Dragonscales

Chapter 7|Dragons and Magic

Tourmaline and I stood in front of the Avengers and Loki. I'm a dragon rider, my words echoed in my head. It was the first time I had actually told people out loud. It was a truth I had accepted, but it still felt weird saying it aloud. "So if I'm going back to the tower, then Tourmaline is too." The Avengers and Loki formed a small circle to discuss my fate, unaware that I had enhanced hearing. 

"Look, Thistle isn't a threat to us unless we harm her or the dragon. We should just let them both live at the tower to avoid trouble." Clint reasoned.

"Dragons are dangerous. I've seen them lay waste to entire villages around Asgard." Thor warned. 

"I think this dragon is different. If it wanted to hurt us it would've, but it's only been trying to protect Thistle." Bruce speculated. 

"We'll vote. Who thinks Thistle and her dragon should live at the tower?" Steve said. Natasha, Clint, Steve, Tony, and Bruce raised their hands. "Sorry Point Break, you got outvoted," Tony smirked. They turned back to me. "We've decided. You and your dragon are coming back to the tower." Steve announced. 

"'The Dragon' has a name," I growled. "What is it?" Tony asked. "Tourmaline. I named her after a type of gem." I patted Tourmaline's head as I said this. "You and Tourmaline can fly back to the tower, while we take the quinjet," Clint said. "She can't fly right now." I hissed. "Why not? She has wings." Tony pointed to her wings that were folded against her back. "I don't know if you realize how much energy keeping an invisibility spell for days takes, but it's a miracle Tourmaline is still alive." I snapped.  I softened. "Can... can she fit on your uh... what is that?" I pointed to the contraption they had arrived on. "It's the quinjet. Why don't you pack up your stuff and we can go back to the tower?" Bruce asked kindly. I nodded and put out the campfire. I took down my tent and packed everything into my backpack. Tourmaline and I boarded the quinjet. 

We quickly got back to the tower. "I'm going to my room," I announced. Tourmaline followed me to the hallway where my room was. The tricky part was to get Tourmaline into my room. She was the size of a large horse. Small for a dragon, but she was young and still growing. "I think the doorway is wide enough." I supposed. Tourmaline squeezed through the doorway. It is, Tourmaline announced. She curled up on my bed and fell asleep. I sighed and leaned against my bed, soaking up Tourmaline's warmth. 

There was a knock on my door. I got up and opened it. Tony was holding an anklet. "Fury contacted us. He doesn't know you ran away but wants you to wear this anyway. It just lets us make sure you don't leave the tower." He explained. I begrudgingly took the anklet and snapped it onto my ankle. Steve ran towards us. "There's a group of enhanced robbing a bank. They have hostages." Tony nodded and sped off. "We have to go on a mission. Please don't blow anything up?" He said. I rolled my eyes and told him I wouldn't blow anything up. He sprinted down the hall. 

Tourmaline was fast asleep, so I went to the living room. Loki was sitting on a couch reading a book. "So they don't trust you either, huh?" I said, half-joking. "It seems they don't." He replied. "What are you reading?" I inquired while taking a seat on another couch. "A book Peter recommended to me. He is a friend of mine." Loki said. The word friend seemed unfamiliar to him. "What is it about?" I asked. "Why are you trying to talk to me?" He countered. "I'm bored." I shrugged. "The book is about a school that teaches children about magic," Loki said. "Is the magic school real?" I asked. "No, I don't think so." He answered. 

Loki looked up from his book. "Tell me about dragons." My eyes flicked to my left shoulder, where there was a dragon tattoo. "I don't know much about them except for maybe the basics," I stated. "You're a dragon rider, you must know something." He insisted. "I found Tourmaline's egg after I was banished from my village, so I never got any dragon rider training, therefore I only know what was taught in school as an elfling. Which was pretty basic stuff." I explained. "What is the basic stuff you learned?" "Well, all the dragons went extinct 500 years ago, only they're not completely extinct because Tourmaline is still alive, and she had to come from somewhere. The elves in my village don't know that, though." I said. "Where is Tourmaline?" He wondered. "In my room sleeping," I answered. 

There was an awkward pause. "So tell me about Asgard." I prompted. Loki started reading his book again. "It's only fair that you tell me a little about Asgard since I told you about dragons. At least tell me about your kind of magic." I argued. Loki raised an eyebrow. "My kind of magic?" "Elves' magic is divided into different magical elements, Sun, Moon, Stars, Water, Earth, Fire, and Wind. It's extremely rare for an elf to be a dual-elemental. Each magical element has different advantages and disadvantages. I didn't know if Asgardian magic follows the same rules." I explained. "How did you know I was from Asgard?" Loki asked. "Thor mentioned living on Asgard. I figured since he said you were brothers you were from the same place." I told him. Loki sighed. "Asgardian magic isn't like your elven magic, even the elves that live in Alfheim don't have magic like yours." I pulled my knees up to my chest. Even among another magic wielder, I was different. "My mother taught me magic. She is a healer but I never seemed good at it." Loki said. I looked at him. "My mother died when I was little," I said sadly. Loki frowned. "That's a lie." I glared at him. "She left when I was little, but she might as well be dead. At least to me." There was an unintended sharpness to my words. My glare softened. "I... I should probably go check on Tourmaline." I trotted back to my room. 

Tourmaline was still sleeping on my bed. I glanced at my backpack slumped in the corner. I put away my extra set of clothes in the walk-in closet. I searched in my backpack until I found it. The potted crescent lily my mom gave to me when she left. It was a small miracle that the pot hadn't spilled and left my backpack a dirty mess. I set the crescent lily on my desk and flopped onto the small space Tourmaline didn't take up on my bed and tried sleeping. It had been an exhausting day.