a series of sbi oneshots

Human Kidnapping

Tommy clings desperately to the saddle, his knuckles white. “Philza!” he screams, but the wind whips away his words. “Phil stop! We have to go back!”

Philza’s wings rise up beside him, living walls of muscle and skin stretching twenty feet over Tommy’s head. He braces for the ripple of muscles as Philza sweeps his wings back down. With Philza’s wingspan, he doesn’t need to flap often once he’s in the air, not unless he’s in combat, or running.

Tommy looks behind them. There are lightweight courier dragons that would be able to keep up with them, Philza is far from the fastest dragon in the covert, but there is no one in pursuit. They abandoned him.

Tommy’s fingers ache, cold and stiff with the wind rushing over them. He presses his forehead to the saddle and tries to catch his breath. There’s only one place Philza could be going, and Tommy can’t do anything to stop him.

The leadlines that he’s supposed to use to pass messages and direct Philza are useless. Tommy had tried hauling on them, tried to get Philza to turn around, go back to the covert.

Philza had ignored him.

Tommy looks down, they’re high, high above the ground. There’s no way he’s getting down, he has no choice but to cling to Philza’s back.

Tommy knows Philza hated the covert, hated the admirals, the other dragons even. None of them liked Philza either. He was captured, from the Empire, and the Admiralty had never trusted him. That’s why Tommy was allowed to be his captain, he is disposable. Just a street kid who got picked up to run messages.

Philza had taken an interest in him, and now he’s here. Thousands of feet above the ground, utterly helpless.

Tears burn in his eyes, falling down to gather in his goggles. “Please stop,” Tommy whispers, its not as though Philza will heed him any more at a whisper than he will at a scream.

Tommy knows where Philza is going. Its where Tommy would go if the only thing stopping him from doing it was some stupid snot nosed kid.

He’s going home.

To the Empire.

***

Philza’s wings stretch out over the sky, the miles pass in a blur below them. They pass over L’manberg, over rivers and farmland, heading unerringly towards the coast. Tommy’s stomach churns, but it growls too. He’s hungry. He has a bag of rations, but he doesn’t dare dig it out.

He doesn’t know how long it will take Philza to fly to the Empire. The ocean is big, and Tommy doesn’t want to starve to death while they fly over it.

Reflexively, Tommy checks the harness keeping him in the saddle. Its still secure, he won’t fall if he passes out, at the very least. He pulls his coat tighter around himself with a sniffle.

He’s answered by a roar.

Philza doesn’t seem surprised. He maintains his steady glide, but his head twists around. Tommy meets his icy blue eye. “Philz--”

Another roar echoes from behind them. Tommy turns in the saddle. A dragon is behind them, not as big as Philza, but close. The Admirals have sent someone after them.

Tommy’s heart lurches. He knows how this will end. They’ll try to get someone to jump onto Philza’s back, the only way to bring a dragon down is to threaten their captain.

The dragon is gaining on them, it may be smaller, but its faster too.

The dragon roars again, and Philza answers with a deep growl. One wing dips, and they sweep into a turn. He’s going to fight.