A Dragon's Tale #Watty's2015

The Past

The tags were old and rusted out, steel tags unlike the traditional aluminum ones. The rubber silencers weren't present and the chains were nothing but stiff rust. Though they were badly damaged and rusted out, I could still plainly see the names on them.

“Jack Allen Price. B Positive. Male. 15. 20346245.”

“Hannah Silverton. B Negative. Female. 14. 33420189.”

“John Eric Andrews. O Negative. Male. 17. 20937199.”

Something didn't add up. These were military tags, I could tell from the way the information was typed on them. The ages didn't match though. Only one of these people was really old enough to join. It also didn't fit that Faline had these, what would she be doing with the tags of three random people? Then an idea hit me. Maybe these tags weren't so random, maybe they were people she knew, potential allies even.

“Hey driver”, I said tapping on the glass.

“Yeah?”, he said sliding back the little window to hear me better.

“Do you have a phone on you?”, I asked.

The man pulled his cellphone out from underneath his seat and handed it back to me. I flipped it up and dialed out Nolan's number. 345-209-0984. The phone rang for a few seconds before Nolan picked up.

“Whoever you are I'm driving.”

“Nolan”, I said, “it's Tyro.”

“Tyro?”, Nolan asked, I could hear him pull off the road, “what's up?”

“I have some names I want to run”, I said, “Faline gave me a few dogtags, I'd like to know exactly who they used to belong to.”

“Why?”, Nolan asked.

“Not sure”, I answered, “I'm wondering if their people she used to know, people she might think can help us, but may not be on speaking terms with.”

“What are the names?”, Nolan asked, “gimme the numbers too for good measure.”

Jack Allen Price 20346245, Hannah Silverton 33420189 and John Eric Andrews, 20937199”, I said.

“Got it”, Nolan said, “I'll give them to Tech Sargent Santos when I get back to the base. I'll call you when we find out who they are.”

Nolan hung up and I handed the phone back to the driver. After about ten more minutes of driving the MYT pulled to a stop in front Fort Talon and Helix and I stepped out. The rain was still coming down hard so Helix and I ran back up to the barracks, shaking ourselves off as we entered. The building was mostly dark and there were snores echoing down the hallway. Helix and I walked down the hall and entered our room. Adelind was laying on her side watching TV.

“I'm back Adelind”, I said closing the door behind me.

“What did Faline want?”, she asked stretching as she stood.

“Nothing in particular”, I answered.

We both looked down at Helix, who was now yawning and leaning on my leg just fighting to stand up.

“You need to go to bed”, Adelind said picking her up by the scruff of her neck. She walked her into her room while I went back to take a shower. I tossed off my soaked uniform, turned on the hot water and stepped inside. I soaped all the dirt and sweat out of my crests as well as removing the tight, hot feeling I had since the carrier and the long ride back home. I turned off the water and stepped out, meeting only a wall of steam. I grabbed the towel from the rack and dried myself off before walking into my bedroom. I grabbed a white shirt and a pair of stripped boxers out of my dresser and slipped them on. I dumped the towel back in the bathroom and then went to go see what was keeping Adelind.

I found her at the foot of Helix's bed singing softly to her. Helix had troubles sleeping sometimes and whenever she did Adelind would always sing to her, which worked as well on me and the other kids as it did on her. I walked over and kissed Helix goodnight as she finally fell off, Adelind did the same.

“You need to go to sleep too”, she said turning to me.

I yawned, “not denying that.”

“Let's go my boy”, Adelind said as we left the kids room. We left the door open and turned on the window unit as we slipped into bed ourselves.

“So what did Faline want?”, Adelind asked.

“To tell me that she thinks that SHE got Taro killed”, I answered.

Adelind seemed taken by complete surprise, “why? I don't understand...”

“Remember when she stopped coming to the preserve around the time we left?”, I asked, “and Taro wouldn't tell us why?”

“How could I forget it?”, Adelind asked, “I felt like someone pulled a piece of my heart out.”

“Turns out it was because she got captured”, I said, “Taro wouldn't tell us because...I guess because he thought we might not be able to take it?”

Adelind just sighed.

“She gave me a set of three tags as well”, I said, “I'm having Nolan run the names on them. I'm thinking that they might be former team members of Talon Squad. Chances are that there dead, but if there not, then maybe we can convince them to join us.”

Adelind sighed and snuggled up to me. I put my arm around her and pulled her close to me, just feeling her body pressed against mine. A feeling that I loved. I feeling I wondered if Faline would ever know again.

“Do you think Faline will ever find someone else?”, I asked.

Adelind looked at me like she couldn't believe her ears. If there was one thing I hated doing, it was making her angry.

“Someone else?”, Adelind asked.

“Someone else”, I said, “I know she'll never get over Taro, you and I both do, but sometimes I just wonder what dragons who lose their mates do. Do they just sit there and take the pain and the loss for the rest of their lives? I know Hudson lost his wife to Cancer shortly before the whole mess with Africa and HDR happened and sometimes I wonder if my friend has ever thought about finding a new mate to ease the pain.”

“I....I sometimes wonder what would happen to me if I lost you”, Adelind said.

I pulled her close to me. I could feel our hearts beating against each other, in perfect sync. Their rhythmic melodies seemed to relax my entire body and the warmth coming from the fire that burned within her reminded me so much of the day we first met in the cave. It was the same feeling I'd had so, so many years ago. Even on that night I knew that I loved her and there was no way I'd be able to go on without her.

“I know what I would do”, I answered, “I'd kiss the kids goodbye and follow you.”

“Don't say that”, Adelind said.

“That's the truth”, I answered, “if I lost you my life would shatter like a pane of glass and there's no way I could ever pick up the pieces. I can never let you go, I am not strong enough, mentally or physically. For me, there is NO one else, it's just you. I need you. I love you, with every fiber of my being and I will always love you no matter what fate decides to throw our way.”

Adelind purred and twined her tail in mine, “I feel the same way about you.”

I wrapped my other arm around her and nuzzled her head. I couldn't even begin to dream of any female better than she was.

“Do you think Faline will be okay?”, I asked.

“She will”, Adelind said, “and it's like Taro always told us.”

“Something good always comes out of bad”, I said, “I bet Faline is beginning to question that.”

“If she is than she's blind”, Adelind said, “not only is she out of prison, but she has her son back.”

“Plus she's a grandmother and doesn't even know it yet”, I said laughing lightly.

“Yeah there's that”, Adelind said laughing, “goodnight my boy.”

“Good night my love”, I said closing my eyes.