The Endless Forest

Felix chuckled, watching as most of the kids ran past and straight into the water. He wasn’t the only one, the sounds of others laughing filled the air. The bank of the pond was filled with people, and not just children and dragons. No, it seemed half the festival goers had decided to come join them.

It had started as they left Chief Yorlen’s home, the sight of two dragons being trailed by a large group of children was hard to hide. Many elves had called out, asking what was going on, to which the children would eagerly shout out a response.

The pond itself was located just within the tree line, with the sky trees along the side closest to the village cut down so as to allow easy access. Its water was cool and clean, making it perfect for bathing…

Turning around to face the crowd of elves, Felix was surprised to find that benches, tables, and two large tubs had already been dragged from the village. A few elves were building a fire pit and further out, at least two kegs were being rolled in.

“Look out!” A child shouted, causing him and others to whip around. He was instantly hit by a flood of water, as Kyrith had leaped into the pond.

“Kyrith! You have to be careful!” Eri shouted, a little further away. She too had been caught in his tidal wave, though luckily she was dressed appropriately for the occasion.

Felix, himself, didn’t mind too much. He knew this would probably happen and had already removed anything he didn’t want to get wet. Tossing off his shirt, he stripped down to only his trousers.

Finishing with that, he noticed that Zira hadn’t gotten in yet. Something wrong? He asked her.

I, uh, wasn’t expecting a crowd… She trailed off nervously.

Yeah, me neither. But is that a bad thing? I mean, you wanted people to flock to you like Kyrith. This is your chance, you just need to relax.

Right, just relax… Because it's that easy. She scoffed at him.

He shook his head at that and approached her. “Come on Zira, let’s hop in. Can’t let Kyrith have all the fun.” He patted her on the side and continued on towards the edge of the pond.

She let out a faint growl but followed him. As Felix stepped into the water, she put one of her taloned hands into it to test it.

It’s a little cool… She whined.

Oh please, he reached down and flicked some water at her. It barely did anything to her, but he could feel her agitation at that.

“What's wrong?!” He called out. “Is it too cold for a mighty dragon?!” He flicked some more water at her.

All eyes were on Felix, but he ignored them. His focus was the coming retaliation.

In one swift motion, Zira lifted her hand and swiped the water, sending it flying in his direction. He dove underwater, narrowly dodging her attack.

Popping back up, he laughed as he taunted her. “Oh, soo scary! I bet the kids–”

Multiple hands wrapped around him, pinning him in place. A quick glance told him five of the older kids had snuck up on him. “Bah! I’ve been betrayed!”

“Now!” One shouted.

“Get him!” Another one yelled, giggling.

A shadow suddenly loomed over him, causing him to slowly look up. It was Zira, and she had a devious smile.

Felix gulped. “Wait! Can’t we talk about–”

She splashed him, sending water straight into his opened mouth.

The kids broke away, squealing and laughing while he coughed and spat. But the amethyst-colored dragon was not done. Using her tail, she created a sizable wave that crashed into him.

Still reeling from the first assault, this second one sent him backwards and gulping down even more water. Disoriented, it took him a moment to come back up.

He heaved and hacked, coughing up as much of the water as he could. From the bank, he could hear laughter…

“Now that you know your place, peasant, why don’t you get started on cleaning me?” Zira said before turning around and making for the shoreline.

Regaining his senses, he bowed as best he could. “Of course, your royal–” Pain in the ass. “– highness”

Careful now… She said to him as she spoke aloud. “Good, get to work.” There was a mock haughtiness to her tone. She laid down near the edge of the pond and looked expectantly at him.

Felix smiled, he would have his payback.

“Alright everyone! Who wants a free dragon scale?!”

Zira could only give him a look of horror as he laughed maniacally…

Yedril tapped his foot in agitation. He could hear the sound of distant cheers and laughter all the way to their camp, he was missing out.

I’m dying over here… Literally. Can I not just have some fun? He thought darkly. “Are you almost done in there?” He asked, exasperated.

Their tent flap flew open, revealing his sister. “Y-yeah…” She stammered, clutching several items to her chest.

He gave her a curious look, Solanna had been acting strange since they left the dragons. He had wanted to go with the group to the pond, but his sister had asked him for some help first.

Speaking of which… He shifted his attention to the items she was carrying. “Going hunting?” He asked sarcastically.

Solanna had two bows, the new one and her old one, plus she had her quiver which was full of arrows. Yedril couldn’t help but feel a little salty about her winning the new bow, he wanted one for himself.

“No,” she said, looking away. “I just thought we could, um…spend some time together?”

He had to keep from rolling his eyes. “Solanna, that’s all we’ve been doing. You’ve hardly let me do anything by myself.” He gestured to the bows. “And last time, you decided to intervene…”

Her face twisted into shock. “No! I only noticed that the arrows–”

“Were bent? Yeah… I may not have the same experience as you, but I’m not dumb. I wanted to try, Solanna. I knew I would most likely fail, but I still wanted to try. Is that wrong?”

She looked down dejectedly, “No… I just noticed that you wanted the bow! But with the arrows… You never had a chance. I wanted to win that bow...and give it to you as a gift.”

Tears started welling up in her eyes.

It pained him to see her like this, but it was an important lesson she needed to– Wait, what?

“A…gift?” He asked, confused.

Solanna nodded, trying to wipe her face while her hands were full. “I know that you’ve always watched me practice…and that mom and dad never let you learn. I just thought… I just thought with Felix helping you with your affliction, that I could start teaching you.”

“So… Is that why you are carrying all that?” He asked awkwardly, feeling like a complete asshole.

“Yeah… I thought you’d like to start learning…but if you want to go back to the others, I understand.” She started to turn around.

For a brief moment, the conversation he had with Felix played in his head. Is this what he meant about being alone? Pushing everyone and everything away until I have nothing? Will there be anyone who will bury me, in the end?

A shudder swept across him as he imagined dying alone, already forgotten about. His eyes flicked over to Solanna’s back, as she started to make her way back into the tent. He was about to lose the one person who did everything for him, no matter the cost, no matter the burden.

She cares about me… Sure, she’s overprotective, even overbearing…but! She’s sacrificed so much for me. Realization dawned for him. She’s even trying to change, just for my sake!

Acting on impulse, Yedril rushed up to his sister and quickly embraced her into a hug.

“Sis! I’m so sorry! I’m such an idiot!” He hugged her tighter, afraid to let go. He could feel his own tears forming. “Please! Let’s go. I want to learn… I want to learn from you!”

Noria slumped her shoulders in exhaustion. The meeting had gone on far longer than she had hoped, but now it was over. And not just the meeting… No, her role as the village mage had ended.

I’m free, she thought for the first time. I’m free to do what I want… It was both exhilarating and…frightening. As the Mage, she had a busy and demanding role but at least she knew what to expect.

But now? What will happen to me? Of course, she would be leaving with Lorem to go with Felix and the others. But what about after that? What about hatching and raising dragons? That was something she had spent very little time thinking on.

She quickly started feeling her confidence decline…

“Noria!” A familiar voice called out to her as she stepped outside.

“L-Lorem!” She fumbled his name as she greeted him. A memory from last night flashed through her mind, her cheeks flushed. Suddenly, what confidence was left, fled and skipped town.

The tall elf strode to her side, and hugged her tightly. “I’ve got a surprise for you,” he whispered excitedly to her.

Taken aback from his sudden embrace, it took her a moment to register what he said. “A surprise?” She managed to squeak out, still locked in place by Lorem’s massive arms.

“Actually,” he let her go, “there’s two parts of this surprise.” He practically glowed with delightment as he smiled.

Noria struggled for words as her heart raced. “Two parts?”

He nodded and quickly began fishing something out from a small purse at his side, something he didn’t have earlier that morning.

“Ah, here they are– Well, the first half of your surprise, really.” He lifted a hand to reveal four beautiful scales, half were purple and half were orange and red.

It took a moment for her mind to catch up. “Dragon scales?!” It shocked her more than it probably should have.

“Yep! I ran into Felix earlier and I showed him my wood carvings… One thing led to another and I ended up making two custom ones for him.” He held the scales out for her. “I, uh, know how valuable these are…especially for you.”

“Valuable?! With just one of these, I could do so much– But with four? I…” She trailed off as her thoughts turned to enchanting. Not only enchanting! I could finally work on some of my mother’s theories!

A hand waved in front of her face, causing her to blink. “Noria? Are you alright?”

“Huh?” She hadn’t realized her mouth was hanging open. “Oh… Sorry about that, I-I’m fine.”

Lorem didn’t look convinced, but he continued on. “Anyways, they’re yours.” He handed them out for her again.

This time, she gently took them and cupped them in her hands. Bringing them close, she carefully inspected them, looking for any potential flaws. Not seeing anything wrong with them, she placed them into one of her pouches. It wasn’t ideal, as far as she was concerned, but it would do.

The tall elf cleared his throat. “That was the first half of your surprise. Now for the second…” He dropped his pack, it was noticeably lighter than before, and dug into it.

She watched curiously as he found what he was looking for and lifted a small package out.

“Open it,” he said and offered it to her.

Noria nodded, slowly taking the package and began opening it up. A small, black painted box was revealed. It was hinged on one side, and she quickly found a clasp on the other. She lifted the lid and froze.

Inside was a silver colored necklace with a dragon shaped pendant holding a yellow gemstone. At first she thought the stone was amber, but it wasn’t any amber she’d seen before.

“Citrine.” Lorem said, answering her question before she could ask. “The guy I traded with said it was Citrine.”

“It’s...beautiful,” she muttered. Her hands were starting to tremble and she needed a moment to calm herself. Noria took a deep breath, trying to not be overwhelmed.

Ever so slowly, she lifted the necklace out to better inspect it. Much like the necklace itself, the dragon was silver but was intricately cut and shaped. It reminded her a lot of Lorem’s own wood carvings in how much detail they had…

The dragon was coiled around the citrine stone, as if it was protecting its egg. It held a certain ferocity in its looks, something that would have taken quite some time to get right. But that wasn’t all, she noticed.

The chain, it too was detailed. She felt it before she saw it, but each link was carved to look like scales.

“May I?” Lorem asked, gesturing to the necklace.

“Huh?!” Noria knew what he meant, but his question sparked a rush of nervousness through her.

“Will you let me help you?” He tried again.

She flung her hand out to him, holding the necklace tightly. “Sure…”

He smiled and grasped it. “Turn around.”

With a quick nod, she let it go and whipped around. Her heart raced even more as she felt his hand brush her hair away. A moment later, she felt the cool metal slip around her neck.

“There,” he let out a relaxed sigh. “Let’s see how it looks.”

Once again, she turned towards him and froze. Lorem's jaw dropped as he gazed down upon her. For just a single instance, the tall, strong elf looked completely seduced.

“Stunning…” He muttered.

Felix was carefully sitting on top of Zira, brush in hand. He was cleaning her thoroughly, making sure to get under her scales. While he worked on her upper half, and the more sensitive parts of her wings, the group of older kids worked diligently on her lower half.

Meanwhile, a little further away, Kyrith was being tended to by no less than twenty different people. Poor Eri was struggling to keep some of the younger children from climbing on top of him, and was forced to play nanny for the moment.

The problem wasn’t so much that Kyrith, or really Zira, minded being climbed on, but that their scales were slick and a single wrong step could end up with someone hurt. That’s why he was on Zira’s back, and why Eri was fighting a losing battle.

Still, it wasn’t all that bad. While the kids were the ones to help the most, plenty of adults had decided to join in. It wasn’t everyday someone got to touch a dragon, let alone clean one.

He did have a promise to keep, however. So as he went over every part of her, Felix removed any loose scales.

There, I think I’m done up here. Did I miss any spots? He asked sincerely. The only response he got back was a purr.

I’ll just take that as a no. He said more to himself, than to her.

Zira was in heaven at the moment, her initial fears of people rushing her had melted away as they started working. With Felix directing the cleaning effort and hot water, provided by Kyrith and the fire pit, there was nothing for her to complain about.

He slid down her side with practiced ease, landing softly on the ground. Everyone else was nearly done, and so he switched his attention over to Eri.

I better go help her– He felt something hit his legs. Looking down, he realized it was Zira’s tail.

Nope!

But–

She growled, notably to him it sounded more playful. You are going to be my pillow now.

Felix wanted to argue, but it would be a losing battle. First, he had promised to spend the rest of the day with her. Naturally, that included whatever she wanted him to do. Secondly, even if he managed to talk his way out of this, the retribution would only be much worse later on.

He stared longingly over to Eri, and whispered a silent prayer of forgiveness. Alright, lift your head up then.

Without even acknowledging him, she did exactly that. Felix sighed and crawled underneath, earning a few curious glances.

“What are you doing?” One of the kids asked, leaning down to look at him.

“A sleepy dragon wants her pillow.” He said rather annoyed. “Just…let me know if something happens.”

As he flipped onto his back, he noticed the odd look from the kid. “It’s a dragon thing, really.”

“Whatever you say…” The kid shook his head and left.

Before he could let Zira know, she brought her head down squarely on his stomach. Her head alone weighed quite a bit, but Felix had long since gotten used to being her ‘pillow.’ It honestly didn’t bother him that much.

He shifted slightly, doing his best to wiggle underneath her to adjust his position. Afterwards, he relaxed and reached a hand up to her snout. Gently stroking along the side of her face, he began to drift off himself…

***

Rain began to fall, pelting the leaves above and dripping onto him and his men. They were crouched and hiding, concealed within the dense brush of the forest.

Up ahead was a column of troops, making their way down a dirt path that was slowly turning into mud.

“I count forty,” a man to his left whispered.

Felix frowned, something was off. They had already avoided the scouts, and now they should be seeing the main enemy force.

Had they been spotted? Surely not, otherwise things wouldn’t have gone so smoothly. But forty soldiers, when there should be an army of hundreds, wasn’t right.

Maybe something happened? A delay, perhaps the weather had caused the main force to camp for the day? That was likely, no one liked marching in bad weather. Not to mention, as far as the enemy knew, there was no one here but them.

The column could be another advance unit, sent ahead to help garrison the nearby fort. It was also possible that they had gotten separated from the rest of their forces, and decided to press onwards.

Either way, a dilemma had formed. Should he attack and risk a counter-ambush, or should he let them pass in the hopes of still catching the main force by surprise?

His gut was telling him to let them go.

“Spread the word, stand down.” He whisper-shouted. “Let them–”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence as the forest around him exploded. He was flung from his spot, and sent tumbling through the brush.

A loud roar sounded out, as a great big, red dragon crashed through the remaining trees and landed next to him. Sitting on top of the dragon was a vaguely familiar face…

Aluin?