January 20, 2025
Well, that didn’t work out as planned…
I woke up and started gathering my things only to find the pup in my ruck. I coaxed her/him out and started packing. Every time I reached for something, the pup was lying on it or playing with it. It took my 20 minutes longer than it should have. I finished up, sat down to finish up the rest of the meat from the night before, loaded up and headed out.
Wouldn’t you know, the pup followed me. I can’t say that I tried to stop her/him. I figured s/he’s a wild animal who could completely fend for themselves and as such, would eventually wander off and not return. As you can probably guess, that’s not what happened. S/he’s only left me long enough to go hunting in the last 6 days. And I have to say, I’m not disappointed. A little confused, perhaps, but definitely not disappointed. Turns out dragons are super helpful, or at least this one is. S/he’s helped shelter me from the wind and snow, build and put out fires (seems s/he can breathe fire and ice – who knew?), and hunting. S/he’s even found caves and crags for me to seek shelter in. S/he doesn’t show any signs of being affected by the cold.
Two days ago, s/he started flying. I’d expected it, of course; it’s just about the only thing I can say I could expect from a dragon. S/he took to it so naturally and easily. I think there were only two stumbles before a successful liftoff, but still a bit quicker than I thought. I guess it makes sense, though; s/he’s growing incredibly fast and picks up new skills quickly too. If flying is to dragons as walking is to humans, the math checks out, proportionately. Lemme tell you though, I inexplicably felt so proud when s/he took off. I mean, I had nothing to do with it, but it was just such a proud moment. It felt like I was the one who accomplished it. I guess my loneliness and desire for connection are affecting me a wee bit more than I had imagined…
Right now, s/he’s out hunting. No, wait, scratch that. S/he just returned.
-3 Hours Later-
Sorry, had to stop. Pup was trying to get my attention- coming to me, snorting and then looking and taking a few steps toward the entrance to this cave. Turns out s/he led some company our way. Noting that whoever had followed her/him couldn’t know I was here too, I had pup put the fire out and then I scattered it all so it didn’t look human-made, gathered my stuff and hid. If they threatened the dragon, the assailants would die by her/his breath or the traps I set at the entrance. Either outcome was ok with me.
They weren’t assailants.
The dragon pup surprised me by approaching the entrance to the cave and the (people?) who were arriving with no animosity at all. In fact, s/he had a friendly demeanor about her/him. I stayed in the shadows and watched as 3 figures entered, slowly and unarmed. As one of them lit a torch, I noticed they were fae, but they looked different from the fae I’d seen before. These ones were pale and petite, but muscular. The ones I’ve been running from are sun-kissed and small all around, tiny really, and almost frail looking. Of course, they are sky fae and sky fae are like birds. Birds have very light bones for flying. I had no idea what kind of fae these were.
Anyway, one of them called out that they came in peace. I’m guessing they didn’t realize how ridiculously cliché that was. I almost burst out laughing but remembered that I was hiding. For all I knew, this was a trick. However, the dragon pup chirped and immediately proceeded to walk right over to my hiding spot and practically dragged me out into the open.
The fae introduced themselves as Polaris, Crystallin, and Névé and said they were from a nearby village who were human-friendly. They’d seen the dragon and felt it was trying to get them to follow it and it led them to our cave. At that point, I looked at my friend with disapproving eyes, but she snorted as if to say, “I did what I did.”
I explained to them my rule about staying as one for survival, but they (correctly) pointed out that I was no longer just one. I had to admit that this dragon wasn’t going to leave me. I’d had this “problem” as a kid, too. My mother would get so annoyed at the shear number of strays that I would attract- cats, dogs, bunnies, even squirrels sometimes.
After a while of talking and seeing how the fae regarded my dragon friend, I agreed to at least go visit the village with them. I could use a resupply anyway. So here I am, in this village which I never would have found without the fae’s help it’s hidden so well, getting a bit of rest in a warm cabin they apparently keep available for new arrivals before building them a custom cabin for their needs. This place is huge. The cabin and the village. It’s more of a small city, really. I’m told there are many magickal protections in place to keep the place not only hidden on the ground, but from the air as well.
I got here so late, I haven’t had much opportunity to see what the vibe of the people is, but the vibe I’ve felt so far is incredibly peaceful, more peace than I’ve felt since the day the world changed forever. But in the morning, I will check this place out. I’ll go to the different shops, resupply and gather information along the way. I need to know if we will need to leave this place in a hurry. One of the refugees in Christina’s camp told me about a rumor of places masquerading as safe havens, only to sell the humans off later. For now, my dragon friend and I are going to get some much-needed rest which should have begun hours ago.
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