Wings and flames

Chapter 28

Sam gulped down his food and head straight to Viri's room. They'd told him she'd been given the best room they had. The doors were huge, Sam smiled a little in relief. He was about 30 steps away from the door and as soon as he took a step, he froze. His body wouldn't move and his heart beat was loud in his ears. He tried to hold still. He couldn't. After a few breathing exercises he decided to return with food.

Sam let his nose guide him to the kitchen. The place was incredibly homely. There was a small arc that led to the dining area. The kitchen was big, unnecessarily so. There were old ovens that worked on firewood but the stove was decent - old but taken care of. Sam checked the shelves - he got some basic ingredients. He was searching for some eggs on the shelf, he turned to a panther sprawled over the island, examining him.

"What...are you doing dragon?"

"Trying to cook. Why?"

"You're still hungry." The panther looked genuinely surprised. "Should we be giving you larger portions?"

"It's not for me. It's for Viri."

The panther quickly sat up at that.

"I'll go hunt some meat. What does she prefer? Deer? Lion? Oo lamb?"

Sam didn't know the shapeshifter was capable of any emotion other than spite.

"Um... I'm making pancakes. I need eggs. Can you...do you lay eggs?"

The panther narrowed his eyes at Sam. And then slowly changed into a crow. A strangely large one. A raven?

"That's just rude. I'll go get some eggs. Do not ruin Aeck's kitchen."

The shapeshifter was just strange. Sam didn't know why he seemed to so irritated by him all the time, he had been quite charming back at the academy. He decided to boil some water and was pleased to find some crushed herbs. Tea would always calm him down.

There was that unearthly silence again. Sam turned with his hot tea in his cup to find Aeck leaning on the counter. He almost dropped his tea.

"Did you meet your friend?" Aeck asked. That playful smile was back on his face.

"N...no. not yet."

"Are you two...close?"

"I'd like to think so, yes. Why?"

"No reason. I'm curious. I've never met a god before. Well another god, before."

The Aeck had the easy pride of someone who knew they could crush you. This man was different from the amber eyes dragon Sam saw bowing. But that was in front of Viri. To Sam, this was an old god who'd tried to kill him twice now. But something about those amber eyes told Sam that he wasn't here to attack, not yet anyway. He decided to ask a question.

"Why is the shapeshifter...angry at me? Do they not like water dragons?"

Aeck laughed at that. It made him seem much younger. The tea had calmed Sam enough for him to able to appreciate these slight details.

"No..no. Jade is just...adjusting to all of this. We've never had guests home."

"Oh. So I'm just not welcome. That's understandable. We're not here to stay, only seeking some answers."

Aeck's face hardened at that.

"You are welcome. I know that sounds odd coming from me. We didn't make the best impression, well I certainly haven't. But we've never had anyone come over. I have questions too. But I'd like for everybody to settle down a little. Before we go seeking for answers. Is that alright?"

Boy. This dude was seriously polite for a god. Sam was definitely not understanding the gods.

"I tried to visit her. I couldn't move. I don't know why. And now I think pancakes will solve it. I think I'm going crazy."

Aeck crossed his arms and appeared to be considering what Sam said.

"It's not crazy. Offering food works with every animal, even the most ancient dragon. You're not able to go near her because she's not changed back. I can feel it. The animals have been hiding for two days now. Everyone feel threatened, as much as you."

"So she's still....still in her....form. why?"

"Don't know if you missed it but she did attack me. Takes a while to recover from that. Besides, she's not letting anyone in so we couldn't ask. I'm definitely not going to try. But you...if you two are close, she wouldn't hurt you."

"So you two haven't visited her since the attack. She's left starving?"

"The gods don't starve."

Sam seemed pained by that information. The Aeck was studying him. Every move, every gesture, it was strange being looked at. But Sam was okay with it. The shapeshifter flew in a second later. In what looked like a tote, there were eggs, fruits and vegetables. All in perfect condition. The Aeck and shapeshifter (now a crow) moved to sit on the island while looking at Sam. Curiously.

Sam had to ask, "You don't know what pancakes are, do you?"

The two exchanged a glance and admitted in sync. "Not a clue."

Sam's face broke into a grin. He started making the batter with the smile plastered on his face. The last few days had been exhausting. He'd followed a panther, realised shapeshifters still exist in Athoms, met two gods and realised his friend was the last one. Shock had taken a while to drain off but pancakes would fix everything.