Through Smoke and Ashes

Seventeen||A Life Debt

When a foreign bee enters a hive that is not its own, several outcomes may occur. There is a small chance the bee survives and remains in the hive, but often, the bee is either killed or expelled. In my home, Acrine, the forest boasted an abundance of beehives. We collected some of the honey for our purposes. In my free time, I observed the bees' behaviors for fun.

At this moment, I felt much like a foreign bee who went into the wrong hive and was not welcome. But, in this case, I was in a dragon's nest that held the same behavior.

My vision was becoming accustomed to the darkness of the cave, but I could not make out the color of the scales attached to the dragons. I internally scoffed at myself, it would not matter what dragons were going to kill us, we would die no matter what.

"We are not dying. Not today, twoleg." Naxan growled through my mind. He had positioned his body so that a leg was between me and most of the dragons. His tail lashed viscously behind him, I heard the sound of barbs protruding from his body. He probably looked like a porcupine.

"Pork pine?" Naxan's confusion momentarily pierced the bond but was soon replaced with anger as one of the dragons swiped a heavy, clawed foot in his direction.

"If we make it out of this, Nax, I'll show you what a porcupine is." I moved closer to his body as the dragons tightened their circle around us.

Naxan's chest rumbled as he opened his mouth to reveal a gullet of flames. Lightning flashed before the cave's entrance, illuminating the inside for a few moments. I caught a glimpse of red and purple bodies around us. I'm going to use my deductive reasoning skills and assume that these dragons were birthed from fire. How lovely, I thought bitterly. We were going to be roasted alive.

"Maybe twoleg will. Not Naxan." He sassed.

What a comforting thought to know that my dragon cared about me so little.

"I care!" His voice vibrated within my skull, its assault tormented my brain and left a dull ache.

The flames in his throat intensified, casting a glow on the purple dragon before us. Its scales began with purple on the face, transitioning to a dark red wine shade. The yellow in its eyes shimmered, reflecting Naxan's flame directed straight before him. The dragon took a few steps back, sensing the imminent threat it faced.

I sensed another creeping closer than the others dared. It was on my right, I was between it and my dragon. I turned towards it even though I could barely see it, the outline of its head barely registered in my vision.

Lighting flashed again outside, illuminating the cave in a soft glow. Then, we were left in the dark once again.

The dragon spat out a heaping pile of red, liquid rock before my feet. I scampered back until Naxan's side was pushed against my back. It barely illuminated the features of the dragon, all she could see was red and sharp teeth. Violet eyes were glowing in front of the molten rock.

I recognized the dragon. Or so I hoped that this was the same dragon that Naxan and I had saved from the hunter's trap. I put my hands out in front of me and walked one step forward. The dragon snapped its jaws at me, I barely saved my fingers from being chewed off.

Naxan rounded on the dragon and was about to release the flames formed in his maw, but I stopped him. "Nax, wait!" I said out loud. I then turned to the dragon again that watched the obsidian dragon warily.

"Calm," I spoke quietly, hoping that this was the dragon I thought it to be. The dragon's baring mouth softened and he raised his head. His nostrils flared as he took in mine and Naxan's scent. His defensive stance relaxed and his eyes held a knowing recognition. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.