Book One: Onnu and Pannu

Nomad So Mad

The Traveler, or Nomad, returned about halfway through Onnu and Pannu's hatchlings' first year of life. 
   He bugled to them from the rim of Egg Hold, being too large to fit with both dragons inside. Onnu was quick to rise, having felt a vague Something all day. It seemed she could sense his approach, whether or not he'd Felt her presence.
   He led them to the plains, where there was room to converse without feeling cramped. He must have known that Pannu was with her, and yet, he gave him an odd look when he followed her out to him.
   The look was explained when he greeted them.
   "Sister," he said with a bob of his great silver head. He glanced at Pannu again. "I thought we might discuss... matters Above."
   "Do you mean to talk to us Above, or about Above?"
   "I meant to talk to you alone," he growled. "There are sensitive topics that may not be suitable for all ears."
   Pannu bristled. "We're all dragons here. I don't see why you think I shouldn't be here."
   The Nomad eyed Onnu. She kept her expression carefully neutral, which was more telling than she realized.
   "All I will say is that not all dragons were Created equal. There are those of us who are... different. Gifted in ways that all are not."
   Pannu's brow ridge furrowed. "You mean like the eye thing?"
   "Gifted or not, we mate true enough with them, so if that is your intent, I'm afraid you're a bit late for that," she snapped. "If you wish to discuss more official matters, I am all ears."
   Nomad's hackles rose. He took a step forward. "I do not disclose celestial secrets lightly, sister." 
   His emphasis of the familial title settled Pannu's hormones, but his overall tone had the opposite effect on his temper.
   "Anything you can say in front of her, you can say in front of me!"
   The larger male quirked one brow ridge, looking to Onnu for confirmation. "Is this so, sister? Do you tell your mate all of our secrets? I am not certain that is wise."
   Onnu was caught, and she knew it. A sigh shuddered through stiff lips. "I tell him what is pertinent," she dodged.
   Pannu's head jerked her way. "And who decides what's pertinent?"
   She stared off into the distance. "I'm... not entirely sure. It's... hard to tell what are my thoughts, and what He is suggesting. Even Above, I can't always tell."
   "What who's telling you?" Pannu sounded wounded.
   Her head whipped around. "God, ye ninny! Would ye have me go against what He wills? I seem to recall that going badly on Erdewaz. 'Tis a fine line to walk, so be glad you don't have to walk it!"
   "Nor as long as we're to walk it," the Nomad rumbled ominously.
   "Shut it!" She turned on the Nomad now, snarling nearly nose to nose. "You. Don't. Know. That. I don't know that. And He's certainly not telling!"
   The Nomad was still as the death they wouldn't see, possibly ever. "You know. I know, because it's in my head, too. He told you, sure's He told me. And it sucks, I get it, but we need to talk about it, or I'll go mad."
   Red eyes blazed into blue, for several long seconds. The red blinked away, and she turned toward Pannu. "I'm sorry, but you don't want this burden. Enjoy being a normal dragon, 'kay? You'll be much happier that way."
   His jaw clenched so hard a muscle jumped on one side. "So, what, you want me to just let you fly off with some stranger, and not be jealous?"
   Her eyes softened. "Think of it as a manager's meeting. As far as I know, it's strictly business. If that changes, you'll be the first to know."
   The Nomad coughed behind her.
   Her head swung around, but her body did not. "What?"
   "I cannot guarantee that we might not discuss such things."
   The scales along her spine, and across her shoulders, spiked up. Neither male liked it. Pannu thought she was angry at him, but the Nomad knew who she was truly reacting to.
   "I cannot apologize, because there might come a time where it is relevant."
   "But you call her sister," Pannu objected.
   "We are not related, lad. Merely the same sort of dragon. As such, there may come a time when another of our kind is needed."
   "So your kind of dragon always breeds true?" he asked. "Good to know."
   Onnu glared at him. "I was not going to mention that," she growled, teeth biting off the consonants.
   The Nomad walked around her to look at both of them. "Do you mean to say that you have birthed nondragons? I have not heard of this, in either world that I have visited."
   Onnu rumbled loud as thunder, and launched straight up in the air. Neither male had mastered the maneuver, so they were taken off-guard. Pannu watched her climb toward Above with some resignation. He'd let slip something she would have hidden from her not-brother, so how could she trust him with any of the secrets their kind of dragon held?
   Pannu headed home, to wait for her return. He would have worried that she wouldn't come back to them, if it weren't for their hatchlings. Surely, she wouldn't abandon them?
   It occurred to him how little he really knew about his... mate? Partner? Queen, he decided. Mated female dragons would be called queens, sort of like the Pern series. Those dragons were given the title under different circumstances, but nothing was the same on the Fortnight Worlds, so they could change it up.
   As long as she came back to him, he thought. As long as she comes back.