The Dragons Of Crestwood Forest || Sanders Sides

Chapter Eight

Heyyyyyyy

TW: swearing, mention of nightmares, angst, talk of abusive families, religion,

________________________

Thomas had thought the night would go well. Key word: thought.

It had started out fine. Remus was warm enough to sleep against comfortably, and he had felt safer than he had in a long time. The fact that he felt safe was such a miracle that he fell asleep quickly. Now he almost wished he hadn't slept at all.

Thomas got up quietly, being careful not to disturb any of the sleeping dragons as he walked out of the cave. He sat on the shore of the lake, looking out over the calming waters. It was shining from the moon high overhead, and he could see so many stars. It was beautiful.

The silence was comfortable and comforting, and Thomas found himself relaxing once again. It was colder now that he wasn't against Remus, but he didn't mind too much. The cold was better than sleeping anyway.

After awhile he heard soft footsteps coming from behind him, and then Remus sat down next to him. They sat there looking over the lake for awhile before Remus finally spoke.

"So... what brings you out here?" Remus asked quietly.

"A nightmare," Thomas mumbled.

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really..."

"That's alright. Why did you come into the forest in the first place?"

"I didn't have a very nice family." He sighed. "Nor a nice community."

"I know how you feel," Remus murmured. "Crestwood really hasn't changed since I was last there. Let me guess, they didn't like you because you're gay."

"How'd you know?"

"Same thing happened to Roman and me. Our family didn't believe in such things, thought we were going to Hell. I guess in a way we did. The pain we were or through to get our dragon forms was certainly hell. And maybe that community itself is hell, and we escaped it."

"I think Crestwood is hell," Thomas said. "How else would it let families hate their own children?"

"My family said it was God's punishment they were giving us. That God was punishing us for being gay," Remus whispered. "They tried to tell us to repent, to like women, but we never could. They always talked about God's mercy, but I never saw any of it. All I ever saw was hate and anger. I stopped believing in God's mercy a long time ago."

"Mine didn't even try to defend their actions," Thomas muttered. "They just yelled and screamed.... some days I was just ignored. Those days were always the better days."

"I guess we both had shitty parents, huh?" Remus looked out over the water with a sigh. "Isn't it a wonderful life? Heartache and misery everywhere you see. At least in the forest we're safe."

"I have a question."

"Go ahead and ask."

"Why is your mustache made of scales?" Thomas asked. Remus looked slightly shocked at the question, and then smiled sadly.

"It wasn't a mustache." Remus laughed, but it was sad and bitter. "Actually, it was one of the last things they ever did to me. The scales that are on our bodies are what happened after we changed. When we somehow ended up in the water, whatever injuries we had healed, except they healed into scales. Any scares we had were turned into scales as well. It's the only sign besides our eyes that we aren't really human when we're in human form."

"The others have them, too?"

"You've seen some of Janus'," Remus said. "It's not my story to tell, but yes, we all have them. I also have some on my upper arms. Roman has even more than I do. Virgil has them going up his legs I think. Logan... Logan never takes off any single article of clothing in front of us, but I think he has them as well. I think Patton has them on his arms and stomach."

"Wow," Thomas mumbled. "You all came from pretty awful places, didn't you?"

"Well, you've seen Crestwood," Remus said. "Why don't you tell me? It hasn't changed clearly, or you wouldn't be here."

"It hasn't changed." The two say there in silence, watching as the sun started to peak over the tops of the trees and surrounding hills. It made the lake sparkle beautifully, but Thomas couldn't help but feel sad. At least he was here now. At least he was safe.

738 words.