Within the thick darkness, in which the only thing Thornicus could see was the large eyes of the beast, what followed after His request was total silence, followed by the complete removal of light as both eyes of the dragon closed up.
Now it was total darkness, and Thornicus could not bear it anymore. He shut his eyes, abandoning any hope for final excitement before he gets eaten alive. But what followed next was her voice coming to his mind. Still stern, but this time softer and gentler. “It starts from the circle of life, a law created by the fates, the ones who determine how things should go and how they should be. All coincidences are determined by them and then alone, and it is thanks to their choice that this world and everything within it came into existence by chance”, she said to Thornicus. “The fates determined that men were to be the dominant beings of this world, but the problem was that dragons were almost as wise“Beautiful”, Thornicus said once he saw her face. And from his reaction, she quickly hid her head back into the frankness at the far end of the cave where the light could not reach. The size of her head, compared to what he had witnessed before, seemed a lot smaller than before. She as a whole seemed to be a lot smaller than what he saw the previous day, but from the way they had just communicated, Thornicus was sure it was the same dragon he had encountered yesterday. “Please, come closer”, Thornicus said, to her bewilderment. “I want to see your face again.” “What is wrong with you?”, she asked. “You think something is wrong with me for wanting to look at something beautiful?”, Thornicus asked. “Doesn't the point of being beautiful mean that you are pleasant to look at?” “You have no fear?”, she asked. Thornicus arched a brow. She was right. Where was his fear? “Not sure how to put it”,
Thornicus and Kelvin stood at the upper platform, facing one another. Thornicus knew this wasn't going to be a pleasant talk, as Kelvin didn't sit or gesture for him to do so as well. So he prepared his mind for the worst, as it seemed so. Kelvin had a very serious look on his face, though it always liked serious thanks to the scar that ran from the top of his brow to his jaw, taking out one of his eyes with it. Then he went on to ask his first question. “I asked earlier if you had experienced or seen anything unusual that night, and you said no”, Kelvin said. Thornicus gave no response, still finding it hard to lie about the situation. “But I will still ask you again”, Kelvin said, wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt. “Did you see anything unusual that night?” Thornicus took a deep breath, gently turning off the idealism in his brain before answering, “No, I didn't.” Kelvin smiled. “I'm sorry”, he said. “I seemed to have asked the wrong q
Thornicus widened his eyes as he heard this, and with great excitement and anticipation, he waited outside, almost unable to wait for what he was about to see. That was why she came to the cave. Like the smaller dragons that were there, she was looking for a warm, dry place where she could lay and hatch her eggs. And since the cave was now vacant, it served as the best spot for her to do so. Thornicus feared she still thought of him as a Dragon Slayer, wanting to kill her little whelps to boost his power, but from the way she spoke to him, it implied she wanted him to see them, just not now. Her personality seemed to have changed in the short while since they spoke. It was as if this moment of reproducing had delighted out a soft spot on her, one he wished was permanent. As he stared into the distant horizon, looking in the direction where his home, he knew his people would soon be on their way, and he would somehow have to defend Nala and whelps from them, his
Thornicus spent the night with Nala and her whelps. Though they were of a different kind, it felt more like home being with them than ever before. Apart from that, compared to how it was at the cave back home, here it was very warm. He found it convenient that dragons were reptiles, needing a constant source of heat during the winter. Although he found it strange that adult dragons didn't seem to need it, as they winged and thrived almost as well as they would during the hour seasons, the little whelps did. It was early the next morning, just before dawn when Nala noticed his thoughts and answered him. “We are just as cold-blooded as our little whelps”, she said to him. “It's just that we adult dragons have a mechanism for keeping ourselves warm without making a fire.” “How did you know what I was thinking?”, asked Thornicus. “You are asking that after the multiple conversations we've had telepathically?”, she asked. “No, I mean... You can also hear my thoughts
“Because I love you”, she replied to him. Thornicus stood still, puzzled. That was not the type of answer he was expecting. “What?”, he asked. Faora's face reddened all of a sudden, instantly trying to hide her embarrassment with false composure. “There you go, now that I've told you, what are you going to do about it?”, she asked. “Will you kick me out or what?” Thornicus sighed as he looked back at the dragon behind him, no longer glaring at Faora. “Are you hearing this, Nala?”, he asked her. “You seem perplexed by whatever she just told you”, Nala replied to him. “Yet you also seem happy. Should I take that as a good indication that she bears no threat to either you or my offspring?” “Well, you could say that”, Thornicus said to her while combing his fingers through his hair. “What did I do to get myself into such a weird situation?”, he asked himself while letting out a long sigh. “Yo
Later that morning, the dragon was lying dead low outside the cave, Thornicus and Faora were seated at the base of her neck, and the little whelps were loosely tied together in Jason's open backpack. “Are you ready, Thornicus?”, asked Nala. “Born ready”, Thornicus said. “This will be your first time flying, so hold on tight”, she said. “I'll try to be as gentle as possible. But you are on your own if you fall.” “No I'm not”, Thornicus said. “I'm carrying your little whelps. There is no way you would leave me to die like that. Besides, I'm also your rider.” “I was talking about your wife”, Nala said to him. “Oh, I don't notice”, Thornicus said. “Didn't notice what?”, asked Faora. “That we are married already”, Thornicus said. “What?”, she asked, reddening immediately. “Is that the kind of stuff you both talk about just because I can't tell?” “More
“I was a dragon slayer”, Thornicus said. “But not anymore. I have discovered my true purpose. Nala can testify to that.” “Is that so?”, asked the man. “Forgive my manners. My name is Perseus.” “Forget manners”, the last man said, walking forward to face Thornicus. “How do we know he's truly one of us? He can say Nala testifies on his behalf, but that could only be because she is instinctively bonded with him until the day he dies. So of course, she would want to defend him by all means necessary. She can't help it. We, however, can at least try to be sure about it. This young man still has the powers and abilities of a dragon slayer. With the amount of energy I'm sensing from him now, I'm sure he could take all five dragons and last for a while against them. I don't think he can be trusted.” Jenna rolled her eyes. “Come on, you three”, she said to them. “Especially you, Cassius. I could tell that right from when you saw him
“Jason Thornicus”, he said to them. “Former dragon slayer, now dragon rider. I'm pleased to be a dragon slayer, and I hope to get along with you all.” “Sorry to ask, but how old are you?”, asked Jenna. “Nineteen”, replied Thornicus. “Hmm... Not as young as I expected”, Jenna said. “But still handsome, nonetheless.” “I thought he made it clear that he's married”, James said. “Are you trying to seduce him too?” “Did I say anything seductive?”, asked Jenna. Then Cassius took a step closer to Thornicus. “Although I naturally have my concerns about you, it doesn't change the fact that you are a dragon slayer, and therefore worthy of mutual respect”, he said to Jason. He brought forth his hand, offering a handshake to Thornicus, and without hesitation, he took it. “Thank you”, Thornicus said. “Hey, Handsome”, Jenna called Thornicus. “Where do you live?” Thornicus looke