Scales and Honor: Swirling Storm
Chapter 14
“Has she been around the town lately?” Ramakox asked to the stern faced wolven guard captain. His dark black fur lined with signs of grey. It had been two months since the day Ramakox had followed Fremra and had the encounter in her cave. The one where her voice rose like the thunder, and radiated in the halls of her home till the stone quaked in her fury. The blue dragon flinched as he remembered the ferocity in her roar that made his head ache, but within that anger he had seen pain in her purple spheres. Whatever it was within them, Ramakox was certain it had to deal with the book she had been sobbing over, and the emptiness of her cave. He wrinkled his snout at the thought she didn't even have a bed of soft things to sleep on, and only had to look forward to the cold stone's embrace upon her weary scales.
“Havn't seen a scale or tail of her.” The wolven called Fenix replied, brushing the back fur of his neck that was poking out of his dark grey chainmail. “Is it really a big concern? You told me that she was fairly harmless.”
“It's not that I am concerned with her attacking the town.” Ramakox lied as he gazed out to the myriads of people that were walking the now cobblestone streets with smiles in his direction. It was amazing to him how much could change in the at least eight years within the town. The one that did not even remember his name that long ago. Now he was hand pressed to leave the town without a group of people flocking to him for his blessing, questions about magic and dragons, and occasionally sexual favors they could do for him. “I just want to know how she is coping. She has not sought me out all week, and I was starting to grow concerned.” He grumbled to the guard captain, who gave him a quick nod in acknowledgement. Course that little bit was not true either. He of course had spotted her, and shared a few words together with her over the last two months. It had just been as long as the previous times. She would look away from him, say a few words, and then make an excuse to excuse herself from the conversation. Yet despite that little fact she was always still around him. He would always see her on the edge of his vision, maintaining a good distance between him and her.
There were times when he would try and close this distance, words finding their way to his mind. Questions about the cave, the book, and why she was crying. However each time he tried, she would dart away, avoid him swiftly, or no doubt use nature magic to hide from his eyes and nose.
“Well...The best thing I can offer is that we will keep an ear to the ground for her...And a nose to the air.” Fenix waved casually for Ramakox to follow him through the busy streets, saying hello several people that stopped and waved to the captain. “If we do spot a sign of her, we will signal you with the dragonpowder launchers. Right now they use them for fireworks, but they can still set off a glow and sound you can hear for miles around.”
“Dragonpowder?” Ramakox raised a brow. It certainly sounded familiar to him, but he could not for the life of him remember why. He drummed his talons on the hard cobblestone as he padded along side the captain in a moment of silent contemplation. The only sound to grace them being the idle chatter of the townsfolk around them filled with silent or loud praises for the dragon before them.
“Come on Swirling Storm. We've talked about those things several times before. We suggested them to you as a warning system, you even sat in on the meetings about them!” The wolf crossed his arms, his tail swishing behind him as he tossed Ramakox a sly grin on his muzzle. “Don't tell me that you were just nodding along the entire time without paying attention.”
Damn.
Ramakox looked away as he flicked his tail carefully behind him, mindful to not catch any passerby or cart by mistake. “Nonsense...Just was testing you is all Fenix.” he finished the statement with a snort and a dismissive wave, hoping that would throw the wolven off the scent. He mentally reminded himself to pay better attention during those meetings. But they are so boring and there is so much to remember that doesn't concern me...What do I care about the prices of bread? Or how much a room at the tavern costs.
“Right.” Fenix chuckled, clearly not believing the dragon as he shook his head lightly from side to side. The wolf brought them passed many buildings rising out from one another, each one a different color then the other. It had been one of the suggestions that Ramakox made to the town, that way he could navigate it easier.
“Hard to believe you were practically unknown years ago.” Fenix finally said after they passed the home of Jandar's grandmother. The old wrinkled woman waving to the dragon with a smile.
“I was just thinking the same thing actually.” replied the dragon, waving to the old woman in return. He reminded himself to sit down and have tea with her at some point, talk about her grandson and how proud of him he was. The dragon had to shift his eyes away from a crowd of flowery dressed men and woman of various mortals. For each time that he passed this brightly colored green building there always seemed one woman who would-.
“OH SWIRLING STORM! YOOHOO!” called out one of the dwarven woman clad in purple tight fitting clothing. Ramakox had known her over the years. Her name was Grundella, and was one of the most loud spoken woman he had ever met in his life. “When are you going to use your offer for a good time with one of girls? Or boys?” The woman gestured to the collection of mortals that were all casting him sultry looks on their faces. “We got everything to satisfy a dragon's wants and needs. You just need to ask dear!”
“Not today woman!” he called back to her in almost a growl. She had always been trying to get him to take advantage of her suggestions. “How is that place still even open?” he replied with a tight voice as he and Fenix strode right on passed the gawking mortals.
“That's an easy answer there dragon. Travelers and adventurers always are looking to slip into something tight. Relax themselves from time to time. I hear that she even wants to open a franchise across Drenedar.”
“Gods.” Ramakox rolled his eyes with a snort as Fenix led him to the outskirts of town. They had to push through several groups of chatting mortals that had tried to get Ramakox to bless their babies. To which he did offer them a quick blessing. How could he have said no to all of their pleading faces? When they arrived at the town's edge, the sun had started to make it's way down from the highest point in the sky.
Two guards were standing beside a rather large looking card at the town's gate. One was a human male, the other a half-elven female. They were busy talking to a well dressed, heavy set man clad in bright crimson silks. His cart was made of the same exact color wood, and was lined with golden beams. When they saw Ramakox, the half-elf approached him while the human continued to talk to the man.
The female with white hair offered he and Fenis a crisp salute, quickly going to attention. “Was just tending to Pennybags of their sirs.” She looked right to Ramakox with her bright green eyes, and offered him a nervous smile. “Was also told to pass on a message for you Swirling Storm.”
“Me? A message?” he held a claw to his chest, curiosity starting to swirl around like a vast storm beneath his scales. “Who would want to leave me a message?” Especiialy when they could simply leave tribute near my lair. His mind raced at the possibility at what could be so important of a message. Perhaps it was because the tribute is too big to bring up to my lair....Maybe it's another statue of me.
“The message was from that female dragon we have seen flying around here from time to time. You know...the one with the pretty orange wings.”
“Oh her?” Ramakox replied casually. “What did she say?” he rumbled, looking up passed the guard to the winding road that snaked it's way towards his home.
“To let you know she would be at the onyx pillar...The one with the carvings...I havn't the foggiest of what she meant by that, but she seemed convinced you would.”
“How long ago did she leave the message?” Ramakox snapped his snout back to the woman with a flick of his tail. He pondered just how long Fremra would sit around and wait for him. It would be a shame to get there and miss his chance to strike up a lengthy conversation with the dragoness. And get some answers about what I saw.
“Not that long ago.” the woman admitted, turning around to glance at the guard talking to the larger man. “She came round bout an hour ago. She was all nervous like, shifting from claw to claw. Gave me a tad fright she did, to suddenly have a dragon show up the way she did. Swooping down not fifty feet away and glaring at us...” The guard laughed nervously. “For a moment I thought she was going to attack us, scared the living hell out of us.”
“She wouldn't attack you.” Ramakox grumbled, looking into the sky and pictured her flying overhead. “That was one our FIRST agreements for her to stay here. Trust me...If she was going to hurt you, she would have ME to answer to.”
“And we are thankful for that dragon.” The woman smiled warmly up him.
“Oh I get it.” Fenix nudged the dragon playfully, and giving the dragon a wink. “You're looking to put the moves on ole teal scales. I figure it was bound to happen eventually. Poor Grundella is going to be so disappointed.”
“Not everything I do is about mating or spilling my seed into a willing partner.” Ramakox growled, flashing the captain a frown before leaping into the air with a flap of his wings. He angled his wings and positioned himself in the direction of the hunting ground, and the pillar waiting for him.
As his wings carried him through the sky he peaked down to the winding river near his home. Like some great serpent it spread across the earth. It was the place that he had been fishing with Jandar many times over the years, but his mind was pulled back to the first time they had done that when he was just a boy. The memory brought warmth for a moment to his limbs, the memory of the child laughing and showing such amazement with each story that the older dragon would tell. How old you have grown Jandar.. He beat his wings against the air and pulled himself from the pleasant memory, just as then hills seemed to sprout up from the flat earth. The fields that been covered in miles of green started to be dotted with sections of purples, reds, blues, and even golds from the numerous pleasing flowers. He imagined Fremra rolling around within their embrace, laughing without a care.
The image of the happy dragoness soon shifted in his mind. She was replaced with the pain filled sob, the cries of anguish, and the ever crushing feeling of despair. He pictured her hunched over the leather bound book in her cave, tail quivering as she turned the page. He pondered the idea of apologizing again to her for interrupting such a private moment, as he felt a pang of guilt well up inside of his chest. Just what was that book? His mind whispered to him as he pictured the dark brown leather binding that held the book together. He had never seen a book that big before, it seemed almost made for dragons in that regard. Most books that he had come to know, were only made for mortal hands. Which of course made things a tad difficult to read them from time to time, but he always managed to do it. His mind shifted to focus on the pawprints on the page she had been looking at with tears in her eyes. Clearly whatever it was meant a great deal to her, enough that she did not want him to know about it. He wondered if the paws belonged to her family, her siblings, or possibly...That she had young ones at one time.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
It was not long that he was in the air for, soon finding the pillar from the hunting spots within the sea of green. He admired it's smooth surface once again, however his eyes were pulled from the stone to the seafoam dragoness flopped down in the grass nearby with her great wings spread. He saw her cast her snout upwards to look at him, and she followed him with her gaze.
“What kept you so long?” she asked him, thumping her tail on the grass as he landed beside her. “I have only been waiting here all day.” she looked away from him with an annoyed snort.
“I only JUST got the message from the guard. If you wanted to pass on the message, you should have told them to come find me.” He replied, padding his way over to the dragoness. She just laid her head back down into the warm grass and let out a heavy sigh.
“I thought leaving the message with them, that they would run and go find you. You are ever so popular there.”
“So why did you want me out here? You have been so reserved since...” he trailed off, embaresment wedging itself underhis scales and making his stomach queezy. “The cave.”
“I believe we are doing it right now.” she replied, not even lifting her head from her resting place.
“Talk? You just brought me out here to talk?” he asked in disbelief. “You could have just stayed by the town if you wanted to do that. You did not have to have me fly all the way out here to simply talk.”
“You already know why I would not do that.” She flicked her tail, letting out a sigh. “Besides...Someone had to teach you magic properly...Figure it would be me.”
“You? Teach me magic?” Ramakox snorted, chuckling as he sat down onto his haunches and curled his tail around him. “Why would you need to do that?”
“Food to eat, water to drink, fresh air to breathe. These are things we need.” She replied with a grin, slowly sitting up onto her fours. “And I don't know who taught you to cast magic Ramakox...But clearly they knew nothing about it.”
Ramakox flicked his tail against the earth, scattering any loose grass or flowers that were there. He offered her an annoyed snort in return. Far as he was concerned he was an excellent spellcaster. He had even been able to hold hid own against that lich for quite some time. He had even taught Jandar a thing or too. Things that had obviosly paid off and allowed the dragon to regain his fame of old. “I am an excellent spellcaster Fremra.” He looked away from her with narrowed eyes. “Did you bring me out here to insult me again?”
“Insult you?” she replied, her voice lowering as she slunk her way over to him. “I would never dream of insulting you.” She took a seat beside him and gave a sigh. “But when you see a child struggling to do anything. You offer them help and guidance in how to do it better.”
“You think I am a child?” he turned to her with a raised brow. “I have never heard of that word to describe me.”
“Well in the ways of spellcasting you might as well be.” She chuckled, tapping his scales with her paw. “I have seen...Wrymling have better abilities to cast magic than you.”
“Your pulling my tail.” he found himself grinning to her.
“No it's true, even though I cast a different type of magic than you. You are terrible at doing even the basic of things.”Here..let me show you some ways to help improve your abilties.” She grabbed hold of one his claws gently. Her warm pads soft and warm to the touch. “Now..I want you to focus on how you cast your spells...Feel the energy that you well up inside of you.”
Ramakox allowed the dragoness to guide him along the grass, closing his eyes as he did so. He focused on the fire that lurked within his chest, the magic he could guide to his limbs. “I have it pictured.” he said softly.
“Okay...and tell me how it feels to you.”
“Like...a warm fire, spreading it's heat out into my limbs. The heat which I can guide and shape to my command at a whim.” He swelled up his chest as she rose his arms to the side, then swished them back softly.
“Okay..Now take a deep breath and forget about the flames within your heart.”
“What?” he asked, pulling his head back out of shock for a moment. The flames were what he had always pictured when he was just a hatchling. “How do you-”
“Shhh” She placed a talon gently to his snout and silenced him. “Listen to me Ramakox...We teal dragons are more magically inclined than you blues.” Her words soon wound themselves around him, pleasing to the senses. It made him want to sigh and bask in her presence forever.
“We lack any magical breath of anykind, so our bodies flow with more magic then we know what to do with. Now trust me when I say...Forget the fire..Forget the flames...Forget the heat that radiates to your limbs.”
“Okay.” he found himself saying, trusting in her words as he pictured the flames within his mind dying. The fire starting to smoke as it vanished.
“Now I want you to picture a calm sea. The waves beating ever so softly against your scales. The salty scent lingering in the air, and the occasional sound of a bird flying overhead.”
Ramakox was about to suggest something else but the dragoness silenced him again with a talon, and told him to trust her. So he snapped his mouth shut and pictured what she had described. He pictured himself calmly on a beach with the waves rolling before him. The cooling water licking against his scales and making let out a sigh of happiness from his maw.
“Do you have the feeling pictured in your heart?” she asked, guiding a claw over his chest ever so softly. It felt as though she would caress her mate that way.
“I do.” He replied softly, he smiled as he could almost feel a light breeze drift over him and carry scents of the ocean to him. He felt blood rush to his membranes as he realized that the scent of the ocean was Fremra.
“Now focus on that feeling like your fire...Feel it swirl around you...Fill the rest of your body with that contentness.” She moved her claw from his chest to brush up along his neck. It made Ramakox sigh at her pleasing touch as he did what she asked.
He let the feeling radiate from his heart to every fiber of his being. He felt every bone, limb, muscle, and claw get enveloped in this soothing feeling of contentness. It radiated around him like a summers breeze, and made him sigh. “I have it.”
“Good. Now picture any spell that you can think of. Let's start with something easy...Create a ball of water out of thin air.”
“I cant do that.” he wrinkled his snout. “I can however summon a small raincloud.”
“Then do that.” she giggled, “Make it rain Rammy.”
He gave her a quick nod, and focused on the spell that he used to put out Jandar's fires. He smiled as the feelings brought forth a memory when he had used the spell to playfully drench the boy in water. He had laughed so hard as the angry glare his son had cast at him. He chuckled vocally as he felt the spell spring forth from his claws.
“See! Much better!” Fremra laughed, pointing to the small darkened cloud that had appeard over a section of the ground,and was currently dumping droplet after droplet of rain onto the grass.
“It doesn't look any different to me.” Ramakox snorted, his eyes trying to pick apart every last detail of the cloud before them.
“Yes..but it feels different.” She looked up to him with a smile. Her snout was practically against his now, their eyes gazing into one another. “Can't you feel the difference?”
“I...” He pulled away from her with a flick of his tail as he searched inside himself for the difference. He had felt the different feeling when he had cast the spell, but the spell had appeared to be the same as he always cast it. It would have helped if she could describe just what should feel different about the spell produced. He turned away from her in silence, drumming his talons against the earth as he tried to picture everything that had happened. I did the focusing...It was different this time..but I did it...I focused on the spell..Let it loose...Think..Think...What is.. His eyes widened as his talons stopped dead, and his tail thumped on the ground.
“Did you figure it out now?” She said in a singsong voice as she took a seat beside him with a smile. “I knew it would not take you long to figure it out. You are actually quite capable at spellcasting.”
“Wait...So you were pulling my tail the entire time?” he turned to her with a laugh. He just knew in his chest that she had been doing that. “So why say I sucked at something?”
“Cause I know its the way to get you to do anything.” she nudged him with a shoulder. “Just have to imply the great and powerful Swirling Storm is afraid..Or cant do it...and he suddenly leaps into action to prove you wrong.” She smiled warmly at him from ear to ear. “You may be great Ramakox...But you're just like most males.”
“You're distracting me again.” he laughed, pushing her away playfully with a paw. “The spell casting...I feel less drained than I usually do.”
“You're right.” she let out a pleased rumble from her throat as she wiggled her tail, and fluttered her frills. “If you continue to cast the way I just showed you...And practice all the time..You will find that you can typically cast more per day than you usually could otherwise.”
“Fremra...” He said softly. “Thank you.”
“Don't mention it..You did let me stay here after all.”
“Why did you want to stay here?” He asked suddenly without thinking about it. He figured with the way she was acting around him that it was okay. He winced as he saw her stop, and her cheerful face frown again.
“I already told you.” she snorted, standing up onto all fours and spinning around so quickly that her tail almost smacked him right in the snout. “Why do you keep on asking me?”
Because I know you're lying to me about it. “Why should I not? You're staying on my land, and you have shared very little about it.” He trotted over to her delighting in the breeze that swept over them and made his scales shiver.
“Would you show me how to fight better?” She asked softly, her gaze not leaving the trees.
“Why would you need to do that? I thought a dragon you're age would be great at hunting and..”
“Not that kind.” she turned to him, her eyes narrowed. “Fighting other dragons...Fighting mortals....How to defend myself.”
Ramakox tilted his head to the side out of surprise. He had not expected that, especially from dragon around 300 years of life. “Clearly you know how to do that.” He chuckled, “You have threatened to claw my face several times.”
“That...is different.” she looked away when he snaked his snout towards her and tried to look her in the eye. “I just thought...The great protector would be able to help me...make me less...a.” she trailed off, thumping her tail against the ground.
“A less of a what?”
“Will you show me how to fight or not?” she turned to him with a low growl.
“No need to snarl and bare your teeth.” the blue dragon strode a few paces away from her and offered her a tooth filled smile. If this was her way of getting to talk to him about things, he was not going to turn the opportunity down. Besides, he always liked to get the blood pumping. “I can show you a thing or two.” He stretched out his front fore-paw, letting out a small groan of happiness as he worked the kinks from his scales. “So what do you say?”
“I saw thanks!” she playfully smacked his snout with her paw when he closed his eyes to yawn. She than bolted away from him again, a smile on her snout.
“Hey! You said you wanted to train and fight!” he shouted out when she spun around to face him, and entered a low playful stance.
“I did...and I am..You can show me how to defend from...this!” She raced towards him on her mighty limbs, closing the distance between them with a few flaps of her wings. Her front claws were outstretched when she caught him, and they tumbled into the grass intoa pile of playful snarls, hisses, and growls.
Ramakox did his best to try and fight off the dragoness as she bit into his neck with her teeth. Not hard enough to draw any blood, but enough for a nip that made him growl and shove her back with his claws. So he slammed her against the ground for good measure, and with his blood pumping powerfully in his chest, nipped right back on hers.
“You like nipping dragonesses?” She asked, breaking free and smacking his snout with her paw.
“Only when they do it first!” he roared out, catching her with his rear paws, and pushing her off with a mighty shove. Without skipping a beat he scrambled to his fours, and started to circle the dragoness as she recovered as well. He watched her lower herself as her eyes traced his own scales, her body readying for his next move. She opened her maw and let fly a long drawn out hiss. One that made him flick his tail in anticipation. The urge to leap upon her and start up the grapple again almost unbearable.
She wagged her tail from side to side teasingly as she resettled her wings against her back. “What's the matter Ramakox..Think I am going to best you? Have you pinned to the ground with my claws holding you down?” she laughed in the back of throat as she waggled her haunches.
“I will show you who will be pinned.” he laughed loudly, leaping to her before she could launch her own attack. He found himself catching air as she skillfully moved out of the way, and pushed him to the ground with a mighty shove. He fell backwards onto the grass, landing with a thud. He only had a brief moment of breath before she leaped upon him like he was a wounded animal, letting out a victorious hiss into the air. He however was ready for this, grabbing hold of her limbs and using her own momentem against her. He slammed her into the earth, flipping himself upright on top of her. He swelled out his chest as she wiggled beneath his claw. “There I...”
She suddenly wiggled her hind paws until they were right on his stomach. Then with a mighty shove, she cast him off with a pained grunt.
He flew several feet off of her, and once again landed on his back with a groan. He should have expected that from her after all. He quickly scrambled to get onto all fours, so that she could not take advantage and pin him to the grass. He reminded himself to not forget about her lower limbs again, especially if she was that strong. “That was a good move.” he smiled, as he and her circled one another with large smiles.
“It looked like you were counting your eggs before they hatched.” She flicked her tail. “Ever like a male to forget, when he has a dragoness pinned beneath him.”
“I won't forget that little tidbit again. I assure you.”
“We will see about that. I think you will look good pinned beneath me instead.” She lowered herself once more into a playful stance, her tail wagging back and forth over the grass.