Dragon Dreams

Chapter 33: Resistance (2/2)

I became more aware of the harshness of the cold night air, the wind picking up as most of the dragons holed up in the caves. Senga and I started to move in that direction.

"It's a lot to think about," he said. "But this is what we've all been training for, and Ares knows what he's doing."

"He certainly does," I thought grimly. Even if I relayed this information to the clan, anything of this scale would be hard to stop. Did Senga even grasp the enormity of what the Vrost would do? I couldn't tell, but betrayed no emotion as we walked side by side back into our cave.

I smiled as I saw Ferenor curled up in a far corner near Kaija and Makar. It was a relief that the little dragon didn't feel the need to sleep alone anymore. Seeing his eyes were already closed, I resolved to speak with him tomorrow and went to go get some rest myself.

I retreated into my sleeping nook with a whispered goodnight to Senga and curled up quickly, hoping for sleep to come with haste. But it was a long, restless time before my turbulent thoughts subsided into a dark haze of dreams.

*                 *                 *

Ferenor was a blue blur as he pounced on the rabbit; a quick shake of his head made for a clean kill. I was impressed that he was taking to hunting so well this early on. Remembering my own trepidation to let those instincts out before I had control over them, I took it as a good sign that he was accepting his draconic nature in stride.

It was just the two of us in this remote meadow where I had decided to hunt for breakfast. I got up early to find Ferenor awake as well and took him out here to eat and chat in private.

"Nice one," I praised, referring to his catch. He sat down next to me in the grass and started stripping meat from the carcass. "You're doing a lot better than I did when I became a dragon."

"I'm just being what I am, I guess," he said between bites. "That's what Ares told me to do. I just had to stop being so scared."

"I can definitely relate to that." It was interesting to be talking about this with someone else in such a similar situation. But I didn't know if I should worry that he took Ares' advice so much to heart.

I didn't want to delay in getting to the real matter I wished to discuss, so I pressed on. "So, there's not really an easy way to say this, but I need to tell you something."

He looked up. "What?"

"When I first came here, to the Vrost I mean, I was in a very bad place. I felt like everyone I cared about was gone or had given up on me, and coming here I felt like maybe I would find some purpose. I was so...desperate." I fidgeted and flattened scrubby shoots of grass with my paws.

"But I was approached last night by a couple friends I made while I trained in the dragon clan—they had come all this way looking for me—and they got me thinking that I may not belong here after all."

Ferenor stopped eating. "I don't understand," he said slowly. "Has anything bad happened to you here?"

"No, no," I replied quickly. "I've met good, kind dragons here. But this...plan is just not for me. Ares took me in when I was in a very difficult place; I was ready to accept anything that could give me a new purpose in my life. And all the things I've learned about ancient magic made me feel so powerful. I won't lie; it felt good.

"But it's not who I am, and I don't think it's who you are either. Ares wants to fight and take and kill. He thinks that just because we can, just because we're strong enough, that we deserve to do it." My tail-tip lashed through tufts of grass behind me, animated by the swell of emotion.