Everglade: The Underaged

Chapter 18

Korman came back from scouting at nightfall. Which was also when the Underaged woke up. He sat up. Everyone tensed. He stood up and lunged for Ailwin. Ailwin met him in midair. They wrestled on the ground. Ailwin tried to put his fingers on the Underaged's temples. The Underaged prevented him from doing so. For a second, the Underaged had Ailwin pinned against the ground, but Ailwin kicked upward with his legs and threw the Underaged off of himself. The Underaged flew through the air and landed on his feet somehow. He looked at Luke, a prone figure on the ground, unable to defend himself. He dove for him. Luke rolled out of the way with a groan of pain. He felt the wound start to bleed. Ailwin tackled the Underaged from behind. He put his fingers on the Underaged's temples. The Underaged went still as his eyes fell shut. That was the second time Ailwin had done that.

"How did you do that?" Korman asked.

"It's... my power. I can use it to shut down a mind, lock it up, or kill it entirely." Ailwin said quietly. He kicked the dirt. Then came over to Luke and began to apply pressure to the wound in Luke's stomach with a cloth. "We've got to come up with a way to prevent this wound from ripping open again. Do we have anything we can stitch it closed with?"

"I have some thread, and a needle, but it's for stitching clothes." Estrilda said.

"It'll have to do." Ailwin said. Estrilda gave Ailwin her needle and thread. Luke tried not to groan as Ailwin put the needle through his flesh. He could feel it pass in and out. He didn't even notice when he passed out.

When he woke up, he could smell cooking meat. He looked around. Everyone was sitting around a fire. He looked at the wound. It had been neatly stitched shut. The blue thread was very noticeable against his skin. It ached. Eclipse came over and laid down next to him. He stroked her feathers. She sighed contently. With a groan, Luke readjusted himself so he was lying against her. Her body was a warm comfort against his bare torso. The Underaged's Dragon came over to him. He and Eclipse froze. The Dragon looked at him.

My partner has been through a rough few years, ever since I hatched. He has lost all trust in other humans. I trust you will be able to help him, especially since you gave him his freedom back. It said. His name is Forwin. And mine is Fionntan. Fionntan blew smoke over Luke and Eclipse. May you have the wisdom to help. Fionntan walked away. Korman came over to him with a plate of food. Luke took it from him.

"Thanks Korman." He said.

"Can I eat with you?" Korman asked.

"Yeah." Korman left and came back with his own plate of food.

"What happened with the Dragon?" Korman asked.

"He told us the Underaged's name, and his own." Luke explained. "He hopes that we will be able to help his partner."

"How?"

"I don't know yet. He blew smoke over us and gave us a blessing of wisdom." Luke thought about the blessing he'd been given. He didn't know how Dragon blessings worked. He was new to all this. A few months ago, he'd been in foster care while his parents were dying. Now he was sitting in the middle of the woods with a Griffin at his back. He watched a pixie as it landed on a flower. He'd never even seen a pixie until now, they stayed out of the cities. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He watched to spot it again, but didn't see anything. He continued to eat. He'd just finished with his food when he saw movement again. Before he could see what it was, however, it was gone. He watched as a figure snuck up on Ailwin from behind.

"Ailwin, behind you!" Luke yelled.