FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Due to my responses on the first chapter, you guessed it! I am going to continue this storyline! And to those of you who love dragons as much as I do... Kudos! There are dragons all around us... all you need to do is believe!

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Chapter 2: Spirits

James slowly awoke to the cold floor of the cave that he had been brought to the night before, his hands slowly brushing against the cold, smooth stone floor, his mind in a haze. He tried to open his eyes but he still couldnt see much, except for the magnificent glowing crystals, which almost blinded him in his current state. As he stood, he looked around to find Alex but did not find her. He already missed her warmth already, it was chilly in the cave and he felt alone.

When he looked at himself he noticed that he was fully clothed by some sort of woven material made of leaves and tiny patches of moss. He smiled, it was a while since he had felt like he was at home... ever since Talon destroyed it... He still felt a deep hatred for him deep within his heart...

As he stumbled around he looked at the lake once more, its surface unnaturally calm and looked as though it was glass. He was tempted to place a finger in the pool, but chose not to and instead chose to explore the cave that he probably would be calling his new home.

As he passed through a doorway-like hole in the cave, he came into a much large room that was filled with even more crystals and what seemed to be a large tree with light blue leaves danging from its branches, tiny sparkles glistening in the sea of blue like dewdrops on grass in the morning.

"This is amazing!" James thought to himself, gazing upon the tree as if it were a treasure.

He was instantly mesmerized by its beauty, walking slowly towards it as his feet splashed silently in the thin layer of water that surrounded the tree's root, creating beautiful ripples that flowed throughout the room.

James looked upon its bark as he grew closer, looking at the elaborate crevasses in the bark that was covered with light green moss. As he placed his hand upon it, he felt suddenly invigorated and filled with energy. He closed his eyes as he felt the warmth and embrace of the communion flow between him, feeling as if he could feel thousands of souls in his own heart, mind, and palm. Images of places and people that he had never seen before flashed before him rapidly in his mind, amazing him with ancient knowledge that the tree seemed to possess.

Then, it came... images of a black dragon being born to a brood of black dragons... of Talon... Images quickly flooded his mind of many otrocious things that were committed by the murderous dragon. Villages being burnt down, until he noticed something strange. He saw images of many dragons of different colors and races fighting against him, against the black dragons. He began to wonder if there had been a previous alliance against these dragons, and if they had succeeded... but his answer was clear as he saw the black dragons being killed one by one, until only one remained... him. In a rage, he killed many of the dragons who attacked him, decreasing their numbers incredibly until the alliance of dragons fled in all directions... Talon had bested them all.

As the images kept coming, he began to feel a massive headache to the point where he felt that his head would explode and his hand felt as if it were aflame. He quickly sucked himself away from the tree's grasp and felt debilitated once again. If the tree had not given him that much energy before he would have probably passed out cold on the floor.

He breathed deeply and looked over his should for Alex once again, but instead found something in a small pocket in the shirt that Alex had made for him.

"James,

I hope you enjoy the clothes! I felt guilty about what... happened

last night so I decided to make you a new pair! I am out right now currently

looking for provisions and I will be back soon! Dont go anywhere! I will be back soon!!!

By the way, go ahead and make yourself at home sweety, I cant wait to get home again.

With Love

~Alex!

Her handwriting was incredibly awful, but he did not blame her, she was a dragon after all! She had managed to apparently use a sheet of flat rock and clawed the runes into its surface for her message, something that was a little bit different to James. His people had always used paper and quill, never stone. Either way, it impressed him. To everyone in his lands, dragons were illiterate as mere house pets, and that they did not know anything but how to kill and destroy buildings! As he had quickly discovered, none of that was true. He had discovered that dragons were more sophisticated than humans probably would ever fathom, and that they were not too far from being exactly like real people! Then that would also mean however... that Talon could outsmart him just as the Wind Clan had during their last confrontation...

"Sarah..." James sighed...

He managed to wander back into the room with the magnificent lake, his actions resonating in the cave loudly. If he was to be called a thief, he would have might as well been called a dead thief, he was no master at walking lightly and he managed to spot something in the corner of his eye that intrigued him greatly. As he walked towards it, he saw little firefly-looking lights slowly flying around in strange patterns over a small pool of water. The tiny bodies of these lights were unseen, only engulfed by the radiant auras they gave off. He settled to the conclusion that they were probably bugs, but as he tried to touch one, it faded into nothingness instead.

The entire cave was of wonderous beauty. And he found it hard to imagine if there was anything more beautiful in the world. The tastes of Alex were far more beautiful, delicate, and intricate than anything he had seen. As he looked down into the pool of water, he saw himself staring back, smiling back at himself.

"It is beautiful isnt it?" Alex said softly, startling him.

"Alex..." James said softly. "Any luck?"

"Well... I didnt exactly know what you liked, but I did manage to bring this back, she said, flopping down a dead animal that somewhat resembled a large mouse from her jaws, it was still red and raw...

James looked at it cautiously, wondering if he would shave off a few years of his life by eating raw meat, but when he looked into her excited eyes, his heart melted. She had tried hard to make him happy, and he would return it to her.

He closed his eyes and began to eat the animal's flesh, trying not to appear disgusted, but instead held his sanity back as he ate the meal in silence. It wasnt gourmet by far, but it was something, and he knew that he was hungry beyond belief.

The animal was of decent size, but he managed to eat it quickly, trying not to disgust his stomache too much. As he finished, he looked up at Alex once more and smiled.

"Thank you Alex, your kindness shames me," James said, rubbing his hand down her muzzle.

She sat down next to him and laid her paws across each other as she set her head down upon them, looking into the pool.

"Its beautiful isnt it?" Alex asked, smiling.

"This entire place is beautiful, it is a whole new world to me. I have never seen something so magnificent, well... besides you," James said, grinning.

Alex licked him affectionately and stared back into the pool. "They say that the spirits of the pure and true of heart manifest themselves as beauty in nature itself. Looking into the beauty of this cave just makes me wonder into the depths of the past, thinking about how beautiful these people truly were in heart. It makes me feel warm inside of my heart, as does it mesmerize me by its beauty."

James took a moment to think to himself... "What if Sarah is part of this beauty, what if I was looking at her right now and not noticing it?"

He traced his hand along a path of moss he saw next to him, analyzing what she had said deeply.

"You know... For my entire life I have hated dragons... killed them... hunted them... and even tortured them, just because of a crime committed to me many years ago... I will never be able to forgive myself now... not after what I have seen... and what I have experienced. You are no different than what we are... but we... we are evil... we let vengeance control ourselves... it isnt right..." James said, lowering his head.

"It is okay my love... I have already forgiven you. Do not let the past drive your actions. Rather, let it guide you to make better decisions. You have learned from your mistakes, now you must follow the path that you have set before you, holding onto those past memories not as a weapon, but as a shield," Alex said, staring into his emerald eyes.

"You sound so much like her Alex..." James said softly. "She was always on my case about me being controlled by my own hate... never stopping to have...fun..."

"Tell me more about Sarah... we had vaguely spoke of her before we got...crazy... yesterday," She said, giggling.

"She was my friend for as long as I could remember, starting from the first day I joined the Sky Shatterers... the name of the dragon slayer group for hire. She had just walked up to me and showered me with greetings and politeness, I had found a friend in my dark life. She had followed me into every battle I had been in, saving my life in several situations, and me saving hers in some circumstances. We were the greatest partners together, and we took down our opposition with no difficulty, but not only that, throughout the years I had become to develop an affection for her, and yesterday I was torn from her, permanently. I do not know where she is... and to my knowledge, she is dead..." James said softly.

"Ahh... my love was exactly like you," Alex said, pushing him slightly with her tail, "Always stubborn, but also soft. He warmed my heart, and made me happy, but before we could ever truly love each other, he was sent off... and never returned... He made my life worthwhile... and a happy experience..."

Alex's eyes began to glisten in the light emanating from the crystals and small lights around them, tears slowly forming in the corners of her eyes as she bowed her head, crying into the pool below them. Her tears creating ripples in its unnaturally smooth surface.

"He would have wanted you to be happy, not miserable," James said, putting a hand on the side of her cheek, stroking her scaly face softly.

"I am...happy now... but only because I have found someone to love... I was so lonely, James... I felt alone in the world. I do not know where my family is anymore... they left, saying they would come back when I was a little younger. I was left in the forest by myself, with nobody to help me but a couple of my family's trusted friends. I grew up, happy, until I was of age to leave and live on my own, but to my horror when I came back to say hello, they had been killed, defending themselves from men that wore shining black armor, dragon slayers...That is when I met him... he rushed me away from the scene and helped me live on my own for many years, until he left me alone... never to return..." Alex cried softly.

"It is ok... If you allow me to, I would spend the rest of my life with you to make up for what happened to you... But tell me again why you saved me that day..." James asked.

"I saw good in you. Your soul was clouded by hatred and malice... but your friend had managed to part away the thick clouds to show a small glimmer of good in you, which eventually turned out to be a shining star within you, as it shines now," Alex replied, nuzzling him. "And I would allow you to live with me, it would make me happier than ever before."

"Then consider me your...mate then...?" James said reluctantly grinning.

Alex smiled at let out a small dragon giggle, nodding. "You're so cute for a human."

"And as you are beautiful for a dragon," James replied, beaming.

Alex quickly brought her muzzle to his mouth and they exchanged another kiss, this time feeling more passion than the one before. They were now lovers, and even though James still felt attached to Sarah... he knew that she would have wanted him to be happy, and not filled with hatred.

Alex closed her eyes in bliss as they exchanged the seal of love, their minds swimming with affection. It was official, he would love this dragon, and protect her with his life. He would not let what he had done to many other dragons happen to this one... He loved her.

He broke the kiss softly and gazed into her eyes, seeing into their marvelous depths.

"This moment on... I am no longer a dragon slayer... but as a protector and guardian to them. I will help reunite these dragons to fight Talon and defeat him once and for all...but I have only one question for you," James said, looking into her eyes once again.

"What is that my love?" Alex said, smiling.

"Would you help me?" James asked, running his hand across her cheek affectionately.

"I would defend you to the end of my life, I never want to lose you," Alex said, nuzzling him.

"Then it is settled... we are not only sealed by partnership, but by love, a weapon strong enough to topple the greatest evils in the universe. I swear that we will defeat Talon, and bring an end to the dragon slayers!" James shouted.

Alex smiled and nuzzled him once more before falling into a deep sleep, she was exhausted from the hunt. James looked down at her and smiled, this time, he would do something in return.