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chapter 18th!
“Don’t you land just yet.” The human said after a long silence, when some of the flying dragons began to lower.
The order stopped them in their move, and all wondered what he had in mind. That was when he turned toward a little group that hadn’t taken off. The three of them shook a bit in fear as he approached, but the human couldn’t have cared less. He seemed deeply upset, and it wasn’t a mystery why…
Of course Nimera had witnessed him going through things that would have broken the patience of any human a thousand times. But to the targeted dragons, the vision was much simpler. He had given them an order to fly when intruders came. Humans didn’t like it when a dragon went against their will, and the reptiles were certain a punishment was impending.
“You, why aren’t you up there?” he asked calmly to the wingless of the group.
Among the three, it was the one with whom the question made least sense. And that probably was what motivated the answer.
“I don’t have wings…”
“Interesting, now look at the guy just at your right. Does he have wings?”
“Y-Yes…”
“Why haven’t you asked him to give you a lift?”
“I… didn’t think of it.”
“Ah, you didn’t think of it… Maybe next time you’ll think of it?”
“I-I will…”
He remained friendly in his overall attitude, but it could be felt that it only covered the tempest inside. This human mastered the art of being terrifying without elevating the voice. However, maybe some breathed again a bit too soon when he showed merciful to the wingless one. Because when he moved to ‘the guy on her right’, the tone was a bit less friendly.
“And you, what’s your excuse?”
“I… I was scared…”
“Scared of what?”
“S-Scared of the human of course.”
“I mean, what are you really afraid about humans? You’re afraid about what they can do to you, am I right? Does it sound logical to you to stay close to something you fear instead of flying away? Think of it, what can they do to you, worse than killing you?”
“Th-They could hurt me before doing so.”
“Hurt you, is that so? Tell me big guy, have you ever been hit by a human?”
“N-No… I wouldn’t be there if I was…”
“So let me demonstrate you something. May I? In the interest of everyone here?”
The winged dragon, bigger than the human, was yet obviously surprised to be given the choice. He looked around, and nodded timidly.
Out of nowhere, the hand of the human slapped the winged dragon with an audible noise that made several reptiles around cringe. It was the first time he used violence on one of them. And many were probably reconsidering whether he was harmless or not through this gesture.
“Did that hurt?”
“A-A little…”
“A little, you said it…” he replied with a nod, before turning toward all the others. “A little! Make no mistake, I put strength in my hit. And yet, I only managed to hurt ‘a little’. Can anyone of you tell me where I’m going with this?”
Only a general silence responded to him. Many were surprised to be addressed to, some simply didn’t understand his reasoning and were worried about his intentions. But there was one Nimera noticed giving the matter actual thought. Helios. The dragoness watched from the corner of her eyes how he tried to connect the elements.
It was a bit of a concern to her, how invested the young dragon was in following this human… She was afraid he’d step into the first line of interest for the humans…
“No one? It’s obvious yet!” the human sighed when he didn’t obtain any reply. “Your fear, or at least your reactions, are irrational!
You’re afraid of a monster you give power to! Have you only thought of it? Most of you are bigger. Your scales are thick. You have natural weapons such as teeth, claws, and tail. You are of a much more resistant constitution than humans! Which means, and it’s only physics, that it would require more energy to a human to even hurt you, than it requires you to fly away.
So don’t be stupid! Fly! Save your life and if you can, as many others as you can! Let them tire themselves if you don’t want to fight! That’s the only rule I impose you, don’t make it easy for them! They will keep on killing you if you let them do so! I can take care of the intruders. But in the end it’s only up to you to stand up for yourself, and to realize you’re much more scarier than they want you to believe!”
“Speaking from personal experience?” a strange voice suddenly mocked him in the crowd.
This time, all dragons landed at safe distance, to stare at the being that had appeared only a few meters away from the human. The luminous shape of blurry contours directly addressed to their defender. The white shadow… all creatures on this island knew this name, a name that inspired an uneasy feeling to anyone who heard it, without knowing why.
Immense, maybe unlimited powers embodied in an entity who spoke to the strange human. It was visible in the eyes of many dragons that they saw a kind of omen in that appearance.
But the human didn’t seem quite happy to see this mythical entity. The dragons he was scolding seized the occasion to run away.
“You! We have to talk! What have you done?!”
“I sent you away like I said I would. You never asked about the destination.”
“You didn’t leave enough time for that!”
“I didn’t think the place would matter much to you, given the circumstances…”
The human marked a pause and looked around, like the white shadow had said something he would have rather kept unheard. When he addressed to the ghost again, it was on a more tempered tone, like he had taken this as a threat.
“Let’s assume, but why here? If you could send me this far, you could have sent me just one year ahead and I would have figured it out. Even six months would have sufficed. But you sent me here. In that messy ruin of a world. You sent me twelve hundred thousand years into the future! One. Freaking. Million years. Why?” he asked, his voice rising again. But then he opened the mouth in a big inspiration, like he understood something. “Oooh I see… You knew. You knew it’d turn like this. That’s why you made such a speech about how you didn’t need to control me!”
“What do you want me to reply to that? It is true. I expected this, and much more to come. Because you’re you…”
There was a heavy silence during which the human stared with anger at the ghostly figure. He didn’t seem impressed, but looked very aware that this being was out of reach.
“When you want someone to drink the poison… You can either use force, or put him in the desert, with nothing else to drink, and wait for his mind to become too weak from the drought. In one case or the other, it’s manipulation.” The human accused coldly.
“I’d see it more like putting some potential in the right conditions for its development.”
“Development? So that’s it, I’m your little experiment?” The human spoke in an incredibly calm voice, containing a hard desire to explode. “Do you have any idea of what your trickery already cost? At which moment did you come with the brilliant strategy of taking away everything I had?! Was my life a joke to you?!”
“You’d be nice to not pass your nerves on me. You know I’m not the one who destroyed your life. I only offered you an escape…” The White Shadow replied calmly. “Besides, if going back is what you truly want, just tell me where and when. I’ll take you there.”
That response clearly was unexpected. Even the dragoness could read surprise in his facial reaction. As for her, it was dread more than surprise that followed this declaration. After causing such turmoil, the white shadow was about to take him away? What kind of cruel punishment was this for? To teach them all to never dare to hope?
“You…would?” the human asked hesitantly after a brief silence.
“Of course, if that’s what you want from me. I told you, I’m on your side. I really thought you’d need this. After… what happened.” The white shadow replied in a seemingly honest tone, even if the oddness of his voice made it hard to be sure. “But if you want to go back, I’ll respect your decision. This era will never hear of you again. No consequences for you.”
The reaction of the human was strange. Like he was troubled by the words. He hesitated, looking around.
Most didn’t understand what was happening, but Nimera felt like she saw exactly what was going through his mind. After lecturing the dragons on how they had to rely on him to survive, he probably felt uneasy to go. But it was unhoped for him.
And for the first time, Nimera felt actually scared he might renew his desire to leave. It would make sense for him to leave. He wasn’t made for this place. But it would leave all dragons defenseless for good. With an impending doom coming.
“You can do this… anytime?” the human asked hesitantly
“And as easily as I brought you there. I realize I was a bit overly enthusiastic back then, it was my first time. But as I said, I have access to everywhere and, should I say, every when.” The White Shadow replied seriously. Was it… apologizing? “I hope to do good for you. But in the end of the day, only you can decide what’s best.”
The human put his hands to his waist, looked around, then down. He sighed loudly, then took a deep breath.
“Two hundred and forty four.” The human stated assertively. “If you truly know me like you pretended, you won’t make me explain in public…”
There was another heavy silence during which the two weirdest beings of this island stared at each other in silence. Was this a code or… a form of language from his place?
“Understood.” The white shadow finally nodded respectfully, like these words made any sense. “Adam. I’m not your enemy… My actions make no sense to you, I know that. But I assure you that you won’t be alone for long.”
Again, this exchange of stares… Like they were communicating without words. It was readable on his face that he was puzzled, but there were other emotions the dragoness couldn’t read. A sort of fascination mixed with fear.
“You won’t tell me who you are, will you?” he finally asked. “You really seem to know things about me… But I never saw these eyes… I never forget a pair of eyes.”
“You can’t forget what you never saw, indeed.” the white shadow remained elusive. “I can’t tell you who I am. What I can do however, is help.”
“What do you mean?” the human stepped back as the ghost rose a vaporous arm. “What are you doing?”
“Calling the cavalry.” The white shadow answered in a tone that forced respect even to the hot-headed human. “You’re in need for help, and I’m in need to see you succeed. Not letting you down is too important for me. I owe you too much, my friend...”
As soon as the luminous entity ended its sentence, there was a weird wave shaking the air. Like a tidal wave of wind that came from everywhere but also started everywhere at the same time. Nimera instantly recognized this unpleasant feeling. She had felt exactly the same… a day earlier.
“You are not alone, Adam. Not anymore.” The white shadow insisted, looking straight into the man’s eyes. “Keep being yourself, keep your flame alive. You will be fine in the end. This is just another bad day you’ll overcome.”
All dragons around were totally lost. All, except maybe Nimera and Helios who exchange a heavy look. His shell cracked a bit at the sound of these words; the White Shadow never spoke in vain. it wasn’t a coincidence either that it chose this instant to disappear.
“Like all the others before…” the human dropped with a dark chuckle, bringing a hand to his face to scrub.
He was a sick human, much likely. But instead of seeing the strong, dangerous human of the outside all along, Nimera should have definitely seen the signs… the signs of a being in pain, who suffered and was terribly afraid. He had lost everything, humans would come soon to eliminate him. Considering him like the most threatening being had made her fail at considering him simply as a being.
And she realized all that, not only because his emotions were more and more readable, but also… because he basically chose to stay. Despite the humans being increasingly dangerous. Despite having nothing to gain from it.
Guilt and remorse made the two dragons step forward and come to him. And the sight was disturbing. Even if he kept that tough look, there were tears formed in the corners of his eyes. It was like a mask of clay leaking what it contained.
“Human… Are you alright?” the dragoness asked carefully.
“Of course I am. Or at least I will be, if I trust his words.” He replied without any hesitation.
The most hurtful was the smile he served them. Anyone who hadn’t witnessed the previous events would have been fooled, but now it only looked like an ugly mask to the dragoness. How could someone do that to himself? It was an insult to his very core. Until which point this human would refuse to ask for help?
“Helios. Still want to learn to fight?” he immediately asked when he noticed the faces of the pair.
“Y-Yes?”
“Then let’s go find a place for that. It will help me empty my head.”
He was already moving to the next, finding things to occupy his mind. It was crystal clear. But then, Nimera still hadn’t moved on. And before she could decide which way she would take with this human, she needed to understand all the details of what happened. That was why, for once, she dared to use an authoritative shout to stop him as he already walked away with Helios on his track.
“WAIT!”
It felt so relieving to let it out, after keeping in nervous silence for so long. For a moment, she forgot all her fears about him, and just demanded what she wanted. And what she wanted was to understand, for she also had the best interests of this community at heart. Sometimes, one had to disregard feelings to get answers.
“You said two hundreds and forty four, and the white shadow said he understood. I don’t. If your presence here and thus our safety depend on conditions you set with him, then you have to tell me what they are!”
The human had a strange reaction, like he was surprised to see that she could have guts when she judged it wise. He glanced around and looked at her like he only realized now that his words were enigmatic to them.
“What I meant there, is two hundred and forty-four lives.” He leaned toward her and whispered, like he didn’t want them to hear it.
“What do you mean?”
What he answered remained carved into the mind of the dragoness. He spoke it like obviousness itself, but to her, it was the first true glance of how different he was.
“I counted two hundred and forty-four lives in danger, threatened, and terrified. Can’t really go back until they are all safe.”
“And why are you whispering?”
“Because it’s my business. Not theirs.” He turned then walked away. “Now if you excuse me, I have some teaching to do.”
“Don’t you land just yet.” The human said after a long silence, when some of the flying dragons began to lower.
The order stopped them in their move, and all wondered what he had in mind. That was when he turned toward a little group that hadn’t taken off. The three of them shook a bit in fear as he approached, but the human couldn’t have cared less. He seemed deeply upset, and it wasn’t a mystery why…
Of course Nimera had witnessed him going through things that would have broken the patience of any human a thousand times. But to the targeted dragons, the vision was much simpler. He had given them an order to fly when intruders came. Humans didn’t like it when a dragon went against their will, and the reptiles were certain a punishment was impending.
“You, why aren’t you up there?” he asked calmly to the wingless of the group.
Among the three, it was the one with whom the question made least sense. And that probably was what motivated the answer.
“I don’t have wings…”
“Interesting, now look at the guy just at your right. Does he have wings?”
“Y-Yes…”
“Why haven’t you asked him to give you a lift?”
“I… didn’t think of it.”
“Ah, you didn’t think of it… Maybe next time you’ll think of it?”
“I-I will…”
He remained friendly in his overall attitude, but it could be felt that it only covered the tempest inside. This human mastered the art of being terrifying without elevating the voice. However, maybe some breathed again a bit too soon when he showed merciful to the wingless one. Because when he moved to ‘the guy on her right’, the tone was a bit less friendly.
“And you, what’s your excuse?”
“I… I was scared…”
“Scared of what?”
“S-Scared of the human of course.”
“I mean, what are you really afraid about humans? You’re afraid about what they can do to you, am I right? Does it sound logical to you to stay close to something you fear instead of flying away? Think of it, what can they do to you, worse than killing you?”
“Th-They could hurt me before doing so.”
“Hurt you, is that so? Tell me big guy, have you ever been hit by a human?”
“N-No… I wouldn’t be there if I was…”
“So let me demonstrate you something. May I? In the interest of everyone here?”
The winged dragon, bigger than the human, was yet obviously surprised to be given the choice. He looked around, and nodded timidly.
Out of nowhere, the hand of the human slapped the winged dragon with an audible noise that made several reptiles around cringe. It was the first time he used violence on one of them. And many were probably reconsidering whether he was harmless or not through this gesture.
“Did that hurt?”
“A-A little…”
“A little, you said it…” he replied with a nod, before turning toward all the others. “A little! Make no mistake, I put strength in my hit. And yet, I only managed to hurt ‘a little’. Can anyone of you tell me where I’m going with this?”
Only a general silence responded to him. Many were surprised to be addressed to, some simply didn’t understand his reasoning and were worried about his intentions. But there was one Nimera noticed giving the matter actual thought. Helios. The dragoness watched from the corner of her eyes how he tried to connect the elements.
It was a bit of a concern to her, how invested the young dragon was in following this human… She was afraid he’d step into the first line of interest for the humans…
“No one? It’s obvious yet!” the human sighed when he didn’t obtain any reply. “Your fear, or at least your reactions, are irrational!
You’re afraid of a monster you give power to! Have you only thought of it? Most of you are bigger. Your scales are thick. You have natural weapons such as teeth, claws, and tail. You are of a much more resistant constitution than humans! Which means, and it’s only physics, that it would require more energy to a human to even hurt you, than it requires you to fly away.
So don’t be stupid! Fly! Save your life and if you can, as many others as you can! Let them tire themselves if you don’t want to fight! That’s the only rule I impose you, don’t make it easy for them! They will keep on killing you if you let them do so! I can take care of the intruders. But in the end it’s only up to you to stand up for yourself, and to realize you’re much more scarier than they want you to believe!”
“Speaking from personal experience?” a strange voice suddenly mocked him in the crowd.
This time, all dragons landed at safe distance, to stare at the being that had appeared only a few meters away from the human. The luminous shape of blurry contours directly addressed to their defender. The white shadow… all creatures on this island knew this name, a name that inspired an uneasy feeling to anyone who heard it, without knowing why.
Immense, maybe unlimited powers embodied in an entity who spoke to the strange human. It was visible in the eyes of many dragons that they saw a kind of omen in that appearance.
But the human didn’t seem quite happy to see this mythical entity. The dragons he was scolding seized the occasion to run away.
“You! We have to talk! What have you done?!”
“I sent you away like I said I would. You never asked about the destination.”
“You didn’t leave enough time for that!”
“I didn’t think the place would matter much to you, given the circumstances…”
The human marked a pause and looked around, like the white shadow had said something he would have rather kept unheard. When he addressed to the ghost again, it was on a more tempered tone, like he had taken this as a threat.
“Let’s assume, but why here? If you could send me this far, you could have sent me just one year ahead and I would have figured it out. Even six months would have sufficed. But you sent me here. In that messy ruin of a world. You sent me twelve hundred thousand years into the future! One. Freaking. Million years. Why?” he asked, his voice rising again. But then he opened the mouth in a big inspiration, like he understood something. “Oooh I see… You knew. You knew it’d turn like this. That’s why you made such a speech about how you didn’t need to control me!”
“What do you want me to reply to that? It is true. I expected this, and much more to come. Because you’re you…”
There was a heavy silence during which the human stared with anger at the ghostly figure. He didn’t seem impressed, but looked very aware that this being was out of reach.
“When you want someone to drink the poison… You can either use force, or put him in the desert, with nothing else to drink, and wait for his mind to become too weak from the drought. In one case or the other, it’s manipulation.” The human accused coldly.
“I’d see it more like putting some potential in the right conditions for its development.”
“Development? So that’s it, I’m your little experiment?” The human spoke in an incredibly calm voice, containing a hard desire to explode. “Do you have any idea of what your trickery already cost? At which moment did you come with the brilliant strategy of taking away everything I had?! Was my life a joke to you?!”
“You’d be nice to not pass your nerves on me. You know I’m not the one who destroyed your life. I only offered you an escape…” The White Shadow replied calmly. “Besides, if going back is what you truly want, just tell me where and when. I’ll take you there.”
That response clearly was unexpected. Even the dragoness could read surprise in his facial reaction. As for her, it was dread more than surprise that followed this declaration. After causing such turmoil, the white shadow was about to take him away? What kind of cruel punishment was this for? To teach them all to never dare to hope?
“You…would?” the human asked hesitantly after a brief silence.
“Of course, if that’s what you want from me. I told you, I’m on your side. I really thought you’d need this. After… what happened.” The white shadow replied in a seemingly honest tone, even if the oddness of his voice made it hard to be sure. “But if you want to go back, I’ll respect your decision. This era will never hear of you again. No consequences for you.”
The reaction of the human was strange. Like he was troubled by the words. He hesitated, looking around.
Most didn’t understand what was happening, but Nimera felt like she saw exactly what was going through his mind. After lecturing the dragons on how they had to rely on him to survive, he probably felt uneasy to go. But it was unhoped for him.
And for the first time, Nimera felt actually scared he might renew his desire to leave. It would make sense for him to leave. He wasn’t made for this place. But it would leave all dragons defenseless for good. With an impending doom coming.
“You can do this… anytime?” the human asked hesitantly
“And as easily as I brought you there. I realize I was a bit overly enthusiastic back then, it was my first time. But as I said, I have access to everywhere and, should I say, every when.” The White Shadow replied seriously. Was it… apologizing? “I hope to do good for you. But in the end of the day, only you can decide what’s best.”
The human put his hands to his waist, looked around, then down. He sighed loudly, then took a deep breath.
“Two hundred and forty four.” The human stated assertively. “If you truly know me like you pretended, you won’t make me explain in public…”
There was another heavy silence during which the two weirdest beings of this island stared at each other in silence. Was this a code or… a form of language from his place?
“Understood.” The white shadow finally nodded respectfully, like these words made any sense. “Adam. I’m not your enemy… My actions make no sense to you, I know that. But I assure you that you won’t be alone for long.”
Again, this exchange of stares… Like they were communicating without words. It was readable on his face that he was puzzled, but there were other emotions the dragoness couldn’t read. A sort of fascination mixed with fear.
“You won’t tell me who you are, will you?” he finally asked. “You really seem to know things about me… But I never saw these eyes… I never forget a pair of eyes.”
“You can’t forget what you never saw, indeed.” the white shadow remained elusive. “I can’t tell you who I am. What I can do however, is help.”
“What do you mean?” the human stepped back as the ghost rose a vaporous arm. “What are you doing?”
“Calling the cavalry.” The white shadow answered in a tone that forced respect even to the hot-headed human. “You’re in need for help, and I’m in need to see you succeed. Not letting you down is too important for me. I owe you too much, my friend...”
As soon as the luminous entity ended its sentence, there was a weird wave shaking the air. Like a tidal wave of wind that came from everywhere but also started everywhere at the same time. Nimera instantly recognized this unpleasant feeling. She had felt exactly the same… a day earlier.
“You are not alone, Adam. Not anymore.” The white shadow insisted, looking straight into the man’s eyes. “Keep being yourself, keep your flame alive. You will be fine in the end. This is just another bad day you’ll overcome.”
All dragons around were totally lost. All, except maybe Nimera and Helios who exchange a heavy look. His shell cracked a bit at the sound of these words; the White Shadow never spoke in vain. it wasn’t a coincidence either that it chose this instant to disappear.
“Like all the others before…” the human dropped with a dark chuckle, bringing a hand to his face to scrub.
He was a sick human, much likely. But instead of seeing the strong, dangerous human of the outside all along, Nimera should have definitely seen the signs… the signs of a being in pain, who suffered and was terribly afraid. He had lost everything, humans would come soon to eliminate him. Considering him like the most threatening being had made her fail at considering him simply as a being.
And she realized all that, not only because his emotions were more and more readable, but also… because he basically chose to stay. Despite the humans being increasingly dangerous. Despite having nothing to gain from it.
Guilt and remorse made the two dragons step forward and come to him. And the sight was disturbing. Even if he kept that tough look, there were tears formed in the corners of his eyes. It was like a mask of clay leaking what it contained.
“Human… Are you alright?” the dragoness asked carefully.
“Of course I am. Or at least I will be, if I trust his words.” He replied without any hesitation.
The most hurtful was the smile he served them. Anyone who hadn’t witnessed the previous events would have been fooled, but now it only looked like an ugly mask to the dragoness. How could someone do that to himself? It was an insult to his very core. Until which point this human would refuse to ask for help?
“Helios. Still want to learn to fight?” he immediately asked when he noticed the faces of the pair.
“Y-Yes?”
“Then let’s go find a place for that. It will help me empty my head.”
He was already moving to the next, finding things to occupy his mind. It was crystal clear. But then, Nimera still hadn’t moved on. And before she could decide which way she would take with this human, she needed to understand all the details of what happened. That was why, for once, she dared to use an authoritative shout to stop him as he already walked away with Helios on his track.
“WAIT!”
It felt so relieving to let it out, after keeping in nervous silence for so long. For a moment, she forgot all her fears about him, and just demanded what she wanted. And what she wanted was to understand, for she also had the best interests of this community at heart. Sometimes, one had to disregard feelings to get answers.
“You said two hundreds and forty four, and the white shadow said he understood. I don’t. If your presence here and thus our safety depend on conditions you set with him, then you have to tell me what they are!”
The human had a strange reaction, like he was surprised to see that she could have guts when she judged it wise. He glanced around and looked at her like he only realized now that his words were enigmatic to them.
“What I meant there, is two hundred and forty-four lives.” He leaned toward her and whispered, like he didn’t want them to hear it.
“What do you mean?”
What he answered remained carved into the mind of the dragoness. He spoke it like obviousness itself, but to her, it was the first true glance of how different he was.
“I counted two hundred and forty-four lives in danger, threatened, and terrified. Can’t really go back until they are all safe.”
“And why are you whispering?”
“Because it’s my business. Not theirs.” He turned then walked away. “Now if you excuse me, I have some teaching to do.”
Category Story / Fantasy
Species Western Dragon
Size 50 x 50px
File Size 21.5 kB
Listed in Folders
You dont stop impresing me, I can say anything but that youre truly a master of the action. The slap on the dragon face was funny, it's a call for awakening, a call from reality. That was cool. The white sadow part was really good, because before Adam has no choice but to flee forwards in the stream of the situation that he is in, but the white shadow gave him the chance of leaving. Thats a cool move, because now Adam is in that stream by choice. Now He is focused on that. I dont know how to explain it but I apreciate a lot that before he had to do what he has to do because he just cant do anithing else, but now he is doing it because he Wants To. I value better when you fight back because you what to that when you do it because youre backed in a corner and you can't do anything else. And the fact that is going to train helios makes me hope that at least some of the rest of the dragons grow a spine and follow them so they can learn to, even if they are uninvited.
Youre doing it great! Keep working on it.
Youre doing it great! Keep working on it.
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