Book One: Onnu and Pannu

Dragonkith

They looked from Firmen, copying maps onto bampa, to Solar, scuffing his claws in the dirt as Maggie had. They couldn't help but speculate who they would lose first.
   Dragonfriend hadn't connected with either of them, so he wouldn't be devastated either way. Maggie felt drawn to Solar's awkwardness, more than Firmen's slight superiority. Not that he wasn't awkward, but it was harder to feel any sort of empathy toward someone who reveled in their knowledge, at the expense of their personal relationships. She did, however, worry about Wraith.
   He'll probably outlive Wraith, though. If Erdewaz is any judge, that is.
   Onnu felt bad for outright forgetting about Solar. He'd come to her with the pilgrims, and chose to stay with her, rather than go with his traveling companions to South Hold. As she'd said, Marla already had Shellby, but did they know back then that each dragon only had one dragonkith?
   It didn't help their bonding to see that he didn't look like either her or Pannu. Firmen took after her, and Pannu hadn't had a dragonkith with him.
   Why, though? she wondered. Why did this unnamed dragon have Solar, when he would not reach us, and Pannu had none, and he did reach us?
   But then, Pannu had managed to keep his kin together, and alive, except for a few. She supposed he could have had a dragonkith, and lost them. They didn't know about them, back then.
   And of course He would send us kin with a dragonkith and no dragon, knowing we had a dragon with no dragonkith. The logic was too perfect.
   That just brought her back to the question of who they would lose. It was becoming a bit of a sore subject, because the answer, for her, was "everyone".
   She mentally shook herself. "It will take time for Mia to grow. We have time to acclimate to any potential loss."
   "You're right," Maggie said. "It does make sense, I just... I dunno, I was worried we'd lose one of them soon."
   "Well, if she starts getting massive growth spurts, then I'd worry," Dragonfriend said. "I don't know if that's how it works, but it's a fair guess anyway."
   "And guesses are all we've got," Onnu summed up. "Could we spread the word that kin don't have to find an interpreter to talk to me anymore? And maybe let the other dragons know?"
   "Sure, long's you let your Brothers know," Dragonfriend said.
   "On it."
   :That's handy.:
   Dwayne was relieved. Trey was less enthusiastic.
   :Maybe more so for you two, but I guess it'll make my research easier.: 
   Onnu nodded to herself. It made sense, as things usually did.
   :Say, when did that, uh... start happening?: Trey asked.
   She groaned. It took a supreme effort of will to keep it internal.
   :Not after the Fall, if that's what you're asking. Not far off, but no, that wasn't your doing.: She was reluctant to elaborate, but it was sort of her job to do so.
   :I, ah... might've gone to apologize to dear old Dad, and... Look, it was cold, and I couldn't sense Him, and I was sad...:
   :You did mention tears in that little speech.:  
   :Yeah, well, He used those tears to make the rain. Literally flung my tears to every corner of Tupino, and each tear turned into rain.:   
   She snorted. It was audible, but none of the kin bothered to ask. They knew she thought deep things often. They didn't all know that she was talking to her Brothers, but dragons were inscrutable mysteries; Elder Dragons doubly so. If she seemed to react to things they couldn't see, well, that was just dragon stuff.
   :You guys know how he just loves dramatic displays. I mean yeah, sometimes that's the only way to get people's attention, but dang, dude, really? It is kind of poetic, though. He was probably just as sad as everyone else about those stupid, senseless deaths in the City, so the tears are kinda perfect.:  
   Dwayne hadn't heard about it, so she had to relay the whole incident for him. Trey had only caught part of it, but it was enough to make him mad. So mad, he didn't stop in the City before moving on to the next Fortnight World (which they still hadn't named).
   :I hope they listen to you. We can't afford to lose more dragons. Okay, technically we could, but like you said, it takes hundreds of years to grow just one.: 
   :Yeah, Gabriel wasn't happy about it, either, and he eats the dragons they've been sacrificing!:
   :Who?: they both asked.
   Onnu froze. Even though they weren't physically there, it was a knee-jerk reaction. :Have you not spoken to the Charon?:
   Clearly, it hadn't occurred to them. She wasn't sure she should tell even them. But she was bound to mention them in passing, so they should at least know their names. If they wanted to know more about the Charon themselves, they could ask. It was only polite.
   :Not surprising, but their names are Michael, Gabriel, and David.: 
   :Of course they are.:
   :Yeah, that caused a bit of confusion in the beginning. If you want to talk to them, you can. Otherwise, I guess just knowing who I might talk about is enough.:
   After some thought, Trey decided that he would have to at least become acquainted with them. Dwayne was content to simply hunker down for the night.
   :Yeah, well you have that option. I might not be anywhere safe when they come by.:
   :Point.:
   :Well, now you can ask who's who, get to know what they look like,: she said pragmatically. :You're right, it's probably a good idea. I'm not saying you need to be besties or anything, but maybe you can work out a deal where you get enough warning to land, or go sideways out of their path. I don't know if you'll need to impress on them how important your job is, because they are hungry forces of nature, at the end of the day. Might have to convince them why they should let you go.:
   Trey did not like having to ingratiate himself, but knowing how few sentient beings would require him to do it did soothe his ruffled scales.