Dragonsoul

Chapter 17

Rim, her friend, the tiny dragon she took under her wing, was floating in the air engulfed in the most brilliant fire Leonie had ever seen. Instead of hurting him, the fire seemed to caress him, to soothe away his worries.

It was like the warm mother's touch that poor Rim had never felt. He relished the feeling of belonging, of being part of something bigger than himself.

Fire provided him with that. He belonged to the fire, and the fire belonged to him.

In that moment of realization, it was difficult to tell where fire ended and where Rim began. They were inseparable, indistinguishable. They were and forevermore would be, one.

Unlike any other fire, Leonie had ever beheld, the colors of the one before her were unique. Green flames whirled around the orange and red ones in a dance of life and vibrancy. It was a dance of power, grace, and yet it also exuded warmth and comfort.

There was part of Rim in the very making of the fire, and flames were flickering in the depths of his eyes.

It was fascinating to watch them learn about each other, to accept each other. Leonie couldn't help but think that the fire was alive. It felt as if it was another creature that was fortunate enough to get the chance to enjoy the beauty of life.

Suddenly, Rim opened his mouth more widely than Leonie had ever seen him do, and the fire was sucked into his gaping mouth. For a moment, his eyes were licked by the internal flames, but soon enough, they died down and Rim's eyes were back to normal.

Then, Rim slowly landed on the ground beneath him.

Besides being slightly dazed, he seemed fine. To Leonie, it was clear that he did not just feel well, he was happy, whole. It was a feeling that the girl who felt as if part of her heart was empty could not fully understand, or accept.

It hurt her to feel so much joy, so she did her best to keep his emotions from reaching her own heart. She was happy for him, for him finding what he needed, but seeing the light in his eyes only made her realize how much darker her heart was.

"Are you alright?" She couldn't help but check.

She tried to send her feelings of worry and wonder in one focused ray so that her friend would be able to clearly understand what she was asking. It was always hard to try and get such a specific emotion across, but she did her best.

However, it soon became clear that she need not have bothered.

"I am fine. It's just a bit overwhelming, that's all." Leonie could hear a voice in her mind.

Leonie, who was in that moment walking towards the dragon, froze for a moment. She was sure that the voice she had heard in her head, although familiar, was not her voice.

It took her shocked mind a few moments to comprehend what was happening. However, once it dawned on her what it meant, she ran towards Rim hugging him tightly.

It didn't even occur to her young mind that there might still be some remnants of fire left on Rim's scales. Luckily for her, his scales were just warm to the touch.

"You can speak!" Leonie said.

"Not exactly. You can hear my thoughts. At least when I want you to." Rim said.

"Can mom and Nald hear you, as well?" Leonie asked.

"No, not yet, but they will once I learn how to extend my thoughts to them as well. It's easier to communicate with you since we are connected." Rim said.

"You sound all grown up. Did you grow?" Leonie asked confused.

She started checking his size and although he did not resemble a grown-up dragon in any way, he did seem slightly bigger to her.

"Not exactly. We, dragons, have different developments from humans. Today, I learned how to be one with my fire, although I cannot yet fully control it, and I ascended." Rim said.

"That sounds like a lot to do in one day. Especially having in mind that you were hatched just a few days ago. Is that normal?" Leonie asked.

"Not really. My fire came to me because I was angry that our family was hurt in any way. The pain I felt in your heart and saw on their faces made the anger in mine grow.

Then, I could feel something getting ready to come out, something unfamiliar, something new. I moved because I was scared that whatever it was, it might hurt you.

But once the fire popped out of me, I knew it was here to help, and we joined. I knew, on an instinctive level, what I should do, what would happen and it was okay.

I guess the ascension happened because I wanted to help you all, and the more I knew, the better I could protect you." He said.

"What is ascension?" Leonie asked.

"It's difficult to explain, and I am not allowed to explain all the details to you, not yet. Ascension is a transfer of all the knowledge of the dragons before me into my mind.

It is like a book of life before me. It tells me who I am, what happened before, in a way it tells me what it means to be a Green Scaled Dragon." Rim said.

"I wish there was some book that could tell me all that," Leonie said.

"I am still trying to absorb all the knowledge that I was bestowed with by my ancestors, but I can tell you one thing, without a shadow of a doubt, you are meant for great things, Leonie." He said.

"You sound so human." Leonie suddenly said.

"Perhaps it's all the knowledge swirling through my head, it takes some time to settle.

Would you mind if I went off to the forest for a while until I have a better control of this?" He asked.

"Of course, not, if that's what you need. But will you be okay?" She asked.

"I'll be fine. You always worry too much." Rim said.

He gave her his best dragon grin as he nudged her playfully.

No matter what he said or how he sounded, he was still her friend, so she smiled broadly and patted his head before he left.

Only then did she turn around and realize her family could not understand what transpired, not having heard one word of what Rim said.

Their mouths were wide open, reminding Leonie of a fish out of water, gasping for air.

They looked so funny that she giggled quietly.

It felt odd to do so, but it also gave her some relief.

Most of the time, it felt like there was pressure building up in her soul and the opportunities to release it were rare, but even more precious because of it.

"It's okay, don't worry about him, it's all part of raising a dragon," Leonie assured them.

"The fire didn't hurt him, did it?" Nald asked.

"Of course not. He is a dragon. Fire is a part of him, it would never hurt him. Would your nose ever hurt your face?" Leonie asked.

As she said that, she gently pinched his nose.

"No," Nald said, giggling.

Amitola let out a breath of relief. With all the bad things that were happening to them, Leonie felt good telling them at least some good news, easing at least some of their worries.

"We'll be fine." She said, trying to convince herself more than anyone else.

"Of course we will. I have two amazing children and a dragon guardian. We will be more than fine." Amitola said.

"Will you sleep in the house tonight?" She added, looking at Leonie.

"Yes, I think Rim needs some time to himself. Usually, the dragons don't ascent and get to reconnect with their fire at the same time." Leonie said.

Having said that, she had to explain to Nald what it all meant, or at least as much as she knew.

That, in turn, led to them staying up late, but they didn't mind it, it was nice to just spend time together telling stories, it felt comfortable. It was family.