pt. 3

<Year 5>

In the following three years, they wandered aimlessly. Iressa had died a year ago, depressingly buried in a land that was dead, unable to reach a paradise. Happiness was now a rare thing and they all felt as if they were cursed, something blocking them from reaching their destination. One day, while walking, a wonderful scent drifted to them and they picked up the pace, the young ones climbing onto their mother's back so she could run faster. Breaking through a line of dead trees, they burst out onto a land that expanded onward, green grass covering the many hills and forests far off. Her children jumped off immediately but their mother was frozen in place, hanging her head to weep. 'If only I hadn't gotten lost, then Iressa…' She had gotten turned around several times and once ended up taking them back to the nest and forcing them to start over but they never saw the oasis again.

Zyrtec observed his mother for a moment, then scanned the area. The dead forest ended abruptly, a clean line of green separating the death from the life. 'That's strange.' Of course he also didn't know what was normal, but it just didn't look right to him. "Momma. Did we make it?"

She lifted her head to look at her son and the other three, tears streaming from her purple eyes. "Yes...we did…" The young dragons all cheered loudly and lay in the grass happily as if to absorb the lovely land. Seeing this, she had no choice but to move on, savings tears that had no need to be shed. "Come on, this way." Leading them further onto the land, gazing at the sights excitingly, she kept track of them to make sure they didn't run off too far. "Stay close to me, I don't know what all lives here." Zyrtec was keeping close to her side the entire time, using his eyes to explore rather than running around randomly. When the other three were getting carried away, she made a bugling sound, calling them back to her with a frown. "That was too far. Get on my back and stay there." They did as commanded but she stopped Zyrtec when he tried to as well. "No, you're fine. You can walk freely as you want." He tilted his head at her, then smiled and wiggled his wings, feeling proud of himself.

Their walk was quite noisy as they continued to chatter giddily, playing with something they had only seen once. Climbing up his mother's tail, Zyrtec curled up on her back for a nap, settling in calmly and ignoring the others that tumbled around chaotically. Content, time passed peacefully as a feeling of safety washed over all of them. The next day, a bright sun blinded them, a light they had never experienced when under the dark and constant clouds. "Momma!" Nylotte clambered up her neck and lay on top of her head, messing around constantly.

"What is it?"

"What is that bright thingy?"

"That's the sun."

"The sun~! Wow!" Nylotte jumped around, flaring her wings playfully, leaping off and gliding to the ground. "Look momma! I flew!"

Their mother paused, hesitant to approve. "Good job sweet one, but you were gliding." Nylotte pouted and started hopping and flapping her wings without a clear goal. Without having ever seen their mother fly, it was near impossible to learn as they had nothing to replicate. Jarkko suddenly tackled her and they fell into wrestling, rolling through the grass with hisses and the snapping of jaws. Watching her children play filled her with joy as it was something that hadn't happened in a long time now.

Pinning him down in the end, Nylotte let out a squeaking roar and said, "I win!" Jarkko growled at her and shoved at her stomach with his hind legs, throwing her off and proceeding to go after her. Zyrtec flicked his tail anc put his head on his paws, watching from their mother's back. Like before, Nylotte was the winner, laughing, "I win again!"

"Agh! Stupid sister!" He tried to get her once more, but she countered it immediately and easily, this time trapping his legs and tail to prevent any rebellion.

"Momma!"

"Now, now, don't get too rough." They broke apart and chased after their family. Qlome stared at them and dive bombed Jarkko when they got close, tumbling down the hill. Snarls echoed around them until a winner was found. Like usual, Jarkko was down and had lost. Using his tail to whip Qlome's snout, he slipped away and ran to hide behind his mother's leg, not wanting to play anymore.

"Qlome~!" Nylotte grabbed at him and started another round of hissing and snapping until she won. "Hahaha! I'm the strongest! Momma, I won!" Qlome suddenly turned into what seemed like a dark mist and reappeared above her, dropping down and wrestling wildly. That was his mutation. From what their mother had explained, dragons could rarely ever use dark magic and weren't capable of doing what he had just done. "Hey! You're cheating! Momma!"

"If that was real it isn't cheating~," She said, hoping to get a point across. Nylotte grumbled, her jaw dropping open further than what looked natural and screeched, the scream inflicting magical damage and making everyone there lose balance for a moment. When Qlome was busy shaking his head, she whirled on him and pinned him down with a growl.

"I won this time for sure!" If she had spread her wings for the shout, it could've been amplified and made to go to a specific target but she hadn't figured that out yet. Zyrtec and their mother did though, silence handing over them as they waited for their hearing to return. Nylotte raised her spine spikes and shook them, the sound of bones rattling coming to them.

'Why do her spikes sound like that?' Their mother stopped to look at her. "Nylotte, it's time to stop and keep going. Come on now." She wrapped her tail around the two and picked them up, then left quickly. As they went on, signs of something changing the terrain became more evident. Eventually, they came upon a flat field that had rows dug out neatly and plants growing along the many rows. Looking around, they noticed the strange footprints that surround the place. Zyrtec paid close attention, his excitement building as his mother carefully walked over the field, choosing her footing cautiously, believing it was made into rows for a reason and not wishing to ruin it. "All of you, stay on my back. I don't know what's here." They obeyed, clinging to her gray scales nervously as they sensed their mother's emotions. Staying quiet, they kept their eyes open to watch for danger of any kind. Strange sounds in the distance filtered into their ears and they all looked towards it.

With their great eyesight, they stared at two creatures that walked on two legs and wore animal skin. They seemed to be talking to one another in a language the dragons didn't understand. Zyrtec narrowed his eyes at them in response to the strange words. 'We can't communicate with each other.' This felt dooming and he shrunk against his mother's scales even more, trying to disappear. The creatures weren't very large, a bit smaller than the young dragons actually, but they were unknown. For all they knew, these things could kill them in an instant--they had no way to gauge their strength as of now. 'I want to understand what they're saying…' His eyes began to glow red as a skill he possessed activated, sending a rush through his body as he quivered, shaking himself out. His head started to throb and he shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut as something changed.

When it began to settle, the strange sounds carrying to him had meaning. "--as well as the animals."

"It's better to listen to what we're told and teach the animals to do what they're commanded."

"I guess, but I'd rather not."

"You'll be whipped again." Zyrtec blinked slowly, realizing he was hearing the two creatures and not his family. Only moments ago their sounds had no sense, but now they formed words in his head.

The one shuddered and said, "Fine. Let's hurry up. I doubt there's anything out here anyway." Unnerved, Zyrtec was lost. This was confusing and he had no idea why it was happening.

His mother lowered herself to the ground to try and lengthen their hiding time, muttering, "This won't end well. I can't understand them."

"Momma." She glanced back at Zyrtec when he spoke. "I can. They were told to come out here for something." Her eyes widened and she looked back and forth from her son to the creatures, bewildered.

"Zyrtec, can I ask you to translate?" He nodded, uncertain of what all she meant but hoping to be able to help. She stood and turned to approach them, walking as non threateningly as possible. When her shadow fell over them, they both froze up and went silent, looking up at a beast that was bigger than their homes.

"I-it's a dragon!"

"Don't move!" The one grabbed the other's arm to make him stop. "It might get agitated if we make big movements. All we can do is stay still and hope we don't die rather than do something that will most certainly get us killed." Zyrtec repeated their words quietly to his mother and she was stuck on what to do. They seemed to not be very strong, but at the same time she didn't wish to harm them. It was difficult trying to think of a way to talk without scaring them even more. Sensing her thoughts, Zyrtec scrambled over her back and slid down her front leg, setting down in front of them. He was smaller than Qlome and Nylotte, but he was still about a foot taller than them when standing on all fours.

Taking a few seconds to think while the two were panicking internally, he chirped, "Hi." It was pretty much the only thing he could think of to say that didn't sound like it had a hidden meaning.

Their eyes seemed to bulge as they heard it speak and understood it. "H-hi?"

Looking over his shoulder, he asked, "Momma, what do I say?"

She considered it, then rumbled, "Tell them we won't hurt them. We just want somewhere safe to stay for a while that isn't out in the open. Add to it if you think it needs it but I have no idea how to converse with another creature properly." The only thing she had ever met that could speak was another dragon, making this harder.

Her children were in the same position, but Zyrtec was a strange one. Switching languages, he turned back to them and said, "Please don't be scared of us. We don't want to hurt you. Momma said we need a safe place. Do you have something like that?" Translating wasn't too hard, but some things didn't have a direct translation and left him lost.

"Uh…" They looked over the giant dragon and the several smaller ones with it. The one who had stopped the other one from running was the first to speak. "Uhm...yeah...I guess we do...but I can't guarantee it'll be what you want…" He was shaking and his voice was pitched. Their pounding hearts were heard by the dragons clearly, telling them the two creatures were still scared. "It's...that way…" He pointed behind him was a quivering hand. The biggest problem was that a beast they had thought was no different from other animals was talking to them, and from a close distance at that. Their sizes were terrifying to them.

"Thank you! Can you lead us there?"

'What do I do?!' He was freaking out, frightened by the possibilities that could result from this. For all he knew, they were feigning kindness and would attack where he took them. 'Oh! What if I do that?' Trying to stand a bit straighter, he said, "Ah...certainly, but uhm...I just realized that place is too small for you…" He rubbed his hands together nervously. 'I hope this works...oh god, I'm gonna die if it doesn't…' Taking a step back in order to calm down, he added, "I'll take you...this way…" Grabbing his friend's shoulders, he turned to face where they had come from, then turned to the left and started walking.

"What are you--?!" The other one whispered.

Keeping his own voice low, he said, "Taking them where they want to go." Zyrtec walked behind them as his mother followed happily, glad they had been able to talk it through. Something about the way they were acting had put Zyrtec on edge, but he didn't say anything and just stuck to trailing after them, hoping he was wrong. Traveling over several fields and a large distance, the two beings were breathing heavily and looked tired by the time they stopped and the one raised their hand to point. "That." He glanced at the dragons nervously. 'Please just believe me and go.' Having taken them to a large kingdom, he was hoping he could get the dragons to end up fighting these people who opposed their own kingdom. 'We're at war with them so we should hurry up and leave.' Nodding to the dragons and backing away with his friend, he said, "You can go on your own the rest of the way, right? Now please excuse us, we have work to do…" His plan was for them to attack the dragons through a misunderstanding and start a fight or let the dragons target them, depending on whether they were being truthful or not.

They watched the two flee in a hurry, then looked at the huge walls surrounding the place. 'I wonder what their race is called,' Zyrtec thought. Choosing not to delay, their mother went back to walking, heading for the large walls at a leisurely pace, taking in all the sights.

"To think such a small creature built something like that…" Their mother said, then smiled at her children. "We should be able to end our journey now." Zyrtec stayed quiet, fighting an internal battle as the feeling of danger kept growing stronger.

Giving in, he said, "Momma, they were scared of us. We can't go to a big group of them." She paused, then heeded his warning and turned away. As she did, the sense of foreboding faded and he was able to calm down. She hid behind a hill, crouching to think it over.

There were a few problems. 'Can they even do that yet? I hadn't used it because I figured they wouldn't be able to…' Sighing, she said, "Alright, all of you off. I have something to teach you." They obeyed and lined up in front of her. Closing her eyes, her body let off a warm glow and she began to shrink, her body changing shape as she got smaller. Eventually, she looked just like one of those two-legged creatures, yet with gray skin. Her long hair was gray and her eyes still purple, but it startled the young dragons. "Shapeshifting. Every dragon can do it." The biggest worry was over their mutations keeping them from using inherent abilities like this one. "If you've seen a creature, you can turn into one. You'll still be you, just your appearance changes. Come on, join me." Looking down at herself while they tried to replicate it, she thought, 'They wore animal skins over their bodies.' Focusing, the gray color of her skin gathered at her chest, then spread out, forming a simple gray dress that went to her ankles. This time, she looked exactly like one of them, the skin fixed and covered properly.

"Momma!" Jarkko, as a small child of the two-legged race, stumbled trying to balance. Their mother had similar problems, but went to help him anyway.

"Good job." He was the first one to accomplish it correctly, after which Zyrtec finally started trying, following after his brother quickly. "Try to come to me." She held out her arms to him and he waved his arms wildly to stay upright as he wobbled over. Looking to the last two, they were whining and kept failing. 'Oh no…' This was what she was afraid of. "You're doing great, keep trying."

Zyrtec, holding onto the created dress to stay upright, looked over at his siblings with a frown. 'I want them to be able to shapeshift too…' Like earlier, his head throbbed as his eyes glowed red. Wincing, he leaned into his mother, clutching tighter. When it stopped, he felt dizzy and tired, but Qlome and Nylotte had finally joined them, struggling over the two legs like the rest.

"You did great!" She put a hand on Zyrtec for a moment. 'They did it! Was I worried for nothing? But then what happened to him?' She thought as she stroked her hand through his white hair. All the younger ones had shoulder-length hair, with it and their skin the color of their scales. Copying what she had done, Zyrtec turned the color into clothes, trying to mimic the two that had led them there and ending up with a simple shirt and pants, both pure white. From what he could tell, that color and the clothing they turned it into were their scales. He had no clue how accurate he was, but he was interrupted when his mother hugged him. "Amazing!"

He paused, then buried his head in her hold, smiling to himself. 'My momma is so amazing too…'

"Alright then." She pulled away and faced the rest. "Time for you to do this as well. We need to blend in...and get used to these bodies for a while." Getting started, they spent the next while getting the hand of their bodies and turning their scales into clothes.