[The Humans] pt 1

<Year 5>

Having spent several days adapting to a different body, their mother finally decided they had gotten far enough to try blending in. "Stay close to me. Zyrtec, I'll be counting on you to talk with them."

'I wonder what they'll think of a child doing the talking though.' He nodded and grabbed her hand cheerfully. "Okay momma!" They followed their mother up to the towering walls, walking calmly alongside other two-legged creatures heading the same way. Staying within reach of each other, they passed through the large gates and entered the town, looking around in amazement. Some of the beings had the ears and tail of an animal or pointy ears, drawing up the dragons' curiosity.

"Nylotte, come back!" A few glanced at them strangely when they heard an unfamiliar language as their mother hurriedly dragged her daughter back to her, preventing her from running off.

Zyrtec observed this quietly, then noticed symbols drawn onto boards and paper. 'They can't understand what they're saying and none of us know those weird symbols. We don't even know what any of these creatures are…' He glanced around, trying to gather information. When that failed, he grew frustrated and gripped his mother's hand tighter. 'I want us to understand, all of us, everything we don't know about these creatures!' In his irritation, he had unconsciously used Mana one again and it drained out of his as his eyes flashed red. He fell against his mother, the pain in his head far greater than the other times.

"Zyrtec?" He couldn't hear her speak through the stinging, clenching his teeth and hitting his eyes. His family gasped, staggering a bit as his use of Mana finished. Suddenly, all at once, information flooded into their heads, making them freeze up. Blinking slowly, everything around them made sense, but left confusion on how this happened. Clutching his head, the sun stung his eyes as he looked to his mother for help. She pulled him closer, then continued down the path, listening to the conversations and testing the knowledge that had been shoved into her mind.

"Momma…"

"What's wrong?"

"I feel...sick…" His vision spun and his skin heated slowly while everything started to blur. Catching him when he went limp, his mother was startled and worried, picking him up and holding him close. His siblings panicked and rushed over, touching him to check for life.

"Calm down now, we need to find somewhere to stay. We'll need...uhm...coins. Let's sell some scales." They pouted a bit over the idea, but followed their mother and did what she asked, handing the ecstatic vendor dragon scales. The human shoved a huge bag of coins at them and hid the scales away immediately, making them leave but never removing his smile. 'Are they all like that?' Some humans were friendlier and others rude, but it wasn't only them. The other races all showed the same diversity in behaviors while at the same time presented consistencies. Taking her children to what she understood was called an 'inn', she entered, admiring what a building looked like from the inside while walking up to the desk.

The elf standing there smiled at her. "Welcome, thank you for coming! What can I do for you today?"

She hesitated, stuttering, "A-a room. We n-need a r-r-room."

"Alright, will that be for all five of you?" He pulled out a pen and prepared to write on the parchment in front of him.

"Yes…"

"A master room then. How many nights will you be spending?"

"I don't know."

"Very well." He wrote something down before saying, "You can just pay in the mornings after each stay, or pay upfront with the total when you decide. Here are our pricings." He grabbed another parchment and pushed it toward her, allowing her to look it over. Having only just learned to read, it made her feel a bit dizzy when going through it. "If you're having trouble reading or understanding something, please let me know so I may assist you."

"Uhm...most of it, actually."

"That's alright." He retrieved it and put it away, then said, "Allow me to explain it then. Staying one night on normal payment allows for a night and nothing more for a large copper. If you wish to have free meals as well as access to the bath and all the facilities included, then it will cost one small silver coin for a night." Searching the bag they'd been given past Zyrtec, she pulled out a silver one with a shaking hand. Somehow she knew the value of these pieces of metal that previously meant nothing, and there were just so many of them in the bag, as well as a couple gold ones. Placing it in his hand, he immediately put it in a drawer and tallied it, then cheerfully said, "Allow me to lead you to your room. Follow me." Keeping close to him, he took them to the rooms upstairs, then to the one close to the end that was the last free big room. Unlocking it, he opened the door, and stepped aside to let them enter. "Come down for meals anytime, and if you wish to use one of the other facilities, please let us know so we can assist you."

She set Zyrtec on one of the two beds and sat beside him. "What happened to you…?" She whispered.

"Now then, please excuse me, Miss, for interrupting you and your son, but kindly tell me your name so I can record it."

"Ah...my name is Aztoria."

"Thank you for your patronage, Aztoria." He shut the door, disappearing downstairs somewhere and leaving them alone in the room. This being their first time inside one, the younger dragons were all over the place when not worried about their brother, even Aztoria. A few hours passed and he was still out of it. All of them piling up on the one bed, they cuddled against Zyrtec protectively by instinct, fretting over his recovery. In his own mind as they slept, pictures flashed crazily, depicting how the world came into existence. While this carried on, his face scrunched up, his body absorbing large amounts of power and energy from all over the kingdom. He became surrounded by red and white wisps of energy and mana, all of it converging into a larger power that continued to swell. The air hummed as it gathered for several hours, only ceasing when he fell into deeper sleep. Glowing with red and white aura, a strange new strength filled him. The red darkened, then blended into the white partially, turning it a shade close to blood. The pure white that hadn't mixed went back into him slowly, and when it did, the other pulsated as if alive before following after. It pulsed again after returning to his body and his eyes snapped open. Reaching up to his neck slowly so as to not disturb anyone, he wondered why it hurt. He felt thirsty, his throat throbbing.

Shuttering his eyes slightly, a part of him reached out unconsciously, bringing one of their arms closer and biting down. 'So...thirsty…' He could sense he didn't want water, and knew he had always liked drinking blood, but it had never been an urge this strong.

Aztoria winced and tried to pull away, looking at the one hurting her in surprise. 'Zyrtec?' He took gulps, a few red droplets dripping to the sides. 'What is he doing?' She kept still for him, smiling kindly when he pulled away after about four swallows. His eyes glowed red in the dark, bringing another shock, but it didn't last long and he soon went limp and passed out. 'I need to keep an eye on him.' She brushed a hand over his face gently, removing the traces of blood in silence and licking off her wound. Laying her head back on the pillow, she placed her forehead against his. Even if he wasn't a normal dragon and seemed to show even more unusual things than his siblings did at times, he was still her child and she would accept him. Although, with such flaws she could never live among other dragons again. Not while she had them with her. Shutting her eyes, she left such worries for the morning, hoping peace would last.