On a mild autumn day at Deriva Keep, someone was trying to make the most of the waning heat. Tiguan and the kids were out and about, playing hide and seek with only Lieutenant Yldtiz Hashaw to keep an eye on them all. Yesterday had been a hunting day, and Tiguan had, of course, been helping out as best he could. They had even managed to land a single panicked deer with the net. And with how far it was to the forests, he was invaluable for carrying home the kills.
The lands around Deriva were all craggy cliffs, rocks, and boulders. Hard terrain to cover on foot, but Tiguan had promised not to cheat. Because it also made it quite hard for even the smallest pure white dragonettes to hide from the skies.
The kids had been very excited that they would get to play around this far from the keep. They only got to do so when Tiguan could go with them these days. The sweet old lady Deriva got very worried normally. The wilds were dangerous, even the bare rocky kind. But Tiguan could make anything run for the hills, much as he often didn’t want to.
He had left his crew behind to help out as well, save for Ylditz. Karlch and Tonzei were not afraid to put in the work, but the two harness men were in all honestly not very good at hide and seek. They were much too serious. Ylditz had picked them personally back when the lieutenant was assigned to Tiguan. He had wanted someone he could rely on through thick and thin. Nothing fazed them, and nothing caused complaint.
Tiguan had been happy they weren’t scared of him at first. If they were he certainly couldn’t tell. He had later learned they had both served with other blacks in the past. By the sounds if it a rather tough and grim old drake called Chrimra. They had lightened up a touch over the years, but they still made Tiguan feel like the young one at times.
Ylditz was much nicer. He was smart and kind as well as brave. And had come to be Tiguan’s dearest friend for many years. Much as he had liked his time with Ray, there was something about being able to be there for someone else. To help rather than make everything worse. So it was with a conflicted heart he looked back on his time at Deriva. Things had been very hard for them. They had suffered… But it let him help.
The attacks left several crippled and many dead. Huxley’s broken back had him stuck in bed barely able to move for over a month, and he was still only just walking. That was only thanks to the healer Quin. She was quite good. She was old and experienced. Thanks to her saving Huxley the keep at least had three of their guards left. Luke and young Kalix made up the other two. Once there had been six.
When hunting, there was only Rekui and Ethera left who could fly. They were fine huntresses, and Tiguan’s crew had gotten some fine practice in with the crossbows helping them out. He didn’t mind if they lost a bolt every now and again. They could buy more later. Nataki too would be back on the wing again soon. She was a silvered huntress together with Rekui. Rekui was of course soon going to be gilded, but Deriva wanted to wait until next year so they could have a proper celebration.
He had to admit he had missed Ray though as he wandered between the rocks, carefully winding down narrow paths. She would have loved to be out playing hide and seek with them. He didn’t need any help of course. He could both smell and hear the children, but he didn’t need to find them yet. Ray would have given them a few more minutes, so he would too.
He had found Trada and Leiknik already. Those two really hadn’t done a very good job at hiding. He believed they would much rather help find the others. That had become commonplace now, the children wanted to be around him. He was “Uncle Tiguan” or “Tiggy,” and he couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear every time he heard it.
If Ray had just been here, it would have been perfect, and with all the gifts from the nice people over at Bizmati, they probably didn’t even have to sleep through the winter if things went well. Sleeping could be dangerous after all. Especially for the young and the old. He had scratched off more heaven bark than they would ever need to get everyone through winter if they did need it, back when he was still scared if they would even make it through the winter.
“Where do you think they have gone? Did we go past them?” Tiguan questioned, looking around confused. Two of the girls were right around the corner, so he came to a stop before looking back at his passengers.
“No, they could have made it further. I say we carry on the search pattern a bit further out then circle back towards the east. People trying to hide seek shadows. They will run away from the sun,” Ylditz spoke up with a proper answer, perhaps even true. That wasn’t very important though.
“I think they went that way,” Tada declared, pointing across the small canyon, without any justification or reasoning. Tiguan knew the kid wanted him to jump across. There wasn’t any harm in that. Of the children, only Olina wasn’t old enough to fly yet, and she was with Gidea. She could carry the young one if needed. Though they had been told not to fly around without supervision.
The direction would keep the girls behind the rock hidden, so Tiguan thought it was a brilliant idea. “Let’s go that way then!”
Ylditz looked a little confused at a 6 year old’s advice being chosen over his own, but he didn’t complain. The kids let out a small cheer and he could hear the girls giggling, one perhaps even peeking around the rock to watch them change direction.
With a single bounding leap, letting his wings just slow the descent so as not to jostle his passengers too much, Tiguan gracefully leapt across the small canyon. It was more of a glorified crack really, but to the children it was a canyon, so a canyon it was.
Everything was smaller out here. The keep was small and squat, and there weren’t even two dozen living in it, though once there had been more so. Ylditz had gotten his own room, which Tiguan had thanked them for profusely during the early days. He feared they had given his lieutenant a full room for himself because they were scared of what he would do if they didn’t give his friend a nice place to stay. Karlch and Tonzei had gotten a room too. A little less nice, but it was theirs.
Ylditz had tried to calm him down, saying it was quite normal to do so. Bizmati even had a room just for it, even if it was normally given to traveling traders and the like. Tiguan didn’t buy it at first though. It was a nice room, and it even had a window. And lady Dervia hadn’t complained when he had stood up against the keep to get a good look inside. Even if he had scratched the stone a little.
Tiguan would never say it, but things at Deriva weren’t so lovely. Not the people, mind you, but the place. It looked old and worn. He thought they had scraped together all their best things for that room just for Ylditz. Not that he didn’t want the best for his lieutenant. They had been together ever since he joined the guard. He was kind, he was compassionate, but he would fiercely defend Tiguan, especially when he thought Tiguan could not hear. Ordering people to be nice to him, to show no fear.
Tiguan had feared the same would happen here. Everyone is being told not to be scared of him. It had looked like it would go just like that in the early days. But it didn’t last… and he knew why. He had asked Ylditz. He hadn’t wanted to ask, but he wanted to know, and Ylditz had reluctantly answered.
“They are too desperate not to trust you… just be kind, they’ll get it soon enough.” Tiguan had been quite sad to learn that was why, but Ylditz was rarely wrong about things. So he would do his best. Maybe he just needed to show them, too, that he was nice.
“Could you help carry this, please?” “Would you perhaps be willing to help gather wood?” “Could you help me wash the floors?” They were always so nice when asking, but it was just because they feared what would happen from making demands of a dragon of the royal guard. He didn’t have to help them with anything. They were to provide for him. Such were the rules. Tiguan never liked those rules. They were for dragons like Morina. Lazy and arrogant. He was a dragon of 10 tons, he could do much more than lay about all day.
So he never said no. He hauled buckets and firewood, water, and animals. Anything they needed, even if they often kept their distance while he worked. One day he had tried to help Gidea wash the floors in the greeting hall. That was where he slept, so a lot of the dirt and grime was his fault. And the girl had looked ready to drop, so tired was she. The poor thing had been working all day and was trudging around yawning. She had barely noticed when he crawled up closer. When she finally did it was with a start of fear as she nearly dropped the mop as she stared at him.
Tiguan froze. He had gotten too close. That was his fault. But he just wanted to help. He very slowly and gingerly reached out a claw, picked up the bucket she had left a ways behind, and moved it up to put it next to her.
“Sorry… here you go,” then he pulled back a little again. The girl had just looked between the bucket and him a few times before asking, “Do you wanna hold the bucket?”
“If you want me to,” he had replied with a gentle nod. And so it had come to be that he would haul her bucket around for her. He remembered Rekui staring in disbelief when she got back from a trip to watch him holding a bucket of water for the young girl. He thought he was in trouble for a moment, putting it down and apologizing.
She had asked him why he did that? It could just as well stand on the floor while she mopped. He had just answered that way she didn’t have to move it. It seemed simple enough to him, and he couldn’t hold a mop, much as he had tried before.
Rekui hadn’t quite seemed to know what to say to that, other than “Carry on then” and walking off with a sort of half-vacant expression.
Tiguan thought she had gone to talk with Ylditz after that because the children had been allowed to come out and run around while he was in the greeting hall. Under the watchful eye of old Uli. She was a strict old woman, Tiguan didn’t really like her. She stared at him like she hated him, all day long.
After that day Gidea had at least started to warm up just a little to the dragon, saying good morning and even helping Ylditz with cleaning him. Tiguan always wanted to shine as much as possible. The others called him vain, even Grevi and Jarix, but it was important. A shadow drake was often matte in color, and people didn’t think so lowly of shiny things, even if it might be shiny coal in his case.
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Then they had all been invited to the festival at Bizmati. Everyone was coming, even Huxley and Nataki. Lady Deriva had come out to him late one evening looking almost mournful. Tiguan was worried someone maybe didn’t make it through the night, or perhaps someone had gotten hurt. But all she had wanted to ask was if he would carry those who could not fly, else they would have to be left behind.
He had almost scared her as his smile grew. Of course he would. He could leave behind what scraps of armor he had easily enough, and his own crew could fly just fine.
In the end, he had to admit it had been a hard flight with him carrying all the children and the old Lady, and with Uli only able to fly for some of the trip. But he had made it just fine, even if it hadn’t been so fast.
It had been worth it. Oh, how it had been worth it. The children had been scared for most of the trip, or at least wary. The adults too. Tiguan even saw some of them checking their feet and palms as they got off. He had seen it before… But he hadn’t cared. Jarix and Grevi were there, Baron too. And the children from Bizmati were so different. They ran out to greet him just like they had done the first time he had visited.
Everyone just put it down to Tom somehow, though he didn't understand how. Perhaps the human was used to people running when they saw him and had learned some sort of trick. He wouldn’t pry, he was just happy he had used the trick to help him. And as the night went on, the Bizmati kids convinced the ones from Deriva to play along. Some of the adults hadn’t been too happy, but after a talk with Ylditz as well as the old Lady Nunuk, they had let the children play. He didn’t know what they had said, but he was very thankful. They had so much fun, even if the children had to go to bed early after all the cake.
The flight back had been so different. Gone were the quiet murmurs and careful glances. Everyone was talking, and loudly. They had even slowed down a little to make it easier. It had almost been night when they made it home again, but Tiguan didn’t care. He was used to flying at night. He even helped them all find their way home, since they hadn’t left any lights on after all.
After the festival Lady Deriva had let the kids play with Tiguan, not just run around while he was out. They played in the halls, they played around the keep, and often he took Uli and Ylditz with him so the children could be allowed to have some flight lessons. It was so much easier to do those when you had a dragon to start from, even if every now and again he needed to catch one after they made a mistake.
As the days went on even Uli had started to soften. After a while, he realized she wasn’t some evil woman, she just wouldn’t let anything happen to the children, and she was scared of him too. But she had slowly learned that he was no different to her. Sometimes he even got to go out with the children alone now, though both the kids and the keep dwellers found more and more things for him to do now that they no longer feared asking, so he often didn’t have the time anymore.
He just kept saying yes, until he was helping with almost everything around the whole keep. Everything that he could at least. Just like Ray would. They even worked out how to make a makeshift mop for his tail so he could at least clean the halls he could reach.
Eventually Ylditz had to step in and tell him no on a few things. Maybe it was for the best, but Tiguan still wasn’t too happy about it. But still the more time went by, the more they started to smile when they saw him. They said good morning and asked him how he was doing. He started learning everyone's names, not just the ones who needed to ask for help because they had to, or the bravest of them.
“I don’t think they are over here either,” Tiguan let out as he walked down the side of the big crack. “I don’t see them anywhere.”
“I could fly up and look for them. They won’t see me!” Trada said hopefully.
“No cheating,” Tiguan replied, looking back at the child. “I am sure we will find them.” In truth he could smell no one was over here. They hadn’t dared crossing the crack, but it was time he found someone, or the game might get boring.
He sped up a little into a trot, glancing around, before he spotted a little head peeking out before swiftly going back below a rock on the other side.
“Ahr, I saw someone!” Trada called out pointing. “Over there over there. Go get them!”
“Oh yeah?” Tiguan called back, turning towards the crack and jumping across once more before slowing right down and making sure to approach the rock very slowly.
He could hear the snickering from behind the rock as well as a few muttered “oh no’s,” and as he stuck his head slowly over the rock to look down at Etar. “Found you!”
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It had been a fun and relaxing day, playing out in the crags. Even with all the walking. His feet were all sore, but they would recover. The children had all been well tired out and a touch cold when they made it back. Uli thanked him for an easy evening on her part now. Sure enough they had all been fast asleep only a little after dinner.
The very same evening they had held a meeting in the greeting hall so Tiguan could also take part. He had still been busy polishing off the leftovers. They were much tastier than the food cooked for him. Often that was little more than a deer on a spit or a large tasteless cauldron of stew. Nothing eaten at Deriva was extravagant, but at least the keep dweller’s dinner sometimes had salt in it. They didn’t have enough for him too with all the preparation they had to make. But they promised him that in the spring they would have plenty left over from all the barrels of meat they had preserved for winter.
The meeting had been a happy one. Things were looking good. With all the hard work and decent weather they had made excellent progress. No small thanks to Tiguan, which Lady Deriva had been all too happy to point out. And unlike in the early days where the keep dwellers had cautiously thanked him or perhaps bowed, there were smiles all around and a little ale was even had.
But it was all the gifts from Bizmati Keep which had made the difference between scraping by and having a pretty good winter. The lady even confirmed the children perhaps wouldn’t need to be put to sleep at all. And if they were, it would only be to ride out a particularly bad storm. Though she was hoping they could do some maintenance upon the keep before the winter hit. It had fared poorly during the attack, and many doors and floors had only been patched. The lowest floor was still half burned out. At least they should plug the holes.
Tiguan immediately promised to help. He would get them wood, and more firewood too, to keep warm. He would have to go to sleep since they couldn’t feed him through winter no matter what. But he could make sure they would all be there when he woke up again.
The promise of some livestock also had everyone excited. They had asked for rock goats. They were about the only thing that could find food and not fall to their deaths out here. They could produce milk and they didn’t even taste terrible. They also wintered well and wouldn’t need a warm barn around these parts. They had kept them before, but the darklings had made snacks of their whole herd. Likely to feed those vicious night terrors they had brought.
Tiguan had also asked if maybe they could find the time to modify the well winch so he could help haul it up. It was a long way down to the bottom of the canyon Deriva Keep was built beside, and the only place they could find water was down at the bottom. Hauling up the big bucket took several minutes at least, even with the big winding drum.
After some discussion, and Lady Deriva objecting that it was too much to ask for, Ylditz had even agreed to help design it. Tiguan knew the lieutenant was smart. His family had forced him to take classes on everything related to war, and siege engines were no exception. Secretly he was hoping Ylditz could help him find a ballista for the keep. He likely couldn’t stay forever… and at least it would help while he was away… or maybe Tom could make something for them. There had been plenty of rumors during the festival of all the interesting things they were working on.
After the meeting had been adjourned, Tiguan had made ready for bed. He was tired, and today he had to be up early to help the huntresses again. They had finished preserving all the meat from last time today.
As the dragon slumbered, the wind gently blew around the exposed keep, the occasional howling was heard. He had grown used to it by now. It was nothing to be worried about, just the wind playing tricks. He had woken to a completely dark room, feeling something pat him on the leg. He blinked lazily, swinging his head around, trying to see what it might be.
“Tiggy… I can’t sleep.” It was Olina, the youngest of the children, no more than three years old.
“Ooh?” the dragon rumbled out as warmly and as kindly as he could manage.
“Uli didn’t want to wake up… could you tell me a story maybe? About when you were little too?”
Tiguan stared at the child for a moment, thinking back… Thunder, screaming, lightning, crying in alleyways, being paraded through the streets, chased through the forest. Dead people, dead monsters, dead friends… The chains, the whips, the shouting. “Fight! Fight you monster!” He felt his breathing grow faster as he stared… he didn’t even know what he was staring at.
“Are you okay?” the little girl asked, her tone so tender, so caring. She knew horror, she didn’t need to know more.
“I am fine… I think I can tell you a story… have you heard about the deer in the woods?”
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