As a dragon, I find this romantic as fuck AADIFTRAF

Tell Us U'nother One

The wind in his light grey hair, the sun feeding his freckles, the little hand holding onto his. He's okay with his life as it is, even though he's never imagined that he'd get that girl pregnant.

"Pa, look!" His son ran back and pulled his pants. "Footprints!"

"What kinda?" He followed Lansegra, picking Valkyon up into his arms. They went over the little wood bridge past their home. The river is the border of the sacred ground so he rarely takes his sons here.

"Donno, d'you know?" He observed them. The late morning sun hit the ravine in just the right way for the mud to dry, preserving the tracks.

"Ah, 'tis been a long time since I saw 'nythin' like this. It looks like a small cow." Valkyon hugged his neck, he was sliding down. He adjusted the kit, making him giggle.

"Whassa cow?" Lansegra picked out a good looking stick and started poking the prints.

"When I was your age, there were these big animals that the humans used to have. They had horns like y'old man," He pointed at his head. "n' they ate grass."

"Grass? Yikes."

"Well, tis what they liked." He tucked a lose strand of hair behind Valkyons ear. "Let's go, I don't want to run into 'em unprepared. Cows can be dangerous."

Lance got a little spooked and followed him closely. "Pa?"

"Hm?" The kit, not wanting to be ravaged by a cow, reached up and wrapped his tiny fingers around Khanirs thumb.

"What are those lines on your fingers?" On his left hand, Khanir has two rings tattooed on each of his fingers.

"Long ago, there was a human whose name is lost to time. She had the most beautiful long hair. Twas black as the darkness 'neath the oceans waves and it reached down to 'er ankles."

"Whats that gotta do with the lines?" They walked over the little bridge.

"Have patience, iss'an impor'ant tale. So one day she was visited by 'er brother and they agreed to go fishin' together. On the boat they loved each other in ways that siblings should'naet. They did not know, but Hilda, the moon, was watchin' 'em. She was enamored by her long and beautiful hair, so she was lookin' at her every chance she had. She saw their forbidden acts and sent a fallin' star down to tell their father. When they got home, he was furious. He sent the son to hunt a tiger down in the moun'uns, he was ne'er to return 'til he succeeded. As for his daughter, he took her to come fishin' with 'im. When they were so far from the waters edge that they could'nae see their footprints in the snow, he pushed her into the water. She tried to get back, holdin' onto their boat with her left hand and reachin' to her father with her right. He was too angry to think, too angry to forgive, he took his axe out and chopped her hand off. She didn't let go, he chopped her fingers in half so she could'nae hold on. She begged for her life but he could'nae see 'nythin' other than her terrible crime, so he chopped all of her fingers to the knuckles. She sunk down all the way to the blind bottom o' the ocean where she cried for so long that 'er tears made the seas salty. She was pitied by the moon, who was sad that she would ne'er see her beautiful hair ever again, so she gave her a gift. The gift was a fallen star that lit up the lonely bottom of the sea and kept 'er company. After a while she noticed that 'er belly grew with her first child and when she gave life to it, it was a seal. The first seal. Her fingers grew back, but they kept fallin' off because her father cursed 'er each day for the rest of 'is life. As 'er fingers fell off, they grew and turned into more seals. She's there to this day, growin' 'er beautiful long hair in the sea. Her seal children go back to the shore to be hunted, they're gifts to her ancestors so they may forgive her for her crime." He waited for feedback, but for once both of his sons were quiet.