The Silver Reckoning

Chapter 14: To Trust a Human

Silver faulted in the air, her wings burning and breath ragged. It was as if her previous energy had completely left her, and she was now struggling to keep herself flying. The minuscule weight of the human on her back was becoming more and more prominent, and she was forced to pull herself often into a glide, slowing the group down.

When land was spotted in the distant horizon she couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. They had been flying for almost five hours, and with every wing beat the dragoness found herself slowly sinking toward the ocean. She hated herself for it. Since when had she been so weak? She had flown far further distances in far less time, without being as exhausted as she was now.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Diana repeated from her back, having asked the question a number of times before.

"I'll be fine," grunted back Silver, her voice barely audible above the wind, "I just need a rest."

The human nodded her head, though didn't seem convinced, "We're coming up to the Maldives, a popular holiday area, so there will be a lot of people there, but it is the nearest island."

The dragoness nodded her head, being able to see it in the horizon, "As long as we can find a place to sleep in peace for a night or two, I'll be happy."

"There are some small islands toward the southwest corner of the Maldives. They aren't as populated as the rest of the islands, so you should be alright to land there."

"We'll aim for them then."

Flapping her wings a couple more times Silver pushed herself for a little more speed. The other dragons followed her example, easily keeping pace with the exhausted dragoness. As they approached the Maldives Silver spotted the islands Diana had been talking about. She circled around, making her way down toward one of the tropical beaches.

Much like Diego Garcia, the Maldives was a circular set of islands with ocean in the middle. It was far more populated however. There was a small city on one of the islands, with multiple floored apartments spread throughout, with roads surrounding them. The dragons stay well away from that side of the islands, and instead glided down toward a smaller set. A number of buildings were scattered throughout the area, but the dragon's managed to find a small beach to land on, startling a couple of humans who were laying on the sand.

Silver instantly collapsed to the ground, not caring about the sand getting into her scales. She would clean it out later, when she wasn't so tired. The sun was setting in the horizon, causing an orange and purple glow to cross over the sky, illuminated on calm ocean waves. The trees glistened, the water from the recent storm still shining along their leaves.

Diana slid of Silver's back, giving a polite nod to the gaping couple. West, Blaze and Reha each allowed the humans on their own back to get off as well, seeming a little relieved for the transfer.

"This seems like a good spot to spend the night," said the fire drake, looking at his sister with concern.

The dragoness pushed herself to her feet, still struggling to catch her breath. She smiled thankfully at her brother and nodded her head, before looking to the sky. She still couldn't quite believe that they were free. It has been so long since she had seen a sunset, so long since she had felt the feeling of real wind across her wings. The illusion she had been in never quite captured the true rush of emotions one experienced while flying.

"It's been quite the hatchday, hasn't it?" Blaze said with a small grin.

Silver nodded her head in agreement, "Definitely one to remember."

The human couple had pushed themselves to their feet and were rushing across the beach to the other side, fleeing from the four dragons and the strange humans holding guns. They were quite the frightening sight. West chuckled softly as they ran, before curling himself down on the beach and yawning loudly, seeming content to have the beach all to themselves.