The Loyal

A Matter Of Opinions

Sirath departed from the cave at first light. The Haven boy was still curled up, asleep, and she badly needed somewhere to think. What was meant to happen now? Surely she couldn't simply go back to her den with Dain and ask her Wyvern, he definitely believed that Havians were barbarians.

Who could Sirath talk to? What would she do with Dain? Sirath rapidly dived for a deer, clasping it tightly in her death-claws. It gave a frightened cry before falling limp in her paws. She glided back above the clouds to avoid being seen by any of her kind and simply flew on a strong gust.

Sirath made an important mental note not to let time slip away because she didn't want Dain waking up without her. She drifted higher when a small shadow flew below her. For a few seconds, Sirath believed she'd gotten away, but the one bad thing about inheriting her mother's purple wings, was they stood out.

The figure climbed to her height and Sirath prepared an alibi for last night. With a soothing relief, the newcomer turned out to be Ixrith. He smiled at her, his head tilted slightly. "Ra, Sirath. What brings you out here?"

Sirath weighted what she would say and politely answered, "ra. I desired a morning fly, you?"

Ixrith clicked his tongue, "might I join you?"

This was already going the wrong way. as much as Sirath likes Ixrith, she couldn't stay in his company now. But she also couldn't refuse him. "Certainly, if you don't mind flying at this height."

Many dragons disliked flying at great heights because they couldn't hear anything. This annoying detail was caused by the high pressure and Sirath knew a trick to avoid it. There was a point right in the clouds that was low enough to hear but high enough to not be seen. It was know as the "thieves sheet."

Ixrith flew steadily beside Sirath, several metres away, as to give room for their wing spans. They flew south, heading to Dain's den. No matter how hard Sirath planned, she couldn't figure out a way to change direction without raising suspicion.

"Where were you last night?" Ixrith asked her, swishing his tail through the cool air.

Speaking slowly to give herself time to think, Sirath gave him a dragon's tail of where she had been. "I was at my den. I needed time to myself,"

"No you weren't, I went there," Ixrith's black under-eye scales turned a vibrant purple.

Sirath was about to expand her eye when the cloud cover faded and below them was Dain's cave. The small boy figure stood at the front of it, staring up at the two dragons.

Ixrith's neck expanded as he prepared to fire and shoved Sirath away, "be careful! Havians are dangerous!"

Sirath wasn't just about to let Ixrith burn Dain to a crisp. Being immune to dragon fire, Sirath leapt in front of Ixrith as he opened his mouth wide, displaying bubbling orange fire, cascading out. Her scales simply absorbed the heat and Dain, a few feet away, remained safe.

Ixrith stepped back, cursing, "what?! Sirath? He might hurt you, out of the way!" She listened calming to his roars.

Dain had approached her with wide eyes, he'd never seen someone survive such intense heat. His glanced warily at the black dragon and stood beside Sirath. She was unsure how to explain everything to Dain and was quite confused about the way Dain had positioned himself beside her as if he trusted her. They'd only know each other for a night and Sirath had already saved his life twice, which somehow made her slightly attached to him.

"Ixrith, it's alright," she said soothingly, "this is Dain, he's okay. Let me explain. Please no interruptions or sudden fire-breathing."

Sirath repeated the whole story, with Dain adding small details. Finally, by the end, Ixrith had retracted his claws and cooled his fire-lung. He watched the human boy with amazement and curiosity, as if wondering what made him work. Sirath then gave Dain the deer and he vanished inside the cave, setting up a cooking fire.

Ixrith flared his nostrils, "Sirath this is dangerous. Who knows what dangers you're in for saving him. The others would happily cast you out. Come, leave him by the cliffs and forget about him. I wont tell anyone."

"Ixrith, you don't understand. His quest is important, even to the dragons! I cannot abandon him now."

"Forget about this fantasy, please. If you continue to help the havian, whoever enslaved his kingdom will hurt you."

"I appreciate your concern, but he needs me. I simply cannot turn my back on him. I all ready care for Dain."

"But what can you do to help? You don't know the Haven lands."

"I can take him to the nearest Haven them come back. He has maps and can teach me what I need to know."

"Sirath, the havians are not like Dain. They would kill you for your scales, or to find out how you work. My father was an explorer, they brought him down."

"I'm sorry, but my mind if made up. Promise me you won't tell anyone."

"Of course I won't. Just take care,"

Ixrith bounded into the blue skies, leaving Sirath feeling sad by his departure. Was she really just going to take Dain to the nearest Haven, was that all it would take?

She wandered to the cave, welcomed by the enticing smells of cooked dear. Dain was nibbling on a piece and he'd left most of the deer for Sirath.

"I'll take you to the nearest Haven, where they'll help you," Sirath told him, gnawing on her meat.

Dain nodded his thanks and drew a curled paper over, unfastening it. The illustrations intrigued Sirath, as she'd never actually seen drawings, only writing. Dain pointed to an interpretation of the dragon mountains.

"Here we are," he then drew a finger down to a castle drawing, "the nearest Haven is, ironically, Starhaven."

Sirath frowned, since she couldn't read havian, the symbols across the illustrations meant nothing. "How long do you think until we reach there?" she asked.

"About a day, but I'm not sure how excited the havians will be to met a dragon."

"I'll fly you in," Sirath replied certainly, ignorant of how terrified havians were of dragons.

That night Sirath thought of how confused her father would be. Never before had she vanished, especially for two nights. She could only hope Ixrith remained quiet, but Sirath was pretty certain he would. Dain was curled up at the fire, his body lifting up and down with each small breath.

The silence that filled the cave covered the horror that occurred that night, had Sirath been back at her den, she'd be in danger, but instead, others suffered for her. Evil was stirring once again in Haven.