue. The metallic ones, which ranged from bronze to copper, to silver and gold, were of a different temperament, not as warlike as their Chromatic cousins. And then there were the Contrasts – Blacks and White – both of which were perhaps the most ferocious and aggressive of all dragonkind.

“Ever fought a blue?”

“Twice.” He lifted his right front leg to reveal a long, narrow patch where scales had been torn away, sliced in half by a huge claw. “The second time was nearly my final battle with anything.” He chuckled, but it was a grim sound.

“So tell us, Vilzriquathtor-Neri, why you chose to mate with a human?”

His beautiful blue eyes went out of focus for a moment as he thought back on the moment he first heard Zela’s voice. Then he sighed. “I’d been alone for a very long time. My previous mate had been killed centuries before, and I had ceased to mourn her once a hundred years or so had passed. After her death, I traveled and found the area where we now live. It was rich in foliage, and seemed to have more cows than it needed.”

Several rumbling guffaws greeted that revelation.

“It was a goodly land, and in its northern section was a series of low mountains where I found a cave to my liking. The humans seemed to think I’d take fewer cows if they offered me one of their own from time – young females, in fact, although I still don’t understand their reasoning about that. Never having been mated had no effect on how she tasted. Silly, really.” He gave his neck and shoulders a shake, relaxing them. “But as time went on, I realized how lonely I was. Now one of my beliefs, one that my father gave me when I was still young, was that human and dragon had been made to be together. They were supposed to help one another, befriend each other. As you know, a time there was when we Silvers would be fostered out to human families so we could learn their culture. We’d shift into human form and grow up as children in their households. Well, something in me has always longed for that kind of relationship to be re-established. I thought a great deal about that over the centuries, and thought, too, about how badly I wished I were not alone. I understood loss – when the humans killed my mate, they also destroyed our children.”

“Had they hatched?”

“No.  But they were mere weeks away, and we could hear them moving in their shells. So like so many others, I am no stranger to sorrow. I mention this, because the idea of consorting with humans brings with it the recollection that they are very short-lived by comparison. Any friends I might make would only be part of my life for a short time; a mate chosen from among them would die long before either I or the offspring of our union. So I pondered all that, and at some point decided sorrow was sorrow – no matter how often experienced, it would always be what it was and there’d be no way around it.”

“So you sought a human mate?” This was Isthasy Di-Wer Xarzith, and he sounded incredulous.

“Sought? No, my friend. I simply knew that if I found one I particularly liked, I would consider taking her as a mate. But I also decided that she’d have to know from the beginning what I was and accept it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even try.”

“How, then, did you find the charming woman-child who is now with you?” asked the oldest member of the group, a silver dragon of twenty-five hundred years.

“She was one of the town’s sacrifices, and was to be my afternoon snack.” Neri laughed, his eyes sparkling. “But before I even got to the Dragonstake, before I saw her at all, I heard her.”

The other dragons gave him confused looks.

“She was singing. Dragonsong. Beautifully. And my friends, it touched my heart more deeply than anyone or anything before had ever done. I knew right then that whoever this human was, I would seek her companionship. You can imagine my delight, then, when she showed no fear at my presence, and…she smiled at me. All my fears, concerns, and wisdom about being with a human, fled far from my mind, and even though she had no idea about it at the time, I was hers.”

Dragons and dragonkin – those who had dragon blood – shared certain traits, abilities, and even viewpoints. Long life, unnatural strength, magic; these were a few characeristics that might or might not manifest among some of their relatives. But the ones shared by all (even those with even a tiny bit of dragon blood), are heightened senses. Dragonkin might have looked human for the most part, but they could hear, see, smell, taste and feel at a far greater level than any non-dragon being.

It was no surprise, then, that both Vorel and J’nah knew someone was approaching the cave long before that individual came within sight or earshot. It started as a pulse, something they felt within the earth, and which they immediately recognized as footsteps. Next, the smell wafted across the valley from the north as whoever it was began to climb the foothills toward their part of the mountain.

Naturally curious, Vorel went to the part of the cliffside closest to the person’s approach and looked down. Her sharp eyes detected movement, and soon she could make out color as well. Whoever it was, he was in brown and green (her sensitive nose told her this was a male, although she couldn’t have said how she could recognize the difference between genders).

“Anything yet?” asked J’nah, coming to stand beside her.

“Look.” She pointed downward.

“Where…ah.” He frowned. “A boy? A man, perhaps?”

“One of those.” She smiled and ruffled his hair, causing several strands to come out of the leather string tying it back at his neck.

He gave her an annoyed look and redid his ponytail. “Wonder what he’s doing out here all alone.”

“Guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

“Why? We don’t have to show ourselves.”

She turned to face him, eyebrows raised. “Really, J’nah! Like there’s any way he’s going to miss noticing that gigantic opening in the side of the mountain. It’s not like the cave mouth is hidden or anything.”

He scowled. “Fine. I’m an idiot. But that doesn’t mean he has to find us, does it?”

“What – you’re going to let him wander in, eat our food, make himself at home and probably steal a bunch of Father’s treasure while we hide in a side-tunnel?”

“No.”

“Come on, little brother – it’s all right. All I have to do is grin, and he’ll run away so fast he won’t even leave a trail.” She made an exaggerated smile and pointed to her canines. “Not to mention our eyes.”

“Especially yours.”

She nodded and stepped back from the edge. “Come on – I’m hungry. Shall I make enough for you, too?”

“What?! You mean you weren’t going to feed me?”

“Gotcha!” She gave him a light smack on the top of the head and ran off.

“Vorel! Ooh! You’re going to get it now!” He tore off after her, laughing.

By the time the stranger found the cave, it was early evening. The siblings had finished lunch hours ago, and Vorel was preparing their supper.

The human entered as J’nah was carrying a bucket of water away from the pool in the center of the cave.