Drakon

unexpected appearance

[♘a l i s t a i r   s e l w y n♘]

I scowled to myself.  Terris and Ironfang had walked out, leaving Celeste, Brighttail and me alone in the cave.  The young shimmer dragon was fast asleep, curled up in a dark corner.  She had gone invisible, probably in hope that Celeste wouldn’t bother her. Fortunately for her and unfortunately for me, Brighttail’s plan worked, so Celeste went to the nearest person she could annoy- me.  Of course, her presence did absolutely nothing to help my boiling rage.  If she hadn’t gone and announced to the world that she was the daughter of a duchess and Kia was ‘technically lesser than she was’, then none of this would have happened.  Kia wouldn’t be missing.  We wouldn’t be stuck in a dark cave, hiding from the water dragons. Worse of all, we hadn’t even gotten the artefact! I took a deep breath, trying to channel my rage into the water instead.  It didn’t work, and I growled, slamming my fist into the rocky wall.  I sucked in a breath as the skin on my knuckles shredded, leaving me with a bloody fist and no less anger than before.  I glared at Celeste.  “I’m going to find Terris.  Stay here and don’t do anything.” I stalked out, looking for the younger scholar.

“Hey Terris? A little help here?” The black haired girl swivelled around with a slightly alarmed expression.  I did a double take when a young man appeared behind her, looking equally as alarmed.  I narrowed my eyes, pulling my sword out with my non-bloody hand.  “Who are you?” The man was short and stout, although he had quite a bit of muscle to him.  He wore Terris’s cloak, which made me all the more suspicious.  Looking closer, I realized that he also bore uncanny resemblance to Kia- they had the same midnight black hair, violet eyes and full lips, although I would definitely not kiss the man, whoever he was.  Fortunately for me, I didn’t think anyone was reading my mind.  Nothing against gays, but I wasn’t one myself.  “Who are you? What in Lukar are you doing here? Terris? Where’s Ironfang?” I continued advancing towards the black haired boy.

The- boy? Man?- took a step back, putting both hands in the air.  “Chill, bro! Don’t kill me yet! And by the way, Alistair, I’m Ironfang!” He squeaked.  I froze.  How did he know my name? And how was he Ironfang? Ironfang was clearly a dragon- I’d known him for years.  Even if the man was Ironfang, why had I never seen him? My mind went into overdrive, trying to think of answers.  It’s a long story.  I stumbled back in shock.  There was a sigh in my mind.  I had a feeling you wouldn’t take this well.  I don’t blame you; if I were in your shoes, I’d be confused too.

“I don’t care.  Explain, please.” I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes, I liked my own.  Looking down at his feet, I realized he wasn’t even wearing any shoes.  For some reason, I also felt like I’d seen human ‘Ironfang’ somewhere, although I didn’t remember.  I groaned, rubbing my temples.  “Ugh, nothing makes sense at the moment.”

“Okay, are you ready for an information overload?” Terris piped in.

I gawked at her.  How did she know? “No.  But how do you know about how he’s Ironfang? Are you two in cahoots or something?” I hissed as a piece of seaweed brushed against my bloodied knuckles.  “Terris, just heal this first.  Explain later.”

Terris sighed.  “Therapévo.” The skin on my hand knitted back together, leaving no trace, no scar.  It was like nothing even happened.  “What did you even do?”

I smiled sheepishly.  “I hit the wall again.” Stupid.  The dark haired boy grinned a little.  Even if you’re angry you shouldn’t go punch walls.  You’re lucky I’m not making you apologize to it.  He made a face at me, and I stuck my tongue out at him.

Terris rolled her eyes.  “God, help me, I’m with dumb and dumber.” I spluttered, and even the so called ‘Ironfang’ looked insulted.  “Alice, next time you stick your tongue out, I’m gonna get gloves and slice it right out of your mouth.” I scoffed.  I know, violent much? At last, someone who knew how I felt.  “Now that your little boys’ moment is over, time for facts.  First, introductions.  Alistair, meet Gavin, Gavin, you know who he is already.” Gavin.  I’d heard that name before.  But where? He stuck his hand out, and I took it tentatively.