The Dragon Prince: Rebuilding the Bridge

Voice

She glared at her tail as it flicked back and forth. "I am not nervous. Why is my tail flicking about? I am not nervous! Stop it!" she thought, turning away and looking back at the castle as she waited. It had been two years since peace came to the lands, and today was a special day.

Today, she turned 75.

She didn't look any different from her everyday appearance and she was still young, but as the sun had risen that morning, she'd felt the magic. She now had a voice, but she had yet to use it. She had no need to use it with the dragons around her. So instead, she came to the castle. Even after all this time, people were still cautious around an adult dragon. But that was more over the damage her size could cause rather than her risk of attacking. She'd tried to apologise for the cabbage cart her tail had knocked over, but she just couldn't speak then. Maybe that would be her second task today.

"Pyr! Hey!"

She looked in the direction of the voice and felt her heartbeat pick up. The dumb human. The only one that was never scared of her walked over with a big smile on his goofy face.

"So, are you ready for our walk?"

Standing up, she nodded, and they began to walk out of the village. She had no idea how this had come to be. One day when she'd visited, he'd been ready to leave on his patrol of the outer wall. She just so happened to join him. After that, almost every time she came to visit, it resulted in them walking around the city's wall. But she didn't object. He would talk all the way and she'd listen, chuckling once or twice at his jokes, but she always silently denied it. Today...their walk would be slightly different.

"So today, Cortnee was running through the guard tower screaming about some spider in the washroom! The idiot didn't even grab a towel, so all of us were just howling in laughter! And you know what this 'spider' was?" He chuckled as they walked, pausing as if expecting her to answer. But she kept silent. "It was just some of Sketla's hair!"

She smiled at him as they kept walking.

Soren chuckled as they continued on. "Anyway, he was so embarrassed that he locked himself in the store room for two hours. On the plus side...he did spend the whole time cleaning, so...there's advantages to everything."

Pyrrah smiled softly. She liked listening to him talk. He was silly...and sweet. She looked away, wondering if she should speak to him yet, but the doubts came back. How would he react? Would he like it? Would he be scared? Would he hate it? Would he stop speaking to her?

"Pyrrah? You okay?"

Snapped out of her thoughts, the dragon looked back down at the human beside her. His expression held concern, and he eventually slowed down to a stop. "If something is on your mind...you can try and tell me...if you want. I may not understand, but sometimes just letting it out is nice..."

She stared at him for a bit, then lowered her head away. Two years spent wishing she could speak to him, and now that she could, she was such a coward that she didn't dare make a sound.

"Pyrrah? Please, at least let me know that you're okay." He held out his hand as if to touch her, but he hesitated. Her eyes moved to his hand, and she leant over so it was on her muzzle. She took a deep breath and decided to take the risk.

"It's my birthday..." she mumbled.

Instantly, Soren blinked, and she could feel his pulse quicken on her face. It took him a while to comprehend what he'd heard. "B-Birthday?" he stammered, as if that was all he'd picked up on. "Oh. Well...happy birthday!"

Her voice was low, quiet, almost a whisper. "Th-thank you, but...is...is this okay?" She couldn't tell what he was thinking. His body language, expression, and words were all mixed into an unidentifiable mess.

He blinked for a moment, then smiled. "Why wouldn't it be? After two years, I can finally understand you! And your voice is...is really beautiful."

"It is?" The faintest smile crept onto her muzzle, and she closed her eyes when his hand stroked her scales.

"It's just like you. Strong and...firm. But it's beautiful."

Her eyes crept open, and with a soft purr, nuzzled into his chest. "That...that is the best reaction I could have hoped for from you...Thank you, Soren."

"You're welcome Pyrrah," he said, leaning into her face and rubbing his cheek against hers. "So...what do you want to talk about?"