Dragonsoul

Chapter 13

Soughing and howling, shifting and stirring, were the only sounds available in the strange place which followed no rules or logic. All Leonie could feel was a gentle breeze coming from nowhere and everywhere at the same time.

Chills spread across her arms, but fear failed to manifest itself. She was in an unfamiliar place, experiencing strange, unexplainable sensations, and yet she felt safe. It felt like diving into the water after a long, tiring day and letting the water take away all the worries and all the pains.

Deep down, in her very core, Leonie knew that the sounds meant her no harm. What stood behind the sounds had not presented itself to make her life more difficult, but to ease some of the burden. She could feel it in the whisper that brushed her ears but that she could not fully comprehend.

On instinct, Leonie opened up her heart, like a flower opening its petals to the sun, trusting the sun to warm them up, to help it grow. That was the same feeling that Leonie got from the whisper. It was gently brushing against her skin, waiting for her to let it in, to allow it to shine.

The moment Leonie showed acceptance to the unfamiliar presence that surrounded her, she could see a shape forming in front of her. At first, it was just a whirl of air, a visible shifting and stirring that soon enough took a vague shape of a transparent being that was still spinning like a miniature tornado.

"Finally you see me, it was so difficult not to be. Around you a shape I couldn't form, it would cause too great a storm. Ready you had to be, in your heart and mind, only then your heart could unwind and let me in." Airy said.

"Who are you? Where am I? Wasn't I just in the Mage's house? How did I get here? Wherever here is." Leonie asked.

"Airy is my name, your life will never be the same. Time is slipping quickly, listen to me meekly." Airy said.

The gravity of Airy's voice made Leonie hesitate in her questioning. It was obvious that Airy had many things to say, and she felt that she should listen. What made it easier to do that was the realization that suddenly struck her. By the wavering edges of the place they were in, she realized that it was all a dream. She was safe on the Mage's sofa, so she could allow herself the luxury of listening to Airy's tale.

"Challenges many you shall face, for windy future, you must brace. Mine is the role of a guide, I cannot take a side. Your dragon friend, you must protect, any pain from him you must deflect." Airy said.

Upon saying that, her presence became barely noticeable to Leonie's jumbled mind. Still, she could hear the last words murmured in the wind that she was not sure she was supposed to hear.

"Dark times are coming, good luck with your becoming..." Airy's voice trailed behind as Leonie's mind hurled forwards and back into her body.

Once her spirit and her mind intertwined again, she suddenly sat up startling Rim, who stopped playing with fire and was lying down next to her feet. It took her a moment to orient herself, and once she did, she focused her eyes on Toras.

She was certain, without a shadow of a doubt that Toras knew what occurred in her dream, that he was in some way involved. The fact that he did not warn her, annoyed her same as the rash she had gotten when she was five. Although she wanted to scratch this particular rash, she was not sure that would be wise.

"What was that?" She asked, unable to let her rational mind control her actions.

"Meditative tea," Toras answered.

"I do apologize, but you know very well what I am asking. I need to know. Was that real?" Leonie asked.

"As real as our corporeal existences are. I was telling you the truth. This tea is meditative. However, if one were to drink a full cup of this tea, they would go into a true meditative state where one's soul separates from one's body for the briefest of moments. I thought it was all the time Airy would need." Toras said.

"Why?" Leonie asked.

"Well, Rim got the opportunity to connect with his element. I thought it would only be appropriate if you had the same opportunity. Besides, Airy was eager to communicate with you. She has been present in every moment of your life, good or bad, and I guess it became frustrating for her not to be able to communicate with you. So I was happy to help." Toras said.

"Wait a minute. How do you even know Airy?" Leonie asked.

"I am a Mage, after all, which means I know many beings of light as well as dark. However, I share a special bond with Airy. My element is also air, so I got to know Airy when I came into my powers. We still stay in touch, and we see each other from time to time, but sometimes her all-knowingness can be frustrating. Especially since she is not allowed to share any information about the future with me. Still, she can be quite a good companion when she wishes. You see, every element can be unpredictable, but I feel as if the air is more so because gentle wind can turn into a gale rather quickly." Toras said.

"So you and I share the same element. What does that mean?" Leonie asked.

"Well, it can mean a lot and nothing. What I mean is that it's not so simple to explain, and I feel like it would be too much for you at the moment. However, I can tell you that the reason we got along so well when your father brought you here has partly to with us sharing the same element, in a way." Toras said.

The moment he mentioned her father, the veil of sadness covered Leonie's face. It was like watching a beautiful flower slowly start to lose its life force, and wilt slowly, petal by petal. Suddenly, nothing mattered, and all Leonie wanted to do was hide away from the world and cry herself to sleep.

There were moments when her mind was otherwise occupied when she didn't focus on her loss, but then every time she was reminded of it, not only did it hurt, but it also made her feel guilty. How could she, even for a second, forget that her father was no more? Wasn't it cruel on her side to focus on anything else but the pain. Didn't her father deserve to be mourned more than any Hunter had ever been?

Rim started nudging her with his snout, and she remembered that he could feel her emotions and that he wasn't ready for that amount of pain. Still, this time, self-control seemed to evade her like never before. It was like trying to catch lightning with one's bare hands, unimaginable.

"Oh, my dear Leonie, I do apologize. The wound of your father's passing is still fresh in your heart, and that sentence shouldn't have crossed my lips. I am deeply saddened by your loss. Someone as young and as good-hearted as you should never have to face that amount of pain. Please forgive me for being so direct, but you need to stop. Don't break the dam that is holding your pain in because once it breaks, there is no going back. You are not ready yet, to face all that might pour out of your young heart. Remember the dragon, he needs you. You can't allow yourself to hurt him like that. Look at him, Leonie!" Toras said.

With tears in her eyes, Leonie did look, and the moment she saw the agony in the dragon's eyes, the eyes that had been barely opened to the world, she knew she needed to do all in her power to reign in her emotions. It was a challenge she was not sure she would be able to face alone. So she called on to what always kept her going, the memory of her father's wise words.

She remembered the one specific conversation they had about fear and being brave.

"Daddy, how come you are never afraid?" Seven-year-old Leonie asked as her hands shook from yet another nightmare.

"Is that what you think, my little doe? That I am never afraid?" He asked her.

Leonie nodded her head enthusiastically, a few strands of her unruly hair escaping her and falling on her face. 

"Of course, I am afraid. Everyone is afraid. However, brave people are not the ones who are not afraid, but the ones who are ready to keep going. Even when they are afraid, even when they are in pain they keep on fighting. You, my dear, are a fighter. You can go through anything, you just have to believe in yourself. After all, you are the daughter of a Hunter, and whatever the village says, you are my little huntress." Her father said, brushing away the loose strands of her hair with gentleness one would not expect from a Hunter.

Remembering that moment helped Leonie gather up her emotions with a huge amount of effort, and once again store them in her heart for safekeeping. The defenses she put up were stronger because her self-confidence had soared at remembering that her father had believed in her.

"Well done! Now shall we begin?" Toras said.