Luna

Chapter Nine

As we arrived in my first Edafosi town I was shocked at the difference from Fotia. The houses were simple and where there weren’t various types of trees, there were sprawling fields and green grass. Goodbye desert! The towns were smaller and the buildings in much better shape. Every now and then you might see a small animal scurry across the ground. It was rare, but every now and then you would see a farmer with a dog. No animals besides dragons lived anywhere near Araki and apparently the border matched that of Edafosi lands. 
“What puts you in such a good mood?” Kip was staring at me and I realized that I had a grin from ear to ear. I guess seeing that not all of the tribes were as badly off as Fotia had me full of hope.
“Uh, I haven't seen any lands besides Fotia since I was very young.” A giggle escaped me. “It is beautiful here.” I shook it off and asked, “Where are we going first?”
“Well, my dear.” Kip smiled at me. “We are going to a place that I think you will like.” As we pulled up I could see that it was a garden shoppe. The entire front of the store had plants in front of all types, some sprouting tomatoes others simply had flowers, some were just bushes. I guess Kip was right, I did like this place. I was gorgeous. I grabbed the boxes that Kip had told me to and headed inside to deliver them. However, just as I walked closer to the door a dog blocked my path with all of it’s hair standing on end and it’s teeth bared at me, the deep growl it produced chilled me to my core. This dog must have been able to smell Fidi on me. I was about to back away when a kindly lady came rushing up to the dog and ushered it away. 
“I am so sorry darling, he has never acted like that before.” Her cheeks were flushed and she seemed genuinely apologetic.
“It is no worry. He is the first dog I have ever met and I guess he could tell that I was nervous.” I forced a laugh and followed the kind lady to the counter where I left the boxes and she handed me some coins. “Your place is beautiful.” I said as I turned to leave. Back at the cart Kip was just getting back from delivering across the street at what seemed to be a bar. 
“Is that the place where the rum was supposed to go?” I gestured to the building with a tilt of my head and Kip nodded. “Were they mad?”
“Don’t you worry, I have worked with them for years, and they understand that the Araki will do as they please. They wouldn’t even accept the deal that I attempted to give them on what was left.” He smiled at me gently. “Ready to finish up here?” 
“Yes, I just have one more question.” He cocked his head and gestured for me to continue. “The dogs around here don’t seem to like me at all, is there a way to change that in any way?” Kip was quiet and seemed thoughtful. 
“Well, the man in there had to put his dog up for me too, most likely because the dragon’s scent of those two soldiers was on me from when they attacked. The same is probably true for you.” I looked at my hands, this would be a problem. If I still got the same reaction from dogs long after Kip was back to normal then he might get suspicious.
“But dogs have always been this way towards me, even before I had met a single Araki.” Kip’s face twisted in confusion as he studied me. “I mean I barely remember it, but when my last master took me through here the dogs were growling at me even as I was still in the cart.”
“Well, then I have no clue.” He looked towards the Inn that I had just left and clicked his tongue to signal the horse to move forward. “I guess we could either try introducing you to many more dogs or just avoid them altogether, which will get increasingly difficult as we head further west.”
“I don’t believe that they will bite me as long as I wait for the owners to come and put them up.” I shrugged, “As long as you aren’t worried I just wanted to run it by you first.” He looked back at the road.
“Who knows, maybe it will get better.” Kip was very informative for the rest of the day. He explained why he charged what he did and which people liked which goods. It was all very interesting.
“Alright, that is it for the day, time to head towards the next town.” Kip smiled at me as we headed down a trail bordered on each side by rows and rows of crops. In fact the entire rest of the day was spent traveling next to various crops, as well as the day after that, and the day after that. It was finally on the fourth day that we finally stopped travelling to make one stop at a farmer’s house. After that it was another 5 days of travelling amid the crop fields before we came to a town. The last decent sized town before we came to Kyma. I couldn’t wait. 
The deliveries in this town were straightforward except for the fact that there were dogs everywhere. Every single shop owner had at least one if not two or three. Apparently this far away from Araki there were wolves and deer in the forest both of which posed a threat to the farmer’s livelihood. The deer would eat the crops and the wolves would chase the deer into the fields or prowl outside the houses and endanger the children or the rare flock of chickens. 
Each farmer had something to give us to pass onto a rancher in Kyma. The ranchers relied on the farmers for grains to feed their livestock. By the time that we left the cart was piled high with crops to bring. There was also another delivery for the Araki, apparently there was another tower along the border for deliveries. This tower was even taller, I assume because the dragons aren't supposed to bother the livestock unless completely necessary. 
Kip and I got to work, there would be three trips with each of us carrying as much as we could hold and who knows how long it would take to climb the tower. The first trip I kept pace with Kip the whole time, he walked slow, almost as slow as the horse did. I could barely stand it. I was born to run. Fast. I trusted Kip, because he had made this delivery countless times. Once at the top I was still full of energy and told Kip that I was going to pick up my pace a bit, and I did. My side was almost completely healed at this point and I needed more exercise to stay fit. I paced myself down the stairs because the steps were a little smaller than I would’ve liked, but once I was loaded up with boxes, I jogged the whole way up the tower. I ended up making three more trips and finishing the job in the time that Kip finished his second trip. I was a little winded at the end and my side especially burned more than I had expected, but it felt good to run again. If not for the rechted dress I was forced to wear, I would’ve fit much more exercise into the whole trip, but anything faster than a walk in this dress was taking a chance at death.
Kip applauded me as he exited from his last trip. “Whoo, you’re even less out of breath than I am. I guess next time I should just leave the whole trip to you.” He eyed me up and down once in an awed fashion. I guess it really isn’t normal for anyone, let alone a girl, to run up those steps that many times without the rigorous training that I had undergone.
Between deep breaths I tried to explain a little bit so that I didn’t seem like a crazy person. “The only thing that my previous master allowed me to do besides sit was run, and so I did.” I stopped to pant for a few seconds. “Since I was injured I couldn’t but it is my release.” He slowly nodded and looked off into space.
“You are an impressive girl. Araki.” I stood up and stared directly at him. My blood had turned to ice in my veins and I couldn’t move.
“Why… why would you think that?” He smiled gently at me.
“The way you speak is far to formal for any merchants servant, the way you move is far to regal for the upbringing you could’ve had, the way you scare every dog within 100 yard in indicative that you have a dragon that you visit at times, you disappear for far too long, you can run up those steps 3 times and not be winded. You are a runner from the Araki tribe.” He paused and looked me in the eyes, “The only thing that I cannot figure is why? Why are you here and what happened to push a highborn Araki with a runner dragon not only out of the borders but all the way to Kyma?” He paused as if he was waiting for an answer. “I’ve never seen a runner dragon up close you know, are they as beautiful as people say?” he seemed lost in thought once again.
I tentatively responded, “Are you mad?” and without pausing he told me that he was not mad, and so I began. “I will show you my dragon.” I looked to the sky, reached out with my mind and called, “Fidi!” After a short silence the horse squealed and a burst of red appeared in the sky above us. He did a few circles and then landed downwind from the horse, not that it did much at this distance. 
“Oh. My. Iget.” Kip’s eyes were wide and his jaw on the floor. “I thought that there was no such thing as red dragons.” I nodded at Fidi and he disappeared altogether. “Where did it go?” I am not an it, thank you very much. I smiled.
“He can become invisible when he pleases.” I touched Kip’s shoulder. “When he hatched the Iget wanted to have us both killed because he was red, so when he turned invisible for the first time I ran before anyone had the chance to find out.” I sighed deeply, “Then I learned how the Araki treats the public and now I am on a mission to learn all that I can. I want to change things.” I explained who my father was and how I actually got my injury even about the man Clint that Fidi had killed protecting me and he listened quietly while gently soothing the mare. 
Around ten minutes after I had finished explaining he finally spoke, “So what do you want with Kyma?” I thought for a second before responding.
“For one it is the furthest from Araki and least patrolled because of the livestock.” I gestured at the horse and then to Fidi who I had joined downwind and was now leaning against.  “And, it is easiest for me to pretend to control water with my power over air. Fidi is a great swimmer and it is the most populated area besides Araki and I thought I would be able to blend in.” He was slowly nodding the whole time.
“That all sounds fine and good, but what will you do with Fidi, he will be a dead giveaway when all of the livestock start running from you.” I knew he was right, but I couldn’t leave him and I definitely couldn’t go back.
“Well, he hasn’t bothered the bay much yet, he is good at keeping his distance when he has to. He is far smarter than the average animal. He is much more intelligent than every other dragon I know as well.” Fidi then nuzzled my shoulder.
“He understands you?” Kip was pointing at Fidi, clearly shocked once again.
“Uh, yes. Dragons understand human language easily. He understands you as well. The difference between my dragon and others is that Fidi can telepathically communicate back to me.” He seemed perplexed as he should. Learning about Fidi’s new powers was a lot for me to take in, I couldn’t even imagine all that Kip was digesting. 
“So can Fidi hunt for us now that I know he exists?” I looked at Fidi and then back to Kip.
“There has barely been enough game for just him in the area, but maybe once we get into Kyma lands, if there is extra I am sure he will hunt for us. Right bud?” Of course Luna. I nodded to Kip. 
“Alright then, I guess it is time to head on to Kyma. Are you ready?” His eyes cleared from their haze of confusion and he clapped his hands together as he turned back towards the cart. I threw my arms around Fidi’s neck and squeezed him before I followed Kip. I sat in  my normal spot and watched as Fidi faded to nothing during his accent. How I missed joining him in flight. “Why don’t you go for a flight with him and I will make camp a little ways down the road?” Kip must have seen the look on my face.
“I cannot, it is too dangerous.” I sighed, “If the soldiers come to pick up the delivery and are flying above us they will see me on his back.” There were tears in my eyes. I didn’t know when I would be able to fly with him again, if ever.
We hadn’t gotten far from the tower before dark started to take over and so we just set up camp in the woods and resigned to being late for our first Kyma delivery.