Taking Sides

Chapter 5: Defector

-Chapter 5: Defector-

Eventually, Draco landed at a large warehouse someplace in the east, and brought me inside, saying proudly that magic made the place larger inside than out. I chose to keep quiet, the sheer numbers of dragons milling about enough to intimidate an entire battalion, let alone one man… It was evident enough that this was more or less their headquarters, and possibly a place of residence. 

I kept my eyes down and followed Draco, while those who walked past looked at me curiously.

I was brought to a walled up area. The place was also larger inside than out, with two other dragons inside, each fiddling with something. I spotted a few phones, a laptop and a pile of rifles. With a blatant disregard for safety, Draco tossed my rifle into the heap, and I ducked instinctively as it clattered into the pile. The others watched my reaction curiously, but said nothing. The laptop and the phones lay on a large table that dominated the centre of the room. There were chairs as well, but of a most strange design. However, the logic behind the strange designs soon became clear when I realised that with dragons, the wings and tail had to be factored into the design process.

However, that meant that the backrest was tiny and ridiculously high, making it extremely awkward for humans, especially with the slight depression at the back of the seat cushion for the tail… Sitting in it would probably result in my falling over. 

Hence, when asked to take a seat, I opted to stand. Draco just snorted and said, “Suit yourself.” while he and the other two sat. The other two were introduced as Faelius, who was blue, and as Zooks, who was green. Both still held onto smartphones, which they had been fiddling with earlier. They evidently had no idea how to use the things, as I had noted that neither had even succeeded in even waking the devices.

The first thing I was told to do was to empty my pockets. Of course, I had none. The only thing I had was my phone, which I had shoved into the back of my pants before rushing down, having not bothered to toss it into my cupboard first. I had completely forgotten about it… Meanwhile, I was also asked to remove my watch, which was a device that was evidently new to them, for they oogled at it for almost a minute before I could put it onto the table.

I was left to rot there in silence for a bit while my two possessions were inspected, before Faelius, who was the blue one got up and started looking me over. “So you are the one I’ve heard so much about.” He remarked, prodding my shoulder with a white-clawed hand.

I quietly watched the claw poke my shirt repeatedly, praying that it wouldn’t be driven into my flesh. I wanted to say something, but my mouth refused to work. For that matter, nothing worked. I was stuck standing there like an idiot…

Draco seemed to notice, and snorted, saying, “We mean you no harm. There is no need to be afraid. Relax, human, we only seek to learn from you, and perhaps become friends.”

That was when I exploded. “Friends? Friends?! You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! Our peoples are at war, I’m a soldier and you want to be my <i>friend</i>?! Who the hell are you kidding?! I bet you bunch just want my knowledge, and once you have it all, you’ll kill me. I’m not an idiot so drop the damned act.”

All three seemed genuinely taken aback from what I said, and the one named Faelius recovered first, and spoke. “We hold no malicious intent. Note that it was your people that started this war, not us. For that matter, most don’t even know what went wrong… However, now we are forced to fight… If you do not believe us, then look at the actions of your own nation. They struck first, and we retaliated, and now, we must push for victory for we fear for our own lives… I know that we are supposed to be enemies, but this war itself is ridiculous, no?” The first thing I noticed was that no one had torn me to pieces yet, and the second was that Faelius’s tone held no anger at all… Instead he seemed hurt that I didn’t trust them… He seemed to notice that I was listening, and added, “Your technology does wonders, yet wreaks havoc. Our magic makes the impossible possible. I do not understand why we cannot work together. Help us end this war…”