FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 9

"So it was his fault," the Glaciaren king said, more a statement than a question.

"Yeah. He ignored us when we told him to leave through the sewer. I think he thought he was above running away at all, let alone escaping through a sewer. He ran out into the courtyard and got himself shot," Kaleramek said, trying his best not to sound nervous through his normal bravado.

He wasn't normally scared of his clients; after all, they were the ones paying him to do something they deemed too difficult or dangerous. He was the best at what he did, and what he did was fight. But the Glaciaren king was different. He'd been ruling for seven centuries, and not from lack of attempts on his life. However, the Glaciaren king didn't need brute strength to beat Kaleramek. Even if you were one of the oldest and strongest dragons alive, you never needed to get your claws dirty if you ruled an entire tribe.

The king, much to Kaleramek's surprise, hadn't seemed angry when he told him that his son had been shot while they were escaping. If anything, the king seemed glad. Kaleramek hoped it was because they had gotten his son out, albeit with minor injuries.

The king strode to a tree and pawed at the roots for a moment. Kaleramek heard the clinking of coins as the king turned around. He tossed Kaleramek a small pouch full of coins. Kaleramek weighed it in his paw. It seemed a little light, but he said nothing. After what happened with Thorolos, arguing over his pay seemed like pushing it.

"Bring me to him," the king commanded.

The Glaciaren king looked even larger in flight. His massive wings were even larger than Kaleramek's, and he wasn't even Coruscaren. His huge, dark blue body was marked by scars where those who had challenged his rule had gotten lucky over the years.

The forest flew by beneath them, and they landed by the stream in no time. Thorolos and Aravarys weren't there. But, after a quick glance around, Kaleramek spotted two very obvious pairs of dragon tracks leading away from the stream. At least they had the sense to get somewhere with more cover to hide. Not that anybody trying to find them would have any trouble following their tracks.

The cave the tracks led to was decently well hidden, but any cover it might have provided was marred by the dragon tracks leading straight to its mouth. Aravarys met him at the mouth of the cave. Thorolos laid behind him, deeper within.

"Is the king here?" Aravarys asked. Kaleramek nodded. Aravarys glanced back at Thorolos.

"How is Thorolos going to get back to the snowfields? I don't think he'll be able to fly for at least a few weeks. Maybe longer," Aravarys whispered. Thorolos' ears flicked towards them, and he cringed a bit.

"Ask the king," Kaleramek said.

When Aravarys peeked out of the cave looking for the king, Kaleramek smacked him with his wing. "Don't actually ask him, you idiot! I'm saying it's none of our business," Kaleramek said.

Aravarys rubbed his snout indignantly. "Geez, sorry! That really hurt."

"That's the point," Kaleramek said.

Aravarys glared at him. He turned back into the cave to get Thorolos. Kaleramek turned around to look for the king, but he wasn't behind him. Perplexed, he looked around. There were only three sets of tracks he could see.

"I thought you said the king was here," Aravarys said.

"He flew here with me. We landed at the stream," Kaleramek said. He led them through the forest. Sure enough, the king was standing on the banks of the river looking down at the sand. The king's ears flicked towards their footsteps, but he kept looking at the sand.

"This is Thorolos' blood?" the king asked.

"Yeah, I washed out his wound in the stream," Aravarys said. Kaleramek looked at him, surprised that he would answer the king so directly.

The king looked up when he heard Aravarys' voice. "You washed out his wound?" the king asked.

"... y-yeah?" Aravarys answered nervously.

"Hmph. I can assume you removed the bolt and cauterized the wound, too?"

"Yea- wait, how did you know it was cauterized?" Aravarys asked.

The king left the stream bed to examine Aravarys. The young Glaciaren tried his best to stand his ground, but anyone would wither under the eyes of the king. The king's eyes moved from Aravarys to Thorolos. He paced past Aravarys and towards Thorolos. Kaleramek could see equal measures of relief and terror on Thorolos' face. The king strode to Thorolos and struck him across the snout with the back of his foreleg. Thorolos yelped and hopped back. The king grabbed Thorolos' injured wing and wrenched it out. Thorolos cried out. The king looked back at Aravarys.

"Well done. His wound looks like it was taken care of properly," the king said. Aravarys looked shocked at the king's praise, but quickly fell into the strange heap of legs and wings that he had when he first met the king.

"Thank you," Aravarys said.

"As for you, I am disappointed." Thorolos seemed more hurt by his father's words than by his blow.

"I'm so-"

"Silence," the king commanded. Thorolos quickly swallowed his words. "We'll discuss this on the flight back," the king said. Thorolos' eyes widened and his eyes flicked to his wing joint. The king snorted.

"If you are going to act like an impetuous child, you will be treated like one. Get on my back. I'll fly you." Thorolos looked crushed. Without the obnoxious air of pride that he surrounded himself with, Kaleramek realized how young he really was.

The king strode over to Aravarys, who flinched back slightly. He whispered a few words in Aravarys' ear before taking off and winging his way back towards the Claws mountains. Aravarys watched them leave, a surprised expression frozen on his face.

Chapter 10

Aravarys and Kaleramek watched the Glaciaren king fly away into the mountains. Kaleramek looked down at Aravarys. It had been the first mistake of his career, and it hadn't gotten somebody killed who wasn't supposed to die. It hadn't ended his own life, as he had always expected a mistake to. It had saved another's life, and a Glaciaren's at that.

Who would've thought?

"Well, that job's finished," Kaleramek said. "Thanks for the help. You can fly off North now, see if you can't catch up to those two. They might know where your parents are." He knew Aravarys would have no chance of catching the Glaciaren king, but Kaleramek wanted to get away from the runt. A Glaciaren hatchling was the last thing he wanted in his life.

"What? There's no way I could catch them!" Aravarys said. He was smarter than he let on.

"Well, you could still fly North. I'm sure you would be better at surviving in the snowfields than down here. This is Coruscaren territory, anyway. If any other Coruscaren sees you wandering the forests, alone... well, let's just say they won't send you North. Whole, at least," Kaleramek said. He was exaggerating, of course. Aravarys was probably the only other dragon- free dragon, that is- within a few day's flight.

"Well, then, I better not 'wander the forests' alone then, right?" Aravarys said. He smiled up at Kaleramek expectantly.

"No."

"What? What do you mean, 'no'?" Aravarys said, surprised.

"I mean, I'm not looking for anybody to tag along with me. Now go," Kaleramek commanded.

"But... I can't even hunt in the snowfields! I wouldn't make it a day through the mountains without starving!"

The apparent ineptitude of Aravarys surprised Kaleramek. Aravarys was plenty old enough to have been hunting for himself for years, now.

"What? You can't hunt? Why should that encourage me to let you follow me?"

"Because you got me into this predicament! Are you really going to break me out of the city," he said, spitting the word as if it tasted foul, "and then leave me out here to starve?"

Kaleramek winced. Maybe his first mistake hadn't been so beneficial. But, who knew? Aravarys was turning out to be surprisingly capable in other areas. He could figure out how to survive on his own. Definitely. Kaleramek was sure of it.

"Looks like it. Good luck," Kaleramek said. He lept into the air before the runt could convince him otherwise. He started flying towards the mountains as fast as he could. Kaleramek looked back just in time to see a small, white shape emerge from the trees and began flying after him.

Kaleramek wasn't worried the runt could catch him. The poor thing had barely even flown before. There was no way he could catch a Coruscaren flying at full speed.

No. Kaleramek didn't feel bad for Aravarys. He had done him a favor by getting him out of slavery. He didn't owe him anything.

To get his mind off of the Glaciaren getting smaller and smaller behind him, Kaleramek gazed around him. Most other Coruscarens lived far south of the mountains that divided the snowfields and the great forests, and Glaciarens rarely flew this far south. However, Kaleramek could stand a bit of cold for uncounted miles of unclaimed territory, especially territory as beautiful as what he was flying over.

Massive evergreens covered everything south of the mountains. The majestic trees kept their needles through the seasons, so there was always a way to escape the brunt of the massive storms when they caught him unawares. That never happened anymore, now that Kaleramek had grown more accustomed to the borderlands' unpredictable weather, but he had fond memories of the trees from his earlier years.

South of the mountains, there weren't any other striking features breaking up the horizon. There were miles of gently rolling hills that got larger the closer they got to the mountains. The gentle hills gradually grew to towering, snow-capped peaks. The mountains were the largest things in the world. They had to be. Kaleramek had tried to fly above them, once, but when he started to feel his wings freeze, he gave it up. Even at that height, the mountains still went up farther. Kaleramek doubted even the Glaciarens, who were suited for such frigid temperatures, could reach the tops. The air grew so thin that it could no longer support a dragon's weight. Perhaps a Glaciaren with a Coruscaren's wings could summit one of the lower peaks, but the only thing to gain from such a life-threatening venture was a sense of achievement.

Since there was no way over them, Kaleramek flew to one of the few passes that led through the mountains. Looking back, Kaleramek thought he could see a tiny white speck in the distance.

"Fool, he's going to kill himself trying to catch me," Kaleramek muttered under his breath. Kaleramek shook his head. Why was Aravarys pushing himself so hard to catch him?

Kaleramek tried to turn his attention ahead of him again. There were still several long, hard hours of flight left. He couldn't waste energy worrying about Aravarys. If the runt was smart, he would give up the chase and figure out how to live on his own.

The pass Kaleramek flew through was a long valley, with a river flowing through it. The river froze over during the winter, but now, during the warmer months, it flowed from one of the mountains down through the pass and into the forests south of the mountains.

The pass was long, but it emerged into a beautiful, green valley. The valley was far enough south to support all kinds of plants and prey animals, and it was enormous. Two days of hard flight to reach the other side, where the mountains closed in again, and several weeks of flight from end to end. The pass opened near one end of the valley, and despite their enormity, Kaleramek couldn't see even the tips of the mountains on the far end. The sight still took Kaleramek's breath away, even after years of living up here.

He flew east, keeping the mountains on his right, until he reached the hot springs he called his home. Even if Kaleramek didn't mind the cold as much as other Coruscarens, he definitely preferred warmth. The hot springs consisted of thirteen pools of varying sizes and temperatures. The largest was barely lukewarm, while the smallest was too hot even for Kaleramek. There was a large cavern in the mountains above the hot springs where Kaleramek kept his hoard and occasionally slept. He flew up to the entrance and tossed in the small pouch of gold the Glaciaren king had given him before flying back down to the springs.

Kaleramek sighed. It had been many days since he had been home. He slid into one of the middle-sized springs, feeling the hot water relax his muscles, sore from hours of flight. This, he thought, was why he lived so far north. The Great Forests didn't have anything like the hot springs or the valley he lived in. They were beautiful in their own way, but Kaleramek far prefered his stunning valley.

The hot water worked its way between his scales, washing out the dust of travel. Kaleramek dunked his head under the water, savoring the warmth that surrounded him. After reemerging and checking to make sure that there weren't any storms coming- you could never be too careful this far north- Kaleramek waded over to a more shallow part of the pool. He laid on a stone ledge that was just high enough to keep his head out of the water. Whenever it got too cold, or there were storms coming, Kaleramek sheltered in his cavern. But whenever he could manage it, he slept in the springs.

He laid his head on stone warmed by the hot water and closed his eyes. He relaxed, and waited for sleep to come.

It did not.

Chapter 11

Kaleramek's thoughts kept turning to Aravarys. He was young, he was underfed, he didn't know how to hunt. Images flashed into his mind, unbidden. The young, white dragon crawling along the pass, no strength to find food, starving. Aravarys, even if he did somehow manage to teach himself to hunt, flying through the valley for weeks, looking for Kaleramek. No more, Kaleramek pleaded with his mind, but it did not relent. More images passed through his mind. A white dragon caught in a northern storm he wasn't used to. Being smashed upon mountains he couldn't see by winds he didn't know were there. A hundred more worst-case scenarios.

And a young Coruscaren, painfully familiar, hanging limply in Kaleramek's arms, his blood blending in with his deep, red scales, his head lolling lifelessly.

Kaleramek squeezed his eyes closed, cleared his head. He wasn't going to let Aravarys die.

With energy he didn't know he had, he launched himself from the pool, unfurling his wings. They complained against the abuse, but Kaleramek kept flying. He pounded his wings, speeding back towards the pass.

He forced himself to slow down before he exhausted himself. Even if he did find Aravarys faster, he wouldn't be any help to him if he couldn't move either. He flew lower, barely above the trees, scanning for any glimmer of white.

Kaleramek reached the pass in half the time it normally took him. He circled around the opening of the pass a few times, trying to see any sign of a dragon having passed through. He was relieved when he saw none. It would be much easier to track him down if he was still in the pass. If he had gotten out into the valley, it would have taken more energy than Kaleramek had to find him.

He flew down the pass, confident that Aravarys hadn't yet left it. If Aravarys had been flying, he wouldn't have left tracks. However, if he was still flying by the exit of the pass, he was strong enough to survive on his own.

Suddenly, far closer to the exit of the pass than he would have expected, Kaleramek saw several trees, a few with branches broken and one knocked down. As he passed over it, looking down, he could see a tangle of white scales, blue wings, and blood.

Kaleramek's mind went wild, replaying all of the worst case scenarios that had flown through his head before. He backwinged and landed. He sprinted over to the crumpled white form. One of Aravarys' wings was bent at an unnatural angle. Kaleramek winced. It looked broken. He ran to Aravarys' head and put one of his wings in front of his snout. Aravarys was still breathing, but unconscious. Blood ran from his shoulder, and from many parts of his wing membranes. Other than his wing, though, he didn't look too bad. He was lucky.

Even if Aravarys wasn't in danger of dying immediately, Kaleramek couldn't just leave him in the pass. But flying back to his home would be difficult. Aravarys wasn't as big as Thorolos, but Kaleramek wasn't as big - or as well rested - as the Glaciaren king. Also, Kaleramek couldn't have Aravarys climb on his back the way Thorolos had, since he was unconscious.

Kaleramek dragged Aravarys away from the tree that he had landed on. He straightened his legs and folded his intact wing against his body. He looked at Aravarys' broken wing, trying to think of what to do. He tried to fold it against Aravarys' body, but he stopped after he heard bones grate together. Kaleramek squirmed his way beneath Aravarys. He tried his best not to jostle him. After a bit of struggling, he got Aravarys on his back. He was heavier than Kaleramek had expected.

Kaleramek tried to take off slowly, but he couldn't pick both of them up off of the ground. Clenching his jaws, he started to jog forward slowly. Aravarys shifted on his back, and Kaleramek lept. His wings caught the air, but they could barely keep them both aloft. Kaleramek had to put all of his strength into every wingbeat to prevent them both from plummeting back to the ground. Aravarys shifted dangerously with every wingbeat.

By the time Kaleramek had reached the valley, he was starting to worry. Carrying another dragon, even one as small as Aravarys, was difficult for all but the strongest fliers. Kaleramek liked to consider himself among those who wouldn't have difficulty carrying a dragon Aravarys' size, but after several days without any real rest and many hours of hard flying, exhaustion was taking hold. His wings were on fire, and he couldn't glide with Aravarys on his back. There was still several hours of flight until he got to his home. He knew that he kept some healing supplies in his horde that he had stolen from a human caravan who knows how long ago. Kaleramek wanted to get Aravarys' wing set as soon as he could. If the bone healed badly... well, Kaleramek didn't want to take care of a cripple for the rest of his life.

Most of the flight passed by in a blur of pain. Kaleramek's wings burned, his back was scraped raw, and his mind was in turmoil. He knew it was his fault. If he hadn't tried to abandon Aravarys, then Aravarys wouldn't have gotten hurt.

Just when Kaleramek thought he was going to drop from the air, as Aravarys must have, he spotted his pools up ahead. He landed heavily, and Aravarys started slipping from his back. Kaleramek threw up his wings to catch him. They complained painfully and started to cramp. He winced. Kaleramek waded into the largest pool and let Aravarys off of his back gently. The small, white dragon floated off of Kaleramek's back and drifted in the pool. He looked almost peaceful, besides the twisted wing at his side. Kaleramek was glad that he hadn't yet woken up. He was less glad, however, that he hadn't gotten any rest before going back for Aravarys.

He was going to have a long night ahead of him.

Chapter 12

In the extensive snowfields to the north of the Claws mountains, a hatchling went to the city. The tiny white hatchling was ecstatic to meet more of his own kind. The only other dragons he had ever seen were Mother and Father. Today, they had agreed to let him come along with them to the City. His parents didn't like to go to the City, but Father said that they needed supplies.

The City was too far away for them to walk to, so Father carried the hatchling on his back. Mother flew behind them, so she could catch him if he fell. They flew even farther north. Farther north than the hatchling thought the world went. He marveled from Father's back at the striking landscape around them. The sheer vastness of it all overwhelmed him.

"How far is it?" the hatchling asked. The world around him seemed to go on forever.

"Not much farther, now," Father replied. They had been flying for several hours, but to the hatchling, those long hours seemed an eternity.

The hatchling had been trying to find some sort of landmark to anchor himself with. To gauge progress. Back at the mountains, there was no shortage of landmarks, and the hatchling had memorized all of them. He knew the snowfields around his cave better than the back of his paw, and he could explore deep into the mountains for hours and get back to the cave with his eyes closed. Out here, there was nothing. He could see for miles, but everywhere he looked was just flat, white snowfields. There was not any variation in the landscape, just enormous dunes of snow flattened by years of wind.

"Hey, Father, how do you know where you are going out here? It all looks the same," he asked. His father chuckled, shaking the hatchling on his back.

"It does, doesn't it? Well, I guess I know where I'm going because I've flown these parts for years. Since long before you were born."

The hatchling tried to imagine learning the lands out here like he had with the snowfields around his cave. He scanned the horizon, looking for anything that stood out. Faintly, in the distance, he spotted a grey dot rising from the white plains surrounding it.

"Father, is that the City?" he asked excitedly.

"Yes, little one," Father said with much less enthusiasm.

The small, grey dot grew in size as they approached it. The hatchling could see a few small, white specks flying to and from the city. He grew more and more excited. As they got closer, he formulated a plan. He had been practicing gliding with Father whenever he could for the better part of a year now. Right as Father started to descend, the hatchling leapt off of his back. He snapped out his wings, tucked back his legs, and used his tail to maneuver. Father yelped in surprise when he felt him leap off his back, and Mother darted forward to catch him. The hatchling knew, however, that his wings would carry him. Father, after seeing him gliding, laughed and flew up alongside him. Mother seemed relieved, and smiled at him. The hatchling soared above the City. He was astonished anything so large could have been built by dragons.

There were around a dozen and a half squat, long stone buildings, divided by streets made of packed snow. The hatchling spotted a few Glaciarens looking up at them as they descended. OTHER DRAGONS! he thought excitedly.

They touched down at one end of the town.

"Now, don't go running off by yourself," Father tried to tell him as he ran off by himself. His parents gave chase, but the hatchling ran like the wind. His parents were tired from a long flight, but the flight had only given him more energy.

The hatchling sprinted along the snow road and skidded to a stop in front of a large, old Glaciaren who had just stepped out of his squat stone building. They stared at each other, the younger one gauging the older's intentions with only a hint of fear.

The hatchling's parents ran up behind him.

"I'm so sorry if he bothered you," Father said to the old dragon, distractedly. He glared at the hatchling angrily.

Father was about to scold him when the old dragon said, "Don't worry about it. I've seen enough young ones in my time to..." The old dragon trailed off. He looked at Father with a puzzled expression.

"Aravaren?"