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Oake moved through Santora carefully, though he knew he was eye catching, he didn't want to disturb the crowd that was making its way back and forth along the main road. He found it a little easier to move around with the crowd seeing as he had been given a heavy coat by Balios, one that covered a good part of his chest and sides, though his caprine head was still exposed. No one paid much attention anyway, they were too busy hauling in the days catch from the pier and working on bringing down the raw metals from the mines. He had never been in a place where work was such a part of their lives that they couldn't even look around at those that walked beside them, but the dwarves seemed to be focused on their task at hand which left him trailing behind one larger form with his ears pricked up high on his head.

The ice drake stood out by sheer size and the way that his elongated body was arched up into a hump as he walked along. Their talons were so large that their gait was rather odd, almost a glide as the scraped the edges of the claws with each step forward. He wondered if it was to help them get through the snow or if it were simply to sharpen them, but it was strangely funny to watch when comparing them to Alaine and Amber, even the fledglings walked better. The ice-drake was very much like a dragon, save for two key points that made them wildly different. This one lacked wings entirely, just third pair of legs that were tucked up against the middle part of the body and it also boasted a thick mane of silver-white fur wrapped around his throat and all the way up to the two horns that curled back from his head. At the moment, the creature was engaged in helping two dwarves push a sled down the hill, his long strides and body helping to keep it aligned and kept it from tipping.

_ I wish Alaine had sent Ruoro.._ He thought as he kept back in the crowd and tried to keep his focus on the drake he was supposed to be watching. He talks better than I do. Most everyone does.

They had been in town for nearly a week, and though most everyone else was having a lively time with trade talk and promises exchanged to one another, Alaine had had no luck in getting so much as a whisper about where the dragons had settled. The ice drakes had been no hope, each and every one had seemed aloof and easily avoided being pinned down for questioning, any attempt at force was met with contempt and threats. His friend had grown angry and frustrated, even attempting to corner one to use his bulk in an attempt to frighten some information from the youngster. It was fruitless. One of the dwarves had pulled Alaine aside on the second day with the warning that the drakes that worked in the city would not tolerate being bullied or threatened. They were younger, but protected through a series of treaties that were maintained through the city as well as the country

The buck made his way down to the harbor and looked out at their ships that were set at anchor out of the way. The otterkin were still maintaining them, a ghost crew on each ship to be interchanged at intervals, as well as a house that was rented out along the pier to make sure nothing happened to them. Any day now, dragons would arrive from their home, a contingent of three that would hopefully be able to overfly the countryside. When Alaine had picked them out, it had been because he had wanted to have plans in place, he hadn't dreamed that it would be so difficult to extract where his own kind would be lurking. No one said it, certainly Alaine hadn't mentioned it, but whenever the dragon was especially frustrated his eyes slid towards Yisa accusingly. Sometimes he would stop himself, other times he would simply leave and retreat to the stable that was currently housing him.

As Oake reached the pier, he fell just behind the drake that was nudging and pushing at the sled, the dwarves using large ropes to drag it up against the side of one of the ramps that would lead to a ship. The creature was large, but not so tall as the dragons he was used too, the long body was strange and longer, but it was also thinner. The thick mane of white fur along the throat and jaws gave the beast a fearsome appearance as he worked, the strange third pair of legs right along the midsection extended to help balance him. Alien. That's what the ice drake was, alien, but nothing terrifying. Oake had been sent here because he had grown up in the jaws and claws of dragons, he had spent every day in their company, known them in their ferocity and their tenderness. He could no more be intimidated by this scaled creature than he could back down from an adult buck brandishing his horns. Less so, another satyr would have the need to drive him away, there was no reason for the ice drake to do so.

_I still wish it was someone else. _ He thought as the drake stepped away and shrugged gracefully out of the leather straps that had kept him bound to the sled.

_ _

"Do you always work with sleds, here?" He spoke up before losing his nerve, carefully picking out words that wouldn't make his accented speech show too plainly.

"Tari?" The drake swung his head, answering in his own language, the black on black eyes focusing on him a moment.

"H'I do not speak your language." Oake offered, trying his best to pronounce the I without the breath that normally came with the vowel.

"Foreigner." It answered him and chuffed before stepping away, Oake followed with a clatter of his hooves, there was little place to run here.

"H'It h'is good manners to h'answer someone." He called out, flicking his ears upwards. "H'I've never seen a sled like that being manned by h'only three."

The drake paused and gave him a look, not one of anger, but of confusion as it picked out his speech impediment. He had been told all his life it wasn't his fault, it was simply the split of his lip, his muzzle that made certain words difficult, but it was worse when he was trying to speak fastly.

This is what Yisa means, I need to stop

"It is designed to be maneuvered easily." The drake responded, not pausing in his strange walk, not looking back.

"Did one h'of you design it?" Oake asked promptly, trying to keep up with the long bodied creature. He struggled to shape his words carefully, but it was something that would never come easily. "H'I wouldn't think that any h'of you would work with wood h'and design."

"We don't, the dwarves make it and the humans, we only gave our input on how to improve it." The drake gave his head a negligent toss. "Go back to your quarters, there is no place here for those that do not work."

"Why? H'I came to see new things and you are h'interesting." Oake struggled, he wasn't going to ask questions, he had no intention of asking them. Asking go them nowhere. "Why do you have a mane? H'Is it made of fur h'or something else? Scaled beings don't normally have fur."

"It is not fur." The drake relented a little, tilting his head downwards so that Oake got a close up look of the thick rough. "They are spines, very fine spines. Quills, I think that is the word you use. It helps to lock in heat when it is cold."

Alaine's frustrations had finally come to a head. The drakes refused to speak with him about more than a nod, and even then there was something strange about how they looked at him, wary. It had been the human, Balios', suggestion that Oake try to talk without pressure or attempts to gain information about the dragons. He had spent his life asking questions and in the midst of everything, and while he had lost the charm of being a young fawn, he had certainly learned how to engage others in conversation. He was strange as well, his kind seemed mostly unknown here and he had been watched through most of his time in the city as something of a curiosity. Why shouldn't he use that curiosity to try and find out something about the creatures. The ice drake seemed to relent slightly, some wariness relaxing as he continued up the road with his odd gait, but no longer trying to speed away from the satyr.

"I've not seen your kind here, I thought satyrs stuck to Canth where the forests are?" The drake invited with a slight head tilt. "You are... more like the otterkin then I had been told."

"You might be thinking h'of the does." Oake answered and gave a small smile. "They h'are humanish here." He tugged his barely growing beard a little bit. "But h'I was only born on Canth, not raised there. H'I am Oake."

"Ah, perhaps it was the females, I find it strange to tell many of your species' apart in gender." The drake gave a shake, the thick mane rattling faintly. "I am Vanet."

"Pleasure." Oake didn't let the silence lapse, he pushed onwards. "Do you work here h'in town?"

"In the warmer months, it helps get the metals out of the mountain before winter closes in." Vanet gave a jab of his nose towards the mountain. "In winter the city closes down tight."

"H'It's not winter now?" Oake blinked a little bit, slanting a look towards the sides of the road and mounds of snow heaped high enough that he could have jumped into them and likely buried himself up to the chest.

"No, it's spring here. See, it is melting." Vanet gave his long tail a thud against a tree and sent a wet slosh of snow falling down. "In another few weeks there will be grass again, and other vegetation, and then two months of warm and wet before the snows close down again."

"Only two months?" Oake twitched his tail. "H'I can't imagine such cold. Where H'I live, it is mostly warm all year 'round except for the turning of the year. H'And even then there h'isn't really h'any snow to speak h'of."

Vanet let out something resembling amusement, though his expression showed he was trying to sort out what the satyr was saying. He needed to practice speaking more often, if Alaine was to be believed, eventually he would be setting off further afield than he had already gone and there was little doubt in his mind that his accent would set him back. The otters spoke clearly enough with their muzzles, how much harder must it be for him to learn how to control it?

"Sounds awful, the winter months are the hardest for us here, especially when we're still maned and can't fly to the higher peaks." Vanet roused himself. "I shed quite a lot when it gets warmer, and it itches, but I suppose that is the way of the world."

"You can fly?" Oake asked, almost leaping on the fact as something of real import. If the ice drakes could fly, that meant that there was more to consider about where the dragons could have found their safe haven.

"Of course not." He got a look from the strange beast and the middle appendages shifted from where they were tucked against the elongated chest. "My wings have not come in yet, it will be many years before I am able to fly."

"Mmm.." Oake looked at the limbs, he had thought they were only strange legs meant to balance the overly large body, but they seemed to mean more to the ice drake than simply limbs. "H'I thought you were born with wings h'or not."

"I am born with them." Vanet snapped, sounding almost annoyed and stretched the limb out. "They haven't grown in yet. No ice drake is wingless!"

Oake got a good look at the limb that was offered out towards him, the stretching of the toes revealed the limbs to be stranger than they had first appeared. There was a webbing between them, not like an otter's paw where the webbing went all the way to the edge, but a fine silvery web that connected one another. Another bit of webbing ran from the exterior of the elbow, almost like a dragon wing, but it was almost revoltingly unfinished as the entire limb was no longer than the legs that were jutting out from front of him.

"H'I guess not." He answered, biting his tongue to ask any more questions as he kept along beside the drake. He wanted to say so much more, but he had something for Alaine, not much, but more information than they had gotten previously.

~ ~ * ~ ~

The heralding of the guards trumpeted from the edges of the valley as Xaal flew over the crest of the mountains, her wings sweeping low as she dove immediately along the thick evergreens that threatened to ensnare her. The moment she passed beneath the heavy boughs, she was able to swing her wings forward and her forelegs swept up to catch the thick heavy woven rope strung across the trees, exactly as if she were coming down on a bit of prey. Years of practice and maneuvering made the move graceful instead of clumsy, her wings pumping to keep her stopped as her hind claws dug into the thick soft loam that hid beneath the tree boughs. It would need to be touched up again soon, she could feel her claws scraping the hard ice and rock beneath as she gave herself a shake and folded her wings down along her sides and sang out her own greeting to the guards. She sang it in draconic tongue, rising up pure and sweet to be answered across the valley before the rope went slack to let her through.

The bronze dragoness curved her neck in pleasure at the swift answer, the care that was taken to hold at the ready until the call sign had been given. They had half a dozen calls they could give when they landed, one for all is fine, one for caution, one for watchers to go aloft, one for immediate aid, it had all been planned out, just like their home had been planned. Her eyes flicked up towards the boughs of the pines that barely let in the daylight, sometimes she wished they dared break through the forest to have their homes filtered with sunlight, but it was too costly. They had been idealists once, they had been complacent and thoughtful, enjoying the pleasures of life, and it had cost them so dearly. Many had changed that, were still changing that, they might have to adapt to the shade of the enormous pine forest, but they did so in safety.

"Word was sent ahead, a dragon has landed? An elf?" Lyseer, a young Captain of the Watch, came to her side before she had gone more than a few steps. The male's pupils dilated eagerly at the prospect of action.

He was a sharp youngster, old enough to have taken flight when the elves had come and he had been shaped through their flight. His orange on black scales gave him a fiery look, aided by a trick of wallowing in thick sap so that there was a fair amount of dappling and streaking over him so that he was easily hidden in the forest. The Guard had long since been maintained by the males, they were ideal for it and had adapted to keeping all comers away from the valley at any and all cost. She would be hard pressed to find a finer male than the one beside her, his easy stride and arched neck seemed to invite her appreciation as she slid into a trot. The Guard was their first line of defense, but the females were the heart, those who had eggs to protect, those that looked to the future and could be trusted to think with clear heads for the good of the many. Lyseer made a fine leader in his own right, but he would always be hampered by pride and fire.

Comparing the drake beside her to the one that had crawled onto the shores was almost mockable, and one that Lyseer would have been swift to brush aside as little more than an easily taken out enemy. The red had been so battered looking that Xaal was even tempted to feel sorry for it, obviously a young enough male, but pity was dangerous. They had pitied the elves once, she had been young, just mother to her first clutch when they had arrived. She remembered finding them strange and helpless looking, their begging and flattery for shelter had been easily allowed, after all, they often had the otter-kin, humans, dryads and dwarves visit their home. Her mind pushed away from the memories, not lingering as she gave her head a rough shake, hardening the brief moment of pity she had felt for the strange male.

"A dragon, yes, but flightless, I am more concerned at what he might be bringing with him." She answered and flattened her wings so as to not damage the trees that framed the path. "Did Misaro send one of his drakes?"

"No, well.. perhaps in a way." Lyseer hemmed slightly and gave his head a cant towards the tree line. "Alosha came in quite recently."

"Spying." Xaal gave her head a shake. "Then you know as much as I do, let us hope she is wise enough to keep the news to those who can be silent about it."

"I would never let it spread, Xaal." Lyseer looked hurt, his head jerking backwards. "I believe she is summoning a Gathering now at the Pineheart. I told her it would be best to allow you to give a report before she gives the facts in a twisted manner."

I should have known she'd be on my heels. Xaal felt a mixture of amusement and annoyance both as she took a sharp side path towards the heart of their home. At least there isn't a panic. Not yet. Hopefully there will be no need for one.

_ _

~ ~ * ~ ~

_ _

"Tighten it, please." Alaine rumbled, his body stretched out as far as it would go in the shelter, letting Oake climb on him freely. "I want it held as close as it can be without losing bloodflow."

"You'll be sore for days." Oake warned as he grabbed the thick leather strap and began to leap backwards over his guardian's back.

Alaine didn't answer except for a snort, relaxing as the leather bonds were tightened and forced his wings in tight against themselves. He knew the snow and ice was hurting the dragon, he could almost feel the ache resonating from him in the cold, but there was hope that he would revive himself when it became warner as the ice drake had indicated would happen. Sometimes it was hard to remember that Alaine wasn't ancient, the aches and pains, the scarring of his body and something in his eyes always made Oake revere him as something like an elder, a father. He had been raised on the dragon's stories and comforting rumbles, Amber had been as dear to him as Rowan was when he had been young. Even now, he felt as if he should tell the drake that he should remain ensconced in the stable with the large wood stove instead of going out into the dark winter. Not that the stable was that much of a comfort to his friend.

The stable wasn't anything like their home, Oake had grown up in a comfortable cave system that had been enlarged and carved out to make something of a series of rooms. They didn't keep horses or the strange elk the dwarves had, they had no need for a stable, the dragons had several islands they hunted on for their game or took to the oceans where massive fish were quite plentiful. The stable was emptied of animals and tossed down with a thick layer of old musky straw and hay, the drake had to squirm and stuff himself to fit properly, and even then his tail filled part of one stall and his paws were often tucked in other empty openings. He could stand, but it was a daring thing that Oake grimaced thinking about the logistics of extracting a full grown dragon out of a tumbled down building. The only thing that felt remotely like home was the scent and sounds and feel.

"Ahhh there, that's right, buckle it down." Alaine turned his large head around, resting his chin on the back of his shoulder as Oake fumbled for the buckle. "It is not so bad."

The stable smelled of dragon. It was a scent that Balios and Yisa had both said was a mixture of hot metal and reptile musk that made living in close proximity to a dragon unpleasant for some species'. Oake had never found it wrong, neither had many of the otterkin, or most other folks that lived on the home island. He loved the smell, it meant it was home and he was safe. The same with the rumbling that came from Alaine, a soft vibration just under the surface, always felt and rarely heard, just a part of what he was. No matter that it was a stable at the end of the world, it was somewhere that he was safe and sound, somewhere he could relax as he tended to the straps and got them locked down. He didn't like the rented building the rest stayed in, it was oddly made with turns and long tunnels and low rooms that he hit his horns on. This was much more the thing.

"They have wings." Oake commented as he slipped the tongue into the lock. "He said that they h'are h'all born with them h'and grow h'into them with time."

"But they are useless now, rrrm?" Alaine tested his bound wing slightly, shifting the long wing arm just a hair and then relaxing it. "That means they have to stay nearby, they aren't in town, that is one thing we are positive about."

"H'And they don't want you to visit them." Oake pointed out, going over the scaled back easily to drag out the second set of straps for the other wing. "They won't h'even look h'at you."

"I have no doubt they know where the dragons are, Oake, but even if we finally pinned one down to tell us they could simply lead us astray." The drake shifted, rolling so that the satyr had to fight to keep his balance. "But, if they are all youngsters, then there must be an adult to watch over them, the dwarves have all but said there are."

"H'And h'if you find the adults? They'd tell you?" He reached out with the strap to catch the other wing and Alaine rumbled, the grating sound of teeth on teeth could be heard. "You can't force them too."

"I do not know, but sending up three dragons to search is fruitless, this place is larger than you can imagine and the ice drakes could very well take it as an attack. Ideally, I need to speak with one personally and attempt to show them we are not aligned with any of the warring factions of elves." Alaine tucked his wing up as best he could, letting Oake drag it up the rest of the way with the strap. "Not that bringing the elf has helped on that particular mark, she's likely why they have all but ignored us."

"They deserve to be represented h'as well, they h'aren't with the rest h'either." Oake chided and frowned a little as he started pulling on the strap. "Why not have her talk to some h'of the drakes? She h'is more diplomatic than h'I am h'and can speak clearly."

"You speak just fine, little buck." Alaine's tone warmed, causing a flush to suffuse the satyr's cheek at the praise. "I want them to see us as a party of diplomats, but if she is seen leading the charge then they will question if we are spies or slaves or prisoners. And we are none of those things. It will be better for me to move among the town, to have them be able to see me without questions. I have no doubt they look at my retreat as some sort of sin or proof you're a slave."

"Why wouldn't they simply h'ask?" Oake questioned, his hooves sliding along the scales as he began to buckle in the second wing, struggling with the task. "You're not h'a slave at h'all. Dragons back home would have welcomed a new comer."

"They... are not dragons such as these." Alaine watched Oake, and the young buck flinched a little at the strange stirring of doubt in the golden eyes. "I am not one of them."

"You're h'a dragon." Oake blinked slowly and crinkled up his soft nose. "H'Unless you h'are a satyr h'in disguise h'or maybe h'an h'otter."

"Not in the way you're thinking." The drake snorted in amusement while Oake finished his chores, and started to slide along the smooth scaled shoulder.

There was a spot, just against the curved foreleg and pressed up along the shoulder where he fit perfectly, his haunches settled back at just the right angle for him to relax. When he was younger, he remembered thinking nearly falling against the chest, but as he had grown it had become an easy spot for him and his friend. The dragon's head turned naturally so that the muzzle just barely brushed his legs, bringing the broad brow in close enough for the buck to run his thick nailed fingers against the armored scaling. Normally, Alaine would close his eyes with a rumble of contentment, and settle in to wordless relaxation, but today his eyes were dark and troubled seeming. When had the great dragon become troubled? When had he seen doubt? It shook Oake's foundations as he leaned closer and rested his horned head against the side of the scarred neck.

"I wasn't raised with them, I was born among them and have more memories than most of the dragons you know, those hatched by elves and ridden by them." A hint of disdain still flavored his tone, but it didn't last. "But my knowledge is shortened by the death of my family and enslavement. I have no idea how they live here, what their customs are, I have the barest grasp of the language they once spoke. I grew up in chains, with no culture, your mother and Ruoro and Amber and many others gave me something base my foundation on, but I can no more say I am a true dragon than you could say you are a true satyr."

"H'I am!" Oake stiffened in affront, the phrase a barb that stung more than he had thought possible, but Alaine only continued over his protest.

"You were raised with dragons, my little buck, you were raised on our stories and in our nests. You had Rowan, but she let me teach you just as she did." Alaine grimaced slightly. "Perhaps I am not saying it right, but you are different from your sire. You may want territory of your own, but would you live there by yourself? Closed off from all but your circle of does and religiously defend it unless something happened to force you into proximity of others?"

"H'I... Yes! That h'is what h'I plan to do!" He responded immediately, a tinge of heat in his tone at the almost dismissive way Alaine painted the life of a male satyr.

It would be ridiculous for him to stay with his mother for all his grown life, already there were bucks that had moved on to their own territories. By rights, he should have one that didn't encompass his mother, the very idea was painted with a strangely incestual feel for those that were on the outside looking in. No buck inhabited a territory with their dam, or sisters or any close family. Any doe in a buck's territory was their right, of course he wanted to get away. He had been chafing to do just that for over a year now, with the dragon's loving grip on him keeping him nearly in a stranglehold that involved his mother. Even Amber had begun to chafe him.

"You would be content, without myself or Amber, without my younglings or Ruoro? You would live on another island where I only came once every few months and even then a brief exchange between us?" Alaine asked softly, his head tilted downwards. "Think before you answer, Oake, do not give me the answer that you feel is proper."

Oake started to respond with a resounding yes, it was on the tip of his tongue, but as he began to speak the words stilled and died. A life without them. It wasn't just Alaine he would give up. When he had begun to contemplate how he would leave, have his own territory, he had always imagined it as being without Rowan. The bonds and chain between them were so tight that they strangled, but somewhere in the back of his mind she had still been there. On the outskirts of his territory, perhaps, treasured by another buck, but still somewhere in his life. They had all still been there. Amber with her warm amused wit and stories as she treated him just as she treated her own youngsters. Ruoro and his ships, his stories of far off places and maps that he often spent time teaching Oake how to read, just like an otter. The young dragons and humans, the elves and dryads, the ones that he had grown up with together. And Alaine. The thought disturbed him, making his stomach churn strangely. He didn't answer, the dragon turned his head to one side, the deep golden eyes averted.

"You see? You are more than simply a species. Were you raised where you were born, in the little farm house with your mother and her herd, you would have left and been content." Alaine murmured softly, well, as softly as a dragon could. "We are born as we are, one species or another, but that does not mean that we carry with us all the understandings and keys to truly being one. I am no more simply a dragon, than you are simply a satyr. Were you to go to Canth and meet with your kin, you might find yourself at a loss for how they act, talk, or think. You would think as a dragon or an otter or even a human, just as often as you would think as a satyr."

"H'Alaine.." Oake started to speak and the dragon suddenly curled in the stable, the head turning so that the buck felt the warm familiar muzzle pressing against him, the blast of hot breath. He didn't finish his words, he simply leaned forward, his horned brow pressed against the dragons. In the quiet of the stable, surrounded by the familiar scent of dragon, he could almost pretend he didn't understand what Alaine had meant. Almost.

~ ~ * ~ ~

Xaal settled herself to the sound of wings fanning and fluttering, the dragonesses were grouped together around a great tree that was the heart of their forest. She settled her forelegs down on the rock in front of her as she watched her fellow females settle themselves. Most were nervously glancing at her, their whispered and hissing voices betraying that they understood the gravity of what was at hand. Others were simply content to coil themselves around the jutting rocks, the warmth of the hot springs below them creating a balmy temperature that allowed them to ignore the biting chill in the air. Alosha was already in her favored spot beside Xaal, keeping an eye on the bronze female that was turning her head this way and that. There was no doubt she knew what trouble she would be in after the meeting, but it was a trouble that was worthwhile given what she had seen. Two drakes were posted in the middle of the great area, both of them old enough that their scales had begun to silver and fray, their bodies so large that the young Captains that had taken aloft were mere fledglings to them. Not that the drakes had much to do with the running of their haven, but they still attended the meetings, still had some amount of wisdom to offer.

Alosha curled her tail around her forelegs, trying to look the part that was her role to play here, her head up and her wings back to frame Xaal. She and another young dragoness were heralds, a notion taken from the ice drakes and elves. They were both announcers and messengers, as well as spies and diplomats in training. It was her second year as a herald, and she had spent that time wisely learning from those leaders who would take the time to talk to her. Her predecessor had gone on to join the Covenant that stood at the Pineheart, others had joined the guard as light messengers and spies, but all had moved up from being simple females that lived within the heart of Dragon's Haven safely. It was her hope that she would one day be aloft with the guard, Lyseer had certainly encouraged her when she spent her time watching the young males practice.

"ORDER!" Xaal bugled out and extended her head as far as it would go. "SILENCE!"

"SILENCE!" Alosha bugled out behind her, another herald picking up the call from the other side as the gathering began to shift and their attention to the interim leader.

Xaal had only recently taken the rank of reigning female, and only then because Cerenia had laid a clutch of eggs and she had stepped aside to both hatch and raise them. She still had a voice, but it was muted to allow for her to care for her young, while others took their stances. Alosha had been quite happy as a herald beneath Cerenia, the female was as old as the drakes that attended their meetings and tended to be more tempered with her reasoning. Xaal had an edge to her. She wasn't cruel or angry, or even vengeful, but there was an edge that lurked under that anyone could sense. She was one of the few dragonesses that had never clutched after the taking of their home, nor even tried, with her mate dead she had revoked that status and preferred to spend her time keeping them safe. Her chance at leading the Covenant had been what she had been trying to obtain for well over a decade.

"A dragon has touched down in Santoran Harbor, a strange dragon." Xaal spoke up, turning to regard all eight voting females intently. "The ice drakes and General Misaro sent word to us and I personally traveled to the outer mountains to see them landing. Many may have heard the rumor, and it is true, an elf walks the lands of the dwarves."

_One elf. Barely big and old enough to hurt a fish. _ Alosha twitched her tail, trying to still it to keep from getting any attention drawn to her. The muttering and murmuring was immediate, a few panicked hisses breaking out from a dragoness barely older than she was.

"The dragon that landed is a male, he is flightless and hardly poses a threat flying over us or finding our valley. That is not to mean that there is no threat, the fact that a dragon has come here proves that we are not as safe as some might wish us to believe." Xaal's head turned, not looking at a single female in accusation, but more than a few shifted guiltily. "General Misaro is keeping the ice drakes silent, they understand our need for secrecy, I propose that we close the Guard, retreat all outlying pairs and territories and erase all trace ourselves from the mountain. The Haven must be kept under watch, Guards should be kept at no flying zones and perches, camo-"

"Errhem.." One of the older females cleared her throat delicately, interrupting Xaal's orders, even as Alosha bristled under the weight of the commands. "You cannot be sure that this is an invasion. A single flightless dragon and elf are hardly worthy of the word. Are there more elves? More dragons?"

"There are ships, how would I see what lay in the bellies of them?" Xaal answered, the effort to be calm showing on her demeanor.

"There could be others waiting. We have all heard of dragons being used as beasts of burden by the Elven Wars, would that it were a lie, but they exist." Another female spoke up slowly, a frown forming on her scarred features.

"There are also rumors from the otters of Honsen being freed of the wars." Someone else pointed out, the female rearing back slightly.

Alosha stifled the urge to sigh. Gatherings were supposed to be grand events of the leadership over all of the dragons that made up the Haven, but truly they were more bickering and bantering than she liked. Cerenia had once explained it was all a matter of age. More than half of those here were ones that had fought for their clutches and offspring, they bore scares on their soft hide that would never be erased. Xaal herself had a deep puckered scar that ran the length of her chest and towards her shoulder, another dragoness had an eye missing, supposedly from an arrow. They were cautious, they always wanted to close off the borders, to keep the younger dragons from venturing past the Haven's safety and to the mountains where they could have territories of their own. How could they be called free dragons if they couldn't even venture beyond the edges of the valley.

The pinewoods were a unique spot in the south, as were most of the low lying valleys that could be spotted over the landscape. The ice drakes disliked this territory for the very reasons that the dragons adored it; hot springs. There was an entire complex system of hot springs that ran beneath this mountain range, part of a dormant volcano that allowed patches of warmth to seep to the surface. Evergreens were the only things that would grow here, really, and it was fate that had led them to one massive forest that spanned three different mountains. The valley was protected, the trees so large that a dragon might beat her wings a dozen times before reaching the surface. They had all worked to secure it, tearing down trees and twining living boughs to make a secure haven for themselves, one not even visible from the skies, one no one would think of as a dragon's territory.

_What dragon would want to skulk about in dark forests? _She fought the urge to sigh and straightened herself up to pay more attention, as befitting a herald.

"A few are still on clutches, they will be hard to recall. But better they lose an egg to the cold than to the hands of the elves." One of the females was speaking slowly, a drake stirred and his head turned to the conversation.

"Then we are agreed, we close ourselves off, there will be no casual flying, no leaving or venturing out. We have herds enough in the lower pine forest to live well until the threat has past." Xaal seemed pleased with herself as she nodded her head. "It is better to think cautiously than to ignore the danger that might be waiting on our door. The General will keep his spies in place and relay what information we need."

"What of the dragon?" One of the elder drakes spoke up, his voice a dull rumbling of thunder as he turned his head towards Xaal. "Why is he flightless? Is he chained? Why would they bring a flightless dragon to our very doorstep when they cannot use him to find where we might be?"

"Do you think I stopped to ask?" Xaal gave her head a shake, though more than a few of the females seemed thoughtful. "His wings do not work, we are safe for now, that does not mean to say that other dragons aren't being ridden and brought here."

"Is he one of our younglings?" A dragoness spoke up, the one with one eye long since gone. "Many of us still have some hope..."

"It does not matter." Xaal folded her wings back, lifting her head up higher. "We are not here to speak of only one or two or even a dozen. We must speak for our people, our very species, we stand here as a Covenant to assure that we look to the good of all of us and never falter in that regard. Were it my own son or daughters come back to me, I could not endanger us all for the sake of that one."

_Have we become that cold? _ Alosha watched Xaal from the corner of her eyes as the Gathering nodded and acceded to the wisdom of the words.

Ever since she had been young, she had been told that they ruled because they alone could look to the future and see what needed to be done. The males would fight for glory or honor, they would fight for pride, the might refuse to surrender and flee for the sake of all those things, but a dragoness knew deep within her heart that she held the future and must keep it safe. When she had grown up, they had all seemed very fine beliefs, but now, it seemed cruel and cold. A dragon with no wings to lift him, and not one here among them would dare to bring him home where he belonged.