Air Touched - A Dragon Tribe Origin

Chapter One - Jae

The clouds kissed Jae's scales as he cut through them. He knew he shouldn't tempt fate by making himself seen from below. Slayers were becoming a lot more prevalent in Aero territory each passing day. Hiding from them was wrong, safe, but wrong. Dragons were the supreme rulers of the land. Why run and hide from the humans? Why not take a stand and fight back? I don't make the rules. Yet. Can't boss anyone around until that day comes. Doesn't mean I can't keep breaking them, though!

Off in the distance, he spotted another cloud. A large, puffy one. If he could smile, he would have. Instead, his mouth opened slightly and he pushed with his wings to barrel toward the white wispy mound in front of him. He plowed forward at top speed...until another dragon shot up directly in his path. The silver dragon hovered in place, forcing him to balk and come to a stop. They barely missed colliding.

"Jae, you know you're not supposed to be flying right now. Father is furious. It's not safe—especially over this area." His older brother, Sun, their father's mouth-piece. The Great Lord Hyun could never bother to do his own dirty work.

Huffing, Jae treaded his wings to stay aloft. "I'm staying up high. No one can see me."

"Wrong. That's how he knew you were doing it. He saw you while talking to the father of your future bride."

Jae swallowed. The idea of having to meet said future bride was a lot more frightening than the wrath of his father. "He's actually going through with that threat? I thought for sure he was only blowing smoke."

"You're already past being of age. I don't know why you're so surprised." If Sun had been human, he'd have rolled his eyes.

"I guess I thought if he was serious about forcing me to get married, it would have happened when I first became of age."

"Oh, he tried. Finding the right girl to tolerate you turned out to be a lot more difficult than he anticipated. He did seventeen interviews before finding someone he thought was a good match."

Seventeen? Am I that bad? Or is it the girls I have to choose from? Not sure what all he's looking for exactly. I'll be happy so long as she's nice to look at. Jae pushed a puff of cloud at his older brother. "Ha. Girls happen to like me. A lot!"

"Like and love are two different things. And I'm not sure if you've noticed or not, but they tend to not like you so much after they get to know you." Sun laughed then dove under the cloud before Jae could retaliate. "Get your butt down here, now."

While he wanted to blow his brother off, Jae knew better than to press his luck. If his father had seen him, like Sun claimed, then that meant others could see him. Whoever those other people could be concerned him a whole lot more than his father. Jae was a rebel, but he wasn't stupid. Besides, if he waited too long to come back down, then his father might try to punish him in other ways—like keeping him from his mother.

I'll get out for longer next time.

He'd spent over an hour flying. For most dragons, that would have been more than enough time to scratch the itch. Jae, however, could fly forever. Being one with the wind energized him in ways nothing else could compare. And he'd tried to find another hobby to pass his time with. Skateboarding, skiing, swimming, painting, hiking. Nothing gave him the same adrenaline rush he craved. The same freedom. When he flew, he was being who he was meant to be.

Jae did understand there were moments where he needed to be obedient, too. So he landed in the lush forest at the base of the mountain range surrounding his home, ten miles from the edge of Aero City, and two from where he parked his SUV. The drive home would give him enough time to figure out what to say so he could get back on his father's good side.

Once he landed, he did a quick check of his surroundings to make sure he was indeed alone before beginning his transformation from dragon back to human. His graceful body shrank, the wings and scales melting into his skin, until he was once more a tall, lanky, boring nineteen-year-old human boy. Jae hated to be human—more than anything.

He didn't have much of a choice, unfortunately. If he was to do his duty and make little dragons to keep his species alive, he had to spend at least some time as a human. How else was he supposed to procreate with his human bride? Jae briefly thought about running away to hide in the dense, unpopulated, forests of the Aero mountain range. Then he became a teenager and hormones hit and he started taking an interest in girls. The new plan became: get married, then run away. A plan he almost stuck with until he started training to become the next Great Dragon Lord of the Aero nation. He liked it a lot more than he thought he would.

Because once he was in charge, he could make a lot of changes, and no one could do anything about it.

That was the way the Aero nation set up its politics. An absolute patriarchy. Jae would be king. Of course, he'd be kind and listen to his advisors and the people of his nation. At the end of the day, though, it would be his word that would become law. All he had to do was ride it out until his father finally stepped down—which might be a long time coming. Waiting would be worth it. Having a wife would certainly help him occupy his time.

I guess I shouldn't be too mad at Dad for making a decision. We both know I'd find something wrong with all of my candidates until I got too frustrated and just picked the next one on the list and called it a day. Now I don't have to break too many hearts in the process. This way is so much easier. He got into his black SUV, trying to ignore the gnawing sensation at his gut telling him he was about to be screwed over big time. That it wasn't fair he didn't have a say in who he got to spend the rest of his life with. Arranged marriages worked for a reason, and that's why they hadn't been abandoned by the Aero in favor of other methods of courtship.

Besides, he'd tried the human method of dating. A lot. Jae had first dates, a plenty—never second ones.

"Okay, Dad, don't be mad at me for flying..." Jae tried as he started up the engine. He shook his head, turning on the radio. Pop tunes blasted through the stereo. "Nope, I think I'm going to try the 'I'm stupid, you're smart' approach."