Chapter 1 #2
Nightfall finally arrived, and under cover of it, Father and I moved the trunks outside and to the clearing that we had taken to using as a place to shift.
Da followed behind, the large satchel in his arms, and I realized he had a wad of what looked like rope in his hands.
He passed them to Father, who quickly held out one to me.
I took it, wondering what I was supposed to do with it.
“It is a net to go around your trunk and has a reinforced loop so the trunk can go around your neck. It will make it easier for you to carry the trunk rather than having to try to carry it by the handles in your talons.”
That was so much better. I was relieved they had thought this through.
I quickly arranged the bundle around my trunk as Father had.
By the time I finished, Father was removing his clothing and handing it to Da, who was already naked.
Da placed the bundle in the satchel, and I did the same, handing each article of clothing to my da.
Father and Da embraced briefly before Father stepped away.
I looked to Da, who nodded and shooed me away.
Father was changing into his scales as I walked over to do the same.
I called for my dragon; he was only too happy to come forth, and after shaking out the kinks in my body and wings after the transformation, I carefully moved over to where Da was helping Father with the large loop to carry the trunk.
Once Father was wearing his trunk, Da did the same for me before calling for his own dragon.
He was much smaller than Father and me, but he was still powerful in his own right.
It was interesting to watch Da root on the ground to try to get the strap on the satchel around his neck.
I carefully walked over, and with the talons on one foot, I pulled one side of the loop up.
I ended up having to flap my wings twice to get a little height, but the satchel slid over Da’s large head and down his neck to where it rested there against his chest.
Father’s and Da’s dragons touched snouts before Father jumped and took to the sky. I nodded at Da, and after he followed Father, I took one last look around the area we’d called home for the last little while before I jumped and took to the sky to follow them.
Seeing in the night sky wasn’t an issue for any of us as we had the eyesight of our dragons, and I could make out my fathers’ forms ahead of me.
I caught up, the sounds of their wings flapping as we continued to climb to the height that Father wished for us to fly.
I felt it at the same time they seemed to, and when the wind caught us, we leveled out and let the wind help carry us in the direction the sun had set.
I knew that it wouldn’t be long before the winds would start fighting us, and we would use more energy to fly against it, but for now, I would allow my dragon the freedom to glide through the air with it.
We flew for not nearly long enough before we started fighting the wind. After that, we continued on for hours—until the sky started to lighten.
I followed my father downward, as did Da.
On the way down, the sky had lightened more, giving us a clear view of what was ahead of us: the sea.
When he landed, I noticed there was a cave not far to our right.
Father quickly went to check it out while I stayed with Da.
Father disappeared inside, seemingly deeming it safe because he looked back toward us.
I followed Da to the cave, and by the time we arrived, Father had shifted and was moving the trunk inside. Now that we were no longer in the air, I felt not only tired but hungry as well. Da shifted, me following, and as we pulled our packages into the cave, I saw Father opening his.
“We’ll stay here for two days to rest. We have no way of knowing how or where there is land once we cross the sea. We will need to rest and gather our strength.”
I had to agree. Luckily for us, we could fly for days if needed, but that burned a great deal of energy, and we’d not consumed nearly enough to be able to do so as of yet.
“Did you wish for me to go hunting?” I asked.
“Later, we will. For now, we can eat the bread and berries that your Da packed in his satchel. If we cannot find anything, we will open the other trunk and pull out some of the dried meats you got at the market.” Father pulled out a second blanket and handed it to me, then laid his on the floor of the cave, and although I knew the hard ground was going to be uncomfortable, the blanket would help make it less so.
I moved to the other side of the cave, spreading my blanket out closer to the opening.
“Here, Aleric,” Da said, holding out a bundle.
It was my clothing. I smiled and pulled the trousers on and then the top.
I didn’t need them, I was perfectly comfortable in my own skin, and my dragon kept me more than warm enough.
But if there happened to be others that wandered by, I did not wish to be caught without clothing.
My parents had both once been completely human, and they’d raised me as if I was one as well.
Granted, I spent most of my time in my human form, but I loved time in my scales and flew as my dragon as often as the situation would allow.
My fathers had both been warned to not show our dragon forms to those who could not change into animals, and it wasn’t difficult to tell those who could; their scents were different.
Da handed me a loaf of bread, pulling me from my thoughts. “Thank you,” I told him.
“Come have some berries as well. I know it’s not much, but this will do and allow us to rest for a bit.”