Ember Borne

Isaac

My senses alerted me to a presence. I lifted my head slightly, alert enough without taking my eyes off of my latest project. I had begun creating effective and efficient weapons and tools years ago for protection and hunting purposes. In comparison to my family, I was weak and especially vulnerable. My outermost layer was soft and punctured too easily for my taste, my nails would never pass as claws, I couldn't overpower anyone near my home, let alone within it, and my speed left nothing to be desired.

Sounds of the forest were interrupted by subtle, almost ignorable, movements, but my ears burned with the nearly undetectable shifts in weight. I struck the small, chipped stone in my left, dominant, hand against a larger, yet also chipped boulder, breaking off small pieces of both. Pausing to check the thin edge, I had to be careful ad I ran my tender finger along, hopefully avoiding a small fracture in my skin.

Satisfied, I fetched a branch I had widdled to be mostly straight and reached for a small animal skin pouch I had made to carry supplies. This particular case held long strands of braided grasses I had collected to twist together when I couldn't leave the cave.

The back of my mind pleaded for me to turn and look at the approaching danger in the dark shadows of the foliage behind me. Fighting the urge, I selected one strand of braided, formerly green, grass and began wrapping my sharpened stone to the end of my widdled stick.

Tugging the final knot tight, I admired my work and stood, allowing my mind some ease as I seamlessly looked around without alerting the predator of my awareness.

Deep, mountain crystal blue eyes hung about ten feet above my head, staring in my direction. I mentally sighed, knowing instantly who the "predator" was.

"Hello, KuroRyu," I smiled a cheeky grin.

A low, perturbed growl cursed, to which I grumbled back, "Language, Ryu, what would Ma say?"

A long tail bopped me on the head, not lightly I may add.

Massive claws made themselves known. The talons, each longer than my arms and shaper than my weapons, were a light charcoal color. Black, obsidian scales adorned the arms, creating a near impenetrable armor that could shed and regrow as it was necessary.

Following the arms was the head and serpentine neck, pushing frustratedly into view. The familiar face and royal blue eyes contorted into an annoyed scowl. I shifted back as his torso, covered in thick, also black, leather-like wings, entered the clearing I had been working in, followed by his tail and similar leather thick skin that stretched from the tip.

"Why must I be graced with scales of night and shadow if my eyes are bright as sky?!" The reptilian creature grumbled, pearly, jagged teeth bared.

"Your eyes are too dark to be akin to the sky, brother, they're just... a bit obvious when surrounded by..." I sighed as I caught sight of his scrutinizing gaze. "Alright so they're a bit..." I couldn't find a word, so I started again.

"KuroRyu, it's a bit hard to explain, but the gods must have given you those eyes for a purpose. And as they are all knowing and all powerful, we must have faith in their timing as well."

My feet involuntarily left the ground as a small earth tremor jolted when Ryu flopped down, quite ungracefully. He groaned slightly, letting me know I was right.

"You knew bringing my faith into question would make me relent my moping, didn't you?" Ryu looked up at me from under his brow ridge.

"Ma told me it was the only way to get through your thick skull sometimes," I shrugged.

"She has also taken to think hitting my head gets the same result, I don't see you trying that," he grumbled.

"I also enjoy having all of my limbs intact; I'm not willing to break my hand again for your benefit. "