Strachana - Judy Colella (books for 20 year olds TXT) 📗

that was more rock and ice than softer snowfall, and stood facing each other. Neri was quite a bit taller, in fact, which hadn’t been as apparent when they were in the air. This didn’t seem to bother the other dragon very much, although the look he was giving Neri wasn’t as challenging now.

“Whyyy arrre yoouu heerrre? Whyyy havve yoouu rrretturrrnedd tooo Aussir-Gix Verthicha?”

This was the name of mountain adjacent to the one on which they sat. It meant White Claw Mountain, and had been Neri’s home for the first two hundred or so years of his life. “I ammm onn a quessstt,” said Neri, not sure how much to reveal. He remembered this dragon rather well. Isthasy Di-Wer Xarzith was only about fifty years older, but as a young dragon, had been adept at tormenting the wyrmlings when they would “play.” In dragon terms, that meant participation in some pretty rough sport and serious competition to prepare them for later rites of passage. The older dragons, like this one, would sometimes interfere with these activities, swooping down on better-developed wings and knocking their younger brothers and cousins about. If the result of such behavior was injury or even death, ah well.

But dragons, like people, grew up and matured. “A quessstt, yoouu sssay…I trrrussst itt issss a worrrthy onne.”

Neri told him he believed it was. He then told the other how it was he remembered him, and for the first time, the older dragon folded his wings the rest of the way, indicating trust.

“Ohh, yesssss.” He chuckled. “Whaattt fffooollssss wee werrre!” He cocked his head to one side. “Ifff I’mm nott missstakken, yoouuu grrreww ffassterr tthannn yoouurr nessstllinggs. Annd onne daayy, yoouu hadd ththe temerrrity to warrrn meee annd ththe otthherrrs offf. Weee werrre verrry impressssed.”

Neri laughed. Indeed he had done just that. While smaller than his tormentors, he was bigger than the others of his own age, and he recalled making the decision to try and defend them from the bullies, even if it cost him his life. He’d always had a strong sense of justice – like his father, in fact. “Annddd yoouu leffft usss allonne fforrr a whille.”

Isthasy Di-Wer Xarzith nodded, then repeated his first question.

Neri was about to respond, when something occurred that precluded his saying anything while at the same time solving his dilemma of whether or not to say anything at all.

A boy with white hair crested the side of the plateau. He appeared to be about J’nah’s age, but shiny, bluish-silver-scaled wings sprouted from his back and he was in fact using them to help him keep his footing on the slick surface, his eyes cast downward.

“Cayosin-Gul! Nnoo!”

The boy stopped, looking up and seeing the strange dragon for the first time. “Father! I – ”

Before Isthasy Di-Wer Xarzith could react further, Neri said, “Dooo nnott ffearrr. I, tooo, hhavvve chchillldrrren offf thisss sssorrrt.”

Seeming to recover, the older dragon’s eyes went to the contraption on Neri’s back. “Whattt ddoooo yoouu carrry ththerrre, Vilzriquathtor-Neri?”

“Thhe motthherrr offf my chchillldrrenn.”

From within the litter, Zela had heard everything, and now stepped out. “Greetings to you, Old One,” she said in their tongue and gave a deep bowed.

Cayosin-Gul, looking intrigued, stepped closer as he peered up at the human standing between the horns of the massive dragon. “Are you this dragon’s wife, then?”

She smiled down at him. “I am. And I have two at home who are very much like you.”

While still cautious, both dragon-fathers gave each other grins. Had they been human, they might have patted each other on the back amid exclamations of “congratulations, old man!”

“You must be cold,” said the boy. “I know, because my mother is always complaining about it. She says humans were never meant to live in places like this!” He laughed, but it was a pleasant sound, in no way derisive.

“Yes, I am, Cayosin-Gul. Are there many more like you here?”

“Not that we readily admit, but yes. Several families. As you must know, we have to be very careful.”

“Why? Are there human communities nearby?”

He looked surprised. “Human? Oh, no. Humans are no threat to us. Our danger comes from something much more powerful – other dragons.”

She nodded. “Ah, yes. My husband told me of this. What a terrifying thing…Well!” She shivered, hugging her cloak more closely about her shoulders. “My love, may we meet these others?”

“Yesss, ifff Isthasy Di-Wer Xarzith willl grrrannt usss passssagge.”

“I sshhalll. Ffolllloww.” He waited until Zela was back in her enclosure before taking off, Neri and Cayosin-Gul right behind him.

The boy’s ability to fly was quite impressive, Neri thought, giving him renewed hope for his own son. A few minutes later, however, they were spiraling down into a massive cave-opening, and what he saw dispelled all other thoughts.

For the first time in over a millennium, Vilzriquathtor-Neri was among dragonkind.

OCHFASHA

 

Vorel leaned against one of the limestone pillars near the pool, arms crossed, shaking her head. Several feet away, her brother was exhaling frosty air and looking like he was about to explode.

“Are you sure you’re doing that right?” she asked. “You’re turning purple.”

He shot her a glare and continued his long inhale, shoulders rising as his lungs reached full capacity.

“J’nah, if you hurt yourself I may not be able to help…oh, my.”

Where a moment ago her brother had stood, there now teetered a medium-sized silver dragon, his balance affected by the suddenness of the transformation. He blew out a slow breath that froze the surface of the pool, then closed his blue and yellow eyes as he took a step back. More solid in his stance, he gave his body a shake, his wings making a leathery rustling.

Vorel giggled. “You look like a strange silver dog when you do that.”

He snorted. “I sshhhalll taakke ththatt asss a commplimmennt.”

Now she laughed, delighted. “You did it, J’nah! Father will be ecstatic! Can you fly, do you think?”

His newly-crested brow furrowed some. “I’mm nnott sssurre.”

“Maybe you should wait until they get back to try it.”

He nodded, sitting back on his haunches while bending his head downward to try and see his reflection in the frozen water. This proved futile, the surface having become milky.

“You’re a very handsome dragon, J’nah.” Vorel straightened from the pillar and approached him, a smile lighting her features. When she was close enough, she put out a hand and stroked his muzzle. “I’m proud of you.”

“Thhannkk yoouu, Vorel.” He stood once more and walked around the pool, getting used to being on four legs. After a moment or two, he announced that he liked how it felt to move that way. But then he stopped walking and closed his eyes.

“What is it?” His sister could feel the onset of uncertainty washing through him, and hoped it wouldn’t turn into fear.

“Ssinnccee I haddnn’t sshhifffted yett, Ffaththerrr hadd nnoo nneed ttooo tteachch mmeee hooww ttooo sshhiffft bback.”

“Uh-oh.”

He nodded and thumped down on his haunches.

“Maybe if you do the same thing, only backwards?”

J’nah nodded and closed his eyes again, but more tightly as he muttered the steps he’d taken to transform. After a few minutes, during which his sister stood silent, watching and biting her lip, he arose and exhaled a long, icy breath. Eyes still shut, he began to inhale, folding his wings as tightly against his sides as he could. Little by little he grew smaller, his front legs growing more slender, his back legs straightening…

When he opened his eyes again, he was J’nah the human-form dragon-son once more.

“Oh, thank goodness!” Vorel ran to him and gave him a huge hug. “You scare the icicles out of me!”

“Me, too.” He sounded a bit frightened still, but relieved. “I did it, though.”

“Yes, J’nah, you did it. Please don’t do it again, at least not until they’re back. Please?”

He uttered a shaky laugh. “No need to worry, Vorel. It – it felt wonderful, but I don’t think I was ready. I’d much rather have father here the next time. In case…well, just in case.”

She smiled and released him. “Are you hungry?”

“No.” He frowned. “Maybe a little. I believe I felt hungrier when I was in dragon-form.”

“Well of course you did, silly! You were quite a bit larger!”

“Hmm. True. You know, it also felt very odd when I spoke. Now I understand Father’s speech when he’s himself.” By “himself,” he was referring, of course, to Neri’s true form.

“I suppose I should learn to do that some day.”

“Uh-huh.” J’nah had gone to the edge of the pool, his response faint. “There was another problem, Vorel, and I’m afraid I’ve caused it. Do you think the ice will thaw any time soon? I mean, this is our source of drinking water.”

“What I don’t understand,” she replied, coming to stand beside him, “is how males can be so decisive and strong, so focused and clear-minded in so many ways, yet can’t figure out the simplest things.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Fire, J’nah. Get some wood and build a small fire near the side of the pool to melt the ice.”

He turned, jaw out-thrust, and stared at her through narrowed eyes. He nodded. “Right.”

Vorel controlled an urge to laugh as she watched him head for the pile of wood they’d been collecting and stacking by the back wall. He was a good brother, even if he could be goofy beyond belief at times. She turned away, grinning, and went to gather food for their meal.

 

 

 

It didn’t take long for Zela to realize that she’d never remember all the names. Draconic names tended to be extremely long and complicated, even if the meaning in her human language was much simpler. To avoid embarrassment, she decided to say very little while she was there, and use pronouns whenever possible. Her hostess, having guessed Zela’s dilemma, said she understood. “I experienced the same thing when I first joined the dragon community as Isthasy Di-Wer Xarzith’s human wife twenty-five years ago.”

“Does he allow you to call him by a shorter name?” asked Zela, gratefully shedding two of her cloaks. The fire in the hearth was finally warming her nearly-frozen limbs.

“My husband? Of course not!” She looked surprised by the question. “Does yours?”

“I…yes.”

The woman, who had introduced herself as Chalamar, dragged a chair closer to the fire and gestured for Zela to sit. “That’s different,” she murmured.

“I don’t understand.”

“Only in human society is there a separation of names. Among dragons, the name is a single entity. My husband is Brother-of-the-Ice, which in our tongue is a name and an object connected by two qualifying words. In Draconic, it is a single name. You see?”

Zela nodded. “So if a human had the compound name of, say, Barleyfield, one would never think to call him merely ‘Barley’ or ‘Field’, yes?”

“Exactly. But what do you call your husband?”

“Neri. It does work by itself.” She shrugged.

“And he asked you to call him this?”

Zela smiled. “No, I asked him if I might call him by something shorter than his full name, and that was what he allowed.”

Chalamar looked impressed.

“Would you tell me more about life in this place?” Zela rubbed her hands together, holding them closer to the flames as she spoke.

“There isn’t that much to tell, to be honest. We stay in the cave – we humans and our offspring – while those dragons that have taken a human spouse